7 1/2 month old going to WDW

[TurtleBug]

My family is going to WDW in May. my son will be 7 1/2 months old by then. Any tips to make things easier are welcomed. We will need to rent a car for a day to visit inlaws that live nearby. We will be staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge from May 12th - May 16th. I am just looking for tips, ideas, and insider info to make this trip fun for all of us. My son is a great car and stroller sleeper. Do I need to bring a passport for my son to get on the plane? Do I need to bring my son's carseat along?

Leslie

 

[PrincessPoohsMom]

My DD is already a seasoned WDW traveler, having been at 5 months and for her first birthday, with another trip coming up in a few weeks! You'll have a wonderful time, your DS will be sitting up and will love just looking at everything. Bring your reclining stroller from home and he'll likely pass out when he needs to nap (which will provide a good opportunity for "big people" rides). I would, however, also recommend you consider taking a break each afternoon back at the resort. It's good to let the little one take a really solid nap in his pack & play/crib and will give you a chance to recharge your batteries as well! You may want to look into getting a fan that clips onto the stroller to help keep him cool, and make sure you've got a good sunshade and rain cover (there's nothing worse than coming out of an attraction to find your stroller has been soaked). A front pack carrier or sling/wrap is great for waiting in lines. While I've never actually used the Baby Care Centers, I've heard great things about them. The big things to remember are to go at his pace and keep him well hydrated and slathered up with sunscreen.

If you're going to be driving around, you'll need your car seat. Renting one from the rental car agency is expensive, and you can't be sure about the quality you'd get. If you're taking him as a lap baby on the airplane, you can check the car seat at the gate along with your stroller (I'd put the car seat in a travel bag to help protect it, you can find a variety at Babies R Us, Target, etc) and they'll be waiting outside the airplane door when you land in Orlando. You can just stick the car seat in the bottom of your closet until you need it.

Have a great trip!

 

[stacy6552]

Buy your precious son a plane ticket and bring his carseat. I recommend getting a carseat dufflebag for toting it through the airport.

I also recommend that you bring a baby carrier, front style or sling, in addition to a reclinging stroller. There are plenty of places that baby can go that the stroller cant.

Get some Table Toppers. These are presterlized placemate that stick down to the table. They are super for feeding baby finger foods while you dine.

Bring soft brimmed hats, so baby can sleep without banging into a baseball hat brim.

Bring your own sheet for a pack-n-play. That's the crib Disney provides. I felt much better with baby sleeping on our own sheet.

One piece outfits are great for the heat and activities of WDW. If baby is doing any kind of pulling up, bring shoes.

If you can find one, get a baby carrier for pools/showers. It was fantastic for pools and the water park.

Get a rain cover for the stroller and cover it any time you leave it unattended. Strollers get moved around alot and the skys can open up without warning.

 

[mrs.explorer1977]

We went when DS was 6 1/2 months old and had a blast! He loved it.

We stayed in a 1BR at AK, since we're DVC members. We brought our pack and play along, since we drove down and stopped. We set up ours in the living room for night sleeping and the one Disney provides in our bedroom for nap time.

We took the bus EVERYWHERE when we there, so I wouldn't worry about that. It didn't seem to take insane amounts of time, and we found it easier with Colin, since we didn't have to worry about strapping him into the carseat, etc. We got quite the system going to pack everything up by the end of the trip...DH would take the diaper bag and fold the stroller and I would hold Colin.

We did character meals, which he loved and it was a good way to introduce him to the characters without overwhelming him. We found that with the high chairs in the restaurants were just a little big for him, so we shoved a blanket down behind him.

I had a sling to carry him in in lines etc. He actually slept through The Haunted Mansion in the sling.

What else? We used the Baby Centers when they were convenient. We ended up having to buy some wipes, and a stroller fan. ALWAYS bring an extra outfit to the parks. The one day you don't will be the day that there's a major "poo-tastrophe"...trust me on that one! Who knew it would be so hard to find an outfit for a 6 month old boy at Disney Studios!!

If you're feeding formula, we used the powdered formula and just filled bottles with plain water, and used the preportioned container for formula and mixed as we needed. Colin's always had his formula at room temperature, which is GREAT for us!

Have fun! You'll have a great time. Just go at baby's pace, and you'll do fine! There were a couple days where we didn't go to the park until the afternoon, and a couple where we actually made it for morning extra magic hours.

 

[TurtleBug]

Thanks for all the help!

Since we are going for 5 days, I should bring 10 outfits, correct?

Leslie

 

[Bethy Lou]

I would bring at least three outfits for each day, unless you want to use the laundry facilities. We are taking our newest DD when she will be about 3 months and I am going to bring about three for each day.

 

[mrs.explorer1977]

My thinking is that baby clothes are pretty tiny, so why not overpack? We ended up doing laundry, but that was because we had it right in our room (DVC).

Remember to bring an extra outfit to the parks with you EVERY DAY! The one day I didn't was the day Colin had a major "poo-tastrophe" during our nice dinner at the Brown Derby and we ran all over the park looking for an outfit...unfortunately, all we could find were pink track pants or too big complete outfits. The poor kid ended up watching Fantasmic in a short sleeve onesie wrapped in a blanket.

 

[dsneygirl]

At Target you can get a travel pack of Clorox wipes, very handy for highchairs etc (I'm not a germaphobe but they are great).

I also liked using a carrier to give DS a different prespective.

 

[LoveKermit]

My $.02...

We were there at that exact age last August.

We always rent a car. We did the carseat bag thing and checked it through. We have enough to carry. You can always dump extra toys and diapers in there if you need. I packed a grocery bag of toys just for the hotel room. That fit in the seat part so was safe during the flight.

Anytime we travelled last year we took enough stuff for the day and made a Target run soon after arriving. There we bought a package of diapers, wipes, baby food and formula. In Ft. Worth the Target did not have the small formula container (15 6 oz bottles) so we ended up with the new plastic ready-made. Awesome! Because then we didn't have to buy water too. We did the same the next week in Orlando. And I could use coupons!

I did run out of wipes so had to buy some at the store in the hotel. Oh well. It's vacation and Target is a bit of a hike just for an extra day of wipes.

Anyway DD's always been on a good schedule so I could buy just the right amount of food to get us all the way home and you'll always use the diapers. I just chose not to fly down there with them.

She's rarely (since newborn) needed more than one outfit in one day, but we always swam at some point. So I would put her in something for the evening that she might wear tomorrow. Shorts, at least, are reusable.

Only used the MK care center. Very nice. But all the changing tables in all the bathrooms are nice. Stainless steel, have a lip, and are huge.

I ditched the diaper bag for during the day. I have a Maclaren and bought a bag to hook on the back. In there (only velcros on so weight is an issue) I would have the bags for dirty diapers and toys, if needed. Underneath, I packed a lunch bag (I have one from Market Day) with the formula bottle, empty bottle and what food we needed. I don't think we were ever out for more than one meal, meaning I was always able to reload between meals since we went back to the hotel in the afternoon. Then I put the changing pad with the travel wipes container and a diaper or two underneath also. I did this a lot last summer (fairs, Taste of Chicago, zoo, etc) that it just became my system. But DD doesn't need a lot of entertainment. That's what "her public" is for--she just enjoys people looking at her. But it was nice to lighten the load.

For rides, we'd park the stroller and my DH would carry her. We bought a fan/spray bottle also at Target. That was for entertainment and for cooling off. I probably carried her "keys" or some small toy. Then I always carried the pacifier on rides in case of a meltdown. But we had no problems. She fell asleep on the safari ride at AK.

DD would get a little anxious at meals because she wasn't eating table food yet but I think kind of wanted too. What I learned from our trip--at least start crackers by then. I think we used the Gerber puffs. But that helps sit-down meals. From 5-8 mo we had the hardest restaurant time because she understood we were eating but couldn't participate. Once she started more and more table food, it became easy again.

Enjoy! Anything else you'd like to know?

 

[emmababy]

Our dd has been at 9mos, 12mos, 19mos. Our soon to be ds will be making his first trip at 8 months.

Her first trip went great. She napped great in the stroller, liked all the interaction, ate for free most places.

Things we learned from here and going ourselves:
We had garden grocer deliver diapers, baby food, snacks, etc.. Alot more affordable than disney and more convenient than packing ourselves. Or you could ship it to the resort ahead of time.

Bring lots of bibs! Buy a fan that attaches to the stroller. The good thing about May is that it isn't unbearable but it is still warm.

We also brought a rain cover for the stroller. We got a diaper bag/backpack. It was great because when we went on rides, one of us carried her and one had the backpack. Also, because it attached to the back of the stroller it left the basket of the stroller available for other things.

You'll have a lot of fun!

 

[TurtleBug]

Our dd has been at 9mos, 12mos, 19mos. Our soon to be ds will be making his first trip at 8 months.

Her first trip went great. She napped great in the stroller, liked all the interaction, ate for free most places.

Things we learned from here and going ourselves:
We had garden grocer deliver diapers, baby food, snacks, etc.. Alot more affordable than disney and more convenient than packing ourselves. Or you could ship it to the resort ahead of time.

Bring lots of bibs! Buy a fan that attaches to the stroller. The good thing about May is that it isn't unbearable but it is still warm.

We also brought a rain cover for the stroller. We got a diaper bag/backpack. It was great because when we went on rides, one of us carried her and one had the backpack. Also, because it attached to the back of the stroller it left the basket of the stroller available for other things.

You'll have a lot of fun!

Thanks for the info!

Leslie