Need Advice! 1st time to WDW with child (11 mo)

[ceburto2]

Hi,

I first posted this message in the Theme Park Strategy board and was pointed to this board for more responses. My wife and I will be at WDW in mid-April for the first time with our son, who will be 11 months old. We will be staying at SoG or POR. We have been to The World many times as a couple but never with children, much less, an infant. Any and all advice is appreciated.

Thanks in Advance,
ceburto2

 

[Disney Panda]

Well we're taking our 10-month old this month. I'll be able to offer you advice when we return . When the search feature's back up you'll be able to find the posts on this topic. There are quite a few.

 

[all4fun]

We took our son when he was 13 mos old and 17 mos. I suggest you bring your own stroller - one that reclines and has a canopy is the best option for an 11-mos old. We also bought some "table toppers" which are disposable plastic placemats for babies that adhere to the table - great for feeding time when you're using counter service and the cleanliness of the tables are questionable. You can also bring a sling or front-carrier for when standing in lines. Your little one can go into any attraction that doesn't have a height restriction. This is a good age because most things don't scare babies that small and they will sleep through a lot. If mommy is nursing, you can nurse discreetly on a lot of rides (when the search feature is back up you can find threads on this too). Your pace will be much slower with a baby in tow, but it's nice to do the parks at a slower pace if you're not used to that because you can appreciate your surrounding more. Most of all, just relax and enjoy - I'm sure you'll have a great time! Those were just a few things off the top of my head. Do you have any specific questions?

 

[HitchhikingGhost]

When our children were younger we never went to WDW without using A Baby's Best Friend (www.abbf.com) to rent full cribs, nice strollers, high chairs, toys, etc. They have it all and everything is very nice, very clean, and delivered to our resort before we arrive. It was so nice knowing that all the things we needed would be there as promised, and we have used them for years since we found them. They have everything, even refrigerators and microwaves.

We especially enjoyed the strollers, as we would could use them all the time instead of the park strollers having to be turned in before the long trek to the parking lot. And they were much nicer and more comfortable than park strollers.

I would highly recommend checking them out in advance.

Have a great trip, and HTH!

 

[Neecoal]

We just got back our son is 14 months, we also travelled with him at 6 months (we took him to the FL Keys) anyway we drove to FL from NJ the last 2 times and it worked out well, we tried to plan around his schedule and plan most of the driving through his sleep and nap times when he would wake up we would just stop at a restaurant or mall let him get out for a while and get back on the road, it took longer but we were fine. The first trip we brought his pack and play but this past time we got one from Disney's hotel, it was fine, in good condition, I brought his pack and play sheet from home so he wouldn't be sleeping on linens that didn't smell like his.

FOr this trip we used the portable DVD player more than I thought we would. My son loves Elmo and we couldn't find sesame street on the tv's at the resort.

If your son is already drinking milk and he drinks whole milk it is available everywhere, 2% is almost non-existant but you can get 1% a lot of places including the resort. We bought an inexpensive travel fridge (plugs in in the car and the hotel room) it holds about a 6 pack and we picked it up for $20 it was well worth it because at the value resorts you still pay $10/night for a fridge. If you are using formula I reccomend the powder and it mixes up easily anywhere with bottled water.

Baby Care centers are great...they have them in all of the parks, I think the nicest one is in Epcot, right before you go into Mexico, they have great changing tables, high chairs and anything that you may have forgotted, they are sponsored by Nestle so I think the formula is Carnation, they did have Gerber baby food we forgot ours in the room one day we paid $2 for the 2/pack of Applesauce (which is twice what I pay at the grocery store)

Bring dish wipes or dish soap as you will need to wash bottles and/or sippy cups I brought the dish wipes and a bottle brush, I just wrapped the wipe around the brush and cleaned it worked fine. We brought a pack of 64 diaper which worked out to be about right.

Bring your own stroller, it will be really difficult to rent one in the parks there is a bit of walking to and from and this way you can do other things outside of the park area. Also, your baby has enough new stuff around him to adjust to, I think it is nice for them to have the security of some of their own things.

Sorry this was so long, I could go on forever.
Nicole

 

[cdrn1]

We just got back yesterday with our 11 month old granddaughter. It was so much easier than I thought it would be. She was in awe of all the things she saw. It was a much slower pace than I am used to but still very fun in a different way. The only thing in all the parks that she was afraid of was the noise from the fireworks. The baby centers are great. We overpacked as far as clothes, disposable bibs, etc. because we didn't know how available things would be if we ran out but found that we could have gotten anything we needed at the resort and parks.

 

[bigbabyblues]

We took our 15-month old and almost 4-yo in Sept/Oct, and it was fine. Just understand you'll have to go at his pace. If baby gets too overtired, too hot, etc., go back to the hotel and take a nap, swim, whatever. My 15-mo didn't want to nap much in the stroller. There will be a few things baby can't ride, but not too many. You can do the baby switch if you want to. He might be afraid of the characters, my ds was at first, but they get used to them. Just relax, have fun, and understand you can't see it all this time....that's why you have to go back!!!

Steph

 

[newgeorgiamom]

Thank you so much for the info. This is stuff i really needed to know

 

[SammieG]

we took our son just after his first birthday...
he was walking then.. and we took reins for him which allowed him to have a walk about - some people dont agree with them.. but they were great at wdw!
the ones that go around the wrist dont offer enough support - you need the harness type..

our son, now aged 5 is about to make his 9th trip to Disney.. with the one when he was a year old being the first... and in many ways it was the easiest trip.

Of course, there were things we couldnt do so well.. but we did different things with our son.. and of course they sit there mostly quite happily in the stroller!!

I agree with using the baby care centres.. we often spent an hour in there cooling down and allowing the baby to crawl or walk around..

We called that first trip our "follow the finger" tour... as wherever Theo pointed we went!! He loved it.. and loved the characters.. I have some lovely photos from that time.. Some of the Characters will actually pick babies up - well Minnie Mouse did .. and Chip and dale... so cute!!!

 

[2kidsnutsfordisney]

We took our ds who was 10 months at the time and I would have to say that so far everyone has covered about everything I would have suggested my only suggestion would be to include the baby in any character meals and character visits. Like SammieG said some of the characters will pick up the baby but some of our greatest pics are from the characters rubbing our sons bald head or the bewildered look on our son's face as he was looking at the characters. Those are the moments and pictures that make your trip all worthwhile. Have fun, relax and remember to take lots of pics!!

 

[HALEYSMOMMOM]

We have taken our youngest to Dw 3 times already. He is only 1! We went at 8mo, 13mo, and 18mon. All Great trips! Def. take your own stroller. Load up on snacks and drinks before you go in! Take him/her on all the rides he is allowed to go on, you'll be surprised at what will catch a baby's attention. Utilize the baby changing stations and the baby swap options on the rides. When baby gets tired, he'll fall asleep in the stroller. No worries! Also, don't overlook the small things. Lights, lights in the pavement at Epcot, Mickey ice cream bars, fountains,etc.

Really, babies are easy at DW. It's the toddlers who are old enough to want to run around and whine about things that are harder (We also have DD5, with 4 trips under her belt) But still LOTS of fun!