Taking a toddler to Disneyland

I'm no expert, but I have taken Calvin on 7 round trip flights and stays in 9 months. So I am experienced.

So many people are pregnant right now, that I thought I would create this post for others to use as reference.

Disclaimer: all toddlers are different. You know your kid best. This is what worked for us, with this toddler. When the next one is his age we might have to change some things, but I think it went pretty well.

Also, this was just a family trip. No grandparents or aunts and uncles. We got to cater to him and his needs. Even though it would be fun to have more family there, sometimes with a toddler it's best to minimize the amount of people you need to please.


1. Fly out or drive according to your kids sleeps schedule: the first thing we have learned is that its best to fly when you don't have to wake them up or keep them up after bedtime.

For us that means flying at about 11. He gets to sleep in and get a short nap while on the way back from the airport. Plus get to bed on time. We have taken a ton of flights and it has always been better when we don't have to wake him up in the morning.

2. Plan your day according to their most important nap: Calvin needs his morning nap. Two hours after he gets up, he goes down and sleeps for two hours. He can do without his afternoon nap if we keep him feed and have a way to recharge him.

We got to the park a little late the first day, but he got a small cat nap so it wasn't bad. We kept him entertained and feed, held him and pushed him in the stroller so he stayed happy for the 4 hours we were there.

The second day we waited until after the first nap and he lasted even longer. We were even able to go to dinner after the park.

3. Follow their lead: this isn't easy when they can't tell you where they want to go. But you can tell when they don't want to sit in the stroller or wait in line. You may not get to meet the princesses, but your kid is happy and that's even better. Now when they can talk or you have more then one, try to take turns in making people happy.

4. Keep them feed and hydrated: we know a thing or two about staying hydrated after living in the desert. But think about you. Don't you get crabby when you are hungry? So do they. So bring snacks, and lots of them. I packed snacks at home, broke them up into two days and put them in a ziplock. Then I froze water and packed it in a cooler. We were able to bring it all into the park, and we had plenty of water and snacks for all us, plus we didn't have to spend extra money.

5. Remember to change their diaper: seems like a no brainer right? I normally change his diaper every few hours, but I forgot to account for the amount of fluids he was taking in. This resulted in pee through the shorts and a new $25 pj short and tshirt set to make up for our mistake. Just be cautious, kids can pee a ton!

6. Find a hotel that has separate room and free breakfast:we got a suite about a mile from the park. We were able to make Mac and cheese in the microwave one night for him that I brought from home, plus let him sleep without hearing me pee every few minutes. The breakfast was a huge bonus and money saver.

7. Spoil them within reason: this is easy because he is young. He can't beg for a million things, or force us to buy crap he doesn't need. But I hope we can continue to do what we did in the future. I got our ears on Disney.com before we left. Cheaper and had a coupon code so I saved money. We don't give Cal a ton of sweets, but we all shared ice cream and a churro. He loved them both and it was special to him because he doesn't get them a lot.

He loves Cars. So we got him a stuffed Lighting McQueen. Didn't need it or ask for it, but he deserved it for being so good. When he is older and asks for stuff, we hope to keep it to something special and not junk he will throw away. The best advice I read on this was to give them a budget. Each kid gets $20 and they can get whatever they want. When it's gone it's gone. Haven't tried it yet, but my parents did this at school picnics and I think it worked. I always had money left, I'm sure some siblings went back for more.

8. Have fun and don't push them: we had the best time because we didn't try to push our luck. We knew when he would function best, and stuck to that. We did things all of us could enjoy together and made the best of the time we had in the parks. We had fun because we didn't put a time table on anything or care if something didn't pan out. We were flexible and open to change what we had in mind. That meant he stayed happy and we stayed sane. Being flexible is key when traveling with a toddler!

9. Make them feel special: going to Disneyland is beyond special. We wanted Calvin to enjoy this trip and know how special he is to us even though he won't remember it. We saw plenty of kids looking sad and defeated and not having a good time. Toddlers can have tantrums and little things can set them off, but they can also laugh at a silly hat or peek a boo. Keep them happy and feeling special and you will enjoy yourself as much as them.

10. Give them your attention: Toddlers just want your undivided attention. So give it to them. Put away the phones and the computers and just focus on them. Calvin just kept looking at us in disbelief that he had us with no distractions. Kevin wasn't working and I wasn't trying to make dinner or clean. We just go to be a family. They can't tell you, but they can show you how much they appreciate your time.


We had the best time and I don't regret for one second taking a 15 month old that can't walk to Disneyland. I would do it again in a heartbeat! It is so important to still do things as a family even when they are young. They are free to get in to a lot of places and fly until 2, plus you don't have a ton of kids yet so it's cheaper!

Even if its just a day to the zoo or a trip to Branson, it's so important to make memories with your kids and spend time away from distractions of every day life.