Doing Disney with a baby

We took Wyatt to Disney World for the first time when he was 9 months old. We didn’t do much that trip – we were only there for two nights. We went back for runDisney’s marathon weekend when he was 13 months old. We had a lot planned for that trip, but most of it didn’t happen because my son ended up in the hospital.

I learned a lot about doing Disney with a baby, though!

Disney perks for babies:

I don’t think I need to convince anyone that Disney is a great place to bring young children – they cater to families of all ages! Kids under 3 can get into the parks for free. Disney knows what parents of young children need, and they offer some pretty nice perks:

1. Baby care centers: There is one baby care center in each of the four parks – next to the first aid station near Crystal Palace at Magic Kingdom, in the Odyssey in EPCOT, inside Guest Relations at the entrance of Hollywood Studios, and between the Tree of Life building and bridge to Africa in Animal Kingdom. These care centers are awesome. They offer an air-conditioned place to change and feed your baby. Complete with kitchens with microwaves to heat up food or formula, play areas for older children, and baby necessities – diapers, wipes, food, and pacifiers – available for purchase. Some care centers even have private rooms with rocking chairs for nursing.

2. Rider switch: Disney’s rider switch is awesome. From Disney’s website:

3. Babies can join you on the rides. You can let your baby ride on your lap on any ride that doesn’t have a height requirement or safety belt. Dumbo, Jungle Cruise, It’s a Small World, Winnie the Pooh, and Buzz Lightyear are some baby-friendly rides at Magic Kingdom.

4. Restaurants will purée food. We had to meet with the chef before every meal because of Wyatt’s food allergies (side note: Disney is super accommodating when it comes to food allergies). They always offered to purée food for him.

5. There are babysitters available (for a fee): For babies older than 6 months, Disney offers in-room childcare services through an independent childcare provider, Kids Night Out. So mom and dad can enjoy a date night (or race!). Or, you could just invite Grammy and Grampy to come along on your vacation. I guarantee they’ll have a good time!

6. Characters: Wyatt was scared of the characters during our first trip, but loved them during our second. I highly recommend scheduling a character meal or finding your favorite characters in the parks. It was so much fun to watch him interact with his new furry friends.

My tips:

1. Wipe down everything the minute you walk into your hotel room. If you only listen to one tip, please let it be this one! Wyatt got norovirus in Disney – which resulted in a trip to the ER, a missed marathon and Goofy medal for me, and a very, very horrible two hours of nurses and doctors not being able to get an IV in my dehydrated little boy. I never want any parent to go through that, let alone on vacation. I was dumb and didn’t wipe down everything immediately upon entering the room. I should have cleaned the remote, door and drawer handles, edges of the table, phone, doorstops, and everything else Wyatt likes to chew on. Note: I do not think norovirus was Disney’s fault at all. It was a really big year for the illness and it’s super contagious, especially if you’re 13 months old and put everything in your mouth.

“Hey mom, watch me get norovirus!”

2. Take advantage of morning extra magic hours. Most days, Disney parks don’t open until 9:00 am – peak morning nap time for a lot of babies! If you stay on property, one park per day opens an hour earlier as part of extra magic hours. If you have an early riser like we do, getting to the park by 8am is no problem.

A bonus: parks aren’t as crowded in the early mornings.

3. Mind nap time. My son cannot skip naps and be expected to function well. Maybe yours can, so I guess this tip is more about knowing your baby. We knew that Wyatt can do well if he takes a short morning nap and long afternoon nap. If we waited until his midday awake time to head to the parks (he could only be awake for about 3- 3.5 hours tops back then), we would have really been pushing it and pressed for time. Instead, we hit the parks when they opened, let him take his morning snooze on the go, and headed back to the hotel after lunch so he could take a long afternoon nap in his crib.

4. Bring a stroller and a carrier. So far, Wyatt has napped in his stroller three times in his life. We ideally wanted him to nap in his stroller at the parks, but knew that probably wouldn’t happen. So we packed the Ergo too, and it did the trick. Note: if you’re in Disney for a runDisney event, strollers are not allowed in the expo. Bring those carriers!

5. Don’t overlook what the resorts have to offer. Wyatt was still a super crank at 9 months old, so we were not about to spend money on park tickets. Instead, we splurged on the hotel – we stayed at the Polynesian – and spent a lot of time there. Babies are allowed in resort pools (with swim diapers of course), and the Poly has a water play area which he loved. For the two days we were there, enjoying the resort and Downtown Disney was more than enough to do.

6. Consider getting a car. One of the perks of staying on property is the free bus service between the resorts and the parks. Unfortunately, sometimes the buses take a while and make multiple stops – it can literally take an hour between the time you leave your room and when you arrive at your destination. This is an eternity in baby time. In January, we had a car and it made things a lot easier. Note: most airlines allow you to check or gate check carseats for free.

7. Request a crib. Usually when you request a crib, you get a pack n’ play, which isn’t so great if your baby knows how to knock them over. Disney has cribs though – we landed one in January, but not September. Request it all over your reservation, cross your fingers, and pray you may get one!

Who else has done Disney with a baby? Share your tips below!