Tips for Planning with a 1-year old

[Jenna319]

I am the biggest OCD Disney trip planner - it is practically all I think about. I am nearing my 180 day mark for ADRs early next month and have been trying to map out everything, including my Fastpass + selections, which i have some time still to decide on.... This trip will be myself, DH, DD who will be 1 year old, my mother and my 7-year old niece. We are arriving on Halloween and staying in a studio at VGF (rented points) so it is convenient being on the monorail line.

I have no clue how my daughter's nap schedule will look like in 7 months, what are typical nap times if she wakes up around 630-7? I am guessing 10-11 and 2-3. I am also anticipating that she will stick to her 7pm bedtime. I'd love to hear experiences from anyone that travelled with a 1-year old!

How did you book ADRs/Fastpasses without knowing what her day-to-day schedule will look like months in advance?? I am planning to book several character meals & buffets as they would be quicker than ordering off a menu.

I am also trying to decide if it is worth it to add park hopper. I plan on getting a 5-day ticket and I've never NOT had a park hopper but I'd hate to buy it and then not use it. I'm thinking 1-park a day at that age would be best, but I'm thinking more along the lines of my mother may babysit some nights so my husband and I can go to Epcot food & wine. I can always upgrade to park hopper once i get there....

Lastly, I KNOW it's going to be tight but we are all staying in my studio, as there is no way we can afford a 1 or 2 bedroom. I also know that VGF studios are small on storage space. Are 1-year olds best to sleep in the pack & play? Or can she sleep on the sofa bed with my mom with pillows propped on one side of her?

I'm definitely going to take advantage of a Garden Grocer order rather than try to pack Diapers, wet wipes, food, etc.

Any advice would be appreciated!

 

[DYOBL0305]

Our youngest had just turned a year when we visited last year, I found her nap times were completely thrown off with everything we had going on, planning around them wouldn't have mattered lol She'd usually take a nap once middle of the day and then later in the evening, right after dinner tim, but every time was at a different time. At night she'd be so tired from all the activities of the day she'd crash out without a problem in her pack n play and not wake up until the next morning. I thought getting her back on schedule once we got home was going to be a nightmare, but she did really well, within a day she was back on it.

We didnt do park hopper only because we knew one park a day would be enough for her, so we did full days at MK (2) and DHS, and half days at Epcot and AK. On those half days we'd head back to resort and unwind and relax at the pool for remainder of the day.

As far as carrying diapers, food, wipes, etc, we went grocery shopping the day we arrived, but they also have a place that delivers groceries to your resort. I'm not sure if that's the one you mentioned, but i agree, it would make your trip much easier than to have to carry it around with you.

Good luck!

 

[kt_mom]

I think our saving grace when DS was little was a good stroller. We have the City Mini and it was perfect. It reclined flat and DS would fall asleep in it and we could keep right on going. It was also easy to fold up and take on the buses. A couple of times he was asleep when we would get to a restaurant and they would let us bring him in the stroller. That's not the norm though, I think they will usually make you leave the stroller outside. We did get lucky a few places though.

For diapers and wipes I packed enough for a day or two just in case and then had a delivery from Garden grocer. We order water and stuff from them every year anyway.

We tried to use the pack-n-play for DS but he didn't sleep well at night. He had nightmares at home sometimes but they were worse in Disney. He actually ended up sleeping in his stroller several nights after I strolled/rocked him in it.

 

[SCmom3]

We went when our youngest was 14 months old. His naptime then was around 12-3, but my older two had the same naptimes as your daughter when they were that age. If you have a comfortable stroller that lays flat with a good sun shade, your daughter may just take a morning nap in the park and you can leave for an afternoon nap when crowds get heavier. We spent late evenings in the park and let everyone fall asleep in the strollers when they were ready. DS's schedule went out the window right away and he just slept when he was tired. There was so much going on in the park that he never fussed or complained, just stared in wonder until he passed out.

I packed tons of diapers and wipes, way more than needed, since we were driving. DS was nursing so we didn't need milk packed but I did bring new, Disney themed sippy cups for him. I thought he'd be fine eating restaurant food since he was a great eater at home. There he decided he didn't like most items all of a sudden. I ended up packing fresh fruit, and lots of pre-packaged healthy snacks in for him to make meals with. Things like applesauce packs, cheese sticks, Z-bars, pretzels, berries, etc) Definitely take a change of clothes to the park everyday inside a zip lock. You can put the dirty or wet clothes in it to take back with you.

As for park hopper, we really used it. You can always add it to your tickets when you are there if you find that you want to use it.

 

[amylevan]

Both my kids transitioned to 1 nap (1-3ish pm) around 1 yr old. DD was 13 months when we took her to Disney, and she pretty much napped after lunch for 2ish hrs. It was often in her stroller (fully reclined) but she sometimes would fight it until we were back in our camper for our afternoon break. And yes to bedtime being 7-7:30.

We have always had our kids sleep in pack and plays, but I can say when my son was 1.5 yrs old, we were visiting my parents and his pack and play was in the same room as me so he wouldn't sleep. I put him on the sofa bed with me and he fell right to sleep with no issues. It was only 1 night though, so I didn't have to worry about transitioning him back to his normal crib at home.

 

[TravelingTotMom]

We took our DS for 2 nights/1 day at the MK when he was 7 1/2 months, and we are taking him back for 2 nights/3 park days next month for his 1st birthday.

I agree with a good stroller, b/c DS took both of his naps in our Britax B-Ready with it reclined (actually, he fell asleep in the carrier and then crashed for 2 hours in the stroller in the middle of Fantasyland!). We had no problem parking our stroller or getting it on or off the bus. Right now he gets up around 7, naps around 10 and 4, and goes to bed around 9-10 (yeah, we are working on that).

We took a front carrier (bought a cheaper one than my Ergo b/c he could see forward) for lines and some rides, and he rode in the stroller the rest of the time. Sometimes on rides with shorter lines, we just carried him, and he sat on one of our laps. We really did a lot of rides with him at MK (Small World was his favorite), and he loved meeting Mickey, getting his first pair of mouse ears, and watching the parade. This time we are going to MK, Epcot and AK.

We also took a pack 'n play and plan on taking one again. DS slept fine in it last time, but sometimes now when he wakes up in the middle of the night and we can't get back to sleep, we bring him into the middle of our bed (which means I sleep poorly b/c I'm all twisted containing him and making sure he doesn't end up facedown in the pillows). If I was in your situation, I would feel much more comfortable using the pack 'n play than having a one year old in a bed lined with pillows and someone who wasn't used to sleeping with the baby (but I am a little paranoid about the baby in the bed b/c ours sleeps facedown and moves a lot).

Also, we took a backpack as a diaper bag. It was much more convenient wearing one in line than having to carry a regular diaper bag.

As for food, we plan on having DS eat some stuff off our plates, but those squeezable baby puree packs are awesome. We just squeeze them into his mouth, and it is a less messy and less time consuming. Plus then you can keep to her meal schedule if your meals don't line up.

And finally (sorry for the novel!), take extra clothes so you don't have to keep running back to your hotel. We went to Universal last weekend, and DS got upset when we were drinking out of a water bottle b/c he wanted to also. So when I went to give him a sip, he grabbed it with both hands, squeezed tight, and squirted about half the water bottle into his face, all over his clothes, and covering the seat of the stroller. Did I mention it was early morning and cold out?

 

[buzznina]

Sorry to say this is one thing that you may not be able to plan, unless you have a few backup plans All children are different, but this is what ended up happening for us. The plan on our first trip with our 1st DD, was to head back to the room around 1:00. Heck we even forked out more $$ then I wanted to, to stay at POLY for the easy access to the monorail. Well the first 2 days were a complete failure and only felt like we wasted so much time going back to our room to have her not want to sleep etc. The 3rd day she fell asleep in the stroller on the ride to the resort and when we went to move her to the bed, she woke up and that was that. On the 4th day she fell asleep in the stroller while we were at a park and we decided we would let her sleep and not go back to the room. We have not looked back since When they fell asleep, we would find a comfy place to sit and have a snack or one of us would go on a ride or shopping etc.

 

[ruthies12]

Our first trip was with our oldest at 10 months old and we took our own stroller and she napped great in it, we would lay it flat and walk around and she was fine. We never bothered with tryng to go back to the hotel for naps because of transport times.

We used the hotels pack n play but brought our own sheets so they would smell like home and she slept great in that. nap times get screwed up on vacation but generally at age 1 they are starting to drop the morning nap and move to an afternoon nap only of about 2 hours duration, usually 1-3 for most kids, but of course every kid is different. Mine always had an earlier bedtime of 6 to 7 also and we tried to stick with that even on vacations.

We went back when the second kid was 10 months old. On that trip I needed her to be more portable so older dd wouldn't have to sit around waiting while the younger one napped in the stroller. I bought a sling which I've linked below. It was wonderful! I naturally carry my kids on my hip and with this sling I was able to slip it on and off of her so easily that I could use it in line, then slip it over her head and turn her around on my lap so she could see, then slip it right back on her at the end of the ride. She ended up preferring to nap in it and would just lay her head on my shoulder so we ended up not even trying for naps in the stroller, she would fall asleep and we would just keep on going. She's 2 now and we are still using this sling.


http://www.amazon.com/Balboa-Baby-S...F8&qid=1428012160&sr=8-1&keywords=sears+sling

 

[Jenna319]

Thank you for all the feedback!! I think I will try to book a Fastpass for Anna & Elsa FOR THE BABY ** Wink Wink** I like my stroller but it isn't convenient for travel as to fold it, you have to take the seat out. The City Mini it seems is pretty pricy for a stroller I will just be using for travel. Any other suggestions on a cheaper stroller with good storage space that reclines?

 

[SCmom3]

You can rent the city mini and they will deliver it to your hotel and pick it up for you.

 

[Jenna319]

I thought about that but I'll really need the stroller at the airport too.

 

[ruthies12]

For strollers I would recommend something like this that does an umbrella type fold. There are other ones that fold similarly and still have full recline. Type in lightweight stroller on amazon and start reading reviews to figure out what kind you'd like.

http://www.amazon.com/Summer-Infant...058634&sr=8-2&keywords=summer+infant+stroller

And don't forget about doing first haircuts at harmony barber shop! Both of my dd's had their first haircuts there and it was awesome.

 

[ruthies12]

And whatever stroller you use I highly recommend getting one of these shades. I used this on our stroller for first dd and would just pull it down and it would make completely black. It has side pockets and I downloaded a white noise app on my phone then would turn it on and stick it in the side pocket to help block all the noise from people passing by and it works like a charm for naps and for staying out later at night.

http://www.amazon.com/RayShade®-Pro...qid=1428058940&sr=8-1&keywords=stroller+shade

 

[kt_mom]

Thank you for all the feedback!! I think I will try to book a Fastpass for Anna & Elsa FOR THE BABY ** Wink Wink** I like my stroller but it isn't convenient for travel as to fold it, you have to take the seat out. The City Mini it seems is pretty pricy for a stroller I will just be using for travel. Any other suggestions on a cheaper stroller with good storage space that reclines?

The City Mini is kind of pricey, I was shocked when I looked them up online at first. But when we bought ours, we chose it not just for travel but also everyday use and we love it. Its also great in the summers at the pool. When DS would get tired he could nap in it. The sunshade on it covers really well. He's almost 5 now and we don't use it anymore really, but we'll take it one last time to Disney later this year. But yea, if you're just getting something for travel you could probably find something less expensive that would work well.

 

[KingofJapan]

Get a stroller that you will also use at home. We bought a nice jogging stroller with tons of storage that we use a lot at home for working out.

Off topic question. What do you all do with the dirty diapers. Would hate to leave them for the cleaning staff. Thinking maybe bringing them with us when we go to the parks and dump them in the garbage somewhere.

 

[teddygurl28]

I got one from babies r us its a zobo. I haven't used it in Disney yet. but I just took LO to fort myers and used it everywhere and I am in love with it. I traveled solo and used it at the airports and it was easy and also easy to fold/unfold even having baby in arms. and it folds up small and convenient.

http://www.toysrus.com/buy/strollers/babies-r-us-zobo-lightweight-stroller-kiwi-1933103-28881976

 

[rblucy]

Garden Grocer was great for delivering diapers, wipes, food. We will be using it for upcoming trips again. It was nice to have breakfast in the room while getting ready and at 1 they are on milk so you can have that delivered too. At 10 months DS napped in the stroller (City Mini GT) with no problem. It was much easier than getting back to the hotel. I would just make your reservations and be willing to be flexible in the end!

 

[lucyddr]

http://disboards.com/threads/disney-with-twin-toddlers-our-guide.3329925/#post-52288783 This is our report with 20 month olds, but might have some useful information for you! Have fun!

 

[msmama]

Often around a year is when babies start phasing from one nap to two so I totally wouldn't even think about naps at this point. I'd also make sure you have a nice stroller with a good recline (loved my citi mini) so if worse comes to worse, baby sleeps in the stroller.

I personally would plan maybe half of my meals at the 180 day mark and leave the rest for closer to the actual time (still do that actually). By 60 days for FP+ you'll probably have a better handle on her personality and schedule so you'll know how changes will affect her (some kids don't mind a later nap, some kids it's a disaster).

Personally, I wouldn't put a baby in with someone who wasn't used to sleeping with a baby, but that could just be me. We co-slept with my son when we traveled (still do actually). The hotels have bed rails.

 

[Jenna319]

It is so hard to try to plan ADRs and Fastpasses when you won't know what your baby's schedule will be like! I imagine I will miss quite a few depending on her mood.... how in advance do you have to cancel an ADR without being charged a penalty? Is this for all restaurants or only certain ones? I've always been able to make all my ADRs on time but this year will be so different that I'm sure everything won't go as planned no matter how hard I try....