Isn’t he too young to enjoy Disney World? was the question our friends asked us when we decided to take Elliot, then 9 months old on his first Disney World trip in March 2015. We saw the confused looks on their faces, “they are mad taking a baby to Disney” expressions and of course then the flood of questions came… Isn’t he too young to appreciate a trip like that? Don’t you think it’s a lot of money to spend when you won’t be able to do any rides? Will you even be able to enjoy your vacation? However my friends had forgotten one thing … they didn’t know Disney World and we did! So here is why we decided to go…
We did initially think of a simple beach vacation – pool, sea and sun. Simple and relatively inexpensive. However finding activities to entertain a 9 month old can be challenging. They have short attention spans and although Elliot loves the water we quickly realized that after 30 minutes of playing on the beach our little boy would be wanting his next big adventure. We also needed a location that was stroller and family friendly and one that suited our needs and interests too.
So that brings us to Disney World. We have always loved Disney World and have been many times as a married couple. We knew it could be a great first holiday for him and all of us as a family. Disney World is so much more than a theme park with rollercoasters – it excites, entertains, and transports you to another world. We also knew that there was a lot more we could do with Elliot in Disney World than could not. That is often a common misconception.
Disney World has four theme parks, Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. Within each park there are themed rides suitable for the entire family including infants, street entertainment, character meet and greets, Broadway-style theatre shows, live action shows, animal enclosures and other themed attractions for every age. And if you really do love the adrenaline pumping rollercoaster rides that your little one can’t do, Disney World offers a fantastic facility called Rider Swap, that way you can still enjoy these attractions without having to wait in line twice. If you think your little one will enjoy it there are also character dining experiences at all the theme parks where they can enjoy lots of character interaction all with in a short space of time in an air conditioned restaurant!
There is also Typhoon Lagoon (a beach themed water park), Blizzard Beach (a winter snow themed water park), Disney Springs (shopping and restaurant area), and if staying at a Disney Resort, there is ample activities scheduled throughout the day at the feature pools to keep you and the family entertained.
The amount of potential activities at our fingertips to entertain Elliot was amazing. Going to Disney World can mean as a parent you can actually be on vacation too, you don’t have to think about how to entertain your infant as Disney has already done that for you. You just have to show up and enjoy it. So it turned out to be the perfect place to take Elliot on his first family vacation.
So here are some of the rides and attractions per park our little boy particularly liked… Although he went on much more, these were the ones he seemed to really react to and enjoy due to the visual effects, music or just simply new sights to him, like the animals at Animal Kingdom or sea life at Epcot.
Magic Kingdom:
- Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid
- Dumbo the Flying Elephant
- The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
- It’s a Small World (although he did also fall asleep on this ride!)
- Dream along with Mickey – Castle Show
- Festival of Fantasy parade – Day time
- Main Street Electrical parade – Evening
Animal Kingdom:
- Kilimanjaro Safaris – he saw elephants and giraffes on this ride for the first time!
- Affection Section at Rafiki’s Planet Watch
- Maharajah Jungle Trek
- Pangani Forest Exploration Trail
- Festival of the Lion King show
Epcot:
- The Seas with Nemo & Friends
- Turtle Talk With Crush
- Viewing the Coral Reefs, sea turtles and sharks in Future World
Hollywood Studios:
- Beauty and the Beast – Live on Stage
- Disney Junior – Live on Stage
We also enjoyed some character dining – he met Mickey Mouse and the rest of the Fab Five at Chef Mickey’s in the Contemporary Resort, and Winnie the Pooh and Friends at The Crystal Palace in Magic Kingdom.
However, traveling with an infant can have its challenges so here are a few tips that we found helpful:
- Make your FastPass selections for rides you think your little one will enjoy so no needless waiting in line.
- Aim to arrive at parks early when parks are less crowded, less hot and your baby will be alert and ready to enjoy new experiences.
- Plan to limit your park visit to a few hours at a time before everyone is tired, hungry and hot. If possible return to resort for some down time and sleep. Then return in the evening when everyone is refreshed. Basically don’t try and do too much at once.
- Take your time and enjoy the moments – and when they are napping sit and enjoy a coffee and watch the the world go by!
- Make good use of the Baby Care Centers available at all four theme parks.
- If wanting to experience table service restaurants make your reservations for a time your little one is used to eating at. We found buffet and family style restaurants to suit our needs the best.
- Finally don’t expect too much – just enjoy what you are able to do and you will have an amazing vacation and it will be still as magical and wonderful as you imagine.
Everyone may have been right about Elliot being too young to remember it, but as parents we will have many wonderful memories of his first visit to Disney World! So for anyone thinking about making a trip with an infant or small child my advice is to go! If you manage your expectations about what you can realistically do and plan your days accordingly, you will have a fabulous time and create amazing memories. And remember to pick up a first visit button for your little one to celebrate his first Disney World vacation!
