Trip Review: My Vacation With A Baby And A Toddler

In March of 2022, I was able to finally take my children on their first Walt Disney World vacation. I grew up in a Disney family that regularly vacationed to Walt Disney World.  During the first week of March, my family and I took our first vacation all together. We traveled with my mom, sister, brother, my husband, our 2 1/2 year old daughter and our 10 month old daughter.

Day 1: Check-In to Animal Kingdom Lodge

Due to flight delays, we didn’t actually arrive to our resort until late at night. We were staying at a DVC villa at Animal Kingdom Lodge, Kidani Village. Our room was beautiful and it was great to have a separate bedroom to put the kids to bed in. Luckily both the toddler and the baby went right to sleep when it was time. We were all tired from a long day of traveling.

Day 2: Magic Kingdom

As one would expect when traveling with a toddler and a baby, we were all up very early the next day. We fed the kids some cereal that we had packed and we got everyone ready to go to Magic Kingdom. On our way to the bus stop we stopped at several of the observation and viewing decks within Kidani Village and saw incredible views of the animals. The kids were absolutely thrilled, and so were the adults!

We arrived at Magic Kingdom shortly after it opened. We took our time going down Main Street. One of my goals for this trip was to take it slow and go at the pace of the kids. So, we got our coffee and took our time. We headed over to The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh because Pooh was my daughter’s favorite character. It was her first ride ever, and she loved it. We then went over to Under The Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid.

For lunch we decided to eat at Columbia Harbor House. I got the lobster roll which was fantastic!

After lunch we were able to ride a few more rides before the kids starting getting tired and a bit cranky. We went back to Main Street and spent some time at the shops before hitting up the bakery and heading back to our resort. The kids fell asleep on the bus ride back to Animal Kingdom Lodge, and we ended up resting at the hotel for the remainder of the night.

Day 3: EPCOT

We were able to get another early start the following day as we made our way to EPCOT. We entered the park and made our way towards Journey Into Your Imagination With Figment. On the way there we saw Pooh catching butterflies in the field! Our toddler was thrilled! Our 10 month old was napping in the stroller so I decided to take her to Epcot’s Baby Care Center while the rest of the family rode Figment. The Baby Care Centers were lifesavers on this trip! I was able to nurse my daughter in an air-conditioned room and take a break from the heat.

We met back up at World Showcase and took a walk together through the countries. We ran into Minnie who was doing a socially distanced meet-and-greet. We were able to grab Lightning Lane reservations for Frozen Ever After and the entire family enjoyed the ride. We walked over to the American Pavilion and had barbecue at Regal Eagle Smokehouse for lunch.

After a few more hours at Epcot the kids were getting tired again so we headed back to Animal Kingdom Lodge. When we arrived back at the resort we spent some time at the pool and visited Jambo House. Later that evening we got Saana to-go and ate it in the comfort of our room while the kids slept.

Day 4: Hollywood Studios and Switch To Art Of Animation Resort

The following day we made it to Hollywood studios. We used Disney’s rider swap system so that we could take turns riding Alien Swirling Saucers with our toddler. She loved it! We had lunch at PizzeRizzo and then were able to use Lightning Lane to ride Minnie and Mickeys’ Runaway Railway. Next we did For The First Time In Forever: A Frozen Singalong Celebration, and my toddler enjoyed singing along to all of her favorite songs!

Earlier that day we had checked out of Animal Kingdom Lodge and had plans to switch to the Finding Nemo Family Suites at Art of Animation Resort. We left Hollywood Studios in the early evening and headed over to Art of Animation. We absolutely loved this resort, and the family suites were perfect for us. For dinner that night we ordered a pizza to the room from the quick-service location. We got the kids settled for bed and then my mom offered to stay behind while my husband and I took the skyliner back to Hollywood Studios. While there, we were able to ride Rise of the Resistance!

Day 5: Disney Springs

This day was mainly used as a rest day for us. We began our day at Disney Springs and did some shopping. As you can imagine, our toddler and baby weren’t huge fans. Luckily, Disney Springs had a merry-go-round and miniature train that my husband purchased tickets for. He took the girls on the rides a few times while the rest of us shopped around.

We had a fantastic lunch that day at Earl of Sandwich. The Holiday Turkey sandwich is delicious! After lunch we went back to Art of Animation. We enjoyed the pool for a while and then hopped on the Skyliner to Caribbean Beach Resort. We had fun walking around Caribbean Beach Resort and enjoying their sandy “beaches”. There was a nice playground for our toddler and other fun activities like giant “connect 4” and giant chess. We had dinner at Centertown Market and then got back on the Skyliner to return to Art of Animation.

Day 6: Magic Kingdom

Our last day was spent at Magic Kingdom once more. We spent most of our time on Main Street because our toddler was fairly worn out by this point. We were able to ride Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, as well as The People Mover. We headed back toward the castle and watched The Festival of Fantasy Parade. Our toddler absolutely loved this!

Later on both of the kids fell asleep in the stroller. We parked the stroller at the Castle Hub Grass while they slept, and my husband and I grabbed corn dogs at Casey’s Corner. When the kids woke up we were able to catch some of the castle show Mickey’s Magical Friendship Faire.

At this point there was only one thing left to do on my Disney bucket list: Get Silhouettes of the girls done on Main Street! I wasn’t sure about my toddler and baby holding still long enough, but the Cast Member who made the silhouettes was fantastic. She talked to my toddler and kept her entertained while she worked. The end result was beautiful and is still hanging in my living room today. We plan on getting another done next time we go!

Overall, we had a great trip and our children had a memorable first trip. We are already planning another trip and can’t wait to go back! If you are traveling with toddlers or babies my biggest advice is to slow down, go at their pace, accept that there will be meltdowns, and ENJOY!

Featured Photo: Megan Woodard