Taking a newborn to Disney? Tips?

[rjthkids]

O.k. we have our big family trip planned for January 2010. The family currently consists of my four special needs kiddoes who right now are aged 6, 4, 2, and 2. By the time we go to Disney they will be 7, 5, 3, and 3..............


aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand I just found out that I am very unexpectedly pregnant with number 5. Which means a baby in November. Which means traveling to Disney with a two month old on top of the rest of the crew.

In my opinions, newborns are by far the easiest child in a bunch to deal with. What I *don't* know is how "newborn" friendly is WDW? I carry my newborns in a sling or back carry wrap pretty much any time they're not actually nursing. Can I take a baby on a ride in a sling? Are they allowed on all the non height restricted rides?

My kids are little anyway, we are so not looking to do any of the "big people" rides. A small world and Peter Pan is about all the excitement my kids need. But we'll be a family of 7 which will mean a 3/4 split on rides....in what rides will it be possible, and which not? We need an adult with all children at all times.

 

[freerjl]

We took our son at 9 weeks old. It was the best trip. We had him in the Bjorn. He would sleep anywhere. We took him on all the rides with no problem. He loved all the lights and music. Hope you have a great time. Good luck with your pregnancy.

 

[adventure_woman]

The newborn will be your easiest. My DD turned 8 wks when we were there the first time.
- Bring a sling/wrap/bjorn.
- We also used the carseat carrier in the stroller, made it easier when going to restaurants, etc.
- We used hand sanitizer everytime before we touched her, she never got sick.
- Amazingly, the baby will get a lot of it - my DD LOVED to look around! (she was my first so I had no idea what to expect).
- If you are nursing, you won't have to worry about formula. If not, there are baby care centers where you can warm up bottles, etc. (you can also use it to nurse if you want, we were just never there at the feeding time!)
- DD actually slept in her stroller reclined at night. We just put a pad down, laid it flat and there we were!

 

[dawminatrix]

Do take advantage of the baby centers! They are a great place to sit and relax away from the park atmosphere...and they have every baby item you could need/want in case of emergency.

We have used them with our newborns for rest stops...especially at the end of our day before making it out to the car. We'd stop and do diaper changes, cool them off and get a snack

 

[NJR]

Congrats!! I took DS#2 last November, when he was 9 weeks old, and wore him pretty much all of the time (in a Sleepy Wrap). I was able to go on all of the height-restriction-free rides (Buzz, POTC etc) and kept him in the wrap. It was so much easier to get on and off rides with both of my hands free!

 

[KristiKelly]

Congratulations! We took our kids to WDW when our 3rd was 3 mo. old. it was very easy. She stayed in the bjorn or her stroller. If she was asleep, we were allowed to take our stroller into the restaurants and not wake her. We took her on all rides with no height restrictions - I also took this time to b'feed as well. The Baby Care Centers are wonderful.

Have you considered taking a grandparent or someone to provide an extra pair of hands for the other children?