What is the youngest you have taken...

[ses1230]

Obviously Disney is a place for children, but at what ages did all of you take your first child to Disney? There is a pretty good chance that DW and I are expecting. We have a trip planned for late this year as new DVC members and then....SURPRISE!!!

We are trying to figure out what to do. For those of you who took the little ones, how many of you flew? Did you rent strollers down there? What was your experience while you were there? We are obviously obsessed with Disney and we want our little one to enjoy it was well.

Any experiences would be appreciated...

DD#1 was 15 months old and DD#2 was 9 months old. We have always flown down - I get carsick and Philly is just too far away for me to drive.

We always bring our own stroller. The kiddos are more comfy in it, it reclines and it has decent storage. I would not rent from Disney b/c I think they look uncomfortable (hard plastic, no recline) and it's expensive. We find it helpful to have the stroller at the airport since we always have a few carry-ons and at MCO you have to get on a train-shuttle thing to get to where ME is.

Find out where the baby centers are at each park and make use of them. They are great for a quiet, cool break. It is also so much nicer to change a diaper on a real changing table as opposed to the rest room.

A front carrier was helpful when they want to be out of the stroller.

If it is hot, a battery powered clip on fan and a light blanket helps cool down the stroller.

We ship a box down with diapers, wipes, baby food, our ponchos, etc. to save room and extra weight in the suitcase. I also buy a return label and ship the box back home.

We also have done grocery delivery for water, milk, soda and small snacks.

Have fun and congratulations!

 

[cush1]

We ship a box down with diapers, wipes, baby food, our ponchos, etc. to save room and extra weight in the suitcase. I also buy a return label and ship the box back home.

Have fun and congratulations!

How does the return label thing work? Do you pay in advance?

Thanks!

 

[jamaka66]

I took my daughter at age 3 then my grandson at age 3 both had a wonderful time and they do remember it. This year we took my 16 month old granddaughter and we had a great time. We flew so we brought her car seat on the plane and then had it for the rental car. They have an umbrella stroller which we brought and used in the airport as well as in the parks. She was great, not very understanding about waiting in lines but loved the characters. I would say the most important thing is to let the kids control the pace, when they are done then you're done. We went back to the room and let her nap everyday and it was a nice break for all of us. Having a DVC room is a huge advantage because you have space and a kitchen, so much easier. I think that you should bring the baby along, everybody loves Disney.

 

[kimberh]

I took my son at 7 months old in 1978, then last Oct we took our Granddaughter at 7 months. My son took his son at 10 months old. They all did great.

 

[nytimez]

My daughter's first trip was at 8 months. She's now 4 1/2 and has been there 7 times. She's spoiled. Except for that first trip, when she wasn't even walking yet, she's been in complete love with the place, and each time we're there she surprises me with the level of interest she has.

 

[Iggipolka]

I took my daughter Lillian, when she was three months old and then again when she was 10 months old. She did great both times, but I was more relaxed when she was 10 months and didn't have to worry about her frying in the Florida sun.

We rented a stroller, but I mostly wore her in a Moby Wrap when she was 3 months and a Mai Thai when she was 10 months. It was just easier than dealing with the stroller and she napped much better when she was on me than in the stroller.

The plane ride wasn't fun, but it could have been much worse.

 

[sandieb]

We started bringing our grandchildren before they were a year old. When they were little guys we spent more time at the pool or Typhoon Lagoon. We now have 7 grandchildren and they have been once or twice a year their whole lives. They know and love WDW. We usually stay at our home resort, BCV. We have stayed at Saratoga Springs the last few years when we made spur of the moment trips, and we really like the convienent parking, bus stops and "neighborhood pools." We also own at Hilton Head - they absolutely love it there! I wish we had more points, but we have twice gone and stayed with cash reservations.
Sandie

 

[ses1230]

How does the return label thing work? Do you pay in advance?

Thanks!

Yes. I shipped it from home to the resort from our local UPS store. At that time I also bought the return label - I think it was $16 each way.

Then the day we departed WDW, I put the new label on the box and took the box to bell services and they sent to it for me.

 

[Disney93]

On our last trip we had our grandchildren, all 4 of them ages 11yo, 4yo, 11months and the baby, 20 days old. We flew from Wa. St. and the kids were great all the way there and back, lots of sleeping.

 

[TK Brown]

We took DS5 when he was 3mo old. It was great! He slept most of the time, so we got creative. We took pictures of him with all the characters while he was snoozing. Now, we show him the pictures of that trip and it cracks him up.

 

[brandylouwho]

The youngest child we ever took was 4 months old. 4 months was less work than the 18 month old. It got better when the kids turned 3/4.

She flew as a lap child (terrible of us, I know) but DH refused to lug the carseat around. Flight was awesome, afterall, she was in momma's arms.

She used an umbrella type stroller with an extra head support insert (like you can buy for carseats). We also wore her around the parks in a bjorn air and a ring sling. Again, DH said a big no way to taking the travel system stroller to the parks. On eof held or wore her while we ate.

She was mostly breastfed, so no issues with carrying bottles around. I am not shy and BF just about anywhere (covered up of course). I loved doing so in the dark shows like Philharmagic. We did take several changes of clothes though along each dayand on at least one occassion still needed to buy more in the parks (was not an easy task to find a tiny outfit in DHS).

We toured a bit differently--had to be more laid back, take things slower. It was nice. Sometimes I'd go to the baby station while the rest of our group did a ride or two. That was my choice for some quiet time with baby. We are get up and go morning people, but we did not always stay very late. That year we skipped Fantasmic & Illuminations. We did stay late for Wishes & Spectromagic one night. The crush of people scared me. We ended up in the hub area and I was carrying the baby. I felt like I could not escape. I may have been some strange momma bear instinct, but I will never put myself in that position again.

My kids were always sleep anywhere sort of kids, so they just slept in the stroller.

We usually order groceries anyway, so I just had WeGoShop buy our diapers & wipes too (less to pack).

 

[JWG]

11 mos. but not yet walking (good).
Slept through most stuff, so was still "our trip". We went back when she was 2.5 and the trip was much more about her. Went again at 3.5 and the trip was ALL about her.

She'll be 5 on the next trip, so we'll see how that goes.

 

[katied]

DS was 6 months for his first trip. We flew down (actually, I flew down with DS, and my MIL flew on her own, because DS was along with me for a work trip on the East Coast before our WDW trip).

DS has been at 6 mo, 8 mo, 13 mo, 18 mo, 20 mo, 32 mo ...

Next trip is planned with DS at 3 1/2, and his soon to arrive baby sibling. The new baby will be 7 mo for this trip.

Obviously, I've found it a really easy, and fun trip, with little ones or we wouldn't keep going back.