First trip with our 8 month old son!

MaggiesMomNJ

DIS Veteran
Joined
Apr 9, 2014
My husband and I went on our honeymoon five years ago and recently returned and stayed at the Grand Floridian when I was 4 months pregnant.

We just booked 2019 (March 2-9)... our son will be eight months old.

Any tips? I’ve heard many people gate check strollers. I’m only 4’11 so I’m not sure about renting a stroller I may not be able to see over :) we’ve heard you can request either a crib or pack and play... which do you prefer?

We are also curious what people do in terms of keeping your child up after his or her bedtime to do things like see the fireworks. :) and please don’t laugh LOL we are first-time parents, i’m in my late 30s but we waited to have kids. Thanks! ❤️❤️
 
I first took my oldest son when he was 8 months old. It was my first trip to Disney with a baby and we had a great time!

I would definitely gate check the stroller. You'll need it in the airport. It's easy, and besides, renting a stroller costs $$! Plus, your baby will be most comfortable in a familiar place. We found that stroller naps worked best for us. Going back to the resort to nap just never seemed to work out.

We always used the pack n plays and they've been just fine. Once when I stayed at the GF we were given a crib. There was really no difference in the way our kids slept. Be prepared for Disney to tire your LO out. His schedule may be quite different from home as a result.

My most recent trip was with DS2 and DS 4 months. This was our first attempt at fireworks and it went well. It's hard to make it late at the parks sometimes with a baby, and most nights we did go back to the resort fairly early. I might plan one night of fireworks, but I think planning nighttime entertainment every night is overly ambitious. One thing's for sure, though, there are plenty of babies in the parks even quite late. Every baby is different.

Enjoy!!
 
Definitely bring your own stroller. Gate checking strollers is super easy and it's free. They'll give you a tag to put on it and a separate one to hold onto. When you're ready to board the plane, you just leave the stroller and it will be waiting for you when you get off. If you have one that's difficult to collapse, you should collapse it for them at the gate because if the handlers can't figure it out, they'll throw it on the plane like that which could cause damage.

I'd also recommend bringing a rain cover. While March isn't as rainy as June-august, rain does occue and tour don't want your stroller getting soaked while on a ride/in a show, etc.

We used a pack n play at Disney and it was great because we could fold it up when we wanted extra room. The Disney ones are just standard Graco style ones without the frills, but it was clean and they provided a clean sheet for it (with Mickey on it!)

As for fireworks and bedtimes, that'll depend on your child. Some little ones will sleep in their stroller or a carrier right through it. Others will be awake and fine. Others will need to be in their bed long beforehand. I don't think there's any way of knowing this far in advance how your little one will be as every baby is different. My kids were both very go with the flow types and would sleep whenever they got tired in the stroller and had no problem staying out late, but every kid is different.
 
Wanted to mention that we rented a stroller (a BOB) on this trip, and the handlebar was adjustable! I am 5'1, no issue at all. (MAJOR stroller envy, my BOB doesn't have that ability!) The rental also came with a rain cover. We started using our BOB pretty early with our twins (like 6 months) to walk (not run), and it's a crazy comfortable stroller to walk around with all day.
 
We took our son on his first trip at 7 1/2 months, and it was awesome!

As PPs said, take and gate check your stroller. My son would nap in his at home, so it worked well in the parks. If you have a baby that will sleep when they want to sleep, I wouldn't worry about staying out for the fireworks. However, some babies need quiet and to stick to their schedule... but you will know that before you go on your trip.

I would also recommend a front-facing baby carrier. You cannot take strollers in lines, so a carrier is a life saver. I liked a front-facing one because I could keep him strapped in on rides (with the exception of the carousel... they ask that you remove babies from carriers on that ride), and when I sat down on the rides, he was already facing forward and could see everything.

And don't forget sunscreen! I have a little fair redhead, and we have always used Babyganics, which is a mineral-based sunscreen you can get at Target, Publix, etc. It's thick, and it works.

Finally, if you are using a pack and play I would take your own sheets. Disney does a great job keeping things clean, but I would just be more comfortable using my own.
 
It will be so much easier than you think. We travel a ton with our 3 (currently 3, 2, and 8 months) and it's soo much scarier to think about then it is to do. The only even slightly annoying thing is lugging carseats and you can always rent those (or stay on property and not even need to think about it!)

We gate check our stroller, and it's no big deal. Using a baby carrier on the plane is also helpful (or in the airport, if you don't bring the stroller) and most of the time, they just have the parent wearing it unbuckle it for takeoff (a lot of times they'll say nothing about landing). Ditto the above that a carrier is awesome for lines, and we did Haunted Mansion, Pirates, Small World, and many other rides with our little guy in the carrier happily.

While you can, you can always do things at home to try to help your kiddo be more adaptable. Vary nap time a little (if you're comfortable), have him nap in different spots, in different amounts of light etc. I think the only challenge would be if you had a kid who needed a sound machine, fully dark room, certain music, etc. Even then, you could probably replicate most of that if you needed to but it could really cramp your fun in terms of needing to be in a hotel for a lot of the day.

It's been super important to us personally that our kids are flexible and can handle veering off schedule. I have friends that care equally as much about their kids napping, eating and sleeping at the exact same time every day and NOT ever going off schedule. Where do you feel like you fall? Maybe we've just been lucky, but our kids nap anywhere- stroller, carrier, car seat. We've gone out to dinner with them a lot since they were babies, and while their limit is probably 1.5 hrs in a restaurant, they hang pretty well there too. In terms of staying up past bedtime, think thru what happens the next morning. Will your kid sleep in later if he's awake later at night? Or can you have him nap in baby carrier if you're out for Fireworks?
When we did Disneyland when our older 2 were 11 months and almost 3, we didn't stay out past maybe 9:15? It was a fun trip and the baby was amazing (easier than the toddler ha!)
 
My husband and I went on our honeymoon five years ago and recently returned and stayed at the Grand Floridian when I was 4 months pregnant.

We just booked 2019 (March 2-9)... our son will be eight months old.

Any tips? I’ve heard many people gate check strollers. I’m only 4’11 so I’m not sure about renting a stroller I may not be able to see over :) we’ve heard you can request either a crib or pack and play... which do you prefer?

We are also curious what people do in terms of keeping your child up after his or her bedtime to do things like see the fireworks. :) and please don’t laugh LOL we are first-time parents, i’m in my late 30s but we waited to have kids. Thanks! ❤❤


Congrats!

We gate checked our umbrella Maclaren, but rented a City Mini GT (adjustible handlebar for this shorty here) to have a larger stroller for carrying heavier items in the parks.We also rented a crib from the same co, kingdom strollers. Both crib and stroller were mint condition clean. Best experience with Kingdom for sure!! From your hotel, you can request a crib or PNP, no guarantee what you will get.

We kept our 15 month old in the stroller. Never went back for naps, she napped in the stroller when she was tired enough. We stayed out as late as we wanted (older child also needed to be up and about) and baby slept when tired, no matter how many firework booms were going on.

Also want to add we used Garden Grocer to deliver all baby items so we didnt have to lug them. I used tupperware and sponges and dish soap I brought to wash bottles and cups for baby. Hmm, what else? Used a car seat on the plane (and bought baby a seat).

And I brought a stroller fan for baby, which was helpful!
 
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I brought my son at 1 year and he napped in the stroller. That is when we went for a sit down dinner at MK. Pack and play worked perfectly fine in the hotel. Definitely bring a stroller fan and some sunscreen. Don't stress out too much. 8 month-olds are easy!
 
We went when our DS was 9 months old and it was great! The baby care centers are a great place to take a break. Bring a carrier, in case baby wants to be held but you don't want your arms to fall off walking around a theme park carrying a baby. Plus you can baby wear on a lot of rides. I used our carrier more than the stroller. Take fruit pouches, they are a really convenient way to carry around baby food. You can even get a little spoon attachment that screws on them so you just squeeze food onto the spoon. Bring disposable bibs or the plasticy ones you can wipe down. Bring a clip on fan for the stroller. We don't do breaks, he napped in the stroller or carrier. And stayed up late - he loved the Halloween party fireworks and I have a vivid memory of him bouncing up and down to the music during the show at 10:00 at night! You will have fun, there was so much for our DS to look at while we were there and we took him on a lot of the rides too. He did great!
 

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