Selfish to take a baby to disney world?

[Libby6]

I recently began thinking of going to Disney world next year, when my daughter would only be about 6-8 months old. No other kids. general reactions so far have been-

"She won't remember anything, and you and (hubby) will be exhausted."

"Why would you want to even go with just a baby, you don't have older kids to go for!"

"She won't have all her shots- too risky".

I totally agree that she won't have specific memories. The measles outbreak at Disneyland does scare me. And it's true we don't have older kids who would really enjoy it- we really were just excited about taking a vacation with our baby and enjoying disney ourselves too (we both love it). Our plan was to stay onsite and spend a lot of downtime lounging at the resort.....is it honestly better to wait a few years?

 

[akl2004]

Would it be less selfish to take her on vacation to the beach or to a local amusement park?

As for not having all of her shots, check with your pediatrician to see if they have any concerns.

As for the other concerns you have heard, they sound like the things that people who don't "get" disney would say.

It sounds like your husband and you have been there before the baby came, so obviously it is a place you both enjoy. As long as your pediatrician is ok with it, go for it.

By the way, she wont have any memories, but you and your husband will and that is worth it. Enjoy the times you have because kids grow up way too fast and all you have left are your memories after they are on their own.

 

[Thing 1]

If you would only take her once in a lifetime...wait. Otherwise, enjoy your baby. People remember almost nothing of the first 5 years, yet it is the most important in terms of development if the brain. expose your baby to different sounds and colors and smells. Where better than WDW. This might be the only trip for a long time where she does not beg for every toy in every store, insist on stopping at every character visit and insist on ridding Dumbo 20 times in a row. ENJOY that.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Meh, why not. Granted, it's not something *I* did, nor would it be. But, if it sounds like fun to you, that's all that matters.

 

[btk2333]

We took our babies at ten months and are bringing them back in November at 19 months- it's totally worth it imo

 

[pooh4evr]

Why not- she is free, it is a different experience with kids at every age for them and you. I have loved experiencing WDW with my girls at every age from 11 months- 13 years, and everywhere in between.

 

[DisneyRegulars]

See how things go when your baby comes, at six months my son was just becoming more fun. I know I went a little crazy and booked a trip to Ireland for when my son was nine months old. I was hell bent on not being one of those families that does nothing until their kids are old enough to remember. We had a fantastic trip, and I wouldn't trade it for the world. We waited on Disney until my son could walk, so he could have fun in the fountains, so our first Disney trip was fourteen months. I think Disney with a baby would be fun, especially if you could go during a time that's not too hot, so you wouldn't have to worry about baby overheating. Sounds like a relaxing fun trip to me, go for it!

 

[Regan1103]

We took our son at 9 months and we all had a blast. He had so much fun in the moment and we have pictures to remember the trip and a couple of photobooks to show him. I say absolutely go for it and just smile and nod at the negative nancies and be glad they aren't going with you :-D

 

[Mousemommy1]

I see no reason not to take a baby. We are taking our (will be) 3.5 month old son next month and can't wait!!!
It's funny because we do have older girls, but we waited for their 1st trip (because we didn't think we would end up going every year, lol) and they
were 3 and 5 on their 1st trip. We had a blast and they will go on their 7th trip next month. We kept saying, "why did we wait?". So now, with our
little guy we are absolutely not waiting!!
Our pediatrician had no qualms about us taking him to Disney at all.
No, he won't remember it, but we totally will!!! It's all about living in the moment taking a baby to Disney!

 

[msmama]

I don't understand those "won't remember" statements. I mean, a baby isn't going to remember me playing with them or holding them, but you don't just lay them down and ignore them all day!

Heck, my son forgets what he had for breakfast by lunchtime - should I stop feeding him?!?!

Baby won't remember, but YOU will. And I'd totally bet that baby will LOVE looking back at pictures when she's older!

 

[worm761]

I waited to take DD until she was a little older. Her first trip was at 22 months. My two concerns were first, she wasn't fully vaccinated. She was born ill and so I wasn't willing to risk it. My second reason was we bottle fed and I didn't want to deal with bottles and trying to clean and sanitize them in a hotel room.

I will say that DD loves looking at pictures from her previous trips. The only one she remembers is this last one. She was 4.5 last summer when we went. There are a lot of things that we did that DD doesn't remember. Not everything has to be about the kids remembering. Sometimes it is about my memories. Be selfish. It isn't always a bad thing to be selfish.

 

[DisneyBabies]

This was a big discussion for DH and I before we ever had kids (and at the time, neither of us had been to Disney ourselves ).

In the end, we decided to wait until their 5th birthdays. Even as my heart gives a little pang when I see photos of babies at Disney, I listen to my little big kids as they talk about what they remember from their first trips, and I am so glad that they were old enough to remember.

Ignore what others say against it and do what is best for your family in this area. As several PP's have said, your little one won't remember, but is sure to love looking back on the pictures when she is older.

Enjoy your baby girl and if you do go, take a pic of her on Dumbo (those are always my favorite )

 

[luvmy2babies]

When I saw your post I thought of this couple who got a lot of the same comments. They decided to post a youtube video of their trip. I can’t find that specific one; but if you search youtube and watch a couple of the videos, you will have less worry about it. Only thing is I probably wouldn’t have it be my baby’s first trip anywhere; but if they have a couple of trips under their belt and are decent at travel, I say go for it. I introduced travel into each of my children’s lives early and now, they both love to travel.
My son’s first trip to Disney was at 10 months old. I do have an older child. My daughter was 7 and I had plenty of people tell me I should leave him behind; but he had a great time and my daughter and I loved seeing his different reactions. Now he’s five and we’ve been back a few more times. He’s already asking to go back. Watching him there makes me wish I had gotten my daughter there when she was younger. But it wasn’t possible.

 

[Crystal824]

If you are only going to take her once, wait until she is old enough to do most attractions and remember the trip somewhat. If you will take her again, I would go for it. In fact, I took my oldest daughter on her first trip when she was 9 months old. We are leaving next month and my oldest daughter is now 4 and our youngest will be 10 months. Babies love looking around and just taking it all in. My oldest daughter at 9 mo. loved the Disney Jr. Show, Small World, and Dumbo. It was so much fun watching her reactions. My oldest has been 5 times now. I've got to say that the first trip was probably the easiest. She wasn't walking so she stayed where we put her. She had no opinions on attractions. She was just happy. Now, we did have to deal with diapers, bottles, and baby food. That wasn't so bad. We would have had to deal with all that even if we stayed home.

 

[NJlauren]

I'm taking my daughter at 10 months (38 days and counting) and we can't wait. Will she remember it no, but I will and I'm so excited to see her face when she sees all the lights and sounds.

Plus as a PP mentioned they don't remember a lot under 5 buts it's the most important for their development! And as another PP mentioned would you not take another vacation because they won't remember?

If you decide to do it enjoy it! If you don't decide to do it, skip it because you don't want to do it not because of what someone else said.

 

[Misha72683]

Why would it be selfish? I look at my children's early years as being as much for me as them. They wont' remember, but I will and that's what photos are for. I took my 3 YO and 1.5 to GWL and we had a great time. My 3 YO was just thrilled. We're going to Disney this year and I know they'll love every moment of it and I'll love watching their faces. We took A to the zoo for the first time at a few months old because we wanted to go and he liked looking at the animals. We went to Cleveland when A was 10 months old and he went to the zoo there, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Science Centre and it was great.

 

[SEA333]

While it doesn't sound appealing to me to deal with a baby at WDW, I certainly don't think it is selfish...LOL It's kind of the opposite, im my mind. Selfish would be you deciding to go while your child is a baby and NOT bringing her/him because you don't want to deal with a baby on vacation and don't want to wait till the baby grows up a little so you can all go together.

So, while I am admittedly not the world's biggest baby-lover (I MUCH prefer preschoolers, and honestly, the teen BOY years are starting to grow on me...not sure about the teen girl years yet since so far the tweens are killing me, but I digress...), we didn't have the money to bring our kids to WDW until they were 6, 7, and 11 and I am personally glad we did! Maybe it's just because I didn't love the years of strollers, diapers, bottles, and fussy babies that didn't know how to tell me what was wrong, but I had many moments of "Thank goodness my kids are older!" as we walked by a screaming baby and a poor mom who was ready to lose it. I'm sure I only got a small snapshot of their vacation and not the whole wonderful time they surely had, but at my kids' ages, we all had fun...even mom (me), who normally is the one dealing with the least happiest member of the family while dad is the fun one with the happy kids. (because anyone with three kids knows that there is always ONE kid (doesn't matter which one) of the three having a crisis at any given moment!)

Good luck with whatever you decide!!

 

[scrapquitler]

Baby might not remember it, but you will. And he will enjoy looking around and seeing all the colors and motion, listening to the music, etc. We took our son when he was 9 months old and he was easy in the parks, and he smiled and cooed and loved watching everything. If taking him is 'selfish' wouldn't ANYTHING you do with him that you enjoy and he won't remember be selfish? It's just a silly argument.

And taking him at 9 months was a LOT easier than taking him when he was 3. LOL. He went at 9 months, 3 and 4. He's now 12 and we are going back next month, he doesn't remember any of those trips, but that's okay, we do.

 

[vrajewski10513]

As long as it doesnt bother you that you'll be moving at a bit slower pace (having to use rider swap for thrill rides, diaper changing, naps, feedings) then I dont see the problem. I dont know where this would be selfish in any aspect? Maybe if DH didnt want to bring the baby and you did maybe? IDK.

 

[EPCOTgrl1]

I am doing it this year. When we go our baby will be between 4-5 months. While yes it is nice that the baby will be going to Disney and I am hoping to get some great pictures, this trip isn't about her. As I say to everyone Mama needs to get out of the house too. If you are okay with it then don't listen to everyone else. It will be a great trip!