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If you’ve ever traveled with a toddler, then you know they come with a lot of baggage…literally! And, a trip to Disney World is no different.
There’s the diapers, the wipes, the clothes, the extra clothes, the sunscreen, the food, and so much more. And, while you’ve probably already started forming a list of things that you need for your Disney park days with your little one, it’s also about time that you start thinking about how you’re going to squeeze your family into your Disney hotel room — especially if your kiddo is still sleeping in a crib!
As new parents, we’ve learned that our Disney hotel stays look VERY different now. But, with some practice, we’ve created a fail-proof strategy for bringing all the baby sleep essentials that help make our Disney vacation a bit more restful. And, we’re letting you in on the secret — here’s how we set up our Disney World hotel room for a toddler!
Since having our daughter, we’ve stayed at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge and the Gran Destino Tower at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort. Each room is a little different in Disney hotels, but the gear that we’ve brought has remained the same.
Here’s our room set up during our most recent stay in a Water View room at the Gran Destino Tower!
CLICK HERE to tour the room without all the baby gear!
The first thing to do when you arrive in your hotel room is figure out where the Pack ‘N Play is going. This usually involves some furniture shifting.
In this case, we moved the chair that comes in the room between the bed and the window (rendering it useless, sadly). That gave us plenty of space to get the Pack ‘N Play set up (we love this Graco one) with the SlumberPod. If you’re someone who is willing to splurge for the chance of getting more sleep, the SlumberPod is a must. It takes up only a tiny amount of extra space in the room and the ability to turn a light on while you shower in the evening or get in a solid afternoon nap is totally worth it.
The SlumberPod does come with a slot at the top to place a baby monitor camera in, but we’ve always just used our camera mount and attached it to the side of the Pack ‘N Play.
One MAJOR thing you’ll want to note about bringing a monitor to your Disney hotel is that any monitors that rely on Wi-Fi WILL NOT work. This is the same for any other baby devices that connect to Wi-Fi like the Owlet Dream Sock. We’ve never had problems with our Infant Optics monitor (which doesn’t use Wi-Fi) and use the TIUIHU Baby Monitor Crib Mount when we’re traveling.
To drown out all the typical Disney hotel noise and nightly fireworks, we travel with not one, but TWO sound machines (a bit excessive? Maybe).
When we first stayed in a Disney hotel when our kiddo was about 8 months old, we brought our Hatch sound machine and quickly realized that the Hatch Rest Mini fit much better into our suitcase. Plus, we didn’t really need the light from it anyway. The other sound machine that we use is the Yogasleep Hushh Portable White Noise Sound Machine.
All of the gadgets fit perfectly on the end table that was in the room at the Gran Destino Tower. This type of table isn’t in all of the Disney hotel rooms, but we’ve never had a problem finding a table near the spot we set up the Pack ‘N Play — just get creative! And, don’t forget to pack an extension cord because there are never enough outlets in Disney World hotels and you never know how far your baby set up might be from an outlet.
All that’s left to do after setting all that up is to plug in the baby monitor near the bed!
We also bring this portable egg light with us so that we can see when we’re putting our kiddo down, need to get up to use the bathroom, or avoid any loud mistakes that would wake our toddler up. The light easily dims and turns on and off with just a touch.
Overall, the entire setup process takes about 10-15 minutes after we check in and then we’re set for the entire stay!
Here are a few other tips for setting up your Disney World hotel room for a toddler:
- Disney will provide you with a complimentary crib during your stay if you’d prefer not to bring your own. Just be sure to request a crib when making reservations or talk to the front desk when you arrive at your hotel.
- The curtains in the rooms do a pretty good job of blacking out the room. If your kiddo is super sensitive to the light, clip the curtains together with the clipped hangers from the closet in your room — this will eliminate that sliver of light that comes in from the gap.
- And, just a reminder on the Wi-Fi gadgets — they won’t work with Disney’s Wi-Fi, so you won’t be able to pair the apps on your phone with the devices in the room. This means that you’ll be unable to control things like a Hatch, wi-fi-based baby monitor, or the Owlet Sleep Sock from your phone.
It might seem like a lot to bring your baby or toddler to Disney World, but it is totally possible and A LOT of fun — don’t let all the gear deter you! And, we’ll be bringing you more insider tips and updates for your next Disney hotel stay, so stay tuned to The VacationEAR!