Top Tips for Traveling with a Three-Year-Old
/I’m beginning this post without looking at last year’s post about WDW with a 2 year old because I don’t want it to influence this year’s post in any way. Hopefully I won’t be redundant. Disney with our three year old was SO SO FUN! There were of course a few hiccups (as there always are on trips), but for the most part, it was an incredibly smooth trip given all the travel, time spent in the parks and of course the unpredictable nature a three year can throw at you sometimes.
The Magic Kingdom at this age and stage was my favorite park. There was just so much to experience there for our gal who loves rides and characters, but we also had amazing days in each of the parks. She’s recently become a Frozen fanatic so obviously Norway was a must visit in EPCOT. We also had an incredibly fun day in Hollywood Studios. This was probably my second favorite park this year with their Disney Junior meet and greets, Frozen show, and of course Toy Story Land rides. And of course last but not least Animal Kingdom has otters…. our girl’s favorite animal great shows, and a train ride our to Rafiki’s Planet Watch where you can brush/pet the animals at the “Affection Section.”
Mickey and Minne meet and greet at Animal kingdom and snack break at magic kingdom
Every age is different, every child is different, and we love offering personalized advice and lessons learned with our clients who book with us. But, here are a few of our top tips for traveling with young children that we feel are (hopefully) universally helpful!
Snacks Snacks Snacks - Disney makes me hungry and apparently, at three, that “rule” also applies. Our girl put away the snacks. More on purchasing snacks below but we brought our own snacks into the park each day. It’s cheaper, healthier, and there is no line for that split second your child goes from happy to hangry!
Try to keep your sleep routine (as best as you can) - It’s vacation, it’s Disney, so of course following your exact schedule is not always possible but we tried our best. As parents, Greg and I want VG to experience it ALL, but, it’s easy for our little ones to get overly tired at Disney. That’s one lesson we learned from our trip the year before. This year we really tried to stick to a more normal sleep routine and if we felt like she was wiped, we let her nap a bit longer or sleep a bit longer in the morning. (I’m sure being a year older also helped a bunch.)
Utilize Minnie Van/Uber with a carseat when you’re short on time - We’re big proponents of using Disney transportation. It’s one of the major perks of staying on property. BUT if there is a bit of room in the budget and you’re trying to make it somewhere quickly, it MAY be faster to grab a Minnie Van or an Uber depending on where you’re going and what time of day it is. We used Minnie Van to get to the Magic Kingdom two mornings on our recent trip and we felt it was definitely worth it. We let our gal sleep in, skipped the long bus line and got dropped off right in front of the Magic Kingdom in time for Early Entry. However, depending on where you stay, our recommendations will change and we’re happy to discuss based on your own schedule and plans.
Pool Time/Resort Time - We love to use the pool in the late afternoons! We hit the park early, come back for nap, hop in the pool after nap and then return to the park in the evenings. At 3, the pool was equally as fun as the parks and it gave Mom and Dad a bit of down time, which was so so nice!
Bring a sound machine - We stayed at POP Century this trip in a Preferred Room. Location wise, it was super convenient. Noise wise, it was quite loud. (That’s in our opinion…. and I’d say we tend to be a bit more sensitive to noise than the average person). Our room was near the main pool so there were lots of pool noises, screaming, laughing, loud talking, lifeguard whistles, music, etc. Also, movies played at night until fairly late (9:30-10ish). Also there was construction going on outside and above us. VG slept great, which I really do think was in part due to the sound machine.
Order groceries - we DEFINITELY recommend making a grocery order, if you are flying and you have kiddos in tow! We used Walmart+ two times and it was seamless! We ordered breakfast items, snacks, a few toddler faves (Uncrustables, yogurt, milk) and TONS of water. This is definitely a money saver, time saver, and sanity saver that I would be happy to discuss further with anyone who’s interested!
Use a stroller - As our gal gets older, the stroller is used less and less; however, she used it A TON this trip. Occasionally we were trying to get somewhere fast and insisted she get in. Most of the time though, she just needed the walking break an would hop in totally on her own. We were averaging 12-15,000 steps a day. That’s even more for two little legs. The stroller was definitely still needed at 3.
Rope Drop and head to “kiddie rides” - This advice is VERY toddler/young kid specific. We did this in the Magic Kingdom one morning and got so, so much accomplished. I think by 10:30, I counted and we had been on 7 rides and met 4 characters. We took a similar approach other mornings too. We’re happy to discuss the best strategy for your family based on everyone’s ride interests. We try to be SUPER productive with our time in the parks so that we can also take some time to enjoy the resort and rest.
Eat breakfast on the go - I’ll have to say this is one of our tips with and without kids. Neither Greg nor I are morning people. We’d rather sleep a few more minutes, have breakfast packed in our bag and then not lose time once we’re in the parks getting breakfast somewhere. If there is a morning we’re not going into the parks, that’s the morning to book that yummy, time consuming breakfast!
Be flexible - We are planners, so this can be hard for us. Several times this trip, we had to pivot away from our original plan and I’ll have to say, usually, we were glad we did. Every day we had MUST DOs….. and we did them but there were times we wanted to slow the pace. Whether that was nap a little longer, spend a little more time in the pool or just take a few minutes to sit down, have a snack and take in all that was happening around us we tried to let go of the list of things we wanted to accomplish and just enjoy the more simple moments.
Disney at three years old was a blast. I do remember telling Greg at some point that she was WAY more opinionated at 3 than 2. At two we just got in a queue and she was game for whatever. At three, we had our own little ride critic that would literally direct us to the “right” rides. There were so many big smiles, hugs and laughs from this trip that I hope we never forget!