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Weekly Tip #20: Taking Little Ones to Disney World

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Haunted Mansion Enchanted Tales with Belle

I have heard people say “Why are you taking them when they’re so young? They won’t remember it.” I know that little kids won’t remember the trip, but the way I see it is if they have fun then that’s all that matters.

We have taken our kids, at very young ages, to Disney. My daughter was 6 months old for her first trip, two during her second trip, and she’ll be four when we go on the next trip. My son was 4 months on his first trip and he’ll be two when we go next.

Yes, they were both very young for their first trips, but the family had fun. There are so many things for the little ones to do all over Disney property. Not to mention it’s the perfect time to go when they are amazed by the characters. That’s what happened during our last trip. My daughter was so in awe of Ariel, her favorite princess at the time. Every time she was asked a question by Ariel, my daughter would respond, wide-eyed and with a big smile, “Yeah.” She just couldn’t believe she was actually talking to Ariel. It was the cutest thing ever and brought tears to my eyes.

You will be able to find rides for the whole family to go on, you don’t have to worry about that. Both of my kids went on the Haunted Mansion ride when they were very little and had fun.

All the parks will have things for the little ones to go on. Here’s a rundown of attractions for all ages in the parks:

Magic Kingdom

  • Astro Orbiter
  • Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
  • Cinderella Castle
  • Country Bear Jamboree
  • Dumbo the Flying Elephant
  • Enchanted Tales with Belle
  • Frontierland Shootin’ Arcade
  • The Hall of Presidents
  • Haunted Mansion
  • “it’s a small world”
  • Jungle Cruise
  • Liberty Square Riverboat
  • Mad Tea Party
  • The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
  • Main Street Vehicles
  • The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
  • Mickey’s PhilharMagic
  • Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor
  • Peter Pan’s Flight
  • A Pirate’s Adventure ~ Treasures of the Seven Seas
  • Pirates of the Caribbean
  • Prince Charming Regal Carrousel
  • Swiss Family Treehouse
  • Tomorrowland Speedway
  • Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover
  • Tom Sawyer Island
  • Under the Sea ~ Journey of The Little Mermaid
  • Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress
  • Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room
  • Walt Disney World Railroad

Epcot

  • Advanced Training Lab
  • The American Adventure
  • The Circle of Life
  • Coral Reefs – Disney Animals
  • Ellen’s Energy Adventure
  • Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros
  • ImageWorks – The “What If” Labs
  • Impressions de France
  • Innoventions East
  • Innoventions West
  • Journey Into Imagination With Figment
  • Living with the Land
  • O Canada!
  • Project Tomorrow: Inventing the Wonders of the Future
  • Reflections of China
  • SeaBase
  • The Seas with Nemo & Friends
  • Sea Turtles – Disney Animals
  • Sharks – Disney Animals
  • Soarin’
  • Spaceship Earth
  • Turtle Talk With Crush

Hollywood Studios

  • The Great Movie Ride
  • The Magic of Disney Animation
  • Muppet*Vision 3D
  • Toy Story Midway Mania!
  • Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream

Animal Kingdom

  • Affection Section
  • African Elephants – Disney Animals
  • Conservation Station
  • Dino-Sue
  • Discovery Island Trails
  • Fossil Fun Games
  • Gorillas – Disney Animals
  • Habitat Habit!
  • It’s Tough to be a Bug!
  • Kilimanjaro Safaris
  • Lions – Disney Animals
  • Maharajah Jungle Trek
  • The Oasis Exhibits
  • Pangani Forest Exploration Trail
  • Rhinos – Disney Animals
  • Tamarins – Disney Animals
  • Tigers – Disney Animals
  • Tree of Life
  • TriceraTop Spin
  • Wildlife Express Train

Downtown Disney even has a train and a carousel that little ones can ride for $2 a ride. The water parks have areas designated for the little ones too.Downtown-2BDisney-2BTrain

So Disney has you covered if you are traveling with babies or preschoolers. As long as you include breaks in your day, you should be fine. The breaks do help when traveling with little ones. Even if they don’t nap, just being away from all the stimulation helps. Meltdowns happen, but breaks will reduce the chance of a meltdown and that is good for everyone.

Thanks for reading!

*Liz*

Weekly Tip #3

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I know you are on vacation and it’s hard to wake up early on vacation, but at Disney World it is definitely worth it to get to the parks early. I will tell you why.

Setting an Alarm on Vacation: Why It Will Pay Off

You’re on vacation and you want to relax, it makes sense. If you are doing a resort only stay at Disney then that would work, but if you are including the parks it pays to get there early. Especially if you have a list of attractions you don’t want to miss.

If you are like me, then your Disney vacations are planned out for each day. Disney makes planning out each day a necessity thanks to the dining plan and now the FastPass+ (FP+) system. So the last thing you want is to get to the park in the afternoon and not be able to see all of the rides, because the lines are so long and everybody is at the FP+ kiosks trying to get more FPs for the day.

If you get to the park, especially the Magic Kingdom, before the park opens you will get to see a lot more attractions. Not only will you experience more rides in the first couple hours of park opening then you would in the afternoon, but you will also get to see the opening show. I would recommend getting there an hour before the park opens, if you want to see the opening ceremony. The only one I have seen is the one at the Magic Kingdom and now I want to make it to the opening ceremony every time we go! It is the only way to start a Magic Kingdom day for me now.

Time to start the show!

 

Here comes the train!

Of course Mickey is on the train.

Lots of singing and dancing at
 the opening ceremony.

And the park is officially open!

Once we were in the park, we made our way to the castle and were able to get pictures will almost no one around. After the pictures, we made our way to the attractions we wanted to see and the wait times were almost non-existent. I’m telling you, it’s worth it to set the alarm for park days. If you go early, you should be able to see everything you want before the park gets crowded and be back at the hotel swimming by the early afternoon. If you or someone you are traveling with hates waiting in lines then this is the perfect plan for your group.

Another possible bonus for going early? You might get picked as the Family of the Day. They get to come in on the train with the characters and help open the park! It’s a pretty memorable experience for everyone in the family.

So, between the opening ceremony, the possibility of being the Family of the Day, and getting on rides before the crowds come, I would say it is definitely worth it to get there early. We didn’t regret it at all. In fact, as I said above, I would love to make it to the opening ceremony every time we go to the parks (Magic Kingdom in particular). Nothing beats a non-crowded castle picture! 🙂

Thanks for reading!

Liz ⁰O⁰