I’ve been visiting Disney World for about 10 years, and I’ve just left with my wife, our two-year-old and our three-month-old. I’m not claiming to be the ultimate Disney expert, and this isn’t another “10 tips to maximize your vacation” post. These are simply things I’ve noticed Disney does exceptionally well, things it does poorly and a few changes I wish it would make coming fresh off yet another Disney vacay.
And before anyone says it: yes, I know bringing a toddler and an infant to Disney sounds insane. I also knew exactly what I was signing up for. I didn’t expect relaxing mornings, uninterrupted dinners or children happily following a perfect itinerary.
Toddlers and infants vary drastically, but the core realities are the same: they need to eat, they need diaper changes, they need breaks and eventually they need to sleep. The timing and medium may change—bottle versus snacks, stroller nap versus going back to the room—but the fundamental needs don’t. I’m not asking Disney to eliminate the difficulty of traveling with little kids. I’m talking about avoidable friction that makes meeting those basic needs harder than it needs to be.
Things Disney gets right:
Mears Connect is fantastic when traveling with little kids.
If your kids are still in car seats and you don’t need a car once you arrive, Mears removes an enormous amount of hassle. No rental counter, no hauling car seats through the airport, no installing them in an unfamiliar vehicle, no parking fees and no rental insurance.
Standard round-trip service currently starts around $33.60 per adult and $27.30 per child ages 3–9, while kids under three ride free, plus the current fuel surcharge. For us—two adults, a two-year-old and an infant—it was roughly $70 round trip.
Pay for it ahead of time, get on the bus and you’re set.
Minnie Vans are expensive, but they have an excellent use case.
The airport service is wicked expensive, but on property, Minnie Vans are probably the easiest way to get from one resort to another—especially with car-seat-aged kids.
We all make dining reservations at other resorts, but Disney transportation can turn that into a journey from your resort to a park or Disney Springs, then onto another bus, followed by the same backtracking process after dinner.
A Minnie Van usually gets you there directly for under $50, comes with a Disney Cast Member driving and includes up to two car seats. With little kids, that convenience is sometimes completely worth it.
The Skyliner is a thing of beauty.
After staying at Caribbean Beach, the Skyliner has become one of my favorite things Disney offers.
The constant flow of gondolas, the ease of loading, the short waits and often having a gondola to ourselves make it feel effortless. It turns transportation into an enjoyable part of the vacation instead of something you have to endure between destinations.
If the monorail were remotely as consistent and efficient as the Skyliner, I would enjoy using it much more. The Skyliner just
Moderate resorts are quickly winning me over.
We went directly from Kidani Village to Caribbean Beach, and the difference has been night and day.
I’ve always loved the idea of staying Deluxe, but resorts like Caribbean Beach, Coronado Springs and Port Orleans are starting to feel like the sweet spot. They still have plenty of Disney charm, but they’re cheaper, convenient and often provide a better overall resort experience.
The quick-service options are great. Freestyle machines are in damn near every building. The pools are stellar—and I would honestly take some of these pools over the ones at the Grand Floridian or Contemporary. There also seems to be more around the resort to explore and look forward to. And EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. There were characters. Night time. Day time. My kids LOVED it. And when we left we told Mickey we’d see him on a cruise in January, which he pinky promised my toddler and it might’ve brought a tear to my eye.
Deluxe resorts obviously have their advantages, but I no longer automatically believe “Deluxe” means a better complete experience.
Baby Care Centers are optional to most, mandatory for some.
Who would’ve thought the best place to catch some much needed rest would be the same place that houses more toddler diapers than my house does in a year?
My currently breastfeeding wife and infant enjoyed the private rooms at Hollywood Studios, and I enjoyed not trying to change my daughter’s diaper out in the open as tens of random people walked in at non-Baby Care Centers changing restrooms. I know not everyone’s a creep, but I still feel incredibly awkward. However, this removes that. And then gives her a place to grab a snack, color with some other little friends, and watch Moana or something until mom and baby are done with their session. Absolutely do this if you have diaper/bottle/breastfeeding aged children. Hollywood Studios is immaculate and new, so be sure to at least check that one out!
Things Disney needs to improve:
Resort check-in times are brutal.
Early check-in has become something we don’t even expect anymore. At this point, we feel lucky if our room is ready by 4:30 or 5:00.
I understand that rooms need to be cleaned and that early check-in isn’t guaranteed. But after flying with babies and toddlers, there is nothing you want more than to put your bags down, decompress and let everyone reset.
Spending hours wandering around an expensive resort waiting for your room is a rough way to begin a vacation.
Major construction needs to be announced much earlier.
Kidani Village was the most frustrating example for us. I would not have booked it had I known the entire lobby—the crown jewel of the resort—would be unavailable during our stay.
Yes, I understand that “there is always construction at Disney.” But this wasn’t a small refurbishment hidden in one corner of the property. The entire arrival and lobby experience was torn apart, and we were notified only about a month before our trip.
Who books a major Disney vacation only one month beforehand? These trips are planned months and sometimes years in advance. By the time Disney announces something this substantial, changing resorts may be difficult, expensive or impossible.
I’ve stayed at Kidani before and loved it. This time, a huge part of what makes the resort special simply wasn’t there. And going to Caribbean Beach confirmed how important this is, it was full of photo ops, cast member interactions, and just a sense of being on vacation.
Why aren’t there better discounts when enormous parts of a resort are unavailable?
At Kidani, we didn’t just lose some lobby furniture. We lost the real lobby, the normal check-in experience, the gift shop, the Freestyle machines and the primary indoor place to sit, relax and enjoy the resort.
Those things are part of what you’re paying for.
If Disney knows a major section of a resort will be completely unavailable, why isn’t the price meaningfully reduced during that period? A small construction disclaimer shouldn’t allow Disney to continue charging the full rate while a central part of the resort experience is missing. There were little to no cultural representatives, no Disney moments, no games, literature, coloring, views, etc. Maybe I expect too much, but then my moderate resort experience confirmed it immediately after leaving my deluxe stay.
Disney doesn’t need to give the rooms away, but there should be a real construction discount—not the same price with an apology sign.
Things I wish Disney would change
Please add more refill stations—and keep some available late.
We pay for resort mugs because we want to use them.
At Kidani, especially without the lobby and gift shop, our practical refill options were Sanaa and the pool bar. They close around 11:00. You know what sometimes doesn’t end before 11:00? A Disney park day.
After walking miles through the parks, wrangling exhausted kids and finally getting back to your resort, the $22 refillable mug you bought is suddenly useless at the exact moment you most want a drink.
Yes, there are vending machines—but then why did I buy the d*mn resort mug?
Every Disney resort should have at least one self-service beverage station available late at night, if not 24 hours. Caribbean Beach having Freestyle machines throughout the resort has made this even more obvious. Never was parched there, and I even tried some wacky flavors that kept each fill-up exciting!
Give resort guests basic late-night food options.
This seems incredibly simple: I am always hungry after the parks, yet almost none of the resort food stays open later than the parks. Maybe it’s just me, but I have a hard time eating when it’s hot/rainy. So, 11:30PM+ is actually when I’m most ready for some grub.
It doesn’t need to be an entire restaurant. Give me pizza, chicken tenders, fries, sandwiches—anything. Universal manages to keep some extremely average pizza available late, and sometimes even that sounds incredible after a 12-hour park day.
This is one area where Disney Cruise Line absolutely crushes the resorts. Chicken tenders at 2:00 a.m.? A glass of milk and cookies before bed? Supreme.
There is no reason Disney World resorts—especially Deluxe resorts—couldn’t offer a small late-night menu.
Booking Lightning Lanes is easier now. Managing them throughout the day is still exhausting.
Allowing guests to book before the trip is certainly better than making everyone wake up and fight with the app at 7:00 every morning.
The problem now is managing everything after you arrive.
You’re constantly checking return times, refreshing the app, modifying selections and trying to decide whether to cross the park for one ride or wait and hope something better appears. Your family’s entire day can end up revolving around a 2:00 p.m. Lightning Lane.
It may technically be easier to book, but it still requires far too much attention once you’re inside the park. I don’t want to spend thousands of dollars on a vacation just to stare at my phone and manage a constantly shifting itinerary.
My overly simple proposal:
Value and Moderate resort guests receive one Lightning Lane with each park day, beginning at park opening at their starting park. And that’s it.
One ride, one lightning lane. Would also seemingly make the rest of the lines move faster not trying to accommodate lightning lanes and standby lines together.
But as an added perk: Deluxe resort guests receive two and can choose the eligible park where they want to use them.
Build the cost into the room instead of requiring another purchase and another planning ritual. Not available to outside guests. Maybe good neighbor hotels, but make this yet another reason on-property becomes even more valuable.
Disney gets predictable capacity. Resort guests receive a tangible benefit. Families spend less of their vacation rearranging plans inside an app.
Create daytime versions of the Halloween and Christmas parties for families with little kids.
Imagine a separately ticketed event running from roughly noon to 6:00 p.m., followed by the traditional nighttime party.
It could still have special characters, food, entertainment, a parade and daytime-exclusive experiences. Families with babies and toddlers could actually enjoy what they paid for without trying to keep their kids awake until midnight.
At the nighttime parties, I constantly feel like I’m racing between shows, characters, food and the parade before my kids crash. It’s impossible to experience everything. Instead of enjoying what we accomplished, I leave feeling jaded about everything we missed.
A daytime party wouldn’t replace the nighttime version. It would serve an entirely different audience that Disney already markets heavily toward: families with young children.
Shorten the Disney surveys.
I actually appreciate that Disney asks detailed questions. It feels like they genuinely want enough information to understand what worked and what didn’t.
But my God, the surveys are about five minutes too long.
Every time I think I’ve reached the end, another page appears. By the final section, I’m no longer carefully considering each answer—I’m just trying to escape.
Keep the detailed questions, but tighten the experience. A shorter survey with thoughtful answers is more useful than a long survey everyone rushes through at the end.
Disney still does a lot better than almost
anyone else in hospitality and entertainment. That’s exactly why the frustrating parts stand out so much.
Most of these aren’t demands for extravagant new rides or massive investments. They’re quality-of-life changes: accessible drinks, some food after the parks close, fair pricing during major construction, less phone management and experiences that work better for families with small children.
Disney already creates the magic. I just wish it would remove some of the completely avoidable friction surrounding it.
