People have mixed reactions about bringing a baby to Disney World. The thing I heard the most was that “she won’t remember it”. But- isn’t that what pictures are for? hehe! Also, it was surprisingly easy with our 5 month old, Gracie. I actually think the toddler age may be more difficult. We had tons of fun with our baby there! I can’t wait to bring her again!
Here are a few of my tips + tricks for bringing a baby to Disney. This is what helped us!
Buy outfits ahead of time. We spent a couple of weeks finding cute Disney outfits for Gracie. We found some great ones at TJ Maxx, Bealls, Burlington Coat Factory, and even ordered a few from the Disney Store when they had a sale. This saves you tons of money because the cute outfits in the park are pretty pricey!
Find the Baby Care Centers. Oh my- these will be your best friend. Every park has a baby care center and they are amazing. Most of them have a few different rooms- a nursing room, changing room, feeding room, and even a play room for older babies. I nursed Gracie in here many times! The baby care center in Magic Kingdom actually had comfy recliners to nurse in- the other centers had rocking chairs! It was nice to get in the air conditioned, dark room for a while.
Good nursing spots. For times when I didn’t feel like walking to the baby center, I found other great nursing spots. It was sort of hot when we went, so I didn’t want to feed Gracie on one of the benches outside (Gracie gets really sweaty). Instead I fed her on the bus, on a ride, on the train, in a gift shop, or in a fitting room.
Bring sunscreen. We went to Disney in December- and it was still HOT. So always pack sunscreen even if you think you won’t need it!
Bring your own stroller. We brought our Britax to Disney. I recommend you bring your own stroller because your baby is probably used to yours. Also, the ones to rent do not look that comfy. Gracie took all of her naps in her stroller. I don’t know if she would have slept in the rental one.
Pack a diaper backpack. Instead of a diaper bag, bring a backpack. It was so much easier to have a backpack because when we waited in line, we could wear it on our backs instead of carrying it on our shoulder. It’s just more comfy + easy.
Pack essentials. In our diaper backpack, we had a few things that really came in handy. First, a ziplock bag. One day, Gracie pooped all over her clothes. It was easy to just throw it in the ziplock bag and put her change of clothes on. Which reminds me. Pack a change of clothes for the park. Also- bring pacifier wipes. Disney is full of germs, so we wiped down Gracie’s pacifier and stroller many times! Oh, and don’t forget hand sanitizer!!
Take baby on rides. Babies are allowed on rides that have no height requirement. It’s surprisingly more rides than I thought. Our favorite rides with Gracie were Little Mermaid, Haunted Mansion, Finding Nemo, and It’s a Small World.
Do other things, too! Don’t assume that rides are the only fun parts of Disney World! There are so many other things to enjoy in the parks. We took Gracie to meet a lot of Characters. There are also plenty of shows, too! Also, Disney Springs is a fun place to walk around and shop.
Request a crib. Don’t worry about bringing your own pack + play if you are staying at a Disney resort. They will deliver a fold up crib to your room! They even bring Disney sheets.
Know your transportation. There are plenty of ways to get to the Disney parks! You can always drive, but when you stay at a Disney hotel, you can take the bus, ferry, and sometimes the monorail. It helps to know the stroller rules for each transportation method. If you are taking a Disney bus, the stroller MUST be folded up. However, you can keep baby in the stroller on the ferries and the monorail! This is helpful when baby is sleeping!
Purchase Disney PhotoPass. This is so worth it! When you buy the PhotoPass package, you get all photos taken by the Disney photographers. There are so many in the parks. It made it way easier to get group shots and the classic shots in front of the castle. You also get all photos taken on rides and at character meet and greets. I loved having this for Gracie’s first time at Disney. The photos are priceless. Okay not priceless, but only $149 if you buy it 3 days in advanced. If you wait until your trip starts, it is $169. If you don’t have the PhotoPass, one photo printed in a 4×6 will cost $14.95! Whoa.
Plan out your days with the My Disney Experience app. This app really comes in handy when you have a baby! You can plan out all of your FastPasses for each day. We never rode a ride if we didn’t have FastPass. It’s just too hard to wait in line with a baby! But, you can also see the wait times for each ride. Also, on the app you can make dining reservations! You can also find the Baby Care centers on the maps. And, you can view and download all of your PhotoPass photos. This made the trip easy because we knew what we were doing each day.
Be flexible + go with the flow. While it was really helpful to plan out our days with the Disney App, it also helps to just be flexible. Gracie ended up sleeping in each day until like 10 or 11, so we had to move some of our reservations and FastPasses around. Sometimes you have to just go with the flow. We also ended up skipping a few things because Gracie was sleeping. That’s okay too! Most important part is keeping baby happy + having fun!
I hope these tips and tricks help you with your little one in Disney!
Wonderful pictures and special hints….loved it.