Hi! This is Katie, travel agent and host of this blog site. This post is a little bit different as it is written by one of my best friends, Kate, who just visited Disney World on her Babymoon! She’s going to share all her thoughts on visiting Disney World while pregnant.
Kate and her husband are Disney veterans and over the past decade have visited Disney Parks about once a year. They have been to Disney World and Disneyland, they have RunDisney, and stayed at various resorts, visited with groups and as a couple. All this to say they are Disney pros!
But this visit was going to be a bit different. As they celebrate the upcoming arrival of their first child this trip was a Babymooon! Which of course meant that Kate would be pregnant during their visit.
I had a blast helping them plan this trip as their travel agent and Kate came home with so many good thoughts we wanted to share them with all of you! So without further ado here’s Kate.
Hi Everyone I’m Kate! I’m here to give you all my tips for visiting Disney World while pregnant but first let’s start with some context for our trip.
We flew into Orlando on a Thursday morning and departed on a Monday morning. This was over Martin Luther King weekend 2022 and crowds were high. We stayed at Coronado Springs Resort in the Destino Tower. We spent 4 days in the parks, Thursday at Hollywood Studios, Friday and Saturday at Magic Kingdom, and Monday at EPCOT.
I was 24 weeks pregnant with my first child during our trip.
General Tips
1. Pack some snacks. Snacks at Disney, from bananas to Kind Bars to a sixer of Miller Lite, are wildly expensive. And spoiler alert you’ll be hungry. You’re always hungry.
We brought Kind bars and RX bars in our suitcases and finished them all.
2. Wear amazing sneakers. Now isn’t the time to rock a color coordinated, high fashion Disney Bound (although mad respect if you opt into that). You’re in the parks for the long haul and comfort is key. Your feet (and hips, and back, and…) will thank you.
3. Don’t be afraid to take a break. Your vacay wont be ruined, in fact it might be saved! Pause in the middle of your day, go back to the hotel, put your feet up. Take a cat nap. Eat a snack. Refresh and recharge yourself, there’s no shame!
That being said, also don’t be afraid to get a late start! Sleep in, get some breakfast, and be fresh as a daisy when you board the buses to the parks! This became our park-day norm. Mama needed some Zzzs.
4. Get memory maker. I’ll say that again for the people in the back.
Buy. Memory. Maker.
Your foggy pregnancy brain will thank you for having those memories captured. Get the t-shirts that say Bibbity Bobbity Bump. Bring your ultrasound photos. The photographers always work with you to make your magical photo dreams come true and (usually) don’t care what props you bring into the photos. It’s one hundred percent worth the price!
5. Prioritize your trip. What’s the goal? To eat your way through the parks? To take all the epic pics? To ride as many rides as you can? Figure out your priorities to avoid hormonal disappointment. No one likes crying at Disney, that’s the opposite of magical.
6. Time your trip with your trimester.
Twenty four weeks pregnant was a sweet spot. You’re solidly in the second trimester, you don’t quite have a duck waddle going, but your bump is bumpy enough for cute photos. Why bring this up? Because once you hit the third trimester it’s lights out, zero energy, you feel like you’re back to the first trimester except this time you have a small MMA fighter pummeling your insides. You’ll be walking miles and miles in the parks (we averaged 8-12 miles a day) so go at an ideal time. That ideal time? Second trimester. Most doctors prefer you don’t travel after the 28-30 week mark anyways.
Magic Kingdom Tips
Ah, Magic Kingdom. The heart of Disney! Here’s some tips and tricks for MK:
1. If you didn’t bring your own snacks or meals into the park, order food using the app before you get hangry. This will save your life. And your partner’s life. Because you will try to destroy them in your fit of hanger rage.
You can order a full blown meal using the app, or just a Dole Whip. It was super reliable and you get to laugh at the people who didn’t use it and are bemoaning their fate in line.
2. The Liberty Belle Riverboat will be your best friend. I’m not lying to you. Trust me. It’s a guaranteed no-line, twenty minute respite while you cruise along the “river” in Liberty Square. Get out of the sun, hang out in the guest quarters, sprawl greedily across the upholstered benches and dare anyone to try and move a tired, pregnant person. No one will. It was bliss. We did it twice.
3. The Peoplemover will also be your best friend. It’s job is to move people. Let it move you.
4. On the whole, most rides at Magic Kingdom are accessible for pregnant folks. Obviously you can’t rock Space Mountain or Big Thunder Mountain…or apparently any type of mountain, but you have literally dozens of other attractions and it was why we spent two days there. So if your priority is rides, Magic Kingdom is the place to be.
Epcot
While you can’t drink around the world – don’t worry – you can eat your way around the world. If you can, I recommend going during a festival. All the more food to keep you happy and sated, my dears.
1. Remember that hanger rage? Even if you go during a festival, make dining reservations ahead of time for lunch or dinner. We made the critical error of thinking we’d have enough food at the small booths and pavilions but with Disney’s never ending crowds these days causing longer-than-usual lines we were horribly wrong. I almost threw a fit in the China pavilion that would have rivaled any toddler in the park. It was ugly.
2. Let your partner buy you a sweet treat so you can happily chow down while they ride Mission: Space and Test Track. Is the sweet treat a bribe? Yes. Will you accept it? Absolutely. Plus your feet will appreciate a sit down.
3. Take time to appreciate attractions like The Seas with Nemo, or Living with the Land. They’re indoor, covered, and usually less crowded than the world showcase. Disney does a lot of conservation work and you can see that in The Seas. Also go enjoy Turtle Talk With Crush and watch an animated sea turtle sass young children while their parents laugh and laugh. It’s a delight.
Hollywood Studios
Okay, honestly friends, Hollywood Studios will not be a pregnant person’s fave. You can’t drink. You can’t ride Slinky Dog Dash, or Rise of the Resistance, or Smuggler’s Run, or Rock n’ Rollercoaster, OR Tower of Terror. Can you still have fun? Absolutely. But temper the ol’ expectations because Hollywood Studios is the thrill park, and your body wont be up for much thrilling.
1. While it’s technically suitable for pregnant folks, I don’t recommend Mickey’s Runaway Railway. It was overstimulating; the volume was loud enough to wake the dead and it rumbled right up your booty hole, there were vibrations in the cart that gave me legitimate concern, and the movements weren’t as fluid as, say, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure in Epcot. I’d even argue Dwarf Mine Train in Magic Kingdom is more suitable. Just sayin’
2. The nice thing about Hollywood Studios is they sprinkle shows among all those thrill rides you can’t ride. You just have to time it right. So check the showtimes (particularly for Indiana Jones) ahead of time, and map out your day around them.
3. Let your partner take advantage of the single rider lanes. Hollywood Studios has them for Smuggler’s Run and Rock n’ Roller Coaster. You have the thrill of literally growing a life, let them have their own thrills.
Plus you can always guilt them later for a sweet treat because you were so kind and generous. I recommend a Mickey Ice Cream Bar.
Moral of the Story
1. Plan your day around food.
2. Wear excellent footwear, but take breaks as needed. No one is monitoring your step count.
3. Temper your expectations, but prioritize so you can still have your ideal vacay.
4. Food.
5. Book your vacation with Katie as your travel agent! Check out her contact details below.
Contact Katie for a free quote at katiev@themagicsyours.com
Follow Katie! https://linktr.ee/katiethemagicsyours
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