One of our most asked questions is about traveling to Walt Disney World with small children. A Walt Disney World vacation can seem overwhelming when you have to pack and prepare with little ones, but it doesn’t have to be. The most important thing to remember is to have fun and don’t sweat the small stuff. Your vacation will not be ruined by packing the wrong shirt or forgetting diapers in the hotel room. Here are our tips and advice for visiting Disney with a young family.
Use the Baby Care Centers
Each of the four parks have baby care centers. Use them! They are lifesavers. Each center is a quiet, air conditioned space to relax, change diapers and feed young children. They have changing tables, high chairs and microwaves. If you forget items such as formula, diapers or diaper rash cream they have infant supplies.
Consider taking a mid-afternoon break from the crowds to cool off from the heat, change your child’s clothes, wash them off with a wet wipe and have a snack. It’s amazing what a clean outfit and 15 minutes of quiet time in air conditioning can do for a munchkin in the parks.
Rent a Stroller
Rent a stroller off-site. They have good comfortable strollers that will be waiting for you at your hotel when you arrive and you leave them when you head home. A good, comfortable stroller can make all the difference for your child when it’s nap time in the parks.
Pack a Change of Clothes
We recommend always packing an extra outfit in a one gallon Ziploc bag to the parks. This way if your child gets wet from a water ride or rain or has an accident or spills lunch all over their shirt, you can change them into fresh clothes and put the dirty clothes back in the plastic bag.
Bring Water Bottles
Bring water bottles that you can refill from drinking fountains. It will keep your family hydrated and energized.
It is especially important for small children spending a lot of time in their strollers without a lot of air circulation.
Use PhotoPass
As a parent, you can be preoccupied keeping an eye on your kids and making sure everyone is having a great time that you may not always have your camera ready.
We’ve used Disney’s PhotoPass service and it is a great way to capture highlights from your Disney vacation. Their photographers take the photos and you can download them when you are home from your trip.
Erin Benge has been a travel agent for almost 10 years with extensive travel to Walt Disney World as a young married couple, with small kids, with multi-generations, and as a loner running in runDisney races. You can contact her at [email protected] for help with all your upcoming travel needs.
