16 month old at wdw..are we crazy?

[GrammyJudy]

We are taking my 16 month old grandson to wdw in jan, his 2nd trip he was 4 mos old last time. But he is so active we are having second thoughts? What about naps, do you have any luck getting a toddler to nap while there? We are staying at por and plan to go back to the room for him to rest. But we will have a 9 yr old too so he will have to go to the pool so the little one can sleeop. Am i worrying for naught?????

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

You will be amazed at how much fun the trip will be.

And what's to say your 9 yr old won't crash with the 16 mo old??

Just take your time with the little one (hit up the play areas) while the elder kiddo is in line for rides that the little guy can't do or crawl into a sit down attraction (A/C + rest)., take a ride on the riverboat...

It is a pretty big age gap you are facing, BUT do you think that you would regret leaving the little man behind?

 

[GrammyJudy]

You will be amazed at how much fun the trip will be.

And what's to say your 9 yr old won't crash with the 16 mo old??

Just take your time with the little one (hit up the play areas) while the elder kiddo is in line for rides that the little guy can't do or crawl into a sit down attraction (A/C + rest)., take a ride on the riverboat...

It is a pretty big age gap you are facing, BUT do you think that you would regret leaving the little man behind?

Leaving him is not an option. It will be me, my DS the mother and her 2 boys. We are Disney veterans but never took a toddler before. My youngest was 3 on our first trip.

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

Leaving him is not an option. It will be me, my DS the mother and her 2 boys. We are Disney veterans but never took a toddler before. My youngest was 3 on our first trip.

Well heck, with that many adults... you'll have NO trouble at all! It will be magic! You can all trade off staying with the litte man while the others ride with the big guy. Taking care of a toddler at WDW is a lot easier than you may plan for!

 

[pixidustmom]

My DH and I are taking our grandson in Dec. He will be almost 15 months. I am going to play it by ear. We think he may just fall asleep in stroller, if so we will stay at the parks and take turns in the baby swap. I am sure he will have the funnest time seeing so much going on around him. We look forward to it all. Except the nights. I hope that he will sleep ok with us all be in the same room.

 

[danceintherain]

We took my almost year old nephew in July, and while he wasn't quite walking yet, so it wasn't too hard to keep him in the stroller, we didn't have trouble at all.
He took his nap in the stroller most days, and by the time we got back to the hotel he only slept a little longer before he was up ready to play, so keep that in mind, because you may want to attempt to keep the baby awake until you get back to the hotel for a nap if everybody else wants to have one.

You'll be fine with that many adults, because you can relay who is taking care of the little one when. Also, you can use the Baby Swap program if everyone wants to ride the same ride, which could be extra fun for the 9 year old, because he could ride the same ride twice in a row as a companion to the baby watchers.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/childswap.htm

You could Google 'Disney baby swap' for more info. I never actually did it with my nephew, because we had SOO many adults that there was never a ride that everybody wanted to go on that the baby couldn't.

I think you'll have a great trip. I actually found that my 12 year old brother was more of a hassle on our trip, than my year old nephew, because the 12 year old can talk.

 

[MommytoaSweetie]

Our DD's first Disney trip (actually at Disneyland) was when she was 14 months and it was great! We've found that on vacations, she's more likely to take a few shorter naps rather than one big nap, but she was fine and loved it all. They have lots of playground areas, too, so those are great to get toddler energy out in a safe environment, and Mickey's ToonTown area is wonderful for this, too (especially Minnie's house where some things are interactive). I'd play it by ear and be flexible... if you need to head back to the resort for a rest, go for it, but in our case, our DD would most definitely fall sleep on the way TO the resort and wake up by the time we actually got there, making it so we couldn't nap with her anyway and it wouldn't have been worth it for us. Just like this person...

We took my almost year old nephew in July, and while he wasn't quite walking yet, so it wasn't too hard to keep him in the stroller, we didn't have trouble at all.
He took his nap in the stroller most days, and by the time we got back to the hotel he only slept a little longer before he was up ready to play, so keep that in mind, because you may want to attempt to keep the baby awake until you get back to the hotel for a nap if everybody else wants to have one.

I think it'll be a great trip - have fun!

 

[la79al]

My DD is a super active toddler and she will sleep in the stroller. I would think that if you tried going back to the resort, he would sleep on the bus and then not nap at the resort.

 

[wtrmlnlabs]

Yep, I think you'll have a great time, no worries. As long as you take you time you'll be fine. I was terrified to take DS last year, about that age. He's a very.... interesting child to live with. I was actually sick about it, so worried how he'd be. BOY once he got to Disney he was a totally different kid. That is why we're going back, I want to have THAT son again We always go at the pace of the kids, do what they want, don't push them to go anywhere... all good intentions to "nap time" back at the hotel, but it wasn't needed at all. They'd nap in the strollers or just plain be happy with so much to see and do. It'll be magical!!!

 

[henry72]

We took DS at 19 months. He did great. We went back to the resort for naps but it took awhile to get him to go to sleep - he was just too excited. This time we are taking DD who will be 21 months. (And DS who is 4). I expect DD to take more naps in the stroller. But we will see! Either way, it will be fun.

 

[katied]

I've had so much fun taking DS. He's been 6 mo, 8 mo, 13 mo, 18 mo and 20 mo at our trips so far, and now he'll be 32 mo at our next trip.

He was lots of fun at 13 mo and 18 mo. He's a very active little boy. He did take a number of his naps in the stroller (very suprising to me, since he doesn't at home) and then I would stroll through the A/C shopping (but this could be the time for the 9 yr old to do things the little one cannot).

Also, you can split up at times - so some adults can go do things with the 9 yr old and others with the little one.

I was amazed at DS's stamina. At 18 mo we were there for the Halloween party. He was dancing around waiting for the parade at 11 pm! I was schocked (he was sound asleep within 5 min of leaving the park around 11:45). But we have almost no tear and tantrums while at Disney. It's too much fun.

 

[raggedy couple]

Enjoy... take the babies to WDW, It's amazing what they remember. We took our Son,Daugter-inlaw and the two grandbabies last Oct. The grandson was 2yr old and the grandaughter was 6 mo. Well it was the first time my grandson trick or treated. Well this year they can't go with us, but we can't mention we are going cause he remember's trick or treating there and can't figure out how he's going to trick or treat with out being there? He really wants to go back. When his mom ask's where he want's to eat? He'll say, "Mickey Mouse's house" . So I say take the babies to WDW. It would surprize you to know what they remember.

 

[tinkerfan1]

I think you'll have a great time, too. We are planning on going NEXT November with our four grandchildren. At that time, they will be DGS8, DGD4 (almost 5), DGS3, and DGS1.5. We will have the help of our DD and DSIL and our DS14 and DS16, too, so I'm not worried. I'm just excited about seeing the faces of the little ones when they go to Disney. The 3 oldest little ones have been once before but not with us. However, they know how crazy we are about WDW and always say they want to go with us. The baby hasn't been yet, of course. So, I'm anxious to hear how you do. Listen to me, I'm already talking about our November 2010 trip and we haven't even been this year, yet!!! I just can't wait to take the kids. I am addicted beyond hope.

 

[blessedby3]

We took our youngest DD at almost the same ages as the OP (3 1/2 mos and 17 mos). She did great on both trips and we had no problems at all. We just did what we normally do (we have 3 older children) and she went with the flow. She would also sleep in the stroller- we didnt go back to the hotel for naps- just takes up too much time for us. I think it will be much easier than you think.