No matter where you go, it's about the time you spend together
I Just Took a Multi-Gen Vacation to Disney World—Here Are 7 Things I Learned
Updated on May 30, 2025
During a recent multigenerational trip with my family to Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, we experienced the magic of Disney through my very excited 3-year-old grandson (when he wasn’t napping)—and learned a few things about traveling together for three nights.
While our vacation went off mostly without a hitch (we had one toddler meltdown), I know what I would do the same and differently on our next family vacation with four adults (parents and grandparents) and one young child, especially when traveling to the “most magical place on Earth.”
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Multi-gen travel is one of the fastest-growing segments in the industry
My family is not alone in taking a multigenerational trip. According to a recent survey of more than 1,000 insurance customers by SquareMouth, an online travel insurance provider, more than 1,000 insurance customers revealed that 47% of travelers are choosing to take multigenerational or family trips in 2025, an increase of 17% over 2024.
Apparently, vacationing with the parents and grandma and grandpa is pretty cool right now, with travelers prioritizing spending time with their families in 2025. I loved our trip. Here are a few of the top reasons why.
- It was perfect for a multigenerational vacation. We all enjoyed the visit to Walt Disney World, no matter our age.
- It was fun to experience the rides with different family members, such as riding on TRON Lightcycle Run with my adult son and the tamer Dumbo the Flying Elephant with my grandson.
- Seeing the Disney characters in person was a thrill for my grandson, but it brought back memories of past trips to Disney World for the rest of us.
- We could all share in the excitement of a 3-year-old’s first visit to Disney World.
- It was a wonderful opportunity to spend time together.
What we learn from our multigenerational trip to Disney World
Here’s what we learned while on the trip and what we would do differently on any family vacation, whether it’s to Disney World, the beach or a mountain getaway.
Book individual accommodations—it may even be less expensive
If you can, and it’s within your budget to book individual hotel rooms, my advice is to do so. Not only will everyone sleep better and enjoy more privacy and space, but it may even be cheaper.
A standard room rate for two queen beds (or one king bed) at the Art of Animation Resort in the Little Mermaid–themed section for mid-June is $279, plus tax, per room per night. Based on this rate, you could book two rooms for less than the price ($579) of one Cars Family Suite accommodation, where my family of five stayed at the same resort property.
It was a challenge to pack us all into the suite with our luggage, toys, snacks and so on. My husband and I had the only bedroom, while my son and his family slept in the living room area on a pull-down bed and sofa bed. This meant both beds in the living area had to be put away in the morning, so we had somewhere to sit for breakfast. Thankfully, we had two bathrooms, and their bathroom had a tub, which was perfect for tub time for my grandson.
Bring your own food, especially for breakfast
It’s bedlam at the food hall, Landscape of Flavors at the Cars Resort, in the morning. Everyone’s trying to eat breakfast at the same time and get over to the parks early, so next time, we’d grab a quick breakfast in our room instead. After all, the rooms are all equipped with refrigerators, microwaves and coffee makers, and it’s easy to bring cereal, milk, juice, fresh fruit, coffee, paper products, utensils and other items needed for light morning meals. (We drove from nearby Amelia Island, Florida, and were able to stop at a grocery store along the way.) Bonus: It saves you money.
Don’t book sit-down restaurants that require reservations
A Disney vacation is not as carefree and spontaneous as it used to be. It takes meticulous planning to book ride times and make reservations for meals at sit-down restaurants. Opting for more casual options allows you to go with the flow. What if you’re waiting in line for a ride but need to leave for lunch or dinner … and the dining venue is further away than you realized?
Plus, if you decide to cancel at Disney within two hours of the reservation time, most restaurants will charge you a $10 cancellation fee per person. In addition, you can’t modify the reservation within two hours of your dining time.
Dining at the restaurants also takes a lot of time out of your day that could be spent enjoying the parks. We found that the days went by very quickly, so we ended up canceling a few reservations for sit-down spots in the parks, opting for casual grab-and-go meals instead. If there’s a place where you really want to dine, instead of making a reservation, stop by to see if they have any openings or cancellations, especially if it’s early in the evening. That trick worked for us.
Take an afternoon break and relax by the pool
Maybe some people can power through the parks and ride hop from Guardians of the Galaxy to Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure to Soarin’ Over the World and Spaceship Earth while visiting EPCOT, but chances are, young grandchildren—and grandpop—will eventually need a break, especially during the dog days of summer.
Many young kids are more interested in spending the afternoon swimming in a cool pool rather than standing in line at a sweltering theme park waiting for a ride. Mom, Dad and the grandparents could probably use a break, too, come 2 or 3 p.m. My grandson had a great time in the resort’s Big Blue Pool, the largest swimming pool at any Disney World property.
Taking time to rejuvenate for a few hours also means you’re ready to head out for more adventures in the evening, including catching the fireworks at Magic Kingdom or EPCOT. You can still spend quality time together when you’re taking a break from all the action, whether you’re chilling out in the room or relaxing by the pool.
Don’t plan to do too much in one day
Our scheduled trip included visiting two parks on one of the days, which was too much for all of us. Between the short time at EPCOT, stopping back at the resort for a quick refresh and transferring to the Magic Kingdom for dinner and fireworks, it was exhausting.
Though Disney Park Hopper passes allow you to visit multiple parks in one day, I recommend planning a full day in each park, especially if it’s your first time visiting and you’ve got the entire family in tow. You also lose valuable time when you move between the parks since you’ll need to take either a bus, the Skyliner, the Monorail or the Disney boat between parks, which can take 20 to 40 minutes.
Budget for extras that will make the trip less stressful
Yes, Lightning Lane passes are an additional expense, but they are worth purchasing, especially if you have just a few days to visit the parks—you’ll be able to experience at least twice the number of rides and events. Nobody, especially the young kids and the grandparents, wants to wait in line for hours for one ride, so if you can, include the passes in your budget for the trip.
While the passes don’t allow you to completely bypass waiting in a line, the wait times are much shorter—sometimes even up to 90 minutes shorter. Consider Lightning Lane passes a time-saving investment that will help maintain your sanity and allow you more time to enjoy the other activities and rides at the parks.
Be flexible—and have fun!
While you may have a long list of things you want to do on your family getaway, don’t worry if you can’t get to everything you’ve planned.
Since this was a by-invitation trip from Walt Disney World, we were invited to attend several planned events. Surprisingly, with a 3-year-old, we made it to all without incident, save for one, a late dinner at the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue at the Fort Wilderness Resort.
I didn’t have high hopes for my grandson making it through s’mores with Chip and Dale and a sing-along, followed by a two-hour-long dinner. Sure enough, that was our one toddler meltdown, so we returned to the Art of Animation Resort after s’mores and grabbed a frantic dinner there instead. Dessert before dinner is a thing at Disney.
However, all was well again in the morning for a farewell character brunch at Chef Mickey’s in Disney’s Contemporary Resort, which was a lot of fun for the kids.
What I would do differently
Now that we’ve checked off the bucket list family trip to Disney, the next multigenerational vacation will definitely be more low-key. We’re thankful we had this opportunity, and it was a special gift to watch my grandson experience Disney as his dad did when he was a little boy. And maybe we’ll revisit the theme parks again when he’s older (maybe even take a Disney cruise). But for now, we’re thinking about renting a cabin and going fishing in Idaho (where the kids live) next year. I look forward to someplace where we can kick back, relax and spend time outdoors without making any definite plans or reservations.
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Source:
- SquareMouth: “2025 Travel Trends: Family Vacations and Bucket List Trips Top Travelers’ Priorities”
