Help everyone with little ones! We want to plan a trip to WDW with our first grandchild (who will be 18 months old). We have been several times with just myself, husband and 14 year old son. This will be my daughter and son-in-laws first ever trip to Disney. I need helpful tips on how to do this with a baby so that everyone has a good time and their first trip is the best! I appreciate any helpful suggestions you can make. Barb

My little girl was 18 mo. on her first trip, too! We had a great time with no problems at all. We went in November and the crowds were light. We didn't leave to take naps because she would fall asleep in the stroller and while she was sleeping we would do the rides that she couldn't ride. We had my mil and fil with us so that made it easy to take turns. My suggestions are:

1. Bring your own stroller. Try to bring one that reclines so that the baby can sleep comfortably. The baby will be more comfortable in it. If you do rent, bring a blanket or something to lay on b/c the strollers are hard.

2. Bring in little snacks for the baby like small bags of pretzels or goldfish to snack on in case they are hungry and you are not.

3. Bring a small botlle of bubbles that you can blow in the longer lines. This worked great for our daughter. It was like an attraction in and of itself!

4. We brought those silicone earplugs for swimming for our daughter because some of the shows are really loud for those little ears. These worked out perfectly!

5. Take advantage of fastpass and parent swap.

5. Take it all in. This will be a great and exciting trip for you and your grandbaby.

Check out the baby care facilities in all of the WDW parks. They are a wonderful place to go and unwind, very cool and quiet. They have great, really clean changing facilities. There is only one in every park, so you may not always be near by when you need it, but we found that we passed by them often. MK's baby place is by the first aid/Crystal Palace area. Epcot's is in the Oddessey building to the left as you enter world showcase. I think AK's is near Pizzafari. I can't recall where it is in MGM, but I think it is near the entrance to the park.

Also, lower your expectations. Whereas my son would happily sleep in his stroller, expect very early on my daughter never has. You are going to have to let me baby set the pace, and assume you will not see everything. And, you will need to gage how sensitive baby is the sometimes extreme stimulus of WDW. My son was unphased by it all, even at 9 months old. My daughter has not been there yet, but just knowing her, I imagine when we go (end of April, she'll be 2 1/4) it's going to be a whole other story.

Have fun! Bet you can't wait to see the baby ride Dumbo!

Know your child/grandchild and work around them. Went have been with our now 33 month old 3 times in the past year (first time he was 21 months old). He "requires" two solid hours of napping mid afternoon and then he is good until 9 pm with no meltdowns. He can not get that in the parks so we always go back to the room for his naps. The one day we did not do this on the first trip he only got about an hour in so that we could watch the parade and we ended up having a very rough nap.

Plus the parents tend to take a nap and unwind also. We have now traveled with our daughter who is currently 7 months (she was 5 weeks and 6 months on her two trips) and she was able to nap in the parks but that was mainly because I had her in a carrier that allowed her to rest on my hip and she snuggled into a nap. I would cover her with a blanket to keep some of the sun out of her eyes.

Also, make sure you plan your meals according to their schedules. We have found for us to make a 5 pm Priority Seating so that come 5:30 or so when the food comes they are ready to eat. Be ware that at buffets they will eat for free but at table service there food is expensive and wayyyyy too much for what they normally eat. Also at some of the character breakfasts they have small boxes / containers of cereal that the staff will tell you to take as much as you need for snacks. We found that the small containers of fruit loops fit perfectly in the cupholder of the stroller and he could nibble on them.

Oh definitely take your own stroller that will recline but remember that rain cover for it!

Any other questions, please ask.

I am not going to give you any specific advice, as all the stuff here is really good. but I will say that we have twice taken a child under 18 months. one at 12 months another at 15 months. and they had a great time. in fact when we announced to our second child a year later. then just over two, that we were going back to WDW she got very excited, and for the next month every time we got into the car she would ask "we go to disy worl now?".

she seemed to at least then remember the place from her first trip.

If you’re flying be sure to bring snacks and drinks on the plane. Drinking during take-off and landing will help with any ear popping for the baby.

As others have said knowing your grandchild’s temperament is key to having tantrum free visits. We’ve taken both our kids to WDW before their 2nd birthdays, the oldest at 21 months the youngest at 22 months. The oldest was the energizer bunny; she never needed a nap and never had a breakdown. The youngest is a creature of habit and if we varied her nap or meal schedule by 15 minutes she lost it!

If the days are hot, we always pack washcloths in a ziplock bag with ice and keep it in the diaper bag. It’s nice to wipe sticky fingers and faces with a cool cloth.

After the Dumbo ride, my girls’ favorite thing to do is see the characters. To avoid waiting in line to see them, we go to Toontown during the parade or fireworks. We’ve had times when we were the only people there and the girls had the characters all to themselves. Same goes for Al’s Toy Barn at MGM.

Don’t miss the villains at the old queue area for the sub ride. Some characters, like the Queen of Hearts, may be a little scary for toddlers.

Try to hit Fantasyland first thing to avoid the crowds.

Definitely bring your own stroller.

There isn’t much for a toddler at EPCOT, so we skip that park entirely (unless we get a babysitter and sneak off to the park by ourselves).

Be sure to catch Playhouse Disney at MGM. We found the first show to be the least crowded. But don’t get to close too the front, you’ll get neck strain from looking up and the baby will have to stand to see everything.

Bring your own snacks. If you do buy a children’s meal, remember that if the meal comes with a souvenir cup/pail/etc, you can say you don’t want that and the price will be reduced.

If your grandchild won’t wear sunglasses, skip the 3-D attractions. Even at 3 yrs old, my youngest still has no interest in these attractions.

My girls had no patience to sit through Fantasmic so an 18 month old might not appreciate all the special effects.

Hope you find these helpful.

Depending on what time of year you are going you may be able to have great character interaction. With our son, we took him at 22 months in January and the place was pretty empty. He was able to get over 50 signatures and even more pictures with characters. We did not get everyone's signature.

It was a great time because he did not know to be afraid of the characters but rather embraced them. A couple of them even wrestled with him on the floor and would not let him up. In particular Pooh/Tigger/Eyeore at Toontown had him down on the floor wrestling and tickling him and he loved it. The "handlers" in fact had to pull them off of him for their break. They did not want to leave. If they see kids that young getting into it they will make sure they have a good time. Mickey in the judges tent did this also. Saw that he was really little so they immediately jumped down on the floor to be on his level.

He has been back twice since then and has not been afraid of anyone with the exception of "Sully" and that was because he was soooo large.

I would definitely start slow the first day and slowly do more and more. Maybe alternate nights with the parents where one group stays in and the others go out.

If you do take your own stroller, practice how fast you can "break it down" and how manuverable it is broken down. Our "good" stroller was very heavy and large and I could not imagine all the picking up I would have to do with it. So we went to Babies R Us and spent about an hour looking for a second stroller which we wanted anyway. We found one that would collapse with one hand and when it collapsed it went down so all 4 wheels were on the ground and you could steer it without having to support it. That was extremely handy when it came to the buses and the bags.

Also, learn where the baby centers are and use them for diaper changes. They are calming and you will feel less hurried than in the bathrooms. All of them except MGM have disney shows on the TVs in the kid areas if you need a meltdown area rather than going all the way back to the room. Also there sell things like diapers and wipes should you run out at the parks.

One last thing. The food at disney can be "rich" and hard on the little/big ones systems so be prepared the first few days for lots of yucky diapers. If need, the first aid has stuff for kid's diahrrea. I know it is gross but possibly and necessary piece of knowledge!!!!

Thanks everyone! These are great tips. First of all, I never thought that a child so young would really enjoy it at all - I thought we would just have to keep her happy so that her parents could see Disney for the first time. Now that I know that she can have a great time to, I even more looking forward to this. We can also look after her while her parents go out at night for some alone time since we have done it before. Thanks for the stroller advise - I was thinking that it would be better to have our own but I wasn't sure if that was the way to go. Please keep the tips coming.

I went for the first time with an 18mt old Dec 2002. For us, I think Alec didn't "get" the parks- he probably would have been as happy at the mall- But what was wonderful is how happy we were as a family. Nothing to do but have fun (with 7yr old older sister) from sun up to sun down. I saw a change in Alec from that point on. It was as if he recognized who is family was as a unit. We were together so much. We really gelled on that trip as our new 4 person family. As everyone has stated- the important thing is to take it easy. Alec loved train and boat rides. There is a nice playground area just for tots under the bridge by the Thundermountain Railroad. Minnie's house was a kick for him as well. I would start with It's a small world just to get him use to the ride experience. Alec also loved playing in the sand in AK. If I had one wish, and the grandparents present, I would have had them babysit in some of the evenings so we could catch the fireworks shows. You will have such a good time.

The other point is to make use of the lockers to store all that baby stuff so you are not too loaded down. Get a receipt and it is good for the whole day any park.