17 month old at Disney?

[Eyore4Ever149]

1. Do you have to buy a plane ticket for a 17 month old? Or can the sit in your lap?


2. What rides can a 17 month old go on and enjoy?

 

[diz8297]

You don't have to buy a ticket, but I strongly recommend it. We used to fly and with a four hour flight, it's a long time to keep a toddler happy on your lap. Also, it is much safer for them to be in their car seat and easier to occupy them if they have their own seat.

Regarding the rides: get a guide to WDW-i.e. Birnbaum's guide. Obviously, anything that has a height restriction is out-use the baby switch option.
If you have a child who is afraid of loud noises, or of the dark, read the descriptions of the different attractions. One child may be afraid of Pirates of the Caribbean and love the Country Bears and vice versa. With those rides it's kind of a shot in the dark until you've tried them. Get the vacation planning guide and play it over and over. The reason I suggest that is that way your child can see the characters and get an idea of how big they are in relation to people. These may ease any anxieties they may have when they see Mickey face to face.

Have a wonderful trip!!

 

[onelugnut]

previous poster is probably right, but
just for an apposing view, we had a 14 mo old
last november and he was free on the plane
we didnt buy him a seat.
maybe we should have, but we were lucky to keep him in our row never mind a car seat
(he is my experiment 626, the first two experiments are lovely children but 626 is another story)
as far as rides, i was surprised how many he could go on.
but i have seen parents have trouble with the little ones
although they are allowed on them, not all kids take to them well
i think a lot comes from how the parents present it.
ours was never a problem. some of the rides i was worried about, but he did great.
the easy ones were the likes of winnie the poo, and small world,
but pirates and buzz light year were pretty scary and he did fine.
enjoyed them in fact.
the others that he can do is the 3-d stuff, like philarmagic and muppets.
which can also scare a kid, but again he never complained.
broke a lot of 3-d glasses but did not complain

dont forget about the babyswap, that works really great

 

[Eyore4Ever149]

I appreciate the second poster listing what their child did. Guess at this point in the game I really wont know what she will be like. She's a fairly laid back child. I have never been to WDW with a child- this is our first, so Im not familiar with rides that a little 17 month old might enjoy, in fact I didn't know if she would be too little to do any rides at all.

As for the baby swap I guess I need to learn more. When I read the UG description it sounded good. 2-3 adults wait in line together (FP or standby line) then one adult stays with baby while others ride, at end of ride you are taken back to your party where you switch who takes the baby and the adult who had the baby then gets to ride (possibly with another adult)

However the comments I have read on here have included standing in a FP line after you waited with the baby and the rest of your group in the initial line. I dont mean to sound like I have a bad attitude, but if I already waited in one line and then wait for my husband to ride the ride Im not about to wait in yet another line, no matter how "fast" it might be, Id rather skip the ride or skip it completely and wait til she's back at the room taking a nap and we don't have her at all.

I thought it was possible to keep her in my lap but wasn't sure. Our flight is from CT, I think its about 2hrs nd 15min. And we have 3 adults to share "lap time" Im not certain, but I doubt we will spend the extra money for a seat if its not required by the airline.

Its so great to get feedback from those who have done Disney with a baby this age.

 

[RedAlfalfa]

I flew w/ my 2 kids last Oct from Ft Laud to Newark. My 3yr old went in the car seat & my then 12 month old sat on my lap both ways. He was fine & he's the type of kid who usually never sits still (my plan was once airborn switch the 3yr old to my lap w/ the 1 yr old if they would allow it but since he was fine I left her in the seat the entire time. I would have put her back in the car seat during "remain seated" times Did that make sense???).

As for Disney- like the other poster said it's up to the kids....and even beyond that it depends on the trip. Living in S FL we go pretty often & my 3yr old used to LOVE Haunted Mansion. Now she says she's scared of it. She hated all 3-D movies....now she LOVES Mickey's Philharmagic. Pirates & Goffy's Barnstormer it will vary trip to trip.
The child swap is better now then it used to be. For instance if my hubby & I want to go on Space Mt we get the child swap ticket (yes it's the same as a fast pass but allows 3 people to go not just the fast pass owner.) He gets in the regular line for SM and I take the kids to Buzz or the People Mover. After he's done we meet & he takes the kids on Buzz or People Mover (trust me- my kids don't get tired of either of them) and I get in the fast pass lane. So yes I do have to wait in like too but it's better for the kids who aren't waiting in line for something they can't go on like it used to be. (Back when everyone waited together & really swapped the kids for the ride). The other benifit was last summer when I went w/ my Aunt & cousins...my cousins got to ride all the good rides 2x w/ less wait since they would get in line while I had the kids & then when they were done & my hubby took the kids they'd get to go again w/ me.

Hope that all made sense!
Emily

 

[kmk160]

We have a ds, 3, and a dd who we took to Disney for the first time at nearly 5 months.
My ds's first trip was when he was 18 months old. We have always bought a seat for him and depending on the airline, they will give you a discounted infant rate.
When we took dd, I thought she would be easy to hold b/c she was such a small infant. It turned out she was easy to hold, BUT...
flying from Orlando back to PA, we hit very bad turbulence. While it isnt common, it happens. I was sooooo nervous holding her and the guilt I had over not buying her a seat so she could be strapped in her carseat was big!!!
We are heading back in Aug., and based on our last trip, she'll be getting her own seat.
As with so many other posts on this site, when it comes to your child, you have to do whatever you and your family are most comfortable with.
While its great getting others opinions, when it comes down to it--follow your gut!

 

[Sleeping~Beauty]

My son was 15 months old when we first took him in 2005 (he's 2.5 now). We used the car seat on the plane, so we had the extra seat. I did a lot of research and for safety reasons this was the best option for me. I

As for rides, my 15 mo old was easy, he didn't have a scare factor yet. My 2 yo was another story, it's all going to depend on your child.

In MK:
Pooh's Thoughtful Spot: playground for the little ones. It has a sprayground, huge hit.
Winnie the Pooh ride
Peter Pan
Cinderella's carousel
Dumbo
Aladdin
Country Bears
Tea Cups
It's a Small World
Maybe Buzz Lightyear

Depending on your little ones personality, shows might be able to be done. For instance, you may or may not be able to do Mickey's Philharmagic with her.

I'm sure there is more, my mind is blank right now.

In AK:
The little primeval spin (like Dumbo)
There is a playground here also. The Bone Yard, it's very large just so you know
For you and hubby, the baby can go on the Kilimanjaro Safaris
And you can definitely enjoy all the Maharajah Jungle Trek
The shows are a toss up if your child will sit through them, and what type noise threshold they have.
Pocahontas is geared for little ones and you may be able to do Festival of the Lion King

MGM:
She may enjoy Playhouse Disney. This is a live interactive show. It's a lot of fun and the kids stand and dance a bit, too. You sit on the floor.
Beauty and the beast if she can do shows.
There is the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground to just let off steam.

This is all I can think of off the top of my head.

 

[dougsmom98]

We have done both, flown with kids in car seats and also flown without them. On our last trip, my DD was 8 months old and we did not buy her a seat. She was easy then and slept on my chest for most of the flights. When we fly in February, she will be 20 months, and we will buy her a seat because she is such a handful now. If this is your first, you may or may not be familiar with how active 17 month olds are. My DD is so active now, I can not imagine wrestling with her for our flights. When she gets something in her head, she is pretty persistent and will squirm and squirm until I she gets to do what she wants. Having been there and done that with three other kids, I think this is pretty typical for kids her age. If you can't swing the cost of a ticket, then I guess it can be done. If you can swing it, I think you will be glad that you bought the seat for her whether you use a car seat or not. Having elbow room when you have a little one is helpful on an airplane.

 

[PeachesDoesHair]

We flew with our 12 month old from Oklahoma (something like 3 and a half hours). We really just did not have the money to get him a seat. He did fine the entire trip. He actually slept most of the way.

As far as rides, we did not do anything with a height restriction. We also have a three year old who was too short, so we did not try the parent swap. My son did very well with all of the rides. He really liked everything. He didn't do so well with the movies and sit down shows. They seemed to bore him. We didn't get to see any of them this trip, so we are really looking forward to them next trip. He really had a lot of fun.

We will be buying our son's airfare this year (he will be two). I am relieved that I won't have to hold him the entire time. I think he will like having his own seat. That being said, we did what we had to do to get there last time. It certainly was not ideal (especially when the person in front of me leaned her seat into my son the whole 2 hour flight) but it worked.

Have a great time on your vacation!

 

[Gdad]

My oldest DD was there at about that age. We took her on Small World and ended up in the fron row seats. She stood and held on to the rail the entire ride laughing and just took it all in- then when we went to get off she SCREAMED and clenched the rail. We literally had to pry her little fingers loose one by one to get her off the ride still kicking and screaming while the people in the line waited. One of my favorite Disney memories to this day.

PS- Get a seat and use a carseat for the little one if possible.

 

[NotSoNewMommy]

I guess I will be the odd ball here, but I would say if you really can't swing the extra ticket, don't worry about it. My DH and I flew to Japan (14 hour flight) with our 16 month old on our laps. He slept 95% of the flight. He is one of those rambunctious kids who doesn't sit still and the closer we got to leaving for our trip, the crazier I thought I was. Thank goodness it ended up being fine. I'm sure you will be fine too. We have also flown on shorter flights with the extra seat and having the extra room was fantastic, but my son actually still sat on my lap. LOL

 

[MamaOfTwoPrincesses]

We just returned a few days ago with DD who turned 5 and DD 17 months old. She did really, really well, and we didn't know what to expect from her! We ended up having her as a lap baby, but DH and I both agree that in the future, she will have her own seat. She didn't fuss too badly, but she likes to have her freedom. As soon as we could, we had her run up and down the aisles a few times. We brought lots of toys and books to keep her busy, and she liked looking at the TV (we were on Jet Blue.) She did fall asleep a bit both ways which helped tremendously. So, it wasn't too bad, but she did get heavy!

So far as rides and attractions, she didn't get scared or fussy on anything we took her on! She loved the parades, light parade, and fireworks too. And she was fascinated by all of the characters we met, especially the face characters. We thought she might be scared of them - but she just wanted to touch their noses and give them kisses! We were also grateful for play areas, as she just wanted to run around most of the time.

Magic Kingdom--
Pooh's Playful Spot playground - she loved this, especially the slide
Winnie the Pooh ride
Peter Pan
Cinderella's carousel
Dumbo
Aladdin
Country Bears - loved this one!
It's a Small World ** did this FOUR timess - she pointed at eveything and was so cute!
Buzz Lightyear was fine
Pirates was OK too
she also loved Mickey's Philharmagic

this all depends on your child, of course!

 

[PollyannaMom]

Went when DS was 18 mths, and his absolute favories were the ferryboat TO Magic Kingdom, and Mickey's Toontown Fair playground! He also liked the Tiki Birds show. I'm pretty sure we went on the teacups, and I also remember we climbed the Swiss Family Tree House. (But he was pretty small as a toddler, and still fit in the hip carrier for that.)

You can take little ones on the boat-style rides, like Small World, and on things like Alladin's magic carpets (same type of ride as Dumbo, but way shorter lines, and I think you can sit 3 in a carpet - you just put them in the middle.) And of course you can take her on Cinderella's Carousel and stand next to her. I think there is an Ariel playground as well.

Are you going to other parks beside MK? That's the only one we did at 18mths, but last time we were there, I noticed lots of little playgrounds at Epcot, there is another boat ride in the land section, and she might get a kick out of Turtle Talk. The safari at Animal Kingdom is wonderful if she likes animals, and I think she can sit on your lap so she can see better.

I don't remember what that age would like at MGM, but I'd avoid the playground there if she likes to run free - it's very easy to lose sight of them in that one. The 3-D shows at any park will depend on the toddler - probably love or hate the first one, and you can decide from there.

Good luck, and have a great time!!