Who has taken a 1 year old???

[ChiTownZee]

We're trying to put together a trip in May (if my husbands work schedule can be adjusted, not sure yet).
First, I can't decide on a resort...if money allows, I'm thinking Saratoga 1 bedroom for the space and having a seperate bedroom and my oldest loves DTD. OR, Contemporary, because I can more easily get back there if I need to leave DH and DD in the parks with baby DD....but it's smaller space wise, but bigger than POFQ, which is where we normally stay and love.
For those that have taken a 1 year old (she will have JUST turned 1) what advice can you give me? Anything good or bad to expect that I might not think of? DD1 was almost 2 when we first took her and she's 7 1/2 now so we've been doing WDW our way a long time now.
I'm worried about evening shows (illuminations) which are family favorites with the baby and bedtime.....getting her to sleep....disruptions in schedule etc. We went away in Dec. for 6 months and she didn't do well with being somewhere new and slept HORRIBLY.
So anyway, any input on any aspect on going with a 1 year old would be appreciated. I'd love to hear from those that have done it and there experiences.

 

[nygrl]

bring the grandparents is my advice LOL!!

 

[JenniferW]

We'd brought our daughter at that age, she just turned 2 last month so it is still fresh in my head...

It depends on the temperment of your child as to what she likes. Mine loved it all fireworks and all. It was only AFTER when she was almost 2 that a few rides were scary : )

Whatver you need to do to make nap time happen, make it so. Some kids sleep in the stroller fine, others need a quiet place, others need a crib. With all the excitment around there it's easy to get off schedule and we've made that msitake before. IMHO it's not worth it. Have quality and fun time with what you have.

Jenn

 

[bavaria]

We went with a party of 10 ppl last year, ranging from 14 months to 70+ years. Who had the best time?? - BABY!

At that age almost nothing scared her - imaginations start a little later in life. Granted, she did have her Nana with her, along with a sort of nanny, but baby spent most of her time being the queen, chauffered around in her stroller, having her every whim catered to. She got out and toddled around a lot, tried lots of food (she loved Norway!), people watched, and went on a lot of attractions.

You need to know your kids best, but baby was the most agreeable travelling companion on that trip!

 

[Laurabearz]

My son who never sleeps in his stroller at home, crashed in his every day at nap time. Miracle.

I highly suggest getting the 1 bedroom. That way if you are 'stuck' inthe room with a sleeping baby, you have someplace to go... Have you thought about staying at Beach Club Villas or Boardwalk? Both are walking distance to two parks (with the late night activites) so if things are not working our for baby, then it is a short trip home.

1 is an easier age than 2.... IMO Since there is soooo much to look at, and at 1 they dont know they can go after it.... at 2 they want to chase it.

 

[swilphil]

I've taken both of my kids at that time. I would stay at the Contemporary. For me, location is much more important than the amount of space I have. It's great to be able to return to the room whenever need be, and you will want to return for afternoon naps. Plus CR has very large hotel rooms. You will be quite impressed after staying at POFQ. If you decide to do a DVC, look into Boardwalk Villas. That way you will be able to walk/boat to MGM and Epcot. The only fireworks that we found to be a problem was Fantasmic because it was too loud.

 

[copper68]

having just returned from the bwi.. i would highly suggest the 1 bedroom.. my daughter who turned 1 in january could not fall asleep because she could still see us.. so, we ended up putting the pack n play in front of the bathroom sink, so she couldn't see us.. and then we had to be quite as mice so as not to wake her.. as far as naptime goes.. if your little one doesn't sleep in a stroller, then you just deal with it, and go back for naptime.. definitely don't deprive of the naps!! we went to mk one morning rode 2 rides and went back for a nap.. it was 10am.. haha but, she was definitely happier once she got her naps in.. also, remember it will be hot.. so push fluids..

my daughter did well with wishes at mk, we were on main street, so it wasn't too loud.. she also did well with the characters, but this can be different for every kid..

she also did not do well in the pack n play.. the first couple of nights were not a problem, but the last few she was awake every couple of hours.. don't know what to tell you about that, as i'm still trying to figure out what to do for next time..

that's really all i can think of right now... my biggest advice would be.. try not to over-plan.. just relax and take your time.. if you have to head back to the resort for a nap.. then just do it...

Leah

 

[goodferry]

We have taken both of my daughters when they were one, and some advice I would give you is to stay on the monorail. It will make your life SOOOO much easier. You can just walk on with the stroller, you can leave the parks and go back for a nap easily, it is a big help. The first time we stayed at CBR and it is a nightmare having to fold up a stroller and carry a one year old on to the bus. Next time we stayed at the Poly, big differance.
As to the night time shows, it depends on your child. Both of my daughters are very easy going and neither of them ever gave us a hard time with the change in schedule.

 

[ErinInCT]

We went in Sept when dd was 2 weeks shy of turning one. She was MUCH easier then the 4yo!!
She was scared of the non human characters but that was it. She rode every ride w/o a ht restriction and she was not scared of any dark rides or loud noises. We brought our Baby Bjorn to hold her in line (she was not walking yet) which made it easier for us (less stress on our backs). She sometimes stayed in the carrier on our laps on the ride! Other then that she was prefectly happy in the stroller. We brought food & toys to distract her "just in case" but honestly, she was so enthralled with everything that we never needed to pull out the snacks or toys! We brought a little container of bubbles for a pick me up for both girls when they were tired of waiting in line of waiting for a show to start. And glow stick necklaces which they loved!
We stayed at a 2bedroom WLV. The closet in the 2nd bedroom was so large that she slept in the pack & play in the closet!! That way she was not disturbed when we put her older sister to bed! She sleeps fine in pack & plays but woke up early every day. We brought familiar things from home like her blanket & some some stuffed animals she always has in bed every night. We also loved have a refrig, high chair, kitchen & w/d! Plus it was great being only a boat ride away from MK, you can just roll the stroller onto the boat w/o having to collapse it (we had a sit-n-stand so dd4 could use it too).
We brought bottled water in the stroller & those pre measured packages of formula & by then time she needed a bottle the water was warm so we didn't have to heat it! She only took a nap once at the park. We really tried to keep her to a schedule so we came back in the afternoon (for lunch!). It was nice even for dd4 who loved swimming at the pool with dh whicle I relaxed in the room w/the baby. We tried to get her to bed as close to 8pm as possible but did go see Wishes which kept her up later but it was no problem. We did not see Illuminations since it was just too late. You may have to do it split up (one night dh can take the 7yo, the next night you can go. Ya have to make sacrifices.
All in all she was super easy. I worry more about our next trip when she is almost 3 yrs old!!
Have fun!

 

[sandyluvsdisney]

Just go with what your heart tells you either way you will have big fun.

 

[larklynn]

The first time we took our 3 children ds7 dd 4 ds15 months.
The two older children went to alice's tea party and the pirate cruise. He cruised around in his stroller for nap time. He loved the different statues and play areas. In toon town I think by donalds house they have a play area for kids he loved this teeny little duck statue is there and he tryed to pick it up for 15 min. then kept falling down laughing. Just let them sleep right in the stroller when they are tired and carry them into attractions sleeping if you have too or you will have a very crabby baby.

 

[pearljim]

We've taken our grandsons every year since birth. Our suggestion: 3 adults to 1 child (minimum) is a great ratio!!

 

[loveswdw]

We got back just a couple of weeks ago from our 1st trip with our son (15 months). He did fantastic! It just all depends on each child. He's very easygoing at home and he's very easygoing on vacation too. At his age he loves to people watch and he's the world's biggest flirt. He had a great time just interacting with everybody. This trip was supposed to be mainly for my DH to go to spring training so we didn't do much in the way of parks this trip. We only did parks 1 day but it worked out well.

We took DS over to AK in the morning and MK for lunch and evening. At AK we took it easy and just did the safari and FOTLK. He started out strong at both but had crashed midway through both. We took him to meet Mickey while waiting for FOTLK. That was the highlight of our trip!! He was so excited and happy to meet Mickey! We have the absolute best pictures! Plus he got to meet a lot of other characters too. He loved them all! Even the ones he wasn't familiar with (Robin Hood, etc.).

We took him over to MK for lunch at CP. He had a ball with the Pooh characters. And its so big and noisy he could be loud too. After lunch we saw the parade which he LOVED and we tried POTC. He zonked out before we loaded the boat. We went back to the room and he crashed for a couple of hours. We went back that evening (MK closed at 10 PM) and saw SpectroMagic. Thought he would love that with all the lights... nope, didn't hardly pay any attention to it. Too busy scoping out the crowd.

We went to Cosmic Ray's for dinner and Wishes started. DS HATED the fireworks!! He cried and cried. I didn't get it. Thought he would love them. Boy, was I wrong!! We took him on Pooh and Peter Pan. Not much reaction from either. Glad we didn't spend a lot on passes this trip!

We didn't take the buses much since we weren't doing parks. Mostly in the car and it was easy with the car. Although the few times we rode the bus my DH loved it. Isn't that always the way? You spend all that money and the tiniest things are what pleases them! We did ride the monorail once and he didn't pay a whole lot of attention since he was sitting in the stroller.

We stayed in a 1 bdrm at OKW the first five nights then moved over to savannah view at AKL. While we loved AKL we were so spoiled by the space at OKW it almost ruined AKL for us. The room is so small in comparison and DS didn't have the space to play or run around the room.

And OKW has whirlpool tubs! DS just thought this was the greatest thing in the world. At least once a day DS would get a bubble bath in the whirlpool tub and he would just laugh and giggle the whole time. We did the bubble bath at the AKL too but it just wasn't the same without the jets.

DS didn't sleep a whole lot in the stroller but he doesn't at home either. He did zonk out at DTD for about an hour or so but nothing major.

Just go with the flow and it'll all work out. Pace yourself and don't get too discouraged if things don't go as planned. We found out on this trip that the stuff we planned didn't work out or turned out bad but the spontaneous stuff was the best! It was so strange.

Well, I've rambled enough. Have a great trip!!