Nervous about upcoming trip with One year old.

[Chavaleh]

My family has a trip to WDW coming up towards the end of March. I have a one year old son (he'll be 14 months old by then) and my two girls who are 8 and 10. It will be their first trip to WDW and I am so excited! I am however a little nervous about the baby. He's a homebody and tends to get a bit cranky and stressed when we go out. Ideally it would have been nice to wait till he was older but I didn't want my girls to get any older before their first trip.

We're already planning on coming back to our resort (we're staying at Pop Century) after or slightly before lunch and taking a nap (or the girls can go swimming while baby naps) and then going back out. We'll also have a stroller of course and we'll be baby wearing (we have a mei tai that he loves). Some of our ADR's are quite late but I figured we'd bump nap time to a bit later in the day on those days (he's a fairly flexible napper).

Which rides is he going to be able to go on? I haven't been since 1992 so my memory of such things is quite dim. We're on the DDP and I figured he could share from the 10 year old's plate or we'd order him something oop. I assume that they have simple finger food options most places.

I could really use some reassurances from other mamas who have 'been there and done that' that we aren't in for a miserable time with him and it can be done happily!

 

[d1sneyf4n]

We went when my son was 11 months old for may daughters 4th bday. We had no problems at all with him. He is a pretty easy going child but also likes the comfort of his home. We had the stroller and he slept when he wanted and was up when he wanted to be up. There was so much for him to look at that he was content no matter what we were doing. We were also on the DDP and opted for more all you can eats bc that way we had food for him without a problem. As far as rides go, he can go on plenty of them.........MK-Its a small world,Peter Pan,Snow White, Haunted Mansion,Dumbo(Ithink),Merry Go Round.....etc........Epcot-Nemo,Honey I shrunk the Audience,turtle talk with crush,etc........HS-Ariel,Toy Story,Play House Disney on stage.........These are just a few.
Everything will be fine and you all with have a great time. My advise is just go with the flow. Yes your dinning reservation are set ahead of time but I would only allow that as what you must do at certain times. Have a wonderful trip.

 

[gabriellyn]

Not to worry - all of you will have a great time! We've been twice w/our toddler - once when he was 15 mos and then a year later. He did GREAT! Yours will too - just remember to be flexible and make sure he sleeps. He was able to ride on a ton of rides (just not any w/height requirements, like ToT). He really really enjoyed his trip. Now he talks about it every day and says he wants to go back - NOW!!!! That's the thing I really love about WDW - any age can enjoy it. And believe me, that's tough to find w/a teenager, an 8yo and a toddler!

 

[koolaidmoms]

We too took both children for their first trips to WDW when they were about 14-15 months old. My DD's favorite things were the ice machine at the hotel, the pool and just being outside all the time! DS loved the fountains in EPCOT. We would strip him down to a swimmie and let him go. He probably went in each one for about 20-30 minutes each time.

Except for height requirement rides you will just need to use your best judgement as far as rides. Does your child get scared in the dark? Loud noises?

Warning! If you have a wiggler the Peter Pan ride can be harrowing for the parents if you are on it alone with a small child who wiggles and doesn't want to sit still. The bar closes over your lap so it is not really tight against the child (mine was on the outside) and when we lifted off over England I thought I was going to lose him. I spent the next 2 minutes with my arm wrapped firmly around his middle and praying to get off the whole time.

Have a great trip!

 

[JeninTN]

Please keep the comments coming about taking babies to DW. We want to go in June with 7 year old and 18 month old twins. I, like others, am very nervous and worried about the 18 month olds.

 

[princess&her4princes]

Hi!
No need to worry!! We've been twice now with the baby (he was 3 mos. old the first time and 17 mos. the second time) and we did just fine. Like you, we stayed at Pop and the food court worked out great for him and us for quick meals. I did plan our sit down meals for lunchtime (most days) so we were all still fresh and then had a quick meal at dinnertime. He really loved it this time around, there was SO MUCH for him to look at, he rode most rides with us....other than the obvious....but did most of the rides in Fantasyland, Toontown, plus Haunted Mansion, Buzz, some rides in Epcot, he loved it!! He was really at a great age, I too was worried this last trip since when he's done for dinner, he's done but he did great and he napped most days in his stroller on in the baby carrier...we had planned on sneaking back to POP but it worked and he did great, he also slept great at night since he didn't get a full nap every day. No worries, you're at Disney, you'll have a great time!! And be sure to take advantage of the Baby Centers, they are wonderful with little ones and they are A/C too, so for a nice cool break, snack, diaper change they work great!!! Have fun!!

 

[DISNEYNV]

Oh, don't worry! The baby will have a great time. Our DS was 13 months in December and had the best time just being out in the fresh air. Keep to his meal, nap, and sleep schedule as best as you can and he will most likely be a happy camper. If you need a quiet place to take him if he is overstimulated I would suggest the baby care areas in each park. Map them out when you get there. Your DH can take the girls while baby gets some down time

 

[dolfinjuls]

We went when our youngest was 13 months old. She did great, better then the 3 year old did!
There's so much going on around them, she just pretty much was in awe! And when she got tired she did get cranky, but would usually just pass out in my arms. We did go back to the resort for a couple naps and that worked out fine. And we found that she would stay up later on several occasions.

 

[Chavaleh]

Feeling much better, thanks!

 

[DRS_Are_Best]

DS's first trip (and thus far only trip) to WDW was when he was 13 months old (well, until this coming March that is). We didn't stay on site, which may have led to this decision, but we didn't go back to the hotel after lunch. Every day, after lunch, we put him in the stroller. Every day, within 5 minutes of being strapped in, he fell fast asleep and would be out for 2 hours. This was the START of consistent napping for him (we could NEVER count on a nap prior to our trip to WDW). We just built that into our day.

His ABSOLUTE FAVORITE ride at WDW was Small World. We went on it SEVERAL times and he was just fascinated by the colors and the music. Even though the song kinda got on our nerves after a while, the multiple trips on this ride were for HIM, not us. We also just took it easy on the rides -- he ended up going on most rides without a height restriction. TTA is another good one for settling down because it's so slow paced.

Just follow ds's cues and don't push things too hard. The trip will be great and your older ones will still have plenty to do without having to worry about their brother's schedule.

Just realize, EPCOT is probably where you will have the most problems as there really isn't much for kids that young.

Have a GREAT trip!!!!!!

 

[jenrose66]

My DS was 14 months old on his first trip. We stayed at POP and had a great time. He loved the flower pool and the pop jets. He also ate well in the food court. As far as the parks were concerned he had a meltdown in line for the safari at AK and we left the line, he was also scared of philharmagic and it's tough to be a bug so we left those shortly after they started. Other than that he had a great time! He rode everything else without a height restriction and loved it, he thought characters were great. He napped in his stroller while at the parks somedays and at the hotel on some other days. The only other negative was waiting for the buses, that made him a little agitated but nothing too terrible. He even caught a cold while we were there but I called my ped and she told me to give him benedryl and enjoy the trip and that's exactly what we did!

DS is now going back to POP for his 2nd trip in March and I can't wait! Have a great trip

 

[VeroBeachGirl]

Took DD for her first trip at 9 months. She is a very regimented child, but did well off schedule! We thought we would take a break in the day for nap time, but she fell asleep in the stroller. I would recommend using a stroller with full recline so your baby can sleep on the go and possibly in the restaurants.
Have a good trip!

 

[princess pooh]

My son is going to be 14 months old for his first trip to disney. He's also a homebody but he does really well on vacations. He's happy to sit in his stroller and take everything in.

I hope you have a great trip! Just remember to relax and go with the flow. Even if he gets cranky or tired, one of you could always go back to the resort with the baby and the other could stay in the parks with your daughters.