My husband and I have always taken our children to Disney when they were just infants. We do realize that in some ways the trip is more for us than them. We love going to Disney anyway and at this stage they are FREE so why wouldn't we take them. They are probably not going to remember it but as parents we have always been too excited to see their reactions and let them have these experiences we couldn't wait. Another great thing about taking them when they were this age is we were able to go midweek when the park was less packed because we didn't have to work around school schedules. And yes, there are many things for them to see, do, and ride even as a toddler and infant. The first time we took our infant son to Disneyland we realized that having an infant in the park certainly changes your experience. It slows it way down for starters. Instead of rushing from one line to the next hoping to beat the crowds we now found ourselves meandering much more. Actually, a trip to Disney became far more relaxing than it was previously. The first thing we did learn was how important it was to have a comfortable stroller. Our first trip we tried renting the stroller from the park. We had a free rental coupon and thought how nice to not have to hassle with packing and unpacking the stroller. For an older child the park stroller is fine they simply need a place where they can sit and rest their legs when they get tired but, for infants and toddlers the stroller is their place and it needs to be comfortable. The back needs to be able to lay down for emergency naps and it should be able to hold all of the supplies you need to carry, like your diaper bag. The Disney rental stroller was neither of those. You can read here about other stroller options. Here's an interesting fact: in Disneyland Park there are 55 attractions listed and 40 of those attractions are for any height and appropriate for toddlers and infants. And, in Disney California Adventure there are 36 attractions and 28 of those are for any height and appropriate for toddlers and infants. Basically, there are far more things they can do than can't. Some of our toddlers favorites were: In Disneyland Park: · Casey Jr. Circus Train: What beautiful scenery as you wind through the miniature storybook land. · It's A Small World: We loved watching our children’s eyes light up when they took in all of the amazing dolls and music. · Whinnie The Pooh: A great quick ride with hardly ever a line make sure you don’t pass this one up. · Pirates Of The Caribbean: This ride still lets you hold your infant in your lap. · Haunted Mansion Holiday: Normally this ride might be to frightening for young ones but the during the Holidays they tone it down quite a bit and have more fun with it. Fun places for them to get out of the stroller to stretch their feet were Tom Sawyer's Island, Innoventions, Big Thunder Ranch, Tarzan's Tree House (ground level), and many places in Toon Town.
Toon Town Tarzan’s Treehouse
In Disney California Adventure:
· Disney Junior Live On Stage: This was a highly interactive stage show with the kids favorite Disney show characters. · Heimlich's Chew Chew Train: The kids would always look forward to sniffing the air as we went by the giant cupcake where they pipe a sweet smell out into the ride. · King Triton's Carousel: Strategically placed at the exit of California Screaming DCA’s hit roller coaster ride. · Monster's Inc.: “I’m watching you” This great ride ends with a interactive Rozz making conversation with the riders. Fun places to let them get out and stretch their feet were the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail, and the Princess Dot Puddle Park (just bring an extra change of clothes), and Dancing with Disney where you can get out on the dance floor with some of their favorite characters.
Princess Dot Puddle Park Disney Jr. Live on Stage
For the rides that they couldn't go on my husband and I used the switch pass. You can get a switch pass for any ride that your child with you is to short to go on. Just ask the cast member at the entrance to the ride. This allows for one of you to stand in line while the other stays with the child then when they come off the ride you are able to take your switch pass and go through the fast pass line to take your turn. We quickly learned that we could use this to our advantage and get extra fast passes. Normally you can only have one fast pass at a time but, by taking advantage of the switch pass then I could have a fast pass with my ticket and my husband could have one with his ticket. We found the best time to take advantage of this was when our infant child was sleeping in his stroller. When we were in WDW we found that they have many play areas for toddlers. Most of these were strategically placed at the exit of major rides where they could stretch their legs and play and while we waited for the others to come off of the rides.
Play Area in Epcot
My husband and I always looked for the quiet corners that weren't very busy. We found a perfect place in Epcot one year with water fountains that spurted at different intervals. Steve and I were happy to be off of our feet and away from the crowds, and the kids enjoyed playing with the water fountains. We stayed in that spot just relaxing for at least an hour. Another place we really enjoyed was Hollywood Studios Back Lot where we just strolled through the sets, posed for pictures, and just relaxed a bit while the kids enjoyed pretending they were in the movies.
Fountains in Epcot Hollywood Studio’s Back lot On our first trip to WDW when my daughter was just 20 months and my son was 4 years old my husband did a great job with prearranging all of our dinning plans and making sure that we had reservations. This kept us from having to wait to be seated or having to stand in long lines to get our meals. It was very nice to be able to have this already decided too. During peak seasons it can be very hard to get into certain restaurants. Even in a place as busy as Disney we discovered there are some quiet places that we could go find to help our child to take a needed nap if we were not able to go back to the hotel. Some of these were: · Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln as a mom it has moved to the top of my list. It is dark and quiet and about 20 minutes long. I could almost always guarantee my tired toddler would be asleep at the end of this attraction and I could easily lay him in the stroller and cover it with his blanket to keep the sun off of him and the noise level down so he could sleep. · Main Street Cinema was another good place to hold and rock my child to sleep. · The Train ride around the park with it’s gentle rocking motion could also bring on a nap at times. · The Tiki Room is nice and dark and peaceful. At least you could sit for about 15 minutes and even enjoy a Dole Whip frozen dessert. · Disney’s Art of Animation in DCA is a very peaceful and quiet place where you can sometimes score a seat and rock your child to sleep. · If all these failed we would just walk and push the stroller until he fell asleep. Nap time was always something we looked forward too. With the two and under set there will inevitably be a melt down at some point. When my daughter was 20 months we took her to WDW and on our last day there we had scheduled a dinner in Cinderella's castle, it was at that moment that she finally decided to have her meltdown. After nine long days of nothing but Disney parks and stroller rides she was not going to tolerate sitting in a high chair for dinner. She and I quickly exited the dinning room leaving my husband and 4 year old son. We went back to the hotel and spent the evening just the two us in the quiet room eating and going to sleep early. It was just what she needed. When the meltdown happens we have learned to just roll with it and don't fight it. Be flexible and take them out of the situation where everyone will be happier. We also had to do this on our first Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party when she got tired and cranky at 8:30. It was a disappointment to me to leave early but we enjoyed our night together in the hotel room eating snacks and watching a movie before falling asleep. Be sure to have a way where you can split up if necessary and get back to the room. This is a great case for staying on Disney property. If there is no shuttle and you're all in one vehicle this puts a big kink in the splitting up option. One of the best hidden secrets at Disney parks is the Baby Center. It is a quiet place to change a diaper or an outfit. They have rocking chairs, and a nursing area. They even are well outfitted with emergency supplies or things you may have forgot to pack. I ran in there one time when I forgot to pack baby food for my six month old. Another thing that our family would do is plan our days in the park where on some we would be there early when it opened and then leave early for a good nights sleep. Then on days we would go in later and stay late. This was nice to do and kept us from feeling like we had to cram so much into one day. Mouse Planet has a great column on Parenting In The Parks that will also provide you with some great tips. All in all we wouldn’t change a thing about how and when we took our children to Disney. We have created some wonderful family memories along the way and have some great stories to tell our children about as they grow up. 
We always took a traditional picture in the ride vehicle outside of Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.
This is Leah I toatally love your blog! I Love you
ReplyDelete