Florida Guide > Hints and Tips
Advice for taking small children and babies to Orlando.
First, I would always suggest a villa rather than a hotel. Most have cribs, strollers and high chairs and you have so much more freedom than in a hotel room. For example, baby can be put down to sleep in his/her own room while you can have the freedom to enjoy the evening by the pool in the garden or the Jacuzzi with a glass of wine, rather than sitting quietly on a hotel bed.
Orlando is very baby and small child friendly so all the usual foods are there without having to worry. Remember the sun is very, very strong in Florida, even when it is cloudy so do keep small children well covered up and always with a hat and sunglasses. When they are in swim wear they will need at least a factor 30 sun block. Make sure they drink plenty of liquid all day as they will dehydrate quickly – as will you. The water in Florida is perfectly safe to drink so no need to buy lots of bottles, just by a flask with a thermal cover to keep it cool, fill it from the tap and give each family member their own. The parks sell their own and make good souvenirs.
At the parks, there may be some rides that have long queues so a small light book or toy would help pass the time (I always take a paper back book to read in the queues). You can take all the equipment you think the baby will need as all the parks have lockers at the entrance of the park so you can keep bulky things you may need later in the day without having to carry it all.
Do be very aware of the height restrictions on the rides, they are there for a very good reason, the last thing you need is a small child being injured on a ride because he/she did not fit into the seat belt. Also some rides have very dark parts so make sure your little ones are not afraid of the dark before taking them on a ride. If you are in doubt, ask the attendants at the start of the ride.
Most of the restaurants in the parks sell baby food, but if you take your own they will always give you some hot water in a mug to warm jars of food.
Remember little legs tire very quickly and if they are over push chair age it would be good to take lots of rest breaks so they will not be flagging by the end of the day. Some people start in the morning then return to their villas for the afternoon, so they can swim in the pool and have some food, then return to the park later in the day when it is cooler and the queues have died down a bit. Plus the evening entertainment is not to be missed, especially the Electric Parade at the Magic Kingdom, the laser show at Disney Hollywood Studios and the fireworks at Epcot.
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