Is Disneyland still fun with an infant?

[DisneyStitch626]

We are planning a trip in Feb, and would just like to know the pros and cons of going with and without a small child.

I am sure there is lots to do in Disneyland with a small child (he will be 8 months), but obviously there are things we would have to cut out of our trip if we were to bring him. We wouldn't be able to do rides together or anything like that.

What do other parents do?

 

[skiingfast]

We are planning a trip in Feb, and would just like to know the pros and cons of going with and without a small child.

I am sure there is lots to do in Disneyland with a small child (he will be 8 months), but obviously there are things we would have to cut out of our trip if we were to bring him. We wouldn't be able to do rides together or anything like that.

What do other parents do?

If it's just 3 of you keep in mind you will spend a lot of time alone. 1 parent with child, the other alone.

While there are lots of attractions the infant can go on, if it's fussy, it won't be worth it. But you still enjoy being in the parks.

 

[HydroGuy]

We made a decision early on to not bring our kids to DLR when they were young. All of them thus waited until they were 3-4 years old. When our oldest could go we either traded off (one of us stayed home with the infants) or if they were old enough (say 2) left them with grandparents.

So even though we have four kids we never once brought a stroller to a Disney park.

Just our preference.

 

[kimara]

We have taken all of our children (we only have 4) to Disney when they were infants. We love it.

Our favorite way to do this is to take another adult or responsible babysitter with us. That is the perfect option.

If that isn't a choice, you can still have fun. Just plan on taking everything at a slower pace. There is SO much to look at and so many sights for those young eyes to observe. If you want to ride the big rides, then yes, you will have to split up, but if you take advantage of Fast Pass and the baby swap it isn't too bad.

Don't look at it as doing Disney in spite of having a young child, but enjoy doing Disney with your young child. I have some great pics of my young children at Disney that I wouldn't trade for a million easy days at Disney with just me and my Dear Husband. He and I will have decades of Disney with just the two of us, but those babies grow-up and it will never be the same.

 

[wannagoback]

Of course every family is different... my youngest is 6 months old right now and I just don't see a trip to Disneyland being much fun for her. It's one thing to go for a day and look at stuff but as a multi-day family vacation, I think she would have more fun at home playing with her toys. Thus, DH will be staying home with the baby in September while I take the older kids to DL! I know more than one family who has taken a trip either just as the couple or with just the older kids while baby got some quality time at home with grandma and grandpa.

 

[KTR]

We just got back from Disneyland and we brought our 4 month old son with us. I also have 2 older kids 4 and 2. What we did was invite grandparents to join us. That meant one adult never got stuck waiting alone, which was very nice. With ride swap and fastpasses everyone was able to do all of the big rides without any crazy waits. My baby obviously didn't get the experience, but he did love looking around and taking in all of the new sites. He also napped a lot. We brought a Beco carrier with us so he could be strapped onto us as well as a double stroller which he shared with the bigger two kids. It was a great time!

 

[GhostlyHitchhiker]

My oldest DD's first Disney trip she was 9 months old. My youngest DD was 6 months old. They are very different kinds of trips at that age and depending on what your child is like.

Oldest DD was a breeze. She loved *so* many of the rides and nothing scared her. We went to WDW for that trip and were even able to eat dinner at the California Grille while she slept in her baby carrier (car seat kind) with us at the table.

Younger DD was a tad different. She never wanted to go in the stroller and I carried her in the Snuggli baby carrier throughout all of WDW. She loved the rides, wasn't scared on anything we were able to take her on (a tiny bit on pirates during the cannonfire, but that was it). She absolutely LOVED people watching.

We've also taken my girls when they were toddlers, etc and to me them being infants wasn't much different. You still need to pack diapers, take it slow and have breaks, etc. You still need to child-swap for anything they aren't tall enough for.

They may not have been the most thrill-seeking trips we've ever taken to Disney, but I would not have missed taking them at every age we have for anything in the world. They don't remember their first trips, but we do. And I have about a million pictures they love to see and share with us. Oldest DD is now 13 (taller than me) and youngest turns 10 at Disneyland next week! Wow, how time flies...

 

[23bw]

We chose to wait until our youngest was 2 years old so that we would enjoy DL together as a family.

For us it didn't make a whole lot of sense to go when they are too young. When my daughter was 8 months, I remember being sleep deprived with many feedings, day time naps, and diaper changes all in between. Going to DL at this time wouldn't really feel like a vacation. Just more work!

 

[DisneyStitch626]

As much as I want to go with our child, I think I am leaning more towards just doing a weekend trip with the two of us. That way we aren't away from him too long, but we can still enjoy the rides and everything together. Then bring him when he is a little older so he can enjoy it too.

Thanks for all the tips! It sure helps if that's what we end up doing. We will still consider taking him, but if it's just for a few days, then I think we would like to enjoy it on our own one last time.

 

[Dash&Maggie]

Don't look at it as doing Disney in spite of having a young child, but enjoy doing Disney with your young child. I have some great pics of my young children at Disney that I wouldn't trade for a million easy days at Disney with just me and my Dear Husband. He and I will have decades of Disney with just the two of us, but those babies grow-up and it will never be the same.

Enjoy your precious time together as a family and remember there's always rider swap!

 

[MyYearWithTheMouse]

I think it can go either way. We do Disneyland all the time starting when my son was just a few weeks old, but we're local and have plenty of time to parcel everything out. There is certainly plenty you can do with an infant, but like others have said, it's a different kind of vacation. Does your baby sleep in the stroller or will you have to return to the hotel for naps? How does your baby do in sit-down restaurants? Things like that.

We recently took a trip to WDW and DS had just turned 2. It wasn't a great vacation, honestly, because DS has a very hard time sleeping in the stroller and we had to constantly go back to our hotel for naps, and since WDW was so huge it just cut out massive amounts of time for us. In that kind of situation, I'd say definitely go alone. However, at DLR, the hotels are close enough that you can pop "home" for a nap without losing a huge chunk of time.

It really varies from child to child. There is a lot to do, but if you've only got a couple of days and you can't visit very often, I'd vote for leavind the baby home with Grandma and enjoying yourself as adults. It is great to have pictures and memories with the baby, but if you only come infrequently, then I'd wait until the child is old enough to care. Of course, the big advantage is that at that age, they're still free.

 

[newmouse82]

We just got back yesterday from DL with our 5 year old and our 1 year old. Everyone told us not to take him but we had a blast. He could go on lots of the rides and loved them, and he loved the characters and they loved him, Eeyore was with us for 15 minutes at breakfast. Plus there is rider swap for the big rides and it works great, especially if you have an older child because they ride back to back. We even got a sitter for 1 night that we found through guest services, I was really scared at first because we'd never had a sitter but GG was amazing. Hope it works out for you.

 

[Jynxed]

I guess it is all how you look at it. I have been to WDW 5 times without children (This is my first DLR adventure). I can not wait to experience it WITH a child. Yes, it will be different, but I finally get to view Disney through my child's eyes. He will be 18 months old on our trip. I know he could be hit or miss as far as how he will deal with characters and I am sure he will love a lot of rides and hate others, but either way, we will enjoy just watching his eyes light up when looking at all the things going on. This is the Disney we have yet to experience and we can't wait!

I suffered through years of infertility. It took us 7 years to have my son. I am done doing the couple thing and am now ready to do the family thing!

 

[bumbershoot]

Babies just want to be with their parents. If the parents want to go and will have a good time, then that's where baby gets to go!

We didn't find our love for Disneyland (as adults...we both went as kids and enjoyed it) until DS was 17 months old. He was a tagalong, and we all enjoyed it.

We'd traveled with him well before that, though, and since he was with his parents, he enjoyed those trips as well.

Each trip we've taken has been different as DS gets older and older, and I'm SO glad we brought him young, and only wish we could have brought him even earlier! We've just loved having him along with us on our travels.


Oh and since we're an avowed babywearing family, true usage of strollers didn't even happen until he was 3 and beyond! We would rent a stroller for our day trips when he was 1 and 2 (day trips b/c we were visiting family in so cal, and couldn't afford a longer trip at that point...another thing we regret!), but I only remember one time that he was actually in the thing. He'd just gotten comfy when we got to Small World, and he never went back into it. But once he turned 3 I couldn't really wear him anymore (not too heavy, but too long for my short self), we weren't willing to walk at a snail's pace (or a sprint when he sprinted), and he couldn't walk all day, so that is when we got the stroller!

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

We took our youngest DD at 6 months and our son at 9 months and had a blast both times. There are a handful of rides they couldn't do (anything with a height requirement plus Roger Rabbit since they have to sit on their own). We had our older kids too so we did use rider swap and took turns riding the bigger rides, but when we took our DD at 6 months only our oldest could ride the mountains so we did her favorite (Splash) and BTMRR only. We enjoyed the parades, shows, and all the non-height rides.

 

[bethy]

We are taking our 2.5 month old in July for 5 days along with our older 2 daughters who are DLR veterans. None of us can hardly wait!!!!!!! We would be heartbroken if she weren't coming with us. But we are a very cohesive family who does most everything together. And also we don't go to Disneyland primarily for the rides.

That's just how we roll.

 

[Mama Who]

Well, DS13 didn't go until he was 5 but we're taking DD next month for her first birthday. It will be a different dynamic than other trips but we are looking forward to it. 8 months might be a little young for a good reaction, but if that's when you can go, I'd do it.

 

[frijolefrito]

I wouldn't without family who is helpful. We went with family who wasn't helpful it was horrible. We gave up and just ended up enjoying the park with only stuff we could take the baby on.

 

[iridemyownmc]

We took Ds when he was only 3 months old. Brought the grandparents along with us, but mostly just rode rides all of us could enjoy.
The little one pretty much slept through everything...

even sleeps through kisses from Mickey...

 

[taaren]

We took DS once when he was 6 mos, and mostly Bjorned him everywhere, switchpassed everything we wanted to go on, took lotsa cute pictures, and just kind of hung out absorbing the ambiance and resting frquently. It was a last minute trip so we were just happy to be in the land. If we hadn't had APs and a killer Hotwire rate I don't know if I'd do it again but for what it was those are some great memories. When we went when he was 11 mos that was a planned trip so we took my parents and they met up with us througout the day and no one had to wait alone w the kid, so it was a much better experience. At the timethe dl visa still meant free rental strollers but that promo was over last I checked.
So if possible, take a 3rd/4th person who will enjoy seeing the smile on your babys face when they see dl, use switchpass heavily, keep the moms center in mind if you're breastfeeding, bjorning was better for us than the stroller traffic, and enjoy. If you can't take extra helpers the trip will include lots of alone time and while its still mickey its not quite as magical so be prepared to ride fewer rides, etc. Enjoy!