The13thLetter
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2018
Hey everyone,
I have been meaning to post this since we returned almost a month ago (and touched on it briefly in my just returned home post) but our trip in September was our son's first to Disney and on an airplane (we live in NY) and he was 20 weeks old at the time. I wanted to post a little something sharing our experience and to let other new parents know that it is not as scary as you may think.
Now obviously this will all depend on your little one so YMMV, but here were a few things I wanted to share:
We flew at night both directions, right around the time of his last bottle and fed him during takeoff. He fell asleep at the end of the bottle, we put him in his car seat (we bought him a ticket so we had the whole side of the plane and someone else wouldn't be stuck with us if he was not having it) and he slept the rest of the flight.
That night he slept in the pack and play that French Quarter provided in the main part of our room and since it was late we all went to sleep. EDIT: The rest of the nights, it would be 830/9 and my wife and I were not ready for bed. What we ended up doing that worked unbelievably and it may depend on what resort you are staying in (i think a lot of the resorts have this option), but we put the pack and play by the bathroom sinks/dressing area, pulled the blackout curtain across (some have sliding doors), and turned on his sound machine. We were then able to turn the lights on in the main part of our room, watch some tv (low volume still haha) and eat dinner while he was down for sleep.
Each day was a little bit different as we tried several things to see which worked best for us. So some days we went to the park late morning, took a small break (like on the boardwalk as we went between HS and Epcot) then continued at the park until it was close to his bedtime. Other days we went to the park quite early, then came back to the resort for a swim and a nap, and went back to the park, staying a bit passed his bedtime (for these days we actually changed him into his PJs at the park and fed him his last bottle and let him relax in the stroller). Both seemed to work but I think the break in the middle of the day was slightly better because it was very hot that week, so going to the pool and hotel room got us recharged for the evening.
We were always back to the hotel though before fireworks or night time shows (even though we had bought him little headphones to guard his ears) because he was definitely ready for bed by 8/830. This I will say was probably the only real thing I felt we missed out on.
As I mentioned in my other post, the child care centers are amazing. We used them all several times; to change him, feed him, get some cool air, or just sit down. Some are better than others, but overall they make things so much easier.
So now to the questions that all of our non-Disney friends asked, "why would you bring him that young?", "He is not going to remember the trip", "this is really just a trip for you guys right?" I will answer them like this. I went as a child at various ages, some you would think I should have been old enough to remember but I don't. I also do not remember everything about trips I have taken in my teens or even 20's (thank you very much college) but I do remember that those trips were awesome and I definitely enjoyed them in the moments I was living them. I know it sometimes is important to remember your trip, but a lot of the time it is even more important to enjoy the trip in the moments that are happening then and there, and that is what we did.
Seeing him explore the characters hands and faces, our picture from frozen ever after, seeing his eyes open wide on its a small world, are all worth it even though he wont remember it.
And I know this may sound a bit crazy, and maybe he was just in one of those wonder weeks after we got back, but I swear he was a completely different baby when we got back. More interactive, more curious about his surroundings, just little things like that. I have no scientific proof that the trip contributed to it but I like to think in my mind that it did.
Anyway, I have rambled for a longgggg time, my apologies.
TL;DR - Don't be afraid to bring your infants to Disney. They may not remember it, but you and the rest of your family sure will.
Thanks!!
EDIT - Some questions below made me think of a few more things to include in this first post:
One thing I will warn you about is that not all bathrooms have changing "tables", some have like a changing counter area (and some men's rooms did not even have that). The counters worked well but my wife and I did not even notice them because we were looking for traditional pull down changing tables so I just want to mention that. We also tried to use the "family" bathrooms as much as possible but surprisingly not all of those had changing tables either. It really wasn't a problem overall but just figured I would mention it.
Also infants can go on any ride that does not have a height requirement which is surprisingly large amount, especially at MK, so make sure you check the list out so you know which ones. And they have rider swap for a lot of the bigger rides, so if you can't get a fastpass but don't want to wait 2 full separate times (we went just the 3 of us) to go on splash mountain individually for example, go up to the entrance and let them know you are doing rider swap. They will let one of you get on the line, then give the other a fastpass to go right on after the first one finishes.
Baby Center Locations:
HS - As soon as you enter the park on your left near guest services.
MK - Right between Casey's and Crystal Palace
Epcot - This is a little harder to describe but it you walk out of the Mexico Pavilion Aztec Temple, make a right and start walking, you then make a right down a side path and its on the right side of that building that used to have the craft beers for food and wine (if you are familiar with that). This is the best way I can describe it unfortunately haha.
AK - It is next to Creature Comforts
I have been meaning to post this since we returned almost a month ago (and touched on it briefly in my just returned home post) but our trip in September was our son's first to Disney and on an airplane (we live in NY) and he was 20 weeks old at the time. I wanted to post a little something sharing our experience and to let other new parents know that it is not as scary as you may think.
Now obviously this will all depend on your little one so YMMV, but here were a few things I wanted to share:
We flew at night both directions, right around the time of his last bottle and fed him during takeoff. He fell asleep at the end of the bottle, we put him in his car seat (we bought him a ticket so we had the whole side of the plane and someone else wouldn't be stuck with us if he was not having it) and he slept the rest of the flight.
That night he slept in the pack and play that French Quarter provided in the main part of our room and since it was late we all went to sleep. EDIT: The rest of the nights, it would be 830/9 and my wife and I were not ready for bed. What we ended up doing that worked unbelievably and it may depend on what resort you are staying in (i think a lot of the resorts have this option), but we put the pack and play by the bathroom sinks/dressing area, pulled the blackout curtain across (some have sliding doors), and turned on his sound machine. We were then able to turn the lights on in the main part of our room, watch some tv (low volume still haha) and eat dinner while he was down for sleep.
Each day was a little bit different as we tried several things to see which worked best for us. So some days we went to the park late morning, took a small break (like on the boardwalk as we went between HS and Epcot) then continued at the park until it was close to his bedtime. Other days we went to the park quite early, then came back to the resort for a swim and a nap, and went back to the park, staying a bit passed his bedtime (for these days we actually changed him into his PJs at the park and fed him his last bottle and let him relax in the stroller). Both seemed to work but I think the break in the middle of the day was slightly better because it was very hot that week, so going to the pool and hotel room got us recharged for the evening.
We were always back to the hotel though before fireworks or night time shows (even though we had bought him little headphones to guard his ears) because he was definitely ready for bed by 8/830. This I will say was probably the only real thing I felt we missed out on.
As I mentioned in my other post, the child care centers are amazing. We used them all several times; to change him, feed him, get some cool air, or just sit down. Some are better than others, but overall they make things so much easier.
So now to the questions that all of our non-Disney friends asked, "why would you bring him that young?", "He is not going to remember the trip", "this is really just a trip for you guys right?" I will answer them like this. I went as a child at various ages, some you would think I should have been old enough to remember but I don't. I also do not remember everything about trips I have taken in my teens or even 20's (thank you very much college) but I do remember that those trips were awesome and I definitely enjoyed them in the moments I was living them. I know it sometimes is important to remember your trip, but a lot of the time it is even more important to enjoy the trip in the moments that are happening then and there, and that is what we did.
Seeing him explore the characters hands and faces, our picture from frozen ever after, seeing his eyes open wide on its a small world, are all worth it even though he wont remember it.
And I know this may sound a bit crazy, and maybe he was just in one of those wonder weeks after we got back, but I swear he was a completely different baby when we got back. More interactive, more curious about his surroundings, just little things like that. I have no scientific proof that the trip contributed to it but I like to think in my mind that it did.
Anyway, I have rambled for a longgggg time, my apologies.
TL;DR - Don't be afraid to bring your infants to Disney. They may not remember it, but you and the rest of your family sure will.
Thanks!!
EDIT - Some questions below made me think of a few more things to include in this first post:
One thing I will warn you about is that not all bathrooms have changing "tables", some have like a changing counter area (and some men's rooms did not even have that). The counters worked well but my wife and I did not even notice them because we were looking for traditional pull down changing tables so I just want to mention that. We also tried to use the "family" bathrooms as much as possible but surprisingly not all of those had changing tables either. It really wasn't a problem overall but just figured I would mention it.
Also infants can go on any ride that does not have a height requirement which is surprisingly large amount, especially at MK, so make sure you check the list out so you know which ones. And they have rider swap for a lot of the bigger rides, so if you can't get a fastpass but don't want to wait 2 full separate times (we went just the 3 of us) to go on splash mountain individually for example, go up to the entrance and let them know you are doing rider swap. They will let one of you get on the line, then give the other a fastpass to go right on after the first one finishes.
Baby Center Locations:
HS - As soon as you enter the park on your left near guest services.
MK - Right between Casey's and Crystal Palace
Epcot - This is a little harder to describe but it you walk out of the Mexico Pavilion Aztec Temple, make a right and start walking, you then make a right down a side path and its on the right side of that building that used to have the craft beers for food and wine (if you are familiar with that). This is the best way I can describe it unfortunately haha.
AK - It is next to Creature Comforts
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