Traveling with a 10 month old

[bamafan64]

I am a new member but have been to Disney many times. I am going in 10 days for the first time with a 10 month old. We will be staying in a preferred room at CBR. I would love some advice on anything that might make this trip even better. I believe my wife, my 7 year old, my 10 month old and I can ride many of the rides together. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Also I know Disney has strollers. Do they have the kind suited for a 10 month old or should I bring one from home and if so what kind?

Thanks!1

 

[Kadee]

Wow!!! You are brave!!! I've never been to WDW with a small child (my daughter was 8 on her 1st trip), but I do wish you luck and COOL WEATHER. The best advice I can give you is to take breaks!!!! They do have strollers but they are about $10 (or more) a day to rent. You may want to bring your own just so your baby is comfy. And I hate to tell you that there will be many things your baby cannot ride but your older child can. THey do have the "child swap" thing where you and your older can ride while your spouse holds the baby, then you swap and your spouse and older child ride while you hold the baby. I hope this helps.

 

[Ringo8n24]

We went with an 18 month old staying at WL and had a great time even though many family and friends criticized us for it. She did fine. We rented their strollers and had no problem. We were never able to ride many of our favorite rides together...having to do switch offs or single rider lines. We still very much enjoyed ourselves. We had to go back to the room each day to let her take a good nap, then we were off again. She asks everyday when she is going back. She is now 2-1/2 and knows she is going back to see Mickey in September.

 

[DisneyPhD]

Hi there, best of luck to you. We went when DD was 9 months, 23 months, and 2 more times before she turned 3. (for a total of 4 trips before she was 3 years old, with another to Vero Beach after she was 3.) She is a full WDW expert now and can tell you anything about the place. She even remembers things about her 2nd trip when she was under 2 years old. (not the 9 month old one.) Our next trip March 2005 we will have a 7 month old too (who should be born ANY DAY NOW !!! :hammer: I hope :sohappy: )

1st look at some of the link threads at the bottom of the page, they have some good advice.

Bring your own stroller. One you are comfortable with, the folds down small (for the bus) and has a canapy, basket and reclines for naps (we like our combi travel savy DX, about 60 at www.strollers4less.com) but there are other cheap ones out there that work great too. You will need a rain cover for the stoller too (don't go with out one trust me). They are around 10$ in a pinch a poncho will do, but the cover is better and venalated. Nothing worse then a wet stroller.) Keep it on when you go into atractions if there is the slightest chance of rain. Keep yourself and baby well hydrated use lots of sun screen.

2nd go back to the room when you feel you need it, and the baby does. (even though they can nap almost anywhere at that age, a good real mid day nap does wonders.) As you will always do, make sure to go acourding to baby's needs and scdule and you should be fine. Consider a baby carrier too when they are not in the stroller. Bring your own swim dipears, they can be pricey at WDW. Baby care centers sell dipers and food, but bring your own or stop at the store, it will save you money. If mom is still nursing, keep it up for the trip, it is much easier then dealing with bottles and formula. If you do formula, be sure to use bottled water, the water at WDW is nasty! Bring a soft cooler to the park with water in it and other snacks, hang it off the stoller.

While the trip will be very differnt with a baby, you will still have a great time and Disney can be a great place for familes. The baby care centers in each park are good resources, they have chaning centers in evey bathroom in the park and nice places to sit and have a rest.

Don't pay any attention to people who don't have kids that ask why you are taking a young one with you. While I love my friends and family at WDWMagic, this board is well known for non parents questioning why parents bring young children, so ingore those posts (if they happen.) Ignore it from friends and families too. Parents need vacations also and WDW is a great place for one.

Another great resource for familes is www.disboards.com look under the family forem. Many, many threads always going on this topic with lots of good advice. Do a search here too, there has been many recently.

Good luck and have a great time and take lots of pictures. With any luck my 2nd child will be here before you get to WDW!

 

[ScrapIron]

Here's another resource:

http://www.mouseplanet.com/dtp/wdwguide/wdw_with_kids_index.htm

I went with my son to Disneyland at 2 years with a 10 year old neice. Beyond taking a break, a must, my biggest piece of advice is that the only reason to do this is is to have it be enjoyable for the 10 mo. old, and that means doing almost everything from his/her point of view. By that, for instance, I mean recognize the fact that to a child that age, a bug crawling in the bushes outside the bathroom right now is as good as a ride on the other side of the park. Therefore, an understanding 7 year old is also crucial. You can certainly make opportunities for your interests with baby swap, one parent leaving for the hotel break an hour or 2 before the other parent so he/she and the older child can do things unsuitable for the 10 Mo old, etc. as well, but you'll likely see more of Dumbo than Space Mtn. When you do a baby swap, the older child will be able to ride with both of you, and you are correct that there are many things you can do together. In fact, some things that frighten older kids don't phase younger ones because often they don't know that the old lady in Snow White is actually a scary witch having no understnding of legends and mythology. That can, of course, go both ways. Remember, to us he's a beloved icon, but to a small child he's A SIX FOOT RAT!!!

I never thought I'd take a kid that young, but I did, and by having the above attitude, it was a trip that created great memories. Cheers.

 

[Laura]

Hello! We just returned from a week at Disney with a 12 month old.

It was a lot of work, but we also had a 2 year old with us. Had it just been the 12 month old things would have been easier.

I would recommend you bring your own stroller. There's a lot of walking to do everywhere you go. We used ours even to wheel the kids from the car to our hotel room, because that was a long walk in itself.

Make sure you get a stroller with plenty of storage room, cupholders, and make sure it reclines. You'll also want a canopy on top to block your baby from the rain/sun. And get one that is easy to fold and unfold for riding on trams/busses/monorails/etc.

Most of the rides you'll be able to ride with the baby. There's only a handful in all of Disney that have height requirements. That for us was really nice.

I would also recommend having sit down meals where someone else serves you because it will give you a chance to sit down and take a breather, because it is definitely tiring to do Disney AND take care of a baby.

Also remember that you can't bring the stroller through any of the lines (except Kilamanjaro Safaris, The Living Seas, and Tough to be a Bug) so what my husband and I did was put all our valuables in my camera bag, and we also had a backpack for baby supplies and whenever we had to take the kids out of the stroller we'd just leave the backpack in the stroller and bring the camera bag through the line. We figured no one would care about stealing bottles, diapers, formula, etc. and they didn't. It was much easier than having to carry all our stuff AND the kids through the lines.