What are best attractions for 17 month old? And LOTS of other questions!

[Eyore4Ever149]

Im looking at planning and booking a trip, This is my first baby who is 4 months old now.
my baby will be about 17 months old next Sept. Is this too young to really enjoy Disney? Im sure she'll like the pool at OKW the best, but what attractions can I hope she will enjoy?

Best attractions?

Best places to eat with her? (I do plan to have fruits, veggies and deli meat at kitchen of resort)

What are typical reactions for this age group when meeting characters?

Did you stick to your home schedule?

Is room hopping a bad idea with a baby this age? We are considering booking studio for first 2 weekend nights (less points) and then switching to a 2 bdroom for the rest of the trip- bad or good idea for baby?

What were porta cribs like there?

I need to find out if DVC resorts have highchairs for room- anyone know?

What stroller should I bring? Umbrella or Graco Passage (22lbs)

Did you bring a car seat with you? Im assuming Ill rent a car so we can go off property and I heard cabs wont take little ones without a car seat anyway.

 

[Hoosier Mom]

Im looking at planning and booking a trip, This is my first baby who is 4 months old now.
my baby will be about 17 months old next Sept. Is this too young to really enjoy Disney? Im sure she'll like the pool at OKW the best, but what attractions can I hope she will enjoy?

Best attractions?

Best places to eat with her? (I do plan to have fruits, veggies and deli meat at kitchen of resort)

What are typical reactions for this age group when meeting characters?

Did you stick to your home schedule?

Is room hopping a bad idea with a baby this age? We are considering booking studio for first 2 weekend nights (less points) and then switching to a 2 bdroom for the rest of the trip- bad or good idea for baby?

What were porta cribs like there?

I need to find out if DVC resorts have highchairs for room- anyone know?

What stroller should I bring? Umbrella or Graco Passage (22lbs)

Did you bring a car seat with you? Im assuming Ill rent a car so we can go off property and I heard cabs wont take little ones without a car seat anyway.

Wow! You are identical to us 1 year ago. We started planning our Sept trip over a year ago. So next month our ds be 18 months when we go.

In my opinion, 17 months is not too young. We did a trial run to see how attentive our ds would be at a show. We took him to the local zoo and saw the dolphin show. He sat there and watched the people with us and then sat through the entire show. He seemed really interested in everything.

17 months is a good age. No more bottles. Walks everywhere. Just takes 1 nap per day now. He's pretty happy to be whereever we are.

We won't have a kitchen. But we are planning to buy milk for his sippy cup to have in the resort. Also I'm told we can get a loaf of bread there. We are taking peanut butter. Our son is a picky eater. When all else fails we can feed him a peanut butter sandwich. We are taking a little soft sided cooler for carrying along his sandwich and some ice water. Maybe some applesauce too.

I think the cribs are pack in plays. And the resort supplies the sheets.

We are bringing the umbrella stroller. We glued letters on the back to spell his first name. Also have a bright green bandana to tie onto it.

We aren't taking the carseat. We'll be at CBR so will take advantage of the buses.

As far as attractions, we are planning to take him on just about everything that doesn't have a height restriction. We may do the parent swap for Soarin. I don't want to miss that.

Hope that helps. Have a great time planning your trip. I think planning is half the fun.

 

[sukhakuli]

Anytime is a great time for Disney! My dd's first trip was at 8 months, and I thought it was the perfect time to go. Her next trip was at 20 months, and I thought it was the perfect time to go, lol. My ds has been to Disneyland many many times, and he has a blast every time. He's 16 months old now. Don't count on the pool being her favorite thing. My oldest always loved the pool, but my youngest hates pools. He likes wading but not swimming.

The best attractions are so individual. My oldest is up for anything and nothing scares her. My youngest is more timid. Anything that has no height restriction is ideal for the most part. My daughter loves Pirates, my ds has hated it. It is so individual. It seems like most kids like the carousel, It's a Small World, Pooh, and Dumbo. You will just have to ride and feel your daughter out. Don't skip things like the Haunted Mansion just because it may be scary. At 17 months most children do not understand these types of scary images, and both of my kids like the HM very well. They both hate any 3D movie, even the Muppets. It is so individual. Oh, and don't forget about the live shows, most small kids eat these up.

As far as food goes, we don't buy kids meals. They are usually just junk, and my kids love adult food. It also saves money, and the choices are healthier. Counter service or table service will depend on your child. My ds loves eating in restaurants, but that boy can EAT. My girl, though, gets bored too fast and we need to bring toys to entertain her. Your baby might like the Sci Fi Dine in Theater at MGM, and character meals are great for small kids. We like the Crystal Palace a bunch. Buffets are probably healthiest, since you can really load the kids up on fruit.

Character reactions will depend on the kid. You are probably tired of hearing it, but it's so true. My dd loves the characters and always has. My ds liked them as a baby, but now they make him cry.

We don't schedule our kids, either at home or traveling. It's part of our parenting philosophy.

Room hopping should be OK. We just got back from a National Park trip with the kids and didn't stay in the same place twice. The kids were fine. The first 3 days will be tough, so expect that, because that is typically how long it takes kids to adjust. After that it should be fine.

We cosleep, so I can't comment on porta cribs, and I dunno about the high chairs, either. Sorry.

Bring a full sized stroller. Your baby will thank you for it. Those umbrella strollers look so uncomfortable when the baby is sleeping, so unless you plan on babywearing most of the time, you will need a big plush stroller. We bring our double Chariot, which is a huge bike trailer type of stroller, and the kids are extremely comfortable in it. It's like a giant rolling bed, lol.

See if your shuttle will have a carseat otherwise you will have to take your car seat with you. It is illegal to ride in the car without one, as you know. checking carseats is no big deal, and it doesn't count towards your luggage count.

You will love the trip! Let us know how it goes! I hope my answers were helpful.

 

[letsgoagainsoon]

Im looking at planning and booking a trip, This is my first baby who is 4 months old now.
my baby will be about 17 months old next Sept. Is this too young to really enjoy Disney? Im sure she'll like the pool at OKW the best, but what attractions can I hope she will enjoy? WE TOOK DS AT THIS AGE AND WENT ON PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING WITH NO HEIGHT RESTRICTION. HIS FAVS WERE PLAYHOUSE DISNEY AT MGM, IASW, ALADINS CARPET RIDE AND FIGMENT IN EPCOT. BUT HE DIDN'T REALLY DISLIKE ANYTHING...NOT EVEN THE HM, POTC or BUGS LIFE IN AK.

Best attractions? SEE ABOVE

Best places to eat with her? (I do plan to have fruits, veggies and deli meat at kitchen of resort) WE DID CRYSTAL PALACE AND CHEF MICKEYS FOR CHARACTER MEALS. WE ATE AT PINOCCHIO VILLAGE HAUS IN FANTASY LAND, HE LOVED WATCHING THE BOATS FROM IASW. HE ALSO LIKED SCIFI AND THE BIERGARTEN.

What are typical reactions for this age group when meeting characters? HE LOVED THEM, WASNT AFRAID AT ALL.

Did you stick to your home schedule? NOPE, WE DIDN'T. ITS JUST TOO HARD. WE LET HIM SLEEP IN HIS STROLLER WHEN HE WAS TIRED AND WE SHOPPED OR RESTED.

Is room hopping a bad idea with a baby this age? We are considering booking studio for first 2 weekend nights (less points) and then switching to a 2 bdroom for the rest of the trip- bad or good idea for baby? I WOULDNT, BUT THATS MY OPINION...TOO MUCH STUFF TO MOVE.

What were porta cribs like there? DIDNT USE ONE, HE SLEPT IN A BED WITH ME.

I need to find out if DVC resorts have highchairs for room- anyone know? SORRY CANT HELP YOU HERE

What stroller should I bring? Umbrella or Graco Passage (22lbs) I BOUGHT THE COMBI SAVVY AND LOVED IT.

Did you bring a car seat with you? Im assuming Ill rent a car so we can go off property and I heard cabs wont take little ones without a car seat anyway. WE RENTED A MOTORHOME FOR THE TRIP DOWN SO WE HAD ONE WITH US, BUT DIDNT USE IT AT ALL ON DISNEY TRANSPORTATION...YOU WILL PROBABLY NEED IT IN A CAB AND DEFINITELY IF YOU RENT A CAR.

HOPE THAT HELPS!!

 

[Oceana]

take a car seat!!! when we were there in 2004 with my then 17 month old I was hurt by another park goer. It was all out drama to get me to my hotel then to the clinic. Thankgoodness we had a car seat at our room.

We took our 17 month old on anything we could get him on. He loved it all. He even laughed and giggled on the bus on the drive back to the room every night after the fireworks.

17 month old kids are fairly flexable. Have a great time

julie

 

[LaraK]

Is this too young to really enjoy Disney?
No. I took DS at 9 months and then again at 16 months.

Im sure she'll like the pool at OKW the best, but what attractions can I hope she will enjoy?
DS liked the Carosel, LOVED Small World, liked Pooh, was afraid of Snow White, the dinosaur ride in Epcot, and terrified of the Rainforest Cafe. Most other things he just kind of checked out. His favorate was the Pooh playground.

Best attractions?
Small World in MK, Playhouse Disney in MGM, the Sea in Epcot

Best places to eat with her? (I do plan to have fruits, veggies and deli meat at kitchen of resort)
Your child can eat off your plate at that age and I would recommend you use that while you can. We do a lot of charecter meals. It gets us into the park before other people and we don't have to wait in those horrible lines in the heat for other character meet and greets. We also like the buffets, everyone can get a little of something (easier when child is "eating off your plate") We LOVE Crystal Palace for breakfast (early) and Cindy's was fantastic. We also like Chef Micky.

What are typical reactions for this age group when meeting characters?
DS loves them. I think that it helps that his older sister loves them so much.

Did you stick to your home schedule?
A modified home schedule. We try to get up early and be in a park by 8 (where the breakfasts come in handy). We go back to the hotel to eat a light lunch and nap, then return to a different park at about 4:30 in time to eat dinner. We often do MK in the morning and Epcot in the evening.

Is room hopping a bad idea with a baby this age? We are considering booking studio for first 2 weekend nights (less points) and then switching to a 2 bdroom for the rest of the trip- bad or good idea for baby?
They don't care, it is more the time it takes away from your park time.

What were porta cribs like there?
I thought they were fine...of course, DS wouldn't stay in it he slept with me. I got one anyway, because it's nice to have a closed environment in the room.

I need to find out if DVC resorts have highchairs for room- anyone know?
I didn't see any in any rooms. If you don't have one, at that age a portable toddler seat is a nice thing to have, and cheap.

What stroller should I bring? Umbrella or Graco Passage (22lbs)
We flew, so we didn't want a great big stroller...also, I had to do a double stroller, so I took a double umbrella.


Did you bring a car seat with you? Im assuming Ill rent a car so we can go off property and I heard cabs wont take little ones without a car seat anyway.
We rented a car and will do so until we no longer use strollers. I find luging two kids and a stroller onto a bus a royal pain. We just drive to the parks in the morning (we can park for free since we are at the resort). It's nice because we get there so early we get one of the closest spots. When we return to the parks after nap, we can scoop up a spot of someone who is just leaving most times. We also believe in putting our kids in car seats on the plane (I don't trust rented car seats and don't want my kids getting hurt by mid-air turbulance). Anyway, that means I can just latch my own car seats into the rental.

 

[Eyore4Ever149]

WOW! Thanks everyone for the info! This is really helpful! I consider myself a pro at Disney - but a baby changes everything.

LaraK- your comment about using your car seat during the flight is interesting- I know my Mom was telling me the airline forbid them when we were young. Did you get a seperate seat for your baby?

Great to have an idea that she can actually go on some stuff- Im amazed to hear about the babies that were fine with HM and POTC!

 

[LaraK]

LaraK- your comment about using your car seat during the flight is interesting- I know my Mom was telling me the airline forbid them when we were young. Did you get a seperate seat for your baby?
QUOTE]

We buy a seat for each child. The car seats have to be approved for planes...there's usually a sticker on the seat if it's approved. My dd is now too big for the airlines to let her use a seat in-flight, but we'll still take ours down. (I have special seats for them because of their size)

 

[MeLaNie9]

We took our 22 month old DS in May. So many family members told us this was "too young" and kept saying "he won't even remember it". Well, it was a great trip and we don't care that he won't remember it. We hope to go again when our new baby (due in Nov) is about that age.

He loved Small World, Winnie the Pooh, Philharmagic, Peter Pan, Turtle Talk with Crush, the aquariums at the Living Seas, and anything involving a train or boat - including the monorail which may have been his favorite! He wouldn't go on Dumbo-type rides (Dumbo, Magic Carpets, etc.) and was upset in things that were very loud - Ellen's Energy Adventure, MGM Little Mermaid show (he wasn't bothered by Philharmagic because he was so happy whenever he got to see Mickey). We did take him on the Haunted Mansion because it is one of my favorites, and he was fine through most of it - at some point, he just hid his head against my side and I held him tight and told him it was fine to just close his eyes if he didn't want to see anymore.

We did generally stick with our home schedule (had 2 later nights than usual - one to watch the MK Spectro Magic Parade and one to see Illuminations ). We only went back to our room for him to nap 2/7 days. The other days he just nodded off after lunch in the stroller. He slept in a crib, it was smaller than a normal crib but was not a pack-n-play. He liked the Mickey sheets.

We were on the DDP and it was great - he ate off our plates which worked well for us at buffets, counter service, and table service restaurants. We also packed breakfast foods to eat in our room - small boxes of cereals with bowls and spoons and NutriGrain bars. We bought milk at the Poly snack shop for the cereal and his sippy cup and kept it in the refrigerator we requested for our room.

He was a little shy with characters at first, but at character meals, by the time the last couple came by, he was fine. He LOVED Mickey and Pluto at all times!

We had so much fun with him and seeing his face light up on rides or when he saw Mickey was wonderful. You're never too old or young for Disney World!

 

[mlacreta]

We are staying at OKW and BCV. When you make your reservation just ask for a highchair and they will have one there for you!

 

[reginaastralis]

Best attractions? Personally, Julie likes most of the rides. We went almost three months ago, and she was 16 months old. She really really liked Snow White, she kept saying "OOOOoooo" at every corner. Dumbo is AWESOME! She fell asleep in line for Pooh, and wasn't a big fan of Peter Pan. She sang and danced to it's a Small World. We didn't ride Haunted Mansion this time, and Pirates was closed, so I don't know what to say about darker rides.

Best places to eat with her? (I do plan to have fruits, veggies and deli meat at kitchen of resort) We do most of the eating in our RV, but occasionally we'll share a meal at a counter service place. Pecos Bill *and a few others I'm sure* serve a cold grilled chicken meal with veggies, apple sauce and Mickey cheese crackers. Julie's not really a picky eater at all, so of course she would eat the standbys of chicken nuggets, so we're never really worried about food. We keep meaning to ask if we can buy just the packages of the cheese crackers b/c they're Julie's favorite thing ever.

What are typical reactions for this age group when meeting characters? Mixed. Julie's been to Disney about 11 times now, and she's still aprehensive around some of the characters. This last time we took pictures with the Princesses, and she WAILED during the whole thing. Mickey, he gets a kiss everytime we go and see him. Takes his face in his hands and kisses him right on the nose. Freaking adorable. She wasn't too cool with Baloo and a few of the other characters. The one she watches on Disney Channel our her favorite, Goofy and such. They also have a meet and greet for Playtime Disney characters at MGM, after the show they do. They have JoJo, Bear and Stanley, we'll def be hitting that up this Labor Day.

Did you stick to your home schedule? Well, yes and no. She usually goes to bed at the same time everynight, sometimes earlier. She's sleeps in a little bit later *we get up at 6am at home* Her naptime is 11am-2pm, so we don't always stick to that. When we go to the parks for the whole day, she'll skip her naps entirely ... I mean she'll stay up ALL DAY if it means she won't miss a minute of the action. We try to go back to the RV for naptime, it gives my sister time to swim and be a dorky 8 year old. If we can't make it back to the camp for whatever reason, and she won't nap .. we hit the train if we're at MK. Puts her out in a heart beat. And the people mover at Tomorrow Land, "All aboard .." where you go through Space Mountain *HA, I can never remember this ride* ... well it puts her out everytime as well.

Is room hopping a bad idea with a baby this age? We are considering booking studio for first 2 weekend nights (less points) and then switching to a 2 bdroom for the rest of the trip- bad or good idea for baby? Can't help out on this one .. sorry

What were porta cribs like there? Can't help you out here either

I need to find out if DVC resorts have highchairs for room- anyone know? Sorry again

What stroller should I bring? Umbrella or Graco Passage (22lbs) This one to me is tricky! I've done both regular stroller *weighed a ton while carrying my daughter and it on and off the bus* and did the umbrella *bent over half way, sore arms, cranky baby*. I'm planning on buy a used Maclaren or something similar ... it weighs about nine pounds, folds easily, and fits her like a full size stroller. Can't wait to get it! Of course, I don't recommend buying a $200 stroller for one visit, I'm only buying it used b/c we live at Disney ... but if you have someone you could borrow one from, that would rock.

Did you bring a car seat with you? Im assuming Ill rent a car so we can go off property and I heard cabs wont take little ones without a car seat anyway. Sorry again


This is my theory on taking kid's who can't remember the trip. This is YOUR trip. You get to decide what rides to ride, what things to see, what characters to take a picture with. Your child won't be able to complain about how HOT it is *Moooooommmm, it's soooo hot!!!!!* Moooooommmmm, my feet hurt! Right now, you will only have to listen to your dearest hubby complain, and they will. You're the one who will get to remember this trip, the pure magic of watching a little one see Mickey for the first time. The fireworks. You get my drift? It's AMAZING. I love to see the look on Julie's face when she turns the corner into Minnie's house and realizes where she is. She runs right up to the couch and climbs in, turns to the picture on the table and screams "MEME" *what she calls Mickey* We've teethed three times at Disney, and wow ... what can I say. This time we're going to be potty training at Disney ... it's like our trips are going to be imbedded for other memories taking place at Disney as well. I'm sure your seventeen month old will have a blast.

Also, and I don't know much about it .. but they do a first haircut at the Barber Shop on MainStreet. It's actually what I came online to find out about tonight, since my daughter is really starting to need a haircut *I'm hoping she can make it three more weeks*

You'll have a blast, sorry about my novel.

Amanda and Juliette