Bringing a child to Walt Disney World: Costs to consider and tips for your travels
Is it worth it taking young children to Disney?
After all, it's an expensive vacation. Even so, many choose to take their toddlers, even babies, to Disney. But why?
There are actually lots of reasons to bring your baby or toddler to Disney. Cost wise, the younger your child is, the more cost-effective the vacation.
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Below are some big factors to keep in mind when taking a young child to Disney and tips to help your vacation go smoothly.
The ticket prices at Disney are steep, except for babies, that is.
Those under three years old can gain admission to Disney for free. That is one huge perk of taking your baby to the parks. Once they hit three, you'll have to pay for their ticket.
The price of tickets depends on many different factors, including how long you're visiting and whether you're purchasing a one-park per day ticket or a hopper ticket, which allows you to move from park-to-park throughout the day, rather than staying in one location.
The price of a children's ticket and an adult ticket only vary slightly, so taking your kids younger than three is definitely a huge price saver.
Especially when traveling with children, the best place you can stay on a budget is at one of Disney's value resorts.
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Disney separates its on-site resorts into three main categories; value, moderate and deluxe.
The value resorts at Disney offer many of the same perks as the moderate and deluxe resorts, but at a lower cost.
Value resorts have transportation for guests to and from the parks, pools to take a relaxing dip, food courts to grab a bite to eat and Disney-themed rooms perfect for children.
When traveling with young kids, staying at an on-site property is extremely helpful. If you need to go to the resort with your kids to take a nap or cool down by the pool, you can quickly get to the hotel and then go back to the parks to enjoy the rest of your day.
There are five value resorts you can choose from at Disney. The options are Disney's Pop Century Resort, All-Star Music Resort, All-Star Movies Resort, All-Star Sports Resort and Art of Animation Resort.
Food can be a huge expense on any vacation.
No matter how old your kids are, one of the best ways you can save on the cost of food is by bringing your own.
For breakfast, have items like cereal, milk and fruit in your room to have before you head out for the day.
You can also pack food with you to take into the parks, so you don't have to buy all your meals there.
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When you are traveling on a budget, try to limit going out to eat to once per day. For other meals and snacks, pack food with you to save money.
If you're traveling by plane to Disney, it likely doesn't make sense to rent a car, since Disney resorts provide transportation to and from the park for guests. If you don't have a car, you can get your groceries delivered right to your hotel to use throughout your trip.
Also, don't forget that children under three eat free at select buffets and family-style venues at Disney.
Do not worry about babies and toddlers not having enough to do at Disney. Disney's four parks, plus two water parks, have many rides with no height requirements. If there is no height requirement for a ride, your little one can ride with you.
Magic Kingdom in particular is full of kid-friendly rides. Some include Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, Haunted Mansion, "it's a small world," Jungle Cruise, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan's Flight and Pirates of the Caribbean.
At Epcot, there is no height requirement for Journey Into Imagination With Figment, Living with the Land, Remy's Ratatouille Adventure, Frozen Ever After, The Seas with Nemo & Friends and more.
At Hollywood Studies, Toy Story Mania, Star Wars Launch Bay and Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway are among the rides with no height requirement.
Lastly, over at Animal Kingdom, young kids will love rides like Festival of the Lion King, Kilimanjaro Safaris and more.
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Don't forget Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach, the two water parks at Disney, where there are plenty of places for kids to cool down and splash around.
For most of the rides that you can take babies on, they can be held on your lap.
Of course, there are also plenty of shows and character experiences young kids will love at Disney.
Disney also has the rider switch for many attractions. How the rider switch works is if guests in a party are at the park with their young child or children who can't ride a certain attraction or don't want to, the non-riders and riders can all wait in line together. Then, once they reach the front, the riders can take turns riding while someone else in the party waits with the non-riders.
Another thing to keep in mind with young children at Disney is that each park is equipped with a baby care center, with nursing stations and changing rooms, as well as necessities for sale that you may need, like formula or diapers.
Even though it will be an extra cost, one helpful tip is to rent a stroller while you're visiting. At the time of writing, a single-day rental of a single stroller is $15 and a multi-day rental is $13 per day.
For a double stroller, the single-day cost is $15 per day and the multi-day rental is $13 per day.
Although this is an expense, it can be extremely helpful to not have to worry about packing one with you.
One thing you can pack with you is a carrier if traveling with a baby. That way, you have an alternate way of carrying them with you if they get fussy in the stroller.
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Another tip for taking young kids to Disney is planning breaks. Especially in the summer, it can get really hot in Florida. Plan on spending a few hours in the park and heading back to your hotel to allow everyone to recharge.
Lastly, be flexible. You can't plan each day with kids. You may have to take a break sooner than expected. You may not get on all the rides you wanted to. Be flexible with your plans and enjoy each day as it comes.