My sister is planning a trip to a Disney park--either Land or World, it's still being debated--and she had an interesting question. I couldn't come up with a definite answer, so I thought I would pitch it to all of you.

She has a three year old son, and a six-month old daughter. She is wondering if she can take her infant on rides such as It's a Small World, Peter Pan, etc. I could not recall if these rides had any sort of height requirements, and I actually could swear I saw a woman cradling her baby in her arms on Peter Pan last time I was there. (Though my memory could be failing me ... I am having more and more of those moments lately.)

Obviously she would be intelligent about it and not pack Baby Addy on inappropriate rides. She's not going to be smuggling her inside her jacket to be able to go on Pirates! But if any of you have an answer, please, throw it my way.

Thanks!

Hey there,

We just returned from DL last week and we took our 2 month old. They can pretty much ride anything without a height restriction, within reason. it's a small world, Peter Pan, Dumbo, Casey Jr. Train, Pirates and even Buzz Lightyear, all good. We used a Baby Bjorn carrier most of the time and found that it worked quite well for us. Hope she has fun!

She is wondering if she can take her infant on rides such as It's a Small World, Peter Pan, etc. I could not recall if these rides had any sort of height requirements, and I actually could swear I saw a woman cradling her baby in her arms on Peter Pan last time I was there. (Though my memory could be failing me ... I am having more and more of those moments lately.)

Obviously she would be intelligent about it and not pack Baby Addy on inappropriate rides. She's not going to be smuggling her inside her jacket to be able to go on Pirates! But if any of you have an answer, please, throw it my way.

Send her here and spend a few days reading this forum. :D :D

There are oodles of us who have taken our babies to Disney parks. There are many rides babies can go on - more than that they can't ride.

it's a small world, Pirates, the Mark Twain Riverboat and the Disneyland Railroad are awesome nursing/feeding the baby rides. Feed to birds with one piece of bread - go on the ride and take a feeding break.

There are some restrictions on rides like Roger Rabbit - babies have to be awake and able to sit on the bench of the ride. I think it's an incredibly stupid rule and a bumpy ride so I just wouldn't take a baby on it, myself. And you'll find some inconsistency among cast members about that on some rides. (Winnie the Pooh and the Tea Cups come to mind.)

But there are lots of threads in this forum about taking babies to parks!

Adrienne

Crazy as it sounds we took my 5 day old grandson. It was his brothers second birthday and DL is a place the whole family loves and feels comfortable with so...we went! Worked out great the newbie slept in either his stroller covered or in his sling next to mom. As i type he is going on six months and experiencing the joys of WDW.

Here's a nice little list of rides with height (http://adisneyland.disney.go.com/media/dlr_v0200/en_US/experience/DLRLittleOnes_HeightReqs.pdf)requirements.

I haven't been on Peter Pan yet (it's always closed when we're near it), but I took my little one (not THAT little, but still a baby) on It's a Small World, Pirates (nursed and napped right through it), Dumbo...all sorts of rides! The only ones that I would not go on again, with a little one, are those that are disturbing to me (Snow White and Pinocchio). If it's scaring ME, it might very well disturb a little one!

Okay disneyjunkie, you have me beat! My DS was 12 days old on his first trip to DL! My brother was singing in the Candlelight Concert and we weren't going to miss it! DS slept through everything but the Hallelujah Chorus! But that day we took him (mostly sleeping) on POTC, HM, IASW, and I'm sure there were others! We did a lot of character pictures and I spent a lot of time in the Baby Care Center! Mom and DH spent the day trying to out shop each other! Babies do indeed love Disneyland!

Liz :cool:

Feed to birds with one piece of bread

UGH. Of course I meant, feed TWO birds.... :rolleyes:

Adrienne

yes as PP's have pointed out there are a lot of threads about taking young babies to DL...Six months is not too young for DL my five mo. daughter just took her fourth trip last month and she was really loving everything! She was mesmerized by the tiki room, IASW, and Pirates and even did the HM (luckily no screaming teenagers ;) ) I believe that taking a young baby is often easier than taking a toddler who is on the move, since young babies sleep alot and are easy to feed just about anywhere...I think the only problem that we have had with our daughter has been overstimulation since DL tends to be loud and bright. For those instances, we would swaddle our baby and put her deep into her sling that my DH refers to as our "baby bag". In fact many people would ask "what do you have in there?" and then be surprised to see a peek of my three week old baby. Here is one of my most prized photos...

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/lauramaynot/album/576460762326532804/photo/294928803346879442/29

My four children at DL...:D. Tell your sister to take her baby...it is a wonderful experiance at EVERY age!

As everyone has mentioned there are many rides for little ones. I personally find Disneyland VERY easy for this first time mom to visit. The babycenter was a godsend when I was a new nursing mom (dd was almost 3 months on her 1st visit). And most recently a lifesaver for a mom who ran out of formula ( miscalculated what I needed).

I would say if your sister has not taken a baby before to consider bringing her own stroller if it's possible. I found Ava having her own space that she was used to a welcome retreat when things got to be too much for her (she went at 3 mo, 6mo, 9 mo and last sunday for 1st birthday). Also it's a great pack mule.

I also found the 1st few rides for Ava were a bit much. She cried. I found singing in a whisper in her ear very helpful. The bjorn is great as well. We certainly used it.

I have loved our visits as a family and would recommend it readily to anyone with an infant.

My daughter was nine months old when I first took her to Disneyland. It boggles my mind how people bring teeny, tiny babies. I was talking with one of the ladies in the Baby Care Center and she said the youngest baby they had ever come there was three days old. That is a mighty tough woman who could birth three days before and then haul her butt to Disneyland.

I have taken my daughter on Small World which she loved, it was Christmas time the first time I took her and my mom had been singing to her a Christmas carol and had changed the lyrics of Deck the Halls to, "It's the baby's very first Christmas! Fa, la, la, la........la, la, la." In the last scene in Small World, they were playing Deck the Halls and I swear if she could talk, she would of said, "Hey, Momma, I know that song!". Her face lit up and she smiled at me.

I have ridden the Fantasy Land rides and I have tried to view them through my daughter's eyes. I think the are too dark and loud.......

But on the other hand, I took her on Pirates last time around. Granted, she is now 11 months old, soon to be one year, (St Patrick's Day baby) so I decided to be daring and give it a try. I talked to a cast member and he said he takes his nine month daughter on it all the time. It is a smooth ride and the first drop, she kinda went, "ah" but was fine, I held on to her tight!

I took her on Monster's Inc. and she really loves that one. It's not too jerky.

Oh, my gosh, if you have little ones, I totally agree, the baby care center Is in fact a Godsend! I have taken my daughter there for diaper changes, to do feedings and once when I was breastfeeding, I went without my daughter but took my breastpump and they have a little area that is behind a curtain where I could pump and have some privacy.

I took my daughter there and used their highchairs. It is nice and quiet and they have a little kitchen area where you can use their sink and a microwave.

Luv, luv, luv it there!

My daughter was nine months old when I first took her to Disneyland. It boggles my mind how people bring teeny, tiny babies. I was talking with one of the ladies in the Baby Care Center and she said the youngest baby they had ever come there was three days old. That is a mighty tough woman who could birth three days before and then haul her butt to Disneyland.


You are going to hear varying reports of what people consider to be an appropriate age to bring a newborn to the parks. My son was about six weeks old, I know another person here who brought her sons when they were around three weeks.

It really depends on how much time and energy you have to devote to the parks and what you are trying to accomplish. If you are expecting to do a commando tour of the park, forget it. If you are just visiting the park with family for a few hours and are local, there shouldn't be any problem with visiting the park with a newborn. Alot of people tend to worry "the child shouldn't be out of the house that young". Well, if they've left the hospital, they've been outside.

You are going to hear varying reports of what people consider to be an appropriate age to bring a newborn to the parks. My son was about six weeks old, I know another person here who brought her sons when they were around three weeks.

It really depends on how much time and energy you have to devote to the parks and what you are trying to accomplish. If you are expecting to do a commando tour of the park, forget it. If you are just visiting the park with family for a few hours and are local, there shouldn't be any problem with visiting the park with a newborn. Alot of people tend to worry "the child shouldn't be out of the house that young". Well, if they've left the hospital, they've been outside.

I totally agree with this one! I have said before and you'll hear it over and over again that my DS was 12 days old on his first trip to DL. But he was my first so I was very well rested. I wasn't nearly the Disney geek I am now, so rides weren't so important to me (I think we rode, POTC, HM, and IASW, that's it). We were there for Candlelight, so half our day was planned out for us.

If I had to have gone when DD was 12 days old, it would have been another matter completely. I wasn't so well rested and in the midst of aggressive potty training and my geekness was blooming. I probably would have passed out by the end of the day.

With this baby, I'm guessing s/he will be about 13-17 days old when Nemo opens and I fully intend on being there. But since we have APs and I have tons of family and friends planning on making this an event with me, we'll probably only go to ride the ride a couple times and if we stay in the park after that, it won't be for long. We're planning ahead and trying to anticipate every angle so we can all enjoy that day!

I guess I'm one of those parents who would rather expose my kids to as much as possible than keep them from everything. By 13-17 days old, my baby will already have been to church at least 3-4 times, been to Starbucks at least as often :eek: , and been exposed to my entire family including my rambucious 4 year old and an overzealous nearly 2 year old! If the family doesn't infect the baby with something serious, nothing will!

Liz :cool:

Ok, I will first say that this is one of a very few issues on which my sister, the pediatrician, and I disagree. My kids were 19-days-old, 17-days-old and the third was more like 8 to 12-weeks old for their first trips.

Even if we don't take babies out when they're babies, the germies come in. Doc went to work when all three were 2-weeks-old. And it was physically IMPOSSIBLE for me to NOT take the youngest out to pick up his big brother at school. And what am I supposed to do, go grocery shopping at night after Doc comes home, so he can babysit? Uhm, sorry, it just wasn't happening.

If she had her way, I would've locked myself and the baby in our house for 2 months and I would've not allowed anyone over. :rolleyes: She thinks it was horrible that I took my babies to DLR so young. She told me I couldn't go visit our cousin's newborn - even without my boys - because I'd been around my boys. :rolleyes: again.

So don't take this as official medical advice. ;) And again: :rolleyes: (Love doctors. Sometimes they just need a clue is all. She's a very good doctor in many other ways. She works in 3 different offices in the Greater LA Metro Area. My best friend from high school was at a mom's group when moms from all three offices started talking about her, not knowing that BFFHS knew her. They all gushed. BFFHS got to THEN tell them "Oh yeah, I've known her since HS." AND she got to treat BFFHS's daughter when she broke her wrist BADLY, so BFFHS agrees. Ok, derail over.)

So, yep, I took the babies to Disneyland, too. :~D They were all in good health from birth and I nursed them all so they should've had some antibody action going on from that. I changed them on pads and/or at the baby care center with all their cleaning and paper on the tables, and most of the time they were in my arms or their own strollers.

The rental strollers, IMO, are not baby friendly. Just a reality.

And I don't care where you're going - a restaurant, the mall, the store, or Disneyland, babies are the EASIEST AGE EVER. Seriously. They cry or complain, you change them or feed them. They're tired? They fall asleep. They don't like strollers? They're small enough for baby carriers.

And best of all? They. don't. talk. back. (They also don't whine nor insist on doing things on their own nor fight with their siblings. Can you tell that mine aren't infants anymore????)

Until they start walking and talking, we don't always realize how easy we have it with a baby.

Adrienne
(If you want to know the other one or two things my sister disagrees with me on, PM me. :~D )

Yes, I totally agree! Going with a baby is MUCH easier than going with a toddler. :)

DS is 6 months and has been about 7 or 8 times already. My least favorite argument is the "they won't remember it" one...am I supposed to do nothing for the first 3 years of my kids lives "because they won't remember it?" I guess my view is as a So Cal resident with an AP...but if that is the only concern, it wouldn't be a top priority.

Oh and about the germs...aren't hospitals supposed to be the worst? Taking them to Disney should be cake! ;)

And I don't care where you're going - a restaurant, the mall, the store, or Disneyland, babies are the EASIEST AGE EVER. Seriously. They cry or complain, you change them or feed them. They're tired? They fall asleep. They don't like strollers? They're small enough for baby carriers.

Until they start walking and talking, we don't always realize how easy we have it with a baby.

Adrienne



I totally agree. DS was much easier to take out when he was an infant. Since he became mobile and talkative, it's much more difficult. He hates being in the stroller, he hates to sit still, runs from us without a moment's notice, and like every three year old...can throw a temper tantrum that just won't quit. :mad: He can be cute at times and well behaved and he can be a pain at other times.

My views are about to make me very unpopular...

I agree germs are everywhere and there are times it is totally unreasonable to lock yourself in the house and wait 2 months...

When DD was 10 days old friends of ours were moving and came by one last time to say goodbye. After kisses all around I was told the 2 little ones had ear infections. I had a terrible cold when I delivered and was trying to get back to health after 2 days of labor (my immune system was shot). baby was fussy and not eating or sleeping. Took her temp and got all kinds of crazy readings. Called the dr. Was told to go to emergency. Took her temp there and it was fine. However I was told they would need to treat the fever (make sure it is not something serious like meningitis) . Which included a 48 hour stay. First thing they did was a SPINAL TAP... it took them 4 times and an hour. She was dehydrated and exhausted. They put her on antibiottics that had the potential to damage her kidneys. My 10 day old baby in a huge bed with bars on the side hooked up to IV's. It was the worst 48 hours of my life.

You are all correct.. Germs come in. It is IMPOSSIBLE TO HIDE FROM THEM and we all do the best we can and what we feel is right. I think if that episode had followed a trip to DLR I would not want to go back for a very long time.

We were just at the park and saw so many itty bitty babies. 2 days later I found out DD had Roseola and was contagious (she showed NO SYMPTOMS till the day after). I hate to think she could have infected a little one.

FOR ME, younger than 2 months is too young.

My views are about to make me very unpopular...

Nah. That's ok. My sister would be REALLY happy with you ;)

Adrienne

After kisses all around I was told the 2 little ones had ear infections. I had a terrible cold when I delivered and was trying to get back to health after 2 days of labor (my immune system was shot). baby was fussy and not eating or sleeping.
So, do you suspect it was your cold you gave her?

I can understand your feelings. My youngest daughter was 5 weeks old. We didn't have a lot of people around, none that were sick that we were aware of, but at 5 weeks old she came down with a fever. We went thru everything you did, but add in bladder taps also. She had sepsis. We were PICU for 2 days before they were wiling to transfer her to a regular room. Thing is, germs are everywhere.

I absolutley agree. GERMS ARE EVERYWHERE. And yes I do suspect it was probably my cold as she ran her "fever" ( I also suspect there was no fever at all and it was a first time mom taking wacky rectal temps... she was 98.6 when we go to the hospital... and I feel a tremendous amount of gulit about THAT!) so soon after their visit and never came down with an ear infection. I mentioned their visit as a way of illustrating I understand GERMS COME IN.

Again... for me younger than 8 weeks is just too little... but hey if it works for someone else... Go for it.

Personally I have a huge problem with my 2yo niece who is VERY VERY FAIR being at the park last sunday with NO sunscreen, no sippy cup and her father on his cell phone during every line. Thank goodness Auntie (me) travels with enough stuff for 6 kids. Maybe that's why they never bring, they know I will have.

Obviously she would be intelligent about it and not pack Baby Addy on inappropriate rides. She's not going to be smuggling her inside her jacket to be able to go on Pirates! But if any of you have an answer, please, throw it my way.

Thanks!


No need to smuggle her in her jacket to take her on Pirates. Baby Addy is more than welcome to ride Pirates as a passenger. In fact, if she is breastfeeding, other than possibly not wanting to do it on the drops, it is a great place to give baby some nourishment.

Thank goodness Auntie (me) travels with enough stuff for 6 kids. Maybe that's why they never bring, they know I will have.

So I'm not the only one with a "Mary Poppins Purse," as my friends call it.

"Mary Poppins Purse"... Brilliant. I am using that from now on!!!:D

"Mary Poppins Purse"... Brilliant. I am using that from now on!!!:D

My purse is like, 5 pounds lol. I don't know why I carry some of the things I carry... mini tape measure, ear plus, AAA and AA batteries... on top of mommy things like tissues, stain remover, safety pins, and bandages! My friends at work come to me with the oddest requests!

If I was on "lets make a deal" I would SO win!