Need Advice! 1st Trip with Child

[ceburto2]

Hi,

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

 

[ErinInCT]

We were there in Sept with our then 11 mo old dd. She was MUCH easier then the 4 yr old dd!!! We tried to keep to her routine as much as possible. She still took 2 naps a day but we only put her down once in the mid afternoon & put her to bed as early as we could (usually around 8pm) if we did not have nighttime plans. We premeasured her formula & brought a bottle of water to make a bottle in the park. We also brought a sippy with juice & lots of ice so it stayed cool the whole time. We brought those stick on placemats & disposable bibs which we great!! She was not scared of anything except the non human characters. She went on every ride without a height restriction & loved it. We brought food (Cheerios) & toys to distract her but did not even need to break them out. She was fascinated with everything. We brought her diaper bag in the stroller but had to carry it in line. Make sure you only bring the necessities in the bag cuz it gets heavy!! We also brought our bjorn even though she was pretty big. It helped to hold her in the lines & on the rides. She was not walking yet (still isn't!). You'll have a great time! Enjoy seeing the world thru the eyes of a child!!

 

[Jenny]

it's our first trip w/ our 2 DDs in late jan/early feb. - they'll be 6 1/2 mo. & 2 yr. 10 mo. since i'm in the same boat as you are i don't have any advice but found lots on the chat/discussion forum "disney for families" on this site. you may want to post there as well. good luck. i'll let you know how our trip in jan. goes.

 

[disneysteve]

I agree with Erin. The most important thing is to go as much as possible on your child's usual schedule. If he usually naps at 1pm, then plan to be somewhere quiet or back in the room for naptime. If he usually eats at 3, then eat at 3. If bedtime is 7:00, then you should be settled back at your hotel by then.

I see so many cranky, overtired kids being dragged through the parks because their parents want to see and do everything and everyone just ends up miserable and exhausted. You've seen Disney before so make this trip about experiencing it with your son at his pace, not yours.

We took DD at 5-1/2 months, 1 year, 2 years, etc. We always go at her pace. She's 9 now and we still do this. When she's hungry, we eat. When she's tired, we take a break. It makes for a much more enjoyable vacation for all of us.

 

[wdw4us2]

Although it's been awhile since our kids were that age (they're now 10 & 13) we took them for their first WDW when they were 11 months old.

As everyone else has said try to stay on your child's schedule. If you need to get away from the park noise, check out the Baby Care Centers in each park. Also, we found that if the kids were getting a little cranky, we'd go on the Liberty Belll Boat in MK. They always slept through the boat ride once it left the dock.

The best thing to remember: if they've had enough, leave the park and go back to your resort. There's nothing worse than forcing a cranky kid to stay in the park!

Have a great trip!

 

[Raysplus1]

We just returned and this was the 1st time we have taken our 23month DD and our 10month DD. To say the least they were a handful. Our 23 month did not want to stay in the stroller to ride she wanted to run around (which always makes thing interesting).

Our 10 month old was very well mannered and enjoyed everything going on. But she would not nap at the park with all of distractions. This however made her very grumpy in the afternoons. So if your child happens to act the same way I would advise going back to the room for a quick nap it makes a HUGE difference.

Another thing we learned the hard way is the parks do not have warm water for bottles (bathroom sinks only have cold water). Our DD would not drink cold bottles. If you need warm water go to a resteraunt and ask for hot water (water used for coffee) and mix it with drinking water to cool it down.

It does not do anyone any good to stay at the parks all day and have your young children worn out. This just makes the children grumpy and parents with short tempers. Take a break, you would be suprised at how much your trip will be.

 

[sters]

Hi,

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

My advice would be to get an early start and then play it by ear. When the kid gets cranky, slow down, eat, relax. Always have some small snacks or jarred food packed and available. If necessary, go back to your hotel. Also, don't do what I did and take your kid on the Pirates of the Carribean first (what was I thinking?). My 8 month old FREAKED OUT after that drop in the dark and from that point on refused to go on any ride that involved (a) darkness or (b) boats.... pretty much ruled out the entire MK. Loved Epcot with little ones. Much of the World SHowcase can be enjoyed stoller-side, unlike the other theme parks where you have to constantly take the kids in and out of strollers. If the kid falls asleep, you can still enjoy yourself as a couple rather than be stranded with a sleeping baby in the stroller. At 11 months, your child may be a bit heavy to carry asleep, so you will get stranded. Enjoy! So many people think it's ridiculous to take a small child to WDW, but we've always had the best time. Gives me an excuse to see Belle tell a story by the castle and other kiddie attractions that I'd previously blown on by in my haste to get to Space Mountain. A completely different experience, so each trip is unique as the kids get older.