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Where To Take Little Kids While You Wait At Walt Disney World – Ultimate List With Maps!

by Jill March 1, 2019

written by Jill

Are you planning a trip to Walt Disney World with toddlers? Will you have to balance entertaining small ones while big ones ride rides? I’m sharing my favorite toddler and preschooler friendly spots in all 4 WDW parks in this post! Be sure you save or screen shot the maps for each one, too!

image of a toddler held up around lots of balloons

We just wrapped up an epic family vacation at Walt Disney World with kids ages 2, 5, 8, and 10. Not everyone was tall enough to ride all the rides. Not everyone wanted to ride the same rides. It’s a challenge when you’ve got to divide and conquer, but it’s not terrible if you know where to go while you wait.

My husband and I would take turns and split up with the bigs waiting in the ride line, and the littles who needed to be entertained while they waited. Even when we had FastPasses, we could expect to wait 20-30 minutes for our riders to exit some rides.

Of course, we tried to time this during stroller nap time. And if that was the case and I only had the 2 year old with me, I’d find a shady spot and enjoy the relative silence. When he was awake, though, he wanted OUT. And if I had another kid with me, we were certainly not going to enjoy any kind of silence just sitting and waiting.

So we hit up the following spots in each park while we passed the time:

Walt Disney World – Magic Kingdom

Rides: Splash Mountain, Thunder Mountain

There is a play area to the right of the entrance to Splash Mountain. It’s right near a bathroom, has plenty of seating nearby, and it’s pretty easy to keep an eye on runners without having to helicopter them.

Ride: Space Mountain

We spent a lot of time getting energy out at the space in front of the Tomorrowland stage. In the past, this has been home to a dance party that our then 1 year old loved. This year, there didn’t seem to be anything happening on the stage, but that meant that space was left wide open for running and playing with his Buzz Lightyear bubble blower.

There is a little bit of seating, but you definitely have to be ready to chase a runner since there’s no fencing or barricade to keep them from running into the crowds. You could also take them onto the PeopleMover while you wait if the line isn’t too long (generally it doesn’t seem to be). It’s our 2 year old’s FAVORITE.If your little will sit still for it, and you have the budget and the desire, there’s a face painting spot near the Tomorrowland stage, too.

Rides: Barnstormer, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Dumbo

Anyone can ride Dumbo as long as littles are seated with adults, but did you know you don’t have to ride Dumbo to get inside and play under Dumbo’s Big Top? It’s an indoor, climate controlled play space that’s 90% contained, and it’s glorious! I’ve nursed babies here, I’ve sat and enjoyed coffee in peace while big kids played, and I’ve brought them here to entertain them while we wait for riders.

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A post shared by Jill Krause (@babyrabies) on Oct 29, 2015 at 8:02am PDT

If you do plan to ride Dumbo, they will give you a buzzer, like you get at a restaurant, and when it goes off, it’s time to jump in line. Never waste a Fast Pass on Dumbo if your kids will want to play in the tent!

If it’s hot out and you are cool with your kid getting wet, you can also take them to Casey Jr. Splash ‘N’ Soak Station right outside the Dumbo ride. As of today, it’s closed for renovations, but should be open by the end of March, 2019.

Screenshot or save this map to your phone for quick reference in the park!

Walt Disney World – Epcot

Ride: Mission Space

After you say goodbye to your riders entering the line, walk to the left and head into the exit. You’ll walk into a gift shop, and on the other side of that is an area with video simulations for big kids and kids-at-heart, and then you’ll see a play area, complete with climbing tunnels, to the right. This climate controlled area is an awesome space to step out of the heat. I’ve found a quiet corner to nurse babies here a few times. The playground has spots for toddlers and bigger kids. And there is only one way in and out so if you have a runner, you can just park yourself there.

Ride: Test Track

This is one of those lines that is long even if you have a Fast Pass, so settle in. No worries, though, the BEST new play area in Epcot just opened within steps of the ride. To the left of the MouseGear entrance, you’ll find what is now a Ralph Breaks The Internet themed outdoor playground. It’s fully enclosed (except for the entrance) with quite a bit of seating for adults. I’m told the theming will change, but this playground is a permanent fixture.

Ride: Soarin

Soarin is inside The Land pavilion, and you can certainly let your littles run around the waiting area there, but it’s not very entertaining. If you’d like to stay inside the pavilion, check out the wait time for the ride Living with the Land. It’s about a 20 minute ride, and the wait has always been next to nothing while we’ve been there.
If you would rather not sit and hold them, head over to The Seas with Nemo & Friends and take the escalator to the 2nd floor. There’s an incredible aquarium that they can walk through with windows right at eye level.
There is a splash pad at Epcot between Future World and the World Showcase. Just be sure your child has a change of clothes before you let them discover this.

Screenshot or save this map to your phone for quick reference in the park!

map of Walt Disney World Epcot

Hollywood Studios

Ride: Tower Of Terror and Rock & Rollercoaster

Hollywood Studios is lacking in dedicated play spaces for kids at the moment, so here it’s all about finding places littles have space to safely get their sillies out. The open space in front of the TOT exit may seem like a good spot at first glance, but I’ve found it’s a nightmare. There are stairs that my danger baby insists trying to go up and down, and there’s a pathway that’s also a designated smoking spot that he is determined to explore. So if I can’t convince him to stay in his stroller and enjoy a snack at this spot, I take him to the open area in front of Rock & Rollercoaster.There’s still a lot of foot traffic in and out of here so it’s not a place you can let runners run free, but you can usually find an empty spot off to the side and let them play with a toy or enjoy a snack. If you’re feeling festive, there’s a face painting spot here!

Ride: Star Tours

We rode this ride A LOT so I have a few options that worked well for us. The SciFi Drive-In Theater restaurant is adjacent to this ride, and there’s a car out front that entertained the toddler for maybe 5 minutes each time. He climbed in and out and pretended to drive and honk a horn. It was never entertainment enough for an entire ride cycle though.
There’s a courtyard in front of the Muppet Experience and a dead end road to the side of it (for now) with a Star Wars backdrop that will stop your runner from running off. Both are decent places to let them get their energy out.
I actually found the best solution for us was to take my 2 year old across the park (it’s not a big park) to the Animation Courtyard and into the Star Wars Launch Bay. I was able to nurse him in the quiet Han Solo museum and then we got in line to meet BB-8 and Pluto was right outside. We timed it perfectly to meet the rest of the fam on their way to Toy Story Land once they exited Star Tours.

Rides: Slinky Dog Dash & Alien Swirling Saucers

Toy Story Land would have been the BEST PLACE for a playground, right? Sigh. Sadly, there isn’t one, and with height restrictions on two of the three rides (Alien Swirling Saucers is only 32”), if you’re traveling with a little little, you’ll have to find something else to do with them while you wait.

Our 2 year old was OBSESSED with the Green Army Men, and they were out and about nearly the whole time we were in TSL, each time we visited. He even got to bounce a Pixar ball with them! This was plenty of entertainment for him for one ride cycle.
If you can manage to get a FP for Toy Story Mania for the same time your other riders will be on the height restricted rides, it’s an easy enough ride to manage littles on your own and the FP line seems to move pretty swiftly. You could also hop in line to meet Woody & Jessie or Buzz if you think you have the patience for that.

If none of that is working and you need a place with a little more space to run and perhaps a dance party, head out of TSL and just after you exit, to the right, will be the old Pixar Place alley. It is currently home to An Incredible Celebration. If you’re into cookies or bribing your kids with cookies, you gotta get a Jack Jack’s Num Num cookie while you’re there.

Screenshot or save this map to your phone for quick reference in the park!

Animal Kingdom

Rides: Expedition Everest, DINOSAUR, Primeval Whirl, Flight Of Passage

Animal Kingdom, in my opinion, has THE BEST play area for littles- The Boneyard. It’s HUGE and there’s something there for kids big and small. We just really love Dinoland U.S.A. as a whole, especially now that Donald’s Dino-Bash is going on. There many character interactions throughout the day, and a dance party later in the afternoon that lasts through the night.
Another cool thing about Dinoland is it’s not a bad place to hang no matter what ride you’re waiting for riders finish. You can all meet back up in the center of the park on Discovery Island.

You might also like: 6 Stunning Photos You Would Never Guess Were Taken And Edited With A Phone

There is also the Hakuna Matata Time Dance Party, which lasts a good portion of the day, on Discovery Island.
The Muziki Drums across from the Harambe Market are a family favorite for us, too.

Pandora has winding trails and tons of beautiful foliage to look at, especially at night. You might also catch the Pandora drums that play throughout the day. Fair warning: this can be a stressful place to let runners out of strollers. The combination of foot traffic and all the trails can make it easy to lose sight of an excited kiddo.

Screenshot or save this map to your phone for quick reference in the park!

map of Walt Disney World Animal Kingdom

I hope this helps you on your upcoming Walt Disney World trip! I’ll be writing more about taking babies and toddlers to Disney here soon, so be sure you’re subscribed and following me on Facebook and Instagram for updates. For videos about family travel, be sure you subscribe to our travel and lifestyle channel Happy Loud Life.

Click here to read more tips and tricks for Walt Disney World.

And if you love my photos and want to know how you can take and edit pix of your family at Disney World with just your phone and a few cheap apps, be sure you’re subscribed to my newsletter to find out when my next ebook- Picture Play At Disney World- goes on sale!

If you found this helpful, I’d love if you’d pin it to your Pinterest board!

image collage a pictures of the main highlights at WDW

March 1, 2019 29 comments

Travel

Budget For This Extra On Your Walt Disney World Vacation

by Jill February 6, 2019

written by Jill

When I am old, my treasures will be photos, and this will be a crown jewel.

We recently hired Melissa Ann Photography to meet up with us for an hour at Magic Kingdom and what she captured was more than I could hope for.

I am always the magic manufacturer when we do Disney, and I mostly don’t mind, but combine that with being the family’s primary documentarian, and there’s rarely proof I exist, let alone proof that I made that magic happen in our vacation photos.

So I know, I KNOW WDW is already a pricey experience, but maybe consider this if you have a trip planned.

Why Hire A Professional Photographer For Your WDW Vacation?

1. These trips are, for many people, rare, long planned for and, just like other big and expensive moments of your life, you will love having high-quality images to look back on.

2. Park photographers at Photopass spots do an ok job most of the time, and you get access to those photos when you purchase Memory Maker or they will happily take them with your phone or camera, but they are not going to be able to follow you onto or between rides and capture the small moments when the magic really happens.

3. This is a guaranteed way to be sure everyone in your party gets in the picture, beyond the posed and staged shots.

4. Your photographer will also know all the coolest places to capture moments that will stand out and not get lost in a sea of other people.

How Does It Work?

We coordinated our plans with Melissa beforehand. She’s an Annual Passholder and was able to get fast passes on a few rides the same time as us. We met her in the park, she followed us back to the rides and then walked around with us to a couple other spots. In all, it took about an hour and then we were free to enjoy the rest of our day.

We tried to be considerate of people around us and didn’t make a big deal about the photo shoot. We waited in line and got on rides just like everybody else and Melissa would do her best to get a good vantage point, so there are some factors that will be out of your control. You need to be ok with that and trust that your photographer can capture the magic even if you don’t get the perfect seats on the ride or your favorite color Dumbo. We really tried to keep the whole session low-key and not get in the way of someone else’s magic that day.

How Much Does It Cost?

Rates will obviously vary based on who you hire. Melissa Ann Photography starts at $375 for an hour, including your final digital files. For us, an hour was plenty. If you have a bigger family or group, though, you might want to consider a longer shoot.

Budgeting Ideas- Some Ways You Might Be Able To Allocate Money For A Photoshoot:

Start with your food. If you’re doing the dining plan, I strongly encourage you to really crunch the numbers and see if it’s worth it. We’ve done it three different ways now: free dining plan, paid for the dining plan, no dining plan. Obviously, the free dining plan wins every time (a promo they offer 1-2x a year when you stay at a WDW resort.) But if you are paying for the dining plan, there’s a strong possibility you’re not actually going to come out ahead financially. You could easily make up for the cost of a photoshoot by paying out of pocket for meals, bringing in your own snacks, and not eating at a table service restaurant for a few days. Not as hard as it may sound. Lots of quick service restaurants have great food, and many meals are easily shareable.
Downgrade from Park Hopper tickets. In my experience, park hopping is a time suck and a huge stress when dealing with littles anyway. If your itinerary allows, consider paying less for tickets that only let you in one park a day.
Prioritize photos over other souvenirs. It’s very easy to get sucked into buying stuff at WDW, and even if they aren’t huge purchases, they add up fast. If your kids will want a WDW souvenir, consider buying Disney merch on Amazon or from Walmart or Target before you go, and then sneak it in your luggage and gift it to them there.

We are basically living at Walt Disney World right now and have been for nearly a month- popping in and out of Fort Wilderness, Disney’s official on-site RV park, and other Orlando area RV parks. Don’t hate me, please!

This is such a rare and wonderful thing, and we are fully taking advantage of it. Partly because when else in our children’s lifetimes will we be able to do this with them? Homeschool part of the day, and then run up and catch the fireworks or snag a fast pass for a favorite ride- we are so super lucky, and I know that.

Also, a big reason for the extended stay is so I can get all the research I need done here for my next eBook (title still pending) all about how to take photos of your family at Walt Disney World. After the jaw-dropping success of my first eBook Picture Play- CLICK THROUGH to read reviews and buy-over 1100 copies sold in less than 3 months and still going strong, I was so inspired to keep creating content that will help regular people take and edit gorgeous photos of their families and of themselves with whatever camera they know and use the most.

Be sure you’re signed up for my newsletter so you can find out when the next Disney-focused eBook presale starts!

But even while I’m here working on a book to teach you how to take pictures at Walt Disney World yourself, I still think it’s worth it for you to consider budgeting to hire a professional photographer for your trip to WDW just so you can feel confident that YOU will be represented in some of those magical moments.

Yes, I know WDW is already an expensive endeavor, and a professional photographer is an additional expense that not everyone can add onto an already pricey vacation. But, with a little bit of planning and budgeting, it’s possible it could work out for you!

This post is not sponsored. We hired Melissa Ann Photography and loved the experience so much I had to share.

February 6, 2019 1 comment

What I Would & Wouldn’t Do Again At Disney World

by Jill June 1, 2014

written by Jill

Lessons learned for me going forward because yes, I definitely want to go back. Soon!

Here are some things I would do again:

Schedule our nice meal for late in the day- We had dinner reservations at 8:50 at the Crystal Palace where we got to have a relaxing dinner after a lonnnnnng day, and were visited by Winnie The Pooh and friends. We could see the Electric Parade outside our window as we ate, and the Wishes fireworks started up just as we were leaving. I’ve also heard great things about starting with a character breakfast because you can get into the park early, but I don’t know if we would have been able to keep Kendall’s curiosity and excitement levels down long enough to enjoy something like that first thing in the day.

Skip fireworks and parades for extra ride time- I mentioned in my previous post that we didn’t go out of our way to get good seats or even see most of the parades. Our walk from the Crystal Palace to Space Mountain during the Wishes fireworks actually gave us amazing views of the show, putting us nearly right under Tinkerbell as she flew away from the castle. At one point, we stopped in a clearing next to a roped off area where people paid extra money for great views during the show! By the time we got to Space Mountain, Kendall had seen plenty of fireworks and there was zero line to get on the ride.
Book another character meal- In general, we were pretty happy with the character meal experience. It’s costly (over $100 for 2 adults, 1 child), but it was a wonderful, relaxing change of pace. We got great pictures, and the food was really wonderful. Next time, I think we’ll go for Cinderella’s Royal Table.
Use one Fast Pass for character meeting of choice- We used one Fast Pass to meet Mickey. I really, really wanted to get just one picture with Mickey. It’s not even something Kendall wanted to do, but something I know he’ll look back on in 20 years and be glad we have… I think? The thing is, the lines for character meetings seemed pretty long, and there wasn’t much at the end of that long line that would thrill a 6 year old boy, you know? So I’m glad we were able to just walk up and get pictures with Mickey, then leave 15 minutes later. It was a “Humor me, kid” kind of thing. And bless his heart, he did his best. Mickey asked us to fly like Peter Pan. Kendall gives no craps about Peter Pan. It was a little awkward for all of us.

Rent a stroller- My mom and I kept saying over and over, “Thank God for this stroller.” It was helpful for more than just toting a sometimes cranky 6 year old around in. We used it to keep our drinks and phones handy in the console bar. We kept stuff in the basket below. And we were able to move much quicker through the park to make Fast Pass times with Kendall in it. Renting was such a lovely luxury. Orlando Stroller Rentals dropped it off at our Disney Resort and picked it up there, too. It was clean, it was comfortable, it was easy to fold, and I didn’t have to take it on or off an airplane.
Pre-buy souvenirs and Disney Pins to trade– you can read more about all of that in my Inexpensive Souvenirs That Rock post.
Use time in line for rides to re-apply sunscreen– This is a benefit to keeping sunscreen in the bag you’ll keep with you at all times. You can read more about how we packed what we packed in this post.
Build in time to enjoy our resort- We stayed at Coronado Springs, and they had a fantastic pool and outdoor area. I’m so glad we took some time to enjoy it 2 of the days we were there. It’s entirely possible to have an amazing time without even having tickets to a park for a day.

Here are some things I might not do again:

Not study the maps enough- We wandered around way more than we should have. I made the mistake of not studying the park map much before we got there. I wish I would have come up with a basic plan of attack, even just planning our Fast Passes in a way that made sense and didn’t have us criss-crossing all over. I wanted to be flexible and follow my son’s lead, but we spend a lot of time looking for things.
Purchase Memory Maker for a trip shorter than 3 or 4 days- I give a full review of Memory Maker in my Disney Photography Tips post. The short of it is it wasn’t worth it for only 2 days, especially since I had my DSLR with me, and the cast member photographers will take pictures with your camera if you ask them.
Pass up the dining plan- After looking at how much we spent on food at the parks, and how much the Disney Dining Plan costs, I think we’d be wise to take advantage of it next time.
Forget my external phone charger- I burned through battery on my iPhone super fast, but I had a plan for that. I bought an external, portable iPhone charger… which I left in the hotel. AGH! On one hand, it helped me stay present in the moment, but on the other it made getting separated from my mom a little scary.
Ride rides like It’s A Small World or Peter Pan’s Flight instead of thrill rides- We began the day with low-key rides like these because I wasn’t sure how well my 6 year old would handle roller coasters. I think he yawned his way through Peter Pan’s Flight, and It’s A Small World bored him as much as it creeped me out. Then I took him on Splash Mountain and everything changed. One little taste of the thrill and he was hooked. It was all coasters, all day from that point. I wish we would have done more.

That does it for my Disney Tips Series! Here are the other 4 posts in the series, in case you missed them (or forgot to pin them).

Tips For Packing For Disney World

Inexpensive Disney Souvenirs That Rock

Tips For A Disney Experience Beyond Princesses

How To Get Great Pictures At Disney World

June 1, 2014 10 comments

Reviews School Age Days Travel

Tips For Packing For Disney World

by Jill June 1, 2014

written by Jill

I probably stressed more about packing for this trip than any other trip I’ve taken. I’m glad I put a little thought into it, considering my usual approach is to throw things together 2 hours before we’re supposed to leave for the airport.

Here are some items I’m glad I brought with us:

Glow stick bracelets (more about those in this post)
Disney trading pins and lanyard (more in this post)
Mickey bandaids and moleskin (for festive blisters and such) – Don’t forget to precut the moleskin!
Refillable water bottles
Temporary tattoos that I could write my phone number on for Kendall to wear
External, portable charger for my iPhone
Breakfast bars and fruit snacks
Goddess Garden continuos spray sunscreen
Hand sanitizer
Chapstick
Baby wipes
Sunglasses for me, ball cap for Kendall
COMFORTABLE, broken in tennis shoes
A roomy backpack + a large tote bag

Packing for the park

We didn’t bring our own stroller. Instead, my mom rented one from Orlando Stroller Rentals. I can’t say enough great things about them. I am SO GLAD we had a stroller, even for our 6 year old. I almost feel like it’s worth having a stroller no matter how old everyone is just to have something to tote your stuff around in.

Since our time was limited, we planned to spend the entire day at the park. This meant we had to bring a lot with us. What wound up working for us was putting everything of value and everything we would need to access frequently in a large backpack- camera, chargers, snacks, sunscreen, etc. We took this bag everywhere with us, even on rides.

When I didn’t have my DSLR around my neck, I kept it in a padded cube in the middle pocket of the backpack.

We kept everything else in a large tote bag in the basket of the stroller. This included a change of clothes for Kendall, extra socks, even saline solution and an extra pair of contacts. Just in case. Dividing it up this way helped lighten the backpack, and if someone did run off with our stroller while we were on a ride, they wouldn’t get anything we’d miss too much. Next time I’ll be sure to bring a tote bag I don’t care very much about instead of my Feed Projects bag. I would have been sad if someone got off with that.

Getting souvenirs home

One cool thing about staying at a Disney property is you can have anything you purchase at the park sent back to your hotel, as long as you’re able to pick it up after 1 the next day (so not something you can take advantage of if you’re flying out early the next morning). Buy whatever you want, no matter how big or valuable without worrying about toting it around with you all day. You can also have them ship it directly to your house.

If you don’t have enough room in your bags, you might have to have them ship some stuff home. So just in case, pack something like a large duffel bag that you can easily fold and fit into your suitcase on the way there. Even if you have to pay for an extra checked bag, you’ll likely spend less on that than shipping souvenirs home.

4 down, one more post to come in my Disney Tips Series!
Get Great Pictures At Disney World
Beyond The Princesses At Magic Kingdom
Inexpensive Disney Souvenirs That Rock

June 1, 2014 3 comments

How To Get Great Pictures At Disney World

by Jill May 30, 2014

written by Jill

I took my 6 year old son and my mom on a short trip to Disney World last week, and came home with a notebook full of tips and tricks I wrote down on the flight back. Mostly, I wanted to remind myself of these things because I definitely want to go back soon, but also because I wanted to share them with y’all.

I’m breaking it up into a series of posts, starting with one of my favorite topics- photography. Here are a few tips and tricks to help you get the best pictures you can while visiting. (Most of these pics were taken at the Magic Kingdom, but these tips can be applied throughout the parks.)

Getting The Perfect Castle Shot
(Or Epcot Ball, or any other kind of popular landmark)

Unless you get to the park super early before most of the crowd gets there (like Extra Magic Hours), there are going to be a lot of people on Main Street. At Magic Kingdom (MK), there are photographers lined up and down Main Street, taking pictures with their cameras and yours if you ask. Don’t wait in a long line for the first photographer you see. Walk a little further and you’ll find more.

The problem with these pics is you’re going to end up with a lot of random people in the background. And then you get to choose if you want the man’s crotch behind your smiling kid, or the girl in the short shorts.

This pic was taken by the park photog with their camera, but I edited the digital download.

You can head to the right of the castle and you’ll find another photographer set up. There’s a garden immediately behind this spot, so there won’t be any random people right behind you. You’ll see the crowds in the background, though. Again, this photographer will take a picture with your camera if you ask them.

Taken by park photog with their camera, edited by me.

Now that is worlds better than the Main Street pic, if you ask me, but I found my favorite spot was just a little farther past that one in the Rose Garden.

There are no official photographers set up here (or there weren’t when I was there, and they aren’t marked as such on the map), so you need to have your own camera. As you can see, though, you are far enough from the castle to easily fit your subject in the foreground and the castle in the background with no random people behind you. Bonus points for pretty flowers.

Keep this same line of thinking in mind for other landmarks/attractions. Oftentimes the most popular, iconic spot to take the picture is going to be the hardest place to get the shot you want. Try to find quiet spots far enough away, but with a clear view of it.

Remove Random People From Your Photos

Say you happen to get the almost perfect shot with the exception of those few people you don’t know in the background.

My friend Megan told me about Retouchup.com, and I was able to get them to do a little Photoshop magic to this pic, leaving me with this.

Because I opened a professional photography account with them, I got a credit for one free retouch, but even if I had to pay the $10 regular fee for this, that would have been well worth it! Anyone can utilize their services, pro or not.

Beyond “Smile for the camera!”

Kendall quickly grew tired of standing still for pics and smiling. His energy levels were off the charts. There were things to do!

You probably saw in the pictures above that he’s posing gleefully with a $12 bubble gun we bought (cash only) from a street cart at MK. It was the best $12 we spent.

I got some of my favorite shots of him while he thought he was simply playing around. Plus, BUBBLES! They make for fun pictures.

When I wanted a picture of him and me, I asked him to hold up his Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom cards (these are free and part of a fun game!).

A giant lollipop can also make a great prop. What kid isn’t smiling with this thing in their hands?

Keep Your Equipment Simple

The following few tips won’t really pertain to those of you working with a point & shoot or camera phone, but be sure to check out my review of the park photogs and Memory Maker at the bottom of the post.

Those of you planning to bring your SLRs, the first bit of advice I’d offer is to not feel like you need to lug your very best (and heaviest and most expensive) lenses with you around the park. I got all of these shots with only my 40mm pancake lens on my Canon 6D. You can read more about my love for my pancake lens here. Maybe consider bringing wide-angle, fisheye, and macro lenses for your phone (like these) to get a few fun shots.

Custom White Balance or Kelvin Makes a Big Difference

I’ve been teaching myself Kelvin white balance lately, and it’s amazing how great the colors are in my pictures SOOC when I get it right. When you’re in a place where the lighting won’t change much, try to set a custom WB (using a grey card) or set it according to Kelvin.

Simplify Your Settings

One of my favorite ways to shoot in manual when I know the lighting conditions won’t change too drastically, especially when outside, is to set my ISO and a good aperture for the number of people I plan on shooting (200 and 3.2 for the picture below), then just use my shutter wheel to achieve proper exposure (1/200). Just be mindful not to drop your shutter speed too low. I rarely go below 1/160. If you find you need to go lower for proper exposure, up your ISO.

This way I’m not missing out on the action by switching my settings too much.

Also, don’t be afraid to utilize this technique in low light settings by bumping your ISO way up and opening your aperture up if you need to, and if your camera/lens can handle it.

About Memory Maker and The Park Photogs

Before our trip, I paid $150 for an advance purchase of Memory Maker. It allows me to have access to a hi-res digital file of every pic the park photographers took of us, including park rides. After watching the sales video, I was under the impression there would be many roaming photographers throughout the park who we could stop and have take our picture in addition to those stationed at the usual places. I also thought they’d be at the character dinner we booked.

It’s very possible I did not read all the fine print and my assumptions were just that- assumptions and not fact. That said, I was pretty disappointed that we didn’t run across any roaming photographers, there was no official photographer accompanying the characters at our dinner at the Crystal Palace, and there were only a few rides that offered ride photos (Thunder Mountain- Kendall’s first roller coaster- being one that doesn’t).

Thank goodness I had my own camera for this. The lighting wouldn’t have been good in the Crystal Palace for an iPhone pic, and the characters didn’t have cast member photographers with them.

As a photographer myself, and having my own camera with me at the time, the photos I did get through them weren’t anything better than what I could have got myself, or had the photographers take with my camera.

I mean…. (Taken by park photog with their camera.)

And since we were only there for 2 days, and digital downloads are $15 each, I barely justified the cost because there were barely 10 pictures that were good enough to save and print.

THAT SAID…

I do still think it can be a good thing to have, and I’ll likely buy it again if/when we visit for a week or more. At that point, I think we’ll at least have 10 ride photos we’d want to download, and it will be nice as a backup in case I decide I don’t want to or suddenly can’t bring my fancy camera to a park.

The cool thing about the digital downloads versus buying the physical prints is if you have a little photo-editing knowledge, you can enhance them so you highlight the people you actually know riding the rides and sharpen them up a bit.

Before editing

After editing (Also? OUR FACES.)

Before edit (notice my death grip)

After (death grip still there, background mess is gone)

That was all mostly achieved with burn and dodge brushes in Lightroom, some sharpening, some clarity, a little contrast, and some vignetting.

Remember To Experience It Without A Lens

Maybe one of the best things to happen to me that day was my iPhone died. I wasn’t able to take a billion iPhone pics and stop to Instagram them. I was mindful about when I took pics with my DSLR and put it away when Kendall became visibly irritated.

There will be so many moments you’ll want to burn into your memory forever that you’ll never be able to capture them all with a camera. Come to terms with that before you even get there. Have a priority list of a few things you definitely want to highlight, and be on the lookout for fun moments (like the bubble gun in the rose garden!) that you can easily capture without stopping the fun.

Then put it away. Enjoy. Take it in with your eyes, not your lens.

Stay tuned for more Disney tips, coming soon!

May 30, 2014 27 comments

Parenthood School Age Days Toddlers Travel

Disney Regrets

by Jill November 3, 2015

written by Jill

We just got back from a week-long trip to Disney World, and I must start this post by saying IT WAS SUPER FUN.

Seriously, even though I literally feel like I’m recovering from a marathon now. (I’ve run two. I know this feeling.)

Instead of blogging all about how lovely it was (it was!), which I will get to soon, I thought I’d start by telling you about what I regret about the trip so maybe you can avoid the same mistakes… or so I’ll remember to avoid them the next time we go. Oh yes, there will be a next time.

We didn’t have a stroller seat for every kid butt. We brought our Maclaren Quest, and we rented a single from Orlando Stroller Rentals, thinking that Kendall (7) and Leyna (4) could take turns walking. HAHAHAHAHAHAHANOPE. Finally, on the very last day, we rented a double from the park and the angels sang and hit us upside the head for waiting so long.

We went back to the hotel too much and broke up our day too much. I wish we would have made meal reservations at the parks we planned to stay at all day. We thought we’d be smart to hit a park up in the morning, head back for naps, then get back to the parks in the evening. Most of our dinners were in parks we weren’t in during the day.

A photo posted by Jill Krause (@babyrabies) on Oct 30, 2015 at 9:35pm PDT

This plan works for a lot of people, but what wound up happening for us was the big kids were restless at the hotel in the afternoon and didn’t want to take naps. And we ate up at least 2 hours in travel time to and from the resort. The last two days we simply stayed in the parks all day, but took our time. We didn’t have to rush around to cram everything in. We let the kids rest, play, ate slow meals. And Lowell napped in the stroller.

We started our days too late. The first few days, we thought we were doing good to get to the parks by 9:30 or 10. Then on the 4th day I had an early breakfast reservation with Leyna at Be Our Guest, and we got in to the park before it opened to the public. Simply awesome. I do not enjoy early wakeups, but I do not enjoy crowds and lines even more. Next time, I really want to make as many breakfast reservations before parks open as possible.

We forgot our ponchos. We caught the tail end of Hurricane Patricia the 3rd day we were there, and it was pretty miserable walking around soaking wet. We thought we were only supposed to get sprinkled on! Nope. Torrential downpour. Never stepping foot in Disney again without ponchos.

I thought Leyna would wear her princess dress all day. The day we had breakfast at Be Our Guest, Leyna got fancied up in her princess dress and jewelry. I’d seen little girls walking around the parks all day in their dresses, and thought Leyna would want to do the same. An hour after we finished our meal I was in Sir Mickeys spending way too much money on a shirt and shorts for her because she was miserable in her princess attire.

We took our toddler to the Not So Scary Halloween Party. I worked super hard to get tickets to this party. They weren’t cheap, but we’d heard from so many people that it was such a special experience. I really wanted the kids to go. We dressed up as a family, and we brought my dad and step-mom with us. (They were on the trip with us, along with my mom, step-brother, sister, brother, and sister in law- crazy, right?! So fun.) Lowell, the 2 year old, had a good time, but I think he would have had just as much fun staying behind with the other family members, and we would have been able to focus more on Kendall and Leyna. Not to mention this was the night we learned just how VERY, very scared Lowell is of fireworks.

We stayed too far from Magic Kingdom. Our resort- Art of Animation- was really wonderful. Please don’t get me wrong. We loved it. But, IF we could do it again, and IF we could afford to stay at a hotel on the monorail, we would. The buses are super convenient, but there are long waits for them sometimes, and many times they are super packed. You could wind up standing, holding a stroller, and a baby for 30 minutes… on your way home after a 12 hour day. The monorail would take us to both Magic Kingdom and Epcot, which are the two parks we spent the majority of our time in and ate almost all our meals in.

A photo posted by Jill Krause (@babyrabies) on Oct 25, 2015 at 12:00pm PDT

We tried to do too much. We should have treated it more like a marathon than a sprint. I wish we would have slowed down and let the kids dictate most of our day instead of rushing them from one place to the next. It made it super stressful and caused many meltdowns. I think in the beginning we treated this like a once-in-a-lifetime trip, and that put a ton of pressure on us to get everything done. By the last couple days we realized we would likely come back again, and there was no need to cram it all in.

I didn’t take enough pictures with my nice camera. Ugh… I don’t know if this really belongs here because it was freeing at the time to give up toting my camera around after day one (and very few snaps because it was just downright inconvenient with 3 kids to watch). But looking back, and comparing the few pictures I managed to get with my DSLR to my phone snaps and the park pictures, I’m just a little sad I didn’t take more myself with the fancy camera. That said, I could have done that and I’d be writing about how I regretted lugging my camera everywhere with me this time.

(I got great pictures at Disney World last time, but I also only had one kid to keep up with then.)

I’ll be back soon with a few more things that we did right this time at Disney. In the meantime, be sure to check out my last round of Disney Tips & Tricks.

DisneyRegrets

November 3, 2015 10 comments

Reviews School Age Days Travel

Inexpensive Disney Souvenirs That Rock

by Jill May 31, 2014

written by Jill

Let me start this post by saying this is not the definitive guide to souvenirs at Disney. We were there for 2 days with one kid, so obviously we didn’t have a chance to look in every shop in every park or buy very much (and my bank account thanks me for it).

This is just a quick list of some of the things we bought (or got for free) that I think gave us a lot of return on our investment.

FREE

I mentioned the Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom game in my previous post- Tips For A Disney Experience Beyond Princesses. Not only was this a fun, free game for our 6 year old, but every person in our party received a pack of cards that he could use to “cast spells” on evil villains at portals throughout the park. He’s still playing with them after more than a week home.

Okay, call me cheap, but the minute I saw our bathroom toiletries at the Disney resort we stayed at (Coronado Springs) were adorned with Tinkerbell, I knew Leyna (3 years old) would love them. I collected what we didn’t use on the last day and put them in a small merchandise bag I picked up at the gift shop. She was so excited about this gift when I got home that she ran straight to the tub for a “Tinkerbell bath.”

Less than $5

There are quite a few Penny Press machines in each of the parks. Bring a roll of quarters and some pennies with you. It costs 50 cents + 1 penny for each machine. (There are also dime/quarter presses.) Kendall got a big kick out of it, and kept them in the pouch of his lanyard (more on this later). We did notice a few machines were out of service, though. Here’s a link to maps of the machines in all the parks. I’m not sure how up to date this is.

I’ve heard a lot about the Dole Whips at Disney World. I felt like we’d miss out on a major part of the park if we didn’t try one. I was prepared to shell out at least $7 for one, but was pleasantly surprised to find out they were less than $4.

Speaking of snacks, this is going to sound ridiculous, but hear me out. There is a Starbucks on Main Street at Magic Kingdom. This discovery was GLORIOUS. We wandered past around 3pm and I wanted to cry tears of joy because I needed an iced vanilla latte in a bad way. The prices there were comparable to an airport Starbucks, I’d say. They also had a full selection of bakery treats, including cake pops.

A trip to Starbucks, which included a latte for me, one for my mom, and a cake pop for Kendall was $9. That’s not too shabby for an afternoon snack at Disney World. No, it wasn’t shaped like Mickey, and no it’s not anything special…. but it was special to him because it was a cake pop. And I got a good coffee at the same time.

$16 and Under

I put the threshold for this category at $16 because that’s how much it costs to get mouse ears with a name embroidered on the back, a classic souvenir! Of course, you can spend much more for these if you get fancy hats with the special embroidery, but I prefer the simple hats, $13, and old fashioned embroidery, $3, anyway.

And again, like I’ve talked about in my previous posts, he loved that freaking $12 bubble gun that we bought from a cart on Main Street. I don’t know if they are available for purchase in shops where you can use a credit card or swipe your Magic Band, but the cart was cash only. If you’re saying $12 is a lot of money for a plastic piece of crap that blows bubbles, I totally hear you. But he used this thing so much, and loved it so hard, it kept him distracted enough to keep him from asking for other things, that it was worth it.

If you think your kid might like it, I recommend bringing a couple cheap, small bottles of bubbles into the park with you. If you end up buying one of these, you can use them as refills when the included bubbles run out. (The bottle screws onto the bottom of the gun.)

Finally, pin trading was a GREAT activity for him. Pins for purchase at the park can be pricey, but most that Kendall was interested in were in the $10 range. I think between my mom and I we purchased 3 for him.

However, before we even got to the park, I put in an order on Ebay for a pack of Disney trading pins- 50 for $25. Pin trading purists will hate me for admitting that. I know this much from all the online research I did to try to find the best online sellers. I guess the theory is the people who claim to sell “authentic” Disney pins on Ebay are selling unauthorized seconds. I don’t know. I found a seller that had great ratings and reviews. I looked over what he sent me, and weeded out anything I wouldn’t want another kid to wind up with. Everything I kept seemed as authentic and quality to me as the pins we bought at the parks.

I used the pins as incentives for Kendall while we were there (only gave him about 15, and saved the rest for another trip). If he behaved, he got another pin to add to his lanyard, which meant it was another pin he could trade with a cast member. He LOVED trading pins, and would actively seek out cast members wearing pins for trade. He swapped out every single one he started with. I would say this is, hands down, his favorite souvenir of the trip.

Buy Before You Go

The pins weren’t the only thing I bought before we left. I got his lanyard from Amazon in a 2 pack (saving the Minnie one for Leyna) for $10, and I bought a giant pack of glow stick bracelets- 100 for $9. The glow stick bracelets were great incentives and even better ice breakers. Kendall loaded up his arm every day and handed them out to other kids when we were in line or next to them at parades.

I also bought all our character shirts before we left. My Little Mermaid shirt was only $10 at Kohls. Kendall’s Olaf shirt wasn’t any cheaper online than it would have been in the stores, but his Mickey shirt was.

I highly recommend buying some stuff to take in with you before you go. You can even buy that bubble gun I keep raving about for 1/2 price on Amazon.

But also leave yourself a little bit of a budget for the fun stuff you can only get at the park. It was part of the experience for us.

Other Disney Tips posts:
How To Get Great Pictures At Disney World
Beyond The Princesses At Magic Kingdom

May 31, 2014 15 comments

Reviews School Age Days Toddlers Travel

Tips For A Disney Experience Beyond Princesses

by Jill May 30, 2014

written by Jill

I started to title this Magic Kingdom For Boys, but that’s narrow. I’m sure there are a lot of girls out there who aren’t into the princess experience, just as I’m sure there are boys who would love to eat at Cinderella’s castle and meet Anna & Elsa, and watch Tinkerbell fly overhead during the firework show.

So this post is about breaking out of the princess mold at Magic Kingdom for anyone, boy or girl.

There is a big focus at Disney World on the Princess experience, especially at Magic Kingdom, and it might seem that only little girls (or boys) who are into princesses would enjoy themselves fully. My 6 year old son Kendall is not anti-princess. He would have lined up to meet Anna & Elsa if I let him (except that’s FIVE HOURS of my life I’ll never get back). But, he’s also very high energy, and openly wished more than once that he’d see Skylanders while we were there.

I love this side-by-side because it shows 2 very different Magic Kingdom experiences that were both equally awesome. How amazing is that pic on the left from MeganJane Photography? Absolutely perfect.

Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom

There were no Skylanders at Disney, much to Kendall’s dismay, but I’m glad a reader tipped me off to the free Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom game… mostly glad, at least.

When you enter Magic Kingdom, veer to the left of Town Square to the Firehouse, and you’ll find the recruitment center. When we were there, the line was pretty short and moved quickly. It’s absolutely free to play, and I love that there are no other trinkets in there that tempt you to spend money. They send you on your way with a map and some magic playing cards after they train the new apprentices on how to capture villains throughout the park by finding portals and casting spells.

The downside to this game was Kendall didn’t want to stop once we started. It takes you through the whole park, and you don’t have any control over where it sends you next, so it will probably conflict with any pre-planned routes or Fast Passes.

It was a hard balance to strike for us, but ultimately we wound up letting Kendall have his fun with this game for a good part of the day until we finally convinced him it was over. (But it could have gone on foreverrrrrr, so just be aware and prepared with distractions and/or bribes.)

That leads me to…

Follow Their Lead, Be Adventurous

When you’re trying to get in line to meet princesses or find a great spot for the parades and fireworks, it’s important to stick to a schedule. By breaking out of the princess mold, we were able to follow his lead and be more adventurous. This also meant I had to seriously suppress my FOMO (fear of missing out).

We missed a Fast Pass time, walked all over the park in no real order, but we let Kendall dictate what he was in the mood for because there was no point in taking all of Magic Kingdom in with a cranky, overstimulated 6 year old who just wanted to catch another villain with his cards.

You add a whole new level of complicated when you have to take siblings into account. I can’t speak to that experience yet, but I do think schedules should be fluid when dealing with kids.

Of course, this meant that some of his favorite attractions were things like playgrounds and splash pads where he could run, jump, climb and make friends. All things he could do for free in Texas.

Oh, and ducks. At one point, I’ll admit I snapped, “We are NOT at Disney World to see ducks. I’ll take you to see ducks at home.”

Alternatives to Princess Dresses and Wands

The Bibidi Bobbidi Boutique is where princess are made at Magic Kingdom, but don’t you worry. You can also have the opportunity to shell out loads of cash on a makeover if your kiddo is into pirates, instead, at The Pirates League. I’m not sure Kendall would have sat still for this, but it could have been fun toward the end of the day if I’d planned ahead and made an appointment.

I mentioned in my photo tips post that the best $12 we spent was on a bubble gun that we bought from a street cart (cash only) on Main Street. Kendall didn’t need a wand. He had a great time blowing bubbles at people (and those freaking ducks).

Don’t worry, no ducks were harmed because BUBBLES.

Will They Really Enjoy Sitting Still?

We saw a couple parades while we were there, but that was simply because we were in the right (wrong?) place at the right time. We happened to be on Main Street right as the Move it! Shake it! Celebrate it! Street Party started and basically had no choice but to watch it (and it was cool). Then we caught the last parade of the night at 11 pm on our way out of the park. That was enough parades for us. I didn’t plan to get good seats for the big parades in between because I knew Kendall wouldn’t sit still long enough for them, and I’d spend most of the time reminding him to stay out of the road.

Instead, we used those times to ride the best rides and took advantage of short lines. During the Wishes fireworks, we ran to Space Mountain, stopping for a few minutes to take in just enough of the show to say we saw it. I made sure not to talk up the Tinkerbell flying through the air bit. There was no wait at all for the coaster, and we rode it 2x. I know Kendall enjoyed that far more than any crowded parade or show.

This wasn’t an anti-princess trip. Like I mentioned before, Kendall would have freaked if he saw Elsa & Anna. As we walked past Tinkerbell’s Magical Nook, I did take a minute to ask if he wanted to get in line to meet her because he likes the Tinkerbell movies.

“Is she little or big?” he asked.
“Oh, I think she’s big,” I said.
“Then no,” he responded.

Yeah, I mean the real fun would be meeting a small Tinkerbell. I totally understand that line of thought. Smart kid. We walked on to the next ride.

Did you miss my other Disney Tips?
How To Get Great Pictures At Disney World

Stay tuned for more!

May 30, 2014 6 comments

Photography

It’s A Small, Terrifying World

by Jill May 28, 2014

written by Jill

I’ve been MIA because last week was bananas. The short story is I spent the first half of the week at Disney World (!!!111) and the second half of the week at my mom’s wedding (!1111!!1).

So yeah. Someone pass the coffee. And some crack? Just kidding, prescription pills will do.

I have a gift for you! And by “gift” I mean something that will haunt you forever. Because it’s not a trip to Disney without a ride on It’s A Small World, you know. So of course I documented it, and am here to share it, but this time in black and white.

If you think the full-color version of this ride is freaky, these black & white photos are post-apocalyptic. Just imagine, if you will, a world where we’re all running from zombies, and some of us are forced to take cover inside the It’s A Small World ride. The water is stagnant, and you never know if that noise you just heard, or those eyes you see peering at you are animatronic or the walking-dead.

God help us if the music is still playing.

It’s a world of laughter, a world of tears… and also a world burned to the ground from the rage beams shooting from this sun. Run, hula girls, run.

Except don’t. Please don’t.

It’s a world of hopes… like I hope you’re not shooting tranquilizer darts with that.

IT’S A WORLD OF FEARS.

That is the only lyric that needs to be sung. The entire ride should just be to the sound of a million tiny dolls and clowns that swoop down over the top of you (so don’t look up!) singing…

It’s a world of fears
It’s a world of fears
It’s a world of fears
IT’S A WORLD OF FEARS
Fear, fear, fear
Fear, fear, fear
Fear us all
Fear, fear, fear
We will kill you
Fear, fear, fearrrrrrr

There’s so much that we share…. like heads attached to bodies and what would happen if these were actually blades. Is this the Small World decapitation station?

And it’s time we’re aware…. that even the clock on this ride is terrifying.

It’s a small world after all!

Good bye forever.

May 28, 2014 22 comments

Lifestyle Parenthood

Can I Come Home?

by Jill March 7, 2019

written by Jill

Can I Come Home

A couple years ago, when we decided to sell our house and head out for a year+ trip around the country in an RV with our 4 kids, I planned to transform this space into a hub for pregnant mommas to come, and hoped to take our personal story to another platform- Happy Loud Life. It was a business decision- I’d have two streams of income and two more narrow niches to work with brands on. It was also a personal decision. After my first baby turned one, and with no plans of having more babies, I just felt stuck here in this space that’s always been, mostly, about my life pregnant or with babies.Baby Rabies is a weird name to become linked to when you think about it. I get looks and laughter when I tell people I write a blog called Baby Rabies. I have to explain it all the time. Brands have refused to work with me because it’s “off color.” And yet, it’s memorable. It stuck. It’s funny. People who know me get it. People who don’t? The confusion can get tiresome.

More and more, this space didn’t feel like home, but the problem was the other space didn’t either. And the last year, as we moved around the country in an RV, I felt just as transient online.

I didn’t have the time to turn this space into something like Scary Mommy with contributors- not in a way that felt authentic and in a way I would have full control over. And I didn’t know what part of my story to tell on Happy Loud Life. Were we just an RV blog? Were we travel bloggers? Where could I write about the swimsuit I found and loved? Where could I write about my mental health struggles that were brought on by the stress of freelance and growing a businesses and not pregnancy this time?

So I’m doing something wild and I’m listening to my gut- it’s been screaming at me about this for years and I just refused to pay it any attention until now.

I’m saying goodbye to Baby Rabies. I’ll own the trademark and will set up redirects and nothing will happen to the old content. It’s going to be a whole lot of work, but I’ve hired a team to help me and we’ve hit the ground running.

When everyone is advising to niche down online, I’m going to expand this place. I’m not going to stop talking about parenting, from toddlers to parenting tweens and (eventually) teens. I’m just also not going to stop myself from talking about other things here, too- like photography, travel, and home renovations we’ll likely be starting up when we get back into a house, and anything else I find personally important. Me and my wandering through the phases of my life- that’s my new niche. That’s what you’ll find here.

Like I said, there’s a lot of work to be done, and I’m still figuring out what to do with all my digital spaces. I’ll update you along the way, for sure. I hope you’ll stick around, and I appreciate you riding it out with me while I was lost in transition over the last 18ish months. I am confident this will be a wholly positive move for me, for my content, and for my connection with all of you- especially those of you who are right there with me in this weird spot as we say goodbye to being the moms we needed to be to raise babies.

I’m genuinely thankful for the conversations that sparked after I shared a rude comment left on my last post about Disney World. I realized that there are a lot of people who are here for the long-term, who are experiencing their own version of an identity crisis, who are excited to hear about anything I’m excited to share. That was the push I needed to feel like it’s going to be okay to let go of Baby Rabies and move on.

I’m @JillKrau.se on IG now. If you already following me as @BabyRabies, then no worries! I just changed that account name. If you’re not, I’d love if you’d follow me now. I’m not done sharing on @Happy.Loud.Life, but as our RV adventure comes to a close, I think it will make sense to move most of that story back to one IG account.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jill Krause (@jillkrau.se) on Mar 3, 2019 at 4:20pm PST

The dot com hasn’t changed here yet. Baby Rabies will be phasing out over the next month-ish and my new home will be JillKrause.com. But I am going to start treating this place like the home I want it to be right away. So I have a ton of Disney content that I’m going to get up soon, but fear not! This is not becoming a “Disney blog.” It’s just becoming Jill Krause’s blog. Again.

March 7, 2019 30 comments

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