Disney with a Baby?!

[pewing]

The very night that we returned from our last Disney Trip (February 13, 2004) we learned that we were going to have an addition to our family. NO...she is is not a Disney 'souvenir'...she was a stowaway last trip

Our own little princess has arrived safely (October 18th) and is adding so much fun to our home.

My question is this...When can I bring her to the World? My boys were 4 and 6 when we first went. They are now 9 and 10.

Also...where is a good place to stay for a family of five?

 

[MNRMommy]

Our DS was 6 months when we first took him. He did great. The hum of the parks would put him to sleep in his stroller and we were able to have nice dinners together. Never traveled with five but I saw a post recently where someone asked that question and people recommended the cabins at fort wilderness.

 

[Lesley]

Alethia (baby in picture below...) made her first WDW visit at 2 1/2 months. She has visited WDW 3 times in her 10 months of life. Her 4th visit won't be for a while...but mainly its because we're waiting for her older sister to grow out of being 4. LOL Here in my family we tend to find 4 years old a difficult time. And we're not taking a chance on a young 5 either.

We're also a family of 5....our oldest is 10yo. Because we're DVC members we usually stay in a DVC villa. A 1br is suiting us fine right now, but we'll need a 2br once the baby is over 3yo, according to the written rules. The other WDW resorts that can accomodate familes of 5 are all the deluxe resorts (though not all rooms at AKL and WL) and Port Orleans Riverside where there is a trundle bed in addition to the two full sized beds. The deluxe resorts usually have 2 queens and a twin sized daybed, but I believe at AKL and WL only the deluxe rooms have the daybed. Those resorts do have rooms with bunk beds though...which might work well for your 9yo and 10yo while the baby is still small and either sleeping with you or in a portable crib. Also there are wilderness cabins at the Fort Wilderness campground that sleep 6.

Have fun with your sweet baby at WDW! We found around 6mo to be a great time....baby is not so mobile as to mind being carried or strollered around (ie. confined) and is really able to enjoy all the visual stimulation. Once baby is mobile its more difficult.

 

[josh74]

All of my dd's(5,2,3mos) were in utero their 1st time2 wdw.My 2nd dd,now 2, was 10mos.@her 2nd visit and my 1st dd was 4@her 2nd visit.Our 3rd family visit,'04,they were almost 5, almost 2 and 5mos in utero. So as you can see we have survived numerous expeditions2 wdw,not w/o difficulty@times, but certainly much fun! Have a great time and enjoy the kids! Josh.

 

[lillygator]

My DD was 18 months when she first went and our new arrival, due any day now has been several times in utero and will be making her first visit at around 6 weeks.

 

[Dallas_Lady]

How do you manage rides with a baby? DH and I like to get on all the big rides, but we know we can't take a baby on them. He has pretty much convinced himself that we won't be able to go back to Disney until our kids are all 48". How can I help change his mind!?!?

 

[lillygator]

It works great for us - we do the baby swap...and also fast passes and just ride single. We get on everything much faster.

 

[java]

Well for the big rides(roller coaster and splash mountain- or any of them actually) they have baby swap. Where you only wait on line once. One rides while other waits with baby. Then when they get off you get on- handing them the baby. It is more fun if you have an additional person with you so you don't have to go on the rides alone. But we have done it both ways and it works fine.

 

[Dallas_Lady]

Okay, another question... I seem to recall that for some rides you don't enter and exit at the same place (TOT, I think??) How would baby swap work for that?

 

[lillygator]

TOT is my fav!! DD and I just wandered around the shop while DH was on the ride.....the shop is where you exit. Then I made my way onto the ride.

 

[lclark0621]

We took DS when he was 9 months old. He & we loved it!

As for the big rides, well you can do the baby swap.

For us, the big rides are no big deal anymore. We have done them all already. So we dont really need or want to do the baby swap. We will do the big rides when DS gets bigger. Now we are there for the family experience & want to spend every minute together with our DS.

 

[crazywig]

we just got back last week with our 2yr old ds and 4 month old dd. this was the 3rd trip for ds, we first took him at 9 months.

my best piece of advice for taking an infant is to bring a sling! i used it constantly while there, holding her in line, on the rides, at meals etc. it made things sooo much easier. (i use a pouch style sling)

we are also DVC members and i would recommend a DVC unit as well. having a kitchen is a huge bonus with small children.

 

[cmonroe]

DS was 7 months. We stayed at the CR (we only have 4) but it can hold 5.

 

[wfloyd]

DS first trip was around 6-7 weeks, then many times after. We found it wasn't too bad, we just made sure his feeding times were on the same schedule and kept him shaded from the sun He seemed to have a good time (didn't fuss at all until it was time to leave) and for the first few times slept most of the time.

 

[timandlesley]

We had a 6 month old last summer, she'll be 20 months this year. I was so worried last year, but it was easier at the age she was. She was in the carrier in the stroller, at night on the crowded bus rides home she would sleep in her carrier on the bench or between my legs on the floor and it was so much easier than it will be this year to try and hold her. I think the years with carriers are easiest. She was able to sleep many meals and so it was peaceful for us, this year will be a different story: )
The baby swap is AWESOME. We used this for mission space. My husband only waited 10 minutes, and I played with our three year old in the playground at the exit (it is so great) while Lauren slept in the stroller; then I just went back to the baby swap line and walked right on. I can't wait to use that more this time around.
She LOVED the playhouse disney show, kilimanjaro safari, and lion king show. Have a great time, it will be great, hey it's DISNEY!