First trip with a 1 year old

[mroman]

To all parents who traveled with a 1 year old I've got a couple of questions since this will be my son's first trip to WDW.

- what did you do if your little one likes to fall asleep with music? We have a CD he listens to so I wondered if there are CD player alarm clocks in the room or if anyone has another economical suggestion.

- my son typically goes to bed around 7-8 pm so for those parents who put their child to bed early, how did you handle it being in the same room? I know the room we're staying in has a pack and play for him to sleep in so I wondered how you handled bedtime.

Any other tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Mark

 

[acapelad]

1-yr old

our first trip we had a 1 yr old, 3 yr old twins, 7, and 9.

not sure where you are staying but we stayed in a 2BR at the boardwalk. we set up the pack n play in the large closet off the master bathroom. it was like she had her own room. lol.

she also fell asleep to music every night (enya). we brought an i-pod and a portable i-pod dock. i'm not aware of CD players in the rooms, although you should be able to play a CD through the TV/DVD player, as long as you didn't plan on watching TV after she goes to sleep. otherwise you can get a cheap portable CD player for $20 somewhere.

have fun and don't forget to relax !

 

[Kelsybelle]

We took our daughter on her first trip to WDW this past April and she was 20 months old. What I found to be the best avenue for us to take with her was to slow down a bit. We would head out in the morning, come back to the resort after lunch for a swim and let her nap.
It worked great because she was rested and ready to stay out past her 7:00-8:00 bed time and see Illuminations and Wishes, which was such a surprising highlight because she enjoyed it so much!


I was really worried about how she would adjust to sleeping in a pack and play and not in her crib but she was so active and stimulated during the day that she would crash the minute she got into it and that was great for us because we were able to sit out on our balcony and relax before going to bed.
We stayed at the Wilderness Lodge and I don't remember seeing a CD player in our room, if it's a concern, you might need to think about bringing one with you...but honestly, you probably won't need it to help get your little one asleep, Disney does a great job with that!

 

[SAV]

You may not need the music, since the kids are pretty wiped out from their day at the parks. But they do make mini speakers and if you have a portable CD player or MP3 player, you could use that and attach the mini speakers.

I always try to book a 1 bedroom suite so the kids can be put to bed and we can still get things ready for the next day. But if you can't, then you just need to turn everything off until he falls asleep and then quietly go about your business from that point on. You could always put a blanket around the pack N play to block out the light once you turn it back on.

Have a magical trip!!

 

[NewfieFan]

I took a 14 month old last year! I didn't even have to worry about bedtime routines b/c like others have mentioned she was so exhausted at the end of the day that she would crash! We would even come back in the middle of the day for a rest/nap but even so she was still tired when night time came around! My children like music at bedtime as well but they didn't even miss it on vacation. And my daughter actually slept in the bed with her brother and of course a bed rail on both sides! My children sleep better on vacation than they do at home - must be the constant stimulation, heat, activity etc. that puts them to sleep at the end of the day!

 

[KC82271]

With my 10 month-old (and then 22 month old the next year), we just forgot about routines. She would fall asleep on the bus on the way back, so I made sure to change her into PJs before leaving the park. Took her from the carriage and put her in the pack and play or the bed. As a matter of fact, in the first two years of her life, the only nights she ever slept straight through were some of them at Disney - so you know she was wiped out!

Her sleeping in the same room was never an issue. She was so tired that it didn't matter. We talked, watched tv, showered, and nothing ever woke her up. But then again, we weren't far behind her in going to sleep!

She is 3 and going on her 5th trip this weekend - now I worry about her. I will be sleeping in the bed with her, as I am a light sleeper and as soon as she moves, I will wake up!

Enjoy!

 

[C.M.O]

My daughters first trip was when she was 18months old. We pretended to go to sleep and then when she fell asleep we got up.

 

[mroman]

Thanks for all this great insight! I really do appreciate the feedback.
I'm sure you're all right that he'll just fall asleep when we get back to the room so I guess I'm making more out of it then I should.

Right now he takes 2 naps and we were going to try to start cutting out his morning nap (after breakfast) before the trip. The more I think about it I think we'll just take the wait and see approach when we get down there. We always planned on taking an afternoon break back at our room for his afternoon nap. I think when we're out and about he'll just forget about that nap or maybe just snooze for a little bit.