Disney World w/ a one year old.

[mom2joeyz]

Will my son be able to go on most of the rides w/ us? He's 30" and a year old.

Thanks

 

[GEM]

We took our little one for his first birthday. He was a micropreemie and was (is) very tiny - about 14 pounds and 24 inches at one year old. He went on most everything with us and LOVED it all! The only thing your little guy can't do are the rides with height requirements - the MK mountains, Test Track, Dinosaur, Tower of Terror, etc. There really aren't very many. Just a few in each park.

Some of my son's favorites were Dumbo, the safari, the Tiki Room, the Living Seas at Epcot, and Mad Tea Party. He also LOVED the parades and fireworks and the live shows like Festival of the Lion King and Tarzan Rocks. Of course, the biggest hit of all was the hotel pool! We had a truly magical time with him. No regrets at all.

If you have any more specific questions about traveling with a little one that age, just pm me. I'd be glad to help!

 

[mom2joeyz]

Thanks so much. I'm not what other questions I have. Do you have any more tips for traveling with a 1 year old? Is so, I'd appreciate it. Thanks again.

 

[WDWorBUST]

Not to hijack your thread....but I've been wondering the same thing. We are planning on going down with our DD when she is 13 months old. I know she is going to love the parades and shows and the rides she can go on ....she's just that kind of baby. But any tips flying or sleeping in a hotel would be helpful.

 

[ErinInCT]

We were there in Sept when dd was 2 weeks shy of 1 yr old. She is also 30 inches.
She went on all the rides with no height requirements. I brought lots of snacks for her in case she got fussy but she was just enthralled with everything when she was on the rides. NEVER had to bust out the snacks!! Even during the shows she was pretty good. I brought by baby bjorn (even though she is pretty big) which really helped "contain" her while we were in line and sitting for shows. She was not walking yet but was always a squirmy baby (not a lap baby). We tried to keep somewhat of a routine for her. She still took 2 naps a day but we skipped the morning nap & came back for an afternoon break & she usually napped for 2 or 3 hrs then. She usually went to bed at 6:30pm which obviously we had to push back so we could do evening stuff, but it did not cause any problems for her. There was only one time where we actually fell asleep (at EPCOT) around 10am (her normal morning nap time). We gave her a bath after her nap (so we didn't have to rush in the morning or kleep her up even later at night). Sometimes we put her in pj's (like when we saw Wishes) so we could just put her to bed as soon as we got home. I brought a measured amount of formula (in a baggie) with me for her formula & kept a bottle of water in the stroller (which of course was nice and warm due to the weather!) to make her bottle. We kept food in our room (we stayed at VWL so we had a kitchen) so she ate her normal food at her regular time. Actually she was a breeze, it was my 4 yr old that was tough!! So don't even worry about it.
Oh, one more thing - she was scared of the non human characters & cried any time one came near her!!
Here is something fun to do if your ds has hair, you can get his 1st haircut at Harmony Barber Shop & they will give you a certificate & a set of 1st haircut mouse ears!!
Have a great time!

 

[ainmama2001]

If you're flying Southwest or any airline where you can choose seats, try and get a bulkhead seat. It's roomy and they can get up and stretch if they need to. Also, don't plan on any of those laptop toys such as leapads for the plane. You can't hear them over the engines unless you turn them up REALLY loud and then you annoy all the people around you. Bring a laptop and have them watch a movie. Also, get a new toy that can fit in your carry on and give it to them ON THE PLANE. Hopefully, it will keep them occupied for most of the flight.

 

[ksc37]

As the previous poster said, a one year old will enjoy most of the milder rides and attractions. Ours loved Dumbo, Peter Pan, Buzz Lightyear (he even scored some points), Pooh (of course), Small World (though that one is closed right now), the animals at the AK, etc... He also loved lunch with Pooh at the Crystal Palace (free for little ones).

Tips from my own experience: Take a break at the Toon Town park to let your son stretch his legs. It's a mini-playground for kids 3 and under which has been a big hit for both of my boys (its good for unstable walkers and advanced crawlers).

There are dancing fountains in the sidewalk at Epcot (between future world and world showcase) that the little kids like to play in (take a change of clothes, the baby center is near by).

Even if you know that your son naps everyday at a certain time (for mine it was 1:00 pm), he may fall asleep earlier due to all the excitement. Make sure your plans are flexible.

And be forewarned that with a small child you will do/see fewer things than any previous trips. It may be frustrating if you're used to seeing/doing everything in the World.

Have fun (it's a great experience watching a child enjoy what Disney World has to offer)!

 

[tmfranlk]

I took DD in March at 13 months old. She had a blast! She loved all of the rides, but especially Dumbo, Small World and the safari ride. She also loved the animals at AK and the fish at The Living Seas. The parades, fireworks and night time shows were also a big hit. During our trip, she came to love the characters too. (We lived near Disneyland and before that she only wanted to wave from 30 feet away. By the end of the trip, she was hugging them.)

DD is a sleep anytime, anyplace baby so I didn't need to adjust the touring much (it was just me, DD and my 8yo sister). Terra would sleep in the stroller and we'd do things like autographs, snack, playgrounds, etc while she slept. Sometimes I'd have her sleep in the hip carrier so that we could do rides or shows.

My best piece of advice I can give is to take pajamas with you to the park. Sometime after dinner and before she got too tired, I would put Terra in her pajamas, socks and shoes. This way, we could stay for Wishes, Illuminations, Fantasmic or just a late night at the park without having to wake her later. Once she fell asleep, she was out for the night. I could just move her from stoller to carrier before getting on the bus and then just put her straight into bed at the hotel. It made things soo much easier.

As far as travelling tips, I always carried several snacks and her water cup so that I was prepared whenever she was hungry. I also carried a baggie of cotton balls for her ears. Whenever we went to a show that was noisy or were doing something when she was asleep, I'd put some in her ears to protect them or as not to disturb her as much.

Have a great time!!!