Seeking first time WDW advice!

[McKennaLee]

Could definitely use advice as someone who’s never been to WDW prior, and is now going as a single mom of two kids! My second will be four months old by the time we go, my first is six years old. Stroller advice for someone who’s buying versus renting? I’ve found two I’m torn on purchasing, because one is compact and lightweight, but given that it will also be an every day stroller I’m considering the full-size that has more room in the basket below for the diaper bag and other necessities. Both meet the Disney stroller requirements, but is a full-size stroller a hassle at WDW? Strollers aside, what should we bring as first time DisneyWorld visitors? What attractions and restaurants are doable with children these ages? And any advice on Disney with a baby would be tremendous. Thank you for reading!

 

[sponica]

Are you buying a double for home or not?

In the parks, you'll probably want a double. Unless you'll be taking a lot of breaks with the 6 year old.

Will there be another adult with you? Folding a single size stroller to get on a bus while holding a baby and keeping an eye on a 6 year old is challenging . (I did it when I decided to go to AK while my husband played golf, but my youngest was just under 3 and could hold her older sisters hand)

 

[McKennaLee]

Are you buying a double for home or not?

In the parks, you'll probably want a double. Unless you'll be taking a lot of breaks with the 6 year old.

Will there be another adult with you? Folding a single size stroller to get on a bus while holding a baby and keeping an eye on a 6 year old is challenging . (I did it when I decided to go to AK while my husband played golf, but my youngest was just under 3 and could hold her older sisters hand)

My 6 year old doesn’t like being confined to a stroller, so I’ll be taking a single! I know it’ll be a bit more of a challenge, but I’m happy to take as many breaks as he needs! I’ll likely be taking breaks often for the baby anyways.
And no, it will just be us three I’ll have my hands full, for sure, haha.

 

[ak517]

We took my son when he was 4.5 months old and I wouldn't have been able to do it without baby wearing. I wore him anytime we needed to take a bus or a boat while my husband folded up the stroller. We use a travel stroller that supposedly can be collapsed with one hand, but I'm too nervous to do it while holding my baby.

You can bring your baby on any ride without a height restriction, and again we baby wore him in line and on the ride when possible to stay hands free.

I would not recommend a character meal. It was three adults including myself and our infant and it was just chaotic. Granted I was also trying to feed my son, but I wish someone had told me to just skip it. Anything else is fine and your baby will be welcome at nearly any restaurant (I say nearly because we haven't tried to bring him to Monsieur Paul or Victoria and Albert's, lol). If your baby is sleeping in the stroller, you may have luck bringing them into a table service meal, but it will be cast member-dependent.

There are baby care centers in each of the parks that I hear are excellent, but we never used them on our short trip. I breastfed just about anywhere and we changed him in our laps or in the stroller whenever it was convenient for us.

I know people do, but I never felt comfortable leaving any bags in the stroller, including the diaper bag, while we were on rides. We had the diaper bag and then our "park backpack" that had the usual water bottle, poncho, wallet, bandaids and other necessities, but you could probably cram everything into one bag depending on what season you're going in (I personally need more park essentials during the hot summers).

 

[Nicnicnic.nic]

This is just my experience but I took my two kids (4yo and 1.5yo but with some delays at the time) solo on a Disney cruise and I used the car seat attached to the stroller most of the time because it soothed my son to be in his car seat and then it was easier to set the car seat on the ground with him in it when I had to collapse the stroller. Good luck! I took my older child solo to WDW but waiting to take them both. There's some great YouTube vlogs of moms taking their kids solo to WDW. Id watch those plus look up which rides have no height requirements because that's all you'll be able to do

 

[sponica]

If you're nursing remember to stay extra hydrated, the heat creeps on you faster than you think.

I'd get whatever you'd normally use as your daily driver stroller at home. We used a Bob Motion on our first trip (It's pretty similar to a Britax stroller).

You'll want a full length canopy and lay flat recline.

I also highly recommend this https://www.amazon.com/Skip-Hop-Sig...OiXXhb1hykvBb3mv28BXRZZtGwRoCvtkQAvD_BwE&th=1

 

[Cherrychip]

Since you are buying, I would buy the stroller you want to use for day to day life if it fits the Disney size requirements unless you were already planning to buy two strollers.

I would recommend some type of baby carrier to baby wear in addition to a stroller since you wouldn’t be able to take the stroller in lines for rides. Children must be 7 to ride alone, so your 6 year old would not be able to ride anything with a height requirement. There are lots of rides that don’t have a height requirement, just set expectations accordingly if you have a thrill seeker 6 year old.

I personally would not try to do any sit down dining with a 4 month old if I was the only adult and would stick with quick- service for the flexibility.

 

[McKennaLee]

We took my son when he was 4.5 months old and I wouldn't have been able to do it without baby wearing. I wore him anytime we needed to take a bus or a boat while my husband folded up the stroller. We use a travel stroller that supposedly can be collapsed with one hand, but I'm too nervous to do it while holding my baby.

You can bring your baby on any ride without a height restriction, and again we baby wore him in line and on the ride when possible to stay hands free.

I would not recommend a character meal. It was three adults including myself and our infant and it was just chaotic. Granted I was also trying to feed my son, but I wish someone had told me to just skip it. Anything else is fine and your baby will be welcome at nearly any restaurant (I say nearly because we haven't tried to bring him to Monsieur Paul or Victoria and Albert's, lol). If your baby is sleeping in the stroller, you may have luck bringing them into a table service meal, but it will be cast member-dependent.

There are baby care centers in each of the parks that I hear are excellent, but we never used them on our short trip. I breastfed just about anywhere and we changed him in our laps or in the stroller whenever it was convenient for us.

I know people do, but I never felt comfortable leaving any bags in the stroller, including the diaper bag, while we were on rides. We had the diaper bag and then our "park backpack" that had the usual water bottle, poncho, wallet, bandaids and other necessities, but you could probably cram everything into one bag depending on what season you're going in (I personally need more park essentials during the hot summers).

Thank you so much for this info! I had thought about baby wearing but wasn’t sure, now I know that it’ll definitely come in handy, haha.
I think we’ll stick with quick service versus sit down meals, it seems like there’s plenty of options there and does sound like the most doable. And I do plan on packing a backpack for everything, as I wasn’t sure about leaving it in the stroller either Your comment has been super helpful!

 

[McKennaLee]

This is just my experience but I took my two kids (4yo and 1.5yo but with some delays at the time) solo on a Disney cruise and I used the car seat attached to the stroller most of the time because it soothed my son to be in his car seat and then it was easier to set the car seat on the ground with him in it when I had to collapse the stroller. Good luck! I took my older child solo to WDW but waiting to take them both. There's some great YouTube vlogs of moms taking their kids solo to WDW. Id watch those plus look up which rides have no height requirements because that's all you'll be able to do

Oh wow, using the car seat attached does sound like a smart way to go about it! I hadn’t even considered that, honestly. And I’ll definitely look into some YouTube vlogs, thank you so much!

 

[fairytaledreamer]

I want to second the baby wearing suggestion! We did a lot of baby wearing and also have the Tush Baby which worked well for our 1 year old since she could be put down and picked back up!

 

[Anna131517]

Make sure you can easily collapse and carry whatever stroller you bring. I like the baby jogger citi mini strollers - we’ve rented both double and single - because of how easy they are to collapse and carry, and their excellent sun coverage. A baby carrier will be great for waiting in line and getting on and off transportation.