Disney with a baby at what age? advice??

[SulleyanBoo]

Hi all!

So interesting story...fiance and I are getting married in 11 days. While I was on my last trip in February for the Disney Princess 1/2 marathon, I had a Disney memory I will definitely not forget..I found out that I am pregnant. We were thrilled but I am a little depressed because I will not be frequenting the parks as much in the next year. However, being the Disney nut that I am one of the first things I did was think about our first trip with the baby. I can't wait!!!!! It's something I have looked forward to for a while!

What is a good age to bring baby? I dont want to wait too long. I thought about bringing them at 1..

any advice is great as well as ANY advice about Disney World and little ones!

Thanks

 

[DisneyJoe]

1 is a good age, that is when we took our youngest.

 

[wendysue]

21 was really great...

 

[Mrs. Jobson]

We took our then 1yr old back in October and he loved it. You kinda have to go on their schedule and not yours. Work around their naps and take breaks. We thought he would have a problem with the characters but he loved them! We had so much fun with him at that age. A lot of people will tell you to wait until they are older but I don't agree. We had a great time. By the way, congrats on your pregnancy! We found out the day after we got back from the World that we are expecting #2. I am currently 29 weeks and am so exicted to be planning our next trip. I miss Disney World so much!

*You might want to check out the Forums on Disney with Kids. There are some great ideas there. Check it out!

 

[whitethunder]

We are due June 14th and I'm way to excited to take them to the park!!

 

[SulleyanBoo]

Congrats to those above ^^ and thank you! I can't wait to them!

 

[sshindel]

Ugh, lost a post in the middle of writing it.
First off, congratulations!
My biggest advise would be to remember, this trip will be for you and your memories, as the child will likely not remember until he/she is 3 or so. That being said, the trip will need to be totally built around your child's needs/wants/sleep/comfort. At 1, the attractions you will be able to do with the child will be very limited, so the trip will mostly be building memories for their "first trip". Every child is different, so things that work for some will not work for others. We took both our daughters for their first trips at 18 months. Both had great times, but while the oldest was fine with everything that she was able to do, our youngest somehow was terrified of every and all indoor rides (dark rides, lit rides, Small World, etc).
When reading advise from other parents, remember that you'll have to gauge that against what you (will eventually) know about your child and how he/she is in different situations.
It can be a great time, give great memories for you, and the good thing is, in a few years, you'll get to have another "first trip", only this time the child will really be the first time THEY can really start remembering everything.

 

[Britt]

My son was 9 months old and we had a BLAST with him!

And what made it better was it was our very first time having him WITHOUT oxygen or having to take an oxygen tank with us It was a very special trip for us! I recommend it anytime you're ready! Its not really for THEM. Its making memories for you, with them and having thousands of pics to show them later...lol

This is my sister in law with him!

With Grandma!

 

[Britt]

AND CONGRATS!!

 

[Mickey_777]

We took our baby boy at 5 months to Disneyland back in early December and he had a blast. It was actually really easy. He went on most rides/attractions with us (IASW, Pirates, TSMM, Tiki Room etc...) and was all smiles. He just sat on our lap looking at all the characters/animatronics. When he got tired or hungry, Mommy went to the baby care center or covered up so she could nurse him. When he needed a nap, we just bundled him up and reclined him back in his stroller next to us whether we were eating ice cream on a bench or grabbing a bit to eat. He's a heavy sleeper so if we had to move or roll him thru a store he didn't even notice. For rides you can't take him on, we just did the baby switch. It was a breeze to be honest. Couldn't believe it. I'f you went with others that could help watch the baby it would probably make your job even easier. We're gonna take him now to WDW when he's 9 months or so.

 

[RedDad]

I personally wouldn't take a child until they can walk, but every family is different. We took our youngest at 14 months and it was a fantastic trip! The best advice I can give is make sure you plan for naps every day and be willing to go slow. We stayed at WL because we knew we would be spending more time than usual at the resort, and wanted to be able to come and go quickly and easily with the little one. It also helped having a 3rd adult with us to help out.

We also played videos of the characters and rides for our little one in the months leading up to the trip to help prepare her and get her excited about meeting characters and doing rides. We went on every ride she was tall enough for and she loved them all! She loved the characters...from a distance - but she's a big fan now!

 

[LizC]

I took my twins at 15 mo. and they loved it, especially the characters! As others mentioned, only you will know when you are ready. I would suggest going in the cooler months though. It was hot on some days while we were there and that was tough on the kids. Buy one of those fans that attaches to the stroller, it was a lifesaver!

Congratulations!

 

[Susan Savia]

Took my daughter at 18 months and my son when he was 7 months. Great memories. Now looking forward to taking my Grandson in a year or so.

 

[DizneyPryncess]

We took our daughter at 13 months this past November and had a ball! She started walking at 10 months, so she was in the mindset of just wanting to run. That was the hard part, as she was tough to keep happy in a stroller for very long. We just would go to non-crowded areas and let her move around a bit more. Or we'd go back to the resort for a swim or a nap. We definitely went on her schedule, and it was different than our other trips. But seeing everything with her made it the best trip ever. There's a lot of attractions you can do too. We have no regrets, and are going back in May!

 

[popcenturylover]

Congrats, We took our DD4 when she was 8 months old. We had an awesome trip! She slept in her stroller all the time & rode a lot of rides with us. The worst part about it was all of the stuff to bring w/you!(diapers, baby food, formula, etc.) Anyway, your child may not remember the trip but, you will & you can tell them all about it! We have a photo album from our DD 1st trip & she makes us look at it & tell her about it quite often. It's great!

 

[PREMiERdrum]

A post I made in another thread seems pertinent...


We took our daughter for her first trip at 13 months, and got her first haircut at the Magic Kingdom's Harmony Barber Shop:

Her 2nd trip was 2 months after her 2nd birthday, and her 3rd trip is coming up in 2 weeks, just one month after her 3rd birthday.

Our son's first trip will be in 2 weeks as well, and he will have just turned 9 months old.

If you take things at their pace, you'll have a great time. There's no use trying to commando from attraction to attraction. The draw for kids that age is bigger than any single ride: It's the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes all around them that get them interested. Seeing it all through their eyes for the first time is quite magical.

 

[RedDad]

A post I made in another thread seems pertinent...


We took our daughter for her first trip at 13 months, and got her first haircut at the Magic Kingdom's Harmony Barber Shop:

Her 2nd trip was 2 months after her 2nd birthday, and her 3rd trip is coming up in 2 weeks, just one month after her 3rd birthday.

Our son's first trip will be in 2 weeks as well, and he will have just turned 9 months old.

If you take things at their pace, you'll have a great time. There's no use trying to commando from attraction to attraction. The draw for kids that age is bigger than any single ride: It's the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes all around them that get them interested. Seeing it all through their eyes for the first time is quite magical.

We got our daughter's first haircut there as well! First trip at 14 months, second was also 2 months after her 2nd birthday, and her third was one month before her 3rd b'day (last chance while she was still free!). She'll be taking her fourth trip in June, 3 months before her 4th b'day. The kid loves WDW!

 

[Zman-ks]

21 was really great...

lol....

 

[disneyfriend32]

Our 1 st trip as a family my older son was 8, our younger 1.5 who on a 2 week stay was done with resturants on day 5. He loved the characters and we had fun of course but it was hard. We cancelled a 2012 trip because our daughter was only 1 and we thought it would be too hard. But next years trip will be great the kids will be 13,6&3. It really depends on your baby and you will know if its the right time or not. Good luck!

 

[Master Yoda]

My youngest daughter made her first trip to WDW at 10 days old. Quite honestly, an infant is easier to deal with at WDW than a toddler. The number one thing to remember is you are on your child's schedule, not yours. As long as you do that, everything else tends to work out well as WDW is one of the best set up places in regards to child care. Every park has a baby care station with private rooms for nursing or to just get out of the hustle and bustle of the park.