Disney with an 18 month baby

[cleverclovers]

My daughter and son-in-law are wanting to try Disney again next year. The baby will be about 18 months. Looking for tips/ideas about navigating DWD with a baby at this age. What can you do an not do? I am also interested in the Food & Wine festival. Can you take a baby to that? One other question..what do you do about a baby bed?

 

[tvguy]

No advice. We waited until our kids were 4, and that was too young. My parents waited until I was 7. Disney is so expensive, I can't imagine taking a child until they are old enough to not be napping anymore.

 

[Christine]

Whatever you do, DO NOT have them change the baby's diaper while just entering a FP line.

 

[diznygirl]

It's entirely doable. For the Food and Wine, I'd get there at lunch and walk around - less crowded and much more relaxed. Mine napped in the stroller while we shopped, walked around or watched a parade.

Most rooms come with a pack n play or you can request one.

 

[MrPTato]

Went in May with our 17m old. We also went when she was 8.5m. We realized we couldn't go like we did before we had a child in the sense of getting up early and being out all day. You need to take planned breaks. We also took both our baby carrier and stroller to the park. She was fine sleeping in both. We did a lot of carrying when when in Epcot in WS so that we could go in and out easily. If they want to go on bigger ride that babies can't go on, just swap off. Not sure about Food and Wine.

 

[cabanafrau]

You might get more helpful tips and responses on the theme parks and families boards. Please don't read the suggestion as go away or with a rude intent, I just want to point you towards pools of people who might have good ideas who might not see your question here.

 

[Alexsandra]

I took my first Disney World trip with the kids when the youngest was 8 months old and my oldest was 3 y.o. and have been going back every year since. I loved my trips with the baby. Disney makes everything so easy. As long as you follow the child's routine, there should be no problem. I knew I would not be able to see and do everything but the slower pace made me enjoy all the little details that I would have missed if I was doing it commando style. Here are some tips that were greatly useful to me:

I highly suggest you to stay onsite. I don't know if you are flying but if you do Magic Express Buses are fabulous! The luggage being taken care of, all you have to do is board the bus and enjoy the ride to the resort. I always stayed in moderate resorts with the kids, my favourite being POFQ which is the smallest of all resorts with only one bus stop. The small size is perfect when traveling with a baby/toddler. It means you can get to the room quicker with minimal walking at the end of the day when everyone is tired. If you can afford it, than I prefer a monorail resort because you don't have to fold up the stroller and it offers the convenience of just rolling the sleeping child right onto the train.

There are Baby Care Centres in all the parks which have a changing area with changing tables, a feeding area with a sink, microwave, and highchairs, and a breast feeding area with rocking chairs. It even has a TV area where the kids can chill out and rest for a bit. You can also buy baby items that you might have forgotten to bring to the park. They carry everything from diapers, to baby food, to medicine.

There are also splash pads and water playgrounds around the parks where the young ones can run around and cool off. There are also tons of rides that are great for little ones so no need to worry about that. You will have plenty to do.

I suggest bringing a good quality umbrella stroller with a back rest that is completely retractable and a sun shade. They are lighter in weight, easier to manoeuvre and take a second to fold up compared to a regular stroller. This is especially useful for the bus rides back and forth from the resort to the parks. I also brought a rain cover and a sun cover for the stroller which came in very handy.

If you are flying down, I suggest you bring the child's clothes and only the essentials but you can order diapers, wipes and baby food from Garden Grocers and have it delivered to your resort before your arrival. This saved us tons of luggage space and those extra charges for baggage weight.

I also suggest to either go back to the resort in the afternoon for a little rest or pool time. If not, then I would book an ADR at a sit down restaurant so that you can get out of the hot afternoon sun and go somewhere more relaxing for the child.

If you want more tips or you want to read about my experience visit my blog: http://disneyplaning101.blogspot.ca

Hope that helps.

 

[monorailsilver]

My oldest was 15 mo old. She did great!

We got up early, did the early entry park, returned for a nap at the poly at lunch time and then went back at night and she loved illuminations ans wishes. We did take a rest day in the middle.

She did all the rides we could go on. We skipped the ones we couldn't due to height restrictions.

I did bring a small soft side cooler and zip lock bags to keep her simply cup cold in and to put her leftovers in since she wasn't a big eater- she would eat one slice of the single serve pizza and be done and I didn't want pizza so she had a meal for later.

As far as sleeping, we got a pack and play but she may also have slept in the bed with me, but that could I'd been one of my other 2 doing that.

 

[Mizzoufan]

I think the baby would be fine! Hope they have a nice trip

 

[deedeetoo]

We went with my daughter when she was 16 months. It was a very different type of vacation. We stayed off site in a suite style room that had a kitchen which made it easy to prepare foods. The hotel we stayed at supplied a crib. We didn't do any dinners in the park. We went to the parks early and left about dinner time. She napped in the stroller mid day. We ate dinner in the room most nights and then did bath and bed for her. We didn't do any fireworks - she was actually very sensitive to noise so we purposefully avoided them. She was also terrified of the characters who were in full costumes (tigger, pooh, etc). She was fine with those who looked like people dressed up like the princesses. It was a very laid back type of vacation.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

My advice is to begin drinking heavily.

 

[Micca]

I think the baby would be fine! Hope they have a nice trip

Oh yeah the baby will be great...it's the parents that need the survival tips. We took our twins when they were about 18 months, but we lived in the vicinity so we weren't doing a hotel room. We had two single strollers and we have a super cute picture of them both conked out in their respective strollers at the end of the day. This was over 30 years ago, so I don't remember much else.

 

[Maxpowers]

I did it with a 13 month old and a 3 year old. My biggest suggestion is it bring/rent a stroller that can fully recline (we had the double city mini). Our original plan was to head back to the hotels for naps, but our 13 month old ended up napping in the stroller without problem. So we were able to walk around while she napped and even rider switch or take my 3 yo son on rides.

For sleeping at the hotel room, we were at Coronado Spring, we just had a pack and play in the bathroom by the sinks (not with the toilet/shower). Coronado has big doors that will close and you'll be able to put them to sleep and stay up a bit yourselves if you wish. I also find when my youngest could see us when she woke up she would cry for us, but with the doors shut she couldn't see us and would go back to sleep when she woke up.

 

[slo]

My oldest first trip was 2yrs old and my youngest first trip was 13months old.
Both of those trips were absolutely wonderful - we have a great time!!!
They'll have to parent swap for the rides and may have some hiccups in their schedule, but they'll be fine.
My biggest tip is try to schedule nap time on Spaceship Earth and the TTA.
If you they are going during an off time the CM's will let them ride over and over again.
My girls took the best naps on those rides.
We rode Spaceship Earth once 7 times while my DD napped (DH took a good nap too).
It's dark in there, and nice and cool - perfect for napping!!!
I hope they have a fun!!!

 

[Colleen27]

My youngest was 16mo for her first trip and it was great. My advice would be this: invest in a good stroller, something that is comfortable but still folds down relatively easily/compactly, that reclines and has a good sun shade, and that is a good height because you'll be pushing it a lot. We used a Peg Perego and it was perfect with a great big sun shade even when reclined all the way to the laying position, plus it folds down like an umbrella stroller for easy on/off of buses.

It is hard to say what the baby will be able/willing to do. They're allowed to do anything without a height requirement, but a lot will depend on how the individual child reacts to dark, noise, and other aspects of the ride experience. We took earplugs for DD to dampen the volume in very loud attractions like the 4D movies and she went on just about everything she could. She also fell asleep on a lot of it, including during Muppetvision 3D and on the Haunted Mansion.

The same thing applies to characters. DD was scared of some of them and fine with others. We just followed her lead and let her interact on her terms.

Finally, make note of where the playgrounds are near attractions you'll be baby-swapping. There are quite a few tucked away around the parks and they're helpful in managing the little one while you're waiting for adults/older kids to ride some of the more thrilling attractions.

And to your questions - all ages are welcome at Food & Wine, but it'll be easier to do with a little one earlier in the day and on a weekday if at all possible just because the crowds will be lower. I'd suggest getting your food/drinks and finding a place to camp out near one of the musical acts around the World Showcase for the best opportunity to eat in peace. My kids always loved music so that was an easy distraction. And the resorts all have pack-and-plays for babies to sleep in. As someone else said, we put ours in the vanity area of the restroom behind the privacy curtain to isolate it from the light and motion in the room so DD would sleep a bit more soundly.

 

[nd5056]

Our son was 10 months old too. Had a great time. The only schedule we had planned were mid-day naps back n the room and sit down meals to cool down. Then we spend all the time he wanted on the playgrounds, where he could crawl around all he wanted. His older sisters enjoyed it as well. Still had plenty of time to see other things and shows, as long as you have more then couple of days to do that.

We had a lite but decent umbrella strollers, took them everywhere in them.

 

[Mickeyluver37]

Bring lots of extra clothes. We took DS7 when he was 18 months old and he was drawn to the fountains several times a day.

We never took planned breaks just for his naps. He slept in the jogging stroller. He was child number 3 (never took the other kids that young) and we just stuck with our normal Disney routines. We had free dining that trip and did a lot of buffets/character meals so he could eat for free too.

This trip was almost exactly 6 years ago and just showed up in my "TimeHop" this week. I was looking through the pictures remembering what a great trip that was. He absolutely loved the Playhouse Disney Party (Studios EMH- do they even still do that?) We have so many awesome photos of some great character interaction from that night. One of my favorite photos is from the night we arrived at Pop Century and how ecstatic he was just to see the gift show area- and we hadn't even hit a park yet! I would vehemently disagree with those who say 18 months is too young. Other than a few height restricted rides, they can ride everything.

 

[AnnaS]

We are all going mid October. Granddaughter will be 16 months. First time we are going with DS, DIL and DGD. It is my DGD's third trip down. They also own DVC so stay on site. They do take afternoon breaks back at the resort and take advantage of the Baby Care Centers. The first two trips they did mostly counter service. This upcoming trip - since we will be there - we will be watching her a few nights (we will be there for 10 nights). It can be done. Just follow and listen to their needs and schedule as much as possible. Hats, sunscreen and always carry a light jacket/sweater for the baby. The busses, restaurants, shops and rides are pretty cold.

 

[Sleepy425]

The Chicco Echo stroller sold at Target is the BEST for Disney! Folds easily, lightweight, and compact.
It really depends on the personality of the parents - my husband and I are laid back and don't insist on keeping our kids in a schedule on vacation (this made a vacation with one of our foster kids hell, but the other 4 kids we have brought did fine). Food and Wine is fine for kids - enjoy eating while the baby naps.
We do rope drop to park close with our kids (last trip they were 18 months, 18 months, 2, and 4). We just make sure we schedule days to sleep in after a park day.
Disney resorts will supply either a pack n play or a mini crib. Either would be big enough for an 18 month old. But I do recommend bringing your own sheets.

 

[BostonJP]

I went with a 17 month old last year also, and she did awesome. AoA supplied us with a Pack N Play (but she usually passed out on the bed, on the sofa, or in the stroller!).

Also, regarding the stroller, I've gone with an umbrella type and also a bigger one. While I like the portability of the umbrella one I did like that the back of the larger stroller could be pulled down, making it easier for her to nap.

The baby may not remember it but you will! Take lots of pictures and enjoy the trip!