What to do with 9 month old in Disney?

[dreamalittledream]

Ok, so after a glorious trip last Feb to my favorite place on Earth . I promised my DH that we would not go back until our new princess is 2 1/2 (she is 7 months now). BUT I CAN"T WAIT THAT LONG!

So, I have planed our anual FL trip to the west coast for the first weekend in Feb. with the hopes that the Eagles will be going to the Super Bowl. IF they go, we plan to drive to Orlando and then DH will go to Jacksonville with friends to the Super Bowl. And my Princess's and I will stay with Mickey. lol (I may be able to talk DH into going anyway if there is no Super Bowl but, I will need to work on that)

Here is my dilema....
I have no idea what to do with a 9 month old in Disney. She is VERY active and started crawling at 6 1/2 months. do I use the carrier or the stoller? what rides may work?

I got ressies for POR for 3 nighs but have never stayed there. Any pros/cons. I can't change it now ( I got a great deal) but I want to know what to expect. How are the busses?

I also need to get tickets for 1 child for 2 days. who has the best deals?

I have 2 leftover hopper passes with 1 day each from 1994 for myself, will they work in AK?

I hate to abmit it but, I am so obsessed that I made my CRT PS on the 90 day mark! Even before I had the hotel booked. Is this normal? LOL

 

[KristinU]

We went when DS was 8.5 months and had a great time! We took both a stroller and a carrier/sling and alternated based on his preference at the moment, but most of the time he was in the stroller. We took it at DS's pace and tried not to overwhelm him too much. We also stayed at POR, it was our first visit as well, and we really liked it a lot! We swam with DS at both a quiet pool and the main one, which was a fun break from the parks. As far as rides go - anything without a height restriction is fair game, and at that age we found that DS was too young to be afraid of anything. His first ride ever was Pirates! We also took him on Spaceship Earth, the Fantasyland rides, the Mexico ride at Epcot, The Great Movie Ride at the Studios (although I felt like there were parts of this one that were too loud for his little ears), Kilamanjaro Safari at AK. He loved Festival of the Lion King and we spent a lot of time at the Living Seas. He also loved the air conditioning unit back at the room (perfect height for him to stand at and push buttons and turn knobs!) We did spend a lot of time in the room letting him burn off steam and crawl around - he was crawling at 6.5 months like your DD and while his eyes and mind were stimulated by the parks, he still had lots of physical energy that needed an outlet.

We didn't use the busses at all at POR and just drove wherever we wanted to go, which was nice when DS had had enough - no waiting to head back "home", but I have heard that the busses to and from POR are pretty timely.

Breakfast at Chef Mickey's was a highlight of the trip for all three of us - we had a blast!

Have Fun!

 

[Ratio]

We went when DS was 9 months old and it was a great trip. Just like KristenU said take it easy and go at your son's pace. Make sure to take time to nap/swim/run around during the day.

DS was also pretty fearless and we could go on any non height restricted ride. He really liked Dumbo and the Haunted Mansion (although the attic section screaming was a bit loud). Other than that, character meals, character meals, and more character meals. I can only assume that if you read this newsgroup you've already introduced you child to what the characters look like. The look on DS face when he recognized a character as a real thing was awesome (and it only gets better with age we just got back from a trip and DS is now 22 months he was out of control!).

 

[tarmand]

Are you asking about ticket prices for the nine month old or do you have another child? Children under three are free!

 

[dreamalittledream]

I have a 3 1/2 year old Princess which is why we went last year when she was 2 1/2. She had so much fun she keeps asking to go back! I would love to post a pic of her with Cinderella, but I have not figure out how to do that yet. So I need tickets for her for the 2 days. I may get a Hopper pass for her so I'll have it but only if we are able to go to AK with the old tickets I have. Does anyone know if 1994 (?) tickets would get me into AK? we were there the month before AK opened.

tarmand, your Minnie Fan is too cute!!!

 

[justhat]

I think your hopper tickets are only good for the parks that were open at the time that you bought them. Not sure how that would work if it was the same year. We're leaving Friday ( ) for WDW with our daughter who is 9 months old. She too is a very active baby so I know she'll need time to explore while down there. Our problem is that she desparately wants to walk-she was pulling herself to standing by 6 months, a few weeks before she could crawl. So she has taken a few steps on her own already, and therefore thinks she can walk unassisted, so I know it'll be a challenge keeping her off the ground at the parks! We were at DL when she was 6 months, so the standing wasn't a problem since she couldn't really crawl till we got home. This time we'll be babyproofing the room very well, something we've never had to do before.

I'll be alone for part of our trip as my husband can only come for 2 nights, so I'll have the Baby Bjorn, stroller, and our new Hip Hammock. The only thing I don't like about the Hip Hammock is that at 18.3 lbs./28 inches, my daughter feels too small for it and seems like she could slip through the leg opening. We haven't used it much yet, I bought it for when she's too big for the Bjorn really, but we'll be bringing it anyway for a change of position from the Bjorn. At 3, 4, and 6 months in WDW and DL, the Baby Bjorn worked really well. I wish I could bring our large Graco stroller cause it would give her more freedom to move around, sit up, etc., but since I'll have to get on and off buses by myself, we'll be taking the Maclaren. So if it'll be just you and your 2 girls then think about that when you pack your gear-carrying the baby, diaper bag, and stroller on/off the buses.

For rides, we'll be doing everything my daughter did at 3,4, and 6 months, which included everything without a height restriction, barring some shows and Astro Orbiter (just scares me with a tiny baby). At 6 months Madison loved the Pooh ride and 3 months it was Hall of Presidents, so who knows what will get her attention this time. She loved the characters at 6 months so we plan to do a meal with them. Oh, the light parades were a huge hit with her on every trip, so try to see Spectromagic if possible. Other than that, we'll be taking it slow, just going to enjoy the Christmas festivities/decorations, especially the Osborne lights!

 

[mjmcca]

I have traveled with 2 little ones by myself. I have a boy and a girl who are 17 months apart. I took them when my girl was only 2 months. I stayed offsite so i had to have a car. I dont know if i could handle both of mine even now ( they are 2 and 4)and their gear by myself on Disney transportation.The last few trips i have taken i had my husbands cousin with me so i wasnt all alone on the buses.You are definatley going to have to bring a stroller the ones Dinsey rents arent really made for babies. I dont know how your older girl is but there would be no way fro me to have a single stroller even now. My son wants to get in if i take a single stroller someplace for his sister, so i always have to have a double.

 

[fizz13]

It was posted elsewhere that you can take your pre-AK tickets to guest services and they will be updated for new ones that will include AK, so you do not have to lose out there.
BTW, it is absolutely worth having both the carrier and the stroller because no strollers are allowed in the line area so its always handy to have a carrier if you have a long wait

 

[dreamalittledream]

Oh, I hope that is the case with the AK tickets. When we were there last year, we only went for 1/2 a day and didn't get to see everything. I want to go to MK on Sunday and then AK on Monday. If not, I'll buy a day pass for AK and won't hop that day. If we don't make it this Feb, I may have to wait until 2006. boo hoo.

 

[lovethattink]

Our baby is 7 months old and has been going to Disney since he was 6 weeks old. (We live in Central Fl and have APs.) We have done several weekend trips at POR. My suggestion is that as soon as you get to the room, press housekeeping on the phone and get bed rails if you are not using a crib and safety outlet covers. Our baby is very active, but hasn't started to walk. He would only sit in the stoller for a short time. We either held him or used a baby carrier. We do our Disney day based on the baby's schedule. Dh and our other DS (10) will go on attractions while I look for quiet places for him to nap, nurse or feed. There are many attractions that we all can experience together, we just do it on baby's time. He has been on most of the attractions at Epcot. He is facinated by the lights and colors. The only thing he has been afraid of so far, was the Spectromagic Parade. Even the fireworks didn't scare him.

 

[justhat]

We're back ( ) from our trip and I am so glad we went because my 9 month old had a great time! She liked the past 3 trips too, but mostly just cause she saw neat stuff and mommy held her, but this time she was really excited each day. She loved the characters, rides, shows, and just seeing so many other people (especially babies)! The Osborne Lights were a huge hit with her (we went twice) and so were the parades (daytime and Spectromagic). She liked AK's Jingle Jungle parade best because there were so many characters not on floats that came up and touched her-truly a magical moment for her. Another thing she loved (that she also loved at 6 months) was the petting farm-so if you do make it to AK definitely take your baby there.

Oh, we don't use a crib so we requested a king size bed. The CM checking us in said we had one, but when we got to the room it was 2 doubles. Well, the bags were already there so I stayed (I was alone with the baby so moving would have been way too much work and time). I just put pillows on the other side of the baby to keep her from rolling out. I wanted to push the bed against the wall, but there was no way I could move it (I tried). The only reason we didn't ask for bed rails (which may be an issue for your baby at 9 months) is that my daughter would use them to stand up and then could fall over the side. They worked fine before she could stand, but at 6 and 9 months pillows worked better. They keep her in the bed, but don't give her a handle to pull up on. They do make the bed more crowded which is why I wanted a king (and I saw one 2 rooms down from us!!), but we managed fine in the double. Of course, once she can stand up without pulling then we'll be out of luck either way.

 

[karensi]

justhat, you mentioned the petting farm at AK, is that Conservation Station?

 

[fizz13]

Yes, at Conservation Station. My kids had a blast there brushing the goats and chasing these poor animals. They met Rifiki too. My DS6mths tried to pull his beard off!
Claire

 

[mamaprincess]

We took our 1o month old who could walk. Each park has really great places to relax. I really enjoyed magic kingdoms babycare center for breaks. We took a stoller along with plenty of storage. We brough plenty of snacks. Our princess enjoyed the shows at magic kingdom and all of the story book rides without height restrictions. The shows at mgm were great as well as ak. She enjoyed the land at epcot among other atractions. their's just so much eye candy shell be fascinated by it all. Give her plenty to drink and plenty of breaks. take her to fantasyland, playhouse disney live,the little mermaid, the great movie ride, its a smallworld, winnie the poohs adventures etc. Enjoy the perades and give her plenty to drink. Take breaks at the baby care center at each park, let these be your headquarters. :

 

[WDWPartyof5]

I took my son at 12m old and he was not walking at all, weighed 20lbs and was still breastfed. We rode everything but thrill rides. He loved it! I took him again when he was 19m old along with a girlfriend who had a 17m old. Both children had a blast. I used a double stroller both times because I had another stroller age child. We had no problems getting on and off rides and as another poster put it "nursed around the world" (mostly on rides!)

Your 9m old will have a blast.