advice from those that have taken children to WDW

[Mrs Stonfiesta]

right i have a question, we normally go to wdw in January (have done for the last 3 years in a row) now we didnt book 2009 as we were trying for a baby, well baby is now due at the end of August!!!

Now my question is as i am having seroious WDW withdrawral symptoms , would it be unfair to take a 6 month old to WDW in Feb next year?? and if so when is the youngest you would have taken your child? i dont mind about the baby not remembering anything as i am sure we we go again when the little one is older but i was thinking more about the heat and travel and would it be fair on the baby??? some views please??

 

[joolz1910]

Congratulations! A baby should not stop you from doing anything you want to. My only reservation would be that 6 months is around the age most parents start weaning their babies and if you wanted to make your own purées, it might be a bit of a faff on holiday. Or you could give him/her jars for a fortnight. Go for it!

 

[Elise79]

Congratulations! I know totally how you feel! I even ended up doing a trip at 33 weeks pregnant to get a fix!

We were waiting till DD was 15 months but then we couldn't wait any longer! We are now taking her at 9 months!

She is far along enough in her weaning that finding foods she can share with us shouldn't be a problem and I think she will love it with all the bright colours etc!

I would suggest waiting till you have had the little one before making any plans as no two babies are the same and you may find you want to wait a little bit longer or be quite happy to go with him/her at 6 months.

I have to say DD has started interacting and recognising things a lot more in the last month so something else to consider.

Good luck for the rest of the pregnancy too

 

[debbyLL]

Hi

My youngest was 9 months on her first visit to disney, she was fine, when we went for evening meal she slept in her pushchair, took a parasol for the day. best of all i have wonderful video memeories e.g. Minnie picked her up and carried her round the restaurant( this was 1995 not sure they do now for H/S ). In contrast i took the eldest when she was three and she cried whenever the charactures came near her, she was still nervous at 5!!!

debby

 

[Mrs Stonfiesta]

thanks for your replies, i deifnitly wont book anyhting until little one is born, although we were thinking Jan/Feb time just *** thats when we prfer to go, i wonder if we could push it back to April time as it makes complete sense with weaning etc and they are definitly more interactive then... i am sure we will do a few Disney paris trips before then anyway as we can just load everyhting into the car and drive over!

 

[Nubbedy]

Congratulations! We took DS2 when he was 3.5 - 4 months, and we went end April / beginning May. It was absolutely fine, and he enjoyed the characters, rides, colours, fireworks... everything, even though I know he won't remember it, we all have lovely memories of his first visit. The Disney Baby Care Centres are top quality, and as long as you are prepared for a more leisurely time in the parks, I say, Go For It!

 

[orangetiggs]

congrats, although i'm not pregnant i would take my baby to disney after around 6 months, i dont think it should stop you going at all

Good Luck and let us all know when you have the little one

 

[fizz13]

Firstly a big congratulations, wonderful news!
I have taken all mine at varying ages, the youngest being 5 months. while we were there no problems really, we were able to carry him on to so many rides. the time of year is great as there will be no extreme heat for bubs to cope with and no crazy lines, although fastpass and babyswap help no end.

my only problems i remember is where pushchairs can not come into lines or shows, and there were a few wriggly incidents at shows, he did not want to sit still with us when he was tired, wanted rocking a lot so that was tiring. we played pass the baby so we both got to see. the restaurants were more flexible as in if baby was clearly asleep then they let us bring the pushchair in but otherwise they were quite firm about it.
the flight again was a bit of pass the baby but we got a skycot from virgin and were able to get him to sleep a lot of the flight. but any turbulance and we had to have him on our laps whether he was alseep or not.
so overall a really positive experience and we have some awesome video of him babbling to daisy duck and his little face looking in wonder at so many things. and characters and cast members made such a fuss. the baby care centres in the parks are wonderful btw and have everything you could possibly need, fantastic staff, but be warned that if you were to forget something supplies come at a disney price
sorry to point out a couple of downers but i wanted to give you the whole picture. but i certainyl dont think these are problem enough to take away the enjoyment and they truly were minor. hope all goes well with the baby and happy planning x

 

[joolz1910]

One item I've just thought of - 'shade-a-babe' - I have one and would not be without it, even in this country. It is so much more practical than a parasol. Definitely worth buying.

 

[madmumof2]

If you know you're going to go again I wouldn't let it stop you. I was going to take mine when they were 8 and 10 so they would remember more, but that was when I thought it costs an abolute fortune and we'd only be able to go once.

After finding the DIS I realised I could easily go every 3 years, maybe even every 2, so I booked for October, and hope to go again when my youngest is 6 (she'll be 3 this trip) so we can swim with the dolphins.

 

[amystevekai&bump]

We held off taking our first son to Florida when he was 12 mths old (all our family was going and we stayed at home!! )

Looking back it would have been a perfect age to travel (he wasn't walking at that time) and then we reached the toddling, walking stage and realised the two of us couldn't cope with taking a then 2 year old, so we held off again.

Fast forward a couple of years - we ended up going last year, when our eldest was 4 (he can remember everything and went on all the rides!!) and our youngest was 9 mths (he wasn't walking and it was so easy transporting him around)

In summary - I think taking a non-mobile baby is a lot easier than taking say a 2 year old who is liable to want to run up and down the plane and who doesn't yet understand the meaning of sitting still!!

Hence when we returned home in May, we began planning for Xmas 2010 - when we will have a 3+ and a 6 year old - we are looking forward to a real family holiday where hopefully we will have lots of fun on the rides and with the characters etc

But I think at the end of the day it is whatever works for you and what you will be happy with!! And congratulations!!!

 

[Mrs Stonfiesta]

thanks for all the advice ladies, i am definitly thinking we should go now i suppose if we go at the end of Jan when we normally do then baby will be 5 months. we always do the parks very leisurely anyway and Roy hates fast rides so there is nothing we go on that bubs coulndt come on with us, i think we will wait until after the little one is born and decide in Nove time. we will probably do a trip to paris first and see how we cope there. thanks again for the advice

 

[LORNA ANN]

We took DS who is now almost 2 1/2 when he was 6 mths was so easy he slept fed most of the time less guilt taking him at 6 mths than i do now.At that age he slept where ever when ever now he likes his cot,you could feed him no problems now very fussy & limited to how long he will sit in resturant happily, much easier you will have fab time !!