Traveling with 5mo. old

[rjwalter]

Hi all,

In March my family and I will be heading to the world and we will be bringing my at the time 5 month old son. My question is has anyone ever travelled with a small infant and what do you bring. Do you bring your own stroller, car seat etc.

We'll be flying with him as a lap child and taking the Magical Express to our resort.

Thanks for any tips/advice you can give me.

 

[mousebymarriage]

I have traveled with both my kids when they were 6 months old and really had no problems. My DD was a lap child and the flight went fine I just made sure she had a bottle or pacifier on take off and landing, the su*king /swallowing helps stop their ears from hurting, she slept most of the way. My DS had his own seat, in his car seat of course and again he had no problems. I would only bring along a carseat if you are planning on renting a car during your stay otherwise you won't need it, because you can't use them on the buses. I always brought my own stroller because the Disney ones are hard plastic and DO NOT recline at all so they really aren't good for infants. The "cribs" at many of the resorts are pack n' play type and I always bring my own sheets for them and blankets (2 of each because leaks happen and usually in the middle of the night). I bring my own crib items because they smell and feel familiar to the baby plus the resorts items are washed with a commercial strength detergent and can be harsh for little ones skin. Please bring sunscreen (ask your Dr. which one is best), and extra pacifiers are a must if your baby uses them. A bottle/nipple brush is vital if you bottle feed and if your baby uses special formula or even regular formula you may want to contact the formula company and have it shipped down . I did that with my kids. A sunhat is also a good idea for baby and I always brought a beach towel to the parks with me, it was a great way to cover the carriage when the baby was napping. Also, a light weight jacket is a must even in the summer because the airconditioner inside some restuarants and attractions can be cold. March weather can be weird so pack items for warm weather and some for a little cooler temps. Remember to pack infant Tylenol and something for gas like Mylicon, just in case. You'll have a great time so don't worry!

 

[H20Babie]

Hey there,

I've travelled with my DS when he was 6 months to WDW.

As for the stroller, bring your own. The strollers that you can rent at Disney are made of a very hard plastic, not suitable to an infant at all. When you check your luggage, you will receive a gate check tag for your stroller. You can then take your stroller right up to the plane, and they will check it there. When you deplane, the stroller will be waiting for you as soon as you step off. Magical Express will store the stroller under the bus for you so that as soon as you are at the resort, the stroller will be availabe to you.

As for the car seat, if you're not renting a car, don't bother. There are no seatbelts or anchors to hold it in place on either the Magical Express buses or the Disney transportation buses, monorails or ferries. Also, bringing your own stroller means that you can use it everywhere in the world, from monorails and ferries to the resorts and parks themselves, without having to return it to the rental before leaving a park. Bring the sunshade for your stroller if it came with one.

We also checked as part of our luggage our pack-n-play, and baby carrier. We had a carrier that went onto our backs like a backpack. What was wonderful about it was that when you took it off, it converted into a baby chair.

Take all the necessities you'll need (hat, baby sunscreen, bibs, extra clothes, bottles, brushes.) I even packed a small kettle to boil water in the room for sterilization and warming up bottles. At 5 months, if your child can hold a sippy cup, that's not a bad idea either, and have him or her drink plenty of water.

Other than that, have a great time! :sohappy:

If you have any other questions, feel free to PM me.

 

[ljs1691]

You are sure to get lots of opinions around here so here is mine for what it is worth. :animwink:

We took our 6 month old son last November and we took his car seat that fit onto his stroller. It made naps easier since he didn't mind sleeping in his car seat. At this age, having things that are familiar around are key. We did use the resort pack-n-play so we didn't have to bring one. It was clean and unbelievably my son didn't seem to be bothered not being in his own bed.

Be prepared to experience the world in a new way though. You MUST be prepared to slow your pace and NOT get too worried if you have to make unexpected pit stops throughout the day. We didn't get everything done we wanted to but we didn't go in with unrealistic expectations either.

Diapers and baby food are available in the baby care centers but it is rather pricey so pack plenty.

Just listen to your little ones needs as you go and you should be fine. By 5 months, you know what all those cries and screams mean.

I will say though that dh and I have decided our next trip will be without our three kids. :lol:

Edit: We also took a rain cover for our stroller. We used it several times during our trip.

 

[shawn]

just be sure to understand ahead of time that this experience will be different than your other, not bad just different. Being with babies has made me appreciate the world so much more because I have slowed down and enjoyed what we do more and have done different things. I do not feel like I have to get everything done on a trip now. It is so much more enjoyable to slow down and take it all in. If I have to spend more time at the hotel for naps or to unwind we just stay at a nicer resort and enjoy all of the amenities. HAve fun and enjoy don't try to do to much bacause then you won't have fun and may be miserable and spoil you vacation.

 

[rjwalter]

Thanks for the tips! Those are some good things to think about. Also as far as recreation goes we're planning on just going down to relax. Not sure how much time we will actually spend at the parks. Is there even any rides that a baby that young can go on??

 

[coltow]

Hi all,

In March my family and I will be heading to the world and we will be bringing my at the time 5 month old son. My question is has anyone ever travelled with a small infant and what do you bring. Do you bring your own stroller, car seat etc.

We'll be flying with him as a lap child and taking the Magical Express to our resort.

Thanks for any tips/advice you can give me.

Don't bother with the car seat if you're not renting a car. Absolutley bring your own stroller. You will also need to bring ALL your own baby supplies. They are very expensive at the resort. You can always ship a package down before hand with diapers, wipes, etc so as to not take up so much space in your luggage. Our rule of thumb is to plan to have anough of everything for at least 2 more days than we think is needed, just in case.

 

[MichWolv]

Thanks for the tips! Those are some good things to think about. Also as far as recreation goes we're planning on just going down to relax. Not sure how much time we will actually spend at the parks. Is there even any rides that a baby that young can go on??

My son's first trip was when he was 8 months old. We took him in and on everything that we could carry him on, and that was a lot. Of course, it's not like he know what was going on, so we just went on what we wanted to ride. Some examples...

MK -- TTA, Buzz, Timekeeper, Peter Pan, Small World, PotC, Pooh, Philharmagic

Epcot -- Spaceship Earth, Living with the Land, El Rio de Tiempo, American Adventure, Canada, Impressions de France, JIYI

Everything we wanted to ride that we couldn't carry him on, we just did the baby swap, which works quite well. Got some cute character pictures, of course, as well.

 

[rjwalter]

Don't bother with the car seat if you're not renting a car. Absolutley bring your own stroller. You will also need to bring ALL your own baby supplies. They are very expensive at the resort. You can always ship a package down before hand with diapers, wipes, etc so as to not take up so much space in your luggage. Our rule of thumb is to plan to have anough of everything for at least 2 more days than we think is needed, just in case.

How does this work? I mean will the resort hold your package if it gets there before you do? Should you notify them in advance your sending a package?

 

[DisneyJoe]

How long is your flight?

My preference is to get a seat for the baby and bring its car seat to use on the plane - both of you will be much more comfortable on the flight.

If the car seat/carrier fits into the stroller, as well as being FAA approved, all the better.

 

[DisneyWood]

Hi all,

In March my family and I will be heading to the world and we will be bringing my at the time 5 month old son. My question is has anyone ever travelled with a small infant and what do you bring. Do you bring your own stroller, car seat etc.

We'll be flying with him as a lap child and taking the Magical Express to our resort.

Thanks for any tips/advice you can give me.

I have traveled w/ 2 children under the age of 2 (6 month old & 19 month old) as well as my 4 year old. Anyways, I would take a stroller for the airport. It would make it a lot easier. You really don't need anything for the DME, or the transportation once you arrive @ WDW.

Take a few things that make your child comfortable, which makes your life a little easier.

Have a great trip.

 

[psdisney]

Please post how your trip went after you get back and what you felt you needed/didn't need. My husband and I will be going in November '08 with a 5/6 month old (our first!!) so any advice will be good advice. We'll also be going with 10 other family members so I'm sure that will help!!!

 

[coltow]

How does this work? I mean will the resort hold your package if it gets there before you do? Should you notify them in advance your sending a package?

This is something I have not yet tried, but plan to on the next trip. I read about it here so if you do a search you ought to be able to find out how it exactly works. DS will be 18 mos when we go, when other DS went at 22 mos our suitcase was over the 50lbs limit, so to not have that happen again, we will ship diapers, swim diapers, wipes, granola & cereal bars down ahead of time.

 

[TurboCaroline]

My son's first trip was when he was 8 months old. We took him in and on everything that we could carry him on, and that was a lot. Of course, it's not like he know what was going on, so we just went on what we wanted to ride. Some examples...

MK -- TTA, Buzz, Timekeeper, Peter Pan, Small World, PotC, Pooh, Philharmagic

Epcot -- Spaceship Earth, Living with the Land, El Rio de Tiempo, American Adventure, Canada, Impressions de France, JIYI

Everything we wanted to ride that we couldn't carry him on, we just did the baby swap, which works quite well. Got some cute character pictures, of course, as well.

Timekeeper isn't there anymore but you can bring your baby into the Monster's Inc Laugh Floor...