I can almost hear the murmurs now, “Why would she bring a baby to Walt Disney World?” It’s true, in a few weeks my son will be fifteen month old and taking his first trip to Walt Disney World.
So, why would we embark on a trip to the Happiest Place on Earth with a child who will not enjoy most of the rides, indulge in some of Disney’s best snacks, say “Hi” to Mickey, or even remember the trip? Necessity. With three generations traveling to the “World”, we simply don’t have anyone crazy enough to watch the baby for a week while we play in the sun. And, our son will surely enjoy Disney World’s fanciful sights and sounds, even if he’ll have to rely on photographs to tell the story of his first trip.
Traveling with a baby requires some extra planning and preparation, especially in the areas of sleeping and eating. After all, what does a baby do most? Not one to be without a plan, I started my baby in training for Walt Disney World about 10 weeks out from our Disney trip.
The goal? Make my son as comfortable as possible with the logistics of traveling.
The Training Plan
Sleeping Prince
Our son is a great sleeper. In his room and crib, that is. Things take a turn for the worse when he’s in the Pak ‘N Play. To him, the portable crib is his nemesis – a device designed solely to curb his adventurous spirit. After all, he should be able to open drawers, unroll toilet paper, and empty the trash can while mom’s in the shower, right?
When we’re on our vacation, he’ll be using one of Disney’s Pak ‘N Plays to sleep, a reality for which he is sorely unprepared. What’s a mom to do? My husband and I started “sleep training” for our little one. First we simulated an unfamiliar hotel room by moving our Pak N Play into a different space than he’s used to sleeping in. Then, we chose to tackle the overnight sleep, when he falls asleep very easily, before naps.
The Progress
Success. We had a few rough nights in the beginning but it wasn’t long before he was sleeping like a champ overnight in the Pak N Play. After we increased the nighttime trainings to twice a week, it was time to move on to naps; he quickly acclimated. I can breathe a sigh of relief that our biggest traveling challenge won’t be so challenging after all.
Leave the Bottle, Take the Pacifier
My vision of a relaxed family vacation most definitely does not include baby bottles, which are bulky to pack and time consuming to sanitize. It was an easy decision to completely transition our little guy from the bottle to sippy cups before our trip.
What about the pacifier? It stays for now. My son only uses it to sleep and I don’t want to make too many changes before the trip. Also, now that the bottle is kaput, the pacifier will hopefully help soothe him and his little ears on our flight. I also bought Earplanes®, a product that is designed to reduce ear pressure but do I see him wearing them the whole flight? No. I give it about two minutes before he’s trying to tug them out of his ears.
The Progress
Mission accomplished.
Dinner is Served
Food is a big part of our Disney vacations so I want to make dining out with the baby as effortless as possible. We have a multi-pronged plan on this front: straws, portable high chairs, and table manners.
First up are straws. Although bottles are a thing of the past, my son hasn’t gotten the hang of using a straw yet. Is it crucial for our trip? No, but it would be nice. No worrying about packing sippy cups in our theme park bag or cleaning them every night. Fortunately, I can purchase sippy cups in the Baby Care Centers if I forget them.
Unlike at home, restaurant high chairs don’t have a tray and kids eat directly at the table. Lucky for us, portable booster seats which are secured to dining chairs are inexpensive and easy to find at stores selling baby products. The little man can now “pull up a chair” and get used to eating finger foods from our table at home instead of from his high chair’s tray.
My ultimate goal for eating at Disney is making sure we exit the dining establishments with all their dishes intact and without having to be followed up by a cleaning crew. You can decide whether I’m a germaphobe or exercising common sense but I won’t be placing my son’s finger foods directly on the restaurant table. Sadly, a napkin, paper kids’ menu, or worse still a plate under his food is a disaster waiting to happen. In the blink of an eye, he’ll tug his “prize” and proudly wave it around for all to admire. That is, when the other guests aren’t ducking from the food that just went flying. I’ve decided to bring self-adhesive, disposable placemats and a combo plate/no slip placemat.
The Progress
I’m sad to report that no progress on the straws has been made. Really, how do you teach a one year old to use a straw? On a brighter note, using a travel high chair and items to assist with eating from the table has gone very well.
Hat Head
Disney World is not a Hat Optional destination for my kids. But, keeping a sunhat on a 1 year old can be an exercise in patience. He takes it off and he giggles, I put it back on; he takes it off and he giggles, I put it back on. You get the idea. Bucket hats are just too tempting and easy for my son to remove. His Disney hat is a wide brimmed one that fastens under his chin which at least makes him work harder to take it off.
The Progress
Wherever he goes, his hat goes.
Being away from the familiar comforts of home challenges different kids in different ways. With a little extra planning and preparation, I developed a plan to make my little guy more comfortable with the changes that come with traveling.
I would love to hear how you prepare your very little ones for Walt Disney World. What should I add to my son’s Walt Disney World training regimen?
Lisa M. Battista is the author of Beyond the Attractions: A Guide to Walt Disney World with Preschoolers When she’s not chasing after her little ones, you can most likely find her at the beach or in the kitchen trying her hand at a new recipe.
Let our friends at Destinations to Travel help you book your next Disney Vacation. They are the preferred Travel Agency of Chip and Company and Disney Addicts, and who we use ourselves.
Get started below for your FREE No Obligation Quote.
Book With our friends at Destinations to Travel
For the BEST in Disney, Universal, Dollywood, and SeaWorld Theme Park News, Entertainment, Merchandise & More follow us on, Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube. Don't forget to check out the Chip and Company Radio Network too!
Sarah, I'm so glad your family had an enjoyable trip when your daughter was just 14 months. I'll have to do a follow-up in a few weeks after our trip to let you know how it went.
What a great idea. I can't wait to try it. Thanks for the tip.
Thanks Dee. Visiting WDW with kids is just as much fun as an adults-only trip – just different. There's not many places you can say that about, is there? Its part of what makes Disney World so special.
Really enjoyed your article even though my babies are grown up now (6 and 4). I did take my daughter at 14 mths… it can be done and it can be enjoyable. My daughter was already weaned off the bottle and pacifier but sippy cups weren't going anywhere. I did have to take a sippy cup everywhere I went but that was it! She also was fine wearing a hat (thank goodness). I didn't discover the disposable placements that you mentioned until after the trip. I did however have the individual wrapped Step 1 wipes. I would wipe down the table (real good) and let her eat of the table. She's 4 now… so she lived through it! 😉
Good info, Jhicks. Thanks.
Straws: I had both of my kids (now 11 and 3) drinking out of a straw by 6 months. I taught them to use the straw by getting enough liquid in the straw, putting my finger over one end, placing the other end in their mouths, then releasing my finger. After I did this a couple of times, they started sucking out of the straw because they knew there was liquid in there somewhere!
Hope that helps…
Thank you, Lisa, for your article. As a hopeful Mom-to-be, your article is inspiring. I was afraid I’d have to go a few years without my regular trip to my favorite place in the world. But your article gave me hope – and a plan to follow in the years to come. My heartfelt thanks for your enthusiasm and expert planning.
I'm sure you'll have a blast on your upcoming trip with two little ones. Did you book Chef Mickey's for breakfast? When my son was just shy of three, it was his favorite character meal. Have a great time.
We brought my daughter there last year (she was 13 months) and are going back this year (she'll be 25 months and my friend is bringing her 3 year old with us) My duaghter loved it and she loves watching the videos from the trip and looking at the pictures!
He's not really walking yet. He can, he just prefers to crawl or be carried. Now that the weather is nice, we've been taking him for more walks in the stroller. When he gets restless, a handful of Cheerios keeps him busy. Right now, Cheerios can solve anything! I should look into a baby carrier, just in case. Great suggestion.
Same with out little one 10 months no problems..when she was old enough to walk forget it
>>Chip
How does he do in the stroller? I found that the twins did great at 10 months but horribly at 22 months. If he's not running yet and begging to constantly get down and walk, you should be fine. Have you ever used a baby carrier like an Ergo or a frame pack? I thought the baby carriers were lifesavers.
You're going to have so much fun. Can't wait to hear all the details!