9 Best Rides for Infants and Toddlers at Disney World

Taking your infant or toddler to Disney World is a great idea. They are amazed all the little things, caught up in the wonder of Disney…and they’re free until they turn three years old. People will tell you that young children won’t remember your Disney vacation, but the joy will still have an impact. My 22-month-old recognizes Mickey on site and says “Oh boy” and “Me Mouse” every time he sees him.

We’ve taken our toddler to Disney World 5 times, and I can tell you we wouldn’t have traded the memories for anything. Here’s my recommendations for which rides you should take them on for maximum enjoyment and minimal fear or boredom.

Attractions With No Height Restrictions

The first thing you need to know is that an infant or a toddler can ride anything at Disney World without a height restriction. Many of the attractions at Disney World have a minimum height requirement, but those that don’t are fair game for even the littlest Mouseketeers.

On all of these rides you can sit next to your child, hold your toddler in your lap, or even wear your baby. These attractions are designed to be entered and exited easily and mostly gentle enough for their weak necks. I do recommend cradling their heads on most rides until they are at least 9 months and can handle the few jerks and bumps that happen.

Here’s a list of every attraction at the time of writing that doesn’t have a height restriction. If you click on it, it opens a printable pdf of all rides without a height restriction. You can also find all of this on the My Disney Experience App by going to the map and filtering for all ages (some rides get filtered incorrectly, though).

Click here or on the image for a printable pdf

Below, I’ll let you know what I think are the best rides for your infant or toddler. I made my decision first by height requirement (none, except for one ride), then by intensity, then by whether the theming will be entertaining or boring or even possibly scary. Finally, I’ve taken my baby on all these rides, so his opinion is the final verdict.

Best Magic Kingdom Rides for Infants and Toddlers

Magic Kingdom is far and away the best park for infants and toddlers. It has the most “no height restriction” rides (and the most rides with height restrictions). It also has tons of shows, character interactions, and theming that captures the attention of babies and preschoolers.

Here are my (and my toddler’s) favorite rides for this park. There are so many great rides at Magic Kingdom that I’ll offer three choices instead of two like I do for the other parks:

Peter Pan’s Flight for Toddlers

We’re all crowing to prepare for Peter Pan’s flight. My baby is looking for pirates and crocodiles.

Obviously, as Second Dad to the Right, I love this ride. If you’ve never been on it, you board a small ship that slowly flies out of the Darlings’ bedroom, through London, and then through several scenes in Neverland. For adults, it’s classic Disney that takes us all back to wishing we never grew up, but it’s also awesome for infants and toddlers. The line itself is also a engaging. There are several interactive elements that are fun for the whole family.

Once on the ride, the feel of the track is both soothing and mesmerizing since you’re flying through London and Neverland. The intense black light color contrast and twinkling lights capture young kids’ attention, and the scenes are perfect for happy gasps but not too scary. My whole family loves this ride.

Dumbo the Flying Elephant for Toddlers

This was a surprise winner for our little guy. It makes sense once I experienced it with him, but it seemed so basic as an adult and with my older kids. Dumbo is a typical carnival ride (but much smoother, safer, and prettier) where several elephant cars suspended from spokes on a central hub spin slowly around a fountain.

The elephant cars have a joystick that allows you to raise and lower the altitude of your group. My son was old enough to understand how to use the joystick, and he loved the feeling of flying with the wind in his face. Compared to a rollercoaster, this is boring to a seasoned park veteran. But to a one-year-old, it was awe-inspiring.

It’s a Small World

The final screen read my daughter’s magic band and said goodbye to her personally.

This is the obvious choice for the littlest kids at Disney World. If somehow you don’t know about this ride, you board a boat that floats slowly through several well-lit rooms with glittery small children from every country singing the Sherman Brothers’ classic song.

What’s better for a toddler than hundreds of other toddlers singing a catchy (perhaps too catchy) song as you see all the heart-warming animatronics, dancing, and silly animals. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that this is the best ride for infants and toddlers ever made, and it’s probably the most ridden ride in the history of theme parks (except the Disneyland one).

Of course you might disagree if you’re freaked out by being stuck in a room with 300 animatronic dolls and don’t want that song stuck in your head. Even Scar hates it.

Best EPCOT Rides for Infants and Toddlers

While EPCOT doesn’t have as many rides without height restrictions, I’ll argue that EPCOT might be the best Disney Park for infants and toddlers. That’s because there is so much air conditioning. Every ride is indoors with most of the queues indoors as well. With so many gift shops, museums, The Land, The Sea, and Connections Eatery, there are so many places for a baby to rest and get out of the heat.

Here are the best rides for infants toddlers, according to our little guy.

The Seas with Nemo and Friends for Toddlers

Here’s the least blurry picture I took of the ride. It’s hard to take a photo in the dark while moving. I did my best.

The Nemo ride is great for toddlers. It’s a gentle, dark ride based on the movie Finding Nemo. Your child may already know his name, and all the funny voices and bright colors keep their attention. It’s also a very gentle ride with very little scare factor.

Just outside of the ride is the The Sea pavilion, which has several aquariums for your little one to look at the fish, sharks, and dolphins.

Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure for Toddlers

The loading area of Remy.

Remy’s ride is a little more intense than Nemo’s. It’s a trackless car ride (similar to Minnie and Mickey’s Runaway Railway), that bounces you back and forth between scenes from the movie Ratatouille that you watch with 3D glasses.

I recommend it for toddlers because the movement and animation are exciting for little kids, and some of the rats’ antics make them laugh, even if they can’t follow the plot yet. It does have a few quick movements that might be too much for little kids, but my son slept through it when he was one year old.

He stayed like this the whole ride.

I should mention that a small minority of parents complain about their own motion sickness on this ride due to the movement combined with the 3D glasses.

Best Hollywood Studios Rides for Infants and Toddlers

Hollywood Studios really shines with the shows and environments for littler kids. The Disney Jr. area, Pixar area, and Toy Story Land are great for little kids to enjoy. And the Frozen Sing-Along Celebration, Fantasmic, Disney Junior Dance Party, and Muppet Vision 3D are great for the littlest kids.

But Hollywood Studios is severely lacking in rides for smaller kids. In fact, there’s only two rides without height restriction (Runaway Railway and Toy Story Mania), and one more with a height restriction of less than 36” (Swirling Saucers).

I leave Toy Story Mania off the list because it’s a game, and it’s a game that your toddler probably won’t be able to play. Therefore, you’ll be tending to their needs instead of getting to play yourself. Furthermore, it’s pretty jerky, so if they’re really little, you’d have to hold them. Still, many kids enjoy the frantic experience and Toy Story characters.

Here are the two best rides for infants and toddlers at Hollywood Studios (from a list of 3):

Alien Swirling Saucers for Toddlers

My daughters and I posing with our driver back when my middle daughter was still a toddler.

The little guys from the Claw in Toy Story are ready to take you on an adventure that’s basically a fishtailing carriage ride (on a track) in several interlocking circles. It’s not amazingly exciting for adults or older kids (my oldest daughter likens it to the Mad Tea Party without spin control), but its great for toddlers and preschoolers.

Again, this is not a “no height restriction” ride. Children must be 32 inches tall in order to ride, but that means that most 18-month-olds and older will be able to ride.

Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway

The entrance of Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway inside the Chinese theater, one of our family’s favorite rides.

Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway is trackless car ride (like Ratatouille) based on the new Mickey and Minnie cartoon shorts, which if you haven’t seen them, are basically classic Mickey cartoons meets Ren and Stimpy gross humor.

Regardless of my less than enthusiastic opinion of the show, the ride is amazing for small kids and adults alike. It’s beautiful animation, technology, and slapstick plotline engages both young and old alike. As a parent of young kids, I think they hit the jackpot with this ride, and it’s worthy of its spot in the Chinese Theater (sorry to all those who miss the The Great Movie Ride that it replaced).

My second and third child with my wife on Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway.

Second Dad to the Right Tip: In my experience, the location of Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway makes it a crowded ride at rope drop, and the line will actually get shorter a couple hours in as people move towards Toy Story Land and Galaxy’s Edge. So if park open lines are insane, don’t lose hope.

Best Animal Kingdom Rides for Infants and Toddlers

Animal Kingdom as a whole is not great for really little kids. There are not very many rides, and only some of the shows are in air conditioning. I love Animal Kingdom, but little kids are pretty much just along for a stroller ride.

There are a few good gems though. If they like live animals, there are plenty of opportunities to see and interact with them, and the Lion King show is a visual masterpiece that keeps the attention of small children.

Like Hollywood Studios, there are very few rides for kids. There are four. TriceraTop Spin, the Safari, Nav’i River Journey, and Rafiki’s Planet Watch train (which could be classified as transportation). I suspect this will change over the next few years as they add Encanto and Zootopia features to the park.

Here’s the best rides for kids:

TriceraTop Spin

My wife, either her grandmother or Paula Dean, and my middle daughter back when she was 3.

TriceraTop Spin is the Animal Kingdom version of the Dumbo Ride. It’s the same design where “flying” cars are suspended by spokes from a spinning hub. However, unlike Dumbo (and Aladdin’s Magic Carpet), it makes no sense for the triceratops to be flying.

But that won’t matter to your toddler. They’ll enjoy the spinning and flying.

Kilimanjaro Safari

One of the rhinos we saw on the safari.

The safari is a must-do ride for everyone at Animal Kingdom. You get to see amazing creatures relatively up close, including endangered rhinos, elephants, and gazelle (and more dangerous animals from a distance).

A bonus for this ride is that you can take a stroller through the line instead of having to carry your child. Most other rides, you’ll need to park you stroller in the stroller parking before entering the queue.

Conclusion and Further Reading (shows and experiences)

Taking your littlest ones to Disney World is a great idea, and there are plenty of great rides and attractions for babies and toddlers. Even when rides are limited, there are so many sights to see, shows to take in, music to hear, and for my son, pine straw to play with.

The pine straw at Magic Kingdom is clearly magical.

If you want more tips for Disney World with an infant or toddler, click on this post. And if you want to know which rides to check out or avoid, see my list of scariest rides at Disney World ranked.

Finally, if you’ve taken a small child to Disney World, what were their favorite rides? Let me know in the comments.