What I Wish I'd Known Before I Brought My Kid to Disney World -- Tips for Babies, Toddlers, & Teens

We planning on taking my son next year to Disney world by then he will be 4. And it's funny to say he out of naps he doesn't take naps anymore 😂 and he a tall 3 year old so I believe we won't have any problems with him getting on rides. I do plan on showing him Disney so he knows now, hey we going there do you want to go? So far he said yes. So I cnt wait to go. Last time I was there I was 8 i believe.

I've been to Magic Kingdom four times, and I'm always amazed at how many people bring babies. They wont' enjoy it or remember it. I'd wait until all kids are four years old and up. They'll actually enjoy it, and they can walk around and don't need a stroller. There are already too many strollers and scooters taking up space in the park.

Dang my quality umbrella stroller was $40 at Walmart. I used that thing for a 10 day trip in Ireland and it served us so well. I couldn’t imagine renting one for $30 a day!

Can you make a designated video on doing Disney with an infant, like what rides you can do on, what hotel amenities they have, etc

LOVE the breast pump tips.

I was 13 on my first trip to Disney,it was so Great i would visit again at 15

Do you by any chance know anything about car seats? we will be taxing to the parks, we weren't sure if there's somewhere we can leave the carseat at all of the parks?

My kiddos returns 3 July 10th , planing to go September! Is it still good ? For free !?

I disagree with parenst saying theybare too young to remember. It’s not all about what they remember and the rides. It’s all about the moment and the stimulation. That innocence of being in awe and excited aboit everything

They should ask EVERY child at the gate .. Where are you ?? If they're too young to answer that then don't let them and their ignorant parents in.

Anyone taking a toddler to any Disney parks must be insane out of their minds. They should be at least 8 or 9 year old to really appreciate it. Otherwise you are wasting your money. Plus it is almost criminal to put a toddler through 12 hours of it in the florida heat. I've see it. Florida Orlando weather is brutally hot and humid. I lived in Orlando and had year round tickets for the whole family. We would just go to EPCOT at night just to see the fireworks and leave. One thing that people do not even consider is lost kids. This happens all the time and kids do dissapear too, you just don't hear it. We had a routine whenever we saw lost kids. Me or the wife would stay with the kid and the other would go get a staff, any will do as they all had radios. We would not leave the kid alone until the park police would arrive and they come out of the woodwork and from behind bushes. We saved countless kids that way. It happens all the time. So watch your kids like a hawk when you do go.

I’m taking my daughter for her first birthday this Monday and hopefully when she turn 7 I can take her again but this one is just to get her and her mother away for the day

I would go one further with the ridethrough videos. I had my kids based on the videos rate the rides so I know the rides they really want to ride the most and which ones they really do not. However, it might be better for them to rank them or tier them instead as my younger boy rated all rides either a 10 or 0.

Have been watching DFB for years. We’ve done WDW as 2 adults 3 (4 in november) times. We agreed tonight, to take our niece when she turns 7 so now, the research in being conducted 😂 We’ve done Disneyland with her so many times, since we’re local, but I feel WDW is so different and she’s so excited (even though it’s 2 years away 🤣

Thank you, this was very informative

My youngest is 7 and weve been waiting for him to be old enough to enjoy the trip and remember it

Minnie held my daughter who was only a year old. I didn’t ask. She just saw her Minnie outfit, and they waddled to each other, and Minnie sat down and my daughter crawled up in her arms at Epcot. This was inn2013 though. Times change. And my kid called Minnie her other mommie for several years which was hilarious!

I love mickey and Minnie but I wouldn't them holding my nephew and niece.. Not fair to ask the characters

9

I totally understand not holding the baby, but I wonder why they can’t hold a sonogram, balloon, onesie… 🤷🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️

I once seen a man body slammed outside the swam and dolphin this guy beat the breaks off this man security showed up about 5 minutes after i love Disney world tho

I’ve taken my kids every year from 1-6 years old. You just have to enjoy it. Don’t stress. You will get to go back and enjoy that ride if you miss out and have to leave the park early or something. It is what it is and I just know that the memories are for me and their mom not just them

I was 4 for my first trip to Disney, I remember everything! It was such a magical time. I think 4 or 5 could be a really special time to bring your children they appreciate and remember more than you know

My favorite least favorite memory with my youngest cousin is waiting in line for what felt like a day but was really probably 30 minutes, to meet Tigger. He was SO excited. We got closer and closer and he got more and more quiet. Then finally, it was our turn.

He was NOT having it. Tigger was "too big" and he noped screaming all the way. Much to everyone's giggles.

It was a massive waste of time though 😆 but also still funny almost 30 years later now.

On the idea that you want to have extra clothes is supper necessary one time recently (we go a little more info about rain from my family’s experiences with those) we were at epcot and getting the 50th character statues and it started raining and it drenched us and we had to wear our shirts for the next day (this sounds weird but we only brought two shirts we weren’t staying long and it was the day we were going to the halloween party at MK) so something my family has know from us going to disney is that if it rains for about 15 - 30 minutes you are going to be ok with the rain it will normally not rain anymore Florida gets rain frequently (almost everyday when we went more frequently) but if it rains a long time (like a hour or more) then go a head and either go meet characters or ride rides that will still go even if it rains because the rain is more-than-likely going to continue for the rest of the night (this is were it is necessary for the extra clothes or having a room with a washer and dryer this is in most rooms of more than a one room (i believe it will say weather it has one or not on the app were you book it) hope this helps have a wonderful trip to anyone going!

Characters at Disney Paris will hold you baby. I was shocked when goofy reached for my five month old and we got the cutest pics. Gipetto did the same there.

Thanks for the tips!

We put our baby’s pack and play in the bathroom and pulled the door almost closed so that we could keep watching tv after she went to bed. 😂 have to get creative when you have kids

Are you allowed to bring a breast pump and container (as long as it’s not glass) into the parks?

Question. How does rider switch work with tron? I know you would have to get an online que for it to even be an issue but do we que up together?

Bro that thumbnail?😂😂

Can you bring a Wagon?

Pro tip: don't try to do everything, especially with littles. I went to Disneyland a lot with two toddlers (while pregnant with my third. Yes, I'm crazy) and going "toddler speed" through the park made the days so enjoyable. Just going on two rides and catching a parade, or letting them play for a couple hours and then nap in the stroller after lunch. Catch a show, then hang out and people/character watch. It makes for a much more enjoyable time, I find. 😊

this wasn’t mentioned, but this is something i heavily recommend for figuring out where to stay in the orlando area, especially if you have a big family with kids of all ages. get an off resort vacation rental! no, you won’t get the same perks as those staying at the resort, but you’ll get plenty of space for your family and depending on where you stay a private pool with a hot tub. every year that i’ve gone to orlando to go to the parks or universal studios, my family has always gotten a vacation rental. you can find some very cool themed vacation rentals (the last one we stayed at was star wars themed) and these rentals aren’t usually too far from the parks. they’re more cost efficient then double booking hotel rooms and have way more space and privacy. there are cons such as traffic and not having the disney world perks, but id much rather stay in a vacation rental. i recommend Champions Gate and Windsor Hills. At Champions Gate, theres an entire town dedicated for shopping and a Clubhouse that has a variety of activities. If you’re planning on booking a trip to WDW, definitely keep this in mind. Hotels are not the only option.

We really needed real large garbage bags with the kids. Between diapers, food trash, clothing tags, and just general clean up the small cans in the rooms were overflowing. Even just 1 or 2 garbage bags would’ve been helpful.

My wife and I are about to have our first baby in August and I’m already mapping out how to bring a kid to Disney. This is amazing, but I’m also wanting to know when it’s best to bring them for there first ever Disney experience…..would 4-5 Years old be the best time to bring a kid for there first visit or 6-7?

Can you explain rider switch a bit more? We have 7 adults and a 1 year old. Do we all still schedule our lightning lanes at the same time or like half of us schedule, check in with the cast member about rider switch to link the other half?

I am taking a trip down from Ohio next month to celebrate my daughters first birthday. Sadly she passed away in the fall and I had been hoping to give Mickey a picture (in a plastic frame) to hold and take a pic with. I asked about it in fb group and they all felt it was something they'd do, but now I'm sort of worried they won't. I tried calling a number yesterday, bit after 65 minutes on hold to ask, I gave up. Anyone here have any insight? The photo is of my daughter with her Mickey and Minnie plushies.

Extra tip. Plan a few days off work when you get back home. Talk about exhausting. We walked 55 miles the first time we spent a week in Disney

Can you please do a video on good neighbor hotels

Take a toddler to the park is like give him an iphone.. is expensive and pointless

Just my opinion but,
I personally don’t think it’s a great idea to bring your kids to Disney before 4/5 years old UNLESS you can afford to go there at least once a year cuz if you go there when they’re 1-3 they probably won’t remember it and you’ll have put yourself through any stress you experienced on that trip without at least the child getting the memories of it.

On the note of prepping your kids for character meet-and-greets - We took our son to Disney last year (he was not quite 3 years old) and I had no idea how he was going to handle the character interactions. He is very shy and I fully expected him to hate it, but the characters were so good to him! We started with some short lines (like Doc McStuffins) and when we saw how much he loved it, we stood in longer lines and did some lightening lanes. Each of the characters he met matched his quiet energy, got down to his level, and spent time calmly interacting at his pace. They offered hugs and let him decide. They let him touch their gloves and Minnie booped his nose and let him boop her nose. He had so many sweet, tender interactions with these characters and it made me so grateful that they were so patient with a shy little boy instead of just wanting to gravitate toward the kids who were more energetic in their excitement. So if you have a shy little one that wasn't a fan of the Easter bunny or Santa, you can definitely still try a few characters as Disney because the people there really know what they are doing and how to gently interact with little ones.

Rider Switch question: can we wait in line together and switch at the boarding area? I guess I'm most worried about 5-year-old at the LAST MOMENT deciding that he doesn't want to ride an attraction. And THANK YOU for reminding us about naps!

Remember that video when AJ said house keeping will knock and “inspect” your room even if you put the “off to neverland” sign on your door? This applies for you or your child’s afternoon nap! I had to tell them to beat it 3 times on our last trip.

i will ALWAYS vouch for the baby care center, even as a childless adult. when i was in animal kingdom, i needed feminine products and was directed that way by cast members. i was able to purchase them AND use the best bathroom in the whole park in there as well. the cast member working the center was also so sweet, and he let me stay for as long as i needed to so that i could cool off. i love the baby care center!!!!

Love the videos, great WDW prep! You must have had a ginormous 2yr old to be tall enough for BTMR!

We’re hoping to take our kids for their first Disney trip next year (they will be 5 and almost 8) but since we live basically between Orlando and Anaheim, we’ve decided on Disneyland. It’s so much more self-contained. I don’t want to have to build in 90 minutes of shuttle bus rides just to go take a nap.

When my children were in K-3rd grade they really loved visiting Gatorland. I think they liked it better than Disney. My daughter got her picture holding a live gator! She took that picture to school everyday for a month when we got back home. I don't recommend the gator nuggets (too fishy tasting). This is where a scene from the James Bond movie "Live and Let Die" was shot.

1. I found out that if you're not sure you can use a kitchen you can buy baby food and use it for sandwiches and such
2. I bought generic Ziploc bags today
3. I would definitely be sleeping in