Baby Bricker’s First Trip to Disney World: Planning & Pre-Report
It’s crazy how some things in life can come full circle. The last time I wrote a pre-trip report for Walt Disney World, this blog was not yet even a twinkle in our eyes. Such a ‘post’ would’ve come via Flickr and forums, to satiate our own excitement and solicit feedback on Advance Dining Reservations and our daily itineraries for the parks.
Fast-forward over 15 years, and we’re back at it. Like those, this pre-trip report is mostly a matter of having an outlet for our excitement and way to count down the days. I cannot express the emotions we’re feeling for Megatron’s first visit to Walt Disney World. It’s the most or second-most excited I’ve been for a Walt Disney World vacation, right up there with our honeymoon or November 2007 trip.
I had been anxiously-awaiting that Christmas 2007 trip for several months, as it’s when I planned on proposing to Sarah. I was a ball of nerves, knowing that–for better or worse–that trip was going to change the trajectory of my life. (Spoiler: it turned out to be for better!) While I don’t have the same nagging fear of rejection–even if there is a lot riding on Megatron’s first Figment meet & greet–it is a similar flurry of feelings. But mostly just unbridled enthusiasm and excitement, as we open the next chapter of our family vacations to Walt Disney World!
We haven’t really shared any family updates since Christmas, save for a few offhand mentions in other posts, but we’ve been having a fantastic time visiting Disneyland in the last couple of months. After an incredible first visit for Christmas, Megatron’s next half-dozen or so days at Disneyland were fairly uneventful. Before we got inside either park, she was always asleep. We have a lot of pictures with characters pretending to sleep or doing the “shhh” signal. The only two times she was awake, she’s making (for lack of better term) a WTF face at the characters.
Then came the visit that was like a revelation. Not only did Megatron meet a character while wide awake, but she had her mind blown (figuratively) by the experience. She also debuted a new feature that we’ve come to call “Dolphin Mode.” (Her best mode.) During Dolphin Mode, her eyes get really wide and filled with happiness as she flaps around her arms and legs. She makes a high-pitched chirping noise and tries to, I guess, echolocate the character. It is literally the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen, and watching the videos we have of her doing this can instantly fill me with joy no matter my mood. If they were VHS tapes, I would’ve worn them out by now.
It feels like we’re only just starting to scratch the surface of watching her grow and change with Disney, and we couldn’t possibly be more excited. We are very much looking forward to taking her “home” to Walt Disney World, and experiencing those parks for the first time through her eyes.
And while it wouldn’t sting quite as much as a rejected proposal, there’s a lot riding on that first Figment meet & greet. Some adorable echolocation action would probably break me, whereas a WTF face would not. (I guess we need her to meet Figment before she rides Journey into Imagination in its current state. So far she only knows the character and ride through the excellent Figment Little Golden Book, which is read to her at least once per day.)
Anyway, on with the pre-trip report and planning for Megatron’s first trip to Walt Disney World…
I’ll start with where we started, which was choosing dates. We deliberated long and hard over when to make Megatron’s first trip to Walt Disney World, and ended up changing our travel dates a couple of times. In a perfect world, we would’ve gone in January or February, during one of the ‘valleys’ between holiday long weekends and sporting events. But we’ve been trying to err on the side of caution and mitigating risk by avoiding prolonged indoor activities during the peak of respiratory illnesses season. So that was never really a serious contender. Next year, though!
Instead, our preliminary plan was to target the sweet spot before Spring Break kicked into high gear. The very first week of March would’ve been ideal, but that just seemed too early as we were still in the midst of midnight feedings and witching hour. Then came a brief window where we felt like we were on top of the world, Parenting Pros who could travel anywhere. At this point, mid-March looked like a good option.
Right as we began firming up plans, something called “sleep regression” started. I had heard tall tales of this in the ‘How to Be Parents’ books we read, and perhaps underestimated it. When you’re feeling like Ishmael after slaying Moby Dick (a weird way to word “getting a few weeks of near-normal sleep,” but that was our white whale), you maybe develop a bit of overconfidence? Suffice to say, sleep regression is a thing and it very much spooked us. No longer Parenting Pros, we instead felt like we needed to pick up Parenting for Dummies.
As the quality of the writing here over the last few months probably demonstrates, I’m sleep deprived and not completely coherent. (Or maybe it’s always been that way.) Whatever I am, double or triple that for Sarah. I honestly do not know how she gets through the day. The idea of having to navigate Walt Disney World as zombies, potentially talking to people and who knows what else–all while not having the home court advantage and fighting a 3-hour time change–was just a lot.
Not that we’re complaining. It’s been a wild ride so far, but an amazing one. We’ve never been so happy to be so tired. Each day, her personality starts to crystalize a little more. She reminds me of Sarah when giving me a “sympathy smile” in response to a hilarious joke I tell her. She furrows her brow when we introduce her to a new not-good food. Conversely, her face lit up when we gave her avocado for the first time last night. We got so excited when she rolled over for the first time that she got excited in response. She feeds off our energy, we feed off hers–tired or not.
All a long-winded way of saying that we delayed Megatron’s first trip to Walt Disney World by over a month. We’re now going in the second half of April, hopefully after Spring Break season fully finishes. Aside from sleep, these dates were also more desirable from the perspective of pricing on pretty much everything (airfare, hotels, etc). So that certainly made the decision easier.
We considered waiting until even later in shoulder season, pushing off until May 2024 in the (unlikely) hope of previews for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. Dates we considered then also would’ve had even lower prices–not as much as going from mid-March to mid-to-late April, but still better. Another big point in favor of May was that when we started making reservations, sleep regression was still in high-gear, so going sooner felt like a major leap of faith. Nothing like a slight sense of dread before a trip!
The case against May was weather. We’ve developed divergent views on this, as I suspect Sarah has been away from Florida for so long that she’s begun to forget–or mentally block out–how hot and humid it gets. Meanwhile, I’m practically scarred from the triple-digit ‘feels like’ temperatures of last summer and early fall.
There’s also the fact that we’ve become avid babywearers. That works wonderfully where we live and at Disneyland; it’s been cold or at least comfortable since Megatron’s arrival. Walt Disney World seems like it’s going to be a whole different babywearing ballgame. Even April is playing with fire when it comes to WDW weather; May is juggling incendiary grenades.
Speaking of weather, it’s one reason we’ve opted to rent a stroller rather than bring our own or rely solely on babywearing. While we do it all the time at Disneyland and at home, opting only to babywear at Walt Disney World seems like walking a tightrope without a safety net. It’s presumably going to be hotter and is also a longer timeframe. It’s one thing to babywear for 4-5 hours once per week at Disneyland, another entirely to double that amount of time for a full week.
As for renting a stroller, this honestly wasn’t even on our radar until Sarah talked to some of her friends. Many of them rent strollers, as opposed to taking their own, due to the rain and other factors. Obviously, rain covers exist. So we could just use that. But I’ve funkified enough pairs of shoes in the Florida monsoons to know that doesn’t always work out as planned. Not to compare our stroller to one of my nasty shoes, but I’d prefer to keep our stroller nice for as long as possible–especially since we have other trips on the horizon.
Another thing we (over)thought long and hard about was flight scenarios. Specifically, 3 vs. 2 seats and whether to do nonstop flights. These deliberations alone could be a full post–and probably will at some point, since we have every “type” of flight combo booked for future trips.
After originally only booking 2 seats in bulkhead on nonstop routes, we spooked ourselves into buying a third. Neither of us love this, but it’s a long flight and we have a lot of fear of the unknown. Plus, the post-spring break airfare was a lot more manageable–to the point that 3 seats in late April cost less than 2 in mid-March. (As of right now, several rows around us are empty…it’s going to be a bit bittersweet if they stay that way and we could’ve gotten that extra seat for free.)
The next component was choosing hotels. We debated a lot of options here, with the most consideration given to the Crescent Lake and monorail resorts. We briefly thought about doing a serious ‘TREAT YO SELF’ vacation given all of the savings last year from cancelled trips and me traveling solo to Walt Disney World and almost always booking the cheapest options. (Accordingly, the two resorts I ruled out were All Star Sports and Coronado Springs. I’ve seen enough A.S.S. in the last year for a lifetime.)
We priced out the Garden Cottages at Boardwalk and Club Level at a few resorts…and very quickly ruled all of that out. After developing a taste for the cheaper stuff over the year, that was a bit much of a splurge. Definitely want to do both now that we have a baby, but we’ll wait until the rate charts are even more favorable during the off-season.
Still, we landed on a split stay between a Royal Room at Port Orleans Riverside and the Garden Wing at the Contemporary. Not exactly bargain basement resorts! We’re a bit weary about this after all of the recent reader comments about the challenges of changing resorts with babies, but on the plus side, it gives us a chance to field test our own advice under changed life circumstances.
We’re really looking forward to that, and both resorts. It’s been a while since we’ve stayed at Riverside, so we’re due for a return. Sarah also pointed out it was where we stayed when we got engaged, so it feels like a bit of a full circle experience. (Prices have gone up slightly since then!)
Contemporary was our pick for a number of reasons, the first and foremost being that we wanted breakfast at Chef Mickey’s to be Megatron’s first character dining experience. These firsts are very important to us, and a big part of that is watching her grow up at Walt Disney World. So we can have memories and photos of her as a baby, toddler, preschooler, etc., all in the same place.
Consequently, we want to choose firsts that are meaningful, iconic and (hopefully) enduring. While Chef Mickey’s is not our favorite character meal at Walt Disney World, we actually do enjoy breakfast there (it’s dinner that was on our “never again” list…but we will be doing it again, so scratch that, I guess).
Regardless, we figured Chef Mickey’s is more likely to be around in 20 years than the current incarnations of Cape May Cafe, Topolino’s Terrace Crystal Palace, or (hopefully) 1900 Park Fare. The experience at Chef Mickey’s is just so iconic and memorable that it’s hard to imagine it ever changing. Then again, I would’ve said the same thing about the name “FastPass” a few years ago, yet here we are. So who knows. Maybe the new “wishers” meal at 1900 Park Fare will outlast ’em all.
Speaking of which, 1900 Park Fare was the next character meal we booked. No interesting explanation for this one, it’s very much for the blog. Even as we’re taking Baby Bricker’s first family vacation, we will not forsake our solemn obligation as Disney bloggers. We’ve already sat Megatron down and explained to her that the camera always eats first. To prepare her to take over the family business, her first high chair is actually a trash can. (Not really, but that does feel like a missed opportunity.)
It’s the other ADRs where we’re struggling. We currently have Garden Grill booked for the day of our resort change, but we’d prefer to do breakfast at Crystal Palace. The issue is that we waited too long, later seatings weren’t available, and we’re doubtful about our ability to get out the door for an ADR before 10 am. We’ve also noticed a lot of Walk-Up Waitlist availability for Crystal Palace in the last couple of months; we’re going when it’s even less busy, so we think winging it might be the pragmatic course of action.
Story Book Dining at Artist Point is another option about which we’re on the fence. ADRs at this point are a no-go, and we’re not sure that we’d want them, anyway. But I think we can probably score day-before or even same-day reservations for Artist Point, should Megatron be game for it.
This lack of ADRs and ‘wait and see’ approach is purposeful. One of our goals has been to avoid overplanning, as we don’t want to set expectations at an unrealistic level. We’ve already seen (many times) that the best laid plans often go awry. That’s just true in general, but especially so with a baby. There’s also the reality that we’ve done a grand total of 4 sit-down meals in the Megatron era.
She’s done very well, but all of those meals have also been outdoors with pretty much no one around. (For whatever reason, she loves being outdoors.) How she’ll react to eating indoors in a crowded and chaotic dining room remains to be seen. Point being, we don’t want to make and get excited about a half-dozen ADRs, only to have the first meal be a nuclear meltdown that annihilates the plan.
Which leads to another point. We’d like to do an actual trip report for Baby Bricker’s first visit to Walt Disney World, but that may not happen or may occur in condensed ‘highlights’ form. As we’ve mentioned a few times before (and probably will again since not everyone reads every post and this is understandably an area of confusion), we want to be conscientious about her privacy and judicious about what we share. That’s why we’re calling her Megatron (not her real name, sadly) or posting full-on photos of her face.
That means not writing anything that Megatron would be mortified to read later in life. I remember being embarrassed when my mom told certain stories about when I was a baby…and that was just to close friends, not immortalized on the internet. We keep reading horror stories about ‘social media kids’ growing up and hating their parents. We obviously don’t want to do that, or anything even approaching it. We love her so, so much and are terrified of doing anything that could jeopardize our relationship with her later in life.
It’s also easy to see how it happens. You take an adorable video of your daughter in Dolphin Mode when meeting Goofy, and there’s a pull to share that with the world! But then I think back to those horror stories–and I also believe that there’s going to be a “correction” when it comes to privacy, and young people valuing it more in the future. Everyone has to determine what’s the right level of sharing their family’s lives (we aren’t judging anyone else), but the line we’ve drawn is privacy and embarrassment.
Then there’s also a tension if I write a trip report, but leave out major chunks of the day or play loose with things to stay on the right side of those lines. We pride ourselves in not pulling punches with the good, bad and ugly of Walt Disney World–so I don’t want to present a ‘carefully curated’ trip that omits the bad/ugly and pretends we’re perfect. We don’t want to misrepresent our lives that way, as it’s no one’s reality.
Given all of that, it might be better to take what we learn from this (and other) trips and, rather than writing about it in narrative form, to distill it into tips & tricks and recommendations of that nature. Just kind of thinking aloud, and giving a bit of context into our thought process.
Obviously, this doesn’t cover the entirety of Baby Bricker’s first trip to Walt Disney World. There actually is still a lot we haven’t determined, both so we can savor spontaneity–not everything should be scripted–and because we’re still unsure of some things.
Speaking of scripted, that brings us to the final point of this post, which is to flip the script and solicit reader feedback. Usually we share our planning advice with you, but this time, we want you to share your expertise and experience with us. Not necessarily for first ride or park or that type of thing. I don’t want to pretend this is up for a ‘vote’ when that really isn’t the case. (C’mon, does anyone really believe that EPCOT and Journey into Imagination aren’t going to win out for first park/attraction? Especially with Country Bear Jamboree currently closed?!?!)
Truthfully, I don’t know what type of advice we’re hoping to receive. What I do know is that there’s a lot that we don’t even know that we don’t know about visiting Walt Disney World with kids. The amount of random knowledge gaps we’ve already discovered at Disneyland have been surprising, and it’s usually the case that you can multiply by five for the complexities of Walt Disney World. The advice to rent a stroller due to weather, for example, was something that never crossed my mind. Another occurred when readers told us about the delay in receiving a pack ‘n’ play when doing split stays.
Suffice to say, we’re incredibly excited (and a tad bit anxious, if we’re being honest) about Megatron’s first trip to Walt Disney World. This feels like our first trip all over again, which is a ‘magic’ that I never thought we’d be able to recapture. We know it’s not all going to go according to plan, which is why we’re incorporating going off-script into the plan itself. No matter what happens or doesn’t, we’re overjoyed at the experience we’re about to have…and hope to share parts of it with you!
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Any random recommendations for Baby Bricker’s first trip to Walt Disney World? Thoughts on choices for character meals or anything else? Anything else you’re interested in reading about with regard to Megatron, babies in the parks, etc? Anecdotes of your own about first visits to the Disney parks? Any other questions? Hearing your feedback is always appreciated, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Well, now I will be looking for you when we are there the end of April. I promise just to wave and say, Thanks for the blog!
Oh also we got very good at prioritizing what to take to the parks. We had a travel stroller with a smallish basket. This backpack, plus a light jacket, a pair of extra baby shoes, and a pack of wipes fit in the basket when it was open with problem: https://www.amazon.com/Vera-Bradley-Womens-Backpack-Enchantment/dp/B0BM54L9SV?ref_=ast_sto_dp&th=1
We filled the bag with her food for the day, diapers, wipes, change of clothes, and some extra stuff she needed at the time for medical reasons. I carried my personal stuff in a fanny pack, which became useful when holding her in line as she kind of sat on it, plus it kept my hands and shoulders free.
Just remember that whatever you put in the stroller will need to either fit in it or in a bag when you’re loading a bus, because it’s hard to hold baby plus the stroller plus bags plus extra stuff.
The first WDW trip with your child is so special! We took our daughter for a resorts-only visit when she was 6 months old in March 2023 and had an amazing, quiet, relaxing trip. We stayed at POFQ and the walking paths between there and POR were perfect for stroller walks. We loved taking her out on the ferries, the monorail, and exploring all of the resorts while having nap-time in the room. During her first boat ride she was so excited, shouting and waving and smiling at everyone!
We are from coastal SC and used to hot, humid weather. We loved baby-wearing, but did very little of it in Orlando. It was way too hot for the baby; even with our more “breathable” carrier she couldn’t regulate her body temperature well while in it. Strollers for win at WDW!
We took her back for theme park visits when she was 14 and 16 months old. It was much cooler then, and the baby carrier would have been fine except she was much more mobile and interested in moving herself. The stroller was great for naps, as we did not nap much in the room then. We are long-time WDW visitors, now AP holders with favorite routines/dining/attractions, and it is true that there are much fewer things that get done in a day with a baby and toddler. I rode fewer rides, saw fewer shows, went back to the hotel room much earlier in the day. Plans were derailed. Sit-down dining became less relaxing, and we preferred quick service dining because of flexibility. I won’t ever forget the exploding diaper that occurred AS WE WERE BOARDING the Jungle Cruise boat. BUT if you can be flexible, and be okay not seeing or doing something even if you had visions of seeing or doing that thing with your child, then being with your baby at WDW is 100% magic. My now 18-month old constantly talks about EPCOT, sings the POTC and Tiki Room songs, and loves looking at pictures from our last trip. Making memories!
The baby care centers are wonderful. I wish there were more of them. The Magic Kingdom one is especially good. Perfect for nursing mothers and we much preferred changing diapers there (my daughter was upset by the hard changing surface, harsh lighting, and the noise of the loud public bathrooms, even though she tolerated noise in the parks well otherwise). I was disappointed by the HS one. (HS in general was not my favorite with a very young child).
I think its just strange that of all the disney sites I follow, this is the only one where I have no idea how old the post is. There is no date posted on any of them. With Disney changing so much, I dont know if I am reading old info or new info and in some cases its sort of useless. Can you please start adding dates to your posts?
Tom, we’ve been flying with my 20 month since he was really little. You will 100% be happy you got the 3rd seat. You can bring your car seat, which can be secured using the airplane seat belt, and let baby Bricker snooze for as much of the flight as she wants. Good luck on the first trip!
Honestly one of our best baby purchases EVER, that lasted into toddler years through multiple kids and me accidentally backing over it (when it was folded up lying on the ground, obviously NOT with a kid in it) was the Sumemr Infant 3d light stroller. I guess it’s technically an umbrella stroller BUT it reclines, so we started using it in recline mode once our kids were 4 months or so. Got a sun shade extender and rain cover for it and that thing just won’t stop. It’s not short like most umbreklla strollers, holds up–we took that thing to Ireland, Disneyland, multiple Disneyworld trips, our 5 year old could still fit in it. We were baby and toddler wearers but it was so useful when it was too hot to babywear comfortably, or when older brother wanted to ride while younger was being worn, for toting around baby stuff etc etc. So if you’re ever beyond renting, it’s definitely worth it. We have the “good” stroller and the “travel stroller” and that thing is a beast. We also have always used LLBean backpacks in place of diaper bags, but if you’re diaper bag folks, switch to a backpack for this.
Oh and if you don’t cloth diaper you may not know about the beauty of wet-dry bags (none of my non-cloth diapering friends ever knew about them) Thirsties are our favorite but there are a ton out there–easy place to store messed up baby things in your backpack and not get everything else gross and wet.
Whenever we could, a third airline seat was 100% worth the money, and it’s safer to have kiddo in their car seat on a plane anyway, particularly for take off and landing. Plus then you know you have the whole row and don’t have to worry about baby having a blowout while sitting in the window seat next to a stranger (ask me how I know about that joy).
Name of the game for us with tinies at WDW was always winging it. We never went back to resorts, since our kiddos would nap on the go. But it was so much easier to just take it slow, enjoy the time together, and do what we wanted to do when we wanted to do it. It’s a blast! Have a ton of fun.
We always bought a seat for our children. I never understood why it was dangerous to hold a backpack in my lap but a child was okay. Maybe the squishiness of the baby is less likely to injure someone as a projectile?
We also bought a used stroller on craigslist to be our travel stroller. It was similar to the cost of renting, but if something happened to it, we knew it wasn’t the “good” stroller. Plus, we traveled other places that don’t offer rentals. We also bought a travel case for it to protect it on airplanes. After the children outgrew it, we just sold it to someone else on craigslist.
Our mantra was one sit-down meal a day to force a small break with the child. They were decent stroller nappers, so we didn’t do many trips back to the resort is they got a bit of rest while walking.
Take lots of sun breaks and stay hydrated (that’s for the grownups. It’s super easy to forget to hydrate/sun protect yourself when you are prioritizing the kiddo). Beware of the character meal wait – getting to your table right in the middle of the characters can be rough if you missed the one you wanted to see most because it is a looooong wait if a kid is over it. And revel in the glory of ADORABLE BABY SUN HATS!!!
Just like we were told about our wedding day..”something is likely to go wrong but just roll with it and have a great day.”
And it was !!
I’ve seen toddler airplane beds for $40 on Amazon. This way Megatron can lay out flat and sleep on the plane. Somehow the lap belt can still be used. I wouldn’t stress over buying her a plane seat. That probably means you are entitled to more carryon and checked luggage. Baby wipes are good for cleaning sticky fingers before and after meals. I detest the smell of hand sanitizer. Did you rent a van with a built in car seat? One less thing to remember. If you are renting a stroller, do you have a way of personalizing it so you can find it quickly in a sea of strollers at a Disney attraction for kids. Maybe a pink pool noodle so it stands above the crowd of strollers. Remember to schedule breaks in air conditioning but bring a jacket. Remember to hydrate and bring snacks. My pediatrician told me to add a teaspoon of corn syrup to his bottles because he was constipated. He liked it so much, he wouldn’t take a bottle without it.
Taking a baby requires extra stuff, but don’t go overboard. The Baby Care Centers are great, and will probably have anything you run out of or forget. Definitely use a regular stroller, because if you use one of the big jogger strollers you will hate life getting it on and off the buses. We always attach a fun sign with our family name and phone number to our stroller and it makes it easier to spot. It’s hardly ever where we leave it! Go to Dollar Tree and get some glow bracelets and necklaces to put around the handles at night. Don’t buy a balloon, because there are lots of those so it doesn’t really help your stroller stand out. When she starts eating regular food, make sure to carry ziploc bags. She will be too distracted to eat at times, but will be screaming she’s hungry by the time you get back to the stroller. Put her leftovers in the ziploc and hand it to her to happily eat in the stroller. When my oldest was about 18 months, I took a lot of Disney stickers from Dollar Tree. I would hand him a strip of stickers while waiting in line and he would cover himself and us with stickers. It kept him busy and worked on those important fine motor skills. It’s nice to have your own stroller at this stage, because stickers can be stuck all over that too. Take a fan to attach to the stroller that will run off your anker phone charger. You will benefit from this just as much as she will! Don’t worry about going back to the hotel to nap, because that is a waste of time. Just put her in the stroller at nap time with the fan on her and walk. She will nap, and you can take turns riding rides and enjoy a snack while she sleeps. The hotels are not as quiet during the day as you think. We actually had to deal with smoke detector tests during nap time once. After many trips, we found he naps much better in the stroller at the parks than trying to get him settled back at the hotel. Just walk and enjoy the park while she sleeps. Have fun! 🙂
Not everyone can do this – some don’t go as often as we do, and some, like you, Tom, probably can’t do this due to hitting the rides being part of your JOB. But, when our first was born, we decided we wouldn’t separate as a family. That we wouldn’t ride a ride until she was tall enough to ride it with us. And it was the best decision. Making it about her and not about our nearly-decade-long routines made the parks totally new again. And now, she’s almost six and we’re suddenly riding rides we haven’t ridden in years and they’re almost as exciting as they were the first time we rode them. The break made things fresh for Mom and Dad.
And all of that time away from the big rides allowed for joyous, age-appropriate exploration of the parks that could have only happened then. To have forced tons of child swapping into our plans would have, at the very least, denied us a few years of *much much* chiller park touring, but also of all of the walking around/exploring details and meeting characters and playing in play areas, that just won’t happen later on.
It seems like you’re already doing your version of this so I’ll just say. Good job. Making it about her is 100% the right move.
(Also, tangent but Garden Wing is so perfect for kids. Especially once they’re mobile. Get a ground floor and rejoice in being able to slide a door open that leads directly to a giant patch of grass to run on. People dog on those rooms but they haven’t stayed in them with a two year old who *needs running space.*)
So excited for you! You may not need this, but my favorite hack from when we took my kiddo at 12 months was for making formula on the go. Buy the Accmor 5 layer formula stacker on Amazon, fill each morning with appropriate amount, and when you need a bottle, get hot water and cold water from any quick service place and many street carts. Fill bottle half with hot, half with cold, and formula, and you’re good to go!
Also, before you go into any ride or other place where you leave stroller, put the stroller rain cover on. We soaked our stroller more than once and not pleasant. And another vote here for the City Mini GT. You can even change a diaper in there in a pinch.
If you’ll be out after dark take glow sticks and wrap them around the handlebars of the stroller. So much easier to find!
I didn’t see this one anywhere in the comments. Get a hanging shoe bag (the kind with pockets for the shoes) and hang it from the stroller shade, so that it hangs down in back of the stroller. Use the pockets for anything you want to get to quickly: sunscreen, water, snacks, etc. In case of rain, you just cover it with Mickey rain wear!!
Thank you for all the advice I’ve read over the years. You have smoothed our annual trips enormously.
my bit of advice is simply be prepared for things to go much slower than you are used to. i’m sure with trips to disneyland you’ve gotten a bit used to that, but don’t expect to get a lot done. take your typical day without kids, divide by 3, then divide in half. if you get that much done, then you’ll have had a good day. most of all, have fun as mom and dad. take in those memories.
oh also, don’t be the guy we saw in a shop at MGM years ago whose shirt was just a smear of diaper contents thanks to an accident, asking for literally any baby outfit and the nearest shirt in his size. bring lots of extra clothing. it’s better to have and not need than to need and not have.
You’re setting reasonable expectations which is good. We’ve been traveling with our kids since they were babies but it is remarkably easier going with an infant than a toddler or preschooler. Take it easy and enjoy all the little things because your expectations of what they’ll enjoy as babies is different than what they will actually like. While I could easily give a full list of recommendations, probably the most important one is to allot extra time to do ANYTHING. You’ve done Disneyland with her so you know a little but boarding buses, clearing security with the diaper bag, finding stroller parking, etc just adds time to move from place to place. Soak it in and have fun.
Epcot during Flower and Garden was our first visit at Disney and always a must. The aquarium and Nemo were a favorite. I agree with a lot of commenters that if you’re renting a stroller the City Mini GT 2 is the best. It’s a one hand fold that stretches out for naps and has a roomy and easily accessible basket. I think it’s a good idea to get your daughter a seat whether you use it or not. If you do I would think you would have extra carry on and checked bag allowance if so I would take advantage of that and bring my own portable crib. Crystal Palace was one of our favorite first character meals other guests were nostalgic watching my daughter as a baby smile and giggle with the characters. The Carousel and Dumbo (especially the play area when it was open) were a must for those first 3 years.
Also I bring a swimsuit and extra clothes with me because the water splash pads are a blast for the little ones and when we go back to the hotel we love to go for an evening swim before bedtime it helps my daughter relax and go to sleep.
It’s going to be easier than you think, given you have reasonable expectations. We’ve been bringing our little ones for years, including four under the age of 6. We rented two double strollers. Take advantage of the baby centers in each park, take lots of breaks, and of course let baby Megatron enjoy whatever little moments present themselves! Good luck! When you look back, you’ll realize bringing a baby is easier than bringing a four year old.
I’m so excited for you all. We took my son for his first trip in 2022 when he was 9 months. We had gotten a cute custom Luca themed stroller sign from Etsy that made it easier to spot our stroller. Another highlight was going to Nomad Lounge and sitting outside. Was relaxing, great food, and our baby loved seeing the characters go by in the boats and they all made a point to wave to him. It was really special.