Questions on Disney with a 16 month old..

[SJFPKT]

My wife and I are taking our 16 month old Feb 27 - Mar 6. This will be his first trip and this being our first child, well you catch the drift. I am sure I will have many questions for you knowledgeable folks, and I will ask them in this thread, but the first one that comes to mind is rides. He will be 18 months old when we go and I was wondering if they let the little ones ride in your lap or do they make them sit between us? If it matters about size, right now he is 29lbs and 34 inches and at his rate of growth I would expect him to be about 30lbs and 35 or so inches around then.

 

[robbwilder]

We first travelled with my son when he was 18 months to disney in Febuary. Any ride that didnt have a height requirement he was able to ride and sat on mine or my wifes lap. That wasnt a problem. The thing ive learned since then is. Find a place like Poohs playground or something and let him stretch his legs... If not my son got crotchity fast.

Also a great tip for firework watching if you are afriad he might be afraid of the noise is during wishes you can time the boom from the fire works. Call it out ahead of time by going BOOM right before it BOOMS and it becomes a game. IT worked on my son and my two nieces and now they dont mind the BOOM they try to call it out first.

Good luck you will have fun and remember go at his pace and youll have a blast...

 

[Master Yoda]

It will depend on the attraction. Attractions with a height restriction and or restraints typically do not allow lap sitting. (ie Splash, BTMRR etc) Attractions without restraints or height restrictions (potc, HM, etc) are pretty much fair game for how you seat a child that size.

 

[DisneyJoe]

I suggest to print and read these:

http://allears.net/pl/infant.htm

http://allears.net/pl/strol_faq.htm

 

[SJFPKT]

Ok.. Next question. I am trying to figure out what his first ride should be. I am thinking Small World or Dumbo. Thoughts? Also its time to get his first hair cut but I have talked the wife into holding it off for 3 months so we can get his first hair cut there

 

[kangaand2roos]

Dumbo. I took my kids on Dumbo first and they both LOVED it. Oh and my best advice at that age since my daughter was only a little bit older that that the first time we went, is alot of breaks, keep nap schedules the same and beware characters tend not to be the favorite thing of 18 months olds. My daughter was petrified of the characters. She did warm up a bit by the end of the trip and when we went the following year it was a whole different story. But I saw and have since seen many kids around that age tend not to be huge fans of gigantic mice, a huge duck and a really tall dog wearing a hat and pants, all walking around and being able to touch them. They just don't get it at that age, poor things.

 

[Pan]

Ok.. Next question. I am trying to figure out what his first ride should be. I am thinking Small World or Dumbo. Thoughts? Also its time to get his first hair cut but I have talked the wife into holding it off for 3 months so we can get his first hair cut there

It's got to be Dumbo. It was always the first ride we would hit at MK when our kids were young. He may never remember it, but you will. Aside from the sentimental reasons, there is also some practical reasons. Dumbo will have a huge wait throughout the day. Hit it first thing when the park opens. Do morning EMH if you can. As for the characters, my suggestion would be to gradually introduce him to them. The first day, don't go directly up to any characters, but let him watch them from a distance-a parade, performing a show, signing kids autograph books, etc. Then maybe try a character meal. I think the Crystal Palace at MK is great with Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, and Eeyore, especially if he's watched any Pooh cartoons or if you have read him any of the books. I think they are a lot less intimidating than a giant mouse. Also, the face characters in the parks may be less scary-Mary Poppins, Snow White, Alice, etc. If all goes well, you will be left with some priceless memories and photos of your son meeting all the Disney characters. Enjoy.

 

[Pan]

By the way, I notice you are going there the exact same days we are-Feb 27 to Mar 7. Let's hope for good weather and light crowds.

 

[EaglesfanNJ]

Ok.. Next question. I am trying to figure out what his first ride should be. I am thinking Small World or Dumbo. Thoughts? Also its time to get his first hair cut but I have talked the wife into holding it off for 3 months so we can get his first hair cut there

Hey SJF, I hope you have a great time in the world with your little one, you're going to remember this forever!

We just took our daughter, 16 mo's old at the time of our trip in October! While it was a different kind of trip (can not go commando style) it was still the vacation of our lives. I would do it again in a heartbeat for sure! First things first...I would make it Dumbo for several reasons. Dumbo line is going to be much longer that small world, so get back to Fantasyland asap, and ride it. Small world moves a lot quicker anyway because of the type of ride it is.

As far as which rides we could take her on....She loved Winnie the Pooh, Dumbo, loved getting wet at Donald's Boat, Aladdin, Peter Pan. We did skip Snow White as we felt this can be a little to frightening for the young one. At DHS, absolutely make sure you hit up the Playhouse Disney show, we did this twice. It's dark, cool, and a nice place to just relax for 30 minutes. She also loved Toy Story in DHS, Nemo in Epcot, Safari in DAK.

 

[SJFPKT]

Luckily my son has literally been around mascots since he was in the womb. He has been very good when around costumed characters, so hopefully it will continue. I just wanted to thank everyone for the advice so far.

 

[tracyandalex]

my daughter will be 16 months for our trip next week. this will be her third trip. as far as characters go she loved them when we went 2 months ago so i'm hoping that will remain the same! one suggestion for the characters is a character meal, it seems ot be less intimidating. she went on all the "kiddie" rides, she was a big fan of small world and both mk parades. i do agree with attempting to keep the schedule, the days that she didn't nap she got really grouchy as the night progressed. i also recommend as others have a chance to stretch the legs. since my daughter learned to walk she hates being in the stroller all the time, she gets far too excited. we will see how that works out this time as she was not quite a good enough walker to walk last time.

 

[erasure fan1]

Thats the same age my daughter was her first trip. She loved it and we have tons of great video and pictures. Like others have said hit dumbo first and if they love it (and what kid doesnt) I would go a few times in a row because it does get crazy crowded. I would also hit peter pan early, the lines get crazy for that as well. To try and prepare her we showed her the vacation planning DVDs to show her the rides and characters so she would kind of know what to expect. It worked for her and I hope it does for my son as this will be his first trip at that same age. Just remember let them play and wander sometimes and let them rest. Good luck and have fun.

 

[krash9924]

We just got back from a trip with my 15 month old daughter. We got her hair cut for the first time at Disney and they did an amazing job. Just remember to go at your child's pace and enjoy. My daughter loved all the rides and Dumbo was the first one she did as well. She really liked Pirates! We didn't do a character meal because we weren't sure how she was going to do. But we ended up waiting in line for Mickey and she didn't want to leave him. Everything has been Mickey since we left! Another thing for us was leaving the park for a little bit. We went back to the hotel and relaxed a little. My daughter is a no sleeper and naps are even harder. She slept for maybe an hour a day in Disney but was so busy exploring and taking everything in that she didn't notice how tired she was till she fell asleep!

 

[redfive13]

We went when our daughter was 12mos old and we all had a great time. It was... magical.

Her first ride was Pirates, and she loved it!

 

[matt_taylor1985]

We took our daughter for her first time last year when she was 14 months. She loved it and there's alot more to do than you would think. The only things that we didn't do were obviously the 'big' rides. If I recall correctly, her first ride was It's A Small World.
She also seemed to really enjoy Pirates of the Caribbean. We learned the hard one on the very first day (after flying for 9 hours the preivous day) to not rush in and just do it. Once we took a step back, the whole vacation was a breeze. We're taking her back in 3 weeks when she'll be 18 months.

 

[rmkremer]

We took our daughter for her first time when she was 18 months. She loved it all, especially the princesses and she had never even seen a princess or a Disney movie before to know anything about them. My one piece of advice is to buy a baby sling, preferably one where the baby sits on you hip. This is a life (and back) saver while you are walking around the park. Our daughter would even take most of her naps in the sling as opposed to her stroller. This was the best investment we made for that trip.

 

[stlbobby]

Getting a haircut on Main Street is a magical experience for kids of all ages, see my avatar. Every time I go I try to time my haircut to coincide with my vacation, and there are always kids getting their first cuts. The cast members do a fantastic job making it a special day.

Don't forget the ride swap. On the adult rides you can wait in line as a family. Once your at the front of the line, one parent rides while the other waits with the child and then you swap. This service is even available with Fastpass if both parents have passes.

I know the focus will be on the kid, but you may just have to squeeze in Space Mountain, Everest, or Tower of Terror.

Don't forget most of the resorts have babysitting services so you can enjoy a nice date night.

 

[SJFPKT]

Well the trip was pushed back from to March 20th thru the 27th due to the wife's job and the in-laws deciding they want to join in the fun. I just want to thank everyone for the input and advice since this is my first trip as a father. I have decided on Small World being his first ride due to the fact that we will not be flying into MCO till 9:50am. The wife wants his first ride to be the wedway ppl mover (yes I know its not that anymore but it will always be to me) for some reason. Do you have to go to guest relations or where exactly do you go to get the first time visitor button? I will update and let you know how it goes but I am excited. He knows who Goofy, Daisy, icky(Mickey), Duck(Donald), Emo(Nemo), and Tigger are. So, hopefully he will be good at the Character Breakfast meals we have scheduled. Thanks again everyone