The world with a 15-month-old?

[DsnyMama]

Levi was 15 months on our last trip in December.

Lifesavers:
Baby carrier (Ergo, wrap, and sling - we rarely used the stroller)
Nursing (especially helped on the 'scary' rides)
Familiar snacks from home (fruit snacks, fruit squeeze pouches, ect..)
Bubbles



It was a total blast!

 

[kt_mom]

We went in October and DS was about 16 months old. DD was 8. We did have my mom and my DN9 with us.

DS rode most everything with us. He really really liked the Buzz lightyear ride in MK and rode it several times with my mom and DN while DD, DH and I rode SM several times. I don't think he got scared on anything.

He loved the characters, especially Mickey and Pluto his favorites. He didn't much care one way or the other about the face characters. We had dinner at 1900PF and he wouldn't interact with any of them, he just ignored them. But he got so excited with the masked characters.

He napped a lot in his stroller during the day. He did not sleep well at night and woke up a lot. I think he was just really over stiimulated from the day. But he was so happy during the day.

It really was all so much easier than I had anticipated. When we took him at 4 months he slept most of the time. I was worried that it would be really hard at 16 months but he did great.

I think his favorite part of the trip was playing in the boneyard playground at AK. Its the only one we made it to, but he loved it.

We also bought him a light saber thing in MK at the beginning of the trip and he took that everywhere with him. Even back to the parks each day. When he wasn't playing with it we kept it on top of the stroller.

I took snacks and a sippie cup of water in my park bag/diaper bag so we would have it convenient for him as he eats all the time. He snacked and ate what we did the rest of the time.

 

[jennyjinx3]

The TomorrowlandTransit Authority is a great ride for the little one to nap. The ride moves fast enough to keep everyone cool and it has AC sections. Usualy you can keep riding it over and over again. Ask the CM if you can stay on as it pulls back into the station. Our 18m DS fell right asleep 2 seconds into the ride.

It looks like you are going in Oct, it should be cool enoguh that the heat will not suck the energy out of your DS but i would suggest getting one of the spray bottles with the soft fan blades. Our DS would play with the fan and calm him self with it.

+1 to nanu57v, dont froget about the normal nap schedule. naps, snacks, juice, and downtime to prevent sensory overload help the trip go smoothly. Don't expect to stay in the parks past his bed time, but you might be able to get away with him taking a second late nap to push back bed time a little bit.

OMG you are so right about the tomorrow transit ride...when my youngest got on that she was asleep on my lap within seconds! So cute

 

[kmb584]

I took DD to The World for her first visit when she was 15 months. It was just the 2 of us and we survived quite well.

I had a lot of people question the decision to take her and fought off endless "but she won't remember!" battles. It's my favorite place in the actual world and wanted to start DD off young. So, on we traveled.

Our trip went incredibly smooth and in reality smoother than I thought it would. I took her onto every attraction that didn't have a height requirement and she was in awe of the sights and the sounds. She loved the parades and the fireworks, ice cream too.

Sometimes we went back to the resort (POFQ on that trip) for a nap but more often than not she would fall asleep in her stroller for 60-90 minutes and I used that time to accomplish shopping and whatnot. Early evening pool time became a quick favorite and by the end of the night she was sound asleep like, well, a baby.

 

[GrimGrinninGhost]

We took DS at 13 months as well as our 5 year old nephew. Once we made it to Orlando, everything was fairly easy and relaxing (the plane ride was a different story hah). DS was only beginning to stand and learn to walk so if your LO is already walking it might be a different experience. He would nap quite often throughout the day in his stroller and was rarely very fussy with all the new stimulation. He loved the characters and rode almost every ride that he was big enough to go on. The only issue we had with rides was with the Haunted Mansion; the screaming in the stretching room quickly replaced his smiling face with a cry that lasted half of the ride. He especially loved Nemo, Dumbo, and napped during the Jungle Cruise and Kilimanjaro Safari. It also helps to stay somewhere near the parks. We stayed at WL and took the boat back mid-day from MK each day to give DS a nap while my nephew played in the pool.

 

[Nanu57v]

Oh the baby swap!!! I forgot to mention that! Totally learn about that.

 

[SFreelove]

Some people may say 15 months is just to young to bring a child to Disney and I highly disagree! Also since you have an older child going as well, that child will be a great role model for the 15 month old through-out the trip. My husband and I previously took our 12 months old last October. You would be surprised how much she got out of that trip, it was AMAZING! Character encounters.. don't let people tell you their to young for that too.. my daughter never wanted her turn with the characters to end!! Tips wise- I would say to bring your own stroller and a bulky, luxury, style one at that. We have a Jeep Stroller, very nice, reclines fully back, has a full visor over head for shade, has air venting all over so when the visor is over the baby wouldn't get hot and it has a TON of storage space, which worked out awsome while shopping in the parks! But mostly bring that type of stroller for napping, your child may want a bottle while at the park, give the bottle to your child in the stroller and keep going.. he will probably pass out and let your 7 year old enjoy her time. Our daughter would pass out for a hour and a half everyday, we never had to go back to the resort for nap time, but I know every child is different. Eating wise, yes make sure you DO make time to always stop and have a meal, sit down, don't rush it.. even if it's quick service.. take some time sit down at a table around and eat your meals and talk about your day.. this will give you all a break but mostly your youngest who will need the biggest break. Changing rooms- you'll find them all over the park, no worries on that.. and the Mens restrooms have them as well, it's a nice break for the moms! I would say to pick and choose what shows though, if your doing some.. because those are a hit or miss at that age. The attractions are all great for any age, but the shows can be hard that young.. we only went to a few because we found it hard for her to want to sit and watch one through or end up screaming half way through LOL. Some say use one DW trip for attractions and another trip for DW shows.. theres so many of each this may be true. However she did do awsome during some shows so young, like Crush in turtle talk.. Nemo.. things like that. Things will be at a slower pace, and I know it's disney BUT don't worry about seeing it all.. enjoy your family time and hit the most musts and then conitune from there. ENJOY!