09/24/2026
Disney Cruise Line with a toddler!
Would I do it again? Absolutely! It was so incredibly magical to see her explore and react to everything, this was her first experience with anything Disney related. I especially loved watching her meet the Princesses during the Royal Gathering. But did I have very high expectations that were just unrealistic with a 2 year old & a full sailing? Also yes 😅
When I sailed in April I had no issues meeting any of the characters, I felt like there were SO many opportunities, even with doing all of the different activities on board like trivia (I did so much trivia haha). Going into this sailing as a first time cruise for my daughter I really thought it would be a breeze, but for whatever reason this sailing was very different. Character meets were limited each day and because of that the lines were very, very long. On our last sea day I got in line 45 minutes prior to Captain Mickey's start time and still waited around 30 minutes once he came out. I didn't know if I was lucky in April, or unlucky in September but the consensus from other cruisers on the same sailing was that this one had very, very long lines in comparison to others they had been on. So I have hopes that our next sailing will be similar to the one I did in April! Don't let that intimidate you though! We were able to meet everyone we wanted, (except for Donald 😭😭), I just wasn't prepared for the amount of waiting I would have to do.
Toddlers are limited for what they can do on board, but I knew that in advance; there are no swim diapers in the pool (US law) and I thought that would be a downside, but she LOVED the splash pad so I was very surprised by that. I also knew that they can only use the kids club if they are older & 100% independently potty trained. Is it even worth it if they can't utilize everything on board? The answer for me is YES because there will be open houses throughout the sailing where everyone, including parents and toddlers, can go in and explore, play, colour etc. We checked out the Oceaneers Lab first but preferred the Oceaneers Club because it has Andy's Room with a big slinky-dog slide, and there's nothing she loves more than a slide!
We didn't utilize the nursery at all, which I'm a little bummed about, but with such a short cruise we just didn't have time. I did talk to a few families who took advantage and they said it was great though! That's the only part of the kids clubs that is not included, I believe it is around $9 USD per hour and you can book it in advance when your booking window opens. If they have spots once on board you can book it then too.
For dining, the early dining was full so we did 8:15 which was rough towards the end, but it was also really nice to explore the ship while almost everyone was either at dinner or the show. I can see the pros and cons to both, so I'm actually undecided on what we will do next time. This will come down to you and your family specifically though, you know your kids best!
If you asked her what her favourite thing to do on board the cruise was, it would be playing in the splash pad, colouring with crayons at dinner, and pixie dusting! We bought a couple packs of stickers, just something small because I wasn't sure if she would like it or not, and then walked up and down the halls to find fish extenders to put stickers into. She LOVED looking at all of the decorations people had on their doors, everyone is SO creative. She also loved looking in her fish extender pocket any time we would go back to the room to see if anything new was in there. We came home with so much stuff, I hardly know where to put it all 😂
Overall would I do it with a 2 year old again? Absolutely! But with a slight change in my overall expectations and maybe an extra couple nights. Repositioning cruises are a wonderful way to test the waters, see if cruising is for you, or to get a quick Disney fix for maybe lower than what the parks might cost, but they're also jam-packed because you want to try and do as much as you can. We had an absolute blast though and I'm already looking for my next sailing!
If you have any questions, drop them below!
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