These tips on how to do Disney World with a baby have been a long time coming! (And has been quite requested by you guys!) I’m thrilled to finally be able to share my recent trip to Walt Disney World with y’all! With all of the photos I snapped and the lists & lists of tips I have to share, this post has taken me a little bit longer than my usual blog posts do to get published. Finding a big chunk of free time when you have a little one is sometimes like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Wouldn’t you agree!? So now that Annie is in Mother’s Day Out, I’m going to be spilling out a ton of fun content for y’all!
Anywho, today I am sharing a look into our ONE day in Disney World. I’m also sharing insight on what it is like to do Disney with a baby, with a whole lot of tips too. Here’s a hint, it’s SO much easier than you would ever think!
25 TIPS TO DO DISNEY WORLD WITH A BABY:
Before You Even Pack Your Bags, Plan to Dress the Part
Stylish Disney-themed outfits are all the rage when visiting the parks these days. When I was a little kid, I wore a simple t-shirt with Minnie Mouse’s face plastered large across the front. That’s about all that was available at the time too. Twenty-something years later, children and their parents are going all out in the park outfits.
From Mickey Mouse embroidered smocked bubbles and dresses for the little girls to impeccably detailed princess dresses for the kids, there are so many more options for outfits when visiting the park. And even for the parents too! Zara recently released a line of Disney-themed clothing, including my Mickey-printed denim shorts styled above! I paired these with a simple tee, mouse ears and comfy kicks for a stylish ensemble that’s ready to tackle anything Disney throws at me.
A few of my favorite fashion finds for a trip to Disney World:
Disney World Looks for Little Girls:
Disney World Looks for Moms:
We only had one day in the park so we chose to visit Animal Kingdom & Epcot. As this was Annie’s first visit to WDW, and her Daddy wasn’t present, I didn’t want her to experience the magic that is the Magic Kingdom without him. (Even though she may have snoozed through the whole thing anyway!)
Morning in Animal Kingdom
Many people will agree, plan your visit to Animal Kingdom first thing in the morning. This park is best seen, in my opinion, in the earlier hours of the day. Especially if you want to see the animals at their peak during a warm summer’s day!
Plus, with Animal Kingdom’s new Pandora addition, you’re going to want to run (or walk at a very brisk pace) to Avatar’s Flight of Passage ASAP!
A few things we packed for our day in Disney that made the experience so much smoother with an infant:
A Stroller with a Large Undercarriage: We love our UPPABaby VISTA for this reason alone! There is so much space underneath to throw diaper bags, purses, shopping bags and more.
Stroller Fan: I found this one off of Amazon and it comes with rechargeable battery. I can plug in my backup phone battery charger into it if it dies while we’re on the goo too.
Hat or Bonnet for Baby: I love this little white bonnet from Beaufort Bonnet Company for this age! Now that she’s older (at the time of writing this) we use this wide-brim hat with an adjustable strap.
Sunscreen: For you and baby!
Baby Carrier: This way you can park your stroller and carry your child on rides with you. We transferred Annie out of her stroller & into her carrier many many times throughout the day! I love the Ergobaby 360 Carrier because it comes with a lot of padding and makes wearing her all the more comfortable.
Tips on Visiting Pandora the World of Avatar with a Baby:
- Try your hardest to grab fast pass tickets to Flight of Passage. The line can get REALLY long. You can use the rider switch passes so each person in your party can have a turn to experience the ride, all the while someone is staying with the baby.
- The Na’vi River Journey is an easy + relaxing ride to take with a baby. The dark lights may even put them to sleep for a little while too. Annie totally snoozed through this one while I was just in complete awe!
- Cool off for a bit in the AC inside the gift shop attached to Flight of Passage. Nearby you can even grab an iced cold Pandora-themed drink!
Another great ride in Animal Kingdom that is baby-friendly is Kilimanjaro Safari. I will say, make SURE you pack your stroller fan with you, or any handheld fan in general. It got really really hot while we were on this ride last June. Thank goodness for the friendly people on the row in front of us who let us borrow their portable fan!!
Also, if you sit in the back row of the van, nobody will be paying attention if you have to breastfeed your baby during the ride. Trust me, I know! 😉 And that is an experience I’ll probably never forget either!
The Holy Grail of Doing Disney with a Baby: the Baby Care Centers
All four of the theme parks offer Baby Care Centers, providing a comfortable space to feed, change and nurse your little ones. With rows and rows of changing tables, high chairs, microwaves and even private rooms with rocking chairs, I was ever so thankful for these centers during our visit. The centers also provide a little shop offering items you might have forgotten or run out of: like diapers, wipes, sunscreen, even extra Disney-themed onesies!
Each park’s baby center is also decorated to match the theme of the parks they sit in. The Animal Kingdom changing station is right by the Starbucks on the left side of the Tree of Life before you cross the bridge into Africa. We paid this center a visit multiple times throughout the day! I found it was easier to walk over here to change Annie and feed her instead of stopping elsewhere in the park. It was a great central location to everything too.
A great thing about doing Disney with a child under 6-months old is that they will generally nap-on-the-go at this age. So you can do Disney World at YOUR pace, knowing your little one is content in their stroller most of the time.
An Afternoon in Epcot
We scooted on over to Epcot shortly after lunch to spend the afternoon not only in the future but also in as many different countries that we could fit in across the globe. I will say, park hopping with a baby can be a bit challenging. Most likely, you’ll be hopping parks by bus. When boarding the bus, you’ll be expected to fold your stroller and carry your child.
We made sure to break down the stroller and secure all of our bags and put Annie in the carrier well before boarding the bus. BUT, we only knew to do this after learning from our mistake when leaving the hotel earlier that morning. The three of us held up the bus departing to Animal Kingdom quite some time when we had to take down the stroller and secure everything before boarding.
Character Visits & Cast Member Photographer
You can check each park’s schedule to see when and where characters will be greeting guests in the Walt Disney World app. I didn’t want to miss introducing Annie to Alice in Wonderland while we were in “England!”
At character stops, there are always photographers there standing by ready to take your pictures. The pictures will be loaded directly into your Walt Disney World app where you can decide to buy them. A one time fee will pay for all of the pictures you take in the park or you can buy them individually. Next go-round, I definitely want to take advantage of the cast member’s cameras and not worry so much about having a stranger or my mom take the perfect picture. These guys do an amazing job!!
Eight-hours into our day and my OOTD is still going strong!
Towards the end of the afternoon, my mom and I were becoming plum-tuckered out. Annie was as content as could be in her stroller. We took our time and wandered through the different countries in the World Showcase, browsing all of the little shops in each country. We couldn’t resist having a drink and a snack or two at each one!
We made dinner reservations at the pizza place in “Italy” in advance. It worked out perfectly because the rain came right when we arrived to the restaurant. You can never really predict that Florida weather! I also highly recommend making a dinner reservation when visiting Walt Disney World. There is nothing worse than having your heart set on a delicious dinner to find out the wait is 2+ hours long … which definitely is no fun with a baby in tow!
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A Few More for Disney World Tips with a Baby Before You Go!
Now that you’ve followed along on our One Day in Disney with a Baby, I want to share a few more tips that didn’t quite fit into the above, below.
- Stroller Parking: Be prepared to leave your stroller behind when riding any rides. It’s up to you whether you feel comfortable leaving your diaper bag or backpack behind with your stroller. We did so about half the time. Just make sure you’ve got all of your valuables with you for peace of mind. Also, having a rain cover or poncho with you will protect your stroller from the elements if it starts to pour while you’re on a ride.
- Plan Nap Time Around Lunch or Shopping: Strollers aren’t allowed on any rides, so if Annie was taking a particularly long nap, we would check out a few more shops than we probably would otherwise. You can also bring your stroller into the restaurants which makes for easy AC-filled downtime for baby.
- Pack Snacks & a Water Bottle: Annie was still exclusively breastfeeding at this time, so we didn’t have to pack any extra snacks in with us. Guests are allowed to bring any snacks in the parks that don’t require heating, so if your little one likes to eat, be sure to pack a bunch! You can fill up a cup of ice water for free in any of the restaurants, but bottled water will cost you. Next go-round, I’ll definitely bring my own water bottle to fill up.
- Relax and Enjoy! This is probably my number one tip for any mama planning a visit to Disney World with a baby. You can not possibly predict or plan how the day is going to go, and sure there will definitely be some hiccups and probably tears along the way. But the more relaxed you are and prepared for anything, the more you’re going to enjoy it!!!
If you have any questions at all about visiting Disney with a little one, please send me an email! I’d love to chat! Now to plan a trip to Disney when Annie can REALLY experience all the magic that this world has to offer!
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xo, alice
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Ps: thank you so much to Walt Disney World for providing us with tickets to enjoy this special day together! It will be one we will always remember!
PPS: Loving these tips on how to do Disney World with a baby? Check out our recent stay at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. click here!
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