Help I'm at a loss how to plan a trip with a baby

[Jhondy210]

My husband and I are planning our first WDW trip since becoming parents. I've planned our trips no problem in the past but I've never gone with a baby and it's been a few years since we went to WDW and it seems like crowds have gotten crazy. We are going at the beginning of October and will have 7.5 days at the parks. We will also have park hoppers and will be staying at BLT. Our daughter will be just over 14 months old. My plan right now is 2.5 days at MK, 2 days at EP, 1 day at AK, and 1 day at HS, with one day as flex for some morning MK and then resort/DS day. Figuring out which FP's that I should get for each park wasn't too hard since we want to stay together as a family and that really limits our selections for every park but MK, plus I don't think my daughter will have too much familiarity with characters like the princesses so Idk if I need to worry about meeting them (although I don't really know at what age they start recognizing the princesses so maybe I'm wrong about that). I plan to put the FP's in the morning because my daughter generally wakes up pretty early. So, I feel somewhat comfortable with all that.

The issue becomes with ADR's. I figured we could just do mainly counter service meals so that our schedule can be very fluid but my husband wants to do sit down "dinners" (I know counter service can be sit down too but I mean dinners at restaurants that require ADR) and this is where I'm struggling. I put dinners in quotes cause it doesn't necessarily have to be dinner but it will be a big meal and Idk how I feel about that at lunch time. So, I know based on the age of my daughter, and how she is now, she is super unlikely to make it through a whole day of parks. Right now, she goes to sleep at night between 5pm and 6pm (and that is central time). So, I'm thinking I should make dinners around 3pm but then I got concerned that might be nap time. So, I have no idea how to schedule ADR's. I know my child is going to change a lot between now and when we go (since she will essentially have doubled her age) but that makes it even harder to figure out when to plan things. I don't want to plan everything at 3pm just to find out that is nap time and have to find a way to change all my ADRs or to schedule it at 5pm just to find out that is too late for her.

I know we won't be going park open to close with her. In fact, I picked our MK days based on when it is expected to be the Halloween party because a close at 6pm is probably plenty late for my daughter...if she even makes it that long...and, hopefully, it will make our MK days less crowded. The FP's make me feel like taking her on the majority of rides she can go on as doable. But I'm struggling how to plan because I've never been to WDW with a kid this age...to be fair, I've never done anything with a kid 14 months old because I haven't had a kid before. So, any tips from those who took a child at that age? What did your park day schedule look like? What time did you set up ADR's and why? I know all children are different but any tips would be appreciated.

 

[Griffin11]

My husband and I are planning our first WDW trip since becoming parents. I've planned our trips no problem in the past but I've never gone with a baby and it's been a few years since we went to WDW and it seems like crowds have gotten crazy. We are going at the beginning of October and will have 7.5 days at the parks. We will also have park hoppers and will be staying at BLT. Our daughter will be just over 14 months old. My plan right now is 2.5 days at MK, 2 days at EP, 1 day at AK, and 1 day at HS, with one day as flex for some morning MK and then resort/DS day. Figuring out which FP's that I should get for each park wasn't too hard since we want to stay together as a family and that really limits our selections for every park but MK, plus I don't think my daughter will have too much familiarity with characters like the princesses so Idk if I need to worry about meeting them (although I don't really know at what age they start recognizing the princesses so maybe I'm wrong about that). I plan to put the FP's in the morning because my daughter generally wakes up pretty early. So, I feel somewhat comfortable with all that.

The issue becomes with ADR's. I figured we could just do mainly counter service meals so that our schedule can be very fluid but my husband wants to do sit down "dinners" (I know counter service can be sit down too but I mean dinners at restaurants that require ADR) and this is where I'm struggling. I put dinners in quotes cause it doesn't necessarily have to be dinner but it will be a big meal and Idk how I feel about that at lunch time. So, I know based on the age of my daughter, and how she is now, she is super unlikely to make it through a whole day of parks. Right now, she goes to sleep at night between 5pm and 6pm (and that is central time). So, I'm thinking I should make dinners around 3pm but then I got concerned that might be nap time. So, I have no idea how to schedule ADR's. I know my child is going to change a lot between now and when we go (since she will essentially have doubled her age) but that makes it even harder to figure out when to plan things. I don't want to plan everything at 3pm just to find out that is nap time and have to find a way to change all my ADRs or to schedule it at 5pm just to find out that is too late for her.

I know we won't be going park open to close with her. In fact, I picked our MK days based on when it is expected to be the Halloween party because a close at 6pm is probably plenty late for my daughter...if she even makes it that long...and, hopefully, it will make our MK days less crowded. The FP's make me feel like taking her on the majority of rides she can go on as doable. But I'm struggling how to plan because I've never been to WDW with a kid this age...to be fair, I've never done anything with a kid 14 months old because I haven't had a kid before. So, any tips from those who took a child at that age? What did your park day schedule look like? What time did you set up ADR's and why? I know all children are different but any tips would be appreciated.

I was having a similar dilemma about ADRs, although my kids are a bit older. The replies to my post may be helpful to you: https://www.disboards.com/threads/adjusting-to-disney-dining.3789679/

 

[NickC]

My kids were older than that on our first trip to WDW, so I can't offer specific advise for that age. However, in the past, we've made seemingly perfect plans, only to have them turn out to be disasters. And, honestly, those are the moments that we reminisce and laugh about the most. Of course, 7 or 8 years pass between then and now, and honestly, I would give anything to have those moments of chaos a little bit longer. My kids are still only 10 and 12, but they grow up so fast. Good luck with the trip, and just remember that whatever you decide, you are going to make many memories on the trip.

 

[KayaWildfire]

Are you going to try to keep her schedule at the parks or are you going to let it go? We never really kept up with their schedule at home when we were on vacation, but we have die hard stroller/table at restaurant/park bench/wherever nappers. So we would just schedule ADR's whenever we wanted. They sometimes slept through them-our 2 year old at the time slept through the entire hoop dee doo on our first trip. One of our other kiddos conked out on the safari, they were just that excited about it If you have a meal that you are expressly interested in her being awake and engaged in like a character meal, then put that at her best time of day(sounds like breakfast for her). You sort of just have to wing it otherwise.
And totally off topic-I would try and do some meet and greets top-our kiddos could recognize mickey and friends as well as pooh from watching disney junior. The dance at HS is super fun too. I don't think ours really recognized specific princesses for anything other than they were princesses that were in books we read. The meets were super cute especially if they have a dress or shirt with that character on it.

 

[tinkerjo]

October is still several months off so your daughter is still very young, what about 6 months? As she gets older, her routine should even out a little more. She should be close to giving up a morning nap and only have 1 2-3hr afternoon nap. With summer coming and more daylight, she will most likely be staying up later too. Get her used to going places in a stroller so she will be used to it(even napping in it) take her out to eat NOW. That’s the way they learn. She will be on table food by then and should be happy eating tidbits off of your plate. Character meals/buffets are always easier with an infant too and if you watch Disney JR with her she may be familiar with some characters but regardless, they love babies and the pictures are adorable!!!!If she continues to be and early to bed girl, consider each of you having an evening to yourselves to go to one of the parks just to ride “big people rides” or to let her sleep on the stroller and enjoy some evening shows/fireworks.

 

[oceanwave]

At this age flexibility and following their lead is the best way to go. We've taken our kid a bout 6 times since he was 8 months old. It really depends on the kid. For us, we kept to his schedule as much as possible because if we didn't he would be a disaster. Essentially overtired and unhappy. He was a kid that had to nap in his crib and would only take 30 minute naps in the stroller etc. He was an early riser so we went to the parks in the morning, would have lunch at a sit down and then back to the room for naps and then pool or play and dinner then bath and bed. Once we had our son we started staying in 1 bedroom villas so we could cook dinner and also put kiddo to bed on time and still be able to enjoy the rest of the evening. This is what still works for us, except he doesn't nap anymore, but still needs some quiet time away from the parks in the afternoon as the parks are very stimulating and to bed on time. We can now do some evening dinners but not all in a row as it's just too much for him. We are planning our next trip and honestly I think plans will change throughout the trip. I plan reservations and fastpasses but usually cancel/change as we go. But every kid is different and you know your child best. S

 

[2019TripIdeas]

We've done Disneyland a little younger than yours (11 months) and a little older (almost 18 months)... but we've done lots of other travel at that age (Long-haul trips like Hawaii and plenty of shorter ones) and usually it is great but flights are HARD- I think flights at 14-18 months are the most challenging but for a while after that it's still hard because babies just don't yet quite understand why they need to stay sitting/buckled etc. When our kids were in the 14/15 month range we tried to keep them in the Ergo on our front on the plane as much as possible. That said, we haven't done WDW with a baby that age (our youngest was 2.5) and given the logistics, I am not sure I personally would BUT I do feel like being at Bay Lake Tower is the best possible scenario so you've set yourself up really well there.

First of all, what type of parents do you feel you are? Are you rigid to the nap and eating schedule or no? Do you plan to be on mostly table food & sippy cups or do you think you'll still allow your child a bottle?

Our personal experience is that my husband and I are SUPER non-scheduled people and really lax with our three young kiddos about schedule (we travel so much that I just can't be that way). On a regular day our kids wake up and go to sleep generally around the same time, but we intentionally never have had bed time/sound machine/ dark room/ etc. Our expectation is that if we say it's time to go to bed, you go to bed, regardless of if that means 7:00 or 8:30- changing that up allows them to just go with the flow. If you do do those things at home, you might plan to do the same on your trip if your kid has become accustomed to it. That said, we did follow our pediatricians recommendation around getting rid of the bottle/formula by 12 months, so that made travel easier and you might consider doing the same. It's really nice not having to worry about that in the park and if your child is able to drink cold milk from a regular cup with a straw, even easier! We did a long trip elsewhere with friends whose child at 18 months was still having a bottle 4 times a day, and it put a major drag in the plans (let me go back to the room to make her a bottle, heat it up, make sure she has a quiet place to drink it, etc). We had a 14 month old at the time and it was so nice not having to think about that for him.

Is your child used to stroller napping? IF not, you have plenty of time to get her used to it which could help your days feel more fun and less like you're stuck in the room. For what it's worth, we always go RIGHT to the time zone we're on (we live in PST but travel a lot between EST, and even when doing flights to Europe too) and it's never done us wrong. We'd never adjust to eating dinner at 3 p.m. because we keep with the time zone we're in. Any residual crankiness for us seems to disappear by the second or third day.

Your child individually probably makes a huge difference too. Is she super active? Do you expect her to be a confident walker by then? Is she super social and extroverted or is she more attached and prefer more peaceful settings? When we did Disneyland at 11 months, my son was not confidently walking (really just barely standing well) and so the Ergo was so helpful there- stroller too obviously. That said, if you have a bigger baby that might not be as comfortable. Even little things like how many teeth your child has and how well she does with table food will make a little difference in how your trip goes, but you will be able to tell as you get closer.

I will say at Disneyland at 11 months the ADRs were a nice break to have him in a high chair and "occupied" and for us to get a break so maybe that will be nice for you guys as well. Either way, good luck with planning!

 

[Betty Rohrer]

My husband and I are planning our first WDW trip since becoming parents. I've planned our trips no problem in the past but I've never gone with a baby and it's been a few years since we went to WDW and it seems like crowds have gotten crazy. We are going at the beginning of October and will have 7.5 days at the parks. We will also have park hoppers and will be staying at BLT. Our daughter will be just over 14 months old. My plan right now is 2.5 days at MK, 2 days at EP, 1 day at AK, and 1 day at HS, with one day as flex for some morning MK and then resort/DS day. Figuring out which FP's that I should get for each park wasn't too hard since we want to stay together as a family and that really limits our selections for every park but MK, plus I don't think my daughter will have too much familiarity with characters like the princesses so Idk if I need to worry about meeting them (although I don't really know at what age they start recognizing the princesses so maybe I'm wrong about that). I plan to put the FP's in the morning because my daughter generally wakes up pretty early. So, I feel somewhat comfortable with all that.

The issue becomes with ADR's. I figured we could just do mainly counter service meals so that our schedule can be very fluid but my husband wants to do sit down "dinners" (I know counter service can be sit down too but I mean dinners at restaurants that require ADR) and this is where I'm struggling. I put dinners in quotes cause it doesn't necessarily have to be dinner but it will be a big meal and Idk how I feel about that at lunch time. So, I know based on the age of my daughter, and how she is now, she is super unlikely to make it through a whole day of parks. Right now, she goes to sleep at night between 5pm and 6pm (and that is central time). So, I'm thinking I should make dinners around 3pm but then I got concerned that might be nap time. So, I have no idea how to schedule ADR's. I know my child is going to change a lot between now and when we go (since she will essentially have doubled her age) but that makes it even harder to figure out when to plan things. I don't want to plan everything at 3pm just to find out that is nap time and have to find a way to change all my ADRs or to schedule it at 5pm just to find out that is too late for her.

I know we won't be going park open to close with her. In fact, I picked our MK days based on when it is expected to be the Halloween party because a close at 6pm is probably plenty late for my daughter...if she even makes it that long...and, hopefully, it will make our MK days less crowded. The FP's make me feel like taking her on the majority of rides she can go on as doable. But I'm struggling how to plan because I've never been to WDW with a kid this age...to be fair, I've never done anything with a kid 14 months old because I haven't had a kid before. So, any tips from those who took a child at that age? What did your park day schedule look like? What time did you set up ADR's and why? I know all children are different but any tips would be appreciated.

as naps go on walks and trying to move her from stroller to bed. does she go back to sleep after 20 minutes of sleep in stroller then moving to bed. my grandsons didn't do well with this. worst day ever at Disney was day we tried to take then 16 month old back to room to nap. fell asleep on the way woke up as we moved to room and screamed as in you could hear him all the way at other end of hall with door closed. fell asleep as we got to dinner and slept thru dinner ended up having to buy him a counter serve later that night. going back to resort is not like just being able to walk to room and put child down. you have the time from wherever you are in park to front of park plus time back to resort no matter how you get there. by 14 months she will be eating more like your schedule. if you are going to do table serve at lunch I would do them as early as possible so she will most likely fall asleep after meal esp if it is a meal where she would eat free. do you have any theme parks near you that you can do a trip in August or September? if so plan a trip so you can get an idea of how she will do. don't be surprised if all characters are a no go as she screams as soon as she sees them. I would plan on a change of clothes for everyone in your park bag think leaky diaper or well placed wipe of food. same for airplane if traveling that way. yes traveling with kids no matter the age is a lot different than just adults

 

[mjkacmom]

My kids were close in age,so they were on a pretty strict schedule (when my twins were born I had a one year old, a four year old at half day preschool and a six year old in another elementary school). At 14 months most of mine were still on the 9 - 11 and 2 -4 nap schedule, bedtime 8 -7. By 18 months they transitioned to napping 1 -4. No more bottles or baby food by one.

 

[Asnell]

We took our oldest to Disneyland when he was 16 months old, and did a trip to WDW with both boys when the younger was 18 months.

The biggest recommendation I can give is to be FLEXIBLE. If you can respond to her needs for food, sleep, activity, quiet, whatever it is in the moment, you will all stay happier. Even when that means giving up a coveted FP to let her have her nap or leaving midway through a show if she is just DONE.

Contrary to what another poster said about getting on the new time zone, when traveling from Central to Eastern time with a little one who is early to bed/early to rise, I would keep her on her Central Time routine. By the age of 14 months she'll probably be going to bed later anyway, but let's say she goes to bed by 7 at that point. That might mean you have to be back at your room by 6:30 each night to begin bedtime. Keeping her on the Central Time routine gives you an extra hour, so you can plan to be back to the room by 7:30 instead (6:30 Central time). It makes it more manageable for you and your husband to have more standardized hours for dinner, and you don't have to mess with her sleep schedule at all.

As for the characters, I would not plan any character meets (unless you have a desire to do so for yourself or to get certain pictures), but I would remain open to any reaction your daughter has in the moment. My sons on their first visits had no idea who the characters were, but my then 16-month-old son saw Minnie walking and went chasing after her, squealing and reaching for her. We went with the flow of that and he was really happy. When we took our two boys to WDW, we did a character meal (Chef Mickey's) and although the younger one didn't know who the characters were, he had a fun time waving and dancing and hugging them. What I really like about the character meals with young ones is that there's no waiting, and I was able to have very low expectations about my kids' reactions to the characters -- if they liked them, fine, if not, we got to have our meal anyway.

Lines in general are going to be your enemy with a toddler. Do whatever you can to minimize your time in line, like using FP, visiting in the early morning hours, and going to line-free activities, shows, and play areas during busy times of day.

You'll certainly want to have your stroller packed with extra snacks, drinks, little toys, etc. to get through the day. If she's able to stroller-nap, that's great (my kids did this just fine). Some days we took turns taking our sons back to the room to nap while the other parent spent some extra time at the park. If she's walking by then she may really want to be out of the stroller some of the times -- my boys were like that. So we researched what places were quieter where a toddler could walk or run around (like Tom Sawyer Island or the animal viewing paths at AK). Some people find a harness/tether to be useful if you have a kid who really wants to get down and walk on their own when it's crowded.

Having your daughter know how to drink from a sippy cup is a useful skill. Even though my boys nursed until they were 18 months old, we did introduce sippy cups by 10-12 months, and they're much easier to deal with than bottles. Of course, since I was breastfeeding that was super easy and convenient, although I think they were only nursing 1-2x a day by those ages.

Disney restaurants are so used to babies and toddlers, you can lean on that advantage. Enjoy eating wherever will feel comfortable and relaxed for you and your husband, confident that it's going to be about as kid-friendly as anyplace ever will be. Alternating which meal is your sit-down can be a nice way to change things up and see what works best for you three -- sit-down lunches in the parks on a hot crowded day can be a really nice respite, for example. And if you get to a day when you have a melting-down kid and an ADR in an hour, remember that you can push ADRs later (even to a later day in your trip) even if you are within the 24-hour cancellation period, so you don't have to sweat the issue of late cancellation too much.

 

[ArielDreams]

I’m planning a trip with my 10 month old in April. We are a lot closer now so I am fairly confident in his schedule based on how he does when we have a busy day. For ADRs, I have two character breakfasts planned because he is much better in the mornings. We are staying at CBR and I have 6:15 ADRs at Sebastians and Beaches & Cream two nights so that we’re close to our resort near bedtime (8:00). I have one lunch planned at MK and I’m banking on the fact that he’ll take a nice stroller nap before. Otherwise, I’m keeping it open for QS or spur of the moment ADRs.

For our daily schedule, I’m hoping our park days look like this:
- Arrive at rope drop
- Do a few family friendly rides
- Stroller nap while mom and dad rider swap some headliners
- Lunch
- Go back to resort for long crib nap
- Return to park for dinner & leave whenever we think it’s time

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We started taking my DS to WDW when he just turned 1 and have gone back yearly since then. When he was one and two years old I found his schedule was completely unpredictable once we got to WDW. It's just such a different experience than being in your own home on your own schedule. I did find lunch ADRs were a little easier to keep. We would typically tour a park in the morning, have a lunch around noon or so and then attempt to exit the park before he fell asleep. That didn't always work. I distinctly remember a few days when DS fell asleep before we could make it to the ADR - these were the days when you could make ADRs and there was zero penalty for not showing up or cancelling on time. I also remember evenings where we had to scrap our plans altogether because he napped longer than usual. This is what I would recommend. Don't make any ADRs until day of. You will be on the monorail and only a boat ride away from WL and Ft. W and, as long as you aren't incredibly picky, you should be able to find a table service restaurant with availability once you know what time will work best for your child. That, IMHO, is better than having to try to cancel, day-of, if your child happens to be napping unexpectedly.

 

[Itsnotmykitchen]

Your daughter’s schedule is going to be completely different at 14 months so I wouldn’t plan too much around what she’s currently doing. Her willingness to nap in strollers might also change as well so be flexible. I went with my daughter at 12 months and she refused to nap in the stroller, I think there was just too much going on around her, so we took a midday resort break every day. I would follow the previos posters advice and do same day resort ADRs.

 

[Rory607]

Is your H definitely wanting the evening meal to be sit down or could some be breakfast? We typically do a sit-down meal every day, but it is a mix of breakfast, lunch and dinner. I would personally not want to commit to a sit down meal every afternoon/evening with that age.

We never did midday breaks, but our kids would nap in the stroller. We found that once we went back to the hotel we were done and had no motivation to go back to the parks. So we would swim and relax at the hotel in the evenings. Flexibility is key! You have no way of knowing your baby’s schedule so far in advance, so everyone will have to go with the flow.

 

[saraheliz]

The youngest we took both of our oldest two kids was a month shy of 3, and I can tell you that by 4pm, the best laid plans were gone- and not necessarily in a bad way, just in a need to be flexible way. We only booked breakfast and lunch ADRs because we just weren't sure what the evening would bring and man, were we glad. We did a dessert party on our last night and they made it through fine at 2 and 4 but we made sure to have a nice long afternoon nap and didn't even make it back to the parks until 5/6. They are pretty flexible kids but many evenings they just needed some chill time, pool time, or walk around the resort time.

Making one or two "dinner" ADRs? Fine, but you (and your husband) need to understand that you may spend your afternoon rearranging things to make sure you get to it (ie naps, etc) and that things might go awry. But no way would I want to *have* to be anywhere after early afternoon with a kid that age not knowing how she'll do, how we'll/where she'll nap, etc.

 

[PollyannaMom]

It's so tough to predict what their schedules will be like that far out! For now, I would make a couple of each type of ADR, and then adjust as necessary closer in. (Except for the really super hard things, like CRT, it is actually possible to get ADRs on short notice, especially for a smaller group like yours.)

My gut instinct is that lunch would be the best, though - as late afternoons and evenings tend to be more "touchy" with most little ones I know. I see a scenario where you do early mornings in the park, lunch, then decide whether to stay in the park a while and head back early to the resort early, or go straight back for a nap and head out again later.

 

[sponica]

My daughter always handled sit down breakfasts/lunches better than dinner. Honestly even though she had a strict 630 bedtime, she apparently got the disney trooper genes and would make it to about 8 most nights (we'd leave the parks around 7).

She stroller napped like a champ (the key was to recline the stroller).

She was older though (about 20 months).

 

[MNswimmer18]

Our personal experience is that my husband and I are SUPER non-scheduled people and really lax with our three young kiddos about schedule (we travel so much that I just can't be that way). On a regular day our kids wake up and go to sleep generally around the same time, but we intentionally never have had bed time/sound machine/ dark room/ etc. Our expectation is that if we say it's time to go to bed, you go to bed, regardless of if that means 7:00 or 8:30- changing that up allows them to just go with the flow. If you do do those things at home, you might plan to do the same on your trip if your kid has become accustomed to it.

We're the same way. Because we're non-scheduled people our kids handled going to bed when we put them to bed, no matter the time. We stayed off site and our kids don't transfer well. We wouldn't go back for naps because that would have been a waste. Instead we had sit down lunches and would leave the parks around dinnertime. Our kids fell asleep in the stroller, or when I was wearing them. I loved having lunch ADRs. It was nice to cool of, not be worried about finding a table to sit at, and it gave the kids a bit of a break from everything. The restaurants are at a slower pace, so it's even more relaxing to look at, then to be where all the crowds are and watching a ton people still moving around. We're Central Time as well. Our reservations were for 12:15, 11:30, and 1:10. 1:10 was pushing it for my kids. This time, I'll keep them all from 11:00-12:45 if at all possible.

 

[Jhondy210]

Thanks for the feedback. I think I’ll try doing mainly lunch ADR’s with maybe a breakfast and 1 or two early dinners if I absolutely have to. I already plan on putting all my FP in the morning so we can do afternoons at the hotel or pool if we wish.

I realize the best plan is probably waiting to book ADRs till we are there but there are some restaurants that I really want to do and I don’t expect them to have same day ADR like Space 220. I also love Garden Grill so want to do that one and I like both breakfast and lunch/dinner so I think I will make that one for breakfast.

I realize my daughter is going to be so different by the time we go and that’s what makes the planning so hard. We just started sleep training her this week so we are still working on figuring out her current schedule but she is definitely asleep at night by 6:30pm and starts getting fussier and fussier the close it gets till 6:30.

We both realize this trip will be completely different than any other trip we have taken. I’m usually an open to close at the park style person. I don’t care to sleep in or sit in the room and I’m not much of a pool person. However, I realize this trip will likely be once baby wakes up till about lunchtime if I’m lucky. I’m actually planning that we will be at the pool a lot because my daughter loves being in the water. This trip is very much centered around her and I’m so excited for it. It’s been my dream to take my own daughter to disney and soon I’m going to get to do that. I can’t wait! I know it won’t be a “perfect” trip and my kid likely will have melt downs and my husband and I will likely get stressed but it will still probably be my most favorite trip just because my daughter is there with us.