1st Birthday Trip

[Leleluvsdis]

Hey Everyone!! Since DH and I recently found out we are pregnant(currently 9 1/2 weeks), we decided it was time to start budgeting for a 1st birthday trip!! We figure we will be super busy once baby gets here, and it would be much easier to start saving now, as opposed to a year out. We have always said we want to take our LO on their 1st birthday, so this trip is a must. I hope if to transfer RCI into DVC, so accommodations will be minimal cost, but I have a couple of questions about traveling with a 1 year old, since we have never done it before

It will be DH, Me, LO, my mom and my dad. Most likely early December or early January. My due date is 12/23, but I do not want to be there during the Christmas madness if at all avoidable.

What resorts do you recommend with a 1 yo? (We typically do 2 nights in a value or mod before transferring to DVC)
What restaurants are a must do?
Fly or Drive? (we live in VA and have about a 13 hr drive. We are thinking fly SW or JB for everyone's sanity)

Last must not least, please no negative vibes. I am well aware that I could miscarry at this point, and do not need to be reminded of it. I am actually not excited about being preggo because of that fear. I'm just ready do have a happy and healthy baby DH and I tried for 5 1/2 years, and had actually decided to adopt when this happened. Trust me, we were SHOCKED!!!

Thanks everyone in advance!!! Also, if you have any must have baby gear suggestions whether at home or at Disney, please feel free to pass it on!!

 

[Derby]

Congratulations! We took our DD on a 1st birthday trip as well and it was so much fun. I really think any resort would be fine with a 1 year old (depending on how much space you want). We had a pack and play at CBR and it was great. With our second DD, we co-slept so we would've been fine in a value. I would definitely fly especially since baby will be free! I looooved my Ergo with DD2 (she lived in it especially when we are Disney when she was a newborn!) and wish I'd had one with DD1. Our surprise on the 1st birthday trip was how much DD loved characters. The interaction was fabulous and we spent way more time than we would've imagined while planning seeing them. Best wishes for a healthy pregnancy!

 

[tinkerbesh]

Congrats on your pregnancy!!! We also tried for 5 years & are finally bringing DS for his first trip in a few weeks -- so I know how excited you must be planning your first trip with baby.

We're going to stay at Pop, even though I recognize it may feel crowded with a stroller & all the baby stuff with us. For us it just came down to budget-- stay at a value for more days, or stay more luxuriously for fewer days. Since we'd stayed at values many times before & been comfortable, we thought we'd rather get more days out of it so that we could tour more leisurely.

I don't know how much budget will be a factor for you, but either way - I highly recommend leaning on the side of leisurely touring! There's just no way to know what your child will be like -- or who you will evolve into as a parent -- so allowing yourself the freedom to be flexible and have a relaxed pace on your trip I think will be your #1 tool.

Will you want to be closer to 1 park over any other? Who knows! You might think you want a monorail hotel now (and if $ is no object, I'd highly recommend the Contemporary so that you can walk to MK & take monorail to 2 parks), but who knows if you will give birth to a kid that is hooked on animals. Then you might wish you booked AKL... It's also hard to say what you'll want for travel- plane or car. I worked hard to avoid flying for at least this first year, but then on our first road trip with DS (at 2 months) he wanted out of the car so frequently we wound up stopping at a store to buy him his first pacifier (the only thing that helped us through that first loooong drive).

The best advice I received from people about planning this first trip is to just pick what will make you and DH happiest. That's something that you can at least be pretty sure about.

Oh, and side note- relax & enjoy- my OB told me once you make it to 10 weeks you're golden. And you're pretty much there! Don't you wish they made an "I'm celebrating" button for "I finally conceived a child" !

 

[RooRach0906]

Congrats! We took DD a week before she turned 1 for 1 day at MK and stayed off property. Then we did 5 days on property when she was 16 months.

I would say any resort is fine for a 1 year old although certain resorts will give you more space if you plan on using a pack n play.

We also are from VA and we drove the first trip, DD was a great sleeper in or out of the car and that helped a lot. She was also a great rider in the car and did not need to always need to be entertained in the car. We left at night on the way down so she slept almost the whole way. On the way back it was noon when we left so I sat back with her and entertaining her with the portable DVD player and toys when it was needed. If she would have not slept/rode so well at that point we would have flown.
We did fly at 16 months and it was very nice to be there a lot faster but we did need to entertain her more (less to look at). We got nonstop flights at great prices, I would not do layover with a one year old.

A lot will depend on the temperament of your little one. Best of luck.

One other thing, when we drove since we had packed a lot we had to take our umbrella stroller which was fine since we only did one day but it was so much better having our full sized stroller (still lightweight) for a longer trip as it was easier and more comfortable for her to sleep in.

 

[Gracie09]

Congratulations! Since you will be looking at DVc resorts I would concentrate on ones within walking of the parks, so blt, beach club and boardwalk. At one your baby isn't really going to care about mk vs Epcot, so I would probably go with the beach club. It has a nice Sand bottom pool area and a baby pool nearby and you can walk to Epcot and hs.

 

[MandiC]

Congrats!!

I'm partial to early December (my older son's birthday is December 13, I was due January 6!) We plan on going Fall 2015 but are really leaning towards December to celebrate the birthday and get to see all the Christmas decorations.
I'd say where you stay just depends. Do you want a microwave? Do you want a resort with lots of kid-friendly theming or do you want something more for the adults (cause let's be honest, at 1 after a day in Disney, baby probably won't care ). I really loved Port Orleans Riverside, it's a beautiful resort that has lots to do right at the resort. If your parents will watch the baby you could go see YeeHaw Bob or take a romantic horse drawn carriage ride along the river. We plan on staying in a cabin at Fort Wilderness next time but only because of our family size, it seems to have a lot of the extras for kids too.
The Comtemporary might be really nice if your baby is the kind who will fall asleep in the stroller, you can walk right back to the resort, no need to take baby out of the stroller to board a bus (strollers need to be folded on the buses).
Personally I'd fly, but we prefer flying and I have had 2 babies who *hated* the car with a passion. At least with flying it is a much shorter period of time and you can hold them during the flight.
As tempting as it might be to buy cute outfits for Disney right away when you find out the sex I would wait and see how baby grows. All of my kids have been different as far as sizing. 2 were right on their ages as far as sizing, 1 always wore smaller than her age and my youngest was in 12 month clothes at 5 months old To spread out the cost I'd save a bit of money here and there if you plan on buying lots Disney themed clothes for the trip.
As far as gear, lots of people use the City Mini strollers at Disney from what I saw, they certainly look nice. I'd recommend looking into a Boba, they are similar to an Ergo. I had an Ergo but ended up selling it so I could get the Boba, the Boba is more comfortable with toddlers. The back goes up higher for them and they have the option for put their feet in the foot straps so their legs aren't just hanging there. Really, most 'gear' for babies isn't nearly as necessary as you'd think walking around the baby section in stores.

A tip- Disney has very reasonably priced first hair cuts. If I had a little one and planned on going around 1st birthday time I would plan on doing baby's first haircut there

 

[Leleluvsdis]

Congratulations! We took our DD on a 1st birthday trip as well and it was so much fun. I really think any resort would be fine with a 1 year old (depending on how much space you want). We had a pack and play at CBR and it was great. With our second DD, we co-slept so we would've been fine in a value. I would definitely fly especially since baby will be free! I looooved my Ergo with DD2 (she lived in it especially when we are Disney when she was a newborn!) and wish I'd had one with DD1. Our surprise on the 1st birthday trip was how much DD loved characters. The interaction was fabulous and we spent way more time than we would've imagined while planning seeing them. Best wishes for a healthy pregnancy!

Thanks!!!! tour good friends just went for their DS 1st bday and said he loved the characters too!!! Our plan would be just to go at their pace, be leisurely, plan for plenty breaks, and enjoy our first trip as a family of 3.

Congrats on your pregnancy!!! We also tried for 5 years & are finally bringing DS for his first trip in a few weeks -- so I know how excited you must be planning your first trip with baby. We're going to stay at Pop, even though I recognize it may feel crowded with a stroller & all the baby stuff with us. For us it just came down to budget-- stay at a value for more days, or stay more luxuriously for fewer days. Since we'd stayed at values many times before & been comfortable, we thought we'd rather get more days out of it so that we could tour more leisurely. I don't know how much budget will be a factor for you, but either way - I highly recommend leaning on the side of leisurely touring! There's just no way to know what your child will be like -- or who you will evolve into as a parent -- so allowing yourself the freedom to be flexible and have a relaxed pace on your trip I think will be your #1 tool. Will you want to be closer to 1 park over any other? Who knows! You might think you want a monorail hotel now (and if $ is no object, I'd highly recommend the Contemporary so that you can walk to MK & take monorail to 2 parks), but who knows if you will give birth to a kid that is hooked on animals. Then you might wish you booked AKL... It's also hard to say what you'll want for travel- plane or car. I worked hard to avoid flying for at least this first year, but then on our first road trip with DS (at 2 months) he wanted out of the car so frequently we wound up stopping at a store to buy him his first pacifier (the only thing that helped us through that first loooong drive). The best advice I received from people about planning this first trip is to just pick what will make you and DH happiest. That's something that you can at least be pretty sure about. Oh, and side note- relax & enjoy- my OB told me once you make it to 10 weeks you're golden. And you're pretty much there! Don't you wish they made an "I'm celebrating" button for "I finally conceived a child" !

Thanks!!!! so excited for your trip!! Are you doing a PTR or TR? If so, I would love to join it. We will be doing DVC most of the trip, but would like to go down on Thursday prior to our DVC starting on Saturday. We've considered flying after we flew SW the last trip and you get free bags, and it was just an easy process. Flying, we could be there in 2 hours rather than 15 hours and an overnight stop driving. 10 weeks Tuesday!!!

Congrats! We took DD a week before she turned 1 for 1 day at MK and stayed off property. Then we did 5 days on property when she was 16 months. I would say any resort is fine for a 1 year old although certain resorts will give you more space if you plan on using a pack n play. We also are from VA and we drove the first trip, DD was a great sleeper in or out of the car and that helped a lot. She was also a great rider in the car and did not need to always need to be entertained in the car. We left at night on the way down so she slept almost the whole way. On the way back it was noon when we left so I sat back with her and entertaining her with the portable DVD player and toys when it was needed. If she would have not slept/rode so well at that point we would have flown. We did fly at 16 months and it was very nice to be there a lot faster but we did need to entertain her more (less to look at). We got nonstop flights at great prices, I would not do layover with a one year old. A lot will depend on the temperament of your little one. Best of luck. One other thing, when we drove since we had packed a lot we had to take our umbrella stroller which was fine since we only did one day but it was so much better having our full sized stroller (still lightweight) for a longer trip as it was easier and more comfortable for her to sleep in.

Thanks!!! One of the things that's is making us consider flying is because although my parents have a van, we always fold the back seats down for travel. My mom is not a light packer haha Add baby stuff to that, and there won't be room for all 5 of us. If we flew,we wouldn't needs car seat bc we would do DME, plus disney will give a crib or there is a pack-n-play in DVC. Unfortunately the biggest deciding factor will be budget oh how lovely it would be to have an unlimited budget haha

Congratulations! Since you will be looking at DVc resorts I would concentrate on ones within walking of the parks, so blt, beach club and boardwalk. At one your baby isn't really going to care about mk vs Epcot, so I would probably go with the beach club. It has a nice Sand bottom pool area and a baby pool nearby and you can walk to Epcot and hs.

I dream of staying there!!! Especially at Christmas It would also be great because DH and DM love love love EPCOT!!!

Congrats!! I'm partial to early December (my older son's birthday is December 13, I was due January 6!) We plan on going Fall 2015 but are really leaning towards December to celebrate the birthday and get to see all the Christmas decorations. I'd say where you stay just depends. Do you want a microwave? Do you want a resort with lots of kid-friendly theming or do you want something more for the adults (cause let's be honest, at 1 after a day in Disney, baby probably won't care ). I really loved Port Orleans Riverside, it's a beautiful resort that has lots to do right at the resort. If your parents will watch the baby you could go see YeeHaw Bob or take a romantic horse drawn carriage ride along the river. We plan on staying in a cabin at Fort Wilderness next time but only because of our family size, it seems to have a lot of the extras for kids too. The Comtemporary might be really nice if your baby is the kind who will fall asleep in the stroller, you can walk right back to the resort, no need to take baby out of the stroller to board a bus (strollers need to be folded on the buses). Personally I'd fly, but we prefer flying and I have had 2 babies who *hated* the car with a passion. At least with flying it is a much shorter period of time and you can hold them during the flight. As tempting as it might be to buy cute outfits for Disney right away when you find out the sex I would wait and see how baby grows. All of my kids have been different as far as sizing. 2 were right on their ages as far as sizing, 1 always wore smaller than her age and my youngest was in 12 month clothes at 5 months old To spread out the cost I'd save a bit of money here and there if you plan on buying lots Disney themed clothes for the trip. As far as gear, lots of people use the City Mini strollers at Disney from what I saw, they certainly look nice. I'd recommend looking into a Boba, they are similar to an Ergo. I had an Ergo but ended up selling it so I could get the Boba, the Boba is more comfortable with toddlers. The back goes up higher for them and they have the option for put their feet in the foot straps so their legs aren't just hanging there. Really, most 'gear' for babies isn't nearly as necessary as you'd think walking around the baby section in stores. A tip- Disney has very reasonably priced first hair cuts. If I had a little one and planned on going around 1st birthday time I would plan on doing baby's first haircut there

Thanks!!! We went last christmas and it was our favorite trip yet!!! I'm excited about another Christmas trip because there was just so much to do and see. Even in 10 days, I feel like we saw less than ever. We are thinking staying in a cabin at FTW Thursday- Saturday, and then moving to a 2bd DVC. We would love to be at BLT or BC/YC, but also really like OKW for all the room it offers, and how relaxing it is.

Right now we are planning for a BJ city mini GT or BJ elite. I would love a regular stroller and a jogger, but DH wants an "all in one" type stroller. Also, an adjustable handle bar is a must. Initially we had planned for britax bagile and a bob jogger, but neither offer an adjustable handle, and the bagile is too short for 6'3" husband

 

[JediBonas]

Hey Everyone!! Since DH and I recently found out we are pregnant(currently 9 1/2 weeks), we decided it was time to start budgeting for a 1st birthday trip!! We figure we will be super busy once baby gets here, and it would be much easier to start saving now, as opposed to a year out. We have always said we want to take our LO on their 1st birthday, so this trip is a must. I hope if to transfer RCI into DVC, so accommodations will be minimal cost, but I have a couple of questions about traveling with a 1 year old, since we have never done it before

It will be DH, Me, LO, my mom and my dad. Most likely early December or early January. My due date is 12/23, but I do not want to be there during the Christmas madness if at all avoidable.

What resorts do you recommend with a 1 yo? (We typically do 2 nights in a value or mod before transferring to DVC)
What restaurants are a must do?
Fly or Drive? (we live in VA and have about a 13 hr drive. We are thinking fly SW or JB for everyone's sanity)

Last must not least, please no negative vibes. I am well aware that I could miscarry at this point, and do not need to be reminded of it. I am actually not excited about being preggo because of that fear. I'm just ready do have a happy and healthy baby DH and I tried for 5 1/2 years, and had actually decided to adopt when this happened. Trust me, we were SHOCKED!!!

Thanks everyone in advance!!! Also, if you have any must have baby gear suggestions whether at home or at Disney, please feel free to pass it on!!

Just wanted to say congrats! We tried for 3+ years to get pregnant so I understand the worry, just wanted to wish you a happy and healthy pregnancy . We didn't take our kiddos for their 1st bday, but took them for their 2nd (and are taking then for their 3rd), it was a blast! We stay at YC/BC and the pool their is great for little kids.

 

[Kona65]

 

[pixie08]

Congratulations!! I am also expecting and would like to go down for our LO's first as well. For us it will be November so it is a great time of year.

As for where to stay I would choose convenience. If you have a car it won't be an issue but if you fly will you rent? If not then I would possibly pick BLT (if you can get in) so you are close to MK or EPCOT resort area if possible. Another option is AKV. While that is completely out of the way, the LO might get a huge kick out of the animals. A lot of resort time will most likely be needed (more so then with out a LO) so I would consider that.

I know we want to do a character meal and get some cute pics with Mickey (we are having a boy) but we may also add in Crystal palace (Pooh and friends) so you may want to consider a character meal.

 

[mybestieismickey]

Congrats on your pregnancy! We waited 4 1/2 years for our little girl, so I totally understand. Lots of prayers, tears, and hopes. It's kind of hard to believe that this time last year I was pregnant, didn't know it, and was dreading a very long year with a sister and sister in law both pregnant. Turns out my other sister was pregnant too, so what could have been the most emotionally trying year of my life was one of the best! Definitely thinking good thoughts for a healthy pregnancy for you.

I would also look into the Harmony Barber Shop. It's so cute in there. Planning on WDW in 2015 and will likely stop in.

We're currently planning our DD's first trip for Dec this year. We are going to Disneyland and she'll be just under 10 months, but the idea is the same. We are driving. DD is really good in the car. I did the 12 hour drive when she was two months and she was great. She may have changed her mind about the car by then, but I sure hope not.

We will be hauling her pack and play and her B-Agile for sure. She is not a fan of being worn, and to be honest, I don't love it either. I know it works for a lot of people, but it isn't for everyone, so if you are thinking of going that route, practice before you go to make sure it works for your family.

Something else to consider is the diaper bag. We were very choosy about what kind of bag we wanted for DD. DH didn't want something too girly (I didn't care) and I just wanted something that I could juggle with a baby carrier and not have sliding off my shoulder (I think there is something wrong with them, I can't even keep a purse there for very long when I don't have a baby). We went with an Eddie Bauer backpack from Babies-r-Us and we love it! The best part that wasn't even a consideration for us is the looped buckles on top. we can hook that to the handle of the stroller and i can easily access toys, bottles, the point and shoot camera and my wallet without having to crouch down to get the bag and then try and balance it while I'm digging around. I still have to dig around sometimes, but at least I have two hands. If I pack carefully, I can even fit my DSLR. Then when we need to park the stroller, I just unhook the straps and we're off. Easy peasy. Not the biggest bag, but fits what we really need.

I would also recommend one of those diaper changing kit things that fold out and hold diapers and a wipe container. Very handy. We went to a convention a few weeks ago and I was able to grab that and DD and leave the stroller and bag with DH.

Good luck with all your planning. The hardest part is the waiting. For Baby and Disney!

 

[tinkerbesh]

Thanks!!!! so excited for your trip!! Are you doing a PTR or TR? If so, I would love to join it. We will be doing DVC most of the trip, but would like to go down on Thursday prior to our DVC starting on Saturday. We've considered flying after we flew SW the last trip and you get free bags, and it was just an easy process. Flying, we could be there in 2 hours rather than 15 hours and an overnight stop driving. 10 weeks Tuesday!!!

I've never done a PTR or TR, but who knows- maybe I will sit down to do one this time since it's so special?

This post reminds me- we want to schedule a First Haircut for DS. I watched some videos of it online & it looked so magical!

Hooray- you are 10 weeks now!

 

[DisneyBliss7]

Congratulations! How exciting for you guys to be expecting and planning a Disney trip all at the same time, my two favorite things, babies and Disney.....Since there will be 4 adults and a baby I would just stay at a Deluxe..Our fav is AKV, my kids LOVE the animals and Kidani has a great splash pad area for little kids..but staying at a monorail resort might be a bit easier with your LO still being so young ..Are you owners? If not maybe look into renting points,,? It's a cheaper way to stay in a Deluxe As far as restaurants,,Chef Mickey and Tusker House has the main crew(Mickey and Friends). Crystal Palace has Pooh and friends, I would also do a princess meal(either Akershus at Epcot or the Royal Table at MK), whether you have a boy or girl it would be so cute Make sure to mention the baby's first bday when you make a ressie, they will bring out cupcakes and sing!