WDW with a 10 month old?

[bluechic03]

Hi everyone! I am currently beginning to plan a trip for Dec 2010 when my baby will be 10 months old (I'm 18 wks pregnant right now, and already planning a trip LOL) I was just wondering what kinds of things that I can do with the baby....anyone have suggestions? I know DH and I can do the rider swap thing for the E ticket items but are there any rides we can take the baby on? Thanks!

 

[frtchr]

We took DD at 11 months, and it was great! She rode everything that didn't have a height requirement and loved every minute. She was too little to be scared of Snow White or the HM. That didn't come until she was 2. DS was the same when we took him at 6 months. There is really a lot for kids to do when they're little. Have fun and congrats on the pregnancy!!

 

[Scornelius]

I don't have anything helpful to say, but I'm definitely hoping other people can help you! We're planning a trip for when DS is 16 months, and I'd love to get some tips.

 

[frtchr]

As long as you go at an easy pace, it will be fine. Plus I know it helps my kids to give them time to play at the different play areas, likes Pooh's Spot or the play area across from Donald's boat in Toontown. They have to be able to stretch their legs a little. I personally always keep our kids on their regular nap and nighttime schedules. A lot of people say they won't waste the time and money to go back to the room to nap. That's fine. My kids aren't stroller nappers, though, and it's worth it to me to have happy kids while we're on vacation. It's really a personal choice.

 

[clairemolly]

We took DD when she was 10 months. She did great! She was definitely a stroller napper though. We tried to take her to the room for a nap twice and both times she cried for 2 hours without going to sleep, then fell asleep as soon as we got on the bus to go back.

She loved the rides, the characters, the shows...it was a great time!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I took my kids at 11 months, 4 months and 3-6 weeks (can't remember, but we were still measuring his age in weeks .

MK--11 month old (walking) did everything she was tall enough for, the other two went on all rides they were "tall enough for" but not anything that spun. So no teacups.

EPCOT--everything they were tall enough for.

Movie Studios--prior to Toy Story ride--kids just did the shows, 11 month old may have done the back stage tour. Younger babies did not.

AK--Everything they were tall enough for except the younger babies didn't do safari until they were older and had better neck control I believe.


There are LOTS of rides that you can do with a baby. Again--the only adjustments I made were no spinning rides until they were walking and had better neck control.

Make sure plenty of fluids. If still nursing, have your plan for how you will do that. Air conditioning is best. The baby centers are worth visiting.

They are also a great place for a break and have very nice changing tables.

Pack baby snacks and food if your baby is eating. I believe baby stations have a microwave to warm things up if you need it.

When my babies were little and aware of water fun, they enjoyed the fountains at Epcot. I would pack a swim diaper for them so that they could play in them. YMMV if your 10 month old isn't walking yet.

Basically with babies, we treated our trips as relaxing explorations. The 10 month old will not know what they missed, so there is no sense in cramming everything in.

The character meals are nice for a slow character introduction. No lines and you can easily signal to the character to take it slow or normal pace.

We always held our babies/toddlers back from the character and allow them to explore/approach. All of mine did fine.

Some kids don't and that could be for a variety of reasons. But I didn't want my kids to be "forced" to meet a giant critter.

Disney with a baby allows you to see Disney in a way that you never thought possible!

A stroller that is comfortable to sleep in is a must. At 11 months, my daughter still had that collapsing neck thing. (I always wonder if babies get "cricks" in their necks). My current stroller flattens to a bed and my babies seem to sleep more comfortably.

Tip on the tickets---We would use FP and do our baby swaps while the baby was napping. We felt it was better use of our time so that then we would enjoy the things for baby when baby was awake. Though by our 3rd, that changes.

 

[stacy6552]

Bring your real stroller. The big one with the basket and reclinging seat and cup holders.

Bring a front carrier. That way you can wear baby in lines and one rides and in shows (you'd have to take a backpack carrier off).

Shoes! The ground is so gross everywhere. If baby is standing, be sure he's in shoes.

Table Toppers. These are presterlized mats that stick to the table that you can serve finger foods on.

A BIG changing pad, so you can change anywhere in a pinch.

A rain cover for the stroller.

Single serve powdered formula.

I will rack my brain and post more as it comes back to me.

 

[Keri]

.

Bring a front carrier. That way you can wear baby in lines and one rides and in shows (you'd have to take a backpack carrier off).

YES YES YES. We went last year when DD was 7 months. I had an Ergo, which I HIGHLY recommend for Disney -- because she was facing me with her legs wrapped around my waist, we sat comfortably together on everything my other kids rode -- Dumbo, Pirates, Teacups, TSM, Buzz Lightyear, Small World, etc. She snoozed on some (Peter Pan's Flight for sure) and LOVED others -- Small World just had her in awe. It was great!

She LOVED the characters, especially the plushy Pooh gang. Loved touching their noses and hands, just staring with big grins. We did lots of character meals and stood in line for the princesses & fairies, pooh & friends in AK, Minnie & Daisy @ DHS, etc. She thought it was great. She napped on my chest off & on all day, which worked fine for her for the most part.

This year she'll be 17 months -- and I'm wayyyy more nervous about taking her than I was a year ago!!

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

Take your time.

Take your stroller.

Get as many disposables as you can (changing pads, bibs, spoons, sippy cups, etc).

Take a sling/backpack when baby gets tired of sitting in stroller.

Be aware of loud parade/fireworks noises. DD did great with parade (for the most part) but looked like she was ready to bawl during Wishes.

You can ride anything with baby that doesn't have a height requirement, but use your best judgement... there are a few without requirements that I wouldn't take DD on. She did ride: Gran Fiesta, JC, POTC, HM, Nemo, etc.

SUNSCREEN!!! and a hat =)

Take at least 1 warm outfit, regardless of the time of year.

Take more pacifiers than you'd expect you need.

Stick to your schedule as much as possible, but if baby is tired, let them sleep wherever you are. DD fell asleep on sooo many rides.

Have a great trip.

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

Bring your real stroller. The big one with the basket and reclinging seat and cup holders.

Bring a front carrier. That way you can wear baby in lines and one rides and in shows (you'd have to take a backpack carrier off).

Shoes! The ground is so gross everywhere. If baby is standing, be sure he's in shoes.

Table Toppers. These are presterlized mats that stick to the table that you can serve finger foods on.

A BIG changing pad, so you can change anywhere in a pinch.

A rain cover for the stroller.

Single serve powdered formula.

I will rack my brain and post more as it comes back to me.

Probably should read EVERYTHING before I post but... You can try what we did... instead of buying a rain cover, hit up the local fabric shop and you can usually find plastic by the yard (you know... the thick stuff that grandma used to cover the furniture in??). I got about 3 yrds cut and we can lay it across the stroller. It cost me less than $3 to cover our double.

 

[scrappinannie]

BTDT. We took DD when she was 9 months old and it was actually a very nice vacation for all of us. She could go on most of the fantasy land attractions....carasaul, Pooh's Adventure, Dumbo, the teacups, etc. She wasn't afraid of characters, so we hit them all up. Made for the most adorable photos ever! We also ate at Crystal Palace (during a parade) and stayed for Spectromagic & the fireworks. DD did fine.

At AK, she rode Kilaminjaro Safari with us & again met more characters. She has loved animals from what seems like birth, so for her, AK was like a giant zoo.

We didn't really spend much time at HOllywood Studios, other than to see the Stars & Motor Cars parade, eat some dinner & catch Fantasmic! We did attempt to see the Lion King, but it was too loud for her so we left in the middle of it. We also went on the backlot tour. We skipped Epcot that trip, but went to SeaWorld one day. That was an amazing day....DD loved it!

Don't be afriad of taking a baby. It will be fine, just know that you will not be able to do EVERYTHING you did before the baby. Allow time for a nap or just relaxing in the shade. It's hot there and your baby will need to stay hydrated, too!

Enjoy your trip! And hey, look at it this way...the baby will be FREE!!!! lol

 

[Zeebs]

Seth was 10 months when we took him and Cullen 2.5.

He rode on everything that didn't have a height restriction and enjoyed it all.

He did not like the characters, so book your character meals, then before you do any of them, take bubs to meet a character in the parks, if they scream the place down, cancel the expensive character meals, LOL... Seth screamed every time a character came near him.

We had our own stroller, I took 4 nappies a day (by that point I was only changing him when he pooped so that was plenty) and my own spoon to feed him with but mainly he just ate finger food.

I didn't bother with a change of clothes, it was quite warm, the only day he got wet was a day he played in Poohs playful spot and he dried out quite fast. (yeah I know bad Mum)

We would get to the parks for opening (who gets to sleep in with a baby anyway?) and leave mid to late afternoon and then that was us done.

Even though the wee man was sleeping when he needed to in his stroller, I knew that if they weren't on some sort of routine similar to home that it would all turn pear shaped.

I had a sling for him, as he was heavy which was brillant in the lines for the rides. There is a picture of it in my trip report linked at the bottom. It was so comfortable and easy to use. Half the rides I didn't even need to take it off or him out I just spun him around.

I was still breastfeeding him so every now and again i would stop and top him up so he was getting his fluids.

I hope this is of some help. We had a fantastic time, we didn't see everything but that just means we will have to go back.

Kirsten

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

The list of what you can't do is way shorter than what you can do.

You can take baby on whatever doesn't have a height restriction and you can find that list on allears.net. BUT IMHO there are a few without restrictions that are a little rough and I wouldn't take DD on them.

She did great on everything... mostly the movement of the rides actually put her to sleep and she would wake up when the ride was over (HM, POTC, Gran Fiesta, JC).

Take sling and YOUR stroller (WDW strollers aren't meant for the little ones). Pack light, refill during breaks, and don't rush. You'll find baby is way easier to deal with than you planned for.

 

[rotlex]

We returned 2 weeks ago from an 11 day stay at WDW with our DS, 10 months old, and our DD, 7 years.

We, and our kids, had a GREAT time. At 10 months, I could not believe the number of attractions he was able to ride, and enjoy! (We used rider switch for anything he couldn't that my wife, daughter and I wanted to, which worked out very, very well)!

In a nutshell, I was very leery about taking a child that young, but my concerns were unwarranted. As far as what he could ride? A LOT more than we thought! Disney is designed for families, including small children! Not to make a big list, but, in MK, he was able to ride the following, and I'm sure I've forgotten some:

Fantasy Land - Small World. Dumbo, Peter Pan, Cindy's Carousel, Pooh, Snow White, Tea Cups, Philharmagic, pretty much everything there

Tomorrow Land - Buzz Lightyear, Laugh Floor

Adventure Land - Flying Carpets, Jungle Cruise, Pirates!, Tree House

Liberty Square - Haunted Mansion, River Boat, Hall of Presidents

Frontier Land - Tom Sawyer Island,

Again, I'm sure I missed some stuff there, but you get the point. There is SO much that they can ride, hand held infant style, it's just great! My wife used a ring sling for most of the trip, and that worked out just great. He could nurse, sleep, or look around at will.

As far as the other parks, we visited them all as well. Won't go through a huge run down, but at Epcot, other than Test Track and Soarin', he pretty much road everything. Animal Kingdom was great, as he loved the animals, the safari, planet watch, and well all of it! DHS was great for the shows, TSM of course, and well, again, you get where I'm going here.

There is all that stuff, plus the character interaction, meals and just "being at WDW". Before I ever took an infant, I could not imagine doing so. After doing it, both my wife and I are very, very glad we did. The memories are simply fantastic, and will last a lifetime! So much so, were already booked for another trip next August just before he turns two! (I'm thinking our then 8 year old daughter will love it too)!

 

[bpetrow]

Just took my DD in August and she was exactly 10 months when we went. First and foremost - go at your baby's pace. Lydia fell asleep many many time sin her stroller which was great - but I was also very consistent about making sure she went to bed at a decent time every night. A couple days we went back to our room in the afternoon for a quick nap, but mostly she was a trooper and napped in her stroller. She did great on the rides in Fantasy Land - loved Snow White, Pooh, Peter Pan, even liked Philharmagic. She wasn't too crazy about Small World though. She even went on Pirates with us and liked that too. We did the Crystal Palace for breakfast one morning with the Pooh Characters and she LOVED that! She just starred at them and I luckily have a GREAT picture of her and Pooh in a big hug. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be - she basically went along for the ride and enjoyed 99% of it all! We're going back again in April of 2010, so it will be interesting to see the difference in her from 10 months to 18 months.