DisneyTips.com Your Guide To A Great Disney Vacation
EPCOT is largely known for its adult-centered attractions and festivals and, although it has a few attractions that are perfect for the under-5 crowd, some families with very young children choose to skip it and focus more time in Magic Kingdom. If you’re traveling with an under 2-year-old though, EPCOT is actually a great park to visit! Read below for tips on making the most of your EPCOT visit with baby.
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1. Head under the sea
The Seas with Nemo and Friends has been a highlight of Disney trips with our daughter from 6-months to 2 years. The ride provides the perfect amount of entertainment for a tiny brain to take in and enjoy and starts to introduce them to the fish they’ll see when you exit the ride. The aquarium itself is great for a baby to explore, whether she is in your arms, crawling, or toddling around. The humor in Turtle Talk with Crush will go right over baby’s head, but she will still be entertained, and adults generally get a kick out of it too. Add the fact that the pavilion provides a cool break on hot days and an escape on rainy days, and you’ve got the perfect place that baby and parents can all enjoy.
2. Try the other baby-friendly rides and attractions
In addition to The Seas, there are plenty of other baby-friendly rides and attractions at EPCOT. Spaceship Earth, found directly past the entrance in the geodesic dome that most people know as synonymous with EPCOT, is a classic slow, dark ride that can be enjoyed by the whole family. Journey Into Imagination with Figment, Living with the Land, and Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros are all slow moving and entertaining for all ages. Frozen Ever After can be enjoyed with and by a baby as well, but be prepared for a big drop and a splash at the end. Depending on your comfort level, you might want to wear baby on this one or not bring her on. (Side note – you’ll definitely want a Fastpass+ for Frozen Ever After since lines are typically at least an hour long.)
3. You don’t need to skip the adult rides
Disney knows that the grown-ups like having fun too, and that thrill seeking doesn’t just go away when you have a baby. To make sure adults can still ride the big exciting rides even with a baby in tow, Disney provides a rider-swap system. This allows one person to stay with baby while the goes through the line and rides. The adults then swap and the second person rides, without having to wait in line. Rider swap is available at EPCOT for Frozen Ever After, Mission: SPACE, Soarin’, and Test Track and can be used with a Fastpass+ to make the switch even quicker. If you don’t have a Fastpass+, you can also save time by using the single-rider line at Test Track with the rider-switch. I recommend trying to time these rides with baby’s nap time so the adults can alternate having fun and hanging with baby while he naps in the stroller or carrier.
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4. Getting around
Especially if you’re visiting during the Food and Wine Festival, or one of the other festivals that are growing in popularity, navigating a stroller through World Showcase can be challenging. If your baby isn’t walking yet or is older but still content in a carrier, baby-wearing is a great approach at EPCOT. It allows you to easily weave through the crowds, explore the shops, and deal with lines without having to worry about a stroller. If a carrier won’t work for you, or you have a toddler that likes to walk around, an umbrella stroller that is easy to maneuver is recommended. Future World is actually one of the best places in Disney for a toddler to walk and explore, as the pathways are wide and generally offer a lot of space to move around.
5. Baby Care Center
All four Disney theme parks offer Baby Care Centers, and EPCOT is one of the best. Located off the beaten path in the Odyssey building (between Test Track and the Mexico pavilion), this spacious center is a great place to get a break from the heat (or the rain) while meeting all your baby’s needs. The center has private nursing rooms with outlets for pumping or phone charging, bathrooms, large and comfy changing tables, a play room with a movie playing, a kitchenette for warming milk or preparing formula or food, and all the baby essentials you may have run out of or forgotten for sale!
