A Guide to Taking A Baby to Disney

Visiting Walt Disney World with infants is an exceptionally magical experience. Many question if it’s worth it to take a small baby there when they may not remember, but my answer is always emphatically yes – do it, take them to the magic! The memories will live on in pictures and in your mind, and the moments you experience will impact your baby tremendously. There are so many sights and sounds to absorb, textures to explore, and giggles to be had – but most importantly they are free!

Babies come with a lot of needs and gear, so this guide will help make your family vacation stress-free. Here you will find tips about the experience of taking your infant to Disney and what to do. The things you will need for your little one will be a separate post to come later.

Our two children have been coming to the parks since they were six months old. We have survived potty accidents, diaper blow-outs, lost pacifiers, lots of naps, and more. Mistakes were made – just ask Dave about the time we had to buy him a new shirt – but we’ve learned a lot through the process, which has led us to these great tips to share with you!

Diapers and Training Pants

If you don’t read anything else in this article, diaper advice is the most important item to take away from this guide. The Florida sun and heat can be intense, so you’ll find your little one drinking more to stay hydrated and cool. More in means more out and your standard diaper may not be able to handle the extra output. Meet your new best friend – the nighttime diaper! Nighttime diapers are designed to hold a large amount of liquid while keeping your baby’s bottom feeling dry. At Disney, I recommend using these diapers all day every day – not just at night. The key is using one size larger than your baby’s standard day diaper. So, if your little one wears a size 3 in a regular daily diaper, utilize a size 4 nighttime. 

This is also true for training diapers. Go with the nighttime model for everyday use at Disney. Sizing is a little different for training diapers, but generally stick with something larger. For instance, my kids used the XS size as toddlers even though they were smaller than the suggested weight on the sizing. 

Before we made the nighttime diaper discovery, we tried a few other suggested solutions and none of them worked. One of these suggestions included wearing two diapers and cutting a hole in the first so it could funnel to the second one. Avoid this idea at all costs. It makes a huge mess and doesn’t actually work. Another suggestion was to change them more frequently or to use one size up in the regular diapers. Neither of these worked as they just can’t keep up with the quantity of liquid in the same way a nighttime diaper can. 

Because of the increase in wetting and therefore also skin irritation, be sure to bring a good diaper rash treatment. I recommend an ointment over a cream as the ointment will create a water resistant barrier and works on healing the skin, whereas a cream just soothes redness.

Strollers

You will need a stroller for your baby at the parks. A stroller provides a place for your infant to rest, take a nap, get out of the sun, and also gives you a rest from carrying them. So many times I’ve seen families walk into the parks carrying their baby with no stroller in sight. This will cause instant regret, so don’t make this mistake. Check out my posts on strollers to help guide your decisions on what to do: what features to look for, suggested styles, and what options are there. Suffice it to say, the park rental stroller will not work for infants and you will need to plan on using an alternative such as bringing your own or a third-party rental. 

You cannot take strollers into restaurants or attraction queues. There will be designated areas for stroller parking, so expect to leave your stroller and need to carry your baby for most experiences. That’s where the baby carrier comes in…

Baby Carrier

There is a lot of walking and standing in lines at Disney – often for long periods of time. Trying to hold your baby for all of that will quickly tire you out. A baby carrier takes that weight off your arms and provides a comfortable place for your baby. Babies nap frequently and having them in a carrier allows everyone to continue to explore the parks without the need to have someone sit out while attending to a sleeping baby in a stroller. Almost all attractions will let you keep your baby in the carrier while riding. In all of the times we have taken our babies to the parks, I have only experienced a Cast Member asking me to take the baby out of the carrier once or twice – and it wasn’t consistent. 

When it comes to carriers, I will write a separate piece covering some suggested options but my favorite pick is the Ergobaby 360. This structured carrier centers the weight of the baby on your body and has padded straps for your comfort. My favorite feature is that the baby can face inwards or outwards (depending on age), offering great options for both you and your little one. Face your baby inwards when they need a nap and face them outwards when awake so they can see all the sights around them.

Baby Care Centers

While every bathroom does have a changing station, I encourage you to visit the Baby Care Centers at least once during your trip. They are wonderful places to take a moment to get out of the sun, feed your baby, and have some quiet time. There is only one in each of the parks, but they tend to be centrally located. Within each you will find a private space for nursing or pumping mothers, play areas for toddlers, a kitchenette, and a small shop offering supplies. If you find you forgot a bib, ran out of diapers, need baby food, or any other number of baby items – stop into the Baby Care Centers! Each one is different and does not always have the same decor and furniture, but they will all have the same amenities. At EPCOT the changing tables are extra-extra-large, padded, and can support larger or special needs children. Magic Kingdom features smaller changing tables but has more of them. 

Attractions for Babies

What’s wonderful about Disney is that almost all of the attractions and entertainment are friendly for guests of all ages – including infants. Within the My Disney Experience (MDE) app you can filter experiences by height restrictions and age, allowing you to find all of the activities available for infants. If members of your party want to experience more thrilling attractions, you can utilize Rider Swap (more on that later!).

A current list of attractions your baby can visit at Walt Disney World, not including character meets, parades, cavalcades, and fireworks displays (TLDR – there’s a lot to do!): 

General Tips

• There is a lot to see and do at Disney, but when you are traveling with an infant it’s more important than ever to stop for breaks and take it slow. Make sure your little one is experiencing some restful time as part of their day. The afternoon is the perfect time to escape the midday sun to return to your room for a nap and to restock your diaper bag. 
• Enjoy the simple things. Babies love exploring sights, sounds, and textures – of which Disney has plenty! Your baby may get more joy out of crawling on the grass and trying to catch bubbles than any of the attractions. Make sure you find time to let them explore and take in the whole experience. My favorite memory of taking my daughter on her first trip was giving her space to work on learning to crawl on the grassy lawn in EPCOT. 
• In MDE add your baby as a guest managed by you. If both parents have MDE accounts, select who will be creating the account for the baby – this should probably be the most active and familiar user of the app. Make sure your settings are set to sharing with family and friends so the other parent can also add the child to their list of connections. Adding the baby as a guest does not give them a login or create an account for them to use the app. You will need them to be listed as a member of your party in MDE in order to make hotel and dining reservations. 
• Even though your little baby will not be ordering their own meal at Table Service restaurants, it’s important to include them in the total party size when making your dining reservations. Disney needs to account for each person inside to manage capacity, fire code, and egress. 
• Admission for little ones is free until age 3! You do not need to purchase tickets or any add-ons such as Genie+ nor do you need to make Park Reservations for any guests under three. Your baby will be able to visit attractions with you without the need of a ticket or reservations. Note: If you try to select them when purchasing Genie+ you will get a message about the person needing valid admission. You will either not be able to select or will need to deselect them when making the purchase. 
• Keep your baby hydrated. The Florida sun is intense and your baby will be drinking more than usual. Keep your diaper bag stocked and ready! As with any travel, water tastes different than what you’re used to and Florida water is no exception. This may affect your baby and their desire to drink, so you may need to buy bottled water for them.
  • For older babies, avoid too much milk if possible as it can upset their stomach in the heat. We did milk in the morning, at nap time, and then at night in the hotel. If your little one doesn’t like water, do a mix of one-third juice, two-thirds water to make sure they are getting fluids. Utilize an insulated bag to store sippy cups or water bottles in. 
  • For formula fed babies, purchase a case of bottled water and keep it at room temperature. Fill a formula dispenser container with several servings. Bring a couple of the water bottles with you each day in the diaper bag, but don’t keep them cool with ice – let them stay room temperature so you don’t have to heat them for feedings. Don’t mix your formula in until it’s needed so it doesn’t spoil. The nice thing here is that you don’t need to refrigerate or heat up the water. 
  • For breastfed babies, you can nurse anywhere in the parks and there are many out-of-the-way spots to utilize if you prefer privacy. I encourage you to visit the Baby Care Centers as it’s a great place to cool off and relax – for both mom and baby – and there are rocking chairs to use. If you bring a nursing cover to use, be sure it is extremely lightweight and breathable as it will be very hot in the parks. I recommend a muslin blanket as it is very light and has a variety of uses beyond nursing. 
  • For breastmilk babies, make sure to store milk in an insulated bag with ice. Standard hotel rooms do not have a freezer, so if you bring ice packs you will not be able to refreeze them. I recommend bringing some plastic or reusable bags and visiting the resort ice machine to fill them as makeshift ice packs. Just be sure that there is no loose ice as that violates security policy. When you’re ready, there are bottle warmers located at the Baby Care Centers. If you’re pumping, you can visit the Centers to recharge or plug-in, but you cannot store your pump or milk there. 
• Bring a backup shirt for you in the diaper bag in case there are accidents. It’s easy to think about bringing extra clothes for the baby, but don’t overlook yourself!
• Each Disney resort has pack ‘n plays for you to use free of charge. If there is not one located in your room already, call the desk to request it. (They also offer bed rails for toddlers who may have a tendency to roll around in their sleep.) 
• Attach everything. Babies are known to throw or drop things and nothing is worse than losing a critical item such as pacifiers or loveys. Tether all the things! Attach straps from the stroller to loveys, pacifiers, cups, snack containers – absolutely everything that you give your little one. 
• There is not a lot for little ones to eat at the parks. While you may be able to mash up some of your own meal to share with them, use caution when doing so. With very little ones pediatricians recommend only introducing one new food at a time to test for allergies, and restaurant food will likely be contaminated by other ingredients. Pack snacks in your suitcase you know are safe and enjoyable for your baby or plan to purchase items when you arrive. 
• Table Service restaurants all have high chairs for infants, but if your baby cannot sit up on their own (less than six months old) you will need an alternative plan. I recommend babywearing during meals! You’ll get some extra snuggles with your little one and they will likely take a nice nap.

If you’re reading this, then chances are you are considering a trip to Disney with your little one and my advice to you is: do it! Take the trip and make the memories. Your baby may not remember it, but you will and the experiences you share together as a family will be fantastic. 

Looking for more help on taking little ones to Disney? Let me know in the comments if you’re looking for specific tips!

— Jennelle