Selfish to take a baby to disney world?

[Nathansmommy]

DD will be 10 months when we go in November, DS will be almost 4, we took DS when he was 2, everyone keeps telling us to leave DD behind, but nope she's coming with us.

 

[The Uh-Oa!]

We took the DS to WDW at 5 months and 18 months, and to DLR at 8 months, and we enjoyed all of them! The one at 5 months was probably the easiest. If you love WDW anyway, I highly recommend taking baby. But if I had a $1 for every time people who didn't "get" Disney told me similar things (usually: Why take them until they would remember it?) I could probably finance my next trip to Disney...

 

[OwlMomx3]

We left our 10 month old with my parents. It wasn't fair to the baby or the older 2 if she came. We were able to go on everything together, stay out later and the baby didn't have to just sit in a hot stroller all day. They will never ever remember.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Bringing a baby doesn't mean they have to sit in the stroller all day. There's only a handful of height requirement rides, and they offer rider swap...everything else, baby can go on too.

 

[OwlMomx3]

It's a lot of work. My daughter had so much fun staying with her grandparents while we were away. A lot more fun then if she was in the hot, crowded parks all day and night.

 

[Golden Rose]

We waited to go until our son was 2.5 years old. We enjoy WDW, but we love to do a lot of different types of vacations, so we wanted to wait until he was old enough to start to have a few memories of it. He loved it so much, and we loved seeing how much he loved it, and we started going back about every 9 months. (That's when we bought into DVC, since we realized we were going often.)

With our daughter, we already had a trip planned with friends when we adopted her, so we ended up taking her when she was about 5 months old. Honestly, if we hadn't already had a special trip planned with this family, whose daughter had never been, we'd have canceled and waited until DD was a little older. I worried about the vaccinations she hadn't had. (One of my nephews almost died of whooping cough as an infant, before he'd been able to be vaccinated, so I'm very aware of how deadly infectious diseases can become.) We've gotten very sick at WDW on previous trips, despite the handwashing precautions we take, so, yes, I admit I was a little worried. It turned out to be a great trip, although it was a lot more work with a baby.

I am a big believer in travel helping to shape your perspectives on life. In general, I tell people to go for it, take your kids on lots of vacations (including WDW, but to all over). Our just turned 4 year old year old daughter (she of the 5 month old trip to WDW) has been with us on 3 cruises (to the Caribbean, Bahamas, and Central America), 4 or 5 trips to WDW, a trip to Hawaii and California, and weekend trips around Texas. Our kids LOVE to travel, and we've worked to make them good little travelers and instill the same passion for it that we have. We started with our son on cruises instead of at WDW; we thought cruises with a baby were much easier than WDW.

 

[Mrs~Incredible]

We had the most amazing and magical trip with our 10 month old. The baby care centers were awesome. Everyone is different, but for us it is one of the best things we ever did.

 

[momimouse27]

For us, it really was a joy bringing our little ones. Yes, it is work, but so is just being a parent. If you prepare and pick the right time-since there's no school yet then that's something you don't have to work around-you can find cooler and less crowded times to be there. I remember when my girls were small one of the best trips we ever took was in late September when the park was almost empty. We so enjoyed touring leisurely and we took breaks when we thought they had enough. The biggest tip I could give is to know where those baby centers are in every park. They saved us on numerous occasions!

I agree with Golden Rose above, traveling at an early age really helps your kids to get used to it. It becomes something they love to do, and they are seeing a lot of the world too. We couldn't afford to do cruises or big vacations, but we've traveled a bunch in the car with our kids, to all kinds of places.

 

[5kidsmommy]

I say go for it. Having a baby doesn't mean life stops or that you should wait until they are old enough to experience it. We waited to go to Disney until our youngest was 4 and I so wish we wouldn't have. We denied ourselves and our other kids lots of opportunities because we wanted to wait until they could all enjoy it. Ugh that was dumb. So my vote is go for it. You'll have a blast.

 

[little miss minnie]

We took our then 9 month old last October and the memories my DH and I have of her there are PRICELESS. People say those things because THEY DONT KNOW. Will she rememeber? No. But you will. And you'll have pictures to show her when she's older of her first trip to Disney that she will treasure! I will never forget my daughters reaction to the Electrical Parade and It's a Small World! As long as you properly prepare and organize everything, you'll be FINE. I'm more concerned about going with my daughter this September when she's 20 months. I have a feeling she will be much more of a handful then at 9 months, and we will be much more exhausted, but it's SO worth it. Don't worry about what others think. you do what is best for you and your family!!

 

[Jenna319]

We arrive on Halloween and our daughter will have just turned 1. I've been planning this trip since before she was born. I cannot wait to get a picture of my daughter in front of Cinderella Castle, it will be a moment I treasure forever. We are staying at VGF for the convenience of the monorail. I just heard from my sister-in-law today the lovely "I can't believe you're going to Disney with her that young. What a waste" comment. I wanted to punch her in the face. Some people just don't get Disney! I said to her "well I don't like camping but to each their own." It's not like this is the only time we will ever go to Disney. If it was, I may have waited. But we are Disney addicts and will take her for many years to come. What does it matter if she goes at 4 months, 1 year, 3 years or 8 years? What matters is that she will be spending quality time making memories with her family, whether she remembers them or only sees photos of herself when she's older.

 

[btk2333]

Bringing a baby doesn't mean they have to sit in the stroller all day. There's only a handful of height requirement rides, and they offer rider swap...everything else, baby can go on too.

Or heck don't even do many rides- that's what we did on our recent 9 day trip with our 10 month old twins. Just enjoyed the scenery, went on a few rides a day, did two table service meals a day, went to the pool. It was one of our best trips. It was also in February so it wasn't that hot- great time to take babies- can't wait to bring them back in November

 

[kayemgi]

People are already saying it to us, as we're planning to go next year when our baby will be just under two years. I know she won't remember, but WE enjoy Disney. We went several times before baby was born, and we'll continue to go throughout her childhood, so I don't think it's selfish at all! It's a trip we would do with or without baby, and I'm looking forward to experiencing the magic through her eyes for the first time! I say go for it, and have a wonderful time!