First trip with a BABY---help!!!! :)

[disneyloverforchrist]

Hi ya'll!!!!!

Myself, DH, my parents, and our son will be heading to Disney for the first week of December !!!! Super excited to be taking our son for his very first DISNEY TRIP . He will be just over 6 months old at the time and we need HELP!!! How do we do disney with an infant?!?! We are staying at the POR and driving down. Should we bring our own stroller and pack and play or are the cribs and strollers on site okay???

How well does a six month old do in the parks? Any helpful tips?

We are so excited, but i'm a little nervous about this trip. I want him to have an awesome time and our family too!!!

Also, to add to it all, this will be my parents first trip in over 10 years!!! They used to take us all the time when me and my brother we younger, but haven't experienced the magic in SO LONG . I would love to make this trip extra special for them!!! Any ideas???

It's also going to be me and DH's 2 year wedding anniversary. We honeymooned in Disney so I wanted to do something special for him as well. Any ideas for us?

haha, all in all just need lots of help from experienced pros

 

[missy2217]

I would bring my own stroller, I always have. I think the strollers at the park are not infant friendly. I have always used the pack and play or crib from the resort. At the Grand Floridian we had a crib, and at the rest of the resorts we used a pack and play. I went to WDW with my one son when he was 5 months and I just took him back to the resort everyday for a nap and carried plenty of powdered formula, so I always had on hand.

 

[kjbrown]

Hi ya'll!!!!!

Myself, DH, my parents, and our son will be heading to Disney for the first week of December !!!! Super excited to be taking our son for his very first DISNEY TRIP . He will be just over 6 months old at the time and we need HELP!!! How do we do disney with an infant?!?! We are staying at the POR and driving down. Should we bring our own stroller and pack and play or are the cribs and strollers on site okay???

How well does a six month old do in the parks? Any helpful tips?

I would definitely bring your own stroller. I would use the resort crib/pack n play. Since you are driving, I would probably bring my own pack n play sheets. The ones from the resort seemed a little questionable.

I think doing Disney with an infant should be fine and fun! We took our toddler and that was a bit more difficult because he wanted to do more than he was capable of!!

Just be sure to stop off at places like Pooh's play area to let him get out of the stroller or carrier (whatever you use) and crawl around a bit.

There are lots of places to relax and hang out in WDW that you probably never noticed if you didn't have kids! There are "mother's rooms" in each park. I have heard these are great resting and relaxing places.

Just know that it won't be the same trip as it would have been without an infant and you'll do just fine!!

ETA: I would bring your own utensils for baby. And sippy cups if he is using them. Oh, and I used two small diaper bags in my stroller for all the baby stuff, it was easier to pull them out at the baggage check, and it was easier to organize so I always grabbed what I needed instead of digging through one giant bag. Oh, and don't forget a THERMOMETER and baby tylenol. I remembered the tylenol, but not the thermometer. Wound up needing to call the pediatrician and of course, the first thing they wanted to know was his temperature. As a mom, I knew it was a low fever, but they didn't believe the kiss test.

 

[peacefrog2180]

my husband and I are also going to Disney in October. Our daughter will be just about 9 months old at that time. It will be our first big trip with a baby. I have already started a checklist of things i will need for the baby and for us. So that way i hopefully won't forget anything! And as I remember things i add them to my list! I would bring your own stroller, i have heard the park ones are not comfortable. We are flying down, and bringing our stroller and pack and play only because we will be visiting family first so there will be no place for our daughter to sleep if we didn't bring it. We plan to bring some diapers, wipes and food, bottled water for the bottles, but getting the rest when we get down to Florida. Less to pack for the plane.

If it helps here is our list so far....(hey if i forgot anything let me know haha)

Sleepers
Sleeveless outfits
Shirt & short outfits
Pant outfits
Sundresses
2 bathing suits
Jacket
Socks
Bibs
Hats
Hooded Towels
Washclothes
Blanket
Stuffed Doll
Diaper Bag
Bottle Bag
Bottles
Liners
Spoons
Baby Food
Bottled Water
Formula
Powdered Formula Containers
Bowls and lids
Bottle Brush
Diapers
Wipes
Travel Size Lotion
Travel Size Bath and Body Wash
Travel Size Shampoo
Diaper Cream
Tylenol
Mylecon
Sunscreen
Q-tips
Stroller Rain Cover
Pool toy
Beach tent
High Chair cover (for restaurants)
Toys
Monitor
thermometer
Copy of Birth Certificate (for plane ride)

 

[Ohio Disney Girl]

We went when my son was 7 months and in the middle of July when it was SO hot, (The family we went with needed to go then and their CM uncle got us free passes and reduced hotel- why not!?) and we still all had a blast- even the baby!

He could ride many of the rides (It's a Small World, Pooh's Hunnypots, Dumbo, etc...) and LOVED looking at the sights! I had him in my Baby B'jorn quite a bit, but we had the stroller, too. I brought my own as it is WAY more comfortable than the rentals. I would advise bringing a large (crib sized) baby blanket and a few closepins so that you can cover the stroller when the baby is napping or if it is windy, too bright, etc...Also, a "beach hat" or "fisherman's hat" works well to keep sun off their eyes, head, and neck. Also- chapstick and lotion for little cheeks and lips being outside all day!

We brought lots of fluids for the baby. I don't know what the weather will be like in December, but being outside all day can dehydrate little ones quickly!

The resort pack-and-plays are fine, but if I was driving, I'd bring my own. I know where it has been! When we fly, I use the resort ones and pack my own sheets.

The Baby Care centers in each park are wonderful places to nurse, heat bottles, and just relax. They also have lots of nicer changing tables and rocking chairs/gliders for reluctant nappers.

Bring an inflatable bathtub or bathe in the sink. Whatever you choose, figure out a plan for baths before you go and test it before leaving as bathing in a new place/fashion can be scary at that age!

If you are driving to the parks also, remember that you can leave an extra, extra diaper bag in the car and go back out, if needed- worst case. Then pack one for the stroller.

You'll have a wonderful time! One of our all time favorite photos is a close-up of my son's face at 7 months looking up as the fireworks go off in the background. MAGIC!

 

[LORNA ANN]

We took our DS when he was 6mths to WDW, on 9hr flight no problems, we took our own stroller as it lay flat for him napping during day & some evenings.We could'nt for obvious reasons take pac & play but did take own sheets, towels, blanket. He was great no problems loved all the music watching people, lights in the evenings even slept through Epcot fireworks !! This is a easy age to take baby just looks like your going for a year with all the baby gear !! Have fun.

 

[Pinga's Mommy]

We took our DD when she was 3 months old and again at 2 1/2 years. Let me tell you...It was A LOT easier with her as an infant than as a toddler. She slept most of the time. I also have the cutest pictures of Sleeping Beauty carrying her while she is asleep. She got so much attention from the characters because she was a baby. Those are memories I will always remember.

Have fun!

 

[disneyloverforchrist]

peace frog: You are so cute and sweet!!! Thank you so much for posting that list!!! I will print it out, The only other thing I could think of is toys for the car ride for us...it will be a long one! Thank you sooo much!

 

[disneyloverforchrist]

Great advice....will be bringing our own stroller, but probably using the POR crib with our own sheets!!! I'm so excited that he will be able to enjoy some of the rides as well

How many of the baby/mommy rooms are there at each park? Are they pretty easy to find? haha, the things you never thought of before you have a child. I have probably walked right by them on other trips and never even noticed

 

[bellarosemarie]

My Dh and I took our DS last Sept when he was 6 months, we had a blast!
1) Take breaks often - POR is a wonderful resort (we stayed there when I was pregnant) plan on going back for naps or just to get away from crowd madness in the parks.

2) Bring your own stroller. Disney strollers are too big for a baby plus he'll want to be in something he is formilar with, especially for taking naps.

3) Their baby stations are wonderful!!! They have everything you need if you forget something in your room. There are microwaves to heat up food or bottles and sinks w/dish soap to clean up afterwards. They sell little bottles of gerber juices for $1, one less thing to put in the diaper bag. They have diapers w/ wipes that you can purchase also. I CAN NOT speak highly enough about their baby stations, they were simply outstanding!

4) Ship your supplies down ahead of time. We did this and All our diapers, wipes, baby food. juice bottles, bottle cleaners - pretty much everything I could send I did and it was all there waiting for us. I want to say it cost us about $45 to ship from Rhode Island. I sent it 7 days before we left. If you choose to do this do a search on the forum for how to address the box, I wish I could remember but I forgot.

5) We stayed at ASSports and requested a pack-n-play, it was ok, it did its job. It saved us from bring our own - can you imagine packing that thing This Sept we requested bed rails, DS is a little picky about his sleeping arangments now that he older. I don't think I could get him to go down in a strange cribe if I tried now.

6) Enjoy it all! Relax and have fun, at least you have other people with you that can help. Me and my DH were fine, but it would have nice to go on some of the adult rides together instead of doing the baby swap, we had fun anyway though He went on everything w/us that he could, there are more things he could go on then not. Bring a BabyBjorn carrier if you have one, it work great when going on the rides, DS always felt safe and secure when he was in it.

7) Lastly, bring him to see some characters, whether at a character meal or some meet&greets in the parks. We have some of the best pictures!!! He laughted and reached out for all of them. I actually cried when we went to Crystal Palace for breakfast and Eeyore came to our table, my sons eyes lite up and he reached out and laughted.

Have a wonderful disney vacation w/ your son and family, and just think this is just the first of many more to come

 

[bellarosemarie]

There is one baby station per park and they are easy to find on the park maps. If you miss them just ask a cast member.
MK - right next to the Crystal Palace
Epcot - behind the test track, over a short bridge on your left, next to the first aid station, this one can be aliitle tricky to find.
Dis studios - to the left when you first walk in to the park, right next to guest relations. This one was going through some rehap when we were there.
AK - sorry we never used this one so I really don't know where it is located, I know it is somewhere on discovery island.
Hope this helps

 

[dsnymomof4]

We have been to Disney many times over the past 6 years with our children, but this past April was our first with a baby. It was the most relaxing of all our vacations. We knew it wouldn't be like our past vacations, where we were always on the go, racing to get to the next ride, trying to do as much as we could before the crowds came in at 10:00am. Instead, we took a different approach and while we still had a basic plan of which parks we would go to and a few reservations, we really just took our time and did what we could around the baby's schedule. I agree with everyone else who said the baby care stations are great! DS was almost 4 months at the time and was breastfeeding only (no solids at the time), so the baby care stations offered not only a quiet place to feed him, but also a cool place, as the temps were in the 90s some days. We used the resort's pack n play, but I always bring a big can of Lysol and go around the entire room and spray everything. I also bring my own sheets. We also always bring our own stroller for several reasons - one is that it reclines so he can sleep anywhere, anytime. Another is that you can take it out of the park and back to the resort. We didn't really have to go back to the resort for an afternoon nap, because baby just slept whenever he was tired and we took him on all the rides he could go on - he loved the lights and sounds and loved looking at everything around him. He spent about half the time in the Baby B'Bjorn and half in the stroller. It was really a wonderful experience. We are planning another trip for Thanksgiving - he will be 11 months by then. I'm sure it will be a little harder because he will be more mobile (possibly walking - would be neat if he takes his first step in Disney)! We're already planning his first haircut at the Main Street Barber Shop. We too will probably be taking a long car ride due to the high price of airline tickets, so we will plan to do a lot of the driving at night when the kids would be sleeping. Yes, lots of interesting toys are a must. I'm sure you'll have a great time! Good luck!

 

[ldbrown318]

We took our DS when he was 3mos old. Bringing your own stroller is a must! The ones inthe parks are way to big and hard for infants. Stop by the baby care centers! You'll be glad you did. Not just as a nice place to take care of the little one, but its a nice place to take a breather. We took our son on everything we could. Granted he slept through most of them, but we enjoyed it! And take pictures! We now show 3 1/2 DS pictures of him asleep in front of everything amd he laughs out loud>

 

[hardingk]

Thanks for all of these great tips!! We will be traveling with our new baby in December to WDW with my parents and SIL. Baby will be approx 4 months when we go. My parents live near Orlando, so we have purchased an extra pack n Play to store at their house for our disney trips! We are debating though if we should bring a regular stoller or the car seat and the snugride frame? I think the regular stoller may be more comfortable and baby will be able to look out at everything.

 

[dsnymomof4]

I had the same dilemma about bringing the infant carseat - luckily it fits right into our stroller, so we were able to use both. I thought I would want to have the infant seat in case he fell asleep and we had to go into a restaurant, we could just bring him in. We did that once, but mostly he just rode in the stroller. We even were able to bring it into Le Cellier. We did use the carseat on the plane and it was wonderful. He slept both ways the whole time. I think 4 months is such a great age to bring a baby - they're old enough to observe and be amazed by all the wonderful sights around them. I was so surprised that he was so good - he just went along with whatever we did without any problems at all. He went in the pool for the first time and loved it. He was fascinated with the characters. He loved the lights and colors of the attractions. It was such a wonderful experience bringing him to Disney for the first time. I can't wait to take him back!