I’m planning my family’s first WDW trip for Halloween 2019. The original plan was to take DS4 (almost 5) and DS3 but leave DD11mo at home (ages at time of travel). However, DD was born a few weeks ago, and now that we’ve fallen in love with her we are considering taking her with us. It will obviously be a different trip with her joining us, but I think it would still be wonderful.
The general idea is to spend 2-3 nights at CR and visit MK, then move over to Boardwalk for 3-4 nights and visit HS and Epcot (this way we can walk to/from the parks and not have to rely on buses or Lyft). Somewhere in there we will visit AK, but our mid-day break will be in the park (hopefully DD can nap in the stroller). I’ll also be running the W&D races at the end of the trip, so the family can watch me run by the Boardwalk.
Any thoughts or advice? I’m especially interested in hearing from anyone that has taken really young ones to WDW.
We went Halloween 2018, and LOVED it so much we’re going back Halloween 2019.
I think CR is a great idea since you want to walk to MK. Boardwalk is an easy, enjoyable walk to Epcot; however, I’m not so sure it is an easy walk to HS from there. We walked from Beach Club this year over to the mini golf place and was told from there it was not advisable to walk. We ended up doing Uber and my legs were quite glad.
I have never taken a youngster that little, but people do it all the time. Disney is very family friendly, and you’ll find many rides that the baby will be able to join with you all. Utilize rider swap, and the kids and grown ups will have a blast!
Ha! We were in the same position about a year ago. We went to WDW this past November with our 3.5 y/o DD and 13 month old DS. Our original plan was to leave him with my in-laws while we were in Orlando, but then we decided that we couldn’t leave without him!
We all had a blast and were so happy we brought him! … even though the trip was different than it would have been with just our 3.5 y/o. Every kid is different, but he loved the rides and meeting characters.
Going in, we were concerned about naps because he doesn’t nap in strollers or cars and was taking 2 naps a day. We had hoped he would nap in a stroller at WDW, but it didn’t happen … too much he was interested in seeing. He surprised us, however, and was fine with just taking a 2 hour early afternoon nap at the resort. Either my wife or I brought him back to the resort for his nap after lunch and then brought him back to the parks after his nap.
We stayed at BLT so we could walk to MK so I think it is a great plan to stay at CR. We took a Minnie Van to and from AK and Epcot which worked out great (though it was pricey).
As for advice … again since every kid is different, it is hard to give advice (and 13 months is different from 11 months). That said, the most important thing is to recognize that your plans may not go exactly as you envisioned (especially with a little one).
No specific questions right now. I’ve been reading this forum obsessively for a while now, and I’ve learned a whole lot! I really just wanted to hear more success stories with taking really little ones. Thanks for your encouraging story!
The husband & I went to Orlando in May 2012 and left our (then) 10 month old at home. The trip was primarily to see WWoHP at USO with just 1 day of MK tacked on the end because the flights worked out better to stay an extra day & we didn’t think we’d want a 4th day of USO (and we were right).
In USO I never once felt guilty that I had left the 10 month old at home (he was very well cared for nay spoiled by grandma & we Facetimed him each night). When we walked onto Main St. in MK I was flooded with mom guilt and saw babies EVERYWHERE!!! And I just missed him so much. Then at midday I noticed the same thing about all the babies, they were all extremely fussy, mad and tired. So then I felt better that we didn’t expose him to the heat/humidity of Orlando (I have since learned that midday break for a nap solves this problem completely, so make sure you have that planned for the baby!)
Also since then we have become seasoned Disneyland travelers & have 3 kids (ages 7,5 and 20 months). The first Disneyland trip we took our (then) 2 kids were 23 months and 3 months old and we LOVED IT! The youngest one had his first trip to Disneyland at 2 months and we have amazing pictures & memories of him on that trip.
So bottom line: Take the baby to Disney! There is so much more for the baby to do than what he can’t do (true he can’t do mountains, but he can squeal in delight on all the spinner rides, be fascinated by the colors/movement/music of a parade, wowed by the incredible fireworks displays, and be anywhere on the range of inquisitive to elated to meet characters).
And then if you needed any further evidence… here are some pictures of the babies at Disney(land) at very young ages.
We took our DS in September of 2016 when he was just under 11 months. It was great and he is 3 now and loves to look at pictures of himself from the trip and ask when he can go back! (Answer, when his new baby brother is almost 1!)
We stayed at POFQ and rented a car so our transportation situation was great. I had tried really hard to keep our days open and go back for naps but he was great and for the 2nd half of the trip we just did full, shorter days and stroller naps. I recommend bringing a really high quality stroller from home. We took our Uppababy Vista and the basket, full recline and adjustable handlebar were necessities.
Your trip will be a little different with the older kids but our son loved all the boat rides and we saved the Rider Swap passes for naptime. We also were able to enjoy a lot of F&W while letting him play in various grassy areas. Definitely put the Boneyard at AK on your TP.
One thing perhaps to think about is the split stay. I get what you are trying to do with the easy transport, but with 3 kids you will waste a lot of time packing all their stuff and getting resettled. Plus you will have a whole day of no room and no bags. Some people swear by split stays but the thought of one with kids makes my head spin.
Hopefully the October weather will be good. That was really the only negative of our trip. I love September crowds but my poor kid was always a sweaty mess and it was hard to carry him. Our next trip is a week before yours!
I have done both - taken a little one - 12 months - and left the littlest at home to take DS8 and DS4. There are arguments for both sides - it was nice to give attention to the older ones but 7 days feels like a long time to leave your baby (even thought they will be fine). On the other hand - my DS was easier at 12 months than he was as a DS2 and DS3.
I think a longer trip like 7 days is nicer when you have such little ones - you can spread things out and go more slowly. Also - the more you can eliminate riding the bus the better. So CR and an Epcot resort will be really nice. It certainly can be fun - just make sure to have a (flexible) plan in place and go slowly.
We went in August 2018 with DD4 and DD 9mo and had a great experience! The baby was at a great age- able to enjoy looking around at all of the sights and sounds WDW had to offer, but not really mobile yet so she was happy just to be carried around or riding in the double stroller. In addition to the double stroller (a must for storage purposes, relief from sun, and hopefully naps- I would suggest getting one that reclines fully) we used an infant carrier quite a bit. It was nice to have while waiting in lines and when walking through stores, pavilions, etc. Although this is overkill, we had our daughter “practice” sleeping in the stroller prior to our trip so we knew that she could sleep in it if needed.
We did our best to avoid bus transportation. The monorail and the ferry were great options because you can just roll the stroller right on without folding it up. On our AK day, we got a Minnie Van to/from the park- VERY fast and great experience for us. We took a midday break each day (except for AK day- we did stroller nap but still didn’t make it past early afternoon). If you skip the midday break I would suggest not making huge or important dinner reservations on those days- a nap in the stroller just isn’t the same as a nap of a few hours long in a quiet room.
Grocery delivery to our hotel was helpful- we had snacks and quick breakfast/lunch options delivered so the baby was able to eat like she did at home (at least 2x/day) versus eating theme park/quick service foods. It also allowed us to bring something small (like Cheerios) to table service dinners to hold her off until her meal arrived at the restaurant.
Hope you decide to go for it- just watching her reactions to everything will make it worthwhile!
Yes, stayed at the Poly. We were willing to pay more in order to have transportation options- I was terrified of being stuck waiting for a bus with a screaming infant. We did skip DHS because there was not much DD4 was into at that point minus Toy Story Land- and that opened 2 months prior to our trip so we decided it would be too busy for us. Maybe next time!
