WDW with a one yr old..

[Y0H0H03]

My husband and I are taking our son to WDW for his first birthday. I have literally been looking forward to this trip since the day my son was born! Now that it is getting close to that date I am wondering if it is even worth it. Originally my family was coming with us so there was going to be a huge group of us to switch off so that my husband and I could go on some rides. Now it is down to the three of us. I have just never done WDW with a one yr old and as much as I want to have this experience for my son I feel like I really won't get my money's worth. I know he can ride some rides with me or my husband I am just not sure how it will work as far as riding the rides for my husband and I.
Ultimately this trip is about my son and him celebrating his first birthday at the happiest place on earth! Things just changed so expectantly and now my mind is just going wild..TYIA!

 

[DisneyObsessed87]

My husband and I are taking our son to WDW for his first birthday. I have literally been looking forward to this trip since the day my son was born! Now that it is getting close to that date I am wondering if it is even worth it. Originally my family was coming with us so there was going to be a huge group of us to switch off so that my husband and I could go on some rides. Now it is down to the three of us. I have just never done WDW with a one yr old and as much as I want to have this experience for my son I feel like I really won't get my money's worth. I know he can ride some rides iwith me or my husband I am just not sure how it will work as far as riding the rides for my husband and I.
Ultimately this trip is about my son and him celebrating his first birthday at the happiest place on earth! Things just changed so expectantly and now my mind is just going wild..TYIA!

Your son can ride anything without a height requirement. No "mountains" and other thrill rides, obviously. I have personally not taken a 1 year old (but will be later this year), though I still think you can have a great time with just the 3 of you. You can your husband could still do rider swap if you are willing to ride alone. If it was me, I would still go. Hope this helps.

 

[TMEF23]

We took our 1.5 year old twin boys and had a fabulous time. I was surprised at how many things they were able to ride. However, many of my favorite memories from that trip weren't on rides, but when the kids were kids. They LOVED the characters, had their first haircut at the magic kingdom, enjoyed playing drums everywhere they saw them, exploring innovations, stealing my frozen lemonades, and riding the various forms of transportation. There was not too much to do at Hollywood Studios at that age, but we made the most if it. We spent a lot of time with the characters there. My husband went on both tower of terror and rock n roller coaster. I never planned on taking them to Disney that small, especially after how difficult the first year with twins was, but I am so glad we did. There was so many great moments on that trip we are taking our now 3 year olds for the third time!

 

[cruisingtwins]

I took m twins at 19 months. No regrets but after taking them at 2 years I wished I had waited until then. On the first trip they didn't get the dark rides. They just went into nursing position while I tried to point things to them and they were completed uninterested. The only rides they enjoyed were the carrousel and the little dumbo play area. Now at 2 years they loved seeing everything and pointing and naming everything on the rides. It was such a different trip. I will have to say that both trips were not really vacations they were a lot of work. But we were ok with that. Oh and we did not go on any rides the kids could not ride. We were ok with that too.

 

[msmama]

If going at a gung ho pace and riding all the big rides is what "getting your money's worth" means, then I would agree that the trip may not be right for you at this time.

My Disney trips have changed DRASTICALLY since I had kids, but it turns out my son isn't much of a rider. There's still tons to do though.

But sometimes it feels like I'm paying Disney prices to walk through gift shops. The time I get to spend with my son and the memories we are making is all worth it to me though.

 

[AulaniKhaleesi]

You can still do the baby swap. I took my son when he was one and he had a blast seeing the characters (that alone made it worth it for me). I've taken him alone to Aulani but never a big park. (I won't attempt that until next year cause I talked my dad into going this year haha). But there plenty of ride he could go on. A lot of than I thought haha. I ended up writing down a list so I Had it on hand just to see. Take a look at height requirements and all that. If you're going for an experience (ie rides, characters, favorite dinning spot) you probably can get your money's worth rather than of you were just focused on rides.

 

[Y0H0H03]

Thank you all so much for the advice and sharing your experiences! I really want him to have his first hair cut in magic kingdom! I really think it will be so worth it just to get to see Disney through his eyes. It is my husband that I am trying to convince lol! Thanks again!

 

[kruegeme]

We took our DD for her first trip at 13 months and our DS for his first trip at 9 months. Over the last 5 years, we've returned to WDW about 3 times a year and wouldn't change any of those experiences. In the early years we did a lot of character interactions along with the slower rides. I would recommend getting the first hair cut on main street as it's hard to beat the memories of this.

Take your time, plan for naps, and enjoy the time together in the happiest place on earth.

 

[Derby]

My DH and I took our oldest DD for her first birthday and had a blast! I was really surprised by how many rides she could go in and we did parent swap for the big rides DH and I wanted to do. The biggest surprise to us was how much she loved the characters so we spent a ton of time doing that. The interactions were priceless. She napped in the stroller so we would take turns doing rides mostly then. We also did her first hair cut (and then of course had to go back for DD2's first hair cut.. lol). I agree with the other posters that it depends on what "worth it" means to you since it is different for everyone. If you are willing to go at a 1 year old's pace and do things a little differently, I bet it will be an amazing trip!

 

[irky416]

We took our DD for her first birthday and only went for the weekend, so only MK, but we had so much fun! We took her on the rides she could do. We didn't do any thrill rides, or baby swap, but we still feel we got our money's worth. WDW is more than just rides. You can see our trip video in my signature.

 

[mcjaco]

We took my twin boys last summer at 15 months. They had a blast.

There's still a ton they can do, and I think we spent more time in the splash areas, then anywhere else in the parks.

Basically, the trip is about the kids now, so you just have to go with the flow and know you're not going to get on everything....or anything!

 

[monorailsilver]

My husband and I are taking our son to WDW for his first birthday. I have literally been looking forward to this trip since the day my son was born! Now that it is getting close to that date I am wondering if it is even worth it. Originally my family was coming with us so there was going to be a huge group of us to switch off so that my husband and I could go on some rides. Now it is down to the three of us. I have just never done WDW with a one yr old and as much as I want to have this experience for my son I feel like I really won't get my money's worth. I know he can ride some rides with me or my husband I am just not sure how it will work as far as riding the rides for my husband and I.
Ultimately this trip is about my son and him celebrating his first birthday at the happiest place on earth! Things just changed so expectantly and now my mind is just going wild..TYIA!

Back in August 2002 we brought out then 15 month old. I had plans to do the ride swap as it was just dh, myself and our dd.

But those plans changed, it was most definitely about her, not us. Dh and I had ridden those rides before and we knew we would see then again so we just did Disney thru her eyes. Ok we did take her on pirates and the haunted mansion and she wasn't so thrilled but she lived!

She loved the characters so we spent time in a few meet and greets.

I get where you are coming from with getting your money's worth too.

That dd is now 13, I know she hasn't gone to Disney as much as other kids but she has gone 4 times, not including downtown Disney a few times for dinner the past 2 years. I was able to take her on space mountain in 2008 when we went and in 2013 she and my son who was 9 also went. Me...ugh...I never felt so crappy after riding it 2 times in a row. I guess I am old.

I hadn't been on SM since 2000 so I was a kid again and it was all new. She of course hated it and still does.

I have no idea where I am going with this post...sigh...

Anyways, I realized it was ok to miss some rides back them. I wanted to ride with my family. Since then we have broke up on a few rides or we would do a FP and one of us would stay with a child or two and then flip flop.

And each kid is different. My oldest at 15 months could easily have been swayed to move in with Susie and pearla but had no desire to hang out with Cindy. My son at 22 months loved all the characters but only if we were holding him and his arms were hooked around us and his legs had the death grip around us. My youngest was 2 1/2 and she did what her older siblings did.

 

[pigletgirl]

We are planning on taking our DD to WDW in Sept, and she'll be 15.5 months. We do have a handful of rides that DH and I would like to do, obviously utilizing rider swap. I definitely think we'll be spending the majority of our afternoons by the pool and doing the parks in the mornings and then in the evenings for our ADR's and night time festivities. I just know that if she doesn't nap in the afternoon, then the rest of the day will be a bust.

But we're definitely keeping our knees bent and I can't wait to see what she thinks about it all. Only 73 days to go!

 

[disneypolybride2008]

hi there. we have done disney many times before we were parents. we were in the same state of mind as you, get your moneys worth and ride ride ride. However, people always said how different it is to see disney through your child's eyes. You'll know what that really means when you experience it for yourself. We had the BEST trip with our DD2, it was the best trip of all. Looking back, i wish we took her at 1 also, but i was too tired from being up all night every night to think of going to disney. The memories are priceless. With our second child on the way, i am planning on a first birthday trip for them and DD would then be 4.

One thing to consider is that with Magic Bands, book one adult ride, and then book the other adult with a baby ride that are close together so you can just split up at that time and meet back afterwards. We did that a few times. DH got to go off and ride Space Mountain while DD and I finished up lunch and strolled around. Mickey talks now, he is only talking at the location when you first enter MK, DD loved that.

Make sure if your baby likes to walk or toddle.. get a harness so you can keep hold of her but also if she goes to fall just tug it back and save the fall! Super helpful. Our DD did not walk until 15 months, but some walk by their first birthday.

Bring extra diapers with you to the park, more than you think you'll need.

Have a great time!

 

[SCmom3]

Our youngest was 13 months when we went. He had a wonderful time. He loved every single ride he went on. DH and I traded off for SM, TT, and he rode MS alone. While he was shy around characters at first, he warmed up to them and still likes to look at the picture of him with Buzz lightyear a year later. I would recommend scheduling any character meals for after the first day, until your baby has a chance to meet a few characters and get used to them. I feel like Cinderella's breakfast wasn't enjoyed as much because my son was still trying to figure out what sort of craziness we had taken him to.

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

Our oldest had his first trip at 15 months; our youngest was 18 months for his first trip. I have to say it was a little easier the first time with just one child to worry about. It remains one of my favorite trips. He was great to nap in the stroller, so I'd walk through gift shops or sit in a shady place while my husband rode one of the headliners - then he'd swap with me and I'd ride. We used "baby swap" a lot, too, and while one of us was on Space Mtn, for example, the other was riding TTA or Buzz with our son. He loved the characters and I have the sweetest pictures and memories of him meeting Pooh, Tigger and Piglet on that trip.

Definitely worth the trip!

 

[BecBennett]

This is great! I was just coming here to post the same question!

Do you mind if I append to your question and ask what tips and tricks everyone has for doing the parks with an little one?

We'll definitely have a harness (we already have a minnie mouse one! ) and I know we won't be doing rope drop or closing the parks, but what else should we know? I'm thinking we should rent a car so we don't spend all our time in transport?

 

[rwalker1304]

This is great! I was just coming here to post the same question! Do you mind if I append to your question and ask what tips and tricks everyone has for doing the parks with an little one? We'll definitely have a harness (we already have a minnie mouse one! ) and I know we won't be doing rope drop or closing the parks, but what else should we know? I'm thinking we should rent a car so we don't spend all our time in transport?

We took our DD(now 5) to DL at 3 mo. and that was not a great trip for DW as she was nursing , so she felt like she could hardly do anything. When we next went, this time to WDW, DD was 18mos and she had a blast. We did too, she lived all the dark rides HM and PotC and all the kid rides too of course. Use baby swap. We referred having our own car, as it meant we could get back to our resort pronto when necessary. Unless you're at a monorail resort, I think a car is the way to go.

Just go at their pace. Find the splash areas at each park. Enjoy the shows and character meets (depending on your child). Ear protection may help for louder shows, rides and the fireworks. Take lots of pictures!

Most of all, have fun!

 

[mcjaco]

I'll amend my earlier comment, as I did a ton of research on how to attack the parks with the twins at age 15 months.

We hoped to do all day visits, and to find a quiet sopt to park and let them nap in the stroller. Unfortunately, we went in early August and the heat and humidity was unbareable (and we're from Chicago!), so we could barely make it until 3PM ourselves. So keep the weather in mind too.

As for MK, we'd park ourselves up by the old noodle terrace, and let them run around, and get some water/milk/etc. It's shady, pretty quiet, has bathrooms, and most people just pass through (or think its an open food option ).

EPCOT we let them run around in Innoventions....or The Land food court....or The Living Seas. Where ever they can burn off steam, be in the AC, and just look at stuff.

You'll love it, the pace is the hardest part to get used too, since it's not yours anymore!

And bring swim diapers, suits, and change of clothes for them. I seriously think we spent four hours at the new Casey Jr. spray area. They wouldn't leave!