Lots of questions about outfits and accessories on Insta so I’m back to share those links! The girl’s beauty & the beast bubbles were from the most amazing Etsy seller! She went above and beyond to ensure they arrived in time for our trip! The pink mickey disney embroidered sets are no longer available. I loved having my Veronica Deore sunglass chain to hold my mask! Also, I love traveling “light” and bringing my Uashamama backpack as our diaper bag so that I can carry it on the rides!
I’ve written about Disney with a toddler and Disney with an infant but today I bring you a whole new experience – Disney with a toddler AND an infant! The more we visit Disney with our girls the more of a “Disney person” I’m becoming. Give me all of the princesses and mickey shaped treats! We took AG to visit last March and have another trip planned for March 2021 but just HAD to squeeze in a spontaneous trip last month because we were itching to get to our happy place!
This was an interesting trip for sure… with COVID 19 changing quite a bit around the parks! Many of y’all reached out with questions so I’ll try my best to answer all of those as I share a little recap of our trip. Pearce stayed home and my Nana and I took both girls down for a few days! Nana was with us on AG’s first Disney trip so I thought it was extra sweet having her here for Millie’s!
Alba Grace is 2.5 which is a MAGICAL age to take a little one to Disney in my opinion! We watch a lot of Disney parades on youtube and this classic singalong video at our house to get excited for our trips! Her first trip was around Millie’s age and purely for our enjoyment! It’s even more exciting to watch all of the fun through her eyes! There are no parades, fireworks or character meet & greets happening at Disney right now. There is no park -hopping and little ones have to wear masks (even at 2!) but none of that majorly impacted our trip. It’s hard to do it all at Disney, especially with tiny children! So we actually enjoyed not having to squeeze so many things in to our day!
OUR TRIP
Here’s a little recap of our spontaneous adventure!
Day One
Drove to Orlando at the crack of dawn, checked into our hotel, spent a few hours in the magic kingdom, went back to our hotel for a 2 hr nap (essential!), drove back to MK for 6 hours in the park!
AM In the Park:
- Caught a pop-up parade on Main Street – There are no scheduled parades happening right now but there are spontaneous small pop-up parades happening throughout the day!
- Under The Sea – Such a sweet ride for Little Mermaid Lovers! There’s rarely a wait on this one so it’s a great way to start the day!
- Dumbo – There are actually two dumbo rides side-by-side so the wait isn’t bad! And they’ve added a playground that toddlers can play in while waiting their turn for the ride! Genius!
- Barnstormer – Alba Grace spotted this ride while we were on Dumbo, proved to be tall enough to ride and then only made it halfway through the ride before a mini-meltdown started! So we hopped out of line and went to find food.
- Lunch @ Cosmic Ray’s (don’t recommend the hot dogs – we weren’t feeling so hot after we ate these!)
*We attempted a nap in the stroller (AG took a stroller nap in the parks at 18months) but it didn’t work out for us this time. Too much FOMO! So we made a plan to cut our losses and head back to the resort for a good nap. Highly recommend planning for a mid-day break if you want your toddler in a peachy mood!
PM In The Park:
- Small World – My favorite ride and (OH MY HEART) AG’s favorite ride too. Will never forget her sweet self singing the lyrics the entire time we were on the ride! I think the wait was about 20 min on this one.
- Peter Pan’s Flight – A bit longer of a wait (maybe 20-30min) but I love the queue on this one so I don’t mind the wait one bit!
- Dinner @ Peco’s Bill – The Magic Kingdom is not a foodie’s paradise, but Peco’s Bill is always a decent quick service! Can’t go too too wrong with tacos and guac! If you’d prefer a more memorable meal in the Magic Kingdom – you’ll want to make reservations far in advance! Tables are hard to come by if you plan on walking in!
- Aladdin’s Carpets x 2 – I had no intention of riding this but then AG spotted the “flying bacon” while we were in line for Jungle Cruise so we hopped out of line and rode the carpets. HIGHLY recommend planning to ride in the evening! Amazing view of the castle lights which AG thought to be the coolest thing ever! We met up with my friend Mary Helen and her sweet Ana Cathryn and rode it again. So much fun!
- Pirates of The Caribbean – A bit spooky for our little lady but I enjoyed her scared cuddles so much! She ended up saying she had fun on this one but I’m not entirely sure she’d ride again right now! 😉
Day Two
We started the day off with a special breakfast at our hotel – with COVID all of the quick-service restaurants are requiring order ahead from the mobile app! It’s very user friendly and actually a better solution than waiting in line! For our 2-year-old a special breafast means MICKEY WAFFLES! Thankfully you cand find these at any hotel!
After breakfast, we splashed around in the pool and splash pad before the afternoon rain hit. I’ve said this before but I really love the overly themed value resorts for toddlers! It’s just so much fun to see them soaking in all of the Disney magic, even when you’re not in the park! I love the Disney resort pools because in our experience there’s always a splash pad or kiddie pool as well as a larger pool. They also provide life jackets which is so nice if your little ones can’t yet swim! Always recommend carving out time to enjoy your resort’s pool while at Disney! PSA: Yes, they are heated! 😉
Next up, nap time! Surely the most important factor in planning a disney trip with littles!
We spent the evening on a “Skyliner crawl” which we’ll surely do again! Disney’s newest mode of transportation is a fun ride in and of itself! The Skyliner will take you to Hollywood Studios as well as Epcot and to any of the resorts on the skyliner route!
On our tour, we enjoyed the pool bar (the best frosé I’ve ever had!) and checking out the decor at Art of Animation. If you follow along on Insta you know how excited I am to book AOA for our next trip! Then we rode the Skyliner over to the Riviera for snacks and treats at Le Petit Café and Bar Rive, then we rode back to Caribbean Beach for dinner! The Skyliner crawl is a great way to check out other resorts in search of where to stay next!
Day Three
We started yet another day with Mickey Waffles and then bounced over to the Nemo pool at Art of Animation! We really enjoyed the ocean themed pool, playground and splash pad! Sadly the pool will be closed for refurbishment until summer of 2021 so we won’t be able to visit again anytime soon! Finding Nemo is one of our favorite Disney movies so I was eating this up! Several readers reached out to share that the Finding Nemo family suites at Art of Animation are awesome so keep that in mind!
After wearing the girls out in the pool we popped over to Disney Springs for lunch and shopping! Disney Springs felt muuuuuch more crowded than the resort / parks so I don’t think they’re limiting capacity there right now. Something to consider! It felt empty when we visited a few months ago but I guess weekends are much busier.
We had lunch at Homecomin’. This was our second visit to the restaurant and we’ve really enjoyed both meals! Food and drinks are so so yummy and they were so accomodating with our kiddos!
ANSWERING YOUR QUESTIONS
Did you bring your own stroller?
Yes! We always bring our own stroller because we’re driving and it’s no extra trouble. However, if you’re flying, there are tons of rental options! We chose the Zoe Double Luxe partly because it had RAVE Disney reviews! I loved it for Disney and highly recommend it. Of course, I recommend you snag yourself a Fernandina Paper Co. Disney stroller tag too! 😉
Were character meet & greets still as magical?
Sadly there are no character meet & greets right now which is SO SAD! Definitely something to consider if you’re planning a “one and done” Disney trip! I usually look forward to the character meet & greets the most!
Does a 3 year old have to wear a mask?
Yes! 2 and up! I was so worried about this but AG was actually pretty excited to wear one. I didn’t make her wear it in the stroller when we could social distance but she did wear it in line for rides and on the rides.
What kind of sleeping arrangements do y’all do? Do you go back to your resort for naps?
We learned on this trip that 2+ need to go back to the room for a nap! Or at least in our case. When AG was little little she could nap in the stroller, Millie napped in the stroller too. But toddlers are just SO excited about everything – a room nap is a must for us. We brought two pack and plays for this trip! Would love to book a family suite for our next trip so that we don’t have to turn the lights off as early! You can also rent pack and plays if you’re flying.
How much is realistic to accomplish in a day with a 2.5 year old?
Totally depends on when you visit. I’d say plan for a few hours in the am where you can hit fantastyland, go back for a nap and then plan to spend 5-6 hours in the park after nap time if you can swing it! You’ll want to spend most of your time in fantastyland but also want to see the rest of the park while you’re there! So maybe plan for meals in other lands! 🙂
Can infants ride on the rides?
Yes! Anything AG rode in the Magic Kingdom, Millie could ride too! The only thing she couldn’t get on was the Barnstormer ride. But as a I mentioned… we never made it through the line on that one!
Best age for first trip?
I’d say older 2’s! They’re still free (until 3!) and just EAT IT ALL UP! Truly magical.
Did you feel safe visiting during the pandemic?
I think this is a personal decision and everyone’s different but if you feel safe shopping at grocery stores right now, you’ll probably feel safe at Disney! They are taking a ton of precautions, I’ve NEVER seen the park cleaner, and if you’re wearing a mask and washing your hands frequently…. you should feel safe!
How did you handle dining inside the park?
Quick-service dining is all order ahead right now which is actually nice. All of the sit down restaurants (that are open…) are running as normal – just limiting capacity, using disposable menus, etc! Make reservations if you can! On this trip we did quick service dining on our park day and saved our sit-down meals for the two days we were on property but not in the parks.
Should I bring a regular stroller or get something more compact?
Ours is an ADA approved double and the only time that’s an issue is if you’re riding the skyliner. On the monorail and in the parks, we left the girls in the stroller. On the skyliner they ask you to fold up doubles! Thankfully they let us get on the handicap skyliner cart because there wasn’t anyone else in line. But we would have had to fold it up otherwise. Something to note!
Where should I start with planning a trip for a first time family with two 3 year olds and a baby?
I’d reach out to Mary Helen! She’s a disney planner offering free planning services if you book with her! So you don’t pay any extra but get her expertise every step of the way! Start with where you might like to stay and researching which parks would be the best fit for your family. Art of Animation would be a blast for that age!!!! Magic Kingdom is always a must but our family also loves Epcot (yes, even with toddlers!!!! so magical!) and so many friends are loving Hollywood Studios these days. We’re going to venture into Hollywood Studios in March! 🙂
Going for the first time with a toddler (in March 2021), what should I expect?
I’m praying Disney is a bit more normal in March (fireworks, parades, and character meet and greets!) My best piece of advice is to have plan but to be 100% okay with ditching the plan and following your toddler’s lead! 2 year olds have their moments at home and they will also have meltdowns at Disney! Let it be mama!
