1st time to Disney as a Mommy!

[DisneyHomework]

Hi All! I'm a veteran Disney traveler, but this is my first time as a Mommy! I'll be bringing my 1yo little boy in late February.

Can you help me with any packing tips?

This is our first time with him on a plane. We are staying in a villa and I'm sending a box to BLT in advance with his essentials (diapers, wipes, puffs, disposable stuff, formula etc).

What else should go in the box? Any tips to ensure no issues with the box?

What about for plane or parks that I might not be thinking of?

I'm diligently reading the many threads, but thanks in advance for anything captured here, as my Disboard reading time is much less than it was a year ago

 

[ElliePixie]

Congrats on your first mommy trip.... Let me tell you, it's not as easy, but you'll loooooove it. You'll transfer all your love for disney to your little one and every ride would be like experiencing it for the first time... Thru his eye!!! Even if he doesn't understand much, it I'll only get BETTER!!!!
I don't have plane tips cause we go in our car. If you don't rent a car and use Disney transportation, have one of those rehusable bags to put everything you have accumulated in the stroller basket really fast, to be able to fold it to ride the bus.
Ride the attractions for your little one first and leave the thrill rides where you need to use the baby swap for when he's napping in the stroller.
Always have an extra set of clothes for him in your bag, sometimes while having too much fun those diaper changes may take longer to happen than usual...
Get one of those stroller rain covers and always carry it in the stroller basket... They may save your life!

 

[DisneyHomework]

Oh those are awesome tips! THANK YOU!

Keep them coming- thank you!

 

[dprincessmom]

Pack outfits for baby in Ziploc bags (this works for a long time to come just the size of the bag gets bigger). Onsies, socks, hat everything for the day in one baggie. Then throw a couple of these in the park bag. If he gets messy, has a diaper accident, clean clothes are all together and dirty clothes have a Ziploc bag to ride home in.

Also remember to put that special sleep lovey (stuffed animal) away before heading to the parks. Nothing worse than an upset child because his lovey got changed with the sheets or left behind. More than one of my nieces has had a couple of long days and nights until the FedEx man arrived with the lovey. I have always made sure that my daughter's was sitting on the shelf or better yet in her drawer to keep Mousekeeping from picking them us by mistake.

Not certain where you are staying but you will probably want to bring/ship a little bottle of dish soap, sponge and maybe a plastic bin to store all of your child's "kitchen" supplies. Sippy cups and bottles have a lot of pieces and you don't want to cut yourself short.

Finally, have fun. This trip is more for you than him. Pictures that you can never recapture when he is this little. If a trim is needed, this might be a good time to book a first haircut package at the Harmony Barbershop in Magic Kingdom.

 

[DisneyHomework]

Wonderful tips, I'm adding to my notes, thank you!

Yes, we admit this trip is very much for us and will cherish the memories. This was a "deal" he and I made when we were fighting hard to make it through the NICU last year, and will certainly be a dream come true!

 

[bostonminnie]

We took my son for the first time last year when he was one. We bought disposable place mats that you stick on the table for meals at restaurants. This was super helpful since all the place mats they give to kids do not stick to the table and our son loved to just throw it on the floor. As soon as we got to the restaurant we would stick his place mat on the table and throw some puffs on it.

Don't forget to bring a changing pad to use on the baby changing tables in the parks. We picked up some disposable ones that we could just throw away afterwards.

For the plane I picked up a bunch of new little cheap toys that he had not seen before. I also downloaded some apps onto my phone to entertain him in case he got bored with the toys. We brought along his favorite snacks as well.

Have a wonderful trip! Taking a little one for the first time is so exciting

 

[Chrispygal]

On the plane my daughter (who was 9 months old) cared less about toys and just wanted to play with an empty water bottle and the cards in the seat pockets. haha.

I'm a big fan of the disposable placemats too, and use those all the time. I also got disposable bibs for the trip. We love our "mommy hook" which hangs on the stroller and is a great place to hang bags and gets us extra storage on the stroller.

I also made up diaper packs. Disposable changing pad, one diaper, and 4 wipes (in a snack baggie) all placed inside a quart size bag. I would put 6 of these in a zipper pocket of our stroller and keep it stocked. So easy to just grab a bag and go when time.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Try to plan your flight for nap time if at all possible. We did this for Dd's trips at 8 and 15 months old, and she slept through most of the flights!! Very easy on dh and I!

Also, plan on nursing/bottle feeding your little one on take off and.landing - the sucking helps to keep their ears from popping. A pacifier works as well.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Oh, I definitely second the packing full outfits in ziplocs too! Besides the ease in the diaper bag, they are like little space saver bags, because you can roll excess air out of them.

I also second the disposable bibs, if your child is eating solids. That and take and toss spoons, so you don't have to keep dirty silverware with.you all day.

Wrt bottle cleaning, babies r us has a very travel friendly bottle drying rack. It's like $6 or something like that, and it comes apart to travel flat. Thus was *very* helpful in the hotel bathroom.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

if using buses, have stroller folded and ready to board bus when it arrives, do not wait until bus comes to stop. also I take a kitchen towel to place washed sippy cup pieces to dry over night. in the shipped box, a well bagged small bottle of dish soap and a brush to clean cups. take a least 2 to park if spending most of day there. one for cup of milk with meal and a second for juice or water. if back at room either switch out for evening at second park and leave the morning ones drying at room. the baggies for changing help a lot but I would not put mat in as you then have to open while holding bag and baby. I would not plan on being able to bring stroller into table serve meals, I have never been able to do this even with a sleeping baby. if you do get lucky and able to bring stroller in watch where you put stroller, one trip where I had to use an ECV, family had placed a stroller where it was not seen from ramp that I had to use to get in and were very unhappy when stroller was bumped slightly and baby was woken up. mother was why was she allowed in that door where we put the sleeping baby.

 

[DisneyHomework]

Wow would have never thought about leaving stroller behind for meals. It's amazing what you don't know about Disney when you do it as a different type of traveler!

We have some great ADRs, but I left off character dining. I hope I don't regret it but I thought it was too risky that he could be afraid of them and not enjoy himself.

 

[Angel Ariel]

We were able to bring the stroller into Pecos Bill's on 2/3 visits...the one we weren't allowed was because it was too busy inside and there was a CM stopping people from getting a table before having food. Aside from that time, though, we brought it in without a problem.

We also brought the stroller into the QS restaurant area at the American Pavilion in Epcot, and into the outdoor seating area for Flame Tree BBQ at AK.

We did also bring it into BOG, but BOG was an exception I think...DD wasn't able to sit on her own yet on that trip, and when we explained that to the CM they let us bring in the stroller. BOG doesn't have the reclined infant high chairs.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Oh, one other thing I definitely recommend, if you have time - look into having a family photo shoot at Disney! We had a session with Randy Chapman, and the photos are absolutely precious! We had another session with him on our 2nd trip with DD, and I think we may make it a tradition to get a family shoot any time we are all down there

 

[LB1122]

Memory Maker - spend the money and take as many photos as you can with these photographers...this makes sure you get family shots and means you do not have to take camera in and out when meeting characters just enjoy that time.

Still bring your own for those moments the PhotoPass people are not around

For my daughter flying that young - we made sure to have a bottle/sippy cup with water it helped her ears - no crying.

hats or a sunblock spray for hair if your child will not keep a hat on like mine.
Aveeda makes a great one. My daughter has super light skin and not a fan of hats all days and hubby is bald...he sprayed and no burn on either.

Have a blast!!

 

[laughinplace199]

We used gardengrocer.com for diapers, wipes, baby food, water, snacks, etc. They'll even deliver beer & wine! I found that more convenient than shipping baby supplies to the resort (I'd worry about them not arriving or not arriving on time, but that's me - I'm a worrier ).

I always brought disposable placemats, disposable changing pads, and those little scented bags for disposing of stinky diapers.

Extra lightweight blankets are great. You can drape them over the stroller for extra protection from the sun. You can also use them if baby gets chilly in the A/C. I found a lot of restaurants to be almost too cold.

Water Babies makes a great sunblock stick for faces. It's so easy to apply and you don't have to worry about sunblock getting in baby's eyes.

If you're using the pack n play at the resort, they do provide sheets, but I brought our own sheets.

 

[mmbl]

Oh, one other thing I definitely recommend, if you have time - look into having a family photo shoot at Disney! We had a session with Randy Chapman, and the photos are absolutely precious! We had another session with him on our 2nd trip with DD, and I think we may make it a tradition to get a family shoot any time we are all down there

How did you find him? How can we reach him? Thanks!

 

[mmbl]

Oh, one other thing I definitely recommend, if you have time - look into having a family photo shoot at Disney! We had a session with Randy Chapman, and the photos are absolutely precious! We had another session with him on our 2nd trip with DD, and I think we may make it a tradition to get a family shoot any time we are all down there

Can you tell us how to reach him?

 

[Angel Ariel]

He has a facebook page as well as a regular webpage. I don't know if we can post links to that on the board, but if you google his name, his web page is the #1 hit, and his FB page is #3