Navigating Disney World With a Baby

The parks:

Walt Disney World has four theme parks to enjoy. Each is known for its unique atmosphere, rides and attractions. These are the aspects of each park we enjoyed most with a baby:

• Magic Kingdom: This park by far has the most attractions for babies and kids. (And because of that, it can be very busy! Look at my planning tips below to make the most of the attractions). Some of our son’s favorite attractions were Under the Sea, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, It’s a Small World, Peter Pan’s Flight and Monster’s Inc Laugh Floor.

• Animal Kingdom: This park has so much to take in, beyond the rides. We spent time pausing to look at the animals and nature throughout the park. In terms of attractions, our son loved the Na’vi River Journey, Kilimanjaro Safaris and TriceraTop Spin.

• Epcot: This park mixes the World Showcase with Future World. One of our favorite activities is strolling around the World Showcase and taking in the ambiance, food and shops of each country. Our son enjoyed the Gran Fiesta Tour, The Seas with Nemo & Friends and the SeaBase Aquarium.

• Hollywood Studios: This park is more designed for adults than kids. Since we had a short trip, we only visited Hollywood Studios one night. We chose to have my son stay at the hotel with his grandparents, so we could ride the thrill rides. That being said, if you did take your baby here, you could try the Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, Toy Story Mania or the shows.

• Other attractions we tried that were not a hit with our son: Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure in Epcot is such a fun ride and very popular. However, it was not a good fit for our son. He couldn’t wear the 3D glasses, the images were blurry and there were interactive elements like water spraying that he didn’t like. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh in Magic Kingdom is kid-friendly, but my son was scared by the dark rooms.

Baby-friendly elements:

• Each theme park has a Baby Care Center where you can use an air-conditioned private space to rest, feed or change your baby or store personal items.

• Walking around the parks, we used a mix of our travel stroller and baby carrier. The stroller worked for us for afternoon naps, although some families prefer to head back to the hotel to rest. I baby-wore my son in a carrier on many rides, so he was more secure. There are stroller parking areas next to each attraction or restaurant.

• If you’re bringing formula or breast milk into the park, you may have to have an extra security check. We found it’s easier to separate that from the main diaper bag to streamline the entry process to each park.

Transportation:

The main forms of transportation around Walt Disney World are busses, water-taxis and monorails. Here are some things to keep in mind when riding with a baby:

• Busses: When riding a bus in Disney, you’ll need to collapse your stroller. Be ready to carry your baby and put aside your stroller and items.

• Water-taxis: Depending on how crowded a water-taxi is, you might be able to keep your baby in the stroller at the back of the boat. However, if it’s crowded, you’ll need to collapse the stroller and carry your baby.

• Monorail: You can roll your stroller right onto the monorail, making it super convenient if staying at a hotel with monorail access.

Dining:

• Character dining: There are several restaurants that offer a character dining experience. Note: all require reservations in advance. We were on the fence about whether to have a character dining meal with our son, and ultimately chose to do it. He did enjoy meeting the characters, but all-in-all, I’m not sure it’s worth the higher cost for this age.

• Counter-service: We took advantage of counter-service dining throughout the park. You can order on the My Disney Experience app in advance to easily pick up your mobile order.

• Sit-down restaurants: We enjoyed one meal at Chef de France in Epcot, where we made a reservation in advance. Almost all restaurants at Disney are baby-friendly and can accommodate with a high-chair and kids menu.