khertz
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2008
- Messages
- 8,010
I found so many helpful tips and tricks as I was planning my daughter's first trip to WDW/Universal, so I thought I would share my experience and things I learned along the way for anyone who may also be considering taking a young infant.
Just a little background on our family, DH and I have been to WDW & Universal dozens of times and are totally hooked! We have a DS who turned 5 years old on this most recent trip and this was his 5th WDW trip with 2 DL trips also under his belt. We were there 10/17-10/25. The trip happened over my maternity leave because I figured I was getting a paid vacation for 12 weeks anyway, I might as well go somewhere! We stayed 2 nights and 2.5 days (arrival day & 2 full days) at Hard Rock Hotel visiting Universal Studios & Islands of Adventure, then spend the next 6 nights and 5.5 days (including our travel day) at Wyndham Bonnet Creek visiting Disney parks.
My all time #1 tip that I actually read on a Facebook planning group had to do with diaper changes. We bought packing cubes for our luggage, and once we got to Florida, one of the small cubes worked PERFECTLY as a small diaper bag! It was just big enough for a small stack of diapers, pack of wipes, small tube of diaper cream, a change of clothes in a Ziploc bag, and a small bottle of hand sanitizer. It fit easily under the stroller and was SO easy to use, as I never had to dig through compartments of a backpack or diaper bag. Super convenient!
This was also the first time I was breastfeeding in the parks and I was pretty nervous about it. Our Universal days were great. There are many out of the way places I found to nurse when needed, plus each park has 2 First Aid centers with a private nursing room. I visited all 4, and they were great! There was a fold down changing table in most and a sink to wash hands or bottles if necessary. There was also a microwave in (I believe) all of them. And of course, a rocking chair and air conditioning which was wonderful on those hot days! It was definitely more convenient than Disney's Baby Care Centers because there was one in the front of the park and one in the back. Maybe I got lucky, but I also never had to wait for one of the rooms.
In Disney, I found there were a lot more people and it was much harder to find a quiet out of the way spot to nurse. This was really the first time I was taking on nursing in public, so that was important to me. Mostly in Disney, I would make my way to the Baby Care Centers to use their nursing rooms or when we would stop to eat, I would feed her. I loved the private rooms (there are 3) at the AK center, but the rooms at Epcot and MK were not bad either. The little tiny areas they have at DHS are a joke, so I never used their BCC. If you have never been in the centers, also be aware there are several large changing tables which can be better to use than the ones in the restrooms. Not worth going out of your way for, but something to consider if you need more space or think you will take awhile (for those blowout diapers that require a good cleaning & clothing change especially!). Lots of space to spread out and since there are several, there's not usually a line forming behind you like in the restrooms.
If you can stay onsite at Universal and get the unlimited express pass (all their hotels except Cabana Bay), DO IT! It was truly invaluable. Even though we did not encounter many long waits, we still got in and out so quickly using express. Since we had to baby swap pretty much everything, this was a huge benefit and allowed us to do everything we wanted to do.
We rented a double CitiMini from A Baby's Best Friend, and it worked fabulously. DD did great with it laying flat, especially at Universal since we used a lot of child swap and using the carrier between DH and I would have been annoying. In Disney, we wore her a lot more since she could go on most attractions. A good comfortable carrier is also a must! She napped her way through Disney most days in that thing.
These is just an overview of our experience traveling with an infant, but I can honestly say I would totally do it all over again. Any questions for me?? I also plan to eventually do a TR, so I'm sure there will be a lot more in there.
Just a little background on our family, DH and I have been to WDW & Universal dozens of times and are totally hooked! We have a DS who turned 5 years old on this most recent trip and this was his 5th WDW trip with 2 DL trips also under his belt. We were there 10/17-10/25. The trip happened over my maternity leave because I figured I was getting a paid vacation for 12 weeks anyway, I might as well go somewhere! We stayed 2 nights and 2.5 days (arrival day & 2 full days) at Hard Rock Hotel visiting Universal Studios & Islands of Adventure, then spend the next 6 nights and 5.5 days (including our travel day) at Wyndham Bonnet Creek visiting Disney parks.
My all time #1 tip that I actually read on a Facebook planning group had to do with diaper changes. We bought packing cubes for our luggage, and once we got to Florida, one of the small cubes worked PERFECTLY as a small diaper bag! It was just big enough for a small stack of diapers, pack of wipes, small tube of diaper cream, a change of clothes in a Ziploc bag, and a small bottle of hand sanitizer. It fit easily under the stroller and was SO easy to use, as I never had to dig through compartments of a backpack or diaper bag. Super convenient!
This was also the first time I was breastfeeding in the parks and I was pretty nervous about it. Our Universal days were great. There are many out of the way places I found to nurse when needed, plus each park has 2 First Aid centers with a private nursing room. I visited all 4, and they were great! There was a fold down changing table in most and a sink to wash hands or bottles if necessary. There was also a microwave in (I believe) all of them. And of course, a rocking chair and air conditioning which was wonderful on those hot days! It was definitely more convenient than Disney's Baby Care Centers because there was one in the front of the park and one in the back. Maybe I got lucky, but I also never had to wait for one of the rooms.
In Disney, I found there were a lot more people and it was much harder to find a quiet out of the way spot to nurse. This was really the first time I was taking on nursing in public, so that was important to me. Mostly in Disney, I would make my way to the Baby Care Centers to use their nursing rooms or when we would stop to eat, I would feed her. I loved the private rooms (there are 3) at the AK center, but the rooms at Epcot and MK were not bad either. The little tiny areas they have at DHS are a joke, so I never used their BCC. If you have never been in the centers, also be aware there are several large changing tables which can be better to use than the ones in the restrooms. Not worth going out of your way for, but something to consider if you need more space or think you will take awhile (for those blowout diapers that require a good cleaning & clothing change especially!). Lots of space to spread out and since there are several, there's not usually a line forming behind you like in the restrooms.
If you can stay onsite at Universal and get the unlimited express pass (all their hotels except Cabana Bay), DO IT! It was truly invaluable. Even though we did not encounter many long waits, we still got in and out so quickly using express. Since we had to baby swap pretty much everything, this was a huge benefit and allowed us to do everything we wanted to do.
We rented a double CitiMini from A Baby's Best Friend, and it worked fabulously. DD did great with it laying flat, especially at Universal since we used a lot of child swap and using the carrier between DH and I would have been annoying. In Disney, we wore her a lot more since she could go on most attractions. A good comfortable carrier is also a must! She napped her way through Disney most days in that thing.
These is just an overview of our experience traveling with an infant, but I can honestly say I would totally do it all over again. Any questions for me?? I also plan to eventually do a TR, so I'm sure there will be a lot more in there.
