was it "worth it" for you to go to wdw with a 1 year old (only child she will be 11mos)? +

[KMarston]

My grandson went for his first birthday and had a ball! We took him back at 17 months, and 2 1/2. My husband and I have his 3 1/2 yo trip planned for January. He has a blast! No they won't remember it but we will! It's so much fun for us, we send his parents on a trip and steal away with him for a week at Disney! It's an easy place with babies!

 

[katyjeka]

We have four daughters and have taken each around their first birthday. They of course have no memory of the trips but my dh and I do!!!! I may be a little selfish but I go on vacations for me. One day our girls will be on their own and I will be thankful for the memories. The only advice I have is to tour at a SLOW pace. Little ones find so much joy in things that adults pass by. Our kids have shown us a side of WDW that we never noticed on our trips alone. Don't rush from ride to ride, Disney's magic is not in the rides but the little surprises and details around every corner.

 

[Crystal824]

I've taken all three of my kids to WDW between 9-11 months old for their first trip. We actually are going again at the end of this month and my youngest will be 14 months (this will be his second trip- He was 9 mo on the first).

A trip with a kid that young is not about the kid so if you want to go, I would go. Yes, you can tell a toddler enjoys seeing all the sites and taking it all in, but they would do that anywhere you took them at that age really. When we only had one child, we took her to WDW at 10 mo because we wanted to go to WDW for our vacation that year. To me, taking a child that age is way easier than taking them when they can walk and talk. At that age, they tend to go with the flow

As far as naps, all of my kids napped in the stroller at WDW. We have a City Mini, which is fairly comfortable stroller and they all napped there. We also bring a stroller fan during the hot months. When we only had on kid, her nap is when we used our riderswitches (although that is changing) or shopped. We found it harder to take them back to the resort to nap. They would always just fall asleep on the way back and refuse to nap when we actually got there.

My oldest hated fireworks until she was about 3. We found this out during Wishes at Disney. When it was just her, we did skip the night shows because of that. Once her sister and brother came along and were fine with fireworks, we would do the nightshows even with a baby. We don't tend to do every night show every trip, but we also don't adhere to a strict schedule while on vacation either. If we are feeling up to doing a night show, we do it. If it seems like everyone is cranky and needs to sleep, we do that.

Since you are flying, I would consider using a grocery deliver service such as Garden Grocer or Amazon Prime to deliver diapers, wipes, baby food, etc. I always do this so I don't have to bring all that stuff with me. Super convenient.

At that age, my kids all loved Small World, the Nemo Ride, the parades- really anything with colors. My two youngest LOVED characters at that age. My oldest Hated them at that age. That varies child to child.

Don't forget the baby care centers. They are great for changing the baby and just getting away for a few minutes. Many of the bathrooms only have one changing table. The baby care centers have a number of changing tables. I wouldn't go out of my way to go to a baby care center, but if you are nearby and the baby could use a change, I would use them. They also offer baby items for sale if you forget something. The Animal Kingdom one is especially nice. There is a place for the baby to cruise around the room if he/she isn't walking yet.

I have never flown alone with any of my kids so I can't help you there. Now that I am a mom of three, I wouldn't hesitate to fly alone with my children, but I am not sure I would have felt that way as a fairly new mom. I always pack some fun toys, snacks, and electronics for the kids during the flight. My advice would be to pack as light as you can, but have the necessities for the flight.

Yes, it will be work, but you would have to do most of that work at home anyway. The biggest issue is to make sure you have all the items you will need that you would have at home. If you are staying on property, they will bring you a pack n play. I would definitely get that to provide you with a place to put the baby in the room. I'm sure you mom and sister will help once you are there. I'm sure they would love to see you and the baby.

 

[Ladyandthepuppies]

I took my son when he was 15 mos old and I was pleasantly surprised by how much he liked it! He enjoyed almost all of the rides he could go on, he loved the characters, and it didn't feel like much extra work for us. He napped in his stroller so we didn't have to go back to the hotel during the day. We specifically timed our trip so that we would be there during low crowds, since most 1 year olds have a hard time waiting in lines.

I will say that a trip with your child is very different than an adults-only trip. It sounds like your main motivation for taking the trip is because YOU want to go to Disney. I don't blame you!!! This is literally a community of Disney-lovers! But I'm wondering if you'll enjoy it as much if you're unable to go on most of the popular attractions (they typically have height restrictions and your baby will be too small) or if you can't sit and eat your TS meal because you have to focus on feeding the baby. Maybe you're already prepared for all of that but I'm a big believer in managing expectations in order to have the best experience. Good luck with whatever you do!

 

[kamik86]

I know you said don't post if you don't have kids so if you want to skip this go for it...

But I imagine it would depend on the kid.

I have been around 1 year olds that are so easy going that they would be the dream kid to have in disney. They aren' going to whine that they want everything and diapers are easier then dealing with a kid that is potty trained but got too excited and forgot to go to the bathroom and peed all over.

Or you could have the type of 1 year old that just seems to like to cry, loudly... alot. Like every time there is a loud noise. I wouldn't bring that kid to Disney because every time there is a loud noise is about every 2 seconds.

 

[halfpintpeggy]

Would I think it's "worth it" to bring a baby to WDW again, NO! But this trip is for you not the baby so if you want to go, do it! Please consider having the child's ears checked prior to flying though, those altitudes can cause serious damage to little one's ear drums.

 

[AnnaS]

We brought our twins right before their first b-day, and our oldest was 4 at the time. Was it worth it? I'll preface my comment by saying a day at WDW is better than a day anywhere else, it's truly my happy space. But I'm sort of 50/50 on if it was worth it, leaning toward no. It's a ton of work lugging the things they needed around. They obviously couldn't ride much, so that was tough. Spent a ton of time crawling around playgrounds, which we can do at home. The plus side was seeing the amazement in their eyes as they took in all the sights, sounds, etc... But if I had to do it again, no, I probably wouldn't.

This!!! I could not decide on a yes or no..........We just went in May. We were 12 people so we had plenty of help. We had my 14 month old twin grandson boys and 4 yr. old granddaughter. Just like this pp, it was wonderful to experience this. All of us except 2 people (DIL parents") are DVC members so we go multiple/many times. We all have no regrets and would do it all over again, BUT, the boys were definitely too young. Maybe because we had two the same age? We flew with three car seats and a double stroller. (Not everyone flew so this was a lot of work for the few that did). Busses with a double stroller and regular stroller was a bit much. Constantly stopping, changing, feeding, going to the child center, etc. I wish they had two in each park. One on each end. The heat and rain did not help. We knew ahead of time and were prepared so not a problem or issue. We had some TS and character meals planned. We cancelled the rest of the week (meals) after the first three (which I knew ahead of time but son booked them anyway).

We did not worry about going on all the rides because we know we are coming right back so no disappointments or anything just pointing out it's work. We love it and had a great time. My son actually cancelleId his October trip with us and will wait until May or November of next year before going back.

If you are going to Disney once every few years, I would recommend waiting another year. You can go and have a great time. Just follow the kids' schedule, nap, feeding, etc. Know when it's too much for them (heat, etc.). We took the kids to the Community Center a lot of times. We would all split up so everyone had their own time with and without the kids. It can be done but we go so often, it did not matter if we did not get to experience much. It was all about the kids.

Good luck, let us know how you make out.

 

[khertz]

I took my oldest just after he turned a year, and we had the best time. We didn't miss all of the nighttime stuff because we bought him some kids noise canceling earphones and brought his pajamas into the park with us the night we wanted to stay for fireworks. He fell asleep in the stroller and we slipped the earphones on and he slept through the whole show. We had to go a lot slower than usual, and it was back when they still had paper FPs so it was a lot easier to trade on rides while he napped in the parks, but I'd still do it over again with the system as it is now.

 

[ChadsGirl]

I think it really depends on your kid. We took my daughter for the first time at 15 months. We had been to Disney many times before and thought we could handle it. It was tough and exhausting and if I had to do it over again I wouldn't. Here's why:

• Naps, naps, naps--Our DD did not do well napping in the stroller. She passed out in it about once a day for 20 to 30 minutes, and crashed briefly on a few rides (safari, Great Movie Ride), but that was nowhere near enough sleep for her. And she would not nap in the hotel room, just screamed and screamed. So basically she was overtired the entire week and by the end of the trip was a complete mess. We couldn't even attempt nighttime shows because of this
• She was not walking yet and that was tough, for the same reason someone else mentioned. They want to be on the go at that age, but there aren't many good places to let them down to crawl around. This made my daughter antsy and fussy
• She didn't have the sort of "wow" reaction that others have talked about. We thought she would be fascinated with looking at everything, but she didn't seem to care at all. Even meeting Mickey. So that kind of took some of the magic away
• It was next to impossible to wait in any line with her, no matter how short, because she was too impatient and too young to understand what was going on

Again, this was all my experience with my child who is very dependent on her routine. She is not a "go with the flow" type kid at all. So that is the factor I would think about when deciding what to do. If your kid loves her routine, then my recommendation is a hard no.

Sorry to be a negative nelly but I want to keep it real for you based on my experience. When we took her again after she just turned 3 it was WAAYYY better and easier. We can't wait to go again next year when she will be 4 and tall enough for most of the rides!

Good luck!

 

[happymommy]

Why put your life on hold because you have a baby?

Do you want to go on a vacation? If so, then go!

We vacationed all over Hawaii with our oldest when he was a baby. 3 months old, Kauai, the Big Island, 8 months old Maui. I flew him from Honolulu to St. Louis when he was 6 months old, alone, for 3 weeks to visit friends and family. Taking a baby on vacation is easy; you just need to pack some essentials along for the day.

As far as naps go, my sister took my niece to Disney at 11 months old, and she just napped in the stroller. That's what my kids did as preschoolers as well.

I don't understand folks that put their vacations on hold just because they become parents.

 

[Sha259]

My grandson went for his first birthday and had a ball! We took him back at 17 months, and 2 1/2. My husband and I have his 3 1/2 yo trip planned for January. He has a blast! No they won't remember it but we will! It's so much fun for us, we send his parents on a trip and steal away with him for a week at Disney! It's an easy place with babies!

Can I just say you win Grandmom of the Year!!! That is awesome what you do for your son, and I hope to be that type of grandma when my now 1 year old has some kids of his own!!

 

[Sha259]

I think it really depends on your kid. We took my daughter for the first time at 15 months. We had been to Disney many times before and thought we could handle it. It was tough and exhausting and if I had to do it over again I wouldn't. Here's why:

• Naps, naps, naps--Our DD did not do well napping in the stroller. She passed out in it about once a day for 20 to 30 minutes, and crashed briefly on a few rides (safari, Great Movie Ride), but that was nowhere near enough sleep for her. And she would not nap in the hotel room, just screamed and screamed. So basically she was overtired the entire week and by the end of the trip was a complete mess. We couldn't even attempt nighttime shows because of this
• She was not walking yet and that was tough, for the same reason someone else mentioned. They want to be on the go at that age, but there aren't many good places to let them down to crawl around. This made my daughter antsy and fussy
• She didn't have the sort of "wow" reaction that others have talked about. We thought she would be fascinated with looking at everything, but she didn't seem to care at all. Even meeting Mickey. So that kind of took some of the magic away
• It was next to impossible to wait in any line with her, no matter how short, because she was too impatient and too young to understand what was going on

Again, this was all my experience with my child who is very dependent on her routine. She is not a "go with the flow" type kid at all. So that is the factor I would think about when deciding what to do. If your kid loves her routine, then my recommendation is a hard no.

Sorry to be a negative nelly but I want to keep it real for you based on my experience. When we took her again after she just turned 3 it was WAAYYY better and easier. We can't wait to go again next year when she will be 4 and tall enough for most of the rides!

Good luck!

This is a good perspective, but I think it is equally fitting then to know your child, their temperament, and manage your expectations. My husband and I also have a stubborn independent little one on our hands, so because of this, we have had to tailor our vacations to fit this.

We stick to his bedtime routine TO A T!! Meaning, since we sleep in separate rooms at home, on vacation we at minimum need to have complete visual separation for him to fall asleep, nightlight, ocean sounds on sound machine, nighttime essential oils. We did all this on on our vacation to Ireland, the Outer Banks, and our most recent cruise and it WORKS, no fussing, no crying, and sleeping through the night! Naps become trickier as he ages, but we watch him at the beginning of each trip and follow his ques. On our most recent cruise he refused to nap in the cabin because he knew we were still awake, so we only tried that once, but what worked was setting him up in his stroller, fed, changed and comfortable, and walking him around at a steady pace until he fell asleep (he sleeps in the car too so we figured this would work).

We have lots of space at home for him to run off his energy and play, so when at all possible we pick lodging where we will have ample space for him to run around during our down time. So on land we rent homes and at sea we chose a really big ship with lots of decks for him to explore and a children's playroom.

See where I'm going with this? I think we cannot expect these littles to magically become different children when placed in different environments. If you have a stubborn baby, they will be stubborn in WDW just like they are at home. If they are easy breezy at home, chances are they will be very chill while away. So the best thing to do is to anticipate that and try to make them feel as at home as possible while you are away. This has served us SOOOO well during our travels and allows us to still enjoy ourselves while we are there instead of being upset that things don't turn out or our child doesn't act like we wish he could.

 

[JamJamFam]

We went last month with our three kids, our youngest will be one shortly. We had a lot of fun, but it was a lot more work than usual. If you want to take your baby, go for it, you'll have fun - just remember that it is a lot more work with baby in tow. Much slower pace, a lot more to carry, and for me, a sore back, haha! We brought our stroller, but our son likes to be carried, so I had him in the Tula a lot. He napped in his stroller and nursed on rides if he got fussy. It was a fun trip, but I wouldn't have done it if he were our only LO - the trip was definitely for our family and he is part of that.

 

[VTNuke]

We went when the wife was expecting and it was kind of a trial run on how long we needed to wait. We ended up waiting until the week before she turned 3 for the first and at 2.5 for the second, with the oldest being 4 by that point. While both were walking by that point, I realized both of those early trips were more for us than the kids. Neither kid has any memory of their first trip. It was much more for the parents (and the aunt that helped out as well).

It sounds like this trip with the 11 month old is not going to be your last trip, so do it for you. Just remember their schedule may not match with what you want to do at the parks at that time. You have to be really flexible with what your schedule and not be disappointed if you miss something. You'll catch it next time.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

We brought our twins right before their first b-day, and our oldest was 4 at the time. Was it worth it? I'll preface my comment by saying a day at WDW is better than a day anywhere else, it's truly my happy space. But I'm sort of 50/50 on if it was worth it, leaning toward no. It's a ton of work lugging the things they needed around. They obviously couldn't ride much, so that was tough. Spent a ton of time crawling around playgrounds, which we can do at home. The plus side was seeing the amazement in their eyes as they took in all the sights, sounds, etc... But if I had to do it again, no, I probably wouldn't.

Completely agree with this.

 

[ice cube]

We took each of our daughters for their first time when they were 13months respectively. Everyone said why would you do that they can't understand and/or what a waste of money.
Both my wife and I still to this day say what a great time we had and that we never laughed as much as those first trips with them. When we had our first we thought if we have more
kids they won't make us laugh like the first time. What do you know we laughed even harder. As you can tell by my signature the girls are big now my oldest is off to college next month
but we still go to Disney every year. Go for it and enjoy I pray you laugh until it hurts like what we experienced our first times with our girls. Just relax and go with the flow.

 

[sjrec]

We waited with our daughter until she was 5 and she and her husband chose to wait with our grandson until he was 3. We didn’t stop taking vacations, we just took different vacations-our family place at the beach for instance. But that’s us. If you want to go you’ll make it work

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We took DS when he was 1 year and 3 weeks old. Yes, it was totally for me! I had started planning it when he was six months old because I was trapped in a house with a baby who didn't sleep and I really needed something to look forward to. We had a BLAST! Even DS enjoyed it (though he doesn't remember it of course!). He was just about to walk when he went and we have great memories of him holding on to railings everywhere and practicing his walking. We went right before Pooh's playground was closed (to make room for 7DMT) and we have wonderful memories (and pictures) of playing with him in there. We were there during F&W and I remember him falling asleep in his stroller while we sampled the food and it was truly one of the first times I relaxed since he was born. We ALL had a great time!

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

We went when my youngest was 1 year and 4 months, rented a Citi Mini stroller (big canopy, easy to turn and fold) from Kingdom Strollers, and stayed at the Poly so we would be on the Monorail Loop for Epcot and MK, so we only had to deal with buses to HS and AK. I never used a baby center once because we always went back to the room for nap time, except on our AK day where he napped in the stroller around lunchtime. I stashed a soft baby carrier under the stroller for when we were waiting in lines.

My top tips:
- use those RS passes! Some of us got extra rides on Soarin', FOP, and EE thanks to those
- dark, longer rides can be excellent, cool, relatively private places to nurse. I nursed mine on Spaceship Earth and Haunted Mansion!
- if you're nursing, make double sure you're staying hydrated yourself. And baby can dehydrate too if he/she is sweating a lot, so keep that in mind. And sunblock/hats!
- unless your baby loves characters, consider skipping until they're older. My little one only met the characters at character meals. Not worth the lines/heat otherwise.

I think it was totally worth it. Disney makes vacationing with kids so easy, baby change tables everywhere, and of course it's so stroller-friendly. And I'll never forget my little one dancing and squealing in delight at the music in Navi River Journey. Have a great time!

 

[QueenIsabella]

I've taken babies/toddlers to WDW, but not as an "only"--the trip was meant more for older children, with the younger one tagging along, if that makes sense. I would probably not choose to take a baby/toddler to WDW, especially as a single parent, since your DH doesn't want to go.

That said, a lot of people certainly do take very young ones, and have a good time doing it. So, if you want to go, and are aware of the limitations (some rides off-limits, schedule will be the baby's schedule, etc.), you'll probably have a nice time. As someone said up-thread, though, a lot depends on the child's temperament. If you have an easy-going kid, you should be just fine.

The one thing I think you should really think about and plan for is, the logistics of being a single parent on this trip. I know you're meeting up with your mother and sister, which will hopefully be a big help, but the baby might not take to them right away, especially if she doesn't have a lot of familiarity with them. I also think the idea of flying down solo is going to be logistically tricky--do-able, for sure, but just make sure you think it through, plan for any contingencies, etc. Personally, I'd buy the second seat and bring the car seat--it allows for a familiar spot for the child, as well as giving you a bit of a break. You should be able to gate-check your stroller. Think about juggling your baby, stroller, carry-on--might it be worth checking your luggage? That's just the type of thing you need to think through, way prior to actually boarding the airplane. Similarly, are you getting your own hotel room, or sharing? Would sharing work for the child you have?

Don't misunderstand--I truly think you can have a great trip, I just think that's it's going to be a different type of trip than you're probably used to.