Disney with an Infant? Don't be afraid, don't be very afraid!

[NYCgrrl]

Great informative post for infants' caretakers and I'm sure the reassurances and child specific info is of use to many.

 

[LSUmiss]

I can tell you where they all are (even though I am sure you are capable of finding them haha):

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’ve never been in any of the baby centers. Do they have areas to get away from the crowds? My DS usually won’t nap in the stroller but will also only take about 30 min nap. Wouldn’t be worth going all the way back to the room for that. Was thinking I could duck in one of these a couple times a day if he won’t nap in the stroller.

 

[ManalapanDad]

Thanks for sharing your experience we took my son for his first birthday and had An amazing time we are now going back for our third trip this year in December and he still is only one. I vowed to my wife that we will spend as many birthdays of his at Disney world until he wants to go somewhere else. It truly is a magical place for all ages

 

[Gafnorin]

I’ve never been in any of the baby centers. Do they have areas to get away from the crowds? My DS usually won’t nap in the stroller but will also only take about 30 min nap. Wouldn’t be worth going all the way back to the room for that. Was thinking I could duck in one of these a couple times a day if he won’t nap in the stroller.

I dunno if they have lay down areas for kids but if he’ll nap on your lap they have amazing mother/baby/nursing rooms w low lighting, lots of rocking chairs that angle in ways to give you some privacy. Really comfy. Really won me over when I took my 1yo.

 

[Dismama2boys]

I dunno if they have lay down areas for kids but if he’ll nap on your lap they have amazing mother/baby/nursing rooms w low lighting, lots of rocking chairs that angle in ways to give you some privacy. Really comfy. Really won me over when I took my 1yo.

I get the temptation, but please don’t use the nursing rooms for napping. They are very, very small. They are frequently full, and there is sometimes a wait. I’m comfortable nursing almost anywhere, but many new moms aren’t and having to wait for a spot with a hungry baby is really hard and frustrating, especially if it’s because the rooms aren’t being used as they are supposed to be.

 

[LSUmiss]

I dunno if they have lay down areas for kids but if he’ll nap on your lap they have amazing mother/baby/nursing rooms w low lighting, lots of rocking chairs that angle in ways to give you some privacy. Really comfy. Really won me over when I took my 1yo.

This is great news! No he’ll ONLY nap in my arms! Lol! He’s only 5.5 mos now & sleeps 12-13 hours straight a night so I’ll take the trade off.

 

[LSUmiss]

I get the temptation, but please don’t use the nursing rooms for napping. They are very, very small. They are frequently full, and there is sometimes a wait. I’m comfortable nursing almost anywhere, but many new moms aren’t and having to wait for a spot with a hungry baby is really hard and frustrating, especially if it’s because the rooms aren’t being used as they are supposed to be.

I get that but yours don’t fall asleep nursing? That’s what I’m talking about. He’d only sleep like maybe 30 min max so I don’t think I’d be using the space more than anyone else. But, if I get up after he falls asleep, he’ll wake up.

 

[Dismama2boys]

All of mine fell asleep while nursing, and definitely preferred to be held for naps. At home I would sit and hold them, but I never do at the parks. Mine would sleep while I was wearing them in a carrier though so they still got naps - have you tried that?

 

[Gafnorin]

I get the temptation, but please don’t use the nursing rooms for napping. They are very, very small. They are frequently full, and there is sometimes a wait. I’m comfortable nursing almost anywhere, but many new moms aren’t and having to wait for a spot with a hungry baby is really hard and frustrating, especially if it’s because the rooms aren’t being used as they are supposed to be.

I can understand this. I did use it for nursing and I dunno if OP was nursing her baby or not and w a baby nap/nurse often go together. Quiet place for mommy/baby for a bit. It wasn’t full when I went (it was years ago) so length of stay may depend on crowd level.

 

[LSUmiss]

All of mine fell asleep while nursing, and definitely preferred to be held for naps. At home I would sit and hold them, but I never do at the parks. Mine would sleep while I was wearing them in a carrier though so they still got naps - have you tried that?

No we haven’t gone yet. Just trying to see my options to plan ahead. But if they fell asleep while nursing, you just got up & left the baby center while they were asleep?

 

[Dismama2boys]

No we haven’t gone yet. Just trying to see my options to plan ahead. But if they fell asleep while nursing, you just got up & left the baby center while they were asleep?

Yes, I did. There’s only room for 2 - 4 (depending on which park) moms, and there was frequently someone waiting. I only ever used the nursing rooms if I was really desperate - either I was really hot and needed to sit for a bit in the a/c, or we were in the distracted nursing phase and needed quiet and darkness for the baby to nurse. I assume that if was that desperate, those waiting mamas were too. I would either carry the baby and go find a seat nearby, or transfer to the carrier and hope they’d go back to sleep. I will say that for us, all of the usual stuff for our kids doesn’t apply in the parks. My kids who would never normally sleep in a stroller almost always do in the parks, or my kids who stopped napping months before suddenly wanted them, or something. At home getting up and disrupting the nap would have been a big deal, but somehow it never is there. We’re on baby number three and have taken all of them as infants, and we did fine with all of them in spite of them normally needing to be held for naps.

 

[LSUmiss]

Anyone have experience with NOT baby wearing? My DS has never really liked it despite trying multiple carriers. I see that has been the recommendation from most & I have been trying to “practice” with him, but he’s just not into it. Anyone have success/tips for not doing it? DS will be 6.5 mos at the time of travel. What’s the main advantage of this that I’ll miss out on if we don’t/can’t?

 

[Gafnorin]

For quiet places maybe the hall of presidents? I read it was a good place to nap. Or the people mover for a lap nap. Last time I sat in the pre show to the tiki room which was cool and dark and EMPTY!! Again years ago.

 

[Gafnorin]

I wouldn’t force baby wearing for Florida it’ll probably be hot and sweaty. Stroller. All the time. Maybe do some extra upper body strength work for when you need to carry him in your arms.

 

[LSUmiss]

I wouldn’t force baby wearing for Florida it’ll probably be hot and sweaty. Stroller. All the time. Maybe do some extra upper body strength work for when you need to carry him in your arms.

It’ll be November so it MIGHT be cooler. But is that the biggest disadvantage that he’ll get heavy?

 

[Gafnorin]

So the only baby experience I have at Disney is w my 1yo 5 yrs ago so keep that in mind. But I did wear both kids a lot when they were babies. I think the best is when they’re really little, up to 5-6 months cuz they’ll sleep, nurse, everything in the carrier. But they were also used to it from birth. So at 6 mo at an outing with a lot of walking I may use the carrier but keep in mind what you’ll be doing. Are you going on a lot of rides? You may want carrying assistance in line but what do you do w the carrier on the rides? The good carriers can be bulky. Carrying around a 6 mo old can get tiring. If he can sit on his own you can at least put him down for meals or have him on your lap.

He’s also going to want to see everything and there are few ergonomic front facing carriers and I think they say front facing no more than 20 min or so. Don’t quote me on that. So he’ll be craning his neck all over.

A sling may be helpful on occasion if you get tired, it just helps you hold him on your hip and less bulk. And he can still look around, my kid has even napped in a sling.

So tired arms basically. I think if he was used to carriers bring one along but I wouldn’t force it for Disney if he doesn’t like it. He’s only going to get more mobile.

At Disney kids pass out anywhere. Both my kids had stroller sleep training. Ie we’re out somewhere, can’t leave right away, kid’s annoyed, screaming, we’re stuck, they pass out in the stroller and from then on can sleep in it any time they want.

Assume occasional horror and embarrassment w kids and it’ll be fine.

 

[The13thLetter]

Thank you so much for your post! I am starting to get nervous about our first trip with our DS who will be just shy of 10 months old when we go in May. Any rides in particular your LO did NOT like?

Like Betty above, my little guy was happy on all of them (for reference we went on small world, jungle cruise, people mover, little mermaid, peter pan, finding nemo, frozen ever after, spaceship earth, and three cabarellos). The only time it was a bit rough was if we ended up on a ride right by his feeding time, but like on its a small word for instance we just fed him his bottle while we were on the ride.

 

[The13thLetter]

Anyone have experience with NOT baby wearing? My DS has never really liked it despite trying multiple carriers. I see that has been the recommendation from most & I have been trying to “practice” with him, but he’s just not into it. Anyone have success/tips for not doing it? DS will be 6.5 mos at the time of travel. What’s the main advantage of this that I’ll miss out on if we don’t/can’t?

We didn't use a carrier at all while we were there, just his front facing stroller, and he was super happy. Like I mentioned before we used fast passes mostly so holding him while we were in line was not really a huge issue. We would also take him out when we sat to eat or grab a drink or something like that and put him on our laps or held him and we are by no means bodybuilders. I think you will be just fine.

 

[The13thLetter]

I’ve never been in any of the baby centers. Do they have areas to get away from the crowds? My DS usually won’t nap in the stroller but will also only take about 30 min nap. Wouldn’t be worth going all the way back to the room for that. Was thinking I could duck in one of these a couple times a day if he won’t nap in the stroller.

There are non nursing areas, like a small room with a tv and a couple of couches, and an area with tables and chairs for feedings, so if they can sleep with a bit of noise in your arms, those areas are also available in the baby center for sitting and cooling off a bit.

 

[The13thLetter]

I am going to put this as an edit/update in my first post but I wanted to mention something else about sleeping in the resort room. Fist night he was in the pack and play near our beds which was fine because we were all tired, but 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 (we were at french quarter but 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 (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.