Disney with a one year old

[Garyjames220]

hey

I was just wondering if u think Disney world with a one year old is worth doing. We are late 20s and we would be going for two weeks but can't decide if it would be worth doing. We also like some of the thrill rides, I take it we couldn't do that together ?

It's between that and a 12 night cruise around the Caribbean on anthem of the seas. Sadly the Disney cruises are to costly getting for us for the amount of nights u get

I look forward to hearing your points of what u would do

 

[Wild4Walt]

We did a Grand Gathering back in the day with 4 four year old niece and her 1 year old sister. Was it worth it for us, yes, we got some great memories and even better photos. But this was a group of 9 people.

I'd say, choose the vacation you'd prefer to do - there will be things to do with your child at either one.

 

[aristocatz]

We took our daughter when she was 16 months old and she had a great time! She enjoyed meeting the characters at character dinners and enjoyed the younger rides. She doesn't remember it now, obviously, but the photos and memories my DH and I have with her are priceless.

 

[lala5176]

hey

I was just wondering if u think Disney world with a one year old is worth doing. We are late 20s and we would be going for two weeks but can't decide if it would be worth doing. We also like some of the thrill rides, I take it we couldn't do that together ?

It's between that and a 12 night cruise around the Caribbean on anthem of the seas. Sadly the Disney cruises are to costly getting for us for the amount of nights u get

I look forward to hearing your points of what u would do

We have been taking our children since they were babies at least 6 months old. There is plenty to do as a family even with a small child. I never regretted going and always felt comfortable where we were.
For thrill rides you can do a rider swap.When you get to the cast member on line you tell them you want to do a rider swap. They will want to see both guests and the baby. They will then give you a ticket to show the cast member when you switch. So one person stays with the baby while one rides.
We have done many cruises and at least five Disney cruises. We love the Disney cruise but always felt better having my feet on solid ground when the children are still very little. Whatever you choose I’m sure you will make many wonderful memories.

 

[CAQDaddy]

I would say go to the parks. I can't imagine taking a toddler on a cruise, although I've never been on a Disney cruise. It seems like there would be exponentially more for to entertain the little one at the parks.

 

[pooh2001]

Please do your 1 year old schedule
If your 1 year old get up early - do some EM mornings in a park then back to the resort for a 1 year old nap
and maybe a parent nap too.
Then go back out in the afternoon - do not do a late night with a 1 year old, not a normal schedule.
Keep the 1 year old daily schedule as best as you can - and everyone will be a happy camper.

For thrill rides - do the parent swap option - or bring a Grandparent or Aunt or Uncle with you to watch the 1 year old.

Remember - this will not be your last trip to WDW and most likely your family will grow in the next few years.

 

[Garyjames220]

We normally go for two weeks as we are from the UK, would you say there is enough to do considering the amount of rides u can take a one year old on

Also How does dinning work - can we go to any resturant still

 

[rwdavis2]

You can go to any restaurant except Victoria & Albert's. Minimum age is 10. But would you want to? IMHO, I would not take a 1 yo to WDW. It limits what you can do. You can make those same memories when they are old enough to remember them.

 

[Hi Pluto]

I feel like you would still have a lot of options of what could be done, even with a baby. We took my infant nephew on many rides, such as Ellen's energy ride (closed now) which he just slept through. There are many shows and exhibits, etc. that he/she can be with you for. A few things that should work, especially if you're holding on to them:

Character experiences
Country Bear Jamboree
Frozen sing-along
Aquarium in Epcot
The Tiki Room
Dumbo
Kilimanjaro Safari
Frozen Ever After
Living with the Land
Jungle Cruise
Journey of the Little Mermaid
Muppets 3D
Gran Fiesta Ride in the Mexico pavilion
Winnie the Pooh
Peter Pan's Flight
Journey into Imagination
Mickey's Philharmagic
Na'vi River Journey
The Seas with Nemo & Friends
Spaceship Earth
People Mover

I personally don't think you'd feel like you're missing out too much. Plus, there's always in-room babysitting if you need time to go on all the thrill rides: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/child-care-services/

~Cari~

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

I'd say, choose the vacation you'd prefer to do - there will be things to do with your child at either one.

100% this. I’m not at all against taking a baby to Disney, we’ve done it many times and had amazing trips. But you can also have a great time on a cruise with little ones. Your child won’t remember either, so take the opportunity now to do what YOU would prefer.

 

[aggiedog]

Some of my favorite memories are of my 16mo over the moon at every character we saw. She loved all the shows, dancing and clapping to all the music. Loved the character meals. It was so fun to watch. Loved waving hello to every person we passed.

It can definitely be worth it. She remembers nothing, but dh and I remember all of it.

Having done DCL, (with teens) I'd say do the vacation you want - cruise or WDW, and you can make it work with the toddler either way. I don't think one is necessarily better than the other.

 

[tbholc81]

We normally go for two weeks as we are from the UK, would you say there is enough to do considering the amount of rides u can take a one year old on

Also How does dinning work - can we go to any resturant still

We took both of our kids when they were one. We never ran out of things to do (but never did two weeks). The only things the couldn't go on were the coasters for the most part and TOT.

We also dined everywhere we wanted. We took them to whatever TS options we wanted and never felt like we were out of place. Given we didn't do any signature places with them because we didn't feel like that was worth it. But all the restaurants their expect small children save fr Victoria and Alberts. One night just my wife and I were able to go to Narcoosees expecting it would be mostly adults and it wasn't lots of very small children there.

 

[DeanDoug]

We always said that we wouldn't take our babies to WDW... but then we did! We enjoyed it each time, but expect a different experience. Consider your experience, too. You will have limited ride options and will have to do single rider for most. Will that work for you? I have been on Anthem of the Seas and it is a beautiful ship... there, you have the option of checking your 1YO into the kids' club so you can have some alone time. Good luck with your decision!

 

[Garyjames220]

You can go to any restaurant except Victoria & Albert's. Minimum age is 10. But would you want to? IMHO, I would not take a 1 yo to WDW. It limits what you can do. You can make those same memories when they are old enough to remember them.

Nope and even if we were just ourself we would go to Victoria and alberts. Out of our budget

 

[Garyjames220]

I feel like you would still have a lot of options of what could be done, even with a baby. We took my infant nephew on many rides, such as Ellen's energy ride (closed now) which he just slept through. There are many shows and exhibits, etc. that he/she can be with you for. A few things that should work, especially if you're holding on to them:

Character experiences
Country Bear Jamboree
Frozen sing-along
Aquarium in Epcot
The Tiki Room
Dumbo
Kilimanjaro Safari
Frozen Ever After
Living with the Land
Jungle Cruise
Journey of the Little Mermaid
Muppets 3D
Gran Fiesta Ride in the Mexico pavilion
Winnie the Pooh
Peter Pan's Flight
Journey into Imagination
Mickey's Philharmagic
Na'vi River Journey
The Seas with Nemo & Friends
Spaceship Earth
People Mover

I personally don't think you'd feel like you're missing out too much. Plus, there's always in-room babysitting if you need time to go on all the thrill rides: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/child-care-services/

~Cari~

Well that could be a deal breaker for us

So we could pop out one evening and do a few thrill rides

Didn't no about the in room baby sitting. Does that book up quick

 

[Garyjames220]

We always said that we wouldn't take our babies to WDW... but then we did! We enjoyed it each time, but expect a different experience. Consider your experience, too. You will have limited ride options and will have to do single rider for most. Will that work for you? I have been on Anthem of the Seas and it is a beautiful ship... there, you have the option of checking your 1YO into the kids' club so you can have some alone time. Good luck with your decision!

Yeah it does look a nice ship

God this is hard. As we love cruising and we love Disney.

 

[marchingstar]

we took our 7 month old last month. it was tons of fun.

we did what we could to fit the trip around our family. our baby sleeps in his own room at home, so we booked a resort where we had space to mimic home. it meant the hotel was a bigger part of our budget than usual and our trip was shorter than usual (1 week instead of 2). we’re from western canada. i just looked up travel time and it’s very close to the time from london to orlando, so i get wanting to do a longer trip. but for us, it was much better to do one week in a bigger room. have you taken your baby on other vacations? i would try to do a weekend away somewhere before committing to a 2 week trip, but again, just my opinion.

as for rides, we took him on tons. we also used rider swap for anything he couldn’t do. he especially loved character meets and the parades. we went to lots of restaurants. every restaurant has high chairs, kids menus, will bring water to warm milk, etc. (except V&As, but someone already mentioned that).

if you’ve been before, you might find you need to adjust your expectations. it won’t be the same as visiting pre-baby. but i feel like we made family memories i’ll forever cherish.

 

[SG131]

So I’m preface this by saying I’m not an experienced cruiser though I have looked a bit at the options on board for kids. I feel like a cruise would be more of an adult trip. You’d be able to do more together with your wife and yourself with easy access to child care, but I feel like Disney would be a lot more of a family trip. I feel like there would be a lot more for your little one to do and see at Disney verses a ship where they’re too young to do most of the more fun stuff.

If you’re looking for a true family trip I’d say do Disney. I feel like it would be easier to spend more time together as a family verses a cruise where dinners may be a bit long for your baby and shows that wouldn’t hold their attention so they would probably spent more time in child care than together as a family.

 

[buzznina]

We have taken our DDs since they were 6 months old and they were GREAT trips. The photos and videos from those times are priceless and we still enjoy watching them to this day. But you will have to adjust how you tour the parks and rides you cannot go on together, and based on your post and how it seems that you really want to do thrill rides together, I would suggest doing the cruise. When you go with little ones you really have to slow the pace down and take your time. The first day or two was hard passing up rides like SM etc. but we really learned how to take our time and enjoy the "park" and not just the rides. We do all the thrill rides now but still tour at a slower pace and love it.

 

[Garyjames220]

I never realised Disney done baby sitters in the evening

That is a big plus as we love the thrill rides together

And can still have loads of fun during the day with our child