anyone done Illuminations cruise with 1 year old???

[lynetteSC]

Hi guys- Just wondering about the Illuminations cruise. We will be taking our ds who will turn one while we are at WDW. Thinking of an Illuminations cruise. I am scared he will not do ok and will ruin everyone's experience.

He does well in large crowds and has been out and about alot in his short 9 months already ... several trips to beach, Disney's Hilton Head, and a few other weekend trips. Loud noises don't seem to bother him. We were thinking we would have a "slow" day the day we did the cruise so, he would be well rested (if possible at wdw).

Have you taken a one year old before and how did it work out? Please tell me the good, bad, and the ugly! Thanks!

 

[Gluman11]

We did about a year ago.................and it was not a problem, now granted, no two children are ever the same when it comes to trying to predict behavior, but what I can tell you is that our little guy walked onto the boat with no problem.......gave us a little fuss when the captain asked us to put a life jacket on him........(although it is a requirement to wear a life jacket for the youngsters --not sure what the age requirement is--, the captain was pretty cool by allowing us to take it off of him after we got out of view of the dock..............). Our DS watched the first 1.5 minutes of the show and then passed out in his stroller which we parked near the back of the boat, snoring and everything...........I mean, by the time the show starts, its 9pm.........
If I had to do it again, I'd keep him on his regular schedule, and by the time 9pm comes, he'd be too tired to make a fuss...............

Just my 2 cents................hope it works for ya..........

 

[lynetteSC]

thanks gluman for the advice! DS will sleep ANYWHERE in his stroller. His usual bedtime is around 7ish ... so he may indeed crash by 9!

 

[lynetteSC]

 

[SamanthaL]

Our 2 year old did fine! She did want to sit on my lap though. We had the boat to ourselves since it was a big family reunion thing. The only people she would have really bothered would have been family, unless she truly screamed. Is there a way you can test out fireworks before the trip? Are there any displays in your area? I am not sure when you will be going but if you can, go to a July 4th display and see how he does! Good luck!

 

[MamaQuack]

We shared a cruise with an infant (7 mos) and a toddler(3). They both did fine except for the life jacket routine. Our captain also allowed the parents to remove them "if" they would hold the kids. Both little sweeties fell asleep before we even got to the bridge!!!

 

[cdrn1]

Connor is a doll!!!!!

 

[lynetteSC]

Thanks guys for all the replies! We have found a DISer who has been nice enough to let us share her cruise,so I think everything will be fine!

cdrn1- thanks for kind words! we think sooo, of course we may be tad biased! LOL!

 

[Disfreek]

In August we did the Wishes cruise with my 15 month old. SHE LOVED it. She did rather well even w/ the life jacket on. She fell asleep in DH's arms (while she was still in the life jacket).