If you’re family is visiting Disney World with grandparents, these are some of the top expert tips to remember for your trip.
My grandma was the first person to take me to Disney World. I was only three and don’t remember a thing! But, that trip started a lifelong love for the parks and I even dedicated my first Disney Guidebook to her. So it was with a lot of excitement my husband and I tagged along on our grandson’s very first trip to Disney.
Disney World With Grandparents: The Grandkids’ First Trip to Disney
It was 3.5 days packed with magic with our just under three-year-old grandson. It was his very first trip to Disney World. He had mom, dad, grandpa and Nonna along for the ride. Here’s what we learned on our first grandparenting trip to Disney World.
Character Meals Have Benefits
Not only are you sitting down together for a meal, and meals are an important thing to not forget at Disney, but there’s built-in entertainment at a character meal. It’s also a good way to test how kids do with characters. If they’re terrified, just tell a Cast Member, and no more characters.
Photo by Trisha Daab
There’s also the added benefit of meeting a few characters without having to wait in multiple lines. At the Crystal Palace character meal we were able to meet Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, and Eeyore. My grandson learned how to get a character autograph from a bouncy Tigger.
Don’t Forget the Time Change
When scheduling those lightning lanes, meals, and creating that planning spreadsheet, don’t forget how much time you might be losing or gaining.
Trying to get a West Coast teen time at an 8 AM breakfast at Animal Kingdom is a challenge you may not want to accept. We are from Chicago, central time, and lose an hour when heading to Eastern time Disney World.
Avoid Making Meal Plans Early on the First Day
I’ve made the mistake of scheduling a character meal first thing on our first day in Magic Kingdom. The last thing my 4-year old wanted to do when excitedly entering the park was go and sit down for a meal, even if there was a huggable bear.
Especially when it’s a first visit, kids are excited. They want to take it all in, ride something, burn a little energy. Instead…
Do a Special Brunch, Lunch or Dinner
If your grandchild is used to sitting down for three scheduled meals a day, schedule time for eating. Even Disney doesn’t have enough magic to calm a tired, hungry kid.
The great news is breakfast is one of the easiest meals to do on the go, especially at Disney – Cheerios in a baggie, a piece of fruit, a carton of milk. There are a lot of great Quick Service options for breakfast in parks and at the resorts.
Brunch, especially buffets, is one of my favorite ways to dine at Disney. Dining when the restaurant is in transition between breakfast and lunch may mean a lot more options. Crystal Palace is a great example. We had an 11 AM reservation and were able to get food from breakfast as well as lunch – churro Mickey waffles, bacon, and those famous chicken tenders.
Visit EPCOT for First Time Fireworks
Your grandkid may have played with sparklers on the 4th of July or seen fireworks at their local county fair, but few things compare to the pyrotechnics of a Disney nighttime show.
Test your grandkid’s reaction to fireworks at EPCOT. It’s the easiest park to quickly escape if fireworks are not their thing. You don’t want to be crammed into the hub at Magic Kingdom when you learn your grandkid’s reaction to fireworks is screaming.
You’ll Ride Their Favorite Ride (a Lot)
Be ready to ride The Barnstormer at Magic Kingdom more than once. My grandson rode it three times. It’s often a Disney fan or the child of a Disney fan’s first roller coaster. My bonus daughter and her husband rode it with our grandson three times in a row.
Be Prepared, with Snacks
A lot of these tips are food-related. Eating is a common thing I hear from people who wish they’d done differently on their Disney vacation. There are few things worse than having a hangry small human at Disney.
Snacks! Be ready to have the kids snack all day long. Bring snacks along. Pack baggies to store popcorn or leftovers from meals (chips, desserts, cuties, easy on-the-go foods). Queues are a great place for snacking. And it’s something to do while waiting to ride The Barnstormer, again.
Let Disney be the Photographer
I swear by Memory Maker, whether I’m traveling to a Disney park solo or with a big group. Ride photos, Magic Shots, and having pics of the entire group together that you know will be good.
Photo by Trisha Daab
We were able to have so many incredible photos of the whole family, all three generations. Props to the PhotoPass Photographer at Magic Kingdom and their great sense of humor about capturing the best picture of the whole trip.
Babysit
Offer to babysit so your kids have a chance to have a quiet kid-free romantic dinner. Enjoy a cocktail just the two of them. Or what my bonus daughter and her husband did, ride every coaster at Magic Kingdom.
Leave Time for Spontaneity
When Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run is only a 15-minute standby, you want to be able to take advantage of that. One of our favorite moments of the whole trip was leaving Oga’s with a specific plan. nd throwing it away for a quick trip on the Millennium Falcon. It was the one ride we were all on together.
There was yelling, and laughing, and it was this unplanned ride that my grandson is still talking about. It was when “Nonna crashed the spaceship.” He’s told everyone about it: Cast Members, our waiter at Roundup Rodeo BBQ, his other grandparents.
Pass on Your Favorites
Make time to take your grandchild on some of your favorite rides to build those memories together, those rides your grandparents or parents took you on. For me, it was sailing on it’s a small world. It’s a Walt classic, was a must with my grandma, and my grandson loved it.
