Going with an 11 Month Old

[Hollymom1229]

DH and I are DVC owners and are regular visitors to WDW. This past November we just had our first child. Our daughter is 9 weeks old and we intend to go to WDW in late September for her first Disney trip. She will be a couple weeks shy of 11 months. While we have been many times and have gone in large family groups with kids, this will be our first trip with our little one. We are wondering if the more experienced here can provide any tips and tricks for travelling with one this age.

 

[Mousemommy1]

Congrats on the baby!

We brought our DS this past April when he was 3 months old, and he will go again this April and will be 15 months old.

My biggest piece of advice would be to temper your expectations, and go with your baby's schedule. Utilize the babycare centers for a nice break from the parks.

I really appreciated having a good carrier for the lines. We have an Ergo.

The trip can be very enjoyable with an infant (ours was), but we just went at a much slower pace than we normally do.

 

[Lupeix]

This is just a small list of things I can think of right now, I have taken my now 4 yo twice. He will be 5 in our next trip, but DS will be 10 months. So I started to think again about how to bring a baby to WDW

- Bring a stroller with you she likes and is already used to taking naps in.
- Expect to get a lot less done in a day.
- Try to work around her schedule, but don't be too strict. It is best to plan your ADRs and fast passes for times you know she will be awake happy and alert. Plan on going back to the resort for naps, but be flexible if she won't nap in the room. My experience is that early mornings (rope-drop) tend to work best for babies and toddlers. Taking a break midday even if there's no nap will be good in September since it will be hot. If she is a good stroller napper you may be able to have some time for you and DH in the evenings, like strolling world showcase while she sleeps. Otherwise plan on skipping the fireworks.
- I like character meals to introduce little kids to the characters. I wouldn't wait in line to meet anyone at this age.
- Bring items that give her comfort (blanket and binky) and if possible multiples
- Have baby items (food, diapers, wipes,etc) delivered to your room, either from amazon, diapers.com or garden grocer.
- Pack a thermometer and baby ibuprofen / acetaminophen. It is hard to find those quickly if you need them.
- Are you flying? Think about how to keep your baby comfortable/entertained on the plane and whether you will purchase a seat for her. I recommend it if you can afford it.
- Bring outfits packed individually in ziplock bags. It makes it easy to have change of clothes in the diaper bag and then toss the soiled clothes in.
- Is she OK taking a bath in a sink? otherwise get an inflatable bathtub (ship it form amazon)
- If she is taking bottles, think about how you are going to clean them in the room and bring a bottle brush. You may want to introduce a sippy before your trip.

I am sure a lot of people will have great suggestions as well

 

[btk2333]

We took our twins at 10 months old, 19 months old and about to take them again at 22 months old

Some of my tips
- If you are flying and are not TSA precheck do it- it's the best $100 I've ever spent - even with the kids in a stroller it takes 5 minutes to go through security even at busy airports
==> If you are planning to fly international in the next five years, then do Global Entry as you get customs and TSA precheck
- We brought carriers and our Citi Mini double stroller to the airport- note that American Airlines will NOT let you gate check a stroller that weighs more than 25 lbs, you will have to check a big stroller and pick it up at baggage claim (one of the reasons we're flying much more United lately)
- We have flown with both babies as lap infants and I would say it makes sense to have an extra seat if you can afford it, the space is great
- Make sure to have some new toys for them to play with on the plane- it's a nice distraction
- DW breast fed the kids during take off and landing to help with the ears popping
- Our kids fly great, they've done about 5 round trips to various points in the US (and are strongly considering going to Shanghai Disney opening day this summer) and I think a big deal is your stress level- if you're stressed then they will feed off it- give yourself plenty of time at the airport and you'll do great
- With regards to DME, we pick up our own luggage rather than letting Disney do it- MCO is actually really fast at getting your luggage out and it makes sure you have everything you need
- We ship diapers wipes and other miscellaneous baby stuff to the hotel using amazon- works great
- We do not rent a car- but if you do make sure you rent/ bring a car seat
- Our kids were fine for bathtime in the big bath even at 10 months
- Our kids sleep in the pack and plays for like half the night then they usually end up sleeping with us (one of them at least)
- Each time we've gone we've stayed at BCV (we own DVC) first two trips were in Studios which had plenty of room for us, this trip we are going with another couple that has a 1 year old and staying in a 2 Bedroom villa so it'll be a nice change of pace
- BCV are great because you can walk to two parks (EPCOT and DHS) which is a major time saver with a stroller- I try to avoid the buses as much as possible (theoretically you can also walk through EPCOT and monorail to MK, but we generally just bus to MK)
- Stormalong bay pool is great for kids
- Plenty of good food options- I especially recommend Kimono's at the Swan and Dolphin- they are great with kids, have awesome sushi and my kids love the potstickers
- Take things at the kids pace, take naps and rest if needed, make FPP with the kids in mind, they can do a LOT of attractions at WDW! My kids love all the Mermaid themed rides, but can be scared by Dumbo
- Table service is so much easier than counter service- having a waiter and someone bringing your food is much easier than trying to juggle little ones and their food and find a table and set up high chairs
==> We've done everything from fancy signature meals to Primetime Café and I strongly, strongly recommend table service

If I come up with more tips, I'll post but this was just my initial recollections

 

[ssmurphy28]

Our last trip in January 2015, our youngest was 10 months old. Our trip prior to that in May 2013, our oldest was 12 months, so we have good experience with that age group.

As others have mentioned, the key is to go at their pace. Our boys both like to sleep late, so we never planned for Rope Drop, but would typically get to the parks within half an hour of open and still get some good time in. We made it a habit of going back to the room for naps in the afternoon to ensure they got enough rest. This was usually during the busiest part of the day at the parks, so we never felt like we were missing out on valuable time. It is also important to remember this is a new stage in life. In a few years, your kids will be old enough that they will be pulling you out of bed for rope drop and wanting to power through and stay in the parks all day.

Another recommendation would be to order groceries. We would typically eat lunch in our room before nap time. Having sandwich stuff (Bread, Veggies, PB&J, etc) was an easy, cost effective lunch just before nap time. It also saved lots of time from having to eat in the parks. Some other things we ordered were pouched baby food (an easy snack to carry along to the park), and other snacks that could easily be taken along.

One thing I learned on our last trip was to try and limit the number of ADR's. It becomes difficult and stressful trying to make each one on time, especially knowing that if you don't show up, you will still be charged a cancellation fee. Pick a few key ADR's throughout the week and enjoy them!

Do the "Baby's First Haircut" at Harmony Barber Shop in MK. It is a special memory for you, and the kid gets a free set of Mickey ears included with the cut.

We bought lightweight umbrella strollers for the both trips, so that they would fold up and be easily stowed while on the bus. The easier they are to fold,

It is a great age to bring kids. They are old enough to be aware and react to their surroundings, and the memories you make will be ones to cherish for life. Enjoy!

 

[kohlby]

Our youngest son was 11 months old for his first trip. (Our middle child had trips at both 2 months old and 8 months old!)

Since we had 1-2 other kids in the mix when we went with a baby, it was harder but we still made it work. The 3 year old of the moment was always a lot more work than the baby of the moment.

My biggest tip is to have some sort of carrier for baby-wearing. I loved my ring sling with all three baby trips. (And a trip with a 2.5 year old who refused the stroller). Bring a stroller that has full recline too in case you have a picky napper who needs to lie all the way down. (In our case, the 3 year old used the stroller when a baby didn't need it). With my 8 month old, she would nap in the stroller if I laid it flat and draped the open sling over it to block out the sights some. The 11 month old wasn't having naps and didn't want a thing to do with the stroller. (And refused to fall asleep in the hotel room when we went back and attempted that). He did finally fall asleep at 6pm in the sling the first day. As the days went on, it was clear the only way he was napping was to fall asleep in the sling when he couldn't bear to stay awake anymore. So we went with that. Since I had a 3 year old every trip too, it was important that we were back in the room at a reasonable hour at night to ensure a good night's sleep. I never was good at getting any child to nap at Disney, but I could get them enough sleep at night. So, we focused on that. In that thought - if you are making dining reservations, I'd do them for lunch instead of dinner. We didn't make any ADR's though, so that helped quite a bit. I really think lunch ADR's would have been fine though.

I'm not sure if you're bottle feeding or breastfeeding, but nursing in Disney is really easy. They have baby care centers which can help if baby gets distracted easily, but I found they weren't conveniently located. I found dark rides to work better when I had a baby who was distractable. That was the 8 month old. The 11 month old didn't have that phase and nursed anywhere and everywhere at Disney.

 

[ElenaRN]

My biggest tip is to have some sort of carrier for baby-wearing.

^^^^This for sure. We went when both ODD was 11 months and when YDD was about 10m. I think it was a great age. Neither were walking yet so they were both content to be in Ergo or stroller. We used the Ergo regularly at home so both were used to it. If you don't normally use a carrier I would suggest getting the baby used to it before the trip. The carriers are great when waiting on long lines. Most of the time they stayed in on the rides too.

ODD was never a great napper but she took regular naps in her stroller at WDW. I was also nursing. Like PP said it is super easy at Disney. I used baby care centers if I was close by. Otherwise, I just found a quiet bench. We brought lots of snacks (puffs, cheerios etc).

Don't expect to do as much as you usually do. This was the hardest thing for us, as we went annually even before kids. Get it in your head before you go that you will not see everything.

 

[Mom@disney]

We are AP and DS is now 11 months. We have spent at least 10-15 at disney with him already, here are my best tips:
-bring a stroller that is comfortable for sleeping (not an umbrella stroller), also bring a carrier so carrying baby in lines, to see parades or when you just want to park the stroller for a while.
-make sure your stroller has a storage area to toss in the "extras" that you may need, but don't want to have on you.
-forget the "cute" diaper bag, bring a backpack for this, easy to hang on the stroller as well as wear on your back.
-if it's a rainy time, bring a poncho to cover the stroller...trust me...

-bring snacks, any snacks, forget if they are the healthiest, it's just a few days.
-bring only 2-3 bottles and wash them in the parks if you need to.
-if on formula, get water at the park (you can order cups with just water for free at any place that sells fountain drinks, or bottled water) and mix the formula as needed. If on milk (or almost milk) buy the formula/milk combo sippy boxes. If you are at EPCOT, the land pavilion has whole milk.
-make at least 1 ADR a day for a sit down place if you can $$, it's nice to get a few minutes to sit down and re-group without battling the crowds. For this we like Be Our Guest and the Plaza at MK are our favs.
-plan on doing lots of kiddie rides (it's a small world, peter pan, pooh)
-don't underestimate what baby can enjoy(DS loves Haunted mansion, pirates, Three caballeros, tea cups, dumbo, carpets of aladdin, jungle cruise...)
-use the baby care center as mush as you need it. THey have private nursing rooms, adult bathrooms with no line (for parents), nice clean changing tables, they also sell baby tylenol, etc if needed....oh and they also sell rattles, tshirts in baby sizes and other knick knacks)
-bring something you know will keep them busy all day....DS enjoys the rides, but he also loves sucking on his shoes...don't expect him to LOVE disney all the time...
-enjoy the parades with fast passes for good seating
-You know your baby best....keep that in mind. My DS has opened and closed parks on the same day and has smiled and laughed most of the day. We have gone with groups of 10 and just the 2 of us...the important thing is to keep an eye on his cues. I know for my DS, as long as I wear him, he will be happy all day.