Disneyland with an 11 mo. old

[heathsf]

Thoughts on a short (maybe 2 days?) trip to DL/DCA with an 11 mo. old?

I know she won't remember it and the trip would mostly be for me and DH, but I'm interested in doing things she will enjoy. Dumbo, IASW, meet characters... what else can a 11 mo. do?

This would be in mid April, so are certain days of the week better than others? It would be during the week, not a weekend.

TIA!

 

[BobearQSI]

I took an 11 month old girl 2 years ago Agreed, the trip was more for us and the 3 year old.

I made a list of rides she could go on back then - this might not include everything, but it was a list of things we might feel like doing. I know I left stuff off like Mark Twain, but you can look at the disneyland.com attractions page to see everything that doesn't list a height requirement.

Disneyland:
Alice in Wonderland, Astro Orbitor, Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, Casey Jr. Circus Train, Disneyland Railroad, Dumbo, Finding Nemo Submarine, Haunted Mansion, It’s a Small World, Jungle Cruise, Carousel, Mad Tea Party, Winnie the Pooh, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, Peter Pan, Pinocchio, Pirates of the Caribbean, Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin, Snow White, Storybook Land Boats

California Adventrue:
Flik’s Flyers, Ladybug Boogie, Golden Zephyr, Heimlich’s Chew Chew Train, Carousel, Ariel’s Undersea Adventure, Mickey’s Fun Wheel, Monsters Inc., Toy Story Mania

Of course, all of those may not be appropriate. But our little girl didn't even care on the Pirates of the Caribbean drops!

 

[Lauren in NC]

How well does she sleep in a stroller? We went for my son's 1st birthday, and it was a lovely trip! He was still taking a morning and afternoon nap, so we scheduled all the tot-friendly rides around when he was awake and then did child swap for the grown-up rides while he napped in the stroller. My son's favorites were Pirates, the Carousels, Winnie the Pooh and the Ariel ride. He liked meeting the characters, as well. Some of our best photos from the trip are when he met Mickey and Minnie together - he was all smiles and just entranced! The parades were also a big hit, but he couldn't care less about the fireworks or World of Color.

April can be a strange month. I think Easter is at the end of March this year, so depending on when spring breaks are, there could be a lot of ride closures. It's best to get there first thing in the morning, if possible.

 

[heathsf]

Thank you so much! Both of your replies have me so much more excited that she will have lots of fun, at least in the moment!
The stroller/adult rides idea is great. She's only 2 months now but she sleeps great in the stroller and hopefully still will!

 

[peterpanandwendy]

We went last year with our 3yo boy and 1yo girl… but she is severely developmentally delayed and was more 6mo developmentally at the time and we had a blast. She loved the parades, anything with lights and music, and we did small world a ton of times because of all the colours and the music… she LOVED it. She was also VERY portable, happy in a stroller, etc. She napped well in the stroller too, so when she was napping DH and I would pop over to Bayside Brews in DCA for a few brews and a pretzel

People criticized us for taking her so young… all the typical responses… "But she won't even remember it…" "Why don't you wait until she is older and can actually enjoy it?" etc. However, we felt like WE love Disneyland, and we would have gone anyway if it was just the two of us, so why not take her? And why take a baby anywhere then? We aren't just going to sit around in the house all day for five years.

If it was a once in a lifetime thing, maybe, but for us we like to go every few years and it was totally fun taking a baby.

 

[starshine514]

My LO is 15 months, we took her at 5 months, 9 months, 10 months, 13 and 14 months. Her likes have evolved a bit over time. Here's what I remember:

5 months - hated the carousel, loved Small World and fireworks
9 and 10 months - loved meeting fuzzy characters
13 and 14 months - loved the carousel, just stared at the characters (was actually scared of Pluto and cried). Loves the Paint the Night parade

She does fine on most rides - Small World, Pooh and Little Mermaid are currently her favorites after the carousel. She likes most rides, though. The only ones she doesn't care much for are Haunted Mansion and Pirates (I think it's because they are darker).

DL is great for toddlers; most rides don't have a HR, so they can ride them. My DD sleeps well in the stroller, so that works out well for us.

I would say that Tuesday is typically the least crowded day, with Weds and Thurs tying for second. In April, you may run into Spring Break crowds/long hours or less crowded (but shorter hours, less nighttime entertainment) on the weekdays. So, just factor that in if the fireworks or nighttime parade are things you want to do - late in the month, they'll likely only be on weekends. Easter's in March next year, so think mid-April would likely be in the lower-crowds, shorter hours, less nighttime entertainment timeframe.

 

[disneymoon0606]

I would suggest finding a comfortable and supportive baby carrier so you can wear her on rides. If she's awake she will feel more secure if she's nervous, and if she's asleep she can just keep right on sleeping without an adult needing to stay with her in the stroller.

 

[beachdreamr1229]

We took our 13 month old twins to Disneyland in February. There's a lot they can go on, including Pirates, HM, the dark rides, IASM, and the dark rides at DCA (Little Mermaid, Monster's Inc.). Anyway, we had a great time. My older son was 4 at the time, so it was mostly for him, but even the babies enjoyed it. They're 18 months old now and we're going back for another long trip this week.

Bring snacks, a good stroller, a forward facing baby carrier (I know, bad for the hips, but most rides require the babies to ride forward, so it's easier. We actually had evenflos that were cheap but could convert from forward to rear facing easily), and a change of clothes. It's really fun with babies, despite the fact that they do tend to cry and need naps. It actually forced me to start looking at some of the stuff I have always missed when running from ride to ride. The shows and the general ambiance are far more exciting than they seem when you're constantly in a hurry. I wrote a few blog entries on taking Disneyland and other amusement park trips with young toddlers/infants (http://disneylanddreamin.blogspot.com/2015/03/day-trippin-packing-list.html). I think there's a ton of info on here about going with infants, too.