Going with Baby??

[lhafer]

New here!

I have a just-turned-4-year-old, and 1 month old. I would love to go to Disney before my 4 year old starts school next fall (she will be 5 1/2 years old). So that pretty much leaves this fall and next spring to go. I would like to avoid holidays and the summer as much as possible (better weather, and cheaper to go!).

That being said, would it even be worth the trip (we live in Texas) to go with such a young baby?? So that means flying a family of 4 (baby would be on a lap) or driving a 2 day drive. We would not leave the baby with family and take the older one. We do have our best friends who have a 3 1/2 year old and a 1 week old, so our children are approx. the same age. They are interested in going to Disney soon too, and have questions about going with a small baby as well.

What do you all recommend? And what is the best time of the year to go? I should also say that I do not like rides. My husband and daughter love them. So I would not feel left out having to wait and watch them ride rides while watching the baby.

[mnosky1]

Well you don't really go for the baby of course but if you're taking a baby on a vacation, Disney is a good option because it is so kid-friendly. My DD went when she was 4 mos and I was shocked how well she did and that she seemed to actually like things - people, lights, rides, etc. You can even take a baby on lots of rides (winnie the pooh, peter pan, small world, pirates, haunted mansion and lots others).

[LD92599]

We're going in November and will have a ~ 4 month old with us along w/ DS who will be 7 1/2. I have no idea what to expect, though we did take DS to WDW and DCL when he was 7 months. I figure at 4 months he wasn't on a regular nap schedule, etc so much easier to shuttle around!

[egoldber]

I'm a little confused. Do you mean fall 2010 or fall 2011? Going with a 9 month old is quite different than going with a 21 month old.

[lhafer]

I mean going this fall (2010), so the baby would be 9 months old, and my oldest would be 4.5 years old. If we waited til the spring (2011) then, I would have a 1 year old and a 5 year old.

Fall 2011, my oldest will have started kindergarden. I was trying to decide if going before then would be feasible. Well, I know it's feasible - but would it be worth the hassle??

[cntrymoon2]

We just took our 4.5 month old to Animal Kingdom for a half day. It's a little different then your situation, because we live near Disney and hubby works for them (free admission), so we weren't worried about getting our money's worth out of an admission ticket. Like others have said, even though there are things that will grab a baby's attention, you are mostly going for the older children. I do think it's very feasible to do Disney with an infant- it was way easier than I thought it would be. We discovered the Baby Care Center, there is one at each park. The one at Animal Kingdom is BEAUTIFUL- it has a play room with toys and chairs and movies running for the older siblings, a huge room full of changing tables, two private nursing rooms with cushy gliders and dim lights, microwaves, sinks, bottle warmers, filtered water, high chairs...the works. We spent a good chunk of our day in there, nursing and helping DD go down for a nap. We also walked around, watched the parade while she slept, and took the train over to the petting zoo. She did great, and did enjoy the sights and sounds. If you are able to stay on property, you would have easy access back to the room for extended naps. If your baby naps well in the stroller, you'd be good to go all day- because the baby care center really makes feeding and changing super simple. P.S. I am a GERMAPHOBE (our daughter is a preemie) and was really worried about Disney germs everywhere, but it was fine! The baby care center is SPOTLESS, and our baby just stayed in the stroller all day, so it was really easy to control germs. Just thought I'd throw that in there in case you're worried about exposing a baby to Disney.

[lhafer]

We just took our 4.5 month old to Animal Kingdom for a half day. It's a little different then your situation, because we live near Disney and hubby works for them (free admission), so we weren't worried about getting our money's worth out of an admission ticket. Like others have said, even though there are things that will grab a baby's attention, you are mostly going for the older children. I do think it's very feasible to do Disney with an infant- it was way easier than I thought it would be. We discovered the Baby Care Center, there is one at each park. The one at Animal Kingdom is BEAUTIFUL- it has a play room with toys and chairs and movies running for the older siblings, a huge room full of changing tables, two private nursing rooms with cushy gliders and dim lights, microwaves, sinks, bottle warmers, filtered water, high chairs...the works. We spent a good chunk of our day in there, nursing and helping DD go down for a nap. We also walked around, watched the parade while she slept, and took the train over to the petting zoo. She did great, and did enjoy the sights and sounds. If you are able to stay on property, you would have easy access back to the room for extended naps. If your baby naps well in the stroller, you'd be good to go all day- because the baby care center really makes feeding and changing super simple. P.S. I am a GERMAPHOBE (our daughter is a preemie) and was really worried about Disney germs everywhere, but it was fine! The baby care center is SPOTLESS, and our baby just stayed in the stroller all day, so it was really easy to control germs. Just thought I'd throw that in there in case you're worried about exposing a baby to Disney.

Thanks - this makes me feel better about taking a baby!! Personally I think it would be easier (for the most part) to take a baby vs taking a mobile, wanting to walk every where and get into everything 1.5 year old. But we'll see what happens.

For those who have gone with infants - where do you recommend staying on the park grounds? I was thinking about Animal Kingdom (for the older child).

[kdeunc]

We went when DD was 4 months old. It was about an 11 hour car ride. She was fantastic. Seemed to really enjoy herself. As long as we nursed when she was ready she was good to go! :) I say go and have a wonderful time!

[fivi2]

I just wanted to say that I would definitely fly from Texas instead of driving. Depending where you are in Texas, you should be able to find direct flights either on Southwest or Jetblue - about 2.5 hours (ish) vs. 2 long days in the car. We have driven to the Florida panhandle and it was a long, long drive, and we weren't even all the way to Orlando yet. (we are in central Texas).

[elektra]

I can only speak to the experiences in the actual park as I have only been to Disneyland for day trips with my kids. We just took 10 month old DS (along with 3 yo DD) and it was great. You can hold them in your lap on almost all of the DL rides. He just napped in the stroller or in the sling which I use for the lines.