Travelling with 7 month old baby

[stephen11]

Hi, we will be bringing our new grandchild to Disney and she will be only 7 months old. Do you have any advise for travelling with a little baby. We will be staying at the BWV in late September.

Are cribs provided at the BWV or should we try to rent one? I know they have the Pack-n-Play, but we will probably need a crib.

When flying with a very small child, do you reserve a seat or carry the child with you...

So many questions..hope you can help

Thanks so much

Steve

 

[dwelty]

I think I can help you with these questions. We took our 5 month old to WDW in December. We had a non stop from LAX (Almost 5 hours) she slept almost the whole way. (Both directions). We stayed at SSR. We were also concerned about the pack & Play, however, she slept just fine in it. Make sure to use the baby centers in the parks (These are life savers) Our daughters (4 and now 8 months old) are Veteran Disney park kids) we go to Disneyland quite often. They both love it. (Even the 8 month old) Your grand daughter will have a ball!

 

[castleri]

We have traveled with small children the last couple of years and did not get them plane tickets until they were 2 . The pack and play has worked fine for them up until that age also. We did bring extra sheets and a blanket to use with it although they do provide them.

 

[mzzbuzzlightyear]

A few years ago, we went with a 5 month old grandson, who slept very well in the pack n play.

However, I suggest you take your own stroller. We traveled by air, and the airline broke my daughter's brand new stroller. (they reimbursed her on the spot!) but since we did not have a car to go out and buy a new one, we decided that we would rent a stroller at the Parks. When we went to Magic Kingdom, they had just gotten new strollers; however, they were not really suitable for infants. They were the hard plastic ones for older children. They also did not have any kind of canopy, so that the hot sun shone on the child.

We ended up carrying the baby the whole day, while the other 3 DGSs took turns with the stroller!

But, lucky us, back at OKW, 2 CMs heard us talking about taking a cab to the nearest store, and one of them went to Lost and Found and retrieved a very nice umbrella stroller, perfect for the occasion!!! We wanted to purchase it, but they said no, just use it for the duration of the trip! Once again, WDW Magic saved the day!

June

 

[mcr5298]

We have flown only once with my daughter 3 and son under 2. We did the lap child. We figured it was a short flight from Newark and the seats are in rows of 3. We debated for a long time if we should get him a seat and drag the car seat onto the plane and split up. It was a hassle to handle him the entire flight and not sure if putting him in a car seat would have been a better idea. Only certain seats are FAA-Approved and the seats are narrow.

The one thing we did that was a life saver was take the stroller to the gate and gate check it. When we landed in Orlando, the stroller was waiting for us when we walked off the plane.

We stayed at the BCV and used the stroller all the time. Another thing that we did instead of taking the bus and packing and unpacking the stroller for each bus, we would take the international gateway and walk to the monorail and take it to the Magic Kingdom. It was a longer walk, but we just pushed the stroller right onto the monorail and if the baby is sleeping, even better. At nights coming back from the MK it was a nice stroll through EPCOT.

We used a pac-n-play at home all the time with my son so he was able to sleep great in it. It also takes up a lot less room and you can pack it away easily. If you baby will only sleep in a crib, they might still have some around, but when you see what they offer, you just might go back to the pac-n-play.

 

[KayleeUK]

We used the Pack n Play and our DS 10 1/2 months at the time, didn't sleep well in it at all. In the end housekeeping gave us a crib which worked great

 

[stephen11]

Thank you all so much for your quick responses. We are so looking forward to this trip....

Thanks again!!

Steve

 

[CRSNDSNY]

Hi, we will be bringing our new grandchild to Disney and she will be only 7 months old. Do you have any advise for travelling with a little baby. We will be staying at the BWV in late September.

Are cribs provided at the BWV or should we try to rent one? I know they have the Pack-n-Play, but we will probably need a crib.

When flying with a very small child, do you reserve a seat or carry the child with you...

So many questions..hope you can help

Thanks so much

Steve

If you click on the September 2005 - BWV; Amelia's First Disney Vacation link in my signature, I have a very detailed trip report dealing with traveling with a 5 month old. Honestly, it was one of the best trips we've ever had - and we stayed at BWV for it. Hopefully some of my tips will help you.

 

[waltskids]

Hi! We traveled with our 3 month old DS to WDW in February. We did not buy him a seat and he slept the whole time on the plane. We used the pack and play in the room and our son slept through the night for the first time ever while in WDW. We did take our own stroller and used the baby care centers often for a nice break. It was a wonderful trip and we will be going again in June when DS is 7 months old. You will have a great time!

 

[Princess Roo]

DS 23 months has flown 14 round trips already! So far we haven't purchased him a ticket except the times when DH or I were traveling alone with him. (When he turns 2, we will!) If your flight isn't full, you can use the carseat for the child in an empty seat, even if you didn't pay for it. DH and I would usually book the aisle and window seat in the 3-seat side, toward the back of the plane, since those middle seats tend to be the last to go.

You may want to look through the posts on the 'Disney for Families' part of the boards. There are a LOT of tips for traveling with little ones! Enjoy your trip!!

 

[stephen11]

Thank you so much for all the terrific advice... Would you happen to have a list of essentials to take with us for the baby (i.e. diapers, formula, stroller, crib or pack-n-play sheets) We are planning to use ME, so will not have a car at our disposal. I am making a list, but just know we will forget something.

Thanks again...
Steve (a concerned pop-pop)

 

[crk1971]

Stephen 11

We are leaving next week for SSR with a 3yo and 7 month twin girls, we are not flying we cant afford to purchase our own plane with the gear we need to bring, we are driving. You may have to order some stuff in advance to save money in the parks like small water bottles to mix your formula with, sun block. My wife is a major planner and organizer so she has everything covered, seeing i do nothing to prep for it i just say yes dear. I think this maybe a right of passage for you so you may have to be baptized thru fire, because you are definitely going to forget some stuff as we will.

As for the crib, i called MS and they said some of the older dvc resorts that are attached to hotels like BCV may still have access to cribs but they have been trying to phase them out because of safety issues and impliment pack and plays instead. So call them and find out if so bring crib bumpers! I will give you post after our trip. The only other thing i can suggest is you might want a baby bjorn to carry the baby in vs lugging a stroller all the time. Good like and send me a pm if you have any questions.

 

[UConnJack]

Unless she is a very squirmy child and would drive you nuts trying to hold her during the flight, don't bother getting a seat for her. She'd probably prefer to be held anyway. We have brought a car seat a couple times when our daughter was in the 2-3 yr range, but that was just because she had to have a seat and I wanted to keep her in one place.

The whole "FAA-approved car seat" thing is a bunch of nonsense IMHO. You can hold a child on your lap until they are 2, then they can sit in the seat without a car seat if you want. However, if you want you use a car seat, it has to be FAA-approved? Don't see why a non-approved seat is any worse than no car seat at all. Besides, not to sound callous, but if a plane is going down, I don't think a car seat, FAA-approved or not, is going to make much of a difference.......

As for cribs, I never had any problem with a pack and play instead, beyond the initial set-up. I actually prefer the pack and play in many ways, and don't really see any benefit to a true crib.

 

[CarolMN]

...(snip)....The whole "FAA-approved car seat" thing is a bunch of nonsense IMHO. You can hold a child on your lap until they are 2, then they can sit in the seat without a car seat if you want. However, if you want you use a car seat, it has to be FAA-approved? Don't see why a non-approved seat is any worse than no car seat at all. Besides, not to sound callous, but if a plane is going down, I don't think a car seat, FAA-approved or not, is going to make much of a difference...........

Maybe not. But having a child properly strapped into a car seat will make a BIG difference if there is unexpected turbulence. It's very possible for a lap baby to get hurt in turbulence.

There are many examples of injuries to lap babies - maybe the chances of it happening to a particular family is small, but if it is your child who was injured, you won't care one bit about the cost of a seat or the inconvenience of dragging a car seat along.

Just because you are allowed to do something doesn't make it a good idea. But until/unless the federal regulations change in this area, parents may decide for themselves the level of risk to take with their baby.

 

[stephen11]

Thank you Carol - I see your point

 

[UConnJack]

Maybe not. But having a child properly strapped into a car seat will make a BIG difference if there is unexpected turbulence. It's very possible for a lap baby to get hurt in turbulence.

There are many examples of injuries to lap babies - maybe the chances of it happening to a particular family is small, but if it is your child who was injured, you won't care one bit about the cost of a seat or the inconvenience of dragging a car seat along.

Just because you are allowed to do something doesn't make it a good idea. But until/unless the federal regulations change in this area, parents may decide for themselves the level of risk to take with their baby.

True, it is all about risk management, and how far you want to take it. I personally don't think the risk to a lap child is particularly great in the grand scheme of things. I would be willing to bet there are many higher risk situations in life that children/people encounter on a regular basis. Even with car seats, the risk to a child riding in any car is far greater than their risk of flying in a plane (on the lap or in car seat). We can't live our lives in a bubble. But the amount of risk one is comfortable with is a personal decision.