Disney World Part 1: Introduction

All photos are from the Disney World website.

I recently traveled to Walt Disney World (WDW) in Florida with my 1-year-old daughter (21 months). We visited the Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom parks, and I summarized my experience into a four-part series of posts. I hope that these posts are helpful to those who are planning a trip to WDW with a young toddler.

Planning and Preparation

Some of the planning for our trip was done for us. For example, we booked the same resort that my sister chose without doing any research of our own. We also worked with a Disney travel agent who gave us a summary of the rides, information on transportation options, and a packing list.

One thing we researched in detail on our own were the rides at the two parks that we were going to and what height and other restrictions they had. The Disney World website has a tool for searching through rides and attractions and filtering them for certain requirements. Parts 2 and 3 of this series are dedicated to describing the rides that we went on.

We also researched what Genie+ was and how Lightning Lanes (LL) worked. I can seem confusing at first, especially since you can't really do a "trial run" until you're at WDW, but you'll get the hang of it soon enough. I could write another post about how Genie+ works, but you can already find this information via other blogs.

I also researched what kind of food was available at each of the quick service restaurants in the park, although we were open to eating at whichever restaurant was most convenient at the time. You will find more details about where we ate at the parks in parts 2 and 3.

Finally, shopping for supplies and packing was a major part of the preparations. We got a lot of snacks for our daughter and a few new toys/activities as well. You will find more information about this process in part 4 of the series.

Accommodations

We stayed at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, which is rated as a moderate resort. Our room had two queen beds, and it was on the small side. Although it was fine for my family of three, my sister, who had the same size room, thought that it was too small to share with her two growing boys. The main restaurant, Centertown Market, had good food. The pool had water slides that all the kids enjoyed. The resort also had direct access to both Epcot and Planet Hollywood Parks via the Disney Skyliner. Access to Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom were by shuttle bus, which was also convenient.

Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort

We requested a pack ‘n’ play for our room when we made the reservation, and we requested it again at check-in. They brought the pack ‘n play to our room after we arrived, and they provided a clean sheet for it. Our room included a beverage cooler but no refrigerator with a freezer, so we did not store anything that needed to be kept frozen or very cold. However, we could place Amazon Fresh delivery orders to the resort.

Overall, I was happy with our accommodations, and I would recommend it to other small families. In terms of downsides, I think there are other Disney Resorts that would provide more direct access to Magic Kingdom. We did not get to ride on the famous monorail, although the Skyliner was nice too.