Tips for trip with 3 little kids

Walt Disney World
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My family is heading to Disney in May - it will be me, my wife, our 4 year old son, and our 2 year old twins. My wife and I went in 2019 but haven’t been since.

We’re planning to stay at the Dolphin to secure some space and walkability without breaking the bank. Planning 5 nights and will probably end up doing 4 park days.

What should I expect for airport transportation? I’m unsure of what to do when we’ll need 3 car seats or 2 and a booster. I was not planning to rent a car.

Beyond transportation, what types of tips and tricks do you have for a trip with three children so young? I’m sure there are plenty!

Thank you in advance!

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This thread is a little bit older but should get you started for car services

As for tips and tricks for traveling with the little set, if you can be more specific about what you’re wondering about I think you’ll get better answers. But, to start with here are some general ideas:

  • Rope drop every day - the kids are likely to be awake at that hour anyway, so you may as well make good use of the time

  • Take a rest at your resort every day at midday. Nap, swim, play. Generally getting away from the crowd for a bit can be good for everyone

  • Don’t push too far into the evening. This often backfires as the kids get cranky — which makes the grownups cranky. Instead, head back to your resort for a more typical bedtime. Consider, if this is your style, each taking a night to go into the parks solo while the other manages the kids.

  • Book character dining where possible - way better than waiting in lines to meet characters, plus you get to eat too

Have fun planning!

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I second all these tips! A car service is the best way to avoid the need to bring car seats or boosters, unless you want to save money and take a Mears bus.

Don’t pack too much in each day — try to focus on a few priorities and call an audible if kids are cranky.

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Funny, I was thinking how very far removed from traveling with littles I am, and I was going to tag you as the resident expert on traveling with littles.

But your littles? Not so little anymore :face_holding_back_tears:

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:sob:

They grow up so fast. But also they still exhibit some of the traits of little – cranky, messy, needy. :rofl:

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I would probably take Mears in this scenario so that you don’t need car seats. Kids also seem to think the bus is an attraction!

I would plan to walk to Yacht club for the MK bus unless your kids really want to take the ferry or monorail.

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Thank you both! That’s helpful.

I guess I’m looking for any and all tips. I’ve never done Disney as a parent so this is new ground for me!

Some of my thoughts when I should be sleeping:

What do I feed them. Are you allowed to pack snacks? Can I smuggle in some uncrustables?

Is our (foldable) double stroller an issue on the bus, boat, or gondola?

Are there any under-the-radar attractions for 2 year olds? Like little play zones or climbing areas?

Will my wife and I be able to do rider switches to ride rides with our 4 year old while one of us is with the twins?

Can I refill their water bottles easily?

Is there anything compelling about a resort day at the Dolphin - and/or how can I maximize our location if we aren’t doing a park day?

As for the Dolphin, I’m eyeing a deluxe king room with a sofa bed for the 4yo. We’ll need 2 cribs too.. should I rely on the hotel providing, or do I need to bring my pack n plays and/or rent?

Any tips for navigating to MK from Dolphin without it being an utter disaster?

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You can pack snacks or meals or whatever you want! It’s allowed. We had stroller saddle bags that were coolers. (The only rule is no hard coolers or glass, excluding baby food jars.)

I would recommend a Topolinos late breakfast for your break day. You can take the Skyliner!

Water bottles are pretty easily refillable in my experience. Quick service will also give you water in paper cups that you can dump into a water bottle too.

Yes, rider swap will let you and DH each do a ride with DS4! Best part of being the older sibling.

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You can bring snacks in. No need to smuggle :slight_smile:

Nope - you will need to fold it much of the time but they are welcome aboard

Free ice water is available in cups at all Quick Service locations. There are also water bottle filling stations located in a few places (noted on the park maps)

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I have honestly never encountered a hotel that has run out of these so I would rely on the hotel for these. Save your luggage space for stuffies.

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You can bring in ice if it is in a Ziploc bag, but no loose ice, for the cooler bags - for theme parks.

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There are many! Assuming you are packing change of clothes for this age group (or can schedule it right before a break/end of day), my kids LOVED splash zones at this age. In MK, the best one is in Storybook Circus (Dumbo-themed ‘Casey Jr Splash n Soak Station’), though the squirting statues in front of Jungle Cruise also do the trick in a pinch. At Epcot, the absolute best water area in all of WDW is probably Moana’s ‘Journey of Water’ (ideally at dusk/night when it’s all beautiful and lit up - though if you can’t make it until then, the splash areas are just as fun in the day time). Alternatively, the jumping fountains near Figment can be fun and there’s a liquid layer splash area near TT/Mission Space. In AK, there’s a small water splash area in Asia/near Kali River Rapids (and you can watch KRR riders and press buttons to squirt them from the bridge near the attraction). Don’t think there’s any water in HS unfortunately.

Big playgrounds at WDW have taken a bit of a hit since the Boneyard in AK and Tom Sawyer Island have closed. The playground in the indoor Dumbo queue is still very cool for little ones (and a/c for parents!) so I would definitely plan for that. You can stay and play longer even if you’re called for the ride. And there are still smaller play areas scattered across almost all Epcot front-of-park pavillions (our kids always loved the Nemo/Bruce-themes one inside the Seas) and in some parts of MK (the one near WtP entrance comes to mind).

Shows are good options at HS and AK. At HS, the Disney JR Dance Party is great for that age group and they can run around/dance while seeing characters, and I would consider Frozen and Little Mermaid (HS) especially kid-friendly with live characters and/or special effects. At AK, I would say the same about Lion King, Nemo and presumably the new Zootopia (which I haven’t seen yet). Epcot and MK don’t have live shows (Epcot does have live performers throughout the park, but more like streetmosphere), but they each have a great 3D movie with a/c - Pixar Film Fest at Epcot and Philharmagic at MK. Bring plastic gem stones to the latter to “catch” during the Ariel scene around 3 min in and amaze your kids with your magic powers!

Beyond such planned stops, at this age you’ll probably also want to plan for time to stop at unforeseen “attractions”, like watching a family of ducks walk or squirrels. This, along with modes of transport like boats or the monorail, may be just as important to small kids as the “real attractions” :rofl:

Definitely check out the Dolphin pool - it’s great! There’s also a sandy playground (though nothing particularly special or Disney about it) and you can take the Swan pedal boats on the lake if that sounds like fun to you. I think I would plan to just wander the Boardwalk at dusk/evening if you can last that long (it’s too hot during the day) and watch the streetmosphere, maybe get an ice cream along the way?

We took the MK bus to/from YC when we stayed there - it’s a 10 min walk. It’s not necessarily faster than taking the Swolphin bus, but it saves you one change of transport at TTC (to either the ferry or the monorail), which helps when traveling with a stroller (and means there’s less of a chance of something going wrong). For AK I would just take the Swolphin bus, and for Epcot or HS, I’d take the Friendship boat if you want to save steps (you can walk quite easily if you prefer and it’s probably quicker - but it’ll be a bit hotter and more tiring than the boat).

Enjoy!

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Another thing the kids might enjoy seeing at Epcot is the sizeable model train display outside of the Germany pavilion. If you have free time outside of EP or HS, you can take the Skyliner to Pop/AOA and look around at the colorful oversized theming, especially in the Cars and Lion King sections of AOA. Pop and AOA both have small playgrounds.

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Will you have a second stroller for your 4 year old? I would highly recommend doing so. Disney World is a lot of walking. And being able to move quickly with mom and dad each pushing a stroller can also be helpful.

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You should be able to (and under the Rider Switch rules you are permitted to do this). But I’ve encountered a few CMs over the years who did not understand the Rider Switch rules. Before each trip, I took a screen shot of the Rider Switch rules from Disney’s website to have it handy if a CM didn’t know the rules.

Inevitably, a lot of sugar :slight_smile:

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For stroller info

I recall that WDW had a width limit.

From the Dolphin, I’d walk over to the Boardwalk for Disney busses to AK and MK. Strollers will be handy for that walk and the walk from the bus drop off at MK into the park.

The first time we brought youngest grandson to WDW he was a 3 yo and darter extraordinaire. We had an assortment of leashes for him. And wondered what a visit to WDW held in store. It was easy since he was so busy watching everything going on around him he didn’t dart off.

At Epcot one evening he and his 2 yo cousin played with the pavement lights for at least 15 minutes solid they were so enthralled. I have a photograph somewhere of them squatting, each with a small box of raisins in one hand, while touching the lights with the other hand.

We had these two at a Teppan Edo supper. The chef used chopstick wrappers and rubber bands to make toddler friendly chopsticks.

Another reason we ate at a character buffets nearly every day was that the sights and smells reminded a preoccupied kid that they were hungry. Buffets can be difficult to get food with 2 adults and 3 kids. But worth it. Even if the kid, like the 2 yo with the raisins won’t have anything to do with anyone except Minnie. It’s still a meal and a show. Another photo shows the 2 yo giving Goofy the best Mona Lisa smile as he tries to charm her.
We had another 2 yo at Crystal Palace that seemed aloof until the parade around the room started and the toddler leaped off mom’s lap to join in.

Less is more. Pick two or three parks and visit them repeatedly. Kids that age love familiar things, and those things will linger in their memories.

@OBNurseNH 's comment about opening the park as they’re up anyway is accurate with the toddlers in our experience. We did take resort breaks in the middle of the day - noon-ish to 3 maybe - but more for reducing sensory input for a bit. Quiet. Cool. A shallow toddler water area at a resort is a great restorer for toddlers. The 2 yos might nap in the stroller the best.

A good question to ask the kids is “would you ride that again” because they may agree that the ride was fun even tho maybe it wasn’t.

Diaper bags
We quickly quit the diaper bag to the park since we were returning to the room anyway after a few hours. We did bring a ziploc bag of dry clothes (also good for in park splash areas), and a bag of a diaper or two and wipes, per kid. Stowed in the bottom of a stroller.

Each evening before bed, we’d stock up the ziploc bags, snack bags, etc and have them and strollers ready to go.

We’d heard about strollers being grabbed at stroller parking, accidentally usually. We usually decorated our stroller with fall colors in September or Christmas stuff, etc. And we had a diaper with brown color (rootbeer) in a bag attached to the handle. Our stroller was always where we left it, but we made sure to locate and put it in stroller parking.

There’s a packing suggestion about putting out what you think you’ll want, and then putting back away at least 25%.

Same with planning with littles. Chop off 25% of the plan and watch to see what grabs your kids’ attention. And repeat, lavishly.

Thanks for reading my book - if you’re still here. :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes::grin::wink:

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I think Yacht is easier because getting to the Boardwalk buses requires an elevator.

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I always forget about the Boardwalk’s entry on two levels

Thanks

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Holy smokes this all such great advice! Absorbing and taking notes.

To answer some questions, I have a little scooter seat to attach to the stroller for our 4yo to ride on.

Being able to bring in snacks and water will be a gamechanger, as will walking to YC for busses.

I love the idea of a faux dirty diaper on the stroller. I have been worried about ours getting nabbed, mainly because it is super sleek and maneuverable for a double stroller. It’s basic and cheap but that likely makes it even better for the parks.

Are we allowed to use pools at other resorts? I imagine probably not, and it may be frowned upon to suggest it, but that Beach Club pool looks perfect for a non-park day!

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Not at all

But, swimming only in your own pool. Especially since Beach Club is another company altogether from Dolphin. Yacht Club swims in Beach Club. I’m pretty sure the time we were at Boardwalk and their main pool was closed for daily jackhammering, Boardwalk guests were allowed at Beach Club.

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