going to Disneyland with an infant (neep tips)

[MommyLove]

We're going in Sept and this time we'll have a 6 month old baby with us!! I was pregnant when we would have gone last year so we skipped it, but we don't want to skip it this year. We're all super excited about going! We will be going from the Sept 12th-21st (yay!). We are staying at the Park Vue, the DLH, and the GC (first time on property!) so we'll be pretty close (especially when we're at the GC!) It will be fairly easy to get back to our room for a nap break when we need it.

I'd love some advice from you experienced parents taking babies to the park. Help me with the logistics:

We will be taking our own stroller. What attractions don't allow a stroller in the queue? Which ones did you like taking the baby on? Any other stoller advice you can give would be great.

Where are quiet & comfy places to BF the baby?

Which rides do that swap thing? Someone told me about that - can't remember what it's called or how it works exactly. How will that work with our two older kids? Which rides DON'T do it?

Slinging/carrying the baby: We have a Bjorn, but I've also heard that that isn't as comfy as some of the other carriers out there. What do you recommend?

Any other advice?

Thanks in advance!!

 

[bumbershoot]

The only ride that DOES allow strollers in the queue is Nemo. Once you get through the main part of the line, they will take your stroller and valet park it for you and you carry baby through the last bits of the line.

At 6 months I think I was still using the Hotsling quite a bit. DS was still light enough that I was OK with the hip carry. When we have another baby I'll get the infant insert for the Ergo I got later on with DS, and do a front carry (facing me) with him, or get a padded-strap mei tai for the same sort of carry.

There are baby care centers that have rocker/gliders. POTC is a wonderful place to nurse, but remember that they have video cameras, so don't be fooled by the feeling of privacy in the darkness. Use as much modesty as you would use out on a bench.

I haven't used baby swap in too long, and I think some of my info (my specific example of Indy, mainly) is outdated, so I'll let others answer that!

 

[YellowMickeyPonchos]

With a 6 month old, there's not much you can't do. Since we've had our girls, who are still both toddlers, we've been racking up at least 2 visits a month lately (we're locals).

Take your own stroller - the rentals are only allowed in the security zone for the parks - you can't take them into DTD or back to your hotel. I've never had an issue with anyone messing with my stroller. Just be prepared for the fact that when you park them, if you don't put it in an authorized area, or if that area is parked like chaos visited it, the attraction cast memebers come by to straighten them up and your stroller may be moved to a slightly different location. People who aren't used to this may panic at first, but it was really just moved by the Disney people while you were watching the show. Strollers aren't really allowed in any ride queue - you'll need to carry them. They are allowed inside the buildings that have "mini-attractions" like Innoventions in DL and the Animation building in DCA. Most sit down restaurants don't allow them by the tables, unless it's a very small child (as yours will be) or if they are sleeping.

My favorite places to chill are many - either level of the Hungry Bear Restaurant - if it's not open, it's so quiet back there in the back table areas and you have the River right next to you, the Animation Building in DCA - dark, with soothing music - great place to nurse, the back rows of the train (in the cars that face outward) the motion is very soothing - just pop on with the baby and ride as long as you want, and the "cubby hole courtyards" in New Orleans Square. They have little benches and I nursed there many times. Don't feel you need to go back to baby care each time you need to feed the baby, either. Any theater show, like Golden Dreams or Aladdin in DCA or upstairs at the Golden Horseshoe in DL, or longer smooth ride, like Haunted Mansion or the subs, would work. My fave for that was Small World, although it's down til November. Another good place is the winery area in DCA.

The sling is the easiest (we used one for both girls, but then bought an ErgoBaby carrier to use for our oldest for last year's WDW trip - which can be used as a front or backpack carrier. You can take them on any ride that doesn't have a height restriction. Those rides allow rider switch (as it's called now), to make up for it. Rider swap allows one child to go back on with the 2nd parent. Both (or just one if there's a fight) kids will ride with the first parent and then when they come out, you go back in with one other person. Ther others stay with the baby.

Do Pirates now, because when the baby gets older and is more aware of it's surroundings, it might be too scared to go. This happened to our 3 year old at about 1.75 years. She wigged out and cried the whole ride and I felt like the worst parent on the face of the earth. Same goes for the Haunted Mansion. Also, realize that there are many rides that you cannot hold the baby in your lap - like TSMM, Peter Pan, Dumbo, so you need to be prepared to sit the baby next to you and hold on to him/her.

Enjoy yourself. Remember, it can still get hot in September - especially early in the month, so keep extra fluids on hand for both of you!

Nancy

 

[MommyLove]

POTC is a wonderful place to nurse, but remember that they have video cameras, so don't be fooled by the feeling of privacy in the darkness.

LOL!! That totally made me laugh.

That actually would be a nice place to BF, huh! Once we got past those first little drops. Thanks for the great tips!

 

[MommyLove]

Thank you Nancy. That is very helpful.

Just reading these posts is reassuring. I've been really nervous thinking about taking the baby. You guys are a great help!!

 

[Sy-]

Here is some advice.... Pick one place to stay! Nothing harder than packing and unpacking just to change hotels or hotel rooms. Plus its a waste of time!

 

[MommyLove]

Here is some advice.... Pick one place to stay! Nothing harder than packing and unpacking just to change hotels or hotel rooms. Plus its a waste of time!

Naaaa, to us this is going to be part of the adventure! It would just be tooooo much money to stay on property the whole time. This is the perfect compromise. And we're so excited about staying at both the DLH and the GC! Plus they will at least do the move between the DLH and the GC for us (at least this is what I understand) so we'll just make one of the moves ourselves. A small price to pay for our hotel adventure, lol!

 

[olivejuice]

i have a question i want to add to this post cause its similar. i will be taking my 2 year old daughter for the first time in october. she is not really scared of much yet that ive found but i dont know how she will do on the rides. have any of you had a time where your toddler went on a ride for the first time and got really scared? if so what did you do? or what do you think someone should do. or how should i prepare her for them? I just dont want to get on the ride and have her scared the whole long ride screaming. id feel horrible.

 

[pumpkin5156]

I didn't read the other posts, so pardon if I repeat.

You can take your baby on anything that doesn't have a height restriction. That's a lot of stuff! We took my son while in the womb, at 2.5 and 3 months. We've had APs since he turned 16 months, so we're seasoned DL vets with small ones!

The Baby Center is nice, but I thought too out of the way to go nurse there for every feeding. I fed him where ever we were at the time. On a bench, on a table, on a ride, whatever! I also carried him in my Bjorn on most rides, and it was fine for both of us. No problems at all. He slept in his stroller a lot, but we did go back to the hotel once for a change into warm clothes (it was Dec).
No lights or fireworks, or noises scared him at all. He did great!

Just be flexible. If baby or you need some time to rest, do it! Scrap the plan once he shows signs of over tiredness or over stimulation. Everyone will be happier if you follow this rule. You'll be there for awhile, so there's no rush to get everything done in 2 days.

Nemo and TSMM let you bring strollers in the que.

 

[DahliaRW]

Never been to DL with an infant, but I can help with the baby carrier thing.

For all day, I would recommend something that goes over both shoulders. At six months I woudl highly recommend a soft structured carrier like the ergo (wwwDOTergobabycarrierDOTcom), patapum (wwwDOTpatapumDOTcom), or beco (wwwDOTbecobabycarrierDOTcom). You could also go with any type of Mei Tai, but the SSC carriers are easier. Any of these carriers are a gazillion times more comfy than the bjorn because it puts some of the baby's weight down on your hips/legs versus all on your shoulders. You can also wear your baby on your back, front, or side carry on your hip. I have a 12 month old, and I always stick my ergo in the botton of my stroller so I can put him on when he gets fussy or when it's just not convenient to bring the stroller. The ergo, patapum, and beco all have sleeping hoods to support their heads if they conk out on you too. My LO is 23 lbs and still very comfortable to wear in my ergo. I gave up on the bjorn around 12 lbs!

Sorry about the links, I don't have enough posts so I couldn't put direct links in.

 

[olivejuice]

those ergo and beco carriers are awsome. i like the beco ones. thats a good idea. i never thought about getting one for my toddler. thanks for the sites.

 

[MommyLove]

Great help about the carriers. I'd heard the Bjorn can get uncomfortable after awhile and that's the LAST thing I need, lol.

 

[YellowMickeyPonchos]

Olivejuice,

In my post, I outlined my 'worst mommy in the world" moment with Pirates and my 3 yr old (when she was 18 months). All kids are different. I would try yours out with watching some of the "darker" Disney movies and see what reaction is given - like Nightmare before Christmas. You really can't tell if they don't like a ride until they experience it and at 2 years old, they start developing fears.

My 3 year old is very sensitive to dark and scary. She got out of the stretch room and into the lower queue of the Haunted Mansion, saw the portraits and rainy windows, and started letting Daddy know immediately that she wanted to leave, so they got right back into the stretch room and rode it back up to exit. That is off our list now, til she's older. We have several rides we aren't having her experience yet, although she's finally good with Peter Pan and now has seen some Pirates clips and it might be time to try that one again, but only when we go to WDW later this year. They don't have the scary skeleton rooms there, so you go straight into the Pirate scenes - cuts out much of the trauma. Also, the queue in WDW takes you through the fort, so it's a better "atmosphere set-up" for testing the "scary factor" than in DL.

Pirates isn't so easy to judge - it looks fairly innocuous at the beginning with the quiet Bayou, but when you get to the talking skull and crossbones, there's no way out! You're stuck with a sobbing child. Just have them put their head in your lap or hold them next to you, until you get out of the skeleton rooms and into the ruckus pirate scenes. Then try to coax them up. They might not believe you that it's okay - big costumed pirates can be scary.

My strategy - take the child on tamer dark rides - like Peter Pan, to start. It's not scary, but you are flying (that might judge how they'll be for the drops in pirates). Then you can move to Pinocchio - a bit scarier, but on level surface. Snow White is higher on the scary scale, but again, level. Snow White has "ugly scary", like skeletons and creepy witches. It might be a smaller way to judge how they might do in the Mansion.

If you are worried about scary, then stay out of the Haunted Mansion. It has "ugly scary" in a big way, in comparison to the other rides. It also has humor for the adults, but many little ones can't see that aspect.

Hope this helps!
Nancy

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

You've gotten some really great advice here. I just wanted to say that on Dumbo you can ride with the baby on your lap, not next to you. You just fasten the seatbelt around both of you. I still do this with my 2 year old because she doesn't have long enough arms to reach the lever thing otherwise.

 

[disney-inspired]

We will be taking our own stroller. What attractions don't allow a stroller in the queue? Which ones did you like taking the baby on? Any other stoller advice you can give would be great.

I'm having a hard time thinking of many attractions that don't allow strollers in the queue. The ones that come to mind are Indy, Space, and Jungle Cruise.

Where are quiet & comfy places to BF the baby?

Seriously, I've heard of plenty of women BF their babies on POTC after the first drop. It's nice long ride, 10-12 minutes, with a nice swaying motion that puts ME to sleep They have a baby care center on Main St. There's also the Haunted Mansion, you have the darkness as a cover and it's cool, if not cold, inside. The ride suggestions are only if your comfortable BF in public.

Which rides do that swap thing? Someone told me about that - can't remember what it's called or how it works exactly. How will that work with our two older kids? Which rides DON'T do it?

I believe any ride that your baby can't go on, anything with a height requirement, has child swap. The way it would work is that you could ride with one of your older kids while your hubby, baby, and 2nd kid wait. Then you go out and your hubby and DK2 can ride while you wait at the exit.

Slinging/carrying the baby: We have a Bjorn, but I've also heard that that isn't as comfy as some of the other carriers out there. What do you recommend?

This is how I plan on touring DL and WDW when I have kids. I would try it out at the mall or some place where you would walk alot to see if it's comfortable for you. I've seen the backpack ones but I think that might be best for older (1-2yo) kids.

Any other advice?

HAVE FUN! I believe, even though I have no experience in this situation, that taking a baby to DL is easier than a toddler or kid.

 

[bumbershoot]

i have a question i want to add to this post cause its similar. i will be taking my 2 year old daughter for the first time in october. she is not really scared of much yet that ive found but i dont know how she will do on the rides. have any of you had a time where your toddler went on a ride for the first time and got really scared? if so what did you do? or what do you think someone should do. or how should i prepare her for them? I just dont want to get on the ride and have her scared the whole long ride screaming. id feel horrible.

Do NOT start with Snow White or Pinocchio first. Not even Peter Pan, IMO. Alice is pushing it. Basically start with the open, bright, sunny rides to get kiddo used to it. Might want to go over to DCA for bug's land first, actually, since everything is out in the open. Get her used to the lines then the ride, then getting off the ride. At DL you've got Dumbo and the teacups if you want to go on teacups, and the carrousel there (there's also one in DCA), to help with "line, ride, off ride, you're safe".

After kiddo is used to that, then see if she wants to go on the rides that go inside (if IASW is open when you go, that's bright and airy and cheery, so a good transition IMO).

My guy was 16 months on our first trip and we did Snow White and Pin, and he didn't care at all. I don't know about the next year, b/c I didn't want to go on them. The people sreaming in the stretching room that year kept us from going on HM, but once I could go during the holiday overlay I was glad he hadn't gone, b/c it was just freaky if you weren't used to those images. And he still hasn't gone on HM b/c he just doesn't want to.


Other than HM, my son didn't get really anti-dark rides until he was 3, and that has basically ended now that he is 4. At 2 he didn't have much of a negative opinion, except for when other people were screaming.

 

[MommyLove]

I'm having a hard time thinking of many attractions that don't allow strollers in the queue. The ones that come to mind are Indy, Space, and Jungle Cruise.



Seriously, I've heard of plenty of women BF their babies on POTC after the first drop. It's nice long ride, 10-12 minutes, with a nice swaying motion that puts ME to sleep They have a baby care center on Main St. There's also the Haunted Mansion, you have the darkness as a cover and it's cool, if not cold, inside. The ride suggestions are only if your comfortable BF in public.



I believe any ride that your baby can't go on, anything with a height requirement, has child swap. The way it would work is that you could ride with one of your older kids while your hubby, baby, and 2nd kid wait. Then you go out and your hubby and DK2 can ride while you wait at the exit.



This is how I plan on touring DL and WDW when I have kids. I would try it out at the mall or some place where you would walk alot to see if it's comfortable for you. I've seen the backpack ones but I think that might be best for older (1-2yo) kids.


HAVE FUN! I believe, even though I have no experience in this situation, that taking a baby to DL is easier than a toddler or kid.

Thanks Cristabel! That's super helpful!!

 

[TahoeMom]

I believe any ride that your baby can't go on, anything with a height requirement, has child swap. The way it would work is that you could ride with one of your older kids while your hubby, baby, and 2nd kid wait. Then you go out and your hubby and DK2 can ride while you wait at the exit.

It's been several years since we used the Parent Swap but I wanted to add a few thoughts to the above - the group that rides second (hubby, and DK2 in the example above) does not have to wait nearly as long as the first group - they usually go in the exit or the Fastpass line. (Actually getting Fastpasses works very much like using the Parent Swap.) I don't believe the different attractions mention if they have the Parent Swap available - you just need to ask the CM that is usually posted at the line entrance - they will give you a slip of paper that the waiting group holds on to. The paper entitles the waiting adult and one other person to get on board without much of a line.

My husband and I used this many times when my youngest (now 9) was much smaller and it was a big help.

 

[cheshiregirl]

Another great place to BF is in the Nemo Subs Observation Room. It is cool, quiet and we have never hit a time when another family was using it at the same time as us.

At the entrance to the Subs queue ask to use the Observation Room, which was created for those who cannot navigate the steps or go on the Sub ride itself for any other reason.

Basically they will take you to a small room where you get to watch the same "movie" that the people on the sub will see, except instead of looking out of your port window it's on a giant flat screen tv.

And, the extra bonus is that you don't have to stand in line--it's always been a virtual walk on for us!

 

[uncool_adry]

For breastfeeding I say you go to the Baby center. Its nice, quiet, clean and comfortable.