Sometimes, when the words “I’m taking my toddler to Disneyland” come out of someone’s mouth, a lot of people have opinions.
“Now, why would you do that? That seems miserable.”
“They won’t even remember it!”
And it’s the remembering thing that really gets me. Because, if I’m being totally honest… we do lots of things our kids won’t remember. They won’t remember us reading them bedtime stories every night or singing them a lullaby or rocking them when they were newborns… but that doesn’t make those things unimportant. If we base everything we do on whether our kids will directly remember it, we wouldn’t do anything the first 3-4 years of their lives.
This is me, from one parent to another, telling you that you are not crazy to want to take your kiddo to Disneyland. It’s kind of the ideal time: under age 3 kids are free, which means it reduces the overall cost significantly. Plus, it will make YOU happy and your happiness does, in fact, matter. That’s a win win.
Here are my tips for taking your toddler to Disneyland.
1. Don’t Plan Anything YOUR Toddler Can’t Handle
You know your kid. You know your kid better than a stranger (me, or everyone in Disney planning groups in Facebook) on the internet, that’s for sure. So when someone tells you, “this was totally fine for my toddler” or “my toddler would never be able to do that”… take that with a grain of salt. You. Know. Your. Kid. Plan accordingly.
You know if your kid is going to be able to sit through a character breakfast. You know if your kid is going to freak out on a dark ride. You know your kid will be thrilled by a stage performance. Plan according to your kid, not what the internet tells you.
Just for some anecdotes, my toddler loved Winnie the Pooh. We prepared her for our trip by watching YouTube videos of rides and the Winnie the Pooh ride stuck with her. We rope dropped it every day, I’m not kidding. Some people would hate that. They would be miserable about that. But she loved that ride. I knew my daughter could handle that ride; I knew that was about the limit of intensity for her.
2. Set Realistic Expectations
Hey, so this trip probably isn’t going to be the trip where you ride every single ride. And, just talking realistically, it’s also probably not trip where it will be magically not crowded, you’ll get the best seats for the parade, etc. Keep your expectations realistic.
You’re likely going to need a mid-day break. A nap, a splash in the pool, a hearty snack, and back to it. You’re going to find shade and eat snacks several times throughout the day.
3. Buy a Mini Diaper Bag
This was one of my best tips and it’s honestly one of my favorite purchases of all time. Let me explain. When we took our daughter to Disneyland last year, she was still in diapers. I stressed about carrying a massive diaper bag into the park. Then, I found this mini diaper bag. It’s the right size for a pack of wipes (needed for more than just diapers, tbh), 3-4 diapers or pull ups, a mini diaper cream, and some hand sanitizer. It’s quite literally perfect. I recommend it to everyone.
4. Prepare to Stop Early
Our typical tactic in previous years was to spend the day at Disneyland, eat dinner, get our oldest (who was <6 at the time) to sleep, then return to the parks while a grandparent sat with him. This time, that was not the case, since our toddler refuses to sleep without one of us present — and also her nap schedule got totally destroyed on our trip. Honestly, it was fine.
Since we stayed at Pixar Place, I could get her to sleep at around 8pm, then drink a crispy Diet Coke while watching the lights of California Adventure. My husband would take our son to the parks and come back with a special snack for all of us.
Like I said earlier, this might not be the case for you, depending on your kid, but if your toddler loves a routine… honestly, you’ll be finishing your days earlier than you might want to. Prepare for that reality and make the most of it.
Wow, thanks for reading. I started writing this post almost a year ago and finally finished it now, on July 1, 2026. What are your top tips for a Disney trip with your toddler?
