Practical Advice For Visiting Disney World With Young Children

It’s an argument as old as time. Or at least, since 1971 when Disney opened its first Florida park, Magic Kingdom. How young is too young to visit Disney World? The answer to that question will vary with every family so this post is aimed at giving you some practical advice for visiting Disney World with young children.

At What Age Is It Too Young To Visit Disney World?

There is no right or wrong answer as every child and every family dynamic is different. Nobody knows that dynamic better than you.

Having said that, the younger the child the more challenging the visit may be. I love Disney World but personally, I wouldn’t bring a child younger than 3 and I would look at doing a return visit when they are older.

The Costs Of Taking Children To Disney World

Disney, and the Magic Kingdom, in particular, are magnates for toddlers to early teenagers and Disney is priced accordingly. If you want to take a child under 3 you won’t have to pay any entrance fees to the parks. Disney Dining Plan, for those that choose it, is also not chargeable for children under 3.

Once they hit three your wallet is hit for hundreds of pounds in entrance fees and Dining Plan charges if you opt to pay for it.

A British family visiting Disney World isn’t cheap and anyone under 5 likely won’t remember the trip so you need to ask yourself 2 questions:

• Can we afford it
• What do we want to get out of it?

Remember that the trip is not just for the benefit of your child but for you. If you want a more relaxed trip with a go with the flow attitude Disney World offers plenty of parent/child bonding experiences.

If you would rather plan your holiday, stick to a schedule to get in as much as you can it may be best to leave the children at home until next time. That’s absolutely fine.

Practical Advice For Visiting Disney World With Young Children – The Best Age

Personally, I think the best age to take a child to Disney World is between the ages of 7 and 10.  They will be old enough to get on most attractions and not as frightened by the fireworks. They will remember more of the trip but will be young enough to value that first dose of Disney magic.  A Disney World trip for a child is one of life’s pinnacle moments.  They will remember it fondly for years to come. Not just the attractions but the sights, sounds smells and unexpected experiences that make a Disney park so magical at that age.

If you are set on visiting Disney World with a baby or toddler read on to find some practical advice for visiting Disney World with young children.

Getting On Rides

Attractions are one of the main reasons for a visit to Disney. No other park chain with the exception of Universal Studios puts as much money, thought and imagination into their ride design. Disney and Universal set the bar stratospherically high with each new attraction. It’s hard for local park chains to compete. It’s what we pay a premium for. Judging by recent holiday crowds throughout all parks in and around Orlando, there are plenty of people still willing to pay that premium.

Rides in the Magic Kingdom are designed primarily with younger visitors in mind. If a ride is designated as ‘family-friendly’, chances are that everyone can get on most of the time. You may need to make sure your child can sit on their own unaided on some. Others may require you to hold them or sit them on your lap.

Other Disney parks aim slightly higher with their age demographics but Disney favourites like meet and greets can be found in all Disney World’s parks. Younger visitors will find something for them no matter which park you choose.

For very young children there isn’t just Disney. Florida has had its own Legoland for a number of years. It is the third-largest Legoland park in the world behind our own in Windsor and the brand new Legoland New York. Like Disney, Legoland Florida also has its own waterpark. In 2022 Peppa Pig’s first stand-alone park will open tempting ever more visitors to venture 1 hour south. I have a quick overview of Legoland Florida to see if it is something you would like to consider in conjunction with your Disney World trip.

Dealing With Queues

Queueing in Disney World is a given. You simply can’t escape it. Getting into the car parks, getting into the parks, getting on rides. There are queues for meet and greets and don’t get me started on lunch queues during ‘normal’ lunch and dinner hours.

Think about how you can occupy excited little minds while standing in all those queues. Is there a book they could read or a particular game that they can play? Smartphones open up a world of gaming delight but remember to pack a portable charger. Between all the photos, gaming and finding your way around the park you’ll be lucky for an average phone battery to last to dinner time. Of course, Disney also lets you charge your phones up for a fee. Battery charging stations are dotted in all parks.  It’s not until you are without your phone that you realise how reliant we are on them nowadays. Especially when organising your day around Disney.

Use Disney Tools To Your Advantage

Older children like a little more independence as well as being glued to their own smartphones. Download the My Disney Experience App and set up a family group. You can also set location alerts so you will know where everyone is in the park. The My Disney Experience App is also great for looking up queue times and choosing your next Fastpass when your initial allocation has been used. Not everyone in the group has to use the same Fastpass. Everyone has their own allocation of 3 attraction in one park per day.

I have a page dedicated to making the most of the Disney Fastpass system if you would like to know more. If you would rather take your time my free Orlando Planning Guide has loads of information for you to digest at your own pace.

Download The Play Disney Parks App

Disney has found a way to entertain you while standing in the impossibly well-hidden queue lines. The Play Disney Parks App is packed full of fun mini-games that can be played when inside a Disney Park. It’s especially good at extending the immersive atmosphere of Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge in Hollywood Studios when it turns into the Data Pad.

Ideal Ages For Each Disney World Park

Here is my recommendation for the ideal age range for each of Disney’s 4 main theme parks.

• Magic Kingdom – 3 to 12 years. Everything is very much geared to families.
• EPCOT – 12 years and up. Fewer attractions make it a nice park for adults but younger children will likely find it boring.
• Disney’s Hollywood Studios – 8 years and up (I call it the Star Wars effect!)
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom – 5 years and up. If only all zoos were this good!

Best Areas Inside The Parks For Young Children

• Magic Kingdom: Fantasyland for the lions share of child-friendly attractions although meet and greets are dotted everywhere.
• EPCOT: The Seas With Nemo & Friends & Journey Into Imagination in Future World. Frozen Ever After in Norway around World Showcase.
• Disney’s Hollywood Studios: Toy Story Land will make you feel like you have walked into the movie. Animation Courtyard has a couple of great shows.
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom: Camp Jurassic has a giant play area and even a chance to dig for fossils. Serengeti Safaris in Africa is great for spotting animals.

Optimum Height For Attractions

If one of your goals is to get on as many attractions as possible with junior you will need to take into account height restrictions. A magic number can be applied to all main parks that will get your children onto 75% or more of the attractions. That magic number is 40 inches. In most cases it means 40 inches or taller to be able to ride but there are a couple of attractions that have a maximum height of 40 inches.

Magic Kingdom

40 inches allows your children to get on everything in Magic Kingdom with one exception. Space Mountain requires a minimum height of 44 inches.

EPCOT 

Despite the fact EPCOT is a park more geared towards adults there are currently only 3 attractions that require a minimum height. They are all 40 inches. Expect Guardians Of The Galaxy: Mission Breakout to probably have a higher minimum rider height when it opens in 2022.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios

There is only 1 attraction, Rock N Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith that requires a minimum height of 48 inches. Everything else is 40 inches or lower.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

With 2 exceptions you will be able to ride everything in Animal Kingdom. If you want to ride everything then it jumps to 44 inches.

Typhoon Lagoon

Typhoon Lagoon is one of the best water parks in Orlando if you have kids. They will be able to get on most attractions at 40 inches. 48 inches adds the three more thrill slides into the mix for an exhilarating day out.

Blizzard Beach

Blizzard Beach’s thrill slides, like Typhoon Lagoon, require a 48-inch minimum height. There is still plenty to do even for shorter guests. Because of the open design of the chairlift, there is a minimum height requirement of 32 inches.

Practical Advice For Visiting Disney World With Young Children Pros And Cons In Dinsey World

Each Disney park has its own unique reason to visit. Be it Fantasyland attractions in Magic Kingdom or the animals and Lion King stage show in Animal Kingdom. Below is a collection of pros and cons to each park within Disney World.

Magic Kingdom Pros & Cons With Young Children

• No other park has the number and variety of rides and attractions that Magic Kingdom has
• Disney crowds. This is the busiest theme park in the world. Be prepared to queue a lot.
• Disney character meet and greets. So many to choose from.
• Because of the crowds, it can feel cramped. Be prepared for some frayed tempers later in the day.
• The fireworks are truly staggering in their spectacle!
• Park opening hours can be very long – don’t forget to pace yourselves.

EPCOT Pros & Cons With Young Children

• Let It Go! Yes, Disney have built a ride with THAT song. It’s a really popular ride too. Try to Fastpass it if possible.
• More mature age demographic – Beyond Frozen Ever After and the odd meet and greet, options are limited for younger visitors
• Relaxed atmosphere – because there aren’t the number of attractions there is a much less frenetic pace
• Queues for popular rides. Because there are far fewer attractions here the headline attractions can have big queues
• It’s a big park with a lot of walking. Expect some tired legs at the end of the day. The path around World Showcase lagoon is 1.2km with no shortcuts.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios Pros & Cons With Young Children

• Great shows for children and adults
• The target age demographic is probably younger teenagers but the introduction of Toy Story Land broadens the appeal of younger visitors along with the Disney Junior section
• Superb dark rides
• Long lines for the attractions that are available
• A lot busier since Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge opened
• Fantasmic is the only sit-down nighttime spectacular left in Disney World. Leave at least 30-40 minutes if you want a seat.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Pros & Cons With Young Children

• Largest of any Disney park worldwide guarantees some very tired legs at the end of the day
• A wonderful collection of animals presented in more natural environments compared to your standard zoo
• Lush landscaping leads to this being one of the shadiest parks in Disney World
• Newer attractions not really for younger visitors.
• Animal Kingdom is one of Disney’s newest parks. It’s so rich in detail that just walking around is a joy
• Many animals avoid the heat in the middle of the day so its best to visit this park early
• Shortest park opening hours of all Disney World parks
• Amazing lighting at night if the park is open late enough
• Currently no nighttime show

Pushchairs At Disney World

With Disney catering mostly to younger families, it’s only natural that there are going to be more than a few pushchairs (strollers is the American term) in Disney’s parks.

Disney introduced new guidance in 2019 to deal with the rapidly growing problem of guest flow around their parks. This reduced the maximum pushchair size to 52″ long, 31″ wide. Wagons (very popular in America, not so much here) are now banned in every park.

Here are some tips for navigating your way around Disney World with a Pushchair.

• Take your own will make it a lot easier to find!
• You can rent a stroller locally for convenience but it’s quite expensive
• Know the size (maximum size is 52 inches long (132cm) & 31 inches wide (79cm))
• Pack light
• Stay right
• Be mindful of others
• If you rent a Disney Stroller keep the receipt and ticket
• Know where stroller parking areas are

Let’s expand on each of these a little.

Take Your Own Pushchair If Possible

Taking pushchairs on planes is never ideal but, for the amount of time you will be using it in the parks, a little airport inconvenience is definitely justified. Not only will this keep costs down but you won’t have to navigate a park that you don’t know with a pushchair that has a mind of its own.

Make sure your pushchair adheres to Disney World’s 2019 revised guidance to save getting turned away at the park gates. Pushchairs cannot be longer than 52 inches (132cm) nor wider than 31 inches (79cm). No exceptions!

Stroller Rentals For Convenience

Renting a stroller affords more convenience at the airport but little else when you visit the parks. Renting is also not cheap. At the time of publishing this article Disney’s stroller rental costs per day are listed as:

• Single $15
• Double $31

Disney Stroller Rentals Tips

If you are looking at using Disney Stroller Rentals keep in mind the following important facts:

• Disney strollers cannot be taken out of the park in which they were hired
• They are not available at waterparks nor in resort areas
• A $100 deposit is required in Disney Springs
• You only have to pay once per day so keep your receipt if you’re park hopping
• Disney Strollers are made of solid plastic and not reclinable
• They are better suited to older toddlers that don’t mind sitting up
• All Disney strollers look the same. Think about customising it to make identification easier

Pack Light

Packing light will make your life easier in situations when the pushchair needs to be collapsed. All types of Disney transport require pushchairs to be collapsed and that even includes the car park trams. If you’re staying off resort this also applies totaxi/Ubers services and free theme park transportation buses to and from your hotel. I have a dedicated page about getting around Orlando without a car if you would like to know more.

Know The Size

Disney is rigorously sticking to their size guide. If you turn up at the park with a pushchair that is oversized (or a wagon that is now completely banned) you will be turned away at the gate. Don’t be that person. No amount of arguing will get you through the gates.

Stay Right

Follow the pedestrian flow which, like roads in the USA, is on the right. There are some exceptions like parade time and other high traffic periods. Always follow the instructions of cast members. Not everyone sticks to the right but don’t be that one person snaking their way up Main Street bumping a thousand ankles as they go.

Be Mindful Of Others

I am constantly amazed at the heated arguments I hear all over Disney World. Some parents see no problem with using their pushchairs as battering rams or bowling balls leaving a wave of disgruntled park guests ducking for cover in their quest to get from A to B in as straight a line as possible.

Again, don’t be that person. I can guarantee you that you will encounter these types of people at least once a day. Usually around parade or fireworks time when tempers are flaring and everybody wants the best viewing spot. This brings me to another point.

Pushchairs and parades. Just don’t! Park up your pushchair in a designated area (maybe near your next attraction) then head for your viewing spot. Not only do pushchairs take up valuable space but they offer no clear sightline advantage for your child unless you are front and centre.

To be front and centre you will need to arrive around an hour ahead of parade time. If it’s your first visit, an hour here and an hour there soon adds up and you realise why you ran out of time to meet a favourite character or grab one last ride.

The parades are magical, especially for kids, but if I had to wait in the same spot for well over an hour it would certainly lose some of its shine.

Know Where Stroller Parking Areas Are

If you leave your pushchair in an area that is either not designated or is causing guest flow issues cast members will move it to the nearest appropriate stroller parking area. Knowing where these areas are will help you get to where you want to be sooner and stop you from playing spot the pushchair.

Where You Can’t Take Pushchairs

Pushchairs are banned from restaurants and queue lines. You could try using your luck in a restaurant if it isn’t busy or approaching a busy period. Don’t be surprised if the answer is still no.

Using Strollers/Pushchairs As Wheelchairs

If you need to use a pushchair as a wheelchair or if your wheelchair resembles a pushchair it will be best to speak to Guest Services when you arrive. If they designate your pushchair as a wheelchair you will be given a red tag. Wheelchairs are allowed in restaurants and ride queues as well as on ride vehicles that allow wheelchairs. It’s not possible to do this in advance as every case is handled individually by a Guest Services Cast Member on the day.

Finding Each Other

With so many people in a concentrated area just finding each other before or after a ride, parade or fireworks can be a challenge.

Some families take this particular problem to heart. You’ll find whole groups of families dressed in exactly the same outfit. It may not be fashionable but you sure stand out in a crowd! If the kids aren’t too old for you to be cramping their style they could even help you personalise some t-shirts.

Bringing your own pushchair is a step up from renting a Disney stroller. Finding it after a ride in a never-ending shifting mass of monotone coloured pushchairs can still be a challenge. What can you do to make your pushchair stand out from the crowd? Perhaps personalise the handlebar or hood to make it easier to spot. Add a flag or other feature that will draw your attention to it. Just remember anything you do needs to be waterproof because stroller parking areas are not covered and those summer thunderstorms are biblical when they unleash.

Dealing with Lost Children

With so much to see and do and more than a few thousand other people trying to do the same, losing a child happens a lot more than you would think. Especially within Disney World.

When the unfortunate happens cast members are great at finding and dealing with frightened lost children. You can help this unfortunate event even before anything happens. Put a tag on each child on something that won’t wash, rub or peel off. don’t forget to add your contact number and make sure it is with you at all times.

Pet ID tags are a great example. They’re relatively inexpensive and quick to get done and they won’t wash or fade off. Attach the tag to somewhere where it won’t get lost. A shoelace or necklace/dog tag is ideal as it’s in view. Pockets are OK but a cast member would be reliant on getting a child to find it in their pocket first.

If the kids love them, there are some engraving machines dotted throughout the parks and shops around Orlando. They can get their own personalised ID tag sorted in a couple of minutes. A wonderful, personal and inexpensive keepsake for their first Orlando holiday.

Conclusion

A Disney World trip with young children is more rewarding than you realise. With a little extra planning and preparation and with expectations set, everyone is in for the holiday of a lifetime.

Don’t be afraid to get the kids involved. Get them excited about what’s to come but set clear expectations.

Research rides and attractions in advance. Know the height restrictions so you can tackle any tantrums upfront. Kids are flexible if they have the information in advance. If there is a particular attraction that they are too small to ride can you find something that would interest them in the same area?

You don’t have to miss out on the bigger attractions either with Disney’s Rider Switch Service. I’ll have a separate article soon about how you can use that to your advantage.

In the meantime dig out all those great Disney movies and you may discover a few hidden gems that you had forgotten about. There is nothing like a Disney movie to get everyone, including adults, excited about a Disney World trip.  If you can’t wait to start planning your trip check out the explore section to discover what you could be getting up to at Disney World.