Disney with a 1 year old

[Leleluvsdis]

DH and I are TTC and have figured that if we do so by next march baby will be 1 - 1 1/2 by our next trip december 2011. (I have PCOS so it will probubly take at least til next march I fear) Anywhoo... for anyone that has done disney with a 1 year old what are your suggestions as far as gear and schedule and special things to do. I think it would be awesome to celebrate baby's 1st birthday while we are there. This will be our first 2 legged child lol we have currently have a VERY rotten 2 year old springer spaniel. My parents, brother, sister-in-law, niece, nephew and 2 family friends (this will be their first trip to disney) will also be making the trip with us, so it will be lots of people to help, and it will be extra special to them as my brother is 15years older than me and adopted b/c mom was told she couldn't have kids until she had me when she was 40. My niece and nephew will be 18 and 17, and are WONDERFUL with kids, and the family friends have been like 2nd parents to me as they were never able to have children, and will be thrilled to help in anyway they can. I know I want to jogging stoller b/c it's so much easier to push. Most of my little cousins had regular strollers, but I had 2 that had jogging strollers and I was amazed at how much easier they were than a regular travel system. Anyother help would be greatly appreciated. It's obvious I'm a planner, and want to get as many opinions as possible. TIA and sorry for this being so long, I'm just so excited about the thought of being a family of 3 and celebrating all the little things!!!

 

[Madzac]

We just got back on Sunday from a week in the world with our three, including my 18 month old! Disney is certainly different when you have a one year old along!!! But so much fun as well!

IT is super nice to have family along. That will allow you and DH to ride some rides the little one is too small for. We took grandma this trip and that helped so much. She was also able to hang out back at the room when we took the older two swimming a few afternoons.

Other advice... little ones this age will take some naps in the stroller, but after a few days in the parks, they get cranky off routine, so going back for afternoon breaks at least a few days is really helpful so they can get a really good nap in.. At 18 months, they are getting big for the standard pack and plays. Some kids still sleep fine in it then, but mine does not. We rented a crib from A baby's best friend this time and it was wonderful. It was a full size crib just like at home and he slept so much better because of it. As for strollers, the joggers are nice, but heavy and bulky in my expereince. So not very easy to get on and off any transportation. A good quality umbrella stroller that is light, reclines, has a sun shade and folds easily is the way to go. I LOVE our Maclaren Triumph and it was so nice this trip!

Our little guy really enjoyed the rides, the parades, and oh did he love the characters!!!! Couldnt get enough of them!!!! We did several character meals and he just went nuts over them, throwing his arms around their neck! But that is the kind of kid he is... my DD at that age was TERRIFIED! We went to DL in CA one day and I couldnt even sit on the curb for the parade as she was so scared so there would have been no way we could have done a meal. If you can expose your little one to say Chuck E Cheese or something like that and see how they do that may help you to know. The nice thing in general about this age is that they have yet to have a fear of the dark or of "scary things" like a two year old might.

Disney is certainly more challenging with a one year old. You sometimes have to abandon your plan, leave sooner, take a break, etc. Shows are hard at this age. But the rewards of watching the joy on his face was just awesome!

Good luck TTC and I hope you have luck very soon!!!!

 

[Leleluvsdis]

We saw TONS of maclaren's at disney last week, and DH like how they were taller than a traditional umbrealla. Are they easy to push, and how much storage do they have?

 

[Madzac]

YEs, it is so nice with the Macs as they are taller so you dont have to hunch over. Super easy to push, fold and carry. Very lightweight. I can open and close it with my son in my other arm. They have a small basket underneath. It isnt huge, not like with a travel stroller, but we just hung the diaper back off one of the handles and were able to put a few things on the bottom. It has a nice sun shade too, the triumph reclines, and goes up to like 55 pounds, bigger than many umbrellas.

We were SO happy we invested in this stroller!!!!

 

[Leleluvsdis]

Are the maclerans the strollers that have adjustable handles. I'm 5'4" and DH is 6'3" so we need something tall, but comfortable for me as well

 

[gentah]

The first time we went to WDW, we had a 2 yr old in tow. I'm afraid we are fairly intense in the parks and stayed from early entry until they closed every day. DD is very easy going and it didn't bother her at all that she was off schedule. When she was awake, we focused on rides and meeting characters (which was one of her favorite things), when she got tired, she would sleep in the stroller and we would go do parent swap on rides that were of interest to us. It was one of our more magical trips. She loved the characters, and they were REAL to her. We went to DL a couple of years later and her first comment when she saw a character was, "It must be hot inside that costume." I'd say go for it and have a blast.

 

[abouley]

It's good your asking this now so you can think about what gear to get with disney in mind!!!!!

I highly recomend a Beco or Ergo type baby carrier! These are very comfortable for both mom and baby and work as a front carrier or a back carrier! Great for a child around 1-1.5 and will allow the child to sleep while be carried on and off rides and will also be easier for you when standing in line. Use it early so they are used to it at home, shopping etc and it'll be great for you at disney.

You might look at a Peg Perego Pliko P3 stroller. This is a full featured stroller with adjustable handles, nice basket, sun shade, full recline, snack tray, comfy seat and folds like an umbrella stroller! Great stroller! Also have 2 maclarens and love them as well. With a child that young you'd want to go towards the higher end though and not the volo.

Also, a diaper changing pack works great...skip hop makes some and there are others. This is a pack that holds diapers, wipes, diaper cream, changing pad and makes diaper changes easy!

Little ones are pretty easy to take to disney. I personally like going either around 1 before they are walking or after they are 2 and typically are not as much into running away and know to hold hands etc. That said, we did WDW with a 19month old and DL with my DD many times between 5 months and her current age of 2.5. It's not that tough. My kids are great at sleeping in the stroller and love the stimulation.

I guess my other advice would be to get your child used to being on the go. Travel a lot (day trips, weekends, etc). Get them used to sleeping in the car, in the stroller, being out and about and not on a strict routine. If you do this from the start your trip to WDW should be much more enjoyable!

Good luck TTC!

Alison

 

[Leleluvsdis]

Thanks for the advise gentah, and abouley! We are very on the go people, and plan to stay that way even after baby b/c we do travel a lot and would like to get them used to that from the go. We do a lot of day trips or just running around town. DH and I have started keeping his 3 year old nephew more ofter especially when going to town to get used to the extra baggage and planning around meltdowns and naps. It's helped alot to play with all the gadgets as well to get an idea of what we would and wouldn't do. Are the macleran triumph's handles tall enough for DH 6'3" to not have to slump to push?

 

[Leleluvsdis]

Also, My sis-in-law had a front carrier with my nephew and I wasn't to fond of it. It just felt really big and bulky. I was thinking about the moby wraps where they can be front or side. What does anyone think about these?

 

[katied]

I was there with DS at 13 months (also at 6 mo, 8 mo, 18 mo and 20 mo - he's been a lot).

We had a great time. I used the Maclaren Triumph. If I had to do over, I would likely have bought the Techno, but the Triumph has done well for us. Normal day for us would include breakfast in the room, time at the park through lunch, and then back to the room for pm nap & pool time. Some evenings we would go back to the park for a little bit. We normally had dinner in the room again (I own DVC, so we had a full kitchen).

The key with a 1 yr old (on up to 20 months so far for us) is that they have to spend a lot of time in the stroller or being carried to get around. So you need to plan time for them to be free - e.g., breaks at Pooh's Playful Spot or the playground outside Minnie's House at Magic Kingdom, the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playgroud and DHS, or the Boneyard at AK. If it's hot, breaks in the AC at the BabyCare places also help so that they can be free and run around a bit. DS loves all the rides, and didn't have any fear of the characters until 18 mo, but this can vary by kids. He only had trouble at 18 mo, and was fine again at 20 mo (but even at 18 mo he was better the 2nd day than the 1st, etc).

Overall, DS loves Disney, the trips are really easy, and it goes well for us. The hardest thing is dinners out, since he's worn out by the end of the day, so dinners in the room saves evening meltdowns.

Have a great time!

 

[Leleluvsdis]

I saw alot of the ity mini's when were in the world last week, and I'm wondering do they push as well as a traditonal jogger even though the have the smaller wheels?

 

[alexander31]

we have returned from vacationing with a 3 and a 2 year ole. they were so cute...but...lots of work. my daughter is only 22 and loves everything disney and wanted to her kids to start young. the 2 year old had a tougher time missing naps, cranky, tired, but the three year old just fell asleep when she got tired. we took lots of breaks and ditched in the pool everytime we could!

 

[Leleluvsdis]

we have returned from vacationing with a 3 and a 2 year ole. they were so cute...but...lots of work. my daughter is only 22 and loves everything disney and wanted to her kids to start young. the 2 year old had a tougher time missing naps, cranky, tired, but the three year old just fell asleep when she got tired. we took lots of breaks and ditched in the pool everytime we could!

Thanks! We try and take mid-day break now and it's just DH and I lol We've found if we constantly go go go we are more exhausted and burnt out when we get home then before we left! Glad you had a good trip! How did the 2 year old do with characters, and have you taken them before now, or first time?

 

[harleyquinn]

Hi!

I don't have any advice, since I've never done it, but I wanted to say hi since I'm planning the same thing and I also have PCOS! I was diagnosed in September and pregnant in October. The more weight you lose (I noticed your ticker) the faster you will get pregnant, even 10% of your total weight can make HUGE difference with PCOS...so good luck there!

Also I have found a bunch of other threads about the same topic with great advice...I did a bunch of different google searches (you just search whatever and add disboards so "disney with a 12 month old disboards" works much better than the site search.

Keep the thread going to get the most advice!

 

[harleyquinn]

Are you going Christmas week or earlier in December?

 

[Leleluvsdis]

Hi!

I don't have any advice, since I've never done it, but I wanted to say hi since I'm planning the same thing and I also have PCOS! I was diagnosed in September and pregnant in October. The more weight you lose (I noticed your ticker) the faster you will get pregnant, even 10% of your total weight can make HUGE difference with PCOS...so good luck there!

Also I have found a bunch of other threads about the same topic with great advice...I did a bunch of different google searches (you just search whatever and add disboards so "disney with a 12 month old disboards" works much better than the site search.

Keep the thread going to get the most advice!

Are you going Christmas week or earlier in December?

Congrats on your success!!! I was diagnosed in 04 when I was 17. My ob said they same thing, the more weight I lose the more success I will have. I really don't want to have to do fertility drugs, low dose BC makes me crazy enough!!! lol Dh is SO supportive as well. He knows I want to lose the weight before I get PG so I'll have a healthier pregnancy and hopefully less complications.
I will def goggle vs using the search on here. We are planning to go the first full week in December. When are ya'll planning for?

 

[Leleluvsdis]

has anyone used the macleran as a travel system?