Pregnant Now and Planning a Trip with 5mo Baby in November

[sarah_n_brian2006]

Our baby is due at the end of June, but we want to go for the first time in Nov. for the Christmas decor and events. The baby will be between 4 and 5 months old. My Dh and I prefer to stay on property, mostly for convenience and the few perks offered.
It's been a long time since anyone in our family has planned a Disney trip with a baby. My niece is 16 now. A lot has changed with planning trips in the past 5 years and I'm trying to plan ahead. So, i have a few questions, some baby related, some not.

1. If we stay at a Disney hotel, with the baby registered, do we all three get MBs? Or just the adults?

2. If we decide to get APs, but we want to stagger and buy them ahead, is there a catch? Like do the vouchers have an expiration date to redeem or the price goes up?

3. Has anyone had trouble buying different level APs? I was thinking about getting the Gold for me and the Silver for my DH so we can get the memory maker included without having to pay twice. We're Floridians and avoid summers at all costs, so we're not concerned about the blackout date differences.

4. Any advice on going to WDW with a baby? We took my niece when she was 1yo, but that was forever ago and things have definitely changed since then.

 

[FCDub]

Our baby is due at the end of June, but we want to go for the first time in Nov. for the Christmas decor and events. The baby will be between 4 and 5 months old. My Dh and I prefer to stay on property, mostly for convenience and the few perks offered.
It's been a long time since anyone in our family has planned a Disney trip with a baby. My niece is 16 now. A lot has changed with planning trips in the past 5 years and I'm trying to plan ahead. So, i have a few questions, some baby related, some not.

1. If we stay at a Disney hotel, with the baby registered, do we all three get MBs? Or just the adults?

2. If we decide to get APs, but we want to stagger and buy them ahead, is there a catch? Like do the vouchers have an expiration date to redeem or the price goes up?

3. Has anyone had trouble buying different level APs? I was thinking about getting the Gold for me and the Silver for my DH so we can get the memory maker included without having to pay twice. We're Floridians and avoid summers at all costs, so we're not concerned about the blackout date differences.

4. Any advice on going to WDW with a baby? We took my niece when she was 1yo, but that was forever ago and things have definitely changed since then.

1. You’ll all get them, but obviously your child needs no ticket or FPs.

2. No catch. You can buy them now. You’ll activate them in person, and the clock starts when you enter a park.

 

[Woody412]

I can’t speak to AP’s as we’ve never had them, but as PP stated you will get a MB for the baby. Nothing will be linked to it because the baby doesn’t require a ticket or FP. Enjoy the souvenir.

Our last 3 trips we’ve had a baby in tow and brought our latest bundle of joy this past July at 3 mos. Strollers help for walking and napping, and storing diaper bags. Infant carriers help for lines. The baby centers in the parks have everything you might forget so don’t sweat it. Obviously you’re expecting to miss a few headliners unless you’re bringing someone to keep the baby while you ride. Take it slow. Only other advice I can give is definitely expect the unexpected, take plenty of pictures, and cherish the memories.

 

[Jetta8300]

I have never traveled with a baby to WDW so I don't have any advice in particular, but if I were to travel with a baby I think that would be a good age. I think it would be easier to travel with a 5 month old than a 2 year old personally. My son at that age was very easy to take places, in a stroller/car seat and he slept a lot. Also november may be a very good month with it not being so hot, however we went early/mid november last year and it was unseasonably SCORCHING the entire week, high 80's low 90's. So I would be prepared to keep baby cool in case that happens with fans, breaks mid day in air conditioning, etc.

 

[Lisa F]

I took my son when he was about 9 months old for the first time. At that age they are very portable. We used both a stroller and a baby carrier... I highly recommend the carrier because you will have to park the stroller in a centralized spot and walk around each individual "land"... if you get the baby used to it, they can nap in it too. Mine napped whenever he felt like it... sometimes on me in restaurants too. We just kind of went with it. We mostly carried him in the carrier because we carried him at home too and that's what he was used to.

Of course you know you can utilize child swap so you and your husband can ride non baby friendly rides.

I took him in March (he was born in June) and I will say that the one thing that was unanticipated was the level of hydration I needed in florida even that time of year while breastfeeding. It was much more than at home and I was much more affected by even moderate heat. if you're breastfeeding please make sure to hydrate! Dehydration is no fun, I got quite sick.

I can't help you with the "stuff" aspect, because he breastfed exclusively my diaper bag consisted of travel wipes and a few diapers and extra ziplocs stuck into a ziploc in my purse. I did utilize the baby care centers a few times for some quiet dark cool time though. We did manage to find the most adorable hat for him at WDW with a neck cover on it.



We have some awesome pictures of him but he was a bit older - but he LOVED the characters (we have pictures of him with stitch and he still HAS to see stitch whenever we go!)... the characters are super sweet and gentle with babies and if yours is not freaked out by them they will be precious moments.





he is laughing hysterically in that last one, not crying

at that age they can nap anywhere so their pace is your pace. It's more difficult when they get older and have to chase them or slow down for little legs.

Congrats!

 

[wendlle]

We took our older Daughter when she was 18 months old and she LOVED it. I mean, she was in heaven. It actually bought me to tears to see her so happy at my Happy Place.
This coming September we are going again and we will have our new baby who will be 10 months old at time of travel and our older Daughter will be 3.5 years old.
I am so excited I can hardly wait.

It's not hard at all to take babies to WDW, the place is so baby friendly and the CM's love the babies. They take their time to get such great photos of them and interact with them.
I do suggest that you make sure the baby drinks plenty. We formula feed so it's very easy to take that in small packets into the parks along with baby food pouches etc they also have that stuff at the Baby Centres which are located within the First Aid buildings in case you forget it along with diapers, wipes etc (all available for purchase at reasonable prices)

One thing about the baby carrier, make sure you get one that allows good airflow. They can be so hot for both you and baby if you don't get one with a good mesh.

 

[cgattis]

Sounds like this is your first baby? Congratulations!!! Lots of good tips here already. I once saw a couple bringing a newborn (like I’m guessing a month or less) on Jungle Cruise, so yeah, they’re pretty portable LOL. Best of luck!

 

[coldice371]

We have taken both of our children when they were less than a year old. I think the best advice I could give you is to know what your child needs and don't try to push beyond their limits. Everything in Disney is mostly baby friendly, but none of that matters if your baby can't for instance nap in the park and becomes over tired. I also think keeping realistic expectations of what will happen on the trip is helpful. The first time we took our baby we had these wild expectations of seeing/doing everything we wanted. That was such a poor way to go into the trip and at the time were disappointed by how it went because we had to leave parks for naps or cater to him in the parks. Looking back that trip was so memorable, but at the time didn't seem to be.

 

[DisneyDillyDally]

We didn’t do WDW with an infant, but we travelled to France when our baby was 5.5 months. It was a very easy age to travel at, as he was not mobile yet. We had a stroller, but we didn’t actually use it much in France - we had a baby carrier and baby went in carrier for all of the touring. The baby carrier was handy because he napped in it. Travel at 5.5 months in France was a lot easier than visiting WdW when he was 2.25!

 

[CaLuCa]

The youngest I have taken was 6 months (for his older brother and sister's 3rd birthday...he was way easier than they were!). Babies are a delight at Disney. I nursed all but one of my kids at Disney...lots of great places to nurse. They have so much fun and love seeing everything. Utilize rider swap if you want to do some things that he can't go on.

I think he will get a magic band. But if you all buy AP, you get one with that too. You might be able to find resort discounts with your AP or your FLorida resident.

We are also FL residents. My daughter and I have the no black out ones (we wanted to go during Christmas), the other three kids have the Gold, and we are contemplating getting the Silver (summer black out) for my husband.

I was going to research expiration dates on AP. We were thinking of buying one for DH soon (I have this feeling prices will go up soon), but waiting to activate for awhile. They don't start until you activate it at a guest services window at one of the parks or Disney Springs.

 

[MrsDuck]

Highly recommend staying on the monorail loop with an infant. Makes going back to the hotel for nap time so much easier - assuming your little one won't sleep in the stroller like my little dude!

 

[unrequited23]

One thing to remember is that you will need to count the baby for ADRs.

 

[Amanda Hall]

We went in April with an almost 5 month old as well as older kids (8 and 5). That age is pretty easy. We had a stroller and an ERGO. They are young enough at the age to sleep where ever you are. If your breastfeeding then you are good to go. I was not. I just carried bottles with water already in them and a small formula container with the premeasured amounts needed. Baby care centers are nice but we just changed the baby at whatever bathroom was near by. We like the ones by Gastons Tavern I highly recommend a stroller that faces you for that age. You will feel better and so will baby if he/she can see you.

 

[TravelingTotMom]

My second is 5 months old, and we have taken him three times since he was two months old (also FL residents with APs, so either weekend or day trips).

Baby Care Centers are great, especially for messy diaper changes. They have a room full of changing tables, and unlike the restrooms, your DH can be there to help if you need a second set of hands.

With both my sons, I use/used a combo of a stroller and a front-facing carrier. Strollers are not allowed in lines, so I use the carrier for lines/rides. With a front-facing one, he ends up positioned on my lap on the rides and gets to see everything.

I use a backpack as a diaper bag at Disney. Inside I have disposable changing pads, diapers, wipes, ziplock bags (can be used for all sorts of things), change of clothes, sun hat, hand wipes (I use Johnson & Johnson Face and Hand wipes in case he touches anything), teether/links, and a thin blanket and nursing cover for feeding.

Dining - Right now we are avoiding table service restaurants until he can sit in a high chair. Most don’t allow strollers, so we stick to quick service ones where we can park the stroller next to the table.

Rides/characters - they really can go on most of the rides, and you can use rider swap for the height restricted ones. Right now at 5 months, my son has become much more aware of some of the rides. He still will fall asleep on them if he’s tired, but his head wouldn’t stop moving looking around on the Navi River Journey (where everything glows). He’s kind of indifferent to the characters. He’s teething right now, so the only time he got really excited was when he saw Chips huge hand and tried to chomp on his fingers.

Resorts - Since we drive, we just bring our own pack and play.

Don’t forget to get a “First Visit” button (we stuck it on the carrier or stroller), and a Mickey Ears hat with their name embroidered makes a great first trip souvenir- they have an infant size.

Have a great trip! I’m sure it will be the first of many!

 

[KaystotheKingdom]

Honestly, I thought going with a baby was easier than a toddler having a midday heat and exhaustion induced meltdown.......

Our baby was formula so we would pre measure the powder in the bottles. Once in the park we added bottle water and therefore never had to worry about refrigeration.

Not sure if that will be your situation but thought I’d share

 

[KaystotheKingdom]

Dining - Right now we are avoiding table service restaurants until he can sit in a high chair. Most don’t allow strollers


This is great advice and something I wish I had realized before going with our 4 month old. He could not yet sit up in a high chair , and we did not have the car seat carrier like we use at home. Therefore every table service restaurant one of us had to be holding him and it was not easy!

 

[LSUmiss]

Dining - Right now we are avoiding table service restaurants until he can sit in a high chair. Most don’t allow strollers


This is great advice and something I wish I had realized before going with our 4 month old. He could not yet sit up in a high chair , and we did not have the car seat carrier like we use at home. Therefore every table service restaurant one of us had to be holding him and it was not easy!

We brought DS in Nov when he was 7 mos. We were allowed to bring the stroller in all TS & we eat mostly TS. CM just asked if he were sleeping or unable to sit in a high chair. Answer was always yes to one or both questions so we brought the stroller in. We didn’t haven’t a giant stroller though.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

Our baby is due at the end of June, but we want to go for the first time in Nov. for the Christmas decor and events. The baby will be between 4 and 5 months old. My Dh and I prefer to stay on property, mostly for convenience and the few perks offered.
It's been a long time since anyone in our family has planned a Disney trip with a baby. My niece is 16 now. A lot has changed with planning trips in the past 5 years and I'm trying to plan ahead. So, i have a few questions, some baby related, some not.

1. If we stay at a Disney hotel, with the baby registered, do we all three get MBs? Or just the adults?

2. If we decide to get APs, but we want to stagger and buy them ahead, is there a catch? Like do the vouchers have an expiration date to redeem or the price goes up?

3. Has anyone had trouble buying different level APs? I was thinking about getting the Gold for me and the Silver for my DH so we can get the memory maker included without having to pay twice. We're Floridians and avoid summers at all costs, so we're not concerned about the blackout date differences.

4. Any advice on going to WDW with a baby? We took my niece when she was 1yo, but that was forever ago and things have definitely changed since then.

another reminder you are now a party of three for ADRs. also most highchairs you baby will have to be able to sit by self. we found very few infant highchairs

 

[stephk1981]

DD is now 18 months, her first trip was at 6 months. We brought a stroller and the Ergo. Our biggest problem was sleep. Her sleeping too much during the day while in the stroller or comfy against me in the Ergo. After day 3 we had to forgo both stroller and ergo and I carried her in arms on my hip just to make sure she was awake. Granted she has never slept well overnight, but the first 3 nights after sleeping most of the day she was up every 10 minutes ALL NIGHT LONG. She also wouldn't sleep in the crib provided at Grand Floridian. Hopefully you won't have these issues....but something to think about. Hope the first trip goes well with baby, congratulations!