4 Parks in 5 Days with a One Year Old? Help!?

[Peyton McLean]

We are wanting to plan a late January trip to WDW and I am hesitate to take our 1 year old (now 5 months). Any parents/grandparents want to persuade me? I would love to make it his special 1st birthday trip but we are park open to close people. Tips on best hotels for this?

 

[Lilsia]

What is causing your hesitation? I think the most important thing to keep in mind is that you will not be able to tour the way that you did before kids. You have to go on their schedule. Try to keep the same sleep schedule. Don't wake them up early just to do something like rope drop because that will just make them cranky all day. Keep the baby hydrated and make sure that the baby wears a sun hat. This is one of those things that I see many new parents forget to do. Their heads will get burned so much easier then that of an adult. What we did was to wait until they got up on their own, had breakfast at the resort and then head to the parks. We would go on a ride or 2, depending on how long the lines where, and then potty break and snack time. We always had something for them to drink and were constantly giving them sips. We did this throughout the whole day, ride/snack and potty break with meals in the appropriate times. It is OK if you don't get to do everything. It is also OK if your child spends a half an hour watching the ducks. If that is what makes them happy, then that is what we did.

 

[Peyton McLean]

What is causing your hesitation? I think the most important thing to keep in mind is that you will not be able to tour the way that you did before kids. You have to go on their schedule. Try to keep the same sleep schedule. Don't wake them up early just to do something like rope drop because that will just make them cranky all day. Keep the baby hydrated and make sure that the baby wears a sun hat. This is one of those things that I see many new parents forget to do. Their heads will get burned so much easier then that of an adult. What we did was to wait until they got up on their own, had breakfast at the resort and then head to the parks. We would go on a ride or 2, depending on how long the lines where, and then potty break and snack time. We always had something for them to drink and were constantly giving them sips. We did this throughout the whole day, ride/snack and potty break with meals in the appropriate times. It is OK if you don't get to do everything. It is also OK if your child spends a half an hour watching the ducks. If that is what makes them happy, then that is what we did.

My hestitation is how much a 1 year old will get out of the park. He already knows who Mickey is but I just want to make sure it is special.

 

[tinkerjo]

It will be special for YOU!! No, your 1 year old will not remember it. Just how your daily life changed when you had a baby, the way you do Disney will too. Priorities change, and that’s ok. We are going on a family trip around that time and DD is taking her just turned 1 DD and she is keeping her expectations low. Try to find some time in the afternoon for baby to nap, whether it’s in the stroller hitting up some shops, while you eat lunch, or return to the room for a bit to recharge. We have done several trips with babies that have been some of the best!! If you are looking to just ride big rides and go all day long, leave the baby at home but I would not hesitate to take him with you!!! I would stay on a monorail resort if you plan on most of your time near MK. We also always loved staying at Ft Wilderness cabins when they were babies. You have a kitchen to have real meals and there was plenty of room to roam. There was also a deck we could enjoy when the baby was in bed for the night. No monorail but did have the boat to the MK!! Have fun

 

[Lilsia]

My hestitation is how much a 1 year old will get out of the park. He already knows who Mickey is but I just want to make sure it is special.

They get as much out of it as they do any new thing that they encounter. I am going to be honest with you and do not mean this in any offensive way at all, but worrying what a child will get out of your vacation is silly. A 1 year old is not going to remember anything anyway. But there is a huge likelihood that neither will a 5 year old, or a 10 year old. The brain is a mysterious thing and some people remember certain things about their lives and others don't. But, he will enjoy being there as long as he doesn't get overstimulated. And that goes to my point of if they want to watch the ducks for an hour, let them. That is their mental down time.
Also, YOU will enjoy watching him seeing new things. That is why so many people take their little ones, to see the joy and wonder on their faces. If we all based what we do on if our child "gets" anything out of it, you would never leave the house. But I will also argue that they do get something out of seeing and doing new things. It stimulates their brains. It might not be what you think they should get out of it, but they do enjoy themselves at the time, and that is what life should be about, enjoying yourself.

 

[MamaMermaid]

Everything is easier when they're little - bring your stroller, diaper bag, plenty of diapers/wipes, extra clothes, plenty of water/milk, and sun protection. Let baby nap whenever, wherever.

 

[savvy101787]

Good luck! We have a "team" of 9 bringing our 2 year old niece down for her first WDW in August. I bought my first DVC contract back while my sister was pregnant in 2020 specifically for this moment and I can't wait! I'm preparing myself for my first trip with a little one in mind and it definitely requires a different mindset to plan. Trying to create as many breaks as possible to ensure we don't push her too hard too soon. With DVC, we know we'll be able to bring her back again real soon!

 

[sponica]

My first born was like furniture, so she would have been a breeze at that age.

Stay on top of diaper changes, food and hydration. If the kiddo stroller naps, awesome.

I'd only go with a kiddo that young if there was backup available so you're not just doing the same thing you do at home in a different place. But that's just my opinion

 

[Misha72683]

We took our middle son at a 2.5 and while he doesn't remember much, I got so much joy out of seeing his little face and experiencing it with him.

 

[nancipants]

We are locals so we have taken our son to Disney since he was only a few weeks old (minus the time the parks were closed, so when he was 3-7 months old). When he was a newborn was the easiest time by far, he stayed in his carseat/stroller or carrier and slept whenever. When we started going back after the parks reopened, we used our regular stroller and took him for a few hours in between naps, or would let him do one nap at a park so we could stay longer. When he was about 13 months was the roughest time, to be honest. He had a stretch of wanting to walk and refused the stroller, but ran in front of everyone so we couldn’t let him walk. Thankfully that was a short-lived phase and he will gladly stay in the stroller now at 2.5. He’s always enjoyed Disney but lately has been really understanding rides and characters and it’s so much fun. Since we’re local we keep to his schedule as much as possible. He doesn’t transfer well so we never try to stay late and have him sleep in the stroller, but we do have him nap there still.

 

[Anna131517]

Don’t try to do Disney like you did before kids. In fact don’t try to do anything like you did before kids. It’s a whole new ballgame and that’s a good thing. Before kids you were focused on YOU. This trip you’ll be focused on your child and will enjoy watching them experience Disney. That means different hours, rides, meals, etc. For some reason people act like you lose something when you change your life after kids. That’s not true at all. Your experience is so much richer for sharing it with them. Embrace that.

 

[nancipants]

Don’t try to do Disney like you did before kids.

This is the important bit! We went to MK yesterday and he didn't have a good nap in the stroller. He had a meltdown around 3 pm because he didn't want to leave the Casey Jr. water play area. We had to shove him back in the stroller and hold him down while strapping him in. He finally calmed down enough for me to get down on his level and talk through his big feelings. I asked if he wanted to leave and he said yes. We bought Genie+ and had a LL for Pirates coming up, but we skipped it and went home instead.

 

[RoseGold]

I did this at 18 months, park open to close with the late hours. Went back to the hotel for a long afternoon nap. 1 year and 18 months is a big difference, because my kid was big enough to really get it and to ride rides like Barnstormer, which she loved.

 

[bffdisney]

People have made some great points but I also wanted to say ---- My husband and I took a weekend trip to Disney without our 2 year old twins (grandparents watched them at home), and it was also lovely to get a quick trip just us! It was our "research trip" and we brought the whole family a few months later. It was amazing watching them experience everything, but we spent a super cranky day at Epcot when my son literally wouldn't eat or drink a thing. He was so overstimulated. I wish we would have went back to the hotel and taken a break. It's a big adjustment. But was well worth it for the fun! Plus they were still free and basically ate off of our plates! Another big bonus.