Before we had Skippy, Nicole and I always built in at least one rest day from the parks. We tend to do 4–5-day trips, and the rest day would fall right in the middle. With Skippy, and the rest of our multi-generational group, the rest day has become essential. Disney is over-stimulation station for everyone, and especially toddlers. Skippy was relishing in all the rides and such, but was way off with their nap schedule (though never a great napper to start). Rather than rushing out first thing in the morning, we swapped rope drop for chill start, threw in some play time, and went on an exploration/shopping adventure! Here’s our ideal itinerary for an off day at Disney Springs.
In the AM: Breakfast, Pool, & Play Time
Most recently, we stayed at Disney’s Pop Century. We visited in November 2025, and we had highs in the low to mid 80s each day. Not too shabby! If you’re visiting Disney World closer to the peak of summer, we recommend getting to the pool early. At Pop Century, and several (if not all) other resorts) have their pools open at 10AM. Since having a toddler means being awake WAY before 10AM, we got breakfast first.
Mickey waffles for the win for Skippy!
After breakfast, we went back to our room to get changed for the pool. We slathered up in sunscreen, changed Skippy into a reusable swim diaper, and popped them into a floaty. To keep stimulation to a minimum we went to the less popular pool at the resort, which was right outside our room. We were staying in the 80s block, so we were closest to the Computer Pool. In we went! Skippy didn’t last more than a half hour or so, but that’s fine. The goal was to get them kick-kicking in the water to burn off some energy. Not quite walking yet, most of Skippy’s park days were in the stroller save for a few breaks in play spaces. At home, we refer to Skippy as a free-range chicken, so we really wanted to give him as many opportunities to MOVE as possible.
With that, we got Skippy out, changed, and headed to the playground. While not insanely impressive as parks go, it gets the job done. Skippy could romp around in the mulch and the fixtures to their little heart’s content.
What’s better, is they could romp while we ordered lunch. We wanted to keep Skippy as close to their normal schedule as possible on the rest day, so nap time needed to happen at 1PM. We took advantage of Mobile Ordering from Everything POP Shopping and Dining so we could just grab our food and eat before. Skippy slammed down some pizza, and it was back to the room for a nap. This kid managed a solid hour and a half, which was honestly double what they had been managing the previous two park days. Success!
In the PM: Disney Springs
Once awake, we all got dressed and headed to Disney Springs. We opted to take the resort bus service. It’s not fancy, but we’ve never had an issue with it. And living in our current era where Skippy would need a car seat if we rented a car, we would much sooner save the money (and headache) of lugging a car seat up and down the East Coast.
While Disney Springs can get crazy, there’s quite a bit more room for some toddler style romping. We took them out of the stroller to carry them for a bit and then let them prop themselves up against a bench to get out a little energy. Skippy thought the sea monster in the lake and the HUGE Lego figures outside the Lego store were pretty cool!
We were lucky enough to be there during the Christmas tree stroll, and those were also a hit. Skippy’s favorite word is LIGHT and will promptly tell us when they see one and/or insist that one should be turned on.
For dinner, we decided to branch out from our usual. We’re generally big fans of Jock Lindsay’s Hangar Bar. One of our absolutely favorite bites during this time of year were the holiday dinner croquettes, but they shockingly weren’t on the menu this time around?! We opted instead to try out Morimoto’s quick service. Skippy got some sushi (yes, they love sushi) and I got some dan dan noodles and Nicole tried the ribs and egg rolls. All were winners!
For dessert, we also tried to branch out. Normally, we dive right into that line for Gideon’s. We didn’t want to be out too late though as we wanted keep Skippy on schedule. We both took advantage of the holiday season. I got the new Mickey gingerbread cone from the Marketplace. Delicious! And Nicole tried the seasonal affogato from Vivaldi.
By the time we finished up, Skippy was just starting to get spicy. Off to the bus and back to the room we went. We were back to Pop Century around 7, which was great for an 8PM bedtime. All in, this was a great off-day. We still got to enjoy some Disney magic while Skippy could run around and something of a more “normal” day before diving right back into the chaos the next day!