Quick WDW trip w/3 mo. old- Yes or no? Please help!!

[Tracey1974]

I can't believe hubby hasn't shot this idea down in the first minute I brought it up of taking a quick trip to WDW with our son before I go back to work in October. I'd like to go towards the end of September- he will be almost 3 months old then. I have been going through the threads for ideas and so far I have gotten some good tips. I think we will be driving down so we will have the carseat and full size stroller plus the carrier, I am nursing him now but will be starting to supplement during the daytime feedings by then (as much as I want to, it will be difficult to pump when I go back to work) and since we have both been to Disney alot, we don't need to do the parks commando style. I just don't know if we should go or not!

Pros- Free dining plan will save us a ton of $$ as we LOVE to eat!
Baby sleeps alot during the day
Can't wait to take him to Disney even though he won't remember it!
Parks not crowded that time of year
$$ saved b/c of driving down to WDW
We love WDW and I need a vacation!

Cons- Not sure if he will be sleeping through the night yet
Too hot to be in carseat/stroller?
Driving instead of flying- 17 hour trip
Can't do parks like we used to (this is ok though)
All that driving for 3 nights?
What if he is up all night screaming and wakes other guests up?


I'll definitely talk to his pediatrician beforehand (he will have his shots in 2 more weeks) and see what she says. I see that many people have brought their babies to WDW without any problems. Please let me know what you would do in my situation. Thanks so much!

 

[CindyBella]

Girl, You are crazy! Wait until the baby is older. Baby will have no idea what is going on. Use that time to enjoy your baby before returning to work. WDW would be more for you & DH than baby. My advice, establish a good schedule & get baby into a routine. Take baby for 1st birthday and have a blast!! Just my opinon!

 

[CindyBella]

..... have to say we took DD when she was only 10 months old so I am not one of those " he/she will not remember it" people!

A little story: DS was sleeping through the night at 2 months! Yes, I know ...I am fabulous. Let me tell you, that all changed when we moved to our larger home. We changed DS's routine. He's so smart he knew something was "off" and we had to start all over again!!

 

[Nicolepa]

I took my dd at 7 months and ds at 5 months (dd was 2). 7 months was fine, 5 wasn't. I would never take an infant that couldn't sit up again. Very tiring having to hold them up on all the rides! September is also very hot (that's when we took ds) and it was very, very hard to keep him hydrated, not to mention keeping his little bald, fuzzy blonde head from burning.

 

[shaylahc]

Every baby is different, but we took our DS when he was 2 mos old and he was a little monster. He was really stressed out by the change in routine. At night he never slept more than 30 minutes at a time, and during the day I had to carry him EVERYWHERE. He also screamed for most of the 12 hour car ride each way. We had 3 other kids to contend with, too

Then again, when my oldest was 9 mos old we all went together and had a blast. She was a much more "go with the flow" kind of baby.

I think it really depends on the baby. If your baby is fussy and clingy and hates change you may be in for a miserable trip. But if your baby is laid back and sleeps well you might do just fine. Just keep in mind that children are unpredictable so try and keep plans very flexible. You never know when your child is going to lose it and let you know they've had enough!

 

[lovethattink]

I'd go to Disney!

We did that drive the other way around. We left Florida because I was scared of the size of Hurricane Frances last year. We headed to Central Pa, (Lebanon.) Our little one at that time was 5 months old and a nursing, would not accept a bottle baby. That car ride went much better than we had planned! In fact, we were crazy enough to do it again this summer when we went to Cleveland, OH and Lebanon, Pa. Basically we drove around the baby's schedule. We got gas or stretched when it was time for him to eat. I don't know if this helped or not, but we told him we were going to sit in the car for a long, long time. He did great both times. Just be sure to have lots of toys to entertain him thoughout the drive. I tried to sleep when he did in the car so that I could watch him at nighttime in the motel if he wouldn't sleep. But he did great. We'd stop driving around 10pm and he was asleep by midnight, even after all that sleep in the car. From Pa to Fl, we stayed in Turbeville, SC and St. Augustine, FL. From FL to Pa we stayed in Darien, Georgia and Hopewell, Va. Other years, we've done the drive either all in one day or just staying over 1 night. But traveling is different with a baby.

We live in Central Fl, but stay on property often. Our little one has been going once a month since he was 6 weeks old to a resort. And to a park about once a week. (We do have an 11 year old who loves Disney.) At first the baby was intrigued by the lights, the sounds, music, etc. Now he is such a pro that when he sees the castle, Dumbo is the 1st word out of his mouth. He thinks he owns the baby care centers. As he is getting older, we've found that he is now afraid of some of the attractions that he didn't give a second thought of before. He screams on Snow White and Peter Pan, but he'll go in the haunted mansion...go figure. So we now stay clear of those 2 attractions. Last summer he was afraid of the noise from the parades, this summer, he loved the parades.

Another positive note, he never slept through the night until we went last July and stayed at POR. We put the pack and play between the beds. If he woke up I'd just pat his back and rub his head and he fell back to sleep. In fact, he's been sleeping through the night in his own crib since then! I think the swimming and all the excitement wore him out and he just crashed.

Be sure to bring some type of infant carrier. (We've had and borrowed a host of infant carriers. The Mayan wrap is great and comfortable, but extremely hot for baby. The Snugli and the Bjorn are better because they give the baby more air. I now have a Hip Hammock and I love it.) I've noticed that most babies don't want to sit in their stroller and want to be carried, especially if they have stranger anxiety, because there's mom and dad behind the stroller and a sea of unknown people coming right at them. It can be very intimidating.

Be sure to use the baby care centers!

 

[lillygator]

I would go we took our newest at 4 weeks, 3 months and most recently this weekend 6 months.
She slept in her car seat the first two trips and slept pretty much through the night. Luckily she is a great sleeper. For my own personal experience - the younger my children have been the easier. We, of course, have never done the parks for a full day...we go in the morning - head back to the pool and the baby slept in the stroller by the pool while the rest of us relaxed. Then we'd go out for a nice dinner.

It is definitely doable...although many on here have not and would not...you just have to set your expectations very different with little ones. The baby centers are great - we only used them a couple times.

 

[Tracey1974]

Bump please!

 

[rkandmjsmommy]

Friends of ours just got back and their baby was 8 weeks, they said it was GREAT, he was in teh Baby Bjourn the whole time and did fabulous, she also nursed and said the baby rooms were fabulous, go for it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[KristiKelly]

We will be at WDW with our 3 month old 9/24-10/1. We had originally planned on driving the 10 hours from NC but we got a great rate ($39) from Southwest down and $71 American coming home- it would cost us more to drive for gas, hotel to spend the night and food for the trip. We probably wouldn't have made the trip if it weren't for our 2 other children, DS8 & DD5. We have been to WDW several times so we can take it slow this time. I have heard from several that it's easier with a baby than with a 2 y/o. I plan on buying a Baby Bjorn, I can breastfeed in the care centers or during the dark air conditioned shows. She usually eats about every 2 to 2-1/2 hours during the day, I hope by then she's up to about 3 hours.

When was your baby born? Mary Grace was born 6/30. There is a New Moms Thread on the Community Board you might enjoy joining in on.

 

[Tracey1974]

Kristi- that was my original due date! It happens to be my mom's birthday so I ended up getting induced that night and Christopher was born on July 1st! I just booked 3 nights at POR (we stayed there for our honeymoon) and my 21 year old sister will be coming with us to help us with him. As much as I don't really enjoy driving, I really want to have a car this time onsite and with airfare and renting a car, we may as well just take the car. We just got a new Jetta diesel which averages around 48 mpg so we will be good on gas mileage. The trunk is huge so we can store everything (stroller, luggage, diapers) we need. I just wish we could fit the baby's swing in there- he loves it and it calms him down almost instantly.

I can't believe we booked so fast- usually I have to pull hubby's teeth to even think about WDW and we are going in Dec 2006 with the whole family. I can't get the baby's picture to show up on my signature anymore so I am working on that. Oooh- I can add another trip onto my signature!!!

Congrats on your little one as well!

 

[JVL1018]

we went with our daughter when she was 3 months(and 10 months, 13 months, 18 months 2 years 3years etc..LOL)
Easy peasy.
There was nothing hard about it.
We took her full size stroller with the carseat attachment-which was good because she was used to being in the stroller in her carseat and was not fond of just being in the stroller-found that out the first day.
Plus any restaurant we went in, we just brought her in in the carseat and didn't need to worry about the fact that she couldn't sit up yet.

We just took our time and weren't in any rush to do anything. Took her on many rides, not one problem.

 

[Colinsmom]

At 3 months, babies go through a huge burst of neurological development. They literally wake up - which can be great, or can be a headache, depending on where they end up! So my point is that the baby you have today isn't the baby that you would be taking at the end of September (very unlikely he'd still be sleeping all the time, for starters). I have no advice since I haven't taken a tiny baby like this, but can easily imagine how it would depend on the temperament and mood of the baby on those particular days!

 

[Tracey1974]

It is officially booked for 9/30-10/3. I'm very excited and now the free dining is making me nuts. Where do I start? So much for going back to work with almost all of my baby weight gone!!!

Oh well....... I'm going back to WDW!!!! Can't wait to take pics of our little one with Mickey! I had to wait til I was 9 for my first trip and he gets to go at 3 months!!

 

[lovethattink]

It is officially booked for 9/30-10/3. I'm very excited and now the free dining is making me nuts. Where do I start? So much for going back to work with almost all of my baby weight gone!!!

Oh well....... I'm going back to WDW!!!! Can't wait to take pics of our little one with Mickey! I had to wait til I was 9 for my first trip and he gets to go at 3 months!!

Congrats! Once you get through the car ride, Disney will be a piece of cake! We have enjoyed taking our little one each time we go. Our little one was 2 and a half months in his 1st pic with Mickey. I was an adult in my 1st pic with Mickey.

We found coupon books for motels along I-95 at the various fast food and visitor centers. These coupons were better than AAA discounts, usually.

 

[Tinky]

Congratulations! Have a great time!
We're also going with a almost 3 month old Sept 23-30. Both of the other kids have been when they were around 1 year old so this is a first for us taking a tiny one!

You'll be fine!

 

[Jesuslover]

What a special time in your baby's life, and it goes by sooo fast!
I have not been to WDW with little ones but I have done a lot of traveling with them (at 2 or 3 months old). They are easier to care for in that situation now than they will be in a couple of months. It may be a little stressful if your baby doesn't sleep well, but well worth it. If you feed the baby every 2 1/2 to 3 hours during the day (even if you have to wake them up) and don't make a habit of nursing or feeding them to sleep, your baby will sleep through the night pretty quick. Above all else, remember even in the stressful times that this is a great privilage. Have a super trip!!

 

[justhat]

We took Madison when she was almost 3 months old and it was by far the easiest trip with her. She spent most of the time in the Baby Bjorn and was a very happy baby-didn't cry once the whole trip! If you want to bring a swing, look into the Fisher Price Aquarium Travel Swing. We brought ours when Madison was that age and she loved it, and it was so easy for us to have it along. She could swing in it by the pool, in the room while I showered, anytime we needed free hands. Of course if you'll never use it again then it might not be a good investment since the price has gone up since I bought mine 1.5 years ago. But if your baby will be in daycare or at a babysitter's you could bring it there so he has something of his own that he's familiar with. I posted a bunch of threads about the travel swing on the Official New Moms Thread on the Community Board if you want to check them out (they're in the last 3 or 4 pages).

 

[Tracey1974]

Thanks for the tips on the swing- he absolutely loves the swing and one of my friends has a travel one. We are driving so I would really have to see if it fits but since that is the only thing that guarantees that he will fall asleep, maybe we'd better just make room for it!

Now if I could just get him to sleep longer than 4 hours a stretch at night......

 

[KirstenB]

Tracey, is there any way to stretch out your vacation a little longer? It's a lot of driving for 3 days, IMHO. If not at WDW, then maybe stop at one of the beaches along the way for a day or 2. The reason I say this is that traveling with an infant always stressed me, and it took me 2 days to wind down and start enjoying myself. I'm not saying you'd be this way, but in Sept, the beach would be a non-busy place to chill out for a little while.