Easy methods to do Disney World with a Child, the Final Information by a former Solid Member

When Jeremy picked Disney World for his thirty fifth birthday journey, I used to be nervous. I imply, we’ve achieved Disney World loads of occasions – and I used to be there just about each single day after I was a Solid Member. However we’d by no means, EVER achieved Disney World with a child. And this journey, we’d be bringing alongside Child A for child’s first Disney journey!

Would she hate it? Would we hate it?! I had no concept, however I feared the worst. We each braced ourselves for a cranky, overstimulated child that we’d be spending 5 days straight entertaining within the parks whereas switching off driving our favourite Disney rides.

However to my absolute shock, Child A LOVED Disney World. She liked rides. She liked reveals. She liked characters. She was actually into birds swiftly, and for some motive, lamps? She liked Solid Members, she liked dancing to music as we walked via the parks. She LOVED Disney World! And we liked attending to see it via her eyes. Disney with a child is so value it, y’all!

On this (huge) information, we’re sharing suggestions and tips for visiting Disney with infants, together with the perfect (and worst) parks and points of interest for infants, the place to remain, and some necessities to pack. Let’s dive in!

Psst: In search of extra suggestions that will help you plan your Disney journey? Try a few of our different Disney World posts:

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We even have a Podcast episode all about Disney! A futuristic utopia that’s positively not a cult. A suicide-themed journey. Lia’s school internship. What do all of them have in frequent? Disney World, after all! On this episode, Lia spills all of the Mad Tea on probably the most magical place on Earth, plus insider suggestions from her time as a Solid Member. We additionally clarify our tried & examined Disney Technique (aka STRAT), as a result of ready in lengthy traces for rides is a few Bippity-Boppity-BS.

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Suggestions for Visiting Disney World with a Child

Earlier than I dive in, a small disclaimer: all infants are totally different, and child wants differ wildly by age. When you learn one thing that doesn’t apply. to you – like in case your child isn’t on solids but, as a result of we spend a lot time enthusiastic about feeding Child A today – be at liberty to skip it. your child greatest!

That mentioned: whereas Child A was 10 months outdated throughout our journey, I’ve additionally achieved my greatest to include suggestions from our travels with Child A when she was youthful (we began touring along with her round 3 months) within the hopes to make this a extremely useful information even for youthful infants. And truthfully, y’all – the youthful they’re, the simpler they’re to journey with!

Yet one more factor: I think about us fortunate that in our journey Child A was not but terribly cellular – she’s crawling and standing, however shouldn’t be but strolling or crawling lengthy distances. So I didn’t have to fret about chasing after her. In case your child is on that mobility life, you’ll wish to take into consideration some baby-wrangling methods (no disgrace in a cute leashed backpack)!

Oh, and eventually – can I simply apologize for the standard of photographs on this put up? Usually I exploit a DSLR digicam after I’m taking photos for a weblog put up, however all I used to be in a position to handle this journey was to make use of my cellphone! Nonetheless adjusting to this complete working/mother factor, y’all. Thanks for not judging me!

OK – onto the ideas for visiting Disney World with an toddler:

• Take heed to Disney music earlier than your journey, particularly songs which might be on rides (suppose “It’s a Small World” or the Tiki Room). I feel this actually helped Child A get excited on the parks, as a result of she was listening to numerous acquainted songs! There’s a nice Disney Parks playlist on Spotify that we performed for a few weeks earlier than the journey.
• Splurge on Genie +. Genie+ is a paid service that permits you to guide “Lightning Lane” passes to undergo a shorter line (mainly a paid model of FastPass, in the event you’re acquainted with its former incarnation). It’s value it with a child, particularly because you gained’t want to really purchase one on your toddler since they don’t want a park ticket. The longest we waited for a journey throughout our 4-day journey was half-hour for It’s a Small World, and that felt like an eternity – more often than not we just about walked on or solely waited a few minutes. Occupying a child in line sucks. Get the move.
• Deliver a journey excessive chair for meals. This foldable excessive chair was a HUGE assistance on our journey. We used it in our resort room for all of our meals, and if we’d had house for it in our stroller, we’d have introduced it into the parks too. Whereas all Disney eating places have excessive chairs, they’re not child sized. Child A is extraordinarily tall, and she or he discovered herself chin-heat at most. of the tables within the parks. Undecided if the tables are weirdly excessive or the excessive chairs are weirdly low, but it surely made meals within the parks tough. This moveable excessive chair that straps on high of a chair at eating places or can sit on the bottom anyplace for snacks is the right answer.
• Babysitting is offered at Walt Disney World by way of a service referred to as Youngsters Nite Out. They will watch your baby whilst you bask in your individual internal baby on the parks! Youngsters Nite Out may give you a sitter to accompany you within the parks in the event you want an additional set of fingers. Assessment: https://touringplans.com/weblog/kids-nite-out-your-familys-next-vacation-win/
• You may go to Disney World with no automobile seat in the event you keep in a Disney Resort resort. When you fly with a lap toddler, you may  take a shuttle bus  from the airport, and keep on with Disney’s free transportation between the parks and resorts together with buses, the Skyliner, and boats. In a pinch, you may also take Minni Vans, which come geared up with Graco 4Ever automobile seats. That mentioned, we had been actually glad that we had a automobile as a result of it made attending to and from parks fairly fast (apart from Magic Kingdom, which is a schlep and a half it doesn’t matter what).

• Use the newborn care facilities in every park for nursing, altering, snacks, cool-down time, microwave, and to purchase any emergency child provides you will have left at dwelling! They’re normally subsequent to the primary assist facilities too that are additionally vital to find out about.
• Use Rider Change. One mother or father rides whereas the opposite one hangs out with the newborn. Simply ask a solid member on the entrance of any journey to assist get you arrange.
• Use single rider, too! Solely 4 rides formally have a single-rider lane, however numerous rides will search for single rider to replenish uneven gaps, which implies you’ll get to journey sooner. Hold an ear out for a solid member searching for a solo rider close to the entrance of most thrill rides. We obtained to journey loads of stuff with out standing in lengthy traces this manner.
• Minnie Vans come geared up with rear-facing Graco 4Ever seats. When you don’t have a automobile throughout your journey, this service is implausible! Mainly, Minnie Vans are Disney-owned SUVs (themed to Minnie) pushed by Disney Solid Members, which you could order via the Lyft app. They arrive with TWO automobile seats! They’re implausible for getting round Disney property, although they aren’t very low-cost. To make use of them, open up the Lyft app, and select Minnie Van because the journey sort. Simple.
• Swap who does bedtime so one mother or father will get to roam across the park solo whereas the opposite one chills within the room with child. We switched off and every had 2 nights free out within the parks!
• Deliver hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipes and do your greatest. We used sanitizing wipes on each lap bar and anyplace child would put their fingers on a journey, figuring out that a whole bunch of youngsters had lately put their fingers there, too. Mixed with us sporting KN95s masks, none of us obtained sick throughout our journey. However simply in case, deliver toddler Tylenol/Motrin with you so you may have it readily available.
• Deliver your individual stroller. Those they hire on the parks aren’t good for infants. We suggest one which folds down simply, like this one, since you’ll have to fold it up on Disney transport. That mentioned, you may’t take your strollers inside all over the place, and stroller parking isn’t all the time proper outdoors of the doorway – like, in the event you’re going to The Land pavilion in Epcot, your stroller must keep at Nemo and Buddies. Carriers are useful in these conditions, and so is the Tushbaby.

• When you make an Advance Eating Reservation at a Disney sit-down restaurant, cancellations should be made 24 hours prematurely. In any other case, you will be charged a cancellation payment of $10 per individual (3 and up). Until you go to the restaurant in individual on the identical day and beg your case, wherein case they waive the payment. Nonetheless, that coverage is …not preferrred for infants. But in addition, Disney meals is definitely worth the threat! So drop these expectations via the ground and do your greatest to only float.
• Meltdowns at Disney are inevitable, and I’m not speaking about your child. Do not forget that most marital disputes at Disney will be solved by some mixture of snacks, A/C, sitting quietly for some time, and/or a Mickey Bar.
• Deliver Snacks! In case your toddler is round 8 months or older, you’ll want snacks for them in between meals. If not, you’ll want snacks for your self – parenting whereas hangry isn’t a good suggestion! Listed below are our favourite baby-friendly snacks for Disney:
  • Pouches! We love the natural fruit and veggie pouches from Costco. They’re hydrating, pretty nutritious, and assist infants observe tremendous motor expertise like sucking via a straw and squeezing!
  • Freeze dried fruit: soften in your mouth fruit! What’s to not love? Er, apart from the worth. It’s costly!
  • Yogurt melts: Child A loves them, however they’re onerous to seek out with out added sugar, they make child’s fingers very sticky, they usually appear to make her spit up. And it’s all the time vibrant pink and has that bitter yogurt odor. They usually stain. Not our favourite snack however works in a pinch.
  • Cheerios. Traditional. Simple. All the time a success. Not a choking hazard. 10/10. We’ve discovered to all the time have a ziploc baggie of cheerios on us always!
  • Bombas or Gerbers puffs. We discovered some natural Gerber puffs which have a sprinkling of veggie powder in them and that made us really feel good although I’m certain they provide little or no precise diet. However they’re enjoyable to eat and assist infants observe their pincer grip!
• Don’t depart snacks out in your stroller, particularly at Animal Kingdom. We noticed just a few uninvited critters making the rounds at stroller parking in Animal Kingdom, and no one desires squirrels and their germs on their strollers! Clear up stray Cheerios and tuck snacks away in a bag to verify your stroller isn’t a goal.

Disney World with Infants: Which Parks Are Finest?

One factor I want we knew earlier than our journey is which Disney World parks are greatest to go to with an toddler. Because it seems, not each park is equal in the case of visiting Disney with an toddler. Some parks skew extra towards adults, some extra towards older youngsters. Some parks are sorely missing in shade and air-conditioned indoor areas to take naps or cool off.

To my shock, there was a transparent winner as the perfect Disney World park with an toddler: Epcot! Epcot has the perfect steadiness of baby-friendly points of interest

Hollywood Studios with a Child

Hollywood Studios does one factor higher than the opposite parks: dwell reveals. Child A LOVED the Magnificence  and the Beast dwell efficiency. And that was … about it. The remainder of the park simply isn’t actually designed for infants. That mentioned, it could be value a day go to only for the few points of interest it does supply – or so that you and your companion can do rider change and journey all of the actually great things.

Finest points of interest and rides for infants at Hollywood Studios:

• Magnificence and the Beast Stay on Stage: Child A misplaced her rattling MIND singing and clapping alongside at this present. The dancing and songs at the start are enjoyable and upbeat and actually well-done, visually – suppose 1930’s period showcase dance numbers. However she kinda misplaced curiosity when issues obtained unhappy and gradual (“story as outdated as time” shouldn’t be a child bop, it seems). Fortunately we sat on the finish of the aisle so we might make a fast getaway. This was positively Child A’s favourite exercise at Hollywood Studios.
• Halfway Mania: We had been involved about bringing her on this journey as a result of it’s 3D, and we had been afraid it would make her nauseous with out the glasses on. However she liked going across the observe and didn’t appear bothered by the blurry, non-3d pictures on the display. She wished to tug the string to shoot too! Nevertheless, she didn’t like among the loud noises, and cried and squirmed a bit through the loudest half – breaking plates – however settled after we stopped and coated her ears for a bit. This one positively verges on overstimulating, but it surely’s kinda not that enjoyable in the event you aren’t in a position to be aggressive and play in opposition to your companion.

… and that’s it. Yeah: this park actually wasn’t designed for infants.

Rides to Skip in Hollywood Studios: 

• Mickey’s Runaway Railroad: We held Child A on our laps for this journey, however none of us loved it a lot. The journey is very loud and a bit of too intense/scary for her. She obtained scared at a lot of the “battle” elements of the story and all of us hated the vehicles dancing – I assumed she was going to fall out at one level. Overstimulating, loud, jarring – this journey is only a lot.

Suggestions for Hollywood Studios with a Child

• There’s a pleasant place to nap on the entrance to Galaxy’s Edge proper on the border with the Toy Story part. It’s a quiet facet space with ambient chicken noises enjoying and no loud noises, and it’s off the principle path so there aren’t any crowds. There’s additionally a conveniently positioned bench.
• One other nice nap spot is within the tunnel on the opposite facet of Galaxy’s Edge. It’s absolutely shaded and has a pleasant breeze and ambient spa music (I suppose Star Wars is all about ambient spa sounds). It’s the right afternoon nap/nurse spot, although you’ll see that numerous mother and father have the identical concept – it’s not as quiet as the opposite spot we discovered.
• The Child Care heart is on the very entrance of the park and also you’ll have to chop the Visitor Relations line to get to it, which is irritating and inconvenient. Not value it, truthfully.

Hollywood Studios Verdict: if it’s important to decide a park to skip, that is the one. It’s simply not the perfect park for infants!

Epcot with a Child

Ahhh, Epcot. My favourite park. And never simply as a result of this was *my* park throughout my time as a Solid Member, after I labored at Soarin’ within the Land Pavilion. I imply certain sure, there may be loads of glad nostalgia tied to the park for me. But in addition? I LOVE journey – hey, that’s my job now – and an entire half of Epcot is all about celebrating journey and letting you step foot into immersive miniature lands representing totally different international locations. The World Showcase is sort of a mile of pure journey gasoline, and I completely find it irresistible.

And on the opposite half of the park are lands celebrating Earth and house. And, er, the Guardians of the Galaxy, which … truthfully, doesn’t match in any respect, but it surely’s an superior new journey so we’ll go together with it.

Anway: the park is gorgeous, effectively laid out, filled with attention-grabbing issues to see and do, and – drumroll please – the BEST Disney World park for infants!

Why did we rank Epcot on the high? For starters, 3 phrases: AIR CONDITIONED PAVILIONS. There are TONS of pavilions all through the park, and most of them are enormous and air-conditioned. There’s additionally ample seating – like Connections Cafe, which is basically an infinite Starbucks crammed with benches and tables – each indoors and open air.

The Child Middle is conveniently situated within the excellent heart of the park, with a big, comfy nursing room that has house for a number of households. And there’s a broad number of baby-friendly actions, from baby-friendly rides to a big playground to a implausible aquarium. Epot makes it straightforward to entertain or nap a child on a sizzling Florida day!

Let’s get to the tea:

Finest points of interest and rides for infants at Epcot:

• The Seas with Nemo and Buddies: 10/10 excellent child journey and Child A LOVED it. Darkish! Cool! Enjoyable! Fish! Songs! Nothing scary or loud or jarring. And afterward, AN AQUARIUM! Child A misplaced her thoughts on the aquarium and we returned right here repeatedly. One mother or father stayed on the aquarium with the newborn whereas the opposite one rode Soarin on the Land Pavilion subsequent door, and the Guardians of the Galaxy journey close by. Child A might have stayed right here taking a look at fish all day lengthy (and with the A/C, we had been glad to remain right here too). There are tons to see in right here and it’s an ideal spot to chill off for some time. Plus, that is additionally the place you’ll discover Turtle Discuss with Crush which is one in all our favorites, although we sadly didn’t check it out with Child A this time.
• Grand Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros: This was one in all Child A’s favorites! Numerous scenes of Mexico and upbeat music, and the tip portion is mainly simply It’s a Small World however with extra of a deal with Mexico. Plus, there may be just about by no means a line, and it’s important to undergo the Mexico pavilion to get right here which is totally gorgeous.
• Frozen: I feel she wasn’t a fan of the songs switching each scene, however Child A did take pleasure in this journey. She particularly liked the large backward drop (it’s actually not that massive of a drop, however it’s to a child!) and appeared to benefit from the music too.

Rides we didn’t have time to expertise however I guess Child A would have loved:

• Spaceship Earth: I completely love this journey, however we frightened that Child A would possibly discover it boring because it doesn’t have a lot music. Nonetheless, we absolutely deliberate to attempt it … till we realized we’d should stroll alllll the best way again to the very entrance of the park after we had been already within the World Showcase near the Skyliner. Too far. I’d give it a attempt in the event you enter on the massive ball, although!

Rides to Skip in Epcot 

• Figment: That is positively a baby-friendly journey by way of the mechanics of the journey (good and gradual, enjoyable), however the journey itself was simply okay. There was loads of speaking and all of it went over her head. And admittedly, there wasn’t sufficient music to maintain her , both. This journey is extra geared towards barely older youngsters.
• Dwelling with the Land: One other journey that Child A simply discovered kinda boring. There’s numerous speaking about vegetation and the atmosphere and such (not thrilling for a child, however very cool for the remainder of us) and there’s no music. That mentioned, a really small child would probably take pleasure in this gradual, enjoyable journey.

Suggestions for Epcot with a child

• Make a lunch reservation at one of many eating places within the World Showcase. Decide a delicacies from the 11 international locations and guide a desk for lunch! The meals right here is phenomenal – the entire Cooks are professionally educated and from their respective international locations. Your servers can be from the nation you’re consuming in, too.
• Connections Cafe is a huuuge Starbucks filled with tables and benches! It’s an ideal place to chill down and rejuvenate.
• The fountain in Morocco – not the one on the entrance, the one within the Riad contained in the plaza – is a good place to chill down within the shade and do some refreshing water play, or a pleasant shaded nap with built-in white noise.
• Epcot has a really good child care heart, proper in between the World Showcase and the remainder of the park. There’s an enormous comfy nursing room with numerous chairs and footrests. It’s cool, darkish, and quiet – the right spot for a nap. (Epcot is stuffed with good nap spots!)
• There’s an enormous playground outdoors of the Creations store. Even when your toddler can’t play simply but, they’ll in all probability take pleasure in watching massive youngsters enjoying!

Epcot Verdict: fingers down the winner of Disney World’s most baby-friendly park! From the large air-conditioned pavilions to the ample seating to the centrally situated child care heart to the baby-friendly rides and points of interest, we discovered ourselves returning to Epcot repeatedly.

Animal Kingdom with an Toddler

Animal Kingdom is a implausible park for infants, particularly in case your toddler has taken an curiosity in animals like ours (she’s an enormous fan of birds, particularly). It’s lush and inexperienced and filled with locations to see animals – plus some enjoyable rides, too.

For folks, there’s additionally my favourite journey, Everest, which occurs to have a single-rider line that’ll get you on nearly instantly. It’s nice to journey through the child’s nap! There are just a few different nice thrill rides too, however there are many points of interest and reveals for infants.

The caveat? There aren’t many locations indoors to flee from the warmth – and Animal Kingdom is definitely about 10 levels hotter and extra humid than the opposite parks by design, for the wildlife – form of like of a tropical rainforest. So we suggest visiting Animal Kingdom very first thing within the morning and leaving earlier than or proper after lunch. Right here’s the tea:

Finest points of interest and rides for infants at Animal Kingdom:

• Kilimanjaro Safaris: That is such an ideal attraction! You’ll be on an enormous open-air truck driving via the savannah and seeing animals up shut – nearly like a zoo however with none of the enclosures. Child A LOVED Kilimanjaro and was clapping for all of the animals! This journey is greatest early within the morning when the animals are most energetic and being fed, so head straight right here very first thing when you arrive. Every journey is totally different so it’s nice to journey over and over, too.
• Na’vi River Journey: A bioluminescent deal with for the eyes. The whole lot on this slow-moving river journey was completely lovely, magical, glowing, and nature-y. The music is calm. It’s an entire vibe. And I feel this was Child A’s FAVORITE journey in any of the parks. She was completely enchanted your complete time and under no circumstances scared. This journey is certainly value a Lightning Lane move.
• Competition of the Lion King Present: Child A loved the lion king present, however misplaced curiosity through the slower elements and appeared overwhelmed throughout among the villain songs. We ended up nursing a lot of the present (it’s an extended present) however might simply have left as an alternative.

Rides we didn’t have time to expertise however I guess Child A would have loved:

• Wildlife Categorical Practice to Rafiki’s Planet Watch: The Wildlife Categorical Practice is a peaceable 7-minute journey – a journey in and of itself – to Rafiki’s Planet Watch, a quiet, air-conditioned pavilion devoted to the preservation and conservation of animals. You’ll see some attention-grabbing stuff right here and a few animals. Most of it can in all probability go proper over child’s head, however hey, there’s A/C! Once you’re prepared, take the practice again to the remainder of the park.
• Winged Encounters – The Kingdom Takes Flight: Just like the Tiki Room however with actual birds (and fewer singing). I feel Child A would have actually loved seeing the colourful macaws hovering and swooping overhead!
• Animal Encounters: From lions to tigers to gorillas (oh my!) there are TONS of locations to see animals right here! There’s even a petting zoo. I want we took extra time to stroll via the opposite animal sections. Actually, we might have fortunately spent a number of mornings at Animal Kingdom.
• Drummers of Harambe: Child A is an enormous fan of drumming and dancing to a beat, and this dwell avenue efficiency within the Africa part of the park would have been superior for her to see. They pull up massive youngsters to bounce too which infants love to observe! I want we’d made it some extent to catch one in all their present occasions.
• Discovering Nemo: The Massive Blue… and Past: This dwell present is stuffed with massive colourful track and dance numbers! In case your toddler enjoys music and dancing too, this can be an enormous hit.

Suggestions for Animal Kingdom with a child

• For lunch, Tusker Home is nice. It’s character eating with Mickey and associates (Child A was tentatively within the characters as soon as they began enjoying peekaboo along with her) and the meals is buffet model, with numerous baby-friendly meals and yummy meals for everybody.
• Napping right here and being right here within the afternoon is a problem. It’s 10 levels hotter and extra humid than the opposite parks. And there aren’t any massive, quiet indoor locations with A/C to chill off and chill out (aside from Rafiki’s Planet Watch). When naptime hit, it took us fairly some time to seek out a great spot. We finally discovered some picnic tables beneath a tree that was kinda shaded and quiet… after which some loud a** water present began up and I about misplaced my f***king thoughts.
• The Child Care Middle is centrally situated and fairly good. It has personal nursing rooms, which is useful in case your child is definitely distracted.

Animal Kingdom Verdict: This can be a nice baby-friendly park in case your toddler enjoys animals, and there are many baby-friendly rides, points of interest, and reveals. However depart earlier than midday or simply after lunch, when the warmth turns into insufferable. The animals are most energetic early within the morning anyway.

Magic Kingdom with an Toddler 

Once we had been planning our journey and looking out into which Disney Park has probably the most rides with out peak necessities, Magic Kingdom appeared like it could be the best choice for us: there are TONS of rides which might be applicable for all ages! … Effectively, in idea, anyway.

What we really found was that the beloved Magic Kingdom was one of many WORST Disney Parks for infants. It’s crowded as hell, takes longer to get to than another park, doesn’t have many choices for cooling off, and people all-ages rides? Lots of them are so outdated that they’re simply not protected to journey with an toddler. A lot of the enchantment of Magic Kingdom is all in regards to the characters and beloved Disney properties, which frankly, infants don’t care about in any respect.

Right here’s the tea on Magic Kingdom:

Finest points of interest and rides for child at Magic Kingdom:

The winners for us in Magic Kingdom had been colourful, slow-moving rides with upbeat, acquainted music:

• Underneath the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid: That is a darkish conveyer belt journey in a shifting clamshell. Child A LOVED the Underneath the Sea scene, which is vibrant and colourful and enjoyable. It helped that we’d been enjoying the track for her within the weeks main as much as our journey so she instantly acknowledged it. The Mad 
• It’s a Small World: We really waited longer for this journey than anything throughout our journey – and we had a Lightning Lane move. The journey itself is quarter-hour lengthy, so with a 30-minute wait this finally ends up being fairly a time suck. That mentioned, Child A LOVES the track (we’d been enjoying it for her) and was REALLY excited on this journey. She completely liked it! It ended up pushing her bedtime again about an hour however I feel it was value it to see her clap with glee and dance for 15 straight minutes.
• The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: This darkish journey was nice! There are some small mild up-and-down hills. The music is generally very calm, and the colourful/trippy Huffalumps and Woozles scene was Child A’s favourite. It’s positively value a lightning lane move!
• Tiki Room: One other attraction that we prioritized primarily based on Child A’s music preferences. And he or she was actually into most of it! Plus, it’s good and lengthy and had fantastic A/C, so we relished the chance to sit down in cool air for some time. After which get a Dole Whip (which we needed to eat out of her sight).

As a result of the traces in Magic Kingdom are SO lengthy, we didn’t get to journey every thing we wished to. We want we might have ridden on Individuals Mover, a slow-moving practice that lightly glides round Tomorrowland – excellent for infants! And we want we’d had an opportunity to attempt Buzz Lightyear Spin since Child A loved Halfway Mania (largely).

Different rides we thought-about however in the end determined to skip resulting from lengthy traces and Child A’s chance of having fun with them had been:

• Jungle Cruise: no music, the journey largely consists of speaking and jokes that may simply go proper over her head
• Pirates of the Caribbean: frankly she may need loved it due to the music, however we didn’t really feel like standing in an extended line
• Haunted Mansion: Child A shouldn’t be a fan of music in a minor key – I feel she will be able to inform it’s purported to be spooky/scary/off – and she or he doesn’t like issues which might be chaotic and loud. I feel she would have loved the large graveyard music scene, and located the remainder of it both boring or scary.
• The Mad Tea Occasion: Child A didn’t actually appear to take pleasure in fast-paced spinning or shifting. She’s extra into the visuals, music, and gradual, mild rides. So we’ll wait on this one till she’s a bit of older.

Rides to Skip in Magic Kingdom

• Prince Charming Regal Carousel

Child A really loved the carousel. That mentioned, that is simply your commonplace carousel. It’s older than the parks, so it’s not terribly Disney-themed (although we did get to see the Ugly Stepsisters from Cinderella driving it and insulting onlookers) and, extra importantly, there is just one baby-safe seat: a single bench amidst a sea of carousel horses that infants can’t safely journey. 

If there isn’t any line, give it a whirl. In any other case, reserve it for a county truthful.

• Don’t journey Peter Pan’s Flight. 

For causes that no one fairly understands, Peter Pan is the preferred journey in all of Magic Kingdom with wait occasions persistently topping 60 minutes. It’s a totally common journey, so my working idea is 1) nostalgia, 2) child enchantment, and three) poor journey design that didn’t account for the demand it could be experiencing 70 freaking years after being constructed.

Mainly, this journey has lengthy ass traces. And Child A was not impressed – the journey is a nap and never value a Lightning Lane move.

Worst of all, it’s downright harmful for an toddler. How did we understand how unsafe Peter Pan’s Flight was? As a result of we had been despatched via the journey with no lap bar on our child. Which was terrifying. And intensely harmful.

You see, most flying rides are geared up with a harness for security. The journey I used to work on, Soarin’, has a harness, a number of security checks, and even a video digicam on each seat, which Solid Members monitor constantly all through the journey searching for any kiddos making an attempt to wriggle out – that’s a fall threat from 50 ft. If anybody is getting too wiggly, Solid Members can hit the emergency cease button on the journey and convey it again down manually.

However Peter Pan was inbuilt 1955, earlier than anybody considered security rules on rides, I suppose. So although your car goes method up into the air, it simply has a lap bar, not a harness. The lap bar routinely lowers about .5 seconds earlier than you permit the sight of a Solid Member – which isn’t sufficient time to make sure everyone seems to be safely seated. There’s additionally no lap bar test (which just about each different journey within the parks has). 

So, what occurred to us? Child A was seated on the Tushbaby going through me after we boarded the journey. Jeremy was wiping down the lap bar with hand sanitizer and I used to be on the point of flip Child A round and sit her on my lap, when – shock! The lap bar closed, and we took off. Earlier than we had an opportunity to get Child A seated beneath the lap bar. She was simply sitting on me, above the lap bar. 

We screamed for assist, however the journey took off so rapidly that no one heard us. And, as we discovered, there aren’t any video cameras. So no Solid Members might see that Child A was squirming round making an attempt to see and pushing backward off of me with surprising energy whereas I clung to her with each arms for pricey life, figuring out that if she twisted out of my arms, she would fall. (Keep in mind: it is a flying journey. We had been up within the air. Simply holding our child. With nothing to maintain her from falling.)

Actually? It was fucking terrifying. As quickly as we obtained off the journey I burst into panicked sobbing and it took fairly some time to relax. We made an incident report with the affected person Solid Members, however aside from that there wasn’t a lot we might do. 

The incident studies go to the higher-ups, and I hope it will get escalated to whoever makes choices about upgrading rides, as a result of this journey is frankly horrifyingly unsafe. There must be an extended sufficient time period between the lap bar decreasing and take-off for Solid Members to do a security test. My guess is that they’ve averted doing it as a result of the journey already has such lengthy wait occasions and that may add main time, but it surely’s completely obligatory. This journey is horribly outdated.

So, till it’s up to date? Don’t journey Peter Pan’s Flight with an toddler.

• Additionally keep away from the Dumbo the Flying Elephant journey, and its copies, in case your child is cellular.

That is one other older Disney journey that takes fliers up into the air … in a automobile with open sides, and nothing safer than a lap belt. A crawling, squirming child might simply and rapidly decrease themselves to the ground and slip proper out the facet of the automobile. (In case your child shouldn’t be but cellular, you don’t have anything to fret about as lengthy you retain a good grip on them.)

So, yup – yet one more older Magic Kindom journey that’s not protected for infants! I do know, I used to be shocked too. Disney is normally the highest of the road in the case of security – I imply hey, I even have photos of myself as a Solid Member in entrance of one of many many indicators backstage that claims Secure D Begins with Me (see them on this put up)! WHERE IS THE SAFE D ON OUTDATED MAGIC KINGDOM RIDES, Disney!?!?!

Anyway. Because you’re avoiding Dumbo, go forward and add the Flying Carpet journey and Astro Orbiters, too. And Triceratop Spin in Animal Kingdom. They’re literallly simply the identical journey with totally different theming.

Extra suggestions for Magic Kingdom with a child

• We ate lunch at Tony’s City Sq., which is true by the doorway of the park. Child A likes pasta, we like pasta, we simply figured we’d have some first rate pasta. We had been NOT ready for the way shockingly good it was. I imply!!! It was AMAZING. I extremely suggest the Orecchiette With Spicy Italian Sausage and the Butcher’s Steak, which was among the greatest steak I’ve had in a very long time (and Child A liked the crispy roasted yukon potatoes.) We additionally ordered a Bellini to take the sting off the entire Peter Pan fiasco, which was scrumptious. 
• Storybook Circus is an entire part in Magic Kingdom crammed with kid-friendly stuff (although kid-friendly doesn’t additionally imply baby-friendly). You may decide up a practice to journey across the park right here, which is a pleasant enjoyable journey in and of itself. However most significantly, there’s a splash floor. On sizzling days, a splash floor and a crawling child are a match made in heaven. However aside from that, this space is generally for older youngsters.
• Child care heart: Magic Kingdom’s Child Care Middle is by Fundamental Avenue, which is … kinda removed from a lot of the park, truthfully. There are benches out entrance and the middle itself is actually cute and well-themed. It’s an ideal quiet place for a snack or a diaper change. It’s not as nice for nursing although, as a result of there are solely 2 personal nursing rooms. 

Magic Kingdom Verdict: We thought this park can be a success as a result of it has probably the most all-ages rides, but it surely’s crowded, the rides are a bit of outdated and missing in baby-proof security checks, and it’s heavy on the characters and film properties which infants actually don’t care about. Plus, it takes longer to get to and from MK than another park. Value a visit for it’s a small world and among the reveals, however not a lot else.  We’re wanting ahead to experiencing Magic Kingdom with Child A when she’s older.

Full Listing of Child Rides at Disney World

Once we had been researching for our journey and searching for issues for infants to do at Disney World, we struggled to discover a full listing of baby-friendly, all-ages rides at Disney World. So, to avoid wasting you time, right here it’s.

I marked the rides that we loved probably the most with 10-month-old Child A in daring and put those we suggest skipping in italics. Our two favourite parks at Disney World for infants are Epcot and Animal Kingdom, which I marked with asterisks.

The place to Keep at Disney World with an Toddler

I is probably not a Solid Member anymore, however I nonetheless have loads of ~opinions about all issues Disney, and many suggestions on your subsequent journey. One among my very sturdy opinions? It’s best to positively keep at a Disney World resort, even in the event you’re on a good price range! It’s SO value it.

From the $$ you’ll save on parking and a rental automobile (thanks to Disney’s airport pick-up service and big free transportation community) to the unbelievable comfort and Further Magic Hours, the resorts are WELL value it. And much more so, in the event you can rating a reduced fee 😉

There are positively methods to attain a deal at a Disney Resort, if you recognize the place to look. Sometimes, you’ll find Disney World resorts listed on resort deal websites – notably for low season dates! We as soon as scored a keep at Port Orleans for beneath $150/evening. Whee! So simply in case, have a look – we noticed a BUNCH of them listed lately on  Lodges.com  and  Priceline ! That’s how we as soon as scored a keep at Port Orleans for beneath $150/evening. Whee!

The time of 12 months that you just’re visiting and whenever you guide issues, too. Disney quietly runs deep reductions on low season bookings (normally January via April) round October/November, so preserve a watch out and  test their particular provides web page regularly. 

And at last, final minute bookings can internet you STEEP reductions! I’ve seen rooms hovering round $150 per evening about 3 days prematurely. You may normally rating one via  Priceline . My advice is to guide a good-enough resort via  Reserving.com  so you may cancel it as much as the day earlier than your journey, then preserve checking  Priceline  simply in case you may rating a last-minute room at a steep low cost.

We’re massive followers of staying at on the Worth resorts, which actually supply the perfect bang on your buck. Artwork of Animation, one of many latest resorts, is a implausible place to stick with a child. There’s a enormous pool – it’s really the biggest pool at any Disney World resort –  with a child space and an enormous sprayground, plus 2 different swimming pools for good measure. There’s all kinds of meals, and the theming is fairly cute (we ended up getting upgraded to a Vehicles-themed suite).

And better of all, you’ll have straightforward walkable entry to the Skyliner, which takes you in airborne pods to Epcot and Holywood Studios. Of all of the Disney World transportation choices, the Skyliner is by far the perfect: you’re seated with a pleasant view, it’s not crowded, and there’s a cool breeze. Child A liked driving on the Skyliner (and so did we!)

 This resort can also be thought-about one in all Disney’s price range choices – but it surely’s actually the perfect of the price range choices. A detailed second is Pop Century Resort, which is true subsequent door and likewise has entry to the Skyliner.

I hope you discovered this (huge) information useful for planning your journey to Disney World with a child! Do you may have questions that we might help reply? Drop us a remark under!

Psst: In search of extra suggestions that will help you plan your Disney journey? Try a few of our different Disney World posts:

Want you might journey to Disney with out leaving dwelling? We created an immersive digital Disney world tour so you may make a journey from the consolation of your couch!

We even have a Podcast episode all about Disney! A futuristic utopia that’s positively not a cult. A suicide-themed journey. Lia’s school internship. What do all of them have in frequent? Disney World, after all! On this episode, Lia spills all of the Mad Tea on probably the most magical place on Earth, plus insider suggestions from her time as a Solid Member. We additionally clarify our tried & examined Disney Technique (aka STRAT), as a result of ready in lengthy traces for rides is a few Bippity-Boppity-BS.

Hear above or simply click on right here to launch your Podcast app! Oh, and don’t overlook to subscribe so that you don’t miss new episodes.

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