We are returning to DW this Oct. for our 4th trip. The major difference with this trip, is that we are taking our 10M old infant and our 4 yr old (who went at 2 1/2). We plan on taking a daily break for naps (we are staying on property). What other suggestions do people have? What worked for you?

Also- I understand the babyswap concept. Can you tell me what rides I can bring my infant on?

We are returning to DW this Oct. for our 4th trip. The major difference with this trip, is that we are taking our 10M old infant and our 4 yr old (who went at 2 1/2). We plan on taking a daily break for naps (we are staying on property). What other suggestions do people have? What worked for you?

Also- I understand the babyswap concept. Can you tell me what rides I can bring my infant on?

Make sure you use a stroller. I always tie something onto the stroller so I know it's mine. They give you the thing to put your name on, but if you tie something bright onto it, you'll be able to spot it better. They get moved around sometimes. I once read somewhere that somebody tied a fake dirty diaper onto their stroller to keep people from stealing it. Haven't tried that, but I bet it works.

Mid afternoon breaks are essential. Take the kids swimming, for a nap... Any kid who doesn't get a break will be going nuts later.

Since the list is smaller, I'll just name the Disneyland attractions I know of off hand that you can't take your infant on. You can actually take them on a lot.

You can't take your infant on:
Space Mountain
Splash Mountain
Thunder Mountain
The Matterhorn
Indiana Jones

I think that's it. Most everything else is okay. I'm sure I'm missing some, but people will add on.

Good Luck!

--Emma

You will need to slow your pace, but it is really nice to be able to relax a bit more than usual. Babies at that age LOVE to people watch... especially other "small" people, so he/she will probably have a wonderful time on this trip! Don't forget hats & sunscreen. Take snacks that are easily portable. Take breaks when you need them. You may want to get earplugs - most of the attractions are very loud, my son's first two trips to DLR he was 8mos and 1 year and earplugs were essential for him, he is really sensitive to sudden, loud noises.

If you are flying, nurse or give a bottle/sippy cup at take-off and landing - helps the ears.

I always take along a few brand new, never before seen toys too, they are much more likely to hold their attention while traveling than older toys (this will go for the 4 year old too).

Mid afternoon breaks are essential. Take the kids swimming, for a nap... Any kid who doesn't get a break will be going nuts later.
This is probably the biggest part. Just make sure they don't get cranky or restless. Give them (and yourselves :) ) a nice break.

Please get a seat for your child. That will make him/her more comfortable, and you, too - in addition to be safer. If your car seat is approved for use on the airline, you can use that, too.

I just checked with my sister who visited me last January, and you can get a 1/2 price ticket for a child under 2, but you have to specifically ask for it (you might have to call, and not do it on the airlines web site). (And it's 50% of whatever you're paying, not full fare.)

We just took our daughter at 11 months. We made sure to be back in the room for naps and also put her to bed at her normal time. Basically we tried to keep her as much on her normal schedule as possible. We also found that she loved to get out of her stroller and walk around in areas where there weren't alot of people. Be sure to bring a sippy cup and offer plenty of water, and bring along some snacks like Cherrios or graham crackers. Like someone else mentioned, just take it slow. I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time!

Thanks for the advice! :)
We do plan on taking a stroller/snacks and we have a seat for her on the plane. We for sure will come back for an afternoon nap, but we are hoping she will nap in her stroller for the AM nap.

Any advice on what rides/attractions our baby can go on?

Do I need to call reservations and request a porta crib?

Do they have baby proofing kits for the rooms, or should I rbing my own?

I THINK you can bring the infant on any ride that doesn't have a height limit. If that is prudent, or not, depends a lot on the infant. I am not a parent, but I've read here that some of the attractions are a bit loud for the little ones. I can't begin to give you a good list - but Ellen's Energy Adventure in Epcot is one that pops to the front of my brain as being loud for me. Maybe one of the good guide books addresses volume?

I would call ahead and ask about the porta crib, and DEFINITELY bring your own baby-proofing stuff. I'd be shocked if Disney had everything you would want them to.

Our son was nearly 13 months old last December when we visited WDW, so we have some fairly recent experience. We stayed in the Contemporary, but I would imagine the offerings will be similar at any of the resorts.

Definitely call ahead and request a portable crib. While they do have a lot of them making the odds pretty good that you can get one without asking for it in advance, you still shouldn't take the chance. What they provide are Graco Pack-n-Plays and the one we had during our visit last December was in excellent condition. We didn't really do much else in the way of babyproofing and the only real issue we had was that some of the furniture had fairly sharp edges that would have benefited from some padding.

From a logistics standpoint, you might actually find that the older child is more in need of the morning/afternoon naps than the infant. Of course every child is different, but our son really had no problems at all napping in the stroller. In fact, he was more able to do that than in the room. Whenever we went back to the room, he immediately was wanting to crawl around and explore. Our son has never had a set napping schedule, though.

Setting aside the height-restricted attractions, you should find that what your child will or will not tolerate will depend on her personality. Is this her first visit to any theme park or has she been to others? Our son had been to Disneyland quite a few times, so that probably made him a little more comfortable with the attractions. He did particularly like some of the dark rides, with Spaceship Earth as a particular favorite. He was pretty sensitive to noise, though, and didn't take too well to either Wishes or Spectromagic, both of which were a bit too loud for that. We ended up deciding not to take him to see Illuminations.

Obviously, be prepared that visiting with a child that young is somewhat of a different experience and is likely going to take some on-the-fly adjustments. Don't be too committed to any specific plans and overall be ready to go with the flow.

-Jeff

In 2003, my DH and I took our then 9 month old. It was great. She was just learning to walk. Even though my back was aching by the end of the day, she loved to walk around the end areas of the rides.

A few of the rides we took her on was: (I'll try to remember as many as I can)
Magic Kingdom:
Buzz Light Year (I think)
People Mover
Mickey and Minnie's Houses
Winnie the Pooh
The Golden Carousel (still her fav)
Small World
Peter Pan (I think we did this)
Dumbo
Pirates of the Carribean
Jungle Cruise
Aladdin's Carpet Ride
Swiss Family Treehouse

Epcot:
Not much except Space Ship Earth

MGM:
Great Movie Ride
Backstage Tour

Animal Kingdom:
Tricerotops Spin
Safari
Shows (especially Lion King)

Waterparks:
Kiddie area in Typhoon Lagoon (really nice)

We will be going to Blizzard Beach this year and I will be visiting the kiddie area with my now 2 year old and new 1 year old. I'm going in December, if you are going before me let me know how it is. Hope this helped...have a great time and remember to pace yourself, after all it is a vacation. :)

Disney will provide door gates if you need them to keep them out of the bathroom. Depending on where you are staying many of the rooms now have portacribs in each room. One thing we did with our almost 4 yo and our 1 yo, was I made the 1 yo take a nap each day in the room but I would allow the 4 yo to stay out with his dad every other day without a nap. He was able to do that as long as he took naps on the opposite days. This gave him some great time alone with his dad. Also, we took a double stroller the first time we took our two, but after that we took 1 nice stroller and 1 umbrella stroller just in case we decided to seperate.

I just checked with my sister who visited me last January, and you can get a 1/2 price ticket for a child under 2, but you have to specifically ask for it (you might have to call, and not do it on the airlines web site). (And it's 50% of whatever you're paying, not full fare.)
This is not always the case... In some cases, if your tickets are already deeply discounted, it may be cheaper just to buy another ticket. Your mileage may vary, but this was the case when I booked my airfare this AM for my Sept. trip. SWA wanted $179 for a baby ticket while my ticket was $115. But it pays to call and ask.

This is not always the case... In some cases, if your tickets are already deeply discounted, it may be cheaper just to buy another ticket. Your mileage may vary, but this was the case when I booked my airfare this AM for my Sept. trip. SWA wanted $179 for a baby ticket while my ticket was $115. But it pays to call and ask.
Wow, thanks for that. I wonder if it was a Southwest thing? (I believe they flew Delta from Portland to New Orleans.)

No problem... I was a little suprized myself since they said on their website "We even have special rates for your infant!" Well, come to find out that the rate they are talking about is fully refundable and the like and may naturally cost more if booked by an adult. So, I guess it matters on how you look at it.