5 Tips for Walt Disney World with a baby
January 2023 Allen, Tripp and myself went with our friends to the most magical place on the earth, Walt Disney World! Allen grew up going to Disney a lot so he has a lot of knowledge and knows how to get around the parks and where everything is located. I, on the other had only went when I was a toddler with my parents and in 2020 (pre coronavirus) as a big family trip. This trip however was the first time that Allen and I had gone without other family members and the first time with a baby (10 months) so it was different and a little scary to start.
There are a million things that I could share with you about taking your baby to Disney World but today I am just going to talk to you about the basic need to knows when bringing your baby to Disney World.
Our City Mini Double stroller rented from Kingdom Strollers!
1. Strollers/Baby Carrier – So this was a hard decision for us when starting to plan for our trip. Do we bring our stroller from home or do we rent one when we get there? Our stroller from home is nothing fancy and is not a small travel stroller so to bring it we would have to gate check it and hope that nothing happened to in in transport from North Carolina to Florida. Our other option is to pay to rent a stroller when we got there. We had a hard time justifying paying for something that we already had at home but let me tell you for our family renting a stroller was amazing! Like I said earlier we went to Disney with our friends and their child so we actually rented a double stroller. We rented our stroller from Kingdom Stroller and it was a great experience. There are a couple different models that you can choose from when renting your stroller. We rented the City Mini Double and for 4-7 nights it costs $95.00 total. If we had got one for only Tripp and rented the City Mini Single it would have been $75.00 total for the 4-7 nights. I booked the rental before we left home on our trip. Once we arrived, they delivered it to our hotel at the time I requested and then picked it back up at the end of our trip. It was a great stroller. The kids loved it, the seats reclined so they could nap, it had good storage space for our bags and it folded up easily for transportation on the buses from parks to hotels. Disney World does have strollers that you can rent and I have no personal experience with them but knowing what they looked like from my research and after seeing them in person after this trip I would not advise you to rent these strollers. They are a hard plastic material that cannot be comfortable, and would definitely not be good for a younger child. And not to mention if it was hot out it would be hot to sit on. As far as a baby carrier Tripp was 10 months when we went so, he was not quite walking yet and he did good in the baby carrier for spurts of time. Sometimes I would have him strapped to my back and others Allen would have him on his chest. We did not use the baby carrier to much as he would rather have been in the stroller but it broke it up a little bit for us and him. It definitely gave us more options. (And sidenote having it to use at the airport is great!) He got a different point of view and we did not have to carry him in our arms.
Allen so proud to be a dad with Tripp on his chest in Animal Kingdom!
2. Diaper Bag – Don’t pack too much, we had a lot in our diaper bag each day at the parks because we didn’t know what we would need so that made for a sore back after carrying it all day. I would pack the things that you must have and anything else that you probably don’t need leave in the hotel room. I guess the best way to say this is to not over over prepare like I have a tendency to do. Pack your necessities and your extras for the unknown! I would personally defiantly recommend having a diaper changing mat with you. I love having mine in my diaper bag. It folds flat and when I go into the restroom to change Tripp I feel better putting him on our mat instead of directly on the changing table.
3. Sleeping- So we decided to not bring a pack n play with us on this trip. I did call our hotel before our trip and ask if they had cribs or pack n plays there for us to use. They said that they have both but they are not guaranteed if they are all being used. So, we took the chance and did not pack one. I did however take my pack n play sheet so I could cover theirs when using it. The hotel told us that if they had one, they would try to have it in our hotel room upon our arrival. With Allen and I working full time day jobs it was after midnight when we finally got to our hotel that night. Not knowing if we would have one or not we thought in our heads we would co- sleep this trip and our son would be fine…. wow were we wrong. He wanted his own space and after such a long day of travel he was so over tired Allen had to go to the front desk and hope that they had something for us as we were in dire need of a bed for him. Luckily, the hotel came to the rescue and had one for us to use during our stay. Now, looking back will I do that again, definitely not because our son is not a co-sleeper, he likes his space and area so for the sanity of all three of us we will probably bring ours or rent in the future. The fact that the hotel had this service for families was really appreciated and helpful though. If you don’t want to bother with bringing yours there are places that you can rent pack n plays from. Kingdom Stroller where we rented our stroller from has them and they will deliver them as well for you!
4. Nursing / Feeding – I was grateful to nurse Tripp until he was one year old. So, when we went to Disney him being ten months old I was still nursing. Not knowing what it would be like to nurse inside the parks brought me some anxiety, however, it was no problem once we got there. Inside all four parks there are baby care centers for families. Inside Animal Kingdom, Epcot and Hollywood Studios I did not use the baby care center because somehow in my research I missed that these three parks had one but it all worked out. If you have been to these parks you know the way they are designed there are plenty of areas that you can sit and you are not right in the main path of people walking around. When I did need to nurse in these three parks Tripp and I would go into a more private area facing away from the crowds with our nursing cover and no one ever knew that I was nursing. However, inside Magic Kingdom I did use the baby care center and it was AMAZING. It is located near the First Aid station between Casey’s and The Crystal Palace. The Magic Kingdom baby center is Alice in Wonderland themed and is so cute. There is a play area with the movie running for the kids. There is a full kitchen where you can prepare a bottle, including bottle warmers. There is a changing area where cast members come behind every family and clean the table and put a new paper sheet out for the next family. The changing tables are also the size of a doctors table and comfy so there is plenty of room for your little one and all your stuff. There was also a nursing room that was amazing. It was sound proof inside so you had quiet time with your baby while others were playing right outside. There were five or six comfortable chairs inside and the cast members would make sure there was a chair open for you to go in and it truly was peaceful for Tripp and I. They also had supplies if you needed to buy anything. Bottles, diapers, baby fans anything that you might need if something happened to yours. This truly was a magical moment for me during our visit. I appreciated this area so much and the sweet cast members that were in there tending to this area. It was just what we needed to get some air conditioning, a clean bottom for Tripp, some milk and quite time before back outside for more excitement.
5. Bring a beach towel- So our friends are avid Walk Disney World visitors. Meaning, they knew some tips and tricks that they taught us along the way. They packed a beach towel with them. And at first I was a little confused and wondered why they brought this but it was a game changer. We went at the end of January so the weather was a little rainy and early mornings and night time was cool. Having that beach towel was great to use as a blanket if the kids were cold. It also was great when they were asleep to drape over the stroller and to block out the sun, give them privacy and their own sleeping space. So, a beach towel will definitely be on my must pack list for Disney World in the future.
Both babies were asleep and the beach towel kept the sun out of their eyes and gave them a private sleep space!
Like I said earlier there are tons of things that I can write and tell you about when it comes to bringing your baby to Walt Disney World. However, these are the big five things for me that I wanted to share with you. I feel as though these five points are going to be the core of planning your trip to Walt Disney World with your baby. I also think that it will help to make your trip to Walt Disney World anything but regular!
Husband Notes
· Travel with another set of parents ( 4 parents parenting 2, is way easier than 2 parenting 1 )
· Mickey pretzels are the easiest way to make everybody happy
· Don’t take babies on Haunted Mansion…… Nuff said
· Make friends with both the cast members at the desk, and in the cafeteria
· Go ahead and get extra towels at check in
· Drink around the world at Epcot at night ( the babies will go to sleep ) then wake them up to see the fireworks… works every time
· Bring Tums, Gold Bond Powder, Omeprazole, and immodium
· Best air conditioned attractions/nap zones are as follows
- Living with the land (Epcot)
- Mickeys PhilharMagic (Magic Kingdom)
- Muppets 3D (Hollywood Studios)
- Snack area in Pandora (Animal Kingdom)
www.orlandostrollerrentals.com/walt-disney-world-stroller-rentals/