Disney with young children

[Offtodisneywego]

Hiya, I’ve done DLP and WDW a few times but never with children, we’ve booked to go to DLP at the end of March with my 4 and 2 year old. Any suggestions on restaurants, rides etc that are a must? Or ones to stay clear of? Any advice would be great!

[kk20]

The height requirements are a reasonable guide TBH. Young kids cant go on rides that are totally unsuitable. Borderline ones for a 2yo are casey jr, pirates of the Caribbean and i cant remember if phantom manor has a height requirement.

Restaurants are a personal taste. We like Agrabah for the theming, Plaza gardens is a reasonable buffet. Annette's diner is too slow and poor quality IMHO, rainforest cafe is a complete rip off. We have never been in planet hollywood so cannot say.

Inventions isnt cheap but has good character table interactions.

It gets cold in the evening and i would take either a papoose or cheap buggy for midday naps. We used to ride the railroad for a couple of laps, that was a good hours nap for the kids when they were young.

[Ginger Jemma]

We have just come back from DLP after taking our 1 year old for the first time. In terms of rides we took him on pretty much all the rides he could go on. Phantom Manor didn't have a height requirement, we also did the Parachute drop and Pirates which he enjoyed. There are only really the big rides that they can't go on, so you have a good choice depending on what your children like.

Restaurants, we did Agrabah. It is lovely, but I am a picky eater and didn't find loads I would eat. Also, they don't have a wide kids selection, so again depends on what your kids are like food wise.

If you are staying onsite I would highly recommend the EMH, we saw Goofy as we were walking into WDS and waited maybe 5-10 minutes before meeting him. I was worried my boy may hate the characters, but he loved them. I didn't want to wait in a 30 min queue and then find out he didn't like them.
Oh, also at WDS if you plan on doing the meets they have a lineberty app you need to use. Good to download and look at before you go 😊 Hope this helps a little

Finally, Disney is great fun without the kids but this trip was the most magical. Seeing your kids face when they see a character or the castle for the first time, happy tears! Have a FAB time.

[Peter H]

Remember to go at the pace of your kids. The number of people rushing kids from one attraction to another is unbelievable. They will get cranky and tired. Follow their lead.

[rking89]

I'd recommend breakfast in the Plaza Gardens one morning if you can in the park. If your on a dining plan it isn't much each to upgrade (Ł10 each i think we paid). We had 6 characters come round and had photos with each. Tigger, Eeyore, Piglet, Daisy, Scrooge Mcduck, Mickey.

[Lisa_Lollipop]

Plaza Gardens character breakfast is fantastic!

We have been to DLP when LB was 9 months and then again at 18 months, I have written trip reports for both visits if they are any use to you!

[JayTheDisneyDad]

Does anyone know if staff in a restaurant are happy to warm up a much meal for a baby? He's only 18months old so won't eat a full meal nor will he be wanting milk. In a buffet we'll find stuff for him off our plates but just thinking for when we go to the Lunch with princesses mainly and for when we won't eat but he will... (for example we'll be filling up at breakfast and then having one more meal a day but he won't last that long and will still want breakfast, lunch and dinner).

[rking89]

Originally Posted by JayTheDisneyDad

Does anyone know if staff in a restaurant are happy to warm up a much meal for a baby? He's only 18months old so won't eat a full meal nor will he be wanting milk. In a buffet we'll find stuff for him off our plates but just thinking for when we go to the Lunch with princesses mainly and for when we won't eat but he will... (for example we'll be filling up at breakfast and then having one more meal a day but he won't last that long and will still want breakfast, lunch and dinner).

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Not sure about in the restaurants whether they will warm up food but in both parks there is a Baby Care Centre with bottle warmers and microwaves with high chairs etc. Much more relaxing to try and feed them. You might be better off trying to feed them in there or take a Tommee Tippee bottle warmer in the morning with hot water as they stay warm all day.

[HappyPanda]

You've picked a great time to go! When my Eldest was young we did a few trips at the end of the March and it's definitely our favourite time to go as the crowd levels are low but it tends to be starting to warm up a bit.

[Enchanted]

Originally Posted by JayTheDisneyDad

Does anyone know if staff in a restaurant are happy to warm up a much meal for a baby? He's only 18months old so won't eat a full meal nor will he be wanting milk. In a buffet we'll find stuff for him off our plates but just thinking for when we go to the Lunch with princesses mainly and for when we won't eat but he will... (for example we'll be filling up at breakfast and then having one more meal a day but he won't last that long and will still want breakfast, lunch and dinner).

See more...

We took our 18mth old in May. He obviously still wasn’t eating baby food at that age (not sure what food you want to warm...soups?) but we found there to be plenty of variety. He ate Children’s meals such as grilled chicken/fish goujons and then had the drink and a yogurt for dessert. There was loads of options and in the Earl of Sandwich he was obsessed with the wedges and then a big pot of fruit. We supplemented with mini brioche, raisins, breadsticks, fruit etc for snacks.