Tips for Disney with a 1 year old--no wet blankets please!

[Kurby]

Now you want to take up valuable dining reservations, that you may or may not use, depending on how your child is acting....... Did you really say this? Talk about asking for trouble. You want an honest opinion? I would reconsider this.

actually she is well within her right to do this. she's making a booking for dining but is willing to walk away should her child be fussing and not want to make a scene in the restaurant - what on earth is the problem with that??

i would much rather see her call last minute and cancel and let some walk in receive a surprise "yes" then have a crying child sitting there for 2 hours disturbing everyone within ear shot.

yes it's unfortunate if you call for a reservation and are told that they are booked only to find that someone walked in and got a seat but life happens and are you really telling this women that she shouldn't make any reservations at all because her child might act up and she might have to cancel? or make her child sit there crying and screaming just so she takes her reservation but make everyone else sitting around miserable

i hope you make sure you call at the outer limit of your arrival date to make sure you always get your reservations - that way you'll never have to worry about anyone else.

 

[disneygal55]

It's been a long time since my kids were babies (they are now 20 and 21) but some things never change! We have been coming to WDW since before they were born, then while I was pregnant and since they were babies. We would wait until they were about a year old before their first trip. Tried bringing our own strollers but found that it was a big hassle to drag them off and off buses and felt it was easier to rent. Of course it cost a lot less back then..I heard the cost is up there now. Pack your diaper bag with lots of clothing changes, extra diapers, baby wipes, baby food etc. I always brought a couple of face cloths for messy faces and something to throw over the baby changing tables...I still cringe when I see mothers changing their babies on uncovered tables!! Take a lot of breaks, especially in air conditioned buildings and take a mid-afternoon swim break at your hotel...babies love to splash around in the pool. We did the baby switch thing on rides that we couldn't take them on..rollercoasters etc. but most rides are family friendly. At that age my kids were afraid of the characters so we didn't push that too much..just kind of pointed out characters during parades and shows. It's different going with a baby if you've only done the couple thing but it's a great different. You'll have tears in your eyes as you watch them react to things for the first time. Enjoy the time, take it easy and go with the flow..don't force things cause you can't do everything. We still go all the time..both alone as a couple and as a family with our 2 DS's...it's just the beginning for you. Congratulations and have a great time!

 

[zeferjen]

I haven't been to Disney with a 1yo, in fact we are going next week for the first time with our almost 2yo and 3.5 yo. BUT, I can give generic travel tips if you are interested

If you are driving and you have a child that doesn't like being in the car seat very much, I would strongly suggest driving at night. It makes it really hard for you guys, since you will be more tired when you get there, but not listening to a toddler scream for 8 hours will more than make up for it.

Bring lots of snacks. Nothing distracts a fussy baby like food

Protect a bub is a great addition to your stroller to protect the baby from too much sun exposure.

Always be prepared to leave anyplace you take your baby. I have walked out of restaurants in the middle of a meal before when my kids were disturbing people around them. If you go in with low expectations, you will probably be pleasantly surprised. On a similar note, it is a good idea to get them used to eating out and the rules associated with it early. A lot of people wait until they have preschoolers before they eat out, go on vacations, etc. and then are SHOCKED when their kids cannot behave appropriately.

Of course all of this is my experience. Every child is different, so good luck sifting through all this advice!

 

[Mel6197]

Im telling you,
He was the best he has ever been on any of our yearly trips since.
I put that boy in the stroller and he didnt know he could get out, I wasnt telling him, He loved it all! Didnt complain, Took him on all the rides, he loved it, Even Pirates! Not a single cry that whole week.. Talk about Magic! Took his naps when he needed to, SIMPLE SIMPLE SIMPLE!!
Have a great Trip!

 

[harleyquinn]

Thank you all so much! GREAT driving tips. One of us will definitely sit in the back with her, which might make navigation a bit of an issue, but have driven down twice before.

And thanks for defending the ADRs. I will only make one per day and hope that everything goes perfectly. That way we have a sort of plan, especially for the hard to get into places, but I won't be hogging reservations that we won't attend for sure.

I highly doubt we'll have any issues with the breakfasts, and we only have five days of dinning. So I'm terribly sorry if the other 3 ADRs get canceled. In order for me to cancel, things have to be REALLY bad though. In which case you're welcome!

 

[harleyquinn]

A little OT, I don't remember where your dh teaches but is their calendar out yet, for when school starts up again in the fall? Neither my dh's district nor my kids' district have it out there yet.

No, not yet, but we're almost positive what the schedule will be. It'll be out in March. (He teaches in Painesville)

Just to throw another wrench into this thread...if he gets 2 weeks off for Christmas like he did this year, we'll be going the week before Christmas, not in August. (See I really do know how hot August is! ) I really don't see that happening though, but we'll see.

 

[domesticking]

Now you want to take up valuable dining reservations, that you may or may not use, depending on how your child is acting....... Did you really say this? Talk about asking for trouble. You want an honest opinion? I would reconsider this.

Yes - that's what she said, but after she was chastised, now she says she won't do it.

 

[Mr Wes]

I took my daughter to DW for the first time when she was 3 and had no problems! We were there in the middle of summer and had a great time. Took another trip last August with my family (party of 12) my cousin took her 11 month old daughter, no problems even with the heat!

Now I have another baby on the way and plan to take our vacation in Dec when my baby is 6 months. Now I know my daughter wont remember but the memories that it will create with the rest of the family will be priceless. My wife and I are firm believers of taking our kids every where we can while we still can!

So have fun, we will!

 

[harleyquinn]

Yes - that's what she said, but after she was chastised, now she says she won't do it.

You can roll your eyes all you want, but I will only make one ADR per day. When I first posted about making multiples, I was just thinking (typing) out loud. I know, stupid! I realized (before being chastised) that I didn't want to complicate my own plans or be greedy. Like I said, I was thinking about making a dinner and a lunch ADR, but after taking a second to think, I realized that there's no lunch ADR worth making ahead of time, unless it's the only thing I want.

I'd be happy to give you my name, so you can call Disney and make sure I only have one ADR per day.

 

[RumblyInMyTumbly]

Hi, Sorry if this has been mentioned beforehand.. I kinda skipped through several pages of this thread!

I don't have my own Disney baby yet, so I'm living vicariously through all the moms on this thread.. but..

Don't forget to get a "1st visit" button for your baby.. you could put it in her baby book!

Also, since you seem to be a frequent visitor, why not pick a few places for photos of your family that you can do every visit? Kinda like kids' pics with Santa, you can have a series of photos of your baby as she grows up..

 

[harleyquinn]

Also, since you seem to be a frequent visitor, why not pick a few places for photos of your family that you can do every visit? Kinda like kids' pics with Santa, you can have a series of photos of your baby as she grows up..

I love this idea! Thanks! Hopefully we'll be blessed with tons of disney trips and it can be something really special!

 

[Kurby]

You can roll your eyes all you want, but I will only make one ADR per day. When I first posted about making multiples, I was just thinking (typing) out loud. I know, stupid! I realized (before being chastised) that I didn't want to complicate my own plans or be greedy. Like I said, I was thinking about making a dinner and a lunch ADR, but after taking a second to think, I realized that there's no lunch ADR worth making ahead of time, unless it's the only thing I want.

I'd be happy to give you my name, so you can call Disney and make sure I only have one ADR per day.

i think dome was rolling her eyes at the people who were chastising you for wanting to make reservations then saying you might cancel them.

it's your vacation too - make whatever reservations you want and if you have to cancel then so be it - you'll end up making someones day who just walked in and was told yes we can seat you because someone cancelled today.

as long as you call and cancel you're fine and not taking anyone else's reservation since you gave some notice. don't worry about it. like i said life happens and parents have to take their ques from the children they bring. you're doing what you feel is best for your child and if that means calling at 4pm to cancel a 6pm res because your child just has had enough that day so be it. i'm pretty sure sometime between 4 and 6 someone will either call or walk up and they won't be without in your time slot.

 

[domesticking]

You can roll your eyes all you want, but I will only make one ADR per day. When I first posted about making multiples, I was just thinking (typing) out loud. I know, stupid! I realized (before being chastised) that I didn't want to complicate my own plans or be greedy. Like I said, I was thinking about making a dinner and a lunch ADR, but after taking a second to think, I realized that there's no lunch ADR worth making ahead of time, unless it's the only thing I want.

I'd be happy to give you my name, so you can call Disney and make sure I only have one ADR per day.

There's nothing wrong with making breakfast, lunch and dinner reservations. You don't have to limit yourself to one ADR per day.

The way your original statement was made, it sounded like you were going to make a bunch of reservations at different times, hoping one of them would correspond with your child's schedule, mood or whatever. Like, for instance, you'd make 5:30, 6:30 and 7:30 dinner reservations and then use the one that worked for you. When you said you normally wouldn't do that, but it was during free dining and you didn't want to get shut out, it sounded even more like you were planning on so-called "double-booking" (or triple or quadruple or whatever). That's what people were chastising you for.

If you want to make breakfast, lunch and dinner reservations, no one is going to judge for that (at least I'm not) .... Hope that makes sense.

 

[domesticking]

as long as you call and cancel you're fine and not taking anyone else's reservation since you gave some notice. don't worry about it. like i said life happens and parents have to take their ques from the children they bring. you're doing what you feel is best for your child and if that means calling at 4pm to cancel a 6pm res because your child just has had enough that day so be it.

Exactly. I keep at most of our reservations, but inevitably, some of the ADRs have to be cancelled, shuffled or modified. You can only plan so much .... life happens and things have change. I'm not advocating being a slave to your ADRs ...

 

[harleyquinn]

i think dome was rolling her eyes at the people who were chastising you for wanting to make reservations then saying you might cancel them.

it's your vacation too - make whatever reservations you want and if you have to cancel then so be it - you'll end up making someones day who just walked in and was told yes we can seat you because someone cancelled today.

as long as you call and cancel you're fine and not taking anyone else's reservation since you gave some notice. don't worry about it. like i said life happens and parents have to take their ques from the children they bring. you're doing what you feel is best for your child and if that means calling at 4pm to cancel a 6pm res because your child just has had enough that day so be it. i'm pretty sure sometime between 4 and 6 someone will either call or walk up and they won't be without in your time slot.

There's nothing wrong with making breakfast, lunch and dinner reservations. You don't have to limit yourself to one ADR per day.

The way your original statement was made, it sounded like you were going to make a bunch of reservations at different times, hoping one of them would correspond with your child's schedule, mood or whatever. Like, for instance, you'd make 5:30, 6:30 and 7:30 dinner reservations and then use the one that worked for you. When you said you normally wouldn't do that, but it was during free dining and you didn't want to get shut out, it sounded even more like you were planning on so-called "double-booking" (or triple or quadruple or whatever). That's what people were chastising you for.

If you want to make breakfast, lunch and dinner reservations, no one is going to judge for that (at least I'm not) .... Hope that makes sense.

Exactly. I keep at most of our reservations, but inevitably, some of the ADRs have to be cancelled, shuffled or modified. You can only plan so much .... life happens and things have change. I'm not advocating being a slave to your ADRs ...

lol I think I must be feeling touchy to take the smilie the way I did! Sorry about that!

Thanks everyone!

Anyway, so does anyone else have a favorite sunscreen or is there anything I should avoid?

 

[mariepapa]

lol I think I must be feeling touchy to take the smilie the way I did! Sorry about that!

Thanks everyone!

Anyway, so does anyone else have a favorite sunscreen or is there anything I should avoid?

Not for your little one but for you. Banana Boat SPF 80. I am very fair skinned and used this in August. Applied once in the am and did not have to reapply. It is in the orange spray container. Amazing stuff. NO SUNBURN in summer!

 

[Stitch's Greatest Fa]

A tip for sunscreen you might avoid - anything in a spray or any of that coloured sunscreen (mine was Nivea - am from UK, don't know if you have that in USA, but avoid), the spray i found sprayed all over the place not just on the baby and the colouring used in the sunscreen so that you could see it, stained clothes really easily. Go for a high factor white creamy type that you rub on rather than spray.

 

[harleyquinn]

Not for your little one but for you. Banana Boat SPF 80. I am very fair skinned and used this in August. Applied once in the am and did not have to reapply. It is in the orange spray container. Amazing stuff. NO SUNBURN in summer!

A tip for sunscreen you might avoid - anything in a spray or any of that coloured sunscreen (mine was Nivea - am from UK, don't know if you have that in USA, but avoid), the spray i found sprayed all over the place not just on the baby and the colouring used in the sunscreen so that you could see it, stained clothes really easily. Go for a high factor white creamy type that you rub on rather than spray.

Thanks! I have some of the expensive neutragena stuff for myself, but never thought of using it with DD.

 

[kristennn]

We're going the first week of March with our baby who will be 9 months on March 1. So maybe I'll have more advice for you after we get back
I'm not really planning to do that much differently.
We will be there for rope drop pretty much every day - but our baby wakes up earlier than we want to - so that should work well for her.
We are planning an afternoon break every day because she doesn't nap in her stroller very well or very often. So our plan is rope drop - then staying at the parks til about 1 every day and then back later.
We are bringing our own stroller - and we are renting a car so that if she suddenly gets really cranky and needs to be back to sleep *now* we can just go and don't have to wait for the bus. Plus with going back for afternoon breaks I worry about how much time will get eaten up taking the bus back and forth.
As far as food goes she still gets 90% or so of her intake breastfeeding so it's not an issue - and then we'll fine things on the buffets or whatever we order for her. I think we're only doing one non-buffet ts meal. (Le Cellier) In general I am not worrying about her acting up - as long as someone is holding her /playing with her she doesn't usually cry. I may have to hold her while I eat (which can be a hassle) but you do what you need to do.
We do plan to do a lot of baby swaps for rides. We have 4 adults and 2 6 year olds in our party so i think the baby swaps will be awesome in that several people will get to ride a second time. My 6 year old doesn't like any rides that are too thrilling so she is content to go on smaller rides - see characters and trade pins. We can do all of those things easily with the baby in tow.

Our baby enjoys being out and about and looking at things etc. so i think she'll enjoy disney world. I think she'll lie the characters too - but you never know for sure until they get there. We spent a day at disneyland with our older daughter right when she turned 2 and she was totally freaked out by them - truly she's still afraid of a couple (like the mad hatter) but she's a bit of a nervous kid.

Maybe I am naive - but I'm not really worried about it. I am sure there will e a few stressful moments but that can happen even when you're traveling with no kids. We'll be there when it's not too crowded and the weather is nice though.
My main concern for OP would be the drive ... I know that would be a nightmare if we tried it - but maybe your baby is a better traveler than ours

 

[Monkeyfeet]

We use California Baby on our kids, no chemicals Due to it being chemical free it can be used on infants too. It goes on thick and white. It is pricey. I buy ours at Target and sometimes drugstore. com We are outside all summer and neither of my little ones have ever been burned