DisneyWorld with 10 month old

[BrandonsMom1]

Hi everyone,
I am new to this forum. It is great. I am so glad I found it. We are planning on visiting Orlando probably in April or May and will be taking our 10 month old son to DisneyWorld. Has anyone else taken their kids at this age to Disney before and what were their experiences? Will he be able to ride all the rides except of course Space Mountain? Looking forward to visiting DisneyWorld again. Haven't been since 1990. Also would like to know advice of whether to stay at the Disney Resorts or off of Disney grounds. Thanks so much. Please email me at WinniePooh768@yahoo.com with any ideas. Thanks so much.

Tara

 

[Disney Debbie]

Go to the resorts board with your on vs off site question. It goes on all the time over there! And the consensus for most of us is definitely on - especially with a baby.

I personally wouldn't take a 10 month old. Our DD was 3 for her first trip so I can't offer a lot of advice there - but if you have a choice between April and May I'd go with as early as possible (avoiding Easter week of course!) just because the earlier the cooler. And be SURE and slather that baby with sunscreen!

 

[Disney Debbie]

And PS - Welcome to the DIS!!

 

[all4fun]

Hi, we are also taking our ds with us for the first time to WDW in May. He will be 13 months old. We are so looking forward to our first trip with him. We know he won't remember any of it, we are going mainly for ourselves and also are looking forward to seeing how he reacts to things (good or bad - I'm sure he'll test our patience a few times! LOL)

There are a few other rides besides Space Mtn that you won't be able to take your ds on but that's ok. They have a wonderful system called "child swap". You should definitely find out about it when you get there. It will allow everyone who wants to ride the "big rides" to be able to do so.

As far as staying off or on site, I'm with the pp, definitely ON is better. Sometimes you can find better deals staying off site, but being on-site is so much more convenient, you can take advantage of early entry priviledges if you're on site, and of course it's much easier to take a mid-day break as well.

I also wanted to point you in the direction of the "Disney for Families" board. There are tons of people over there that have lots of experience taking little ones to WDW. I've found tons of useful info there for our first trip. Have a magical trip!

 

[hygienejean]

Hi there!
This past May 2003 we were there with our almost 3 year old DS and my 10 month old DD. I would encourage you to take your baby! We had a fabulous time.

She mainly rolled around in the stroller with a big smile on her face. She touched all of the characters and kissed them. (My DS was a little nervous though!) She was able to go on many attractions. She fell asleep in "It's a small World" The previos poster mentioned the "baby Swap" It is a great option.

If you plan on visiting WDW more than once in your child's lifetime (like me!), know that there are so many ages at which a child can enjoy it. I know she'll never in a million years remember it, but I have pictures and I will remember and tell her all about it. This age is just so sweet.

I would stongly advise that you stay onsite. No question with a baby. Every day you will need to go back to your hotel for lunch and a nap. (for everybody!!!) I would even encourage you to splurge and stay at an onsite hotel that is close to a park. Either the MK hotels or Epcot ones. You don't want an overtired cranky baby, trust me! Oh and BTW you won't be getting your money's worth out of your park tickets...but when you are there(at the parks) or at your Disney hotel, it is still a blast!

Oh one thing! She did get upset in "Journey into your Imagination" It was dark and very loud. Plus when the blast of skunk smelling air shot out she screamed. I would warn you about the loudness of many attractions, especially in Epcot. MK was just fine.

We were there in early May and it was quite hot! In the 90's by late morning! Yikes!!! I think that was hot for that time of year but I would try to go at the end of April if you can.

Let me know if you have any questions, hope this was helpful! Have fun!

 

[RamseyTrio]

Hi there -

Last May we took our 11 month old (and our 6 year old). It was great travelling with an infant - no problems at all. Best advice is to make sure you have a stroller that they are comfortable in so they can take naps while you tour.

We never go back to the hotel for breaks in the afternoon - instead the infant sleeps in the stroller and we take that opportunity to do some things for ourselves or our older son that might normally make our youngest a bit antsy. We have only experienced one meltdown from our children and that was our older DS when he was 3 and had insisted on walking around World Showcase - boy was he tired and cranky after that (we sure learned our lesson!). Our older DS was GREAT at sleeping in a stroller (he'd take 2 hour naps in his) and the younger one does a good job with it too.


We are fans of staying off-site only because we can get much more room for the money and it's important for us to have some personal space and not feel cramped while at the same time saving some money to spend on better things (like food & fun in the parks). Also like having a suite w/kitchen so that we can store food that the kids both liked.

We always rent a car so once we get into it in the parking lot it makes no difference to us that we need to drive 10 or 15 minutes further to an off-site location.

The infant will have a great time looking at all the colors, hearing all the sounds, etc...The babies get lots of attention from CMs and characters too. Our youngest loved each and every character last time but I think he'll be a bit more scared when we go this year since Santa and the Easter Bunny terrify him.

Sunscreen and a big hat are necessities.

Have a BLAST!

 

[EsmeraldaX]

I don't have kids myself, but we saw a lot of babies who looked like they were enchanted by WDW when we were there in late Feb.

Sure he can go on a lot of rides, many rides are slow moving and not thrill packed. My neice is older, about 16 months and she was fascinated by It's a Small World. There is a lot of visual stimulation, which babies love.

Some things that you may want to avoid are close encounters with the characters though. My neice was HORRIFIED of Mickey, Minnie, Goofy etc. The "face" characters like Cinderella and Snow White did not scare her however. I guess all children react differently.

I have heard some babies do better with Pooh and Tigger than with Minnie and Mickey. I don't know why that is. My neice was afraid of all of them.

But she loved going on all the rides, like Small World, and seeing the Tiki room birds and the Country Bears. And Journey Into Imagination in Epcot. (she likes music). There is so much to see, and so much to hear that even though they can't go on many of the rides , babies can have a wonderful expereince.

They also have a baby swap so adults in the party can take turns minding the baby while the other goes on the more grown up rides.

I disagree with the people who say babies should not go to WDW. So maybe they won't remember it. But YOU will remember it, and remember their reactions to everything.

I would say stay on site, but rent a car. Renting a car is the best thing we ever did, and I'd think with children of any age, being able to control when you can come and go beats waiting for busses that may be crowded and take twice the time any day.

Have great trip!

~Sheri

 

[moinab]

We usually go once a month with DS (3) and DD (13 months). If money were not a concern, we would stay onsite for the overall Disney effect, but since we like to go often, we stay offsite. We Priceline a hotel, usually within 3 miles of the WDW Maingate. We have found that it is not a big deal at all to leave the parks for an afternoon nap and then head back for more fun, as we are driving only a few miles farther than the value resorts.

Actually, DD always takes her naps in the parks. We only have to go back to the hotel for DS. We always bring a stroller, but I prefer to have DD nap in the sling (don't know how I ever got along without one!) because you have to park the stroller outside before going on rides and attractions. The last time we let her nap in the stroller, she slept for 2 hours and we had to take turns going on rides. I was surprised by how many rides I could go on with her in the sling (or just holding her). There are (I believe) only 3 rides in each park with height restrictions, at this time.

There is a Baby Care Center in each park with rocking chairs, high chairs, changing tables, microwaves, etc. They are great!

In addition to sunscreen and a sunhat, I also like to use a small, Totes-style umbrella to keep the sun off of DD. The last time we were at AK, DH saw a baby who was so badly sunburned, his skin was blistered. People just don't realize the intensity of the FL sun. Having said that, though, my kids have never been sunburned or even tanned at WDW. You just have to take the proper precautions.

That's all I can think of right now, but I'd be happy to help out with any other questions.

 

[hygienejean]

I forgot to suggest that staying/renting a DVC resort is the best way I have found to both stay onsite and save money. On our last visit we rented points (see the rent/trade board here on the Dis) for a 2 bedroom at the BWV. I think we paid around $300 per night, (Less than a deluxe Disney hotel) and we had a full kitchen, laundry, good sized living room, 2 bedrooms(One with a king sized bed) a balcony that overlooked the boardwalk, and a jacuzzi! We could have even save more money if we stayed on a Sunday - Thurs when the point cost is much less. They also have one bedroom units available as well. See the rent/trade board for more info or you can PM me and I will be happy to give you any help I can.

 

[michygoomy]

We did WDW (2 days only, were staying in a house on the Gulf Coast) when my DD was 11 months and DS was 3. I think that was the first and *last* time she actually liked the characters---when she was 3 she was terrified of them, and at 7 she was bored with them and more interested in Rock and Roll Rollercoaster!

I loved the parks with a baby. We brought our big comfy stoller from home, and she would sleep in it no problem. It funny how touring with a baby can make you slow down a bit and take in some of the details. One of my favorite, favorite WDW moments was sitting outside Indiana Jones with my napping DD while DH & DS took in the show. I was just relaxing and doing some people-watching, when along came a green army man to sign an autograph for a little boy. At that moment, some loud explosions came from the show, and army man dropped flat on the ground, hands protecting his head. He got up cautiously, looked around, then finished signing the autograph. It was a great moment, the type I would have missed in commando-touring mode like my last trip.

She loved the dark shows and rides, she napped in my arms during Muppets (even with the loud noises!), and using a combination of baby swap and the single-rider lane got us through Test Track for our first ride in record time. She had great fun (and so did our 3yo) in the Honey I Shrunk....playground, and I have some of the cutest pictures from there.

Pack up that diaper bag with lots of fruit juice and cheerios and have a fabulous time!

 

[shortbun]

I agree, on site. The younger the children are, the better off you are with on site accomodations. We did our first off site this
year, DS is 8 now and needs no nap. It was great to hop on
and off those buses with a little one, no loading and unloading
the car, no walk from the parking lot, quick transitions.
Have a great trip!!!!

 

[BrerMama]

I've been twice with a 10 month old... once when my oldest was that age (we happened to be in FL for a wedding and couldn't drive past Orlando and not stop) and again in 2000 when my youngest was 10 months old. Although they won't remember the experience, I treasure the memories I have of both of them at Disney. My son took his first steps in our hotel room and the castmembers were so nice to us. With our youngest, she adored the characters (my son was frightened of them) and just enjoyed every minute of it. I'm certainly glad that this trip I won't have any children in diapers or need to worry about bottles and baby food, but I also don't regret having taken them before.

 

[macbro]

It sounds like everyone has had positive experiences with their infants and toddlers. We are opting not to take our 18-month-old. Grandma volunteered to babysit him for 12 day while we are gone. I have a DS 8, and a DD who will be 6 that we are taking with us. We just thought that we would be able to do more with our older kids if we weren't hauling a stroller around, but reading all of your posts about how your toddlers reacted has made me have a huge guilt trip. I just hope he doesn't resent it later that we didn't take him and took the other two! Oh well, I guess I am a bad mom... or I will just have to visit WDW again when he gets a little older!

 

[BrandonsMom1]

Thanks so much for all the responses. I know we will have a great time. Actually he will be 11 months when we go. He is very observant and loves Mickey! Thanks so much everyone! Tara