We recently went to Disney World for a family vacation. It was so much fun because Julian is the age where he is so into all of the characters and he loved it! Rocco also did amazing on the trip, so it was so fun to see them together at Disney. You can watch our vlog here!
Where we stayed…
In the past we have stayed at the Four Seasons but this trip we stayed at Disney’s Riviera Resort – and it was a great experience. We had a one bedroom suite and we liked that we had a preferred view. We could see the fireworks from the balcony which was so nice (especially when the kids couldn’t stay up to see them in the park). We also had a dishwasher and washer/dryer in our room which was really nice! I still brought tide sticks and tide wipes to keep on hand while at the park. Another thing we liked at the Riviera was The Skyliner (gondola), it took you to different hotels and parks from our hotel. It was a nice way to get around the area. Something else to note, was that the hotel did provide baby gear- pack n play, high chair, etc. that they send to your room if you need it!
They also have a nice pool area that we used each day between parks! Julian loves to swim so he had a great time in all the pools and fountains.
A common question that was asked, was if we would recommend The Riviera over the Four Seasons. Rooms wise, it was very similar, both have great accommodations. The Riviera was nice that it had the Skyliner but we definitely prefer the Four Seasons for food and pools. At the Four Seasons you can also rent the baby jogger stroller from them too- which is great for traveling! We are staying at the Four Seasons in November but we enjoy both properties for Disney!
Transportation
The resort has a bus from the airport to the hotel and there is a bus to take you from the hotel to parks etc. We did rent a car so we could go to other places or the grocery store- definitely not necessary but we like to do so. And like I mentioned before there is also the Skyliner on hotel property to take you to various locations.
Dining
We had dinner at the hotel restaurant Topolino’s Terrace and it was really good for dinner! It is a nicer restaurant but still good for with kids as well. It is on the rooftop level of the resort. We also went there in the morning for the character breakfast! Julian loved seeing the characters and it was a good breakfast too. We booked this in advance of going, and I would recommend doing it early. We did so on the Disney App. The two lunch restaurants by the pool at the hotel were fine, nothing special here (mostly fried food) but do the trick for being able to eat on property.
For restaurants around the Disney Springs area we used the Disney app. It was pretty hard to get in to restaurants so we just used the app and ate wherever we could get in. We tried Homecoming, which was fried chicken and Frontera, which was Mexican food, both good restaurants.
The Parks
We went to all of the parks and then spent some time at the Art of Animation Resort as well! We had to check out their Radiator Springs area for Julian, he is obsessed with cars!! So that was a fun place to walk around and interact with some of the characters. One thing to note is you’ll want the Disney App (once again) to make reservations at the parks for each day. Make sure you stay up to date on reservation requirements for the parks before and during your stay**.
The way we did Disney this time was we would go to one park in the morning and then we would go back to the hotel in the afternoon to let the kids relax and we would hang at the pool. Then we went to a different park later in the afternoon.
- Magic Kingdom- Has the most rides for both of our kids to enjoy, which was so nice given we were traveling with a 6 month old and a three year old. These rides are way more of an “experience” than roller coaster etc. We also enjoyed that the wait times were really short at this park!
- Epcot- Epcot is a great area for food and drinks, especially for adults. There are two rides here though that are good for kids, Frozen and Finding Nemo- Julian loved the Frozen one.
- Hollywood Studios- this park also had great rides for kids, one of Julian’s favorites there was the Toy Story ride.
- Animal Kingdom- Julian loved looking at all the animals in the safari. There were also dinosaurs which was a big hit too!
Baby Centers- there are baby centers all over Disney that are great for feeding, changing, breastfeeding, etc. your baby.
Nap time- Julian doesn’t nap so that wasn’t an issue for us. Rocco slept in the stroller when he got tired and it worked great! His stroller laid down all the way flat so it was good for naps.
**NO FAST PASSES RIGHT NOW- But you can check wait times on the Disney App**
Disney Essentials
Here are some of the top items we used at Disney!
Baby jogger stroller– We used this stroller the whole time at Disney and it was AMAZING. I loved that it is a side by side stroller, which was great for the boys’ ages. I like that It folds really easy (side note-you do have to fold it to go on the skyline -only tandem back and front strollers can go on it). It also has a nice basket underneath for storage which was great. We highly recommend this stroller. We have the single Baby Jogger back home as well.
Stroller add ons- snack tray and the belly bars– You have to have the belly bar to use the snack tray but we loved adding these two items to our baby jogger- it made snack time easy and getting in and out of the stroller more seamless.
Stroller caddy– We added a caddy on to hold all of our things on the handle. It holds our iPhones, wallets, baby stuff, drinks, etc. I like that it felt very sturdy and secure and didn’t feel like our drinks would fall out like with other cupholders. This accessory works for a single or a double stroller as well.
Rain shield – We brought a Baby Jogger rain shield to attach to the baby jogger in case it rained (which it did while we were there). It was so nice to have and I highly recommend getting one. We also brought ponchos from Amazon with Mickey on them.
Fans– It was really hot so we brought three of these adjustable fans for the stroller. I secured them on to the stroller- two for Rocco and one for Julian. It is so nice because they hook on to anything with the adjustable base. We charged them at night and they were so nice to have in the heat!
Baby Food – For Rocco I packed all his Little Spoon food and formula from home and brought it to the park with his bottles in a little lunchbox with ice packs.
For the plane:
- Lunchbox– We used a little lunchbox that fits four bottles, his Little Spoon food, and ice packs for transporting on the plane and for the day at the park. (I brought Little Spoon to Florida in my suitcase in the lunchboxes with the ice packs. It is only a short flight for us so that was fine. But I believe you can bring baby food in a cary on as well). Â
- I also brought a full container of formula in the checked suitcase, and duct taped it shut. Then in my carryon I bring little travel containers full of formula and a bottle for during the flight.Â
- Car seats- we check our car seats at the airport so we used these covers on them!Â
My Outfits
Disney is all about staying comfortable and cool- and also nothing too crazy when you have kids! I found some easy pieces like this outdoor voices dress, trucker hat (similar here), and my on cloud tennis shoes and these socks! I was comfortable all day long! I also really love my new Lululemon crossbody bag. It fit all my essentials and some mom essentials too. Shop the rest of my looks below!
