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Table of Contents
First of all, I’d like to mention that this trip was made for Alexis. Yes, we were both DYING to go to Disney again, so that played into the decision to take her to Disneyworld, despite the fact that she is too young to take too much out of it. However, the purpose was to go there hoping she’d enjoy it as much as we do, see the sights and have a new experience. We have been Disney passholders for as long as I remember living in Florida, so we had already done our share of rides and Disney fun. This was our turn to introduce the Magical World to our daughter.
THE TRIP THERE:
It wasn’t a very long “road trip” but given that we are still a little bit scarred from the times when Alexis would cry and cry in her old car seat, I was a bit nervous about having her in the car for 3 hours. So I tried to prepare. First of all, I cannot stand when our car is messy. That being said, now that we have Lexi, it is messy ALL THE TIME. So I found a few things that make car trips more manageable from the sanity standpoint for me. It’s not that important for a short trip like this one, but for longer road trips these are life savers.
LitterBag:
- We usually have trash all over the car: used paper towels, hand wipes, wrappers, bags, empty bottles- you name it. And it’s all thrown all over the front and the back seat. Solution: LitterBag c/o OneStepAhead. It’s this black small(ish) fabric box that gets velcroed to the car mat and has a “velcro lid”. That’s where the trash goes. Nice and neat, out of the way and doesn’t look like a trashbag or trashcan. It won’t tip (velcored to the mat) and is waterproof. Perfect solution.
Car Organizer:
- This one for me is a must. We bring multiple toys and books on our car rides, especially long distance ones, so again to keep it all in one place, we use a car organizer. It fits perfectly in that middle section of the backseat, keeps all the toys, books, hand sanitizers, wipes, cups neatly tucked away. I LOVED this one from One Step Ahead, until I realized the lining is made of PVC (boo!). So now we have this one from Diono, but it’s nowhere near as big and convenient as the One Step Ahead version.
Kid Music CD:
- Cranberry Red Balloon Cd
I am not sure why exactly but this CD of kids’ music has ALWAYS calmed Alexis. She’s fallen asleep to it (once we got the new seat), she’s sat calmly staring out of the window listening to it, she stops fussing as soon as we turn it on. It’s kind of magical.
Children’s Books:
- Like I mentioned earlier, Alexis isn’t crazy about being stuck in one place for too long. Thankfully, the car seat issue was solved with the convertible car seat, but there is still an issue of keeping her content and entertained on long trips and making sure she doesn’t die from boredom. I usually let her play and entertain herself until she starts fussing. Then I give her a different toy or a book to look through. Once that is not enough, I start reading her our favorite books. I keep 4-5 board books in the car at all times for this very purpose. You can see board book list here.
ALEXIS AT DISNEY
My expectations were that she was going to absolutely love all the colors, the age-appropriate rides, and the atmosphere, considering what a visual baby she has been since birth. But I also realized that for her at the young age of 7 months, going to the mall would probably give the exact same stimulation as Disney would. And I was ok with that.
Spending 4-5 days at Disney gave her frequent change of scenery, new things every day, and great {over?}stimulation of all her senses and that was what we wanted.
Something we didn’t know, though, and could not have expected is that we happened to take Alexis to Disney at a slightly wrong time in her development. See, had we taken her there between 4-6 months when she was so focused on seeing things in her environment, she would have been much more interested in the sights and sounds. However, we went during September, the least busy month of all, when she has already switched to being interested in crawling, standing up and touching things closest to her. So a lot of the visually impressive attractions were spent trying to touch the handlebar, standing up in the seat and flirting with the riders behind us. Despite that, the trip was a great opportunity to get away from the old and familiar, to see our daughter in the world that we love so much, dressed up in beautiful dresses and mickey ears (photos coming soon). It didn’t become a trip for Alexis like we had hoped, but she was a part of it and she enjoyed it as much as a 7 months old baby can.
It was not hard AT ALL being at Disney with an infant, given that we had all the necessary equipment and were very familiar with the parks and amenities. I would like to encourage anyone who is considering visiting Disney, but is concerned about doing it with an infant. Depending on your infant’s personality, it can be either manageable or very easy. Disney has done a decent job making the parks baby friendly (they could do better, but what is in place already is good enough) and with spousal help, it is definitely manageable and can be fun. I would even consider going to Disney on my own with Alexis, if Andrew is ever too busy, as long as I have the right equipment (read: the right carrier and/or stroller)
HER ROUTINE AT DISNEY:
I am planner and I love schedules when it comes to myself. However, I am not a “schedule based parent” when it comes to Alexis, we do everything based on her cues. She sleeps when she displays signs of tiredness along with the appropriate amount of time having passed (based on prior experience), she eats when she asks for it, she comfort nurses when she needs to, she wakes up when she needs to. Knowing that she usually goes anywhere from 2-4 hours between her naps, and if she is visually or otherwise stimulated that time has been known to stretch out to 5-6 hours, I had a pretty good idea of what we can or cannot accomplish and enjoy at Disney. My plan was to wake up bright and early at her usual time and take advantage of the Extra Magic Hours ( an additional hour in the morning or 1-3 hours in the evening when the park is open to resort guests only), come back to the hotel room 4 hours later before the heat of the day gets to its peak, rest, take a nap, eat, possibly have a late lunch at one of Disney restaurants located in parks and resorts ( those are great to go to, since they are all themed), hang out at the pool or play in the room till late afternoon, then we’d take another nap and go to the parks refreshed. If the day was overcast, I planned on seeing if she can nap at the park in our arms or the stroller (she doesn’t fall asleep in a carrier unfortunately) and then continue with the day at the park. It worked out pretty well with 4-5 hours being the exact time when Alexis really needed to nap. However, she was so excited being out and about that we never actually got to sit in the room and play.
{sharing some edamame peas after a nap}
Here what most of our days looked like (except for the last day):
7:00 am Up for the day, get ready, quick cereal, off to the parks
11:00 am Attempt to nap at the park if it’s overcast. Or if it’s hot and sunny, we’d go back to the hotel room for a nap
2:00 pm After a good 2 hour nap, a shower, and a change of clothes, we are off to have lunch at one of the hotels that we’ve made a reservation for.
4:00 pm After a nice leisurely lunch and we are usually back at our hotel for another nap.
5:00pm- Off to the parks for the evening
9:00pm- Done for the day and going back to the hotel or have an 8 pm dinner at one of Disney restaurants.
NURSING AND NAPPING
Despite a potential for a disaster, it was really easy and laid back when it came to napping and nursing at the park. All Disney parks have a Baby Care center that is fully equipped with anything baby related. They’ve got changing rooms, supplies, kids’ room, nursing rooms with rockers and dim light (though watch out for obnoxious mothers who despite the calm and quiet atmosphere of the nursing room, walk in with their grandmother, and loudly talk on the phone and laugh while feeding their baby).
I never noticed these areas when we used to visit the parks childless, but they are pretty convenient (except for Animal Kingdom). Magic Kingdom has a baby center next to the crystal palace between Main Street and Adventureland. Animal Kingdom has one by the entrance, which is quite inconvenient to have to go to the from the back of the park (so we never actually visited it). Epcot has one smack in the middle between the Future world and World Showcase.
It was also no problem breastfeeding anywhere in the park. There were plenty of secluded shaded places. I made sure to nurse her frequently to prevent dehydration. We only visited the Baby Center once a day for a nap. I would sit in the nursing room and let Alexis sleep in my arms. That was the only way she would fall asleep at the park in the beginning, because it’s too stimulating otherwise. We tried to move her into the stroller while she was asleep once and of course she woke up and was really pissed at us for doing that 🙂
On her last day or two, she actually managed to fall asleep in my arms while nursing in the middle of a busy area in the park, which was nice. Otherwise, I was really surprised to see how easy it was to manage naps and nurse at the parks, even though Alexis doesn’t tend to be easy when it comes to naps.
Gear
DIAPERS:
- Initially I wanted to use cloth diapers for the trip. “We can do it!”, I said. We can wash the diaper in the laundry room at Disney, I thought. Hubs didn’t buy it. And he was smart not to. We went with disposables primarily because I felt they would be less hot and hindsight being 20/20 it would have been REALLY hard and annoying to have to do diaper washes, so I am glad we did. We were exhausted as it was after a day at the park, to have to worry about cloth diapers… ugh, no! I wish I had thought to at least bring a few bloomers to cover up the ugly disposables peeking from under her dresses, but I didn’t think that putting another layer on her in this heat was prudent.
OUTFITS:
- I had two outfits planned out for her for each day, and honestly we could have used a third. Before the trip I was considering buying her a princess outfit for the first trip to Disney, but thinking about the scratchy polyester hot costumes that they sell- I was just not going to do it to my baby. Once she understands what it’s all about and wants one- we’ll do it. A few days before the trip, though, I got sent a silk baby dress that could not have been more perfect. It was not hot, not cheap looking like costumes tend to be and Lex looked ADORABLE in it. I am so happy we were able to have that dress for our first trip, I cannot tell you. I know I would have been really disappointed after the fact had we not dressed her into something special at least one for the days. There will be a ton of pictures of our little princess in this dress at the Garden Tea Room, but for now, here’s a tease. The dress is from http://www.babybeauandbelle.com/ and they have a ton of gorgeous sets. If you’re looking for a special outfit I’d definitely consider looking at them.
Contents of our Diaper bag:
I had a whole list of things to pack for the parks that I thought would be handy:
- spare outfit and spare simple 100% cotton onesie
- high chair cover ( that we kept in the car)
- Spray hand sanitiser by Dr Bronner (no nasty ingredients like in conventional hand sanitizers)
- Cleanwell hand wipes (no alcohol, non toxic)
- Hat, sunscreen, water
- Boba Air
- a couple of toys
- board books {Occasionally, rather than take our car to the parks, we would take the Disney bus. If you are visiting parks other than MK, a car is more convenient because you don’t have to wait for a bus in the heat, however MK is a special case. Since there is no parking next to the park itself, you have to leave your car at the transportation center (or a MK area resort) and take the monorail/boat to the park itself. That was incredibly time consuming and considering we had a limited amount of awake time, after the first time of attempting to do so, we opted for the bus from the resort. Lexi being the interested impatient curious girl that she is, wasn’t going to sit still in the bus so our little board books that fit nicely in the diaper bag became an instant hit for the whole family. She sat there contently and quietly the whole ride EVERY time as I read her the same stories over an over again from the 5 books we happened to bring to Disney. So if your little one loves books, don’t forget to bring them with you on your Disney trip, as well}
STROLLER/CARRIER
Rides
Here we had a bit of a disappointment. I was SURE she’d be fascinated with all the colorful and fun kiddie rides and I was really looking forward to seeing her eyes light up with excitement. Not so much. We happened to take her to Disney right at the time that her focus shifted from looking around (which is what she loved doing at 4-6 months) to crawling and grabbing things within reach. She was more interested in grabbing handles, flirting with people and in general looking at things that are within arm’s reach rather than look up and see the magnificence of Disney’s imagination. This is where I think if you’re planning on taking your infant to Disney so that he/she would enjoy it, make sure you do it BEFORE they start crawling and in that perfect window of “Wow! Look at the world!’. Of course, every baby is different, so I’d be interested to hear how your little ones reacted to rides at Disney. Despite the fact that she wanted to eat every single ride’s handle, we had enough fun experiencing our favorite place with her.
She did have a favorite ride, though. One that made her smile and laugh. It was the carpet of Aladdin and Dumbo. She loves the fast up and down motion so I made sure to direct the carpet to go UP UP UP and then DOWN DOWN DOWN. I think that was the only smile we got on the rides. The rest she was just fussing to reach the nearest object 🙂 Same thing happened at Animal Kingdom, she somehow couldn’t care less about big animals in the distance, but as soon as she saw a mouse in a glass box, she went crazy for it, or the fish in the aquarium at Epcot. Those were real hits!
Aside from the rides, she enjoyed playing in the splash areas, crawling on the ground, riding the train, looking at small animals, touching fishes, nursing AND EATING! She had a ton of fun at Disney restaurants. All the people and excitement and new foods.
We are thinking about going to Disney again around Christmas time, so it will be interesting to compare the two trips, both from our perspective and Alexis’ one.
29 comments
i just have to say, I always love your posts. Really no matter what the topic, but definitely these types. They are always interesting, have awesome pics and very informative at the same time. It also works out conveniently for me, as my son is only a couple months younger than Lexi, so I get excited seeing her develop and thanks to you, being introduced to awesome products I could use within a few months of you reviewing them!
just thought Id share that with you! 😉
That is SOOOO sweet of you to say!!!! Thank you!
These are some really fantastic tips. One thing I’ve always found that helps is having what we like to call the “panic bag,” which consists of some small snacks, a toy or two and whatever else can help in case of a crisis! On an end note, that picture of Alexis on the Dumbo ride is absolutely adorable.
I second that panic bag idea! I have a few toys and favorite snacks that we keep for “emergencies” like long lines or restaurants. Stuff they don’t get to have all the time so when we really need them calm and happy they have something fun and new to do.
Thanks for this post! I’m going to Disney in December for the first time ever with my infant who will be 5 months old. My husband’s family has a house in Florida and we are going to visit for a while after Christmas. How is the weather there usually at the end of December, beginning of January? We live in Ohio and are used to it being freezing in the winter :/
Usually, the weather is fabulous in December. Not too hot, not too cold. You can expect it to be a t-shirt weather in the sun and maybe a sweater weather in the evening, depends on how you handle cold. However, once in a while we get a cold front and it gets really chilly even during the day and especially at night. So go by the forecast right before you leave and then count on possibly having to wear a very warm sweater if you’re unlucky.
I’m trying to plan a trip to Disney with my 1 year old so I love the insightful posts lately! I was just wondering about how many rides are there in Magic Kingdom that a infant/toddler can ride? My husband does not think it is worth going to Disney until our daughter is around 5 and since we do plan on having more kids soon it would be years before we would be able to go by his “guidelines”. I have tried to explain to him that there is different “magic” for every age so knowing she could actually ride a few rides might help my argument. Thanks!
There are A LOT OF attractions in both Magic Kingdom and even other parks for little ones. Most attractions in the park are for families with the exception of a few. Disney isn’t a rollercoaster park, that’s Universal. If you wanted to ride ALL the rides/ see all the main attractions at Disney World with a toddler, you’d need 4-6 days, at least ( to do it comfortably). That tells you how man rides there are.
If you want to go, I would not let the age of your daughter stop you, because you will all enjoy it. Each age is different at Disney. I mean after our first trip, we are going in December and then again in January. If we didn’t think Lexi got something out of it, we wouldn’t repeat it so soon.
If your husband insists you wait, then wait until you’re ready to TTC for the 2nd on and go then, that way you daughter will be the oldest she can be before the baby is here.
Visit disneyworld.com and check out the attractions labeled little ones or family. There are a lot. There are shows, there are a lot of slow moving rides, it’s great!
Thanks so much for this post! I appreciate the help and tips!
Hi Elena,
Lexi’s reaction made me think of this: http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2011/03/03/disneyland-the-happiest-place-on-earth/
😉
I always find your descriptions of Disney fascinating because I am not a Disney person at all – when I think Disney, I think of the fakeness of it all, the consumerism and ruthless marketing, the princess phenomenon/pinkification of girls, the gender and racial stereotypes… And I am personally thrilled that my son, at two and a half, hasn’t caught on to the whole thing yet. However, your posts make it very clear that this is just a bit of innocuous fun for you, and something that you actively promote for your daughter.
I would be genuinely curious about your stance toward that kind of criticism that is often directed at Disney.
I think people like to get on their high horse about Disney and trash it, just like anything that gets popular. There are always fans and haters of everything out there.
You can snap pictures of whiny kids anywhere. Yes, it tends to be hot, and yes there are long lines. But noone is making anyone do Disney. For example, because we live in Florida, we only go during the dead season not to stand in lines. The heat you can’t get away from regardless of what you do in Florida.
To me Disney World is a magical place. It’s full of inspirational uplifting music and fun attractions and shows. When I’ve gone there with older kids, they absolutely LOVED IT!
They are also often criticized when it comes to their story lines and yeah the whole “I am a damsel in distress, here, handsome and rich, save me, so that I could be a rich princess too” premise of stories makes me both wince and lol at the same time. But i think it is up to parents to instill proper values into their kids, not Disney. Fairy tales have always been very far from reality and far from being the best lesson if you were to break them down into details. So blaming Disney for that is like blaming Mcdonalds for getting fat. It bothers you- don’t read/visit it. (I know that is not what you were referring to but that is another aspect of Disney critisism).
I do however think that to TRULY appreciate the magnificence an magic of Disney you need to be an adult. Kids have a lot of fun, but they don’t comprehend the grandeur of what Disney has done in the parks.
Hope I sort of answered your question.
We took our 3 year old b/g twins and 10 month old boy there this past March. I have to admit, it was a lot more commercialized than I remember it being the few times I went there as a kid. It wasn’t too hot, the lines were super long, I didn’t find it complicated to take our 3 young kids there, but overall it was a long tiring day. But I have to say, seeing my little girls face light up when she got to meet Cinderella, Belle, and Sleeping Beauty was literally priceless. People get way to stressed out about little girls liking princesses. I was a tom boy when I was a kid and princesses would have made me gag. I think my girl is cute dressed up like her favorite characters. It doesn’t impose on the values we set for our family, just like using her imagination any other time. People are silly…
My favorite part there is seeing all the little princesses dressed up… Aaawww
Pretending you are a fairy tale princess doesn’t make a girl act like a spoiled “princess”
I think it’s so important to have them use their imagination in whatever way makes them feel good.
Thank you for this. I, too, appreciate the ‘magic’ of Disney. We live in Orange County, CA, not far from Disneyland and I have been a pass holder since middle school. I have wonderful memories of the visiting there as a child and seeing all my favorite characters, but my fondest memories are of trips in adulthood, people watching, and seeing all the visitors taking in the sights. I firmly believe that it is my responsibility to teach my child morals and values, not Walt Disney or anyone else. And now, my favorite evenings are when I take my two year old son (sometimes with my husband, or family, but my favorite is when it is the two of us) and I nearly cry every time I see his face light up when he sees Mickey or Lightening McQueen. Thank you for sharing.
Aaawwww this is exactly how I feel
The link with the pictures wasn’t intended as some kind of deeper commentary or criticism. I just found your story about Alexis funny because I think this is something that most parents can relate to – the occasional discrepancy between our expectations and mental images and the way our kids actually behave. I remember our first trip to the zoo: my son was very impressed… by the pigeons walking around!
As I said, I find it very interesting to read about your thoughts on this – and I will fully acknowledge that I probably just don’t get the fascination, personally. I certainly don’t think that the Disney culture per se is detrimental or even harmful for kids. However, there are so, so many things that I want to show and teach my son – a love for nature and the outdoors, for art and culture, for travelling and seeing real places in the world – that the Disney brand of “magic” would really be dead last on my list. Empty calories for the mind, you know? (However, I understand from your other posts that some of these things are really difficult to do in the area where you live.)
Anyway, thanks for replying!
Oh I know Teresa. 🙂 I was more replying to the article than you. I know you were not criticizing Disney per Se.
There are going to be a lot more to do when Lex is a bit older and understands more as well As isn’t so vulnerable to the heat.
“I do however think that to TRULY appreciate the magnificence an magic of Disney you need to be an adult. Kids have a lot of fun, but they don’t comprehend the grandeur of what Disney has done in the parks”
Eh, I went there as an adult (without kids) and I wasn’t blown away nor did I find it to be anything more than a typical amusement park. Now I like amusement parks as much as the next person (and I had a good time), but I guess I don’t really understand the whole manufactured/fake quality to it – why go to Epcot, if you can travel abroad and see the real thing? For the cost of flying to FL and spending a week in Disney, you can go to Europe and see real architectural and real art (and eat real food!) with the hundreds of years of history and civilization. And I found the food at Disney to be terrible! (Even at the “nice” restaurants). Why go animal kingdom when you can travel to one of the thousands of amazing national parks around the country, and see the real splendor of nature? When we went to Disney, we also went to Blue Springs State Park at the end of our trip and I found it MUCH more impressive than anything I saw at Disney. I don’t really understand getting so excited about something that is manufactured purely for profit. It’s all fake!
Or you can do it all- Disney and Europe ( can’t wait to go there with Lex) and springs parks (those are awesome). In order to properly enjoy Disney, especially if you’re not a fan from the get go, you really need to do it right. As in, no long lines (they’d kill anyone’s mood), visiting during colder months, and also have the right attitude. I have always loved walking around Disney just for the atmosphere they offer. Many will agree. I am sure if you go to Disney expecting to be bored and tired, that is what you will see.
And I definitely don’t agree with you on the statement that it’s like any other amusement park. It is so not. The details they have put into every sidewalk, every ride- they are astounding!
Though if we lived up north and had to fly to Disney, I’d probably opt for Europe and other destinations more often than not, as well.
Re: food, you obviously went there during the Eisner years. The food was HORRIBLE back then! Like really disgusting. He was trying to cut cost. After he left, the food improved immensely, and most of the cool themed restaurants (especially Epcot ones) serve great food (but again, you have to know where to go. If you go to a mama pizzeria or whatever in Hollywood studios, you’re gonna get TGI Fridays quality.
I know this is off topic but , I cloth diaper and co sleep/nurse through out the night, lately we have been using disposables at nights, wondering if my daughter would wake up less, thinking perhaps she was wet and therefore that was affecting her comfort. (When cloth diapering, I would change her once in the night, it disrupts her sleep, and mine though so I didn’t like doing that). But i find that the disposables leak, and dont last the 11 hours in bed. What cloth diapers do you use at night? How often do you change them?, if you do?.And also, what brand of detergent do you use on your cloth diapers? – thanks
I agree! Disposables definitely leak. We started using kawaii goodnight diapers for a while and they worked great. However we had to stop because the leg openings were too light for Lexi’s chubby legs and were giving her a contact rash/rubbed her skin raw.
We haven’t found one that is better yet (I haven’t looked)
So right now we do disposable at night but they are definitely not my optimal choice.
We’ve used 100% cotton prefolds and Thirsties Duo covers sinceour daughter was a week old, and we’ve only had a handful of leaks (due to user error lol) and we’ve never had any bad diaper rash, or a rash like what you describe – that sounds awful! For overnights we simply add an additional hemp insert and it lasts well over 12 hours with no leaks. But since Lexi is larger than your average toddler, you may have trouble finding something big enough for her.
Look into fitteds and wool. They are wonderful, super breathable, and totally bulletproof. 12+ hours with no leaks!
Any advice on leg issue?
I know this is a forever old post. I’ve been reading on taking my baby to Disney and thought I would chime in on the cloth diaper issue.
Being that this thread is 2 years old now, I don’t know if you still have babies in diapers, but Charlie Banana diapers were the best for the leg issue. Totally adjustable to fit your baby 😀
I love some of the restaurants at Disney. Will you be doing any restaurant reviews? Would love to read them!!!
Restaurants at Disney are the best! I could do reviews of them. I hadn’t thought about it 🙂
Hi Elena, I have been following your blog since you were TTC and you were one of the reasons, I got the courage to dive into the TTC phase. I have a very sensitive question to ask. You are one of the most open and non-prudish bloggers, so I think you are the only person I can ask this to – Can you give some idea of what to expect regarding sex during pregnancy and with an infant? What challenges we would face and tips on how to overcome them? I have a lot of girlfriends but none with kids. I’m sure many many readers have this question in their minds but are too shy/hesitant to ask you. It would be wonderful if you can do a post on that – since that would be indeed “the art of making a baby”. Thanks in advance 🙂
Thank you for this wonderful information. My wife and I and our 11 year old daughter visited Disneyworld for the first time this past September and we are wanting to go again next year, however my wife is due to give birth to our son :+) in January. With that being said we weren’t really sure how it would be to go back to Disney next Sept or Oct with an infant. After reading your blog I am more relaxed about taking him to Disney…Thanks Again!