These Are Our Go-To Rides and Activities when Visiting Disney World with Young Kids

No matter what you may have heard—and we've heard it all—taking little ones to Disney World really can be a magical experience you'll never forget (even if your kids won’t always remember it). This is not to say every single moment is going to be fun and carefree, but if you play your cards right, most of them will be. Often, the outcome of a trip to the resort with young kids can depend on how you choose to spend your time there.

Since most of us have a limited number of hours to tour the parks, it's best to accept the fact that you won't be able to do everything Disney World has to offer. With so many attraction and entertainment options available, prioritizing the ones your kids will enjoy the most can be an overwhelming task. Obviously, every kid is different, and they all have their favorite Disney movies and characters as well as their own interests and aversions.

I've been taking my own kids to Disney World regularly since the oldest was two, and although he and his little sister each have their individual preferences, they share a slew of tried-and-true favorites. Some of their picks are a bit unconventional for the young set, like Haunted Mansion and the PeopleMover. Now that they're getting a bit older, they enjoy a few coasters, too. Those exceptions aside, most of our family's go-to rides and activities are preschool crowd-pleasers that don't feature any potential scares or height requirements. We're counting them down from ten to the very best!

Character Meet and Greets

Meeting Disney characters is a quintessential part of the Disney vacation experience and a highlight for many young kids. One of our favorites is meeting Winnie the Pooh and other friends from the Hundred Acre Wood in Christopher Robin's room at EPCOT's United Kingdom Pavilion. We love this intimate character interaction because it's tucked away in a cozy corner of World Showcase in the gardens behind the UK buildings, and the line to enter for a somewhat private meeting is usually quite short and manageable. Also, as he's essentially a life-sized stuffed animal, Pooh is one of the most approachable characters available to meet in the parks.

Not all kids love getting up close and personal with adult-sized versions of their favorite Disney characters, and if your kid is one who doesn't, there are lots of other ways to see characters at Disney World. The Festival of Fantasy parade features a plethora of character favorites, although it typically happens in the middle of the afternoon (2-3 p.m.), which may be nap time at the resort for many families. If this is the case for you, you can also see lots of Disney characters (including several princesses, Pixar friends, Mirabel and Bruno from Encanto, Nick and Judy from Zootopia, Stitch, Max Goof, and more) in the Adventure Friends Cavalcade, which comes down Main Street in the late morning hours just before lunchtime. Finally, much of the live entertainment available across the parks at Disney World gives kids a chance to see characters from a comfortable distance as well.

Toy Story Mania!

This fast-paced Hollywood Studios attraction is accessible to all ages, and we love it for its larger-than-life toy nostalgia as well as the competitive shooting-game element. As long as the wait time is reasonable, walking through the maze of classic games and toys in the queue area is an entertaining diversion that can also facilitate connections with your kids. Near the end of the queue, a six-foot-tall audio-animatronic Mr. Potato Head sings, tells jokes, interacts with guests, and invites you to “step right up!” before you pick up a pair of 3-D glasses and board a carnival-style ride vehicle inside Andy's Room.

This ride takes you through a series of midway-style games hosted by the Toy Story gang, as you fire digital objects from your spring-action shooter at the 3-D screen in front of you. From feeling the air in your face as you burst balloons with needle-tipped darts to watching dinner plates shatter as you pelt them with baseballs, the shooting aspect of Toy Story Mania is exhilarating fun. Even for those little ones who haven't quite figured out how to aim and pull the string on the cannon, it's exciting to see the characters from the Toy Story films and to pretend they're playing as they watch direct hits on the screen.

The Boneyard

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One of our biggest tips for touring Disney World with young kids is to take time to let them play! While most kids love age-appropriate rides, they still need opportunities to run, climb, move their bodies, and explore to stay happy and regulated at Disney World. Our favorite playground at the parks is the dino-themed Boneyard at Animal Kingdom. Here kids can roam through prehistoric caves, discover hidden surprises, clamber across rope bridges, zoom down slides, and enjoy some sensory play while excavating for fossils at the dig site. It ranks on our list because it offers both physical activity and imaginative play. While DinoLand will be closing soon, and we don't know how long The Boneyard will be sticking around, Disney did refurbish the attraction last spring, and it's currently open for play.

Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana

Like The Boneyard, this popular new EPCOT attraction encourages kids to move their bodies, engage their minds, and explore their surroundings. With a variety of interactive water features, beautiful music and scenery inspired by Disney's Moana, and an educational focus on the water cycle, this isn't your typical splash pad! Some key interactive elements include a water harp you can play by running your hands through its streams, a curtain of rain that parts at your approach, and pads you can jump on to make water spring from the rocks. There's even a restroom about halfway through where kids can change into their swimsuits to prepare for the wettest segment of the attraction, which incorporates a traditional splash pad area.

Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond!

My family never misses this Broadway-caliber musical based on Disney and Pixar's Finding Nemo! While we still lament the cuts made to the original pre-pandemic masterpiece, the production value is still awfully high on this condensed version, which features many of the same memorable songs as its predecessor. A talented cast of performers uses movement and expression to make the expertly-crafted character puppets seem animated, and a spectacular array of backdrops and set pieces bring the “Big Blue World” to life. It's engaging enough to keep little ones spellbound and heartfelt enough that parents might want to have some tissues handy. My kids love sitting near the front of the theater in the “bubble zone.”

“it's a small world”

There's no denying Disney's OG slow-moving boat ride is a safe bet for families with young kids. Taking a tour on “it's a small world” is a great way to introduce Disney dark rides to littles who have never experienced them before. The smiling dolls and colorful scenes from around the globe keep the mood positive and light, and the wait time is typically minimal during the morning hours. It's also one ride that doesn't depend on familiarity with stories or characters from Disney films. We love to jump in the queue for this one whenever there is downtime between headliner attractions to keep our momentum going.

The Seas with Nemo and Friends (and SeaBase)

Not to be confused with the Animal Kingdom musical listed above, this unassuming EPCOT attraction might just have everything kids want at Disney World. First, climb aboard a pink “clamobile” for a gentle ride past coral reefs, anemones, underwater mines, and a swarm of jellyfish. Keep an eye out for Nemo along the way! Then, hit the East Australian current with Crush and Squirt, and finish with a rousing chorus of “The Big Blue World” as you coast alongside Nemo and his friends swimming in an actual aquarium with live sea creatures.

When the ride ends, step out into Sea Base, where you'll find a 5.7-million-gallon salt-water aquarium filled with sea turtles, reef fish, rays, and sharks. My kids love collecting stickers and clues to help Dory find her friends on the self-guided scavenger hunt through the aquarium. Complimentary booklets for the scavenger hunt are available near the exit for The Seas with Nemo and Friends attraction. Before you leave, visit Bruce's Shark World, where your kids can explore an interactive walkthrough exhibit and climb inside Bruce's toothy jaws for a photo.

Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway

What would a visit to Disney World be without seeing the mouse himself? Believe it or not, Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway at Hollywood Studios is the first ride-through attraction at a Disney theme park to feature Mickey Mouse. This wild runaway train ride through a Mickey cartoon short showcases the award-winning animation from the Mickey Mouse series in an immersive adventure that combines screens and projection technology with physical set pieces and animatronics. Contrary to what its name suggests, the ride vehicle isn't really a train, but an innovative trackless car built for smooth movement through the ride environment. So, although it's zany and full of surprises, this attraction is a mild but fun experience for young kids.

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

It's possible that my family is a bit partial to A.A. Milne's sweet stories and subsequently, the Disney movie(s) they inspired. However, our appreciation for the adorable interactive queue and storybook scenes on this ride is (almost) entirely objective. Your kids can explore Pooh's house, knock on Piglet's door and hear him answer from the other side, play pumpkin and melon drums in Rabbit's garden, buzz bees along a metal track from hive to hive, swipe honey from a digital wall to reveal characters hiding beneath, and more, all before boarding the ride! Just remember to bring some hand sanitizer with you—lots of little hands touch all of those surfaces constantly.

Once seated inside your moving honey pot, you'll journey through the Hundred Acre Wood, where you'll topple to the ground along with Owl's treehouse, bounce with Tigger, dream along with Pooh, and celebrate Piglet's rainy rescue from the rushing, rising rivulets. It's an absolute delight.

Peter Pan's Flight

This classic flying pirate ship ride over moonlit London and through Peter's adventures in Neverland is a prime example of family-friendly Disney fantasy. It's simply magical, and it's a must-do for us and for our kids every time. Like The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, it boasts a detailed interactive queue, where you can watch Tinkerbell flit around the Darling nursery, and your shadow can interact with shadows on the wall. You'll want to hit this one early in the morning to enjoy the queue while avoiding the exorbitant wait times later in the day. That being said, there's a reason it hasn't waned in popularity over the years.

Honorable mentions go to Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid, Enchanted Tales with Belle, and Mad Tea Party, which are also excellent go-to experiences when visiting Disney World with young kids.

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