Disney Veteran but 1st Time Mom at the Parks Tips/Advice

[LMO429]

Hi!!! I changed the title of the thread!!! Hopefully this thread in the future can be helpful for all moms going to the parks with a baby for the first time!!!!!

 

[Lupeix]

Wow what awesome tips!!!! Thank you!

What are baby mum mums??? (1st time mom ? lol)

Baby mum mums are teething rice crackers. You can get them through amazon or at target. Babies love them. I saved them for when I needed to entertain DS (now 5) at that age. Next trip DD will be 10 months and I am planning to take bunch with me for the lines.

I do not use anything for the high chairs, they keep them quite clean. I always carry a travel pack of disinfecting wipes with me anyway. I do recommend placemats. A lot of people use the disposable ones. I prefer to carry a reusable one.
I have a Summer Infant Tiny Diner that I used a lot with DS, DD does not do solids yet but I am planning on taking it with me to Disney


LittleMissMickey, Delta does not have weight limits. I took my Uppababy Vista to WDW last time and I flew Delta. They are pretty rough with the strollers. You may want to think about whether you are OK with your expensive stroller being tossed around. A gate check bag helps, specially with the dirt factor.
I just flew AA and took my city mini. I am still not sure what to bring next time. The Uppababy has a much bigger basket and the ride along board for DS.

 

[LMO429]

Lupeix. Do you think I am better off bringing an umbrella stroller on the plane with me and just renting a city mini instead of bringing my own??? I do not want the airlines to wreck it

 

[NJlauren]

Lupeix. Do you think I am better off bringing an umbrella stroller on the plane with me and just renting a city mini instead of bringing my own??? I do not want the airlines to wreck it

I've done it both ways. It really depends on personal preference. I liked having my own stroller but the city mini I found was easier or the buses then my uppa baby. It also takes extra space in the hotel room to have the umbrella and the rental. So dpending where your staying that may be a factor too.

 

[aquabone1109]

Do you bring anything to cover the high chairs?????

Locally we always bring the chair cover but disney is good at keeping the chairs clean. If you have the room bring it but I would not make it a priority to bring one. They take up a lot of room.

 

[epsmith921]

Just wanted to chime in that the other differences between the city mini and be GT are that the GT has an adjustable handlebar, and then the seat measurements are larger in the GT which is probably not an issue with your baby's age.

I personally also rent a stroller rather than bring mine. I own a city elite (btw way to go on nuna!! I loved my nuna pipa car seat for my son and attached it to my baby jogger strollers!) and yes, I plunked down the extra money to rent the exact same stroller since I didn't want it wrecked by the airline. I even thought about bringing it with me this time since we'll have two strollers but nope, renting two.

Also, you will have a great time. We stayed at Boardwalk when we took our daughter and being able to run out to all that the area has to offer was awesome. My husband even hung out with a friend that lives in Orlando and it was no big deal for me to head back to our resort by myself because I just walked out of Epcot pushing the stroller. Much easier than the bus.

 

[Tara1988]

I think most everything is covered. Don't bring your umbrella stroller. It's much easier to wear him through the airport at least, that way your hands are free. This September/October will be my first time baby wearing in the parks, but I will definitely bring a stroller too. I don't want the extra weight and heat of wearing constantly.

 

[Tara1988]

Locally we always bring the chair cover but disney is good at keeping the chairs clean. If you have the room bring it but I would not make it a priority to bring one. They take up a lot of room.

Definitely not a big bulky high chair cover. But there are some disposable paperlike ones that I bring along with disposable changing table covers

 

[tinkerbella16]

Great thread and really helpful replies! We are going in September, the first week. My sister is so nervous since it is the first time bringing a baby (she will be 18 months old when we go). We have also gone many times since we were kids.

We booked our adrs this morning. We don't have an adr everyday of the trip, but a few great ones. 2 are at the Beach Club, where we are staying - Cape May breakfast and Beaches and Cream for dinner. We are going to Garden Grill for dinner on our arrival day, Akershus for breakfast and Hoop Dee Doo (a must do for us). My sister bought the disposable restaurant highchair covers (she is a germ freak) and the disposable disney placemats for the table. She also just ordered a stroller cover, for the rain since we are going in September.

We are flying Southwest, so she is packing an extra suitcase for all of the babies snacks and other things she will need. We were going to ship a box down to the resort, but this might be easier so at the end of the trip, she can pack all souvenirs in that suitcase for the trip home. I think we will be okay, but still a little nervous because it is the first time with a baby. We plan on doing mornings at the parks, and leaving for midday breaks to enjoy the resort, swim, nap and rest so we can enjoy the evenings and be rested. I hope this is a good idea - we do this when it is just us adults without any kids and it has always worked great.

She is more nervous about the flight more than anything. We are flying out of Philly, so the flight is not that long.. about 2 hours. We just don't know what to expect.. If the baby will sleep, of her ears will pop, will she be good, all of those things. Anyone have experiences to share about taking little ones on their first flight?

 

[Lupeix]

Lupeix. Do you think I am better off bringing an umbrella stroller on the plane with me and just renting a city mini instead of bringing my own??? I do not want the airlines to wreck it

My experience with the city mini is that because it folds so compact it does not seem to get as bad of a treatment. The Vista does not fold as compact so I guess there's more to get banged against other things. Anyway, the only thing that ever happened to the Vista that bothered me was the snack tray got cracked once (in ~10 trips), so I learned to take the snack tray out or take the bumper bar instead.
I always use a gate check bag, though. The seats are exposed when folded, if you don't they will be filthy.

I fly AA a lot, which means I cannot take my Vista with me. I used to have an umbrella stroller for travel (britax blink, liked it a lot but the wheels disintegrated from using it so much on foreign sidewalks), now that I have the citi mini I will never consider the umbrella again. The main reasons are: one-hand fold, the ability to hang things from it without it tipping, the canopy, the recline and how easy it pushes.

In the end, I think it depends on how long your flight is going to be and what brings you peace of mind.
If there's even a slim chance your baby will nap on the stroller during the trip the citi mini is waay better. I also use the stroller to carry all my stuff besides the baby. A week ago I took a trip with multiple flights with my 5 month DS that took 48 hours door to door and the citi mini arrived like new each time I gate checked it.

 

[Lupeix]

She is more nervous about the flight more than anything. We are flying out of Philly, so the flight is not that long.. about 2 hours. We just don't know what to expect.. If the baby will sleep, of her ears will pop, will she be good, all of those things. Anyone have experiences to share about taking little ones on their first flight?

I used to live in Philly! our first trip to WDW with DS was from Philly, the flight was so short compared to living in WA!
Bring some movies on the iPad, snacks and a paci for take off and landing.

Talk to your pediatrician first, but Benadryl is great to have on hand in case nothing works.
I think it has a placebo effect on parents too LOL

 

[LMO429]

Just wanted to chime in that the other differences between the city mini and be GT are that the GT has an adjustable handlebar, and then the seat measurements are larger in the GT which is probably not an issue with your baby's age.

I personally also rent a stroller rather than bring mine. I own a city elite (btw way to go on nuna!! I loved my nuna pipa car seat for my son and attached it to my baby jogger strollers!) and yes, I plunked down the extra money to rent the exact same stroller since I didn't want it wrecked by the airline. I even thought about bringing it with me this time since we'll have two strollers but nope, renting two.

Also, you will have a great time. We stayed at Boardwalk when we took our daughter and being able to run out to all that the area has to offer was awesome. My husband even hung out with a friend that lives in Orlando and it was no big deal for me to head back to our resort by myself because I just walked out of Epcot pushing the stroller. Much easier than the bus.

Thank you on the differences between the city mini and the city mini gt.

if you rented a stroller while you were there what did you use back and forth at the airports????

While I love the Nuna Car Seat ..the Nuna IVVI stroller while nice is seriously overrated..I do not like having to put the seat onto the stroller I wish it was all one piece and it is very bulky. Once you get it together its great but when I am alone its kinda of a lot of a stroller for me. I got caught up on a luxury stroller while I was reading blogs thank god I did not go with the bugaboo

 

[LMO429]

I think most everything is covered. Don't bring your umbrella stroller. It's much easier to wear him through the airport at least, that way your hands are free. This September/October will be my first time baby wearing in the parks, but I will definitely bring a stroller too. I don't want the extra weight and heat of wearing constantly.

I didn't even think of baby wearing at the airport! lol

 

[epsmith921]

Thank you on the differences between the city mini and the city mini gt.

if you rented a stroller while you were there what did you use back and forth at the airports????

While I love the Nuna Car Seat ..the Nuna IVVI stroller while nice is seriously overrated..I do not like having to put the seat onto the stroller I wish it was all one piece and it is very bulky. Once you get it together its great but when I am alone its kinda of a lot of a stroller for me. I got caught up on a luxury stroller while I was reading blogs thank god I did not go with the bugaboo

We skipped the stroller at the airport, but my daughter was almost 2.5 when we went last. My son will be about 18 months when we go in a couple months. I wanted to bring my baby jogger vue (that's as small as I can go with an umbrella, as it still fits my daughter who will be 5 on our trip. I have taken the vue with me through the airport and found it useful because my son couldn't walk at the time (and was flying as a lap baby). This time, we will be flying out of a small airport (no stroller concerns there) and then we'll probably trying to make him walk a bit through the Orlando airport after being on a plane for three hours.

We are also bringing a convertible car seat for the plane since my son will have his own seat and are buying one of the things to attach it to the wheelie bag and he can ride attached to the bag in his seat if necessary. Husband didn't want to deal with car seat, two kids, roller bag, and stroller. I can't blame him, and we find we do better with a bit less most times.

 

[LMO429]

What was your plan as far as making adr 6 months ahead of time? While my son has a consistent schedule now I'm not sure if that will be the case six months from now????

 

[jennygirlmt]

My kids never stay on schedule when away. It's not like you'll be at the resort for all naps, etc. So you can probably make reservations for whenever you want and just have snacks if he gets hungry before then.

That said, an 11 month old will likely be on two naps, one at 9 and one around 2. Both usually around 1-2 hours. Hope that helps!

 

[MaryMichelotti]

Thanks for all the tips. We will be bringing an 11 month old in a few weeks! Good to know so many people have had successful trips!

 

[LMO429]

Thanks for all the tips. We will be bringing an 11 month old in a few weeks! Good to know so many people have had successful trips!

Hi Have a great trip! and if you can report back and let us know what worked and what did not work for you!!! any tips are appreciated!!!!

 

[Kanga&TwoRoos]

We have a GT and the better wheels also make it easier to push and less bumpy for the kids. I love that stroller and we actually just got a double GT.

 

[LMO429]

We decided to push our trip back a month so we can be at disneyworld on the day our son turns 1! any thoughts on what we can do to make it extra special. we were going to do a character breakfast in the morning, and dinner at narcoses' around 5pm. also do his first haircut on mainstream..any other suggestions appreciated.