Why do people bring infants?

[nugov2]

Is this a real question? You can't put your life on hold because you have a baby. Following your logic, why would anyone go to a restaurant if they have a baby? The baby can't eat "real" food and might fall asleep (if the parent is lucky!). The baby might cry or need a diaper change, which is an inconvenience to the parent. Why take the baby to a park or the zoo? It can't walk, and will only ride in the stroller.

People take their infants to Disney because they want to live their lives, and that often includes being with their children, even if those children can't "do" much or won't remember much.

I don't think you can compare going to a restaurant that takes about 2 hours and is in a climate controlled environment to a theme park where you'd spend at least 4 hours or more in what is typically hot weather or rainy (Florida IME isn't a mild climate) at a place that is kinda pricey if you are stuck inside to keep cool or have to leave and sit in a hotel because of rain etc. Comparing wdw to a restaurant isn't even close.

 

[Bon1423]

We have four kids, 7, 4, 2, and 9 months. We only planned to have 2 lol and wanted to go when the oldest was four or five.

We ended up taking the two oldest last year at ages 6 and 4. This year we are taking the oldest three at 7, 5 and almost 3. The kids that don't go stay home with our nanny and it worked great last time.

I don't want to vacation with an infant and don't really want to take a child under 2 1/2 to Disney. But that's what works for us as we are fortunate enough to have a very trusted nanny, and I think our kids under that age would really make the trip tough on the older ones (and us).

I am not bothered by people who do take babies, though I think it sounds like a terrible time (to me!) carrying them around in the heat. But my babies were always the ones who would cry if the stroller was not moving for too long, they wanted to be held. And they are all early walkers (9 months) and start fighting to get down and walk/crawl around so it just wouldn't be a good time for us.

 

[brooke789]

Personally, I wouldn't book a trip knowing that I had to bring an infant. It's just so much easier when they're not nursing/bottle fed. And it's also easier when you aren't carting around baby food. So, we're planned our kids first trips for when they're 2.

For our upcoming trip we booked it 13 months out, so we very well could have had a baby between booking and going on the trip! I do like seeing babies in the park, I'm just glad I'm not taking care of them.

 

[DisLaw]

I think Disney is the easiest place to travel with a baby. They take care of transportation and it is very kid-friendly. We are low-maintenance people. We bring small umbrella strollers or a baby carrier, a breastfeeding cover, spare change of clothes, diapers, and wipes in a backpack and we're ready to go! Babies will sleep wherever and we have never had an issue where it has negatively impacted our vacation. Some of my fondest memories are a nursing a baby in the Carousel of Progress or on Figment!.

This!!

I was one of those people pre-child who used to look around and think what they heck are these people thinking bringing an infant to Disney???

Fast forward 3 kids later I came to learn after many stressful trips to the beach, to the lake, to cities, that in fact WDW is one of the best and easiest places to travel with very young children! We love to travel and found that WDW was a place where we could all have fun and the babies were contented as can be! Once they started eating "real food" there was always something kid friendly to eat, there was plenty of nice clean places to change and feed them, everything was just perfect. This in contrast to other vacations that were not as baby friendly.

So don't knock it until you've tried it! I was never a big believe in "waiting" for my kids to "remember" the trip either. I suppose if you were only going to visit WDW once in their life then maybe yes but for us it was more of an every 2 year trip. They love seeing all their baby trips in photos and I would never trade those experiences for anything.

Also this may not be as true today as it was in the past, but whenever we used to say we were going to vacation somewhere else I would start pricing things out and it always came out much less expensive for us to just go back to Disney! So that is why it was our go-to trip for many years and I always tell all my younger friends with infants to not be scared off of traveling to WDW. It is a wonderful place for babies and you will have fantastic memories that will last forever!

 

[winterwhite]

I'd rather people bring infants than the screaming 5 year olds who have been kept up way past a normal bedtime so mom and dad can see the fireworks then scream the entire bus ride back to the hotel because they're overtired.

 

[monkistan]

We took our 10 month old because it was a family trip. Our whole family was going down for a week to celebrate my dad's 70th birthday. There would be no one to leave him with. That said, it was easy and fun. He could ride almost every ride. He loved being in the carrier, and napped well, whenever he needed to. There was one meltdown on the Safari, but aside from that, he was pretty chill. Bringing him down we didn't expect him to have a great time, or be interested in anything, this trip wasn't about him. But watching his face light up when he met characters at meals, was priceless. He'd just point and get super excited. The characters loved it too.

Why bring an infant? why not. you do what works for you and your family. Before he was born, i'd thought i wouldn't take a child <5 years old because of how little they'd get from it. But, sometimes you have little choice, and in those moments you learn things. We learned that it was super easy with a 10 month old who didn't walk. I wouldn't want to take him now, though, he's 15 months and walks everywhere. We'd get nothing done. lol.

 

[maxiesmom]

I don't know but it seems to be something people feel strongly about. Maybe the crying babies bother them? I don't know. But my MIL is one of those "Why do you waste your time taking them", kind of people, who swears up and down that NO family with young children enjoy a trip to Disney, because "They're ALL screaming and having fits. There's NEVER a happy trip with young children, and there's absolutely NOTHING for them to do" *eye roll*

Babies are no more loud than many adults. The adults or young adults are the ones who fake scream on rides to be "funny". They are the ones who have to recite along with the script to some of the rides, wrecking the experience for others. I think some people need to realize when you are in the parks you have to deal with others, young and old. And not everyone will behave in the way you would like them to.

My own answer to the question of why would you bring a baby along? Because they are part of the family. And honestly, a lot less trouble then a toddler. A baby doesn't make demands for a toy, or throw a fit if they see Tigger off in the distance and can't get to see them right now!!! A baby can go on any ride without a height requirement, so they can go on most rides. No need for the family to separate. Babies get in free.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

I'm still trying for figure out why someone would care why someone else would take a baby??

As far as reasons why we did, they've all been listed out rather well here, so I won't repeat them all.

It was a question. Or at least that is how I read it.

Maybe I missed the judgement.

 

[maxiesmom]

It was a question. Or at least that is how I read it.

Maybe I missed the judgement.

The whole tone of this thread, and many of the responses by the OP, have had a less than positive tone to them.

 

[biondagirl]

My parents were snowbirds when my kids were little, so they both went to Disney at a year old. It was awesome. My parents didn't go to the parks with us everyday, but we were fortunate to get some help some of the time. We didn't go on every ride or see everything we wanted to, but we had some of the best times then.

 

[Dr.Mickey]

It was WAY easier to bring our oldest at 6 months age than it is now that he's 11. Just sayin.

 

[ELSA711]

All I keep thinking is we have to stop and feed DH more than the kids, can I leave him with a trusted family member, LOL

 

[JimmyV]

It was a question. Or at least that is how I read it.

Maybe I missed the judgement.

In certain circumstances, the judgment is inherent in the question. For example, suppose you saw someone in church wearing torn jeans and dirty t-shirt. The person in the pew in front of you turns to you and whispers: "Why would anyone wear that to church?" I suppose you could write it off as "just being a question" and not a judgment. But is it really? I don't think that the OP's question is really an open ended one intended to gather some research for a dissertation. It reads more like: "Is taking an infant really a good idea?", which, on some level, is a judgment.

 

[MMR76]

On our first trip to WDW our DS was just 4 months old and our DD was 5 1/2. I planned the trip because I wanted my DD to experience WDW through the eyes of a little girl not because I expected my DS to get anything out of it. It was a fantastic trip and I would absolutely do it again! DS was content to ride in the stroller most of the day. He rode POC, Magic Carpets, IASW, PP, JC & others. We used RS in the case of him not being able to go on a ride. The interaction with CM's was great, especially Naveen & Cinderella's Stepmom & Stepsisters. I was nursing so I didn't have to bring any feeding supplies. There are very nice nursing/changing facilities in the parks. Not going because of his age or leaving him at home never crossed our minds.

 

[Love Tink]

I don't think you can compare going to a restaurant that takes about 2 hours and is in a climate controlled environment to a theme park where you'd spend at least 4 hours or more in what is typically hot weather or rainy (Florida IME isn't a mild climate) at a place that is kinda pricey if you are stuck inside to keep cool or have to leave and sit in a hotel because of rain etc. Comparing wdw to a restaurant isn't even close.

You missed the point. The point isn't that restaurant = WDW. The point is that when a person is a part of your family (and, more specifically, a part of your family who relies on you for everything) you take them places. You take them to the restaurant, the grocery store, the basketball game, the pool, the Disney vacation.

The trip isn't just about the baby and whether the baby will enjoy it or remember it (so stupid). When I took babies to WDW or DL it was because I wanted to go there and I happened to have a baby in my family.

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

Personally, I wouldn't book a trip knowing that I had to bring an infant. It's just so much easier when they're not nursing/bottle fed. And it's also easier when you aren't carting around baby food. So, we're planned our kids first trips for when they're 2.

For our upcoming trip we booked it 13 months out, so we very well could have had a baby between booking and going on the trip! I do like seeing babies in the park, I'm just glad I'm not taking care of them.

That was one of the easier parts of our trip. A bit of planning and it was easier dealing with a bottle and baby food than it was waiting in some of the QS lines.

 

[gtpoohbear]

18 months is fine by me, that's a toddler age to me. I'm talking fresh out of the womb wrinkly little 6 week old babies here.

See, I think this right here is what makes your post sound judgemental. Saying it's "fine by me" implies that you think you get a vote in such things, which you don't. Maybe that's not how you meant it, but that's how it comes across.

I get it though, I was a teacher before I had kids too. And thought everything about raising them would be so simple and straightforward because I knew all the right answers already. And then I actually did have kids, and pretty much everything I *thought* I knew about them went out the window, lol!

For us, it's pretty simple. We vacation multiple times every year, and that's not going to change just because we have a baby in tow. It's not really "for them", but they do still enjoy it (usually) and it's good family bonding time. If we just sat at home, we would inevitably get caught up in mundane tasks and miss out on the dedicated time together.

We did go on one vacation without DD when she was a year old - to Hawaii. While I'm glad we did that trip because we had a blast, it's not something I would do every year, or even ever again most likely. Emotionally, it was very hard.

And as far as vacations go, WDW is pretty easy with babies - more so than many of the other destinations we have attempted.

 

[Wonders10]

OP - I'm wondering what sparked your question? Were you at the parks recently and noticed a lot of infants? Or something you read on this board? And what is the age range you refer too? Our 8 month old daughter is still considered an infant, but is hardly the same as an 8 week old baby in terms of, well, everything lol.

I just dealt with "why bring your baby (insert place here)?" issue last month when we took our then just 8 month old daughter on a 5 night cruise. Yes, our plans were modified from previous cruises, but we had a great time! And I encountered it here when asking a question about the same child and her upcoming first trip in June. It's a hot button issue apparently.

I think there are a TON of factors to take into account when you see his happening...older siblings, getting pregnant while planning a trip and not wanting to/unable to cancel said vacation, also living nearby. If I lived a plane ride away, I probably wouldn't go through the hassle of flying to disney with a 10 month old.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

I could see if the OP had an infant and was trying to make the choice herself. The post does come across as either taking issue with others' choices, or not understanding the choice in the first place. of course those who are saying "because they are part of the family" might be equally judgmental regarding someone who intended to leave their infant with grandparents for instance, instead of bring them. It's still a choice.

 

[AshleeH]

I don't expect a baby to remember the experience - but when did the parents having memories with their family become obsolete? My memories are important too. Our daughter was four months old when we took her to Disneyland and it was one of our best vacations ever. She was 18 months her first trip to Disney World and had a blast. She was 2 on her first Disney Cruise and it was our best vacation of all time.

Why must everything always be about the memories? How about living for the moment? No, she won't remember meeting Belle or Elsa at this age, but the pure joy on her face told me she absolutely loved it when she interacted with them - and next time she meets them, it will be the first time all over again and I'll get to witness a different type of joy for a new age.

Memory is subjective - I went to Disneyland Paris at age 15 and remember next to nothing. So if you wait and wait and wait for the perfect time - there's no guarantee that perfect time will be remembered. I'll continuing living my life for the moment until I happen along those perfect moments. Sure beats waiting for the perfect one to find me.