I never found the lap bars to be much of a problem, first took our daughter when she was 9 months old, but it is hard to remember as she is now 22 years old. I do know we were worried about her being scared by the skeletons at the beginning of PiratesOC so in that part we told her "the rain is coming, cover your head with your blankie" she did, and as soon as we went down the hill, she was fine, and loved it! Didn't do HM or Snow White, but I think, if I remember correctly, that she sat between my husband and I on Peter Pan. She was able to do lots! We used a back carrier instead of a stroller - so much quicker and easier thank parking a stroller, and she just loved bouncing up and down to all the music of the shows and parades in there. Good luck, have fun!!!