Our 10 Tips for Disney World – Taking our 5 Kids RECAP

We recently took our five kids to Disney World and it was MAGICAL!
We are excited to finally be sharing with you ALL of the things we learned and loved about our trip.
We are not Disney experts or Travel agents, just parents who planned a trip
on their own, taking their 5 kids, and had an incredible time!
We want to share our experience with you and pass a long some tips
and ideas for you to think about as you plan (or dream up) your own trip.
Here are our 10 Tips For Disney World and a Recap on each park:
Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom and Epcot!


I am currently a sleep deprived mother to five children lol so
please forgive me if we miss anything you are curious about…
just comment and we are more than happy to answer any questions!
We covered A LOT in our video. We felt like that was the easiest way to get all the info out there.
Below I’m going to touch on the top 10 tips– but if you get a chance, watch the video.
It’s long, but even if you just listen to the tips while you fold laundry or do the dishes, I promise you are
going to find it so encouraging and helpful! (For example: we talk about why we do
the ferry over the other ways to get to the park. tidbits of wisdom we picked up!)
AND you’ll get even more excited about your trip after you watch!
We cover, by parks, things we loved and learned with each one!


This was our first time to Disney World and something that I learned was that with just a little preparation,
you can have an incredible trip! I was SO STRESSED over planning because I had heard how others
plan for their own Disney Trips (WAY MORE than I did)…and I thought
it would make things harder for us there that we “weren’t as prepared”…but we were totally fine!
We had an amazing time! First things first – Download the my Disney Experience App!
You can start looking around and seeing how it all works. I LOVED that thing!
It’s where you set up your fast passes and it helped me see the big
picture of the parks and where everything was.
The coolest feature though was how it showed the times for lines.
Whether to go on a ride.. or meet a character! It even showed the
time and place where the character was going to show up.
*Bonus Tip: Epcot was a great place to meet Princesses without the huge lines.
We met Snow White and Sleeping Beauty there!

10 TIPS FOR DISNEY WORLD:

1. AirBnb
If you aren’t staying on site through a package – consider doing an AirBnb!
A lot of our friends with multiple kids have done this and RAVE about it.
We agree!!
For our trip of 5 nights we had a 5 bedroom house for $500.
It made the vacation time after the park fun…wayyy better for Ben and I.
We didn’t feel trapped in a hotel room and were able to tuck them all in bed and then hang
out downstairs- even if we were exhausted..we were able to have some
down time together and regroup for the next day with the kids!
Since we were staying off site we just used the
green cards and didn’t do magic bands. They work the same though at the
park— scanning to get into the park..and then scanning at fast pass entrances.
Want to look for an AirBnb option? Click here.

2. Battery Packs
We splurged on this and I’m so glad we did!
Ben got two $40 battery packs off Amazon and they were amazing to have!
When you are at the parks you are going to be taking videos and photos and it’s going to kill your battery.
You NEED to have charged up phones that last you because
1. You use the My Disney Experience App to keep up with your fast passes, have the map of the park,
find bathrooms and coffee and princesses! Lol. Your phone is your life line.
Maybe you are splitting up for part of the day?? You need to be able to reconnect
so having a charged phone is super important.
We have gotten cheaper ones before that were crap.
We bought and loved these, they charge you up fast.— PORTABLE CHARGER

3. Back Pack/Baby Carrier
My strategy for packing was to keep it simple- a back pack – but to have designated spots for certain things.
So one section was for the “baby stuff” diapers/wipes/2 extra baby outfits..
then another area was for the snacks, battery packs and hand sanitizer wipes…
and then another area was for important things like green cards and my wallet etc.
(mom and dad only section.)
I found this super helpful so that, during the hustle and bustle of going through the park…
if we needed something – I knew exactly where to find it and could tell
ben where to look too without getting up and showing him!
I loved having the backpack option so we could just throw it on and go!
The girls also wore little backpacks (christmas presents from my mom – from walmart! So cute!)
They loaded them up with ponchos, mini water bottles and their autograph books
(that we got for cheap at target…just little spiral bound journals. And they all shared a sharpie pen.)

To carry around baby, I used the Baby K’tan. It worked great but soon as we got home
Hunter decided he HATED it – he wanted something firmer –
so I ended up buying the Tula and LOVE IT.
I wish I had gotten it before the trip because it gives me
great back support and he is so content in it. HIGHLY recommend the Tula!
It’s saved my sanity!

4. Snacks for Lines/Chill Time
We packed a bunch of snacks for our trip and each morning I would load up the
backpacks with fresh options! (And mini water bottles)
We did a lot of cracker jacks, peanut butter crackers,
chips, applesauce pouches, bananas, fruit snacks and beef jerky.
It was really helpful to give them snacks as we waited in
the lines or if we were taking a break somewhere.

5. Double Stroller Rental
We lined up a stroller rental place ON the way lol. Last minute much??
We used Orlando Stroller Rentals and they were GREAT!
We were able to pick it up ourselves on our way to our AirBnb. They were right by each other!
If you are staying on site- they can deliver it to you so when you arrive, you are ready to roll.
Even if you have kids who don’t normally go in the stroller, you are going to want to have one!
Most of the time Hunter was on me in the carrier and the boys (5 + 2) were in
the stroller so we could easily get from point a to point b.
Asher napped it the stroller every day! And I would lay it back and let the baby
lay in it for a while and stretch! The parks themselves have strollers you can rent..
But you can’t take them from park to park and they are plastic and hard looking.
Most rides and restaurants you can’t take the stroller into so they have
these designated spaces for the stroller.
You’ll want to mark your stroller with something (sometimes
the rental place puts your name on it for you-ours did!)
but even something that sticks out a bit more will be helpful
because the cast members will move the strollers around to fit more in.
It never was a real issue trying to find
the stroller but we went in the off season. So not as crazy.
Some people say to park the stroller and then walk to the parade….
but we got to the parade early to mark
our spots (I nursed and Asher napped.) and we ended up having front row
and parked it right there so two kids could sit in it! So handy.

6. Switch Ride
When you are at the parks with a family and have kids that can’t go on the ride…
You are able to get switch rides! You can get these even if you don’t have a
fast pass for a ride BUT if you get them WITH your fast passes…
You are able to rack up the rides!
For example:
We would get fast passes for a ride for ben and the girls.
We would go to the fast pass entrance of the ride and ask for a switch ride.
He would go through with the big kids.
They give you a tag and when he got inside the ride they would give him a switch ride ticket.
When Ben got off the ride he would give it to me and then I would go up to the fast pass entrance with the kids
(it works for up to 3 people total. Although they ALWAYS let me take all three big kids so it was 4 people really.)
and we would ride it! Sometimes though, If I had my own fast pass for the ride…
I would go in after and do the same thing that ben just did and get that switch ride too!
So the kids could go on two more times!
The switch rides don’t expire that day, (I think it’s a week???)
And so we would hold on to those and either use them then…
or even use them later in the day or week.(We used some on Sun
day when we knew it would be way busier!)

7. Popcorn Bucket
Someone via my Instagram gave us this tip and it was a good one!
All of the parks have popcorn stations where you can buy a bucket for $10.
It is refillable at all of the parks for $1.50? Buck something! It’s not a HUGE bucket… by any means…
But it was a great option for the kids to be able to have the whole experience
of buying a snack at the park and was a “more affordable” option.
It also comes with a little hook on it so you can snap it to your stroller handle.

8. Stay all day/nap in stroller
We were staying off site… so it didn’t make sense for us to try and leave the park for naps…
But honestly, even if we WERE…I don’t think we would have packed up everyone to go back for nap time anyways!
We spent the full day at the parks – had Asher do nap time in the stroller – and it worked!
We didn’t push our kids hardcore all day though either. For Example: One of the days at Magic Kingdom…
we set up camp for the parade down main street and just chilled there for almost 45 minutes..
It was a good recharge time. We were in the shade- Ben went to the other side of Main Street, to Starbucks, and
grabbed a coffee the size of his body. (Which if you are a Starbucks drinker- the prices weren’t more than normal.)
I think as long as you give your kids some breaks from lines and experiences…. They can handle it!
Do what works best for your kids but in our opinions – with all five – we preferred to stay and it was great.

9. Don’t stress about doing everything.
I was the one stressing on the way that we weren’t going to be able to do all the rides…
We didn’t have fast passes for certain rides and I couldn’t imagine our kids waiting in lines!
I was worried we were going to miss something that we should have done or known about.
Ben had to remind me that it will be great with whatever we are able to do with them! And he was so right!!
We were able to go on so many rides and even just walking around the parks and seeing the sites was fun!
We went off season and that helped a lot…
I would suggest going when people are in school – play hooky!
The rides that we knew were longer waits, and we didn’t have fast passes for,
we just tried to get on first thing in the morning.
For example: The Frozen ride at Epcot.
We went to Disney thinking we wouldn’t be able to go on it, but we ended up making it work!
We got there first thing and waited under an hour.
We prepped the kids to know we were going to be there awhile…
but we had snacks (that they ate within minutes lol.) and the line itself has a
really cool atmosphere – so it wasn’t too bad at all!
There were some rides/experiences we weren’t able to do…
Not only because of lines but because of kids needing a break.
We didn’t want to push them and there were times that we just couldn’t fit it into
the day – we had to take breaks to change a diaper or have a water break.
I did a lot of the nursing stops when Ben would take the big kids on a ride so that
all kind of just happened easily. Really, Disney is a very family friendly place!
Baby friendly too! They have these amazing baby centers (near first aid centers) and they are incredible!
Changing tables.. A dark room to nurse in with comfy rockers.. And even a room with tables,
paper plates, napkins etc. We used them twice and it was awesome.

10. Items to Buy Before
A lot of people suggested that we buy souvenirs before the trip to give to the kids.
I saw a lot of videos where people gave a fun toy to their kid each day while at the parks. We didn’t do that.
We let the kids have one day (near the end of our time) where they could pick out something to take home.
The limit was $20. some kids spent it all, some used part of it. Micah got a buz light year at the
park but everyone else picked out something at this souvenir shop near our AirBnb.
It had some cheaper options and to our kids – it was a Disney themed store and just as fun!
The fun of each day was enough for our kids…
I didn’t feel like they were missing out by not waking up to a new toy.
I went to the Dollar Tree before the trip and got glow items (they sell them in the park at
night and I KNEW my kids would ask for them!)
I got glow sticks/glow bracelets/necklaces.
I would suggest NOT doing the necklaces because they turned into weapons lol.
Stick with the short bracelets or sticks that can’t be waved in faces. ;) We even put the bracelets
on our stroller in the evening so we could find it easily after rides.
We didn’t do this…but I saw someone else and I thought it was genius.
They hooked up an over the door shoe organizer…to their double stroller.
(On the handles) and used it to hold all the sappy cups and water bottles.
I feel like if you are going to go going with a group, especially
with a good amount of littles – that could be handy!
We had enough cup holders for us though and we also just put the bottled
waters under the stroller.
I also got the girls Dollar Tree fairy wings (which they wore a hot second lol. SKIP.)
They were excited about them at first but soon just put them in the
bottom of the stroller and we had glitter everywhere. ;)
I got Dollar Tree Disney themed coloring books for each kid to use on our car ride.
Dollar Tree also had some great car game kits that were hits with our kids!
and these cool little magnetic closing containers where we put the fresh crayons!
We had a LONG road trip but the kids were INSANELY GOOD. lol.
I was legit worried about it…but they blew our minds. Grateful for that!
We bought and packed ponchos. It drizzled one time for us and then cleared up…
but, because of the area, you most likely will get caught in the rain at least once so better
to get those cheaper ponchos than buy the expensive ones in the park!
(Here’s traveling into Magic Kingdom: the tram to park entrance
and then the Ferry to Magic Kingdom. We saw the girls taking selfies and were cracking up. So cute!)


MAGICAL KINGDOM:

ANIMAL KINGDOM:

(PS. Don’t leave your phone with these
crazies when you go to the bathroom….

EPCOT:

I hope that these tips and sharing our experiences will be
helpful to you as you plan your own trip (or dream about it!!)
Comment with any questions and if you aren’t following
our crew on Instagram – Hop over and say hey!
We would love to see your Disney fun…
We officially wanted to go back as soon as we were driving home!