You're Never Too Young! Your Guide to Bringing Young Children to Disney

How Young is too Young For Disney?

Ask anyone who has traveled to Disney with little ones will tell you it’s no walk in the park (see what we did there?). But… with careful planning and the use of Disney’s spectacular services, it can be done and the whole family can enjoy a magical vacation.

Did you know that children under 3 are FREE at Disney? Whether you have additional children older than 3 or not, this is a huge money saver in terms of tickets and dining. Even up to 2 years and 11 months at check-in, your infant does not cost a thing.

Disney World is known for their top-notch services and infant care is no exception. Disney offers Baby Care Centers at all theme parks, which are perfect for cooling off in the air conditioning, rocking to sleep, nursing and feeding, changing diapers, watching a short TV show to calm down or relax. As you would expect, these centers are conveniently located in the parks and are clean and quiet. They are perfect for babies and toddlers. They are also stocked with anything your baby might need, from diapers and wipes to baby food, available for purchase.

You will also want to take advantage of FastPass+ to avoid long lines for your favorite attractions. This allows you to essentially make a reservation to visit an attraction during a certain window of time. Everyone will get three FastPass+ reservations per day with park admission. After those three are used, you can continue to pick up more FastPass+ reservations throughout the day. Your travel agent can help you choose times early in the day to avoid the heat of the day and nap times if that’s what works best for your family.

Rider Switch is a fantastic opportunity for adults and older children to be able to ride when a baby or toddler is too young OR does not want to ride. One adult can wait with the non-rider(s) while the rest of the group rides. When the adult returns from riding, the waiting adult can ride using a Rider Switch pass without having to wait in the line again! This is an ideal way for everyone to ride what they want while no one has to miss all the fun. There are many rides that young children and babies are able to go on as well.

An advantage of staying on Disney property is the convenience with small children. Need to take a break or a nap during the middle of the day? No problem. Hop on Disney’s complimentary transportation (bus, monorail or boat) back to your resort. There’s no need to worry about finding your hot vehicle in a gigantic parking lot with tired kids while trying to find your way around Walt Disney World back to your resort. (Can you picture it? Yikes!) Let Disney pick you up and do the driving while you relax! This is my NUMBER ONE reason for families to stay at a Disney resort.

Staying at a Disney resort also lets you participate in Extra Magic Hours—special park hours that are reserved only for guests staying at Disney resorts. The parks are usually less crowded with shorter wait times. While many people head straight to the big rides, you may want to head to the smaller rides that will have very minimal waits. On a recent visit, my kids were the only ones on The Barnstormer for 5 times in a row during morning Extra Magic Hours. Later in the day, the standby line was over an hour wait.

Don’t forget your stroller! Even though your children may be past the typical stroller age, I recommend children age 6 and under have the chance to ride in a stroller at Disney. There is a LOT of walking involved and tired kids make grumpy kids and grumpy parents. Let them rest their legs and take a nap when needed in their stroller. When they nap, you can enjoy the shopping, grab a snack, or watch a show. You can bring a stroller from home or ask your travel agent to set up a stroller rental for you. Stroller companies will drop off and pick up your stroller from your resort, making it even more convenient for you.

You may think a Disney trip isn’t worth the money before your child is old enough to remember it. I guarantee that YOU will remember it, even if they don’t remember more than just the pictures. There is nothing like seeing your child meet their favorite character for the first time and their eyes lighting up with joy. I will never forget the first time my son met Mickey and my daughter met Cinderella. I couldn’t help but smile when their hands touched the characters’ faces with wonder, the characters hugged and made over my babies, and we got the sweetest pictures of the JOY in my babies’ eyes.

Contact All In Vacay to take the hassle out of your trip and make it fun for the whole family—even the baby or toddler!