Taking a 1 yr old!

[accord99cutie]

I have been searching Youtube for some videos of 1 year old children at Disney World. We are taking our daughter who will be 6, and our son who will be JUST over 1 yr in September, and I really want to watch some videos of 1 yr olds enjoying the World! If anyone has been with a 1 yr old, or has seen some good video of a 1 yr old please send me a link to some vids, or tell me some stories! I am sooo excited to be taking him with us, but I am very curious how his reactions to characters, rides, and dining locations will be!!

 

[AEfx]

It's going to totally depend on your kid.

Some kids jump right into characters arms, and love everything. Others at the same age see one thing they don't like and become a crying, terrified mess every time they see someone in a costume.

Personally I wouldn't bring a 1-year old to WDW because of that factor, as well as the logistical issues - you'll be doing a lot of splitting up because the 6-year old will want to go on rides the 1-year old cannot, so one parent will have to wait with them, etc., and the fact they aren't really old enough to remember or identify WDW any more than if you took them to the local mall. However, only you know the temperament of your child and your family, so only you would know what is best for you.

 

[ela06110]

I just took my 13 month old to Animal Kingdom a few weeks ago. I though for sure he would be scared of the characters but he was in love! I couldn't get him to look at the camera because he was so into the characters, giving kisses, hugs holding their hands ect. The rides he wasn't that into but we still had a great time!

 

[docdebbi]

we took my grandson at 10 months last year. LOVED the characters. of course, he had no idea who or what the characters were...but they were very visually appealing to him.
but be sure to carry him up to them, from eye level they're interesting, from ground level they are intimidating.
he loved things that were visually interesting, like small world (NOT his mother's favorite, but we did it 4 times!), and journey into imagination (another not adult favorite in this house). but he loved them.
more importantly, i let him find dirt and play in it while his parents (for you it will be the 6 year old) were on other rides and he had as much fun there as on the rides. just remember to let a baby be a baby and don't expect them to enjoy that it's disneyworld, just let them enjoy what is in front of them, that's what babies do everyday anyway.

 

[bmarkelon]

Just be sure to be super excited, big smiles for the characters, at that age they definitely vibe off of you. But like someone said, all little ones are different. Both of mine loved the characters and we had some great moments we will cherish and remember always. My oldest was 14 months her first trip, the next little monkey was 11 months. Our most recent trip with the newest little one was our 7 month baby girl. She was hysterical, and loved the characters too.
The funny thing is that on my oldest's 2nd trip she was 3 and hid under the table at the our first Chef Mickey's meal. By the 3rd character meal she was fine.
I don't think it hurts to get them familiar with the characters, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, stuffed animals. My middle guy's first word was "Mickey", so he was pumped to see him.
As far as rides they are pretty easy that little because they don't quite grasp the scary concepts yet. We had one that got a little upset in the Haunted Mansion because of the stretch of darkness but otherwise handled it great. Pooh Bear, Small World, Nemo are all great....lots for them to look at. But you can still pul off Pirates, Jungle Cruise, Snow White, etc.....the ones that they might be too scary their next trip.
I get longwinded on trip advice with little ones, sorry! Feel free to send any questions my way, happy to help!

 

[graphite1326]

It's going to totally depend on your kid.

Some kids jump right into characters arms, and love everything. Others at the same age see one thing they don't like and become a crying, terrified mess every time they see someone in a costume.

Personally I wouldn't bring a 1-year old to WDW because of that factor, as well as the logistical issues - you'll be doing a lot of splitting up because the 6-year old will want to go on rides the 1-year old cannot, so one parent will have to wait with them, etc., and the fact they aren't really old enough to remember or identify WDW any more than if you took them to the local mall. However, only you know the temperament of your child and your family, so only you would know what is best for you.

I have to agree with this. I waited untill my youngest was 6 before we went. And there were still rides he couldn't go on, which in our case meant we missed alot. But that meant we had to go again 2 years later when he was tall enough to go on all the rides. So you could look at it that way; it gives you an excuse to go back in a few years, and a few years after tat, and after that , etc...............

Not change the subject; but when do children start remembering? My parents took me to the 1964 World Fair in NYC when I was 6. I only remember a few things; Small World, COP, a statue by Michealangelo, and getting a hat with my name sewn on it. Other than that I don't remember a thing about it.

 

[bmarkelon]

I have to agree with this. I waited untill my youngest was 6 before we went. And there were still rides he couldn't go on, which in our case meant we missed alot. But that meant we had to go again 2 years later when he was tall enough to go on all the rides. So you could look at it that way; it gives you an excuse to go back in a few years, and a few years after tat, and after that , etc...............

Not change the subject; but when do children start remembering? My parents took me to the 1964 World Fair in NYC when I was 6. I only remember a few things; Small World, COP, a statue by Michealangelo, and getting a hat with my name sewn on it. Other than that I don't remember a thing about it.

My daughter does not remember much from her trip when she was three but really started remembering from her trip at 4 and on.

 

[loveofamouse]

depends on your kid. My oldest has been going since she was about 2. My son has been going since about 11m. My youngest went to her first theme park at 2months old. My kids love it and always have. When they were babies, they were entertained by chaaracters. Parades usually put them to sleep. We didn't have to go back to the hotel room for naps. They were completely fine to take 2hr naps in their strollers.

As for remembering, my kids have always known disney. They may not have exact memories but, even when they were 2/3 they got excited as soon as I mentioned disney and knew what it meant. The thing is, though, their memories are shorter so, at the age of 3, a child may have a memory from when they are 2.(think about relatives and whatnot) but, by the time they are 4, they may not remember the exact memory from when they were 2 but the situation is "familiar."

 

[Mori Anne]

I took my son at 1 years old. He did fine! He napped in his stroller, he enjoyed the scenery, he had a great time. Yes, he got fussy at times, and yes the characters scared him, but missing the character greets was fine with me, and he would have gotten fussy no matter where we were. We rode everything we wanted to, and for those rides he wasn't able to go on, we just did a child swap.

He doesn't remember his first trip (now he is 6), but you betcha I got some great photos, and I have my own memories of it that I will keep forever!!

 

[accord99cutie]

I took my son at 1 years old. He did fine! He napped in his stroller, he enjoyed the scenery, he had a great time. Yes, he got fussy at times, and yes the characters scared him, but missing the character greets was fine with me, and he would have gotten fussy no matter where we were. We rode everything we wanted to, and for those rides he wasn't able to go on, we just did a child swap.

He doesn't remember his first trip (now he is 6), but you betcha I got some great photos, and I have my own memories of it that I will keep forever!!

I really am soo excited to have him with us! I'm pretty sure we would all miss him too much to leave him behind! I am well aware that he wont remember the trip, DH, DD and I will!!

 

[accord99cutie]

Just be sure to be super excited, big smiles for the characters, at that age they definitely vibe off of you. But like someone said, all little ones are different. Both of mine loved the characters and we had some great moments we will cherish and remember always. My oldest was 14 months her first trip, the next little monkey was 11 months. Our most recent trip with the newest little one was our 7 month baby girl. She was hysterical, and loved the characters too.
The funny thing is that on my oldest's 2nd trip she was 3 and hid under the table at the our first Chef Mickey's meal. By the 3rd character meal she was fine.
I don't think it hurts to get them familiar with the characters, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, stuffed animals. My middle guy's first word was "Mickey", so he was pumped to see him.
As far as rides they are pretty easy that little because they don't quite grasp the scary concepts yet. We had one that got a little upset in the Haunted Mansion because of the stretch of darkness but otherwise handled it great. Pooh Bear, Small World, Nemo are all great....lots for them to look at. But you can still pul off Pirates, Jungle Cruise, Snow White, etc.....the ones that they might be too scary their next trip.
I get longwinded on trip advice with little ones, sorry! Feel free to send any questions my way, happy to help!

I love all the advice! If you have any other tips/tricks feel free to share them all! I don't mind :lol:

 

[bmarkelon]

I have a photo of watch of my 3 grabbing character noses on their first trip. My DS who was 11 months his first trip fell in love with Lilo, so funny my flirty little guy. My latest trip with the 7 month old, she was making out with Donald Duck, pretty much teething on his duck bill, kinda gross but hilarious moment.
Where are you guys staying? I would definitely recommend the Garden Grocer, groceries delivered to your resort! Love it!
Like ethers have said the best thing you can do for a smooth trip is to plan you daily schedule around the little one. Breakfast/parks in the morning, head back for some downtime/nap after a few hours. Pool time for the older sibling. And we always judged moods through dinner to determine whether they could handle parks again and never pushed them to do the full day everyday. They are wiped out just from parks in the morning and pool in the afternoon.