You're taking a baby to Disney World?? Yep, we are!

[Angela0917]

"You're taking a baby to Disney World? He's not going to remember anything!" I get this question alot. Yes, we're taking him to Disney World, and you're right he probably won't remember a thing! But we will and we will enjoy every moment, and we will have tons of pictures, and we'll have our video camera to capture everything that we can! And he's also not going to remember his first Easter, Christmas, and birthday either, so should we not celebrate that?

So yes, we will be taking our little man to Disney World and we're very excited!!! Here's a little bit about our family!

DH(26) and I(27) are from Pittsburgh, PA. DH is a mechanical designer for an engineering firm and I'm a part-time hairstylist. We were married on April 25, 2009.

We honeymooned in WDW, of course!! We were in Disney from April 27 - May 4th, and stayed at the fabulous Beach Club Resort! It was DH's first trip to WDW EVER! And it was my first trip in 12 or 13 years! We had a fantastic time!

And then June 1st, we found out we were expecting our first little bundle of joy and we couldn't have been happier!

Our beautiful baby boy was born on January 7th, 2010. He is such a blessing in our lives. I cannot thank him enough for making me such a happy and proud mama!

Today Jake (DS) is 6 months old handsome as can be.

Before Jake was born, we discussed when his first trip to WDW would be. We were originally planning December 2011. We thought that would be the perfect time. He'd be a month shy of 2 years old, so he'd "get" it. But December 2011 is too far away, and I'm way too impatient to wait that long. So we decided to move the trip up to May 2011. Then last week I decided I'm still too impatient for that so I made the spontaneous decision (at 2am) to book a trip to WDW for THIS NOVEMBER. And I am super excited!!

I think Jake is excited too!

So of course this is my first time traveling with a baby, and while I am so excited, I am very nervous!!! So I started this PTR in hopes of getting tips and advice from you fabulous DISers!

 

[pinkpixie0920]

I'm here! So excited for little Jake's first trip to WDW!!!!!!!!

 

[pinkpixie0920]

 

[Angela0917]

Only 2 months, and 2 days to go! We are getting very excited!

We are going to be in Disney World from Sunday, November 14th - Thursday, November 18th. We decided to do a short trip because it will be easier with the DS. He's on a pretty good schedule at home, and as much as I'd like to stick to his daily routine while at Disney, I think that's going to be really hard to do. So hopefully this trip won't throw him off too much.

We are staying at Old Key West! We are renting points from a DVC member for the first time. I'm excited to be able to stay at a deluxe resort for such a great price! From the pictures I've seen on here and on Disney's website, it looks like a beautiful resort!

Here's our plans for our trip:

Sunday, Nov. 14th:
Our flight leaves Pittsburgh at 6:15am. Super early, I know! But I booked this flight, hoping that DS will sleep on the plane. And so that we'll have pretty much a full day in Disney! This is the very last day of the Food and Wine Festival, and it's also the ONLY night during our trip that Fantasmic will be at Hollywood Studios. Since we saw Fantasmic last year and we've never been to F&W, I'm thinking we'll head over to Epcot.

Monday, Nov. 15th:
MAGIC KINGDOM!!! I cannot wait to take DS to Magic Kingdom. I tear up every time I see the castle. Even if it's only on tv. And the first ride we ride there will be... It's a Small World, of course!

Tuesday, Nov. 16th:
I'm undecided about this day too. I think what we'll end up doing is spending the morning at Animal Kingdom, unless we decide we need another day for MK. DH and I did not get a chance to see Festival of the Lion King last year, so I don't want to miss it again this year. We'll probably do the Safari, and maybe the Nemo musical, and then head back to the room for naps since that evening we will be going to MICKEY'S VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS PARTY!! I already bought DS a special Baby's First Christmas outfit to wear to it!!

Wednesday, Nov. 17th:
This day depends on what we do the 14th. We will do whatever park we don't do then (either Epcot or Hollywood Studios).

Thursday, Nov. 18th:
We're leaving this day. Our plane is scheduled to leave Orlando at 1:05. We're hoping to squeeze in a character breakfast so we can say goodbye to Mickey, maybe Cape May? But this depends what time the Magical Express is picking us up to take us to the airport.

All of our plans of course depend on DS. If he's happiest playing in the pool all day, well than that's what we'll be doing!

 

[pinkpixie0920]

I love all your plans so far!!! You are going to love MVMCP! Everything about it is great, the snow on main street, the free hot chocolate and cookies. What time does your flight leave on your last day?

 

[loritemp]

Your son is so cute!!! And yipee for his first trip!!!

We took my DS1 when he was 18 months old and plan to head back when my DS2 is just 3 months old. I don't quite care what people say about their ages, I am well aware that they won't remember the trip but it's all about being in the moment with little ones. They have a blast while they are experiencing it all and my DH and I have fabulous family memories.

Can't wait to hear all about the plans!!

 

[moparop]

Aww!!! What a sweet little guy you have there! We took my son for the first time at 7 months old and I have the best memories of him meeting characters. He had such a blast touching them and taking in everything around him. The plans look good so far! I can't wait to see how they continue to develop!

 

[Angela0917]

I love all your plans so far!!! You are going to love MVMCP! Everything about it is great, the snow on main street, the free hot chocolate and cookies. What time does your flight leave on your last day?

Thanks! I'm super excited for MVMCP! I just hope Jake takes a good nap and makes it through the first parade and fireworks! I believe our flight leaves at 1:05 on the last day.

Your son is so cute!!! And yipee for his first trip!!!

We took my DS1 when he was 18 months old and plan to head back when my DS2 is just 3 months old. I don't quite care what people say about their ages, I am well aware that they won't remember the trip but it's all about being in the moment with little ones. They have a blast while they are experiencing it all and my DH and I have fabulous family memories.

Can't wait to hear all about the plans!!

Awww, I love to hear from other people who took their babies to WDW and had a wonderful time!! I'm sure I will have tons of questions when it comes to packing time, so maybe you'll be able to help me out!

Aww!!! What a sweet little guy you have there! We took my son for the first time at 7 months old and I have the best memories of him meeting characters. He had such a blast touching them and taking in everything around him. The plans look good so far! I can't wait to see how they continue to develop!

That's so good to hear that he was good with the characters!! I'm hoping Jake is the same way and not scared! We watch lots of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, we watch the Disneyland Sing-a-long video almost every morning, and he loves his hot dog dancing Mickey toy too! So hopefully he'll totally recognize him when he sees him in person!

loritemp and moparop, do you have any pics of your little ones in disney here on disboards somewhere? I love seeing pics of babies having fun in WDW, it makes me so excited to bring Jake!

 

[kdfogliano]

Enjoy!
Just got back with our 3 month old!! (2.5 yo also)

Everyone thought we were nuts too, but like you said, should we not celebrate things they wont remember!!! (great analogy!)

Have a blast! The characters love to see babies!!!! All of them gushed (in their character way) over the baby!

 

[Angela0917]

Enjoy!
Just got back with our 3 month old!! (2.5 yo also)

Everyone thought we were nuts too, but like you said, should we not celebrate things they wont remember!!! (great analogy!)

Have a blast! The characters love to see babies!!!! All of them gushed (in their character way) over the baby!

Thank you! Oh, yay! I'm glad to hear the characters love the babies!!

 

[Angela0917]

2 months from today we'll be in WDW!!

85% of me is super excited! 15% of me is a nervous wreck!!!! I'm nervous about taking Jake on an airplane. I'm nervous how we'll get the baby, tons of luggage, and a stroller through the airport! I'm nervous about being in WDW for 5 days without a car! What if there's an emergency? Or if we forget something the baby needs and need to go to the store? I'm nervous about how well he's going to sleep in a pack n play. He's never slept anywhere other than his crib! But everything will be ok, right? Moms, I need some reassurance here!

I still can't believe that I'm even going this year! When we got back from our honeymoon last year (on May 4th), I told DH we could have a baby right away, and then take the baby to Disney in December 2011. The baby would be almost 2 years old. I found out I was pregnant on June 1st! Everything was right on schedule!

Fast forward to a year later, and I was too anxious! I couldn't wait ANOTHER year to go to Disney! So we decided we would go May 2011. That cut about 7 months off my countdown. But still wasn't good enough. One night back in July I was up surfing the web at 3:00am and started looking up vacation packages for November 2011 and airfare. I woke DH up and asked him if we could go, and he was half asleep, but he said ok! So I booked it! That was pretty easy!

Then the next day, he never mentioned the whole WDW thing to me! When we were sitting down eating dinner I said, "We're going to WDW in November, yay!" The look on his face was priceless. He said, "I thought that was all a dream!"

So yeah, I guess that's my tip for the day. If your DH is not onboard for the WDW plans, wait until he's sleeping at 3:00am.

But don't worry, everything's fine! He's excited too!

 

[moparop]

loritemp and moparop, do you have any pics of your little ones in disney here on disboards somewhere? I love seeing pics of babies having fun in WDW, it makes me so excited to bring Jake!

Not yet, I'll work on getting some in my PTR soon!

 

[Angela0917]

Not yet, I'll work on getting some in my PTR soon!

Awesome! I'm going to go check out your PTR and sub right now!

 

[loritemp]

Relax, it will all be ok!! I was freaked about the airport too but it was fine. Do you have a seat for your son or will you keep him on your lap? You can gate check your stroller so that makes it really simple, just keep him nice and comfy till you board and then hand the stroller off. Have a bottle and some snacks ready in case his ears pop. My son was so interested in everything around him, he didn't make a peep on our flight. And becuase we were up and going so early, he fell asleep right after take off and woke right before we landed, perfect!!

We didn't pack diapers or wipes, we had a towncar pick us up at the airport and then hit a store on the way. Next time we go we will use ME so we will most likely have those items delivered to our room.

Also, my son does not sleep anywhere but his crib! Or at least doesn't sleep well. We were really worried about that down there but we had a crib brought to our room and he was so wiped out every night that he slept just fine! One suggestion, bring your own sheet for the crib or pack and play. Just so he has something familiar, with a familiar smell, ya know?

I don't have any pics up here but I think I have a bunch on FB, let me look and I will either PM you with my FB info or throw a few up here.

 

[pinkpixie0920]

I think he will be fine! He is such a good baby. Did you look into ordering things from Garden Grocer? They ship it right to you hotel the day you arrive. It isn't that much more expensive than in the grocery store either. We have never done it but we have looked at it for this trip.

 

[loritemp]

I have some pics on my FB page, here are a few...

 

[luvmy2babies]

I'm in...Our boys are 2 days apart. We are also going in November.

I am so grateful for this board. I have learned so much that will make this trip easier I think.

It will be our first trip to Disney as a family. I haven't been since I was a little girl. It won't be my our first vacation though. I took my children to the beach for 6 days in June. Ds is a great traveler. He loves being outside, loves being worn and never takes more than an hour to nap at a time. He is really laid back. We did 6 hours each at a zoo and a science museum/aquarium combo spot in 90+ degree heat. We also did a 45 minute dolphin watch boat tour. He hasn't hesitated to try anything new. He smiled the first time I put his toes in the ocean and was so happy his first time in a pool another lady couldn't believe it was his first time in one. His sister was really laid back as a baby as well. Now...well, she's 7 and a real

She's well traveled though too...flown several times, been on a cruise as well, but hasn't flown in 3 years. She has no idea we are doing this. She thinks we are waiting until her brother is 2. The trip is a surprise for her. She's been asking to go for 3 years and I can't wait to see her face. I take them to sit down restaurants every weekend to keep up their table service restaurant behavior and I have ds sleeping in his pack n play. He's in it now out cold as I type.

I imagine people would try to tell me to leave my son at home, if not for the he won't remember thing, but the "you can't handle two children on this trip alone" thing. I'm not nervous though. I'm going to make both children memory books so I can write down what he liked and remember it. He's so portable I can't imagine not taking him. I'm also nursing 50% (mornings and evenings). I have actually visualized him several times in that hat your son is wearing. Picked him up some pj's at Wal-Mart tonight...two piece cotton pj's. One set has Buzz Lightyear, another Lightening McQueen and the other Mickey Mouse. $5.00.

I hope you have a wonderful trip. We'll be there Thanksgiving week. I was planning the trip around dd's fall break. Every year the school closes for 2 days (usually prior to a weekend) when the teachers go to a conference. This year the conference was set for the Monday and Tuesday before Thanksgiving so school is closed the whole week. We're leaving here Sunday, November 21st and going home the 27th. So excited to get that many days in the fall without her missing school.

The planning is fun. Signed up for Tour Guide Mike and have my ADR's. We'll be at All Star Movies. So many decisions, but this board is so helpful. Decided now between shipping stuff (diapers, wipes, formula, baby food, etc) from here or ordering grocery delivery service. It is difficult some days to keep the secret so I talk ds's ear off about it...Now, I need to update my pre-trip report.

Happy Planning. Your son is so cute.

 

[Angela0917]

Relax, it will all be ok!! I was freaked about the airport too but it was fine. Do you have a seat for your son or will you keep him on your lap? You can gate check your stroller so that makes it really simple, just keep him nice and comfy till you board and then hand the stroller off. Have a bottle and some snacks ready in case his ears pop. My son was so interested in everything around him, he didn't make a peep on our flight. And becuase we were up and going so early, he fell asleep right after take off and woke right before we landed, perfect!!

We didn't pack diapers or wipes, we had a towncar pick us up at the airport and then hit a store on the way. Next time we go we will use ME so we will most likely have those items delivered to our room.

Also, my son does not sleep anywhere but his crib! Or at least doesn't sleep well. We were really worried about that down there but we had a crib brought to our room and he was so wiped out every night that he slept just fine! One suggestion, bring your own sheet for the crib or pack and play. Just so he has something familiar, with a familiar smell, ya know?

I don't have any pics up here but I think I have a bunch on FB, let me look and I will either PM you with my FB info or throw a few up here.

Jake's going to be flying on my lap for this trip. I'm hoping he'll sleep the whole time. It's at 6am, so I'm hoping I can sleep the whole time too!

I'm unsure what we're going to do about diapers and wipes. We'll only be gone 4 days, so I shouldn't need that much stuff. But it might be easier just to ship it. I will need baby food too, and I'm sure all that can get heavy and then I'll quickly reach the weight limit. I guess I could always have a "practice" baby suitcase packing. The towncar is a good idea though. If Jake had his own seat on the airplane, and we were taking a carseat, that would definately be the best way to go!

Oh, I will def bring our own sheets for the pack and play!

I think he will be fine! He is such a good baby. Did you look into ordering things from Garden Grocer? They ship it right to you hotel the day you arrive. It isn't that much more expensive than in the grocery store either. We have never done it but we have looked at it for this trip.

He is a good baby, I'm so lucky! Yes, I was looking into Garden Grocer and there's another website I have bookmarked, I can't think of the name of it. I may just use amazon though, I'll basically just need some diapers, wipes, and baby food.

I have some pics on my FB page, here are a few...

LOVE LOVE LOVE your pics!!! Your son is adorable!!!

I'm in...Our boys are 2 days apart. We are also going in November.

I am so grateful for this board. I have learned so much that will make this trip easier I think.

It will be our first trip to Disney as a family. I haven't been since I was a little girl. It won't be my our first vacation though. I took my children to the beach for 6 days in June. Ds is a great traveler. He loves being outside, loves being worn and never takes more than an hour to nap at a time. He is really laid back. We did 6 hours each at a zoo and a science museum/aquarium combo spot in 90+ degree heat. We also did a 45 minute dolphin watch boat tour. He hasn't hesitated to try anything new. He smiled the first time I put his toes in the ocean and was so happy his first time in a pool another lady couldn't believe it was his first time in one. His sister was really laid back as a baby as well. Now...well, she's 7 and a real

She's well traveled though too...flown several times, been on a cruise as well, but hasn't flown in 3 years. She has no idea we are doing this. She thinks we are waiting until her brother is 2. The trip is a surprise for her. She's been asking to go for 3 years and I can't wait to see her face. I take them to sit down restaurants every weekend to keep up their table service restaurant behavior and I have ds sleeping in his pack n play. He's in it now out cold as I type.

I imagine people would try to tell me to leave my son at home, if not for the he won't remember thing, but the "you can't handle two children on this trip alone" thing. I'm not nervous though. I'm going to make both children memory books so I can write down what he liked and remember it. He's so portable I can't imagine not taking him. I'm also nursing 50% (mornings and evenings). I have actually visualized him several times in that hat your son is wearing. Picked him up some pj's at Wal-Mart tonight...two piece cotton pj's. One set has Buzz Lightyear, another Lightening McQueen and the other Mickey Mouse. $5.00.

I hope you have a wonderful trip. We'll be there Thanksgiving week. I was planning the trip around dd's fall break. Every year the school closes for 2 days (usually prior to a weekend) when the teachers go to a conference. This year the conference was set for the Monday and Tuesday before Thanksgiving so school is closed the whole week. We're leaving here Sunday, November 21st and going home the 27th. So excited to get that many days in the fall without her missing school.

The planning is fun. Signed up for Tour Guide Mike and have my ADR's. We'll be at All Star Movies. So many decisions, but this board is so helpful. Decided now between shipping stuff (diapers, wipes, formula, baby food, etc) from here or ordering grocery delivery service. It is difficult some days to keep the secret so I talk ds's ear off about it...Now, I need to update my pre-trip report.

Happy Planning. Your son is so cute.

Oh wow! 2 days apart?! That's awesome!

Aww, what a great suprise for your daugher!!! That's awesome! I don't think I could ever keep a secret like that!

Can you believe I've had people ask me if I was leaving Jake home with my parents?? Like seriously!! I'm going to DISNEY WORLD! How could I leave my son at home?? The memory book sounds like a great idea! I should do the same for Jake! Are your DS's Mickey PJs the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Road Rally ones? If so, Jake has the same pair! My cousin just bought them for him the other day from walmart!

I hope you guys have a fantastic time too!! What a great way to spend Thanksgiving!!

 

[Angela0917]

I've been kicking myself for not ordering Park Hoppers when I bought my tickets. I was trying to save some money and ended up just going with base tickets. One day for each of the 4 parks. But now I'm thinking I'd much rather spend 1/2 day at Epcot and Hollywood Studios, and the rest of the time at Magic Kingdom. Plus it would make it so much easier for me to sort through my way too many dining reservations and delete the ones that I don't need! But, it just seems really expensive for me to upgrade, basically for only 2 days.

So here's my question to you. If you were me, going with my DH and DS, what would you do?

Option 1:
Upgrade to Parkhoppers for the 2 days we will be at Epcot and Hollywood Studios (which will cost $100+)

Option 2:
Stick with original plan - 1 day at Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios, + 1/2 day at Animal Kingdom and MVMCP at night

Option 3:
Skip Epcot, spend 2 days at Magic Kingdom, 1 day at Hollywood Studios, and 1/2 day at Animal Kingdom + MVMCP

After I figure this out, I can start weeding through my ADRs and cancel the ones I won't be using. I'm sure I'll be asking for help once I get to that!

 

[luvmy2babies]

Oh wow! 2 days apart?! That's awesome!

Aww, what a great suprise for your daugher!!! That's awesome! I don't think I could ever keep a secret like that!

Can you believe I've had people ask me if I was leaving Jake home with my parents?? Like seriously!! I'm going to DISNEY WORLD! How could I leave my son at home?? The memory book sounds like a great idea! I should do the same for Jake! Are your DS's Mickey PJs the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Road Rally ones? If so, Jake has the same pair! My cousin just bought them for him the other day from walmart!

I hope you guys have a fantastic time too!! What a great way to spend Thanksgiving!!

Yes, my son was born on January 9th, right on his due date. Been on time ever since. Eats at regular intervals, wakes up at the same time every morning and gets tired at the same time every night...will make planning this more simple. He's very much a morning person...wakes with a smile every day.

Yes, I can believe people asked you that about Jake. When dh was alive, we took dd to San Diego and did Sea World and the San Diego Zoo. They knew we were going these two places and still we got asked not only if we were leaving her, but why we were taking her. She was 17mo old. She was hiliarious. Was talking some. I can still see and hear her in my mind pointing at the whales saying "I see it! I see it!"

My daughter would never forgive me if I left her brother here. A girls only afternoon, sure. A week away from her brother whom she personally asked God for every day for 2 years...NO WAY! And we agree. He is the joy of our lives. I know we are going to have a blast. Heck, he smiles at every woman that talks to him so he might like the princesses as much as she does. And you certainly can't beat the price right?

I'm going to try to stick to their schedules. He and dd both like dinner around 5:30 and 6:30, and breakfast around between 8 and 9, so all our dinner ADR are between 5:20 and 5:40 and our breakfast ones are around 8:30. We have 3 of each. I can possibly do the parks all day without returning to the room (won't be worth returning cuz ds would be done with his nap by the time we got there), but I had better head to the exit by 7:30 cuz ds is no good past 9:00. I figure we won't see any fireworks or night time parades, but we will see lots of Christmas lights which is a bonus I wasn't expecting when I first booked the dates. Following TGM advice, I plan to plop us down for a snack and rest every day around 2 or 2:30..right near a parade route.

The pj's have Mickey on a scooter with Road Rally Racer on the shirt, so must be the same ones. They looked comfortable enough for late fall but shouldn't be too hot in Florida. Saw an adorable Lightning McQueen hat but they only had toddler size.

I got the idea for a memory book on this site of course. I got the links from the printable kid pages threads. The site mouseforless.com has everything. The pages I am going to put in ds's book have space for you to write down what the child liked, what they didn't like, what their favorite thing(s) was/were. And there was one for each park or another you could do for the trip so you can record how he likes the plane ride. I got a design from one of the designers on here RustManFan for each child that has Mickey Ears and says My first Trip to Disney World on the bottom. In one ear it has the child's name and in the other a red 2010. I am using those for the book covers.

We are flying too with my son on my lap. I have my son sit on my lap during church services so he has had experience being on my lap for 2 hours. Our flight is 90 minutes...nonstop on Southwest.

I thought about doing an early one, but don't want to get dd up that early now that she has to walk the airport. When she could be carried and/or strolled, we did it though no problem. Her first flight she didn't wake up until we went through security, on another she didn't wake up until we were at the gate and she did sleep on the plane. Jake will probably be fine. One thing I have learned is that if I am calm, my children are more than likely to be calm.

I'm not telling her a thing until the day we leave for selfish and unselfish reasons. Selfish-she'll drive us all nuts and will think of little else. In April leading up to her birthday, I got a note every day from her teacher saying she wasn't focused. What was she thinking about? Her birthday party...and it was nothing compared to this. Unselfish-in case something happens and I can't finish paying for it, I'd rather she never knew. It is hard though. Asked her one day "If you had a chance to have dinner with the Princesses, would you want to dress like a princess? (have an ADR at Akershus and 1900 Park Fare). She said, "Yeah...why?" I pointed at something and said, "Oh look at that."

Poor ds is going to have flashbacks one day about hearing all the plans.

Can't believe there is so little time left.

Oh, and we have hoppers even though I only plan to hop twice (once on Tuesday and once on Friday). I want my options open, especially since dd doesn't know about the trip. I don't think it cost anymore to upgrade once you get there though if you don't want to decide right now.