We took our 5 month old Grandson Last August and he slept in the stroller no problem too. We bought the battery operated fan from
www.onestepahead.com and we went through one set of batteries a day. We used a receiving blanket to shield him from sun and the fan was in the stroller under the blanket.
He was bottle fed and had to learn to take his bottles less than warm. We bought powder formula and carried bottles pre fillled with 4 ounces of water then we just had to add powder and shake it up. Be sure to carry a bottle brush and soap to clean up the bottles each night in the hotel room. My daughter had an assembly line going with bottles soaking, scrubbing and drying upside down on a towel each night.
Most restaurants had those wooden high chairs so we tipped it upside down and the car carrier that clips onto the stoller would work as his infant seat. He wasnt sitting up in a regular high chair yet at 5 months. We did not always have the seat with us because he preferd to sleep in the stroller with out the infant seat. We had PS reservations so we knew which days we planned sit down restaurants and planned to carry those days.
My daughter also has a front back where he could look out or towards her. We did put him in there some of the time too. He loved facing outwards. We have a picture of them sitting on a bench looking at a park map and it looks like my grandson is reading the park map at 5 months old
Be sure to use sun screen on the legs and arms and wear a hat on the as the sun is torture.
As for rides we had a 3 year old with us also so we took turns with baby swap. They let one set of people ride then swap off and let the second set of us ride. We let the 3 year old play in the fountains when we was waiting. The kids can do so many of the regular slower rides at Disney.
I think the 5 month old did better than than the 3 year old since he slept so much of the time. and when he wanted to be carried we used the front packto keep us from sweating to death over him.He never got bored or needed extra entertaining. He did love it when we went into buildngs that were airconditioned (As we all did!!)
Ask at your hotel if they have a crib for you to use. My daughter actually packed his bumper pad and mobile so he would get a scense of normalcy and hopefully sleep more at night. It was very calming for him Im sure. We stayed at Shades of green and they gave us a portable crib on wheels. Even if you have to pay extra its worth having a crib!! She also brought an extra sheet because in the middle of the night if she needed an extra she didnt want to wait to have another delivered.
Dont forget the swim diapers in case you swim. They are required and at that age its hard to think of it. They will be a bit big but at least you can swim this way.
Baby Swap: Thats what they call the hand off thing you refer to. Basically one person gets to ride by going through the main entrance or fast pass entrance if you have a fast pass. Then usually as you get off the ride you get a pass for the other person to come in and skip the line. The pass is good for up to 3 people too. Its avaliable on anything the baby cant do. I think Mission Space did a great job with baby swap. The wait area has a kids play area for the kids and a lot of game things going on with a big screen so the adult at least can watch that. (With a baby you wont have to watch the play area as hard like we did with a toddler) And too boot its all airconditioned!! The exit to Mission Space exits into the room. We didnt use a lot of baby swaps as we took turns with the kids and let the other group go ride so I dont have a lot of them to tell about. Im sure others can tell you about other rides. Mission Space is one of the few rides we all went together to do. I think we did a few more but I am totally forgetting which ones now.
EDIT: DUH I forgot I was in the
Disneyland forum. The same holds true in Disneyland so I left it all there. It just not as hot there as Florida or humid so everyone will be mroe comfortable, But do get a fan for the stroller. Do not leave the park if possble because I tthey do close the parks on the 4th.