Our Family recently took a four day Disney World Vacation! We took our 2 year old twin toddler boys to Disney for the first time at Christmas time! We went right after Thanksgiving, at the end of November into December.
Why Take 2 Year Old’s to Disney?
You might be wondering, why take toddlers to Disney? They aren’t even going to remember it! Well there are a few things to consider.
- Kids under 3 years of age are FREE! Yep, you don’t have to pay for their theme park tickets, genie plus add ons, or character meals/buffets if they are under 3! Once they turn 3, they get a whole lot more expensive! We felt like age 2 was the perfect age that they would enjoy it and know a lot of what was happening (they know a ton of the characters), without us actually having to pay for them.
- While they might not remember it, WE WILL! Was it challenging at some points? YES! But were we also filled with joy seeing our boys experience all of the “Disney magic?” Also, YES!
- Disney is truly a park made for ALL ages. There is definitely enough to keep everyone busy and entertained.
- My husband and I love Disney. In fact, we went to Disney World on our Honeymoon! You can read those blog posts here if you are interested! So we knew we would be back again in the future! If you are only going to go to Disney one time, ever, then I would say 2 years old is not the age to take your kids, but if you know you will go a few times or maybe even more, why not take them when they are little and free!?
To Drive or to Fly?
This is truly a preference thing! We flew because we were able to get our flights very cheap through our local airport by flying allegiant. (round trip about $100 per person!) However, if we had a newer vehicle we might have driven. We are about 12 hours from Disney so we could have broken it up and drove, but we didn’t want to put the mileage on our car. Flying isn’t as family friendly though, and I would still recommend considering a rental car if you do fly. If you are staying on property, you shouldn’t need a car to get to and from the parks, however Disney no longer does the shuttle service from the airport to hotels, so renting a car wasn’t actually that much more (without kids this would obviously be much cheaper). We also were extending our trip to visit some local family which we needed a car for, and we liked the security of having a car in case of an emergency, so we ended up renting a mini van through Turo, which was much cheaper than using a typical rental car service.
Where to Stay?
In my opinion….on property! There are a few perks to staying on Disney property: earlier/later access to the parks, close proximity to the parks, free transportation to the parks, and the Disney magic never ends!
Disney resorts though are a bit more expensive than your average hotel. They have three “levels” value, moderate, and deluxe.
This trip was rescheduled for us, so our resort options were limited. We ended up staying at Coronado Springs which is a moderate resort. While it wasn’t my first choice, I actually really enjoyed our stay! It’s a beautiful resort with lots of outdoor space and a fun pool! Definitely still toddler friendly, without the looks of being toddler friendly. However my first choice (what we picked before we rescheduled), was Art of Animation, which is a value resort that is decked out in all things Disney. They have Car and Little Mermaid themed rooms, as well as an awesome pool. It also has access to the new Skyliner system, which makes getting to certain parks a breeze! If you have a stroller, you don’t have to fold it up on the Skyliner like you do for the buses. Honestly though, folding up our stroller wasn’t difficult, you just have to be prepared!
If you have the budget to stay at a Deluxe resort 100% do it! We stayed in one on our honeymoon and LOVED it. Not only are they still family friendly, but they are absolutely stunning. Personally with a toddler, I would pick a Deluxe resort with monorail access so that I could easily go back to the room for naps if that was the plan, and once again you don’t have to fold a stroller on the monorail!
What parks should I go to with my toddler?
100% do not miss Magic Kingdom. Next up on the list is Hollywood Studios. Then after that I think Epcot and Animal Kingdom are equal and you should pick based off of what your kid enjoys the most (and where you want to go!). We decided to skip Animal Kingdom for this trip because our boys both love Frozen, and we really wanted to ride the new Guardians of the Galaxy ride in Epcot.
Is Genie Plus Worth it with Toddlers?
Yes, yes yes. 100% yes. Well at least in Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. We literally never waited in line which was perfect because my 2 year olds don’t do well waiting. Which I’m pretty sure is pretty typical for the age! Yes its an extra cost, but you will get to do SO much more and you won’t have to deal with near as many tantrums if you get it. I recommend checking out WDW Prep School for more info about Genie Plus.
Day 1: Magic Kingdom
Okay lets get to the fun stuff! The recap!
We got to Magic Kingdom early in the day, but didn’t stress about getting there by rope drop, we knew our boys needed rest if it was going to be a good day, especially after traveling the day before. We stayed the whole day in the park, essentially from 8:30-7:30 PM. We started our morning by grabbing a few pictures in front of the castle (do this before everyone is cranky and sweaty! trust me, you will want at least one good family Disney pic to look back on!) with our photopass.
We then headed to do a good bit of rides that we *thought* our boys would enjoy. Armed with Genie plus and a low attendance day, we never waited in line. By end of morning we had done The Pooh ride, It’s a Small World, Jingle Cruise, Peter Pan’s Flight, and The Little Mermaid.
We gave our boys a small snacky breakfast before we left the hotel, and after we rode our first ride we made a stop at Sleepy Hollow (Near the castle) to get a Nutella Fruit waffle which was a hit for all of us to share as a “late” breakfast.
We also made sure to get one of our fav disney snacks: Lefou’s Brew at Gaston’s Tavern.
After quite a few rides, our boys crashed for a nap in their stroller, and Todd and I explored Tomorrowland. We took advantage of our sleeping babies to ride swap a few rides.
Once the boys woke up, we ate a delicious lunch at Casey’s Corner, which are truly amazing hot dogs. Todd got a holiday special one, which I highly recommend. and then we popped on over to meet Mickey for the first time! Both boys did so well! We were so proud of them! Arrow was a bit shy and Rhodes started the conversation with telling Mickey he was two.
After meeting Mickey, we lucked out with a clavacade (small parade) coming through, which my boys absolutely LOVED! So much so we knew the big parade was coming up soon so we went and staked out a good spot and gave the boys a snack while we waited. Also, bubble wands are the real MVP while waiting for things like parades. We bought ours off of amazon before we went to save a bit of money. We bought these and were very happy with them.
P.S. If you want to check out all of my Disney must haves with toddlers click here.
After being in the heat for awhile with the parade, we headed over to Storybook Circus to check out the Dumbo indoor playground. This might have been my boys favorite part of the day, no joke. They were all about it, it was indoors and cool, and not crowded (I feel like this place is a Disney secret). They played for quite awhile and burned some energy after being in their stroller for a good bit. Rhodes and I rode Dumbo together, which he loved! And then we headed over to Crystal Palace to eat a character buffet with Pooh and his friends!
Character breakfasts are expensive but so worth it! Rhodes was all about meeting the characters, while Arrow had different feelings…
At Crystal Palace the food was good (But not anything super memorable). It was buffet style which was great for our family and fast! We met Pooh, Tiger, Eeyore, and Piglet!
Afterwards our boys were tired and a bit grumpy, so we headed out to get a good nights rest at our hotel.
Day 2: Hollywood Studios
We got Genie Plus once again to help our day here run smoothly!
We started our day out in Toy Story Land. We got a genie plus reservation first thing for the Alien Swirling saucers. We didn’t think we would ride this ride, but my boys both LOVED it, and surprisingly it didn’t make Todd or I feel dizzy or sick (it’s very mild in that way). Afterwards, We got a late breakfast at Woody’s Lunchbox. I highly recommend the Loaded tater tot bowl. We also enjoyed the pastries that look like poptarts too (these change seasonally). We let the boys pick out a few souvenirs, we rode Toy Story Mania (which was NOT a hit for the toddlers), and snapped a few pictures.
Next was the Frozen, Sing Along. If you have a toddler or child that loves Frozen, then I highly recommend the Frozen sing along! Not only was it super funny, but it snowed! I think it was the highlight of the day for my boys, and Todd & I actually really enjoyed it too. At Christmas time they also add on a few of the Christmas songs from Olaf’s Frozen Adventure, which was perfect because my boys love that special.
We also met Olaf, which we once again had a house divided on how we felt about it….
We had a reservation for a character meal later in the day, so we ended up grabbing a quick pizza to share at PizzeRizzo. Which had crazy long lines, but I mobile ordered and got our food super fast.
Next up was the boy’s nap time (well one boy…the other just ate snacks in his stroller the whole time…). So Todd and I decided to explore the Star Wars area.
We tried both blue and green milk and we both LOVED them! I could really go for a glass of it right now actually. We did single rider lane for Smugglers Run, which is a great way to skip the long line (literally had two people in front of me), and we purchased a lightening lane for Rise of the Resistance. Such an amazing ride! I have never ridden on anything like it before. One thing to note though, is it’s a long ride. It took about 20 minutes to get through, meaning our boys waited about 40 minutes on us to ride. Not a bad thing, unless you have toddlers…or reservations.
We then ran to our reservations at Minnie’s Hollywood Holiday Dine at Hollywood & Vine! This was such an awesome character meal that both of my boys LOVED. The characters (Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy), were all dressed up in holiday attire. My boys still talk about how Pluto was a reindeer. The buffet was good and the staff was truly above and beyond at this one. I would 100% go to this character experience again!
We also had a fun experience with a pea getting sucked up Arrow’s nose while we were at dinner here. Thanks to a truthful toddler (he told us right away!),a tik tok we had seen, and Todd, we got it out in no time, but we did cause a little scene! #toddlers.
Afterwards we went to the Disney Jr. Dance party which was another huge hit for my boys! If your kids like dancing, bubbles, and anything Disney Jr. you need to make sure you get in one of these shows! I don’t think I ever saw them smile more than when we were here.
We also rode Mickey & Minnies Runaway Railway which we loved, but seemed to scare the boys a bit. The boys ended up crashing out for another nap, and Todd and I ride swapped a few of the big rides. When they woke up they had a HUGE meltdown on the way to the bus. Just a reminder that even on an awesome day…Toddlers are still toddlers. Especially tired ones.
That wraps up our first two days at Disney! Check back tomorrow on the blog for part 2!
-Kasey
Keep up with all my posts on Bloglovin | See day to day pictures & stories on Instagram | Like the Kasey Holloway blog page on Facebook | Pin along with me on Pinterest | See what I’m reading on Goodreads Listen to my Worship Playlist on Spotify