Visiting Disney World with Small Children: A Comprehensive Guide

At family.one, we polled our team for their personal stories about visiting Disney World with small children. When we pieced together everyone’s experiences—from the things they wished they’d known to the surprising successes—we realized we had a solid game plan. Here’s the story of how we combined all that wisdom into one unforgettable family trip.

Disney Traveler Tips

Chapter 1: Deciding to Go (Because Disney Isn’t Cheap!)

We first tackled the biggest question: When to go? We learned quickly that holiday seasons are jam-packed, with long waits and soaring prices. Families who went during Christmas or spring break had stories of massive crowds and meltdown moments. But others shared how visiting in mid- to late April was a game-changer: lighter crowds, mild (and usually dry) weather, and a more relaxed vibe overall.

Callout Tip

Your time is the most precious resource at Disney. If you can score a deal on tickets with a meal plan, you’ll maximize every moment and every dollar.

The moment we picked our dates, we realized just how much planning goes into a successful Disney trip. From park passes to dining reservations, we wanted all the help we could get. That’s when we found out that Disney-specialized travel agents cost the same as booking directly—and sometimes they throw in extra perks like gift cards. No brainer!

Chapter 2: Choosing Where to Stay (Why On-Site Resorts Rock)

Next came the lodging dilemma. Some families stayed off-property and talked about needing rental cars or relying on limited shuttle schedules. Others insisted on the benefits of Disney resorts, pointing out that yes, you can expect a slightly higher cost up front, but you also skip car rentals, have frequent (and free) shuttles, and get early entry to the parks.

Callout Tip

Aim to get on your resort shuttle at least one hour before the “early entry” time. It can easily take 60 minutes to get from your hotel room to scanning into the park—especially if you factor in security lines.

We learned that being a Disney resort guest meant we could be at the front of the rope-drop crowd. Imagine the lines of day guests behind you; when the park officially opens, you simply walk past them, scan your pass, and head straight for the headliner attractions.

Chapter 3: “We’ll Come Back to Food” (But Not Really—Because It’s That Important)

While picking dates and a hotel, we also kept hearing about meal plans. Disney isn’t exactly budget-friendly, so we wanted to make sure our meal costs wouldn’t spiral. People told us that if you can find a good deal that bundles park tickets and a dining plan, grab it. It typically covers a set number of “meal credits” and snack credits per day.

For our group, one table-service meal, one quick-service meal, and one snack credit per person per day turned out to be enough—especially for little kids who munch constantly but don’t always finish restaurant-sized portions. We’d circle back later to hammer out exactly where to use those credits.

Chapter 4: Don’t Delay the Planning (Dining Reservations and Beyond)

Once we knew which Disney resort we’d be staying at (and exactly when), we jumped into the more detailed prep. Dining reservations for table-service restaurants open 60 days in advance, and the popular spots fill up fast—especially character dining experiences. Our travel agent helped us snag the top picks, but we had to decide which restaurants we wanted.

Some of our favorite single-credit meals:

‘Ohana (Breakfast/Brunch)
Character dining that rocked for vegans, gluten-free diners, and everyone else in the family.
Boma (Animal Kingdom Lodge)
A buffet with diverse flavors and the bonus of seeing giraffes and other savanna animals just outside.

Meanwhile, Cinderella’s Royal Table (aka Cinderella’s Ball) costs two credits. It’s absolutely magical to eat in the castle, but we weren’t convinced it was worth double the credits compared to ‘Ohana and Boma. Those are the kinds of trade-offs we weighed while booking.

Callout Tip

Some “multi-credit” restaurants aren’t necessarily better than single-credit gems. Always check reviews—or ask your travel agent—before using those precious extra credits.

Chapter 5: Attraction Planning (A Family Project That Builds Excitement)

We’ve all seen it: a family wandering aimlessly through the parks, debating each move, ultimately zigzagging from one side to the other. We wanted to avoid that. Our approach?

List Every Attraction at Each Park
Disney publishes these lists, and we also compiled one at Family.one.
Watch POV (Point of View) Videos
We sat on the couch, popped some popcorn, and watched 4K ride videos on YouTube with the kids. It got them super excited.
Rank Each Ride 1–3 (or color-code them)

1 = “Take it or leave it”
2 = “I’d like to do it if there’s time”
3 = “Cannot miss this!”

Mark Up a Park Map
We printed maps of each park, circled attractions according to their rankings, and took note of each location.

Callout Tip

Break it up into sessions. Kids have short attention spans, so plan multiple evenings of ride previews instead of one marathon session. They’ll stay more engaged, and you’ll make better decisions.

Why go to such lengths? Because in the middle of Disney’s high-octane environment, you don’t want to pause every hour to figure out the next step. Kids thrive on structure. If they know they’ll eventually get to the rides they’re excited about, they’ll be more patient. Plus, you won’t accidentally end up sprinting across the park only to discover a 90-minute wait.

Chapter 6: Arriving at the Parks (7 A.M. Dash and Beyond)

When our travel week rolled around, we quickly realized there’s still more to coordinate. Park hours differ; Animal Kingdom often opens earlier and closes earlier, for example. You need to know which park you’re hitting each day so you can plan when to catch the resort shuttle.

And then there’s the 7 A.M. Genie+ scramble. As of this writing:

Genie+: You pay a fluctuating fee to reserve access to popular rides so you can skip some of the standby queue. It goes on sale at midnight that day, but you can only start booking ride times at 7 A.M..
LL+ (Lightning Lane+): A separate pay-per-ride system for the top-tier attractions. Once you buy an LL+ spot, you’ll be put in a virtual queue group. When your group is called, you typically have an hour to show up. Miss that window, and you forfeit your chance.

Callout Tip

Keep your phone charged! A $15 battery pack can save a day’s worth of Disney tickets. You do not want to lose access to Genie+ bookings because your phone died at noon.

Handling Ride Breakdowns

Sometimes, your chosen ride goes down at the exact time you’re scheduled to ride. Frustrating, right? The silver lining is that Disney gives you a “bonus ride any time pass” that you can use on that ride once it’s operational again. A few of us lucked out with Expedition Everest at Animal Kingdom:

It broke down right before our ride time.
We got an “any time” pass for later.
The ride reopened before most people noticed, so we walked on with almost no wait!
We quickly booked another Genie+ slot since times were now wide open.
We rode twice more in the span of 20 minutes.

Three back-to-back rides later, we hopped off, adrenaline pumping, and decided to mark the moment by picking up matching T-shirts in the gift shop. The kids still talk about it to this day.

Chapter 7: Making the Most of Meal and Snack Credits

Now, back to food. With one table-service meal, one quick-service meal, and one snack credit daily, we strategized how to spread those out. Mornings, for instance, often involved a quick breakfast in our room or a groceries delivery from Instacart (fruit, cereal, and bottled water). We saved table-service credits for big, sit-down dinners or special character breakfasts. Snack credits came in handy for Mickey ice cream bars, Dole Whips, or other midday pick-me-ups.

Callout Tip

Use grocery delivery apps like Uber Eats or Instacart to stock up on bottled water, fruit, or kids’ favorite snacks. This cuts down on impulse purchases and conserves your dining credits for bigger meals.

Chapter 8: Navigating with (Some) Flexibility

Even with all this planning, Disney is unpredictable. Rides may go down, parades might shift times, or the Florida weather could surprise you with sudden rain. Our color-coded map gave us a solid starting point. If our next Genie+ slot was at a big headliner ride in 45 minutes, we’d look at the map, find a “medium interest” or “short wait” attraction on the way, and do that. This way, we weren’t just standing around or crisscrossing aimlessly.

By the time the kids started fading, we’d already hit most of their top attractions. And if someone changed their mind about a ride last minute, we could adapt without losing track of the overall plan.

Chapter 9: Wrapping Up the Magic

By the end of our stay, we felt like we’d really maximized the experience. Here’s what made it all click:

Choosing Off-Season Dates (Mid- to Late April)
Lower crowds, comfortable weather.
Staying at a Disney Resort
Early entry, frequent shuttles, no car stress.
Meal Plan
Predictable costs and the joy of character dining without sticker shock.
Detailed Ride Prep
Watching POV videos, ranking attractions, printing maps.
Genie+ and LL+ Know-How
Understanding the 7 A.M. rush, the ride breakdown bonuses, and how to juggle booking times.
Grocery Deliveries
Keeping the kids fueled with familiar snacks and water, saving credits for the bigger meals.
Phone Battery Prep
A second battery pack or portable charger is worth its weight in gold.

Most importantly, having a plan meant we could actually relax and enjoy the magic. The kids felt included because they helped rank rides. The grown-ups avoided panic decisions. And when we got super lucky with ride breakdowns (like Everest), we turned them into epic family memories.

Final Takeaway

Visiting Disney World with small children can be a whirlwind. But if you:

Pick off-peak dates,
Use a travel agent (especially for that dining plan),
Stay at a Disney resort,
Thoroughly plan your dining and attractions,
Remain flexible and ready for anything,

you’ll end up with memories that make all the upfront work worth it. For us, it was the triple ride on Expedition Everest, the giraffe sightings at Boma, the kiddos’ wide-eyed wonder at rope drop, and the ease of having our next step already mapped out. That’s the Disney magic—organized, joyful, and unforgettable.

Enjoy your trip, and may your family create its own set of magical, unexpected moments along the way!