Hi Lacey!
Welcome to planDisney! Thank you so much for reaching out to us hEAR with this great Disneyland Resort planning question. Oh, I love that you're bringing your mini Mouseketeer to Mickey's House! Some of my favorite memories with my son are of our Disney Days. Be sure to stop by the
Baby Care Centers for anything you might need - from items you may have forgotten to pack and last-minute necessities like over-the-counter medicines, to a clean place to change a diaper or an outfit. There are even teeny-tiny toilets if you're in the potty training stage!
I'm happy to report that Mickey's friends who are two yEARs of age and under are able to skip most of the planning steps the rest of us must follow and can still enjoy the day with you and the rest of your party. Children under 3 do
not need to purchase a
Theme Park Admission Ticket nor do they need to make
Park Pass Reservations or purchase the
Genie+ add-on. Junior Mickeys and mini Minnies (under 3) are auto-magically included with any
Lightning Lane purchase reserved by anyone in your group over the age of 14; you'll simply have them walk (or be carried) on through the Lightning Lane entrance with the rest of your group. If the attraction is too intense or your pint-sized pal isn't quite tall enough to enjoy the attraction, your group will also be able to utilize the
Rider Switch Service. Pro Tip: hEAR's the
list of all the attractions in both theme parks; on the blue "Filter by" bar you can select your child's height to know ahead of time which attractions they can and cannot enjoy with your group so you can make your rider switch plans ahead of time!
As far as
Dining Reservations go, children under three
do need to be included in the headcount of the reservation. It's important to make sure this is done at the time of the booking because there may not be availability to add them once you arrive for your mealtime. However, I'm happy to report that children under 3 are
not charged when dining at a Buffet or Family-style meal, which includes most of the
Character Meals. If the Character Dining Experience is one where food is brought to your table (like the
Disney Princess Breakfast Adventure) then your child will be given their own beverage and plate and will be allowed to share food items from those also in your reservation, all at no additional charge. For the buffet options (like the
Minnie & Friends Breakfast in the Park at Plaza Inn) your little will be allowed to make their selections from the buffet as well as the beverage menu also at no additional cost.
I hope that this helped to plan your upcoming Disney Days, Lacey! If you have any more questions about how to Disney with a babe in tow, feel free to come back and ask away. We're All Ears!
~Kristen N.