My son's FIRST visit and FIRST birthday!

[Blue Eeyore]

Words can't describe how EXCITED I am to take my son, Jake, to WDW for the first time! We are going from 2/13 to 2/19 and are going to be celebrating his first birthday there (breakfast at Cindy's and Birthday dinner at Whispering Canyon with family).

So... is there anything that I definitely need to plan for Jake to see or do? For the past 7 years, it's just been DH and I, so of course the visits were more adult and more romantic.

We have plenty of character dining planned and will be visiting all 4 parks. We've never been to Camp Minnie-Mickey and haven't spent much time at Mickey's Toon Town.

Thanks for any advice!

 

[all4fun]

Hi, there was a great thread a while back called Disney Babies:Let's compile our best tips for the under 1 set!!! you might want to check out. Allearsnet.com also has a Infant & Toddler FAQ that you might want to peruse if you haven't already.

We took ds when he was 13mos and had a great time. He enjoyed just about all the attractions that he could go on or do, with the exception of the 3-D type shows such as Mickey's Philharmagic. At that time they were just too intense for him and he would get really upset. As a matter of fact we kind of felt like we were stuck in the theater once because we were right in the middle and I would have had to crawl over about 40 people to get out so if you do decide to try something out, try to sit closer to the exit in case something like that happens. Some kids handle these shows just find but that was our experience!

We just found we had to have a more laid back trip with dh at that age. It was still very enjoyable and it was wonderful to see everything fresh through his young eyes. We were fortunate that he did love the characters, so we were able to get lots of great pictures of him with them. If your son likes the characters too then I would suggest going to see them in the ToonTown Hall of Fame (the big tent in Toontown).

hth and hope you have a great first birthday with your son!

Cheryl

 

[mkutch]

Well the list could be endless. I took both of my son's to Disney on their first birthdays to celebrate. Make sure you AR's have down that you are celebrating a first birthday. They will bring out either a cupcake or a very small cake for him to eat at the end of the meal. If it is just the 3 of you going that will probably be enough. This is great for videos and pictures. If you have a larger party you can pre-order a cake from the bakery that they will have ready for you at either of the meals (I believe the prices start around 12-15 dollars). We did that for one of the birthdays -it was great. Everyone will be singing. They will make a huge deal of it at Whispering Canyon.

We also got first haircuts done on these trips for our sons. It is a big deal at the barbershop and if you are huge Disney fans a must do while you are there. There is plenty written about it on these sites - but Michal and Maura are just absolutely perfect with the kids, plus they get certificates, ears, and they save a snippet of hair for you for the baby book.

Get photo and video ops down main street with the Castle in the background. My older son took his first steps there....my second was still crawling- but these turned out to be my favorite pics.

The characters may be touch and go with your son--just follow his lead-if he loves them - great- if not he will when he gets older. The parades were a big hit for us.

Don't forget to go to Town Hall and get his birthday pin at MK. Epcot has them too.

As far as what to do or what not to miss - follow his lead - he'll just be happy being with you with a nap during the day. Have a wonderful time!!!!!