Planning to take 15 month old

[earthur0915]

Hello all....my husband and I are planning to take our daughter to Disney next April (she will be 15 months old)...can those of you experienced disers give me some advice on taking a baby this young....I realize she will not remember any of it, so I am wondering if it will be a waste....

All advice is very much appreciated!

 

[mrstomrice]

You will not be wasting a trip at all! We took our sons when they were 11 months and 19 months (2 different trips) and will go back with a 23 month old. The look on their faces as they met the character was priceless! They also both loved the rides and the fireworks. I like getting to the parks for early EMH so we can get a lot done in the extra hour. We went back to the hotel in the middle of the day if we needed the break, but both boys were able to get good naps in the parks...we played that by ear. Plan the trip around their schedule so you don't have meltdowns. We only had 1 "bad" day on the 3rd day of the trip because DS was overtired and overwhelmed.
Use the baby care centers to take a break and have a feeding if needed. For a fun experience, try to hold off on the 1st haircut until you get there. If they need a cut, get it done at the Harmony Barbershop in MK. They will get a certificate and a free set of ears that says first haircut.
Have a great trip!

 

[mdurette]

Waste.....NO WAY. We took our dd when she was 16 months to Sea World and then to Disney when she was 22 months and then again at 24 months. The last trip this past January I was chatting with a woman on the bus and she said....."she might not remember it.....but you certainly will" and she is 100% correct. My daughter recognizes pics from the trip - but the look on face, the smiles, the big eyes, the complete awe of everything.....I will remember forever.

 

[lillykat]

We are going the end of september 08 with our DD who will be 15 months at the time. We are very excited about the trip - we plan on taking the trip on her speed and we don't care whether she will remember the trip as long as she smiles and enjoys the family time we have when we are there. We are going with my parents so I think it will help to have an extra pair of hands. She is very active now at 8 months - crawling and cruising all over so I can only imagine what she will be like down there.

If you PM me in October I will be happy to share all about our trip and what DD liked and did not like etc.

 

[bookmama]

this is so not a waste. we took my DN when she was 18mos in June 2007 and she loved every minute of it. To this day she says she wants to go see Mickey. The advice i can give is, first everybody rest in the middle of the day; ship supplies down and bring your own stroller. I used Jet Set Babies when we went you order and they call you before your stuff is delivered to the hotel to reconfirm.

 

[LadyShea]

"Won't remember" shouldn't be a benchmark, in my opinion, if it were than we shouldn't do anything for or with our babies/toddlers just for the sake of enjoyment as a family!

She will very much be able to enjoy the parks at the time, and you will get to see her enjoyment and you will remember how fun it was and how delighted your DD was!

 

[QJ411]

It would not be a waste at all! DD went to WDW when she was 6 mths/13 mths/18mths and we're going back when she'll be 29 mths and even though she might not remember all her trips, I know for a fact that DH & I will never forget them!

When she was 18 mths, she had a great time. She was very interactive with the characters and very independant, she wanted to walk up to most of the characters by herself and was kept very busy! I can tell you she doesn't remember it (she's 2 now) but when we show her the photos she gets so excited! We took it very easy, didn't plan a zillion things or ADRs...we kept to her schedule. If she was tired, we'd just go back to the resort and relax by the pool or in our room, we didn't over-do it. There really wasn't anything that I NEEDED to bring to help us, except our stroller and tons of sunscreen...and of course, your camera! Just watch them enjoy the sights and sounds and see their face when they're coming up to a character or a princess...it really is priceless!

ENJOY your trip!

 

[buzznina]

We have been taking our DD since she was 6 months old. She is now 3-1/2 and really enjoys watching the videos we took from each of our trips. Now when we go on certain rides like It's a Small World she will tell us that she rode this when she was a baby, it so precious. So make sure you have a video camera and LOTS of tapes.

 

[LilGMom]

Go! Have fun! Seeing WDW through your child's eyes is incredible.

We took our oldest for the first time when he was ten months old (he's now 6) and our youngest for the first time when he was six months old (he's now 2). We used a backpack carrier until they were over the weight limit and until our backs couldn't handle it and took things at a slower pace. I must admit that our first trip with our oldest was probably one of our best trips. DH & I used to hit the parks during AM EMH and go nonstop until well into PM EMH. So when we were forced to slow down there were so many things that we had been skipping over and missing that we discovered. We were able to take in all of the sights, sounds and smells that we had always missed. The pictures and memories you will have will be priceless!

 

[FLVacationGirl]

My dd was 15 months on her first, and our first, WDW trip. She did great! She took in more than we expected, and she was busy pointing, clapping, and oohing and ahhing. She loved Wishes! She slept through Fantasmic and Illuminations. Her favourite part of Disney was all of the birds everywhere.

So not a waste! If you can only go to WDW once then go when you children are older. If you are going to go a few times or a lot, definitely go when they are young. I already plan to take her back just before her 2nd bday.

 

[PrincessPoohsMom]

15 months isn't nearly as young as you think...my DD was 5 months on her first trip. We went again to celebrate her first birthday, and we'll be heading to WDW next month (she'll be 18 months).

While it's true that your DD won't remember everything about the trip, at 15 months she'll probably remember more than you might expect. On our first trip, DD was fascinated by the Pooh characters. When we went back at 12 months, I thought she was going to climb right out of her high chair into Tigger's arms, she was so excited to see him again! She still kisses any picture of him we come across.

My biggest suggestions would be to bring your own stroller from home, try to stick to her naptime/mealtime/bedtime schedule as much as you can, and just take a slower pace and really let her take it all in. And if anyone says you're "wasting" a trip, just cheerfully point out she doesn't need a ticket, so it's actually far cheaper to take her now than wait for her to turn 5 or whatever.

Have a great trip!

 

[earthur0915]

Thank you for all your responses....there is no question now....we will definitely be taking our daughter...I can't wait to see Disney through her eyes!