Places in parks to let active baby crawl?!

[reddog]

Any advice on fairly clean areas to let a little one crawl? Our active 6 month old is crawling everywhere (and cruising along furniture as well - ACK!) so I know that he (almost 8 months then) will need some good crawling time while we are in the parks (we still plan on afternoons away from the parks, but we would still like to have the option of letting him crawl his little heart out if we can in the parks. What about grassy areas? Do they post if they are heavily fertilized/pesticided?

Any ideas on how you handled an active crawling baby would be of great help! Also while I'm at it - how do you handle your restaurant meals with a grabby, active guy?! I vaguely recall what life was like with our now 7 year old when he was 7 months old! My husband and I looked at each other yesterday and said oh-oh, and we're planning a trip?!

I know we'll have a great time, but any tips/advice of those who have shared their Disney adventure with an active baby would be great!

Thanks in advance!

 

[Traveliz]

Gosh good luck with this one - I cannot think of anywhere a baby could safely crawl....just thinking the grassy areas are way to beautiful not to be heavily fertilized plus they are roped off or in some way there is a barrier to keep you from the grass.

Any other area would just have too many people.

The absolutely only spot I can think of where a child could crawl and probably not get hurt is while waiting for the show at Playhouse Disney at MGM - - everyone is sitting on the ground there all ready.

My one other thought is perhaps there is an area in the baby care centers?? I sort of doubt it but maybe someone else knows.

Liz

 

[4greatboys]

The baby care centers are a great place for that. I have only been to the AK one but it has a room with a tv. Kids an play in there and there is another kitchen like room to feed them in. I think its a great place to give a baby a break.

 

[BrerMama]

The one place I can really think that we let our crawlers loose was at the American Adventure waiting area in Epcot. We got there 15 minutes before the show and the building has gorgeous, probably marble floors that were incredibly clean. When our son was 10 months, we let him have free range at the encouragement of the cast members working the attraction. One of them told me he was so cute he should be a model. I'll always remember that comment, especially now that he's 9 and driving me crazy!

 

[Stimpy]

Quite a few of the waiting area for shows are open rooms. Not exactly the cleanest places but there is a lot of room for babies to crawl around if you get to a show early. A few that come to mind is the Hall of Presidents and American Adventure. If you are going at a non-busy time of year, these waiting areas really don't get too crowded.

Also, outside some of the big attractions they now have little play areas for kids. There is one right underneath the Frontierland Train Station by the exit for Splash Mountain. There is also a bigger play area in Toontown with soft mat-like floors under a tent.

I also wouldn't let my kids on the grass. They are clearly roped off and I know they use alot of fertilizer on it.

Good Luck and have fun!

 

[Selket]

My younger son has mobility issues and wasn't walking when we were at WDW last August (he was 20 months old then) and there wasn't anywhere I can think of (other than the baby care centers - we didn't go in there) to let a little one crawl (or in his case scoot) around. The que areas are generally too dirty for this but you might find an exception. This was a very tough issue for us as you can imagine that a 20 mo old is even more active than a 6 mo old! We planned a lot of hotel breaks for this reason. Some areas - like where you wait to get into the ITTBAB movie are relatively cleaner but I think you'll not find too many places for the baby to be on the ground! Our son did very well in his stroller as there is so much to look at and so many people. He rarely got bored when we were out walking around so you might find that to be the case as well - it may not be an issue.

As for meals, I can't quite remember what they're eating then but I know both did well in restaurants when we brought along their favorites like cheerios and crackers, etc.

Have a great trip!

 

[riggins]

I second the baby care centers!! We were there when DD#1 was 9 months and she needed some crawl time. The one at AK definitely has the biggest and nicest space, but they all have at least some area where they can play a little. They are the probably the cleanest and safest places in the parks for crawling.

Good Luck!
-Leslie

 

[lovesdumbo]

I worried about my very active 11 1/2 month old before our trip too. At home she spent hours and hours happily playing, crawling, and cruising and I wondered how she'd handle being in a stroller or held on rides all day long. Well she did great. We did go back to the room in the afternoons and she crawled around while her older siblings napped. The only place I can think of in the parks is the baby centers which are worth finding for the HUGE changing tables.

As for meals you've just got to get the disposable placemats. They have adhesive so they stay in place. The only place we went where they didn't stick was Flame Tree BBQ at AK but I think it may have just been too cold. You can get them at BabiesRUs. I also had great luck using Gerber's single serve rice cereal packages. I also found the disposable feeding spoons great. I could give the baby one to play with while we were eating and didn't have to worry about her loosing it. I also had the Palmolive dish cloths for washing the baby's dishes/bottles in the room. The Baby Centers sell baby food if you run out.

Here's a link for the placemats.
Baby Placemats

 

[SharkBruce]

We just returned with an active 12 month old (cruising, crawling, beginning to walk). She loved the play area in Toontown (MK), there is similar space at Honey I shrunk the Kids Play area at MGM. Also in the MK, there are some open spaces in the Exhibition hall. Depending on the crowds, it can usually be open, quiet and allows for some space. We also found some open spots in EPCOT Futureworld under some trees on the grass near the Test Track / Mission Space. You can always find spots in a quiet corner of Liberty Square (MK), in the garden at the UK pavillion (EPCOT)

This is a good thread. This crawl thing space is definitely something that needs to be improved. You really have to look for it.

 

[MelessaG]

I was thinking ToonTown and the Baby Care centers too. My son (7 mos. old then) also loved sitting in the Boneyard 'excavation' site while hist three year-old sister dug for dinosaur bones. He wasn't a big dirt eater, so it wasn't a problem for us-but would have been if we had taken his younger sister at the same age. Ick!

 

[reddog]

Thanks for the info - now I'm armed with some possibilities when our little guy gets squirmy. I'll post back after our trip with what we found out!

Thanks - Laurie