Traveling to Disney World with a baby or toddler can be such a rewarding experience. Some of my best Disney World memories are watching my boys enjoy the amazing Disney attractions for the first time. With well over 100 rides and attractions spread among four theme parks, it might be hard to know what is appropriate for young children or what might be too much. Here are my recommendations for best Disney World rides and attractions for babies and toddlers divided into three categories: Fun For All – these rides are universally liked by small children, Great For Most – these rides will work for most kids in the age group and Proceed with Caution – a lot of these rides will be fine depending on the temperament of your child.

Magic Kingdom

Fun For All

• Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
• Country Bear Jamboree
• Enchanted Tales with Belle
• it’s a Small World
• Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor
• Prince Charming Regal Carrousel
• The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
• Walt Disney World Railroad

Great For Most

• Dumbo the Flying Elephant (goes up and down under your control)
• Jungle Cruise (fake use of a gun by boat driver and one dark tunnel)
• Mad Tea Party (spins a lot!)
• Mickey’s Philharmagic (loud at times and water sprinkles on you a little once)
• Peter Pan’s Flight (dark in spots and there is a scene with the crocodile about to eat Hook)
• The Magic Carpets of Aladdin (goes up and down and tilts under your control, may get a little wet from a spitting camel)
• Tomorrowland Transit Authority Peoplemover (dark in spots – often a favorite ride for kids to nap)
• Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid (large Ursula audio-animatronic)
• Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress (this is a  21 minute show in a rotating theatre – nothing scary and has a cute audio-animatronic dog)
• Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room (show includes a simulated thunderstorm)

Proceed With Caution

• Pirates of the Caribbean (dark most of the ride, one small drop, lots of pirates and skeletons)
• Haunted Mansion (dark most of the ride, images of ghosts, caskets and a graveyard)

For both of these Proceed With Caution attractions, my boys were fine as babies. Later, they went through a short phase of being scared of the dark and images in these rides.

Epcot

Fun For All

• Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros
• Turtle Talk With Crush

Great For Most

• Journey Into Imagination with Figment (big blast of air in one place and a loud noise in another spot)
• Living with The Land (simulated thunderstorm in one section)
• Spaceship Earth (dark in spots)
• The Seas with Nemo & Friends (dark in spots and audio-animatronic sharks)

Proceed With Caution

• Ellen’s Energy Adventure (dark in spots, large audio-animatronic dinosaurs, loud noise associated with “The Big Bang”, 35 minutes long)

Hollywood Studios

Fun For All

• Disney Junior – Live on Stage!
• Toy Story Mania

Great For Most

• Muppet Vision 3D (a little water sprinkles on you once)
• Voyage of the Little Mermaid (large Ursula character)

Proceed With Caution

• Beauty and the Beast – Live on Stage (some kids may be scared by the Beast character or the story itself)

Animal Kingdom

Fun For All

• Festival of the Lion King
• Finding Nemo – The Musical (does begin with the death of Nemo’s mother just like the movie)
• Kilimanjaro Safaris

Great For Most

• TriceraTop Spin (moves up and down under your control)

Proceed With Caution

• It’s Tough to be a Bug! (dark, lots of bugs, loud noises, simulates bug touching you, a little water sprinkles on you – really just for true bug lovers, I’ve seen many kids completely terrified and screaming during this attraction)

For a complete list of all of the Disney World attractions and their descriptions, please check out these links for the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom.

What about you? Do you have any favorite rides for babies and toddlers? Please leave a comment!