So we decided we needed a little vacation after just having a baby and before I headed back to work. We were looking at places that seamed kid-friendly and of course Disney seemed like a great option for us. We love Disney and have traveled many times there before having Tanner but we knew this would be a different trip with him in tow.
So here is how we prepared a bit differently from our past trips:
- Flying. We flew Southwest Airlines which is awesome. We brought the stroller right to the gate and checked it there. Tanner was a lap infant so we did not have to pay for a seat. We did need to provide his birth certificate for proof of age. We made sure to bring formula so that we could feed him during take off and decent to help with his ears during the pressure change. Southwest allows families with children to board after group A which gives you extra time to get situated.
- Infant Carrier. Along with the stroller we brought the infant carrier with us so we could walk around with him easier. This was great for when we were in line for rides and food. We have the Infantino Carry On Carrier. I also brought a light muslin swaddle which I used to cover him from the sun. It was January but I was still concerned about getting too much sun.
- Pimp your ride. Ok there are tons of strollers at Disney and when you get on the rides you park in stroller parking. Sometimes they move your strollers to accommodate for other strollers. So you want to do something to make your stroller stand out. Some people use balloons, others put signs on their strollers, we put beads around handles so you could tell it was ours. The other thing we did was use a Tile to help locate our stroller. We hid a Tile on the stroller and connected it with the app so we could find it in the event it was moved.
- Baby Care Centers. Disney has baby care centers in the parks which provide changing tables, a place to feed your child or pick up items you may need. Items include diapers, wipes, extra food etc. The one in Magic Kingdom is located next to the Crystal Palace. The one in Epcot is located in the old Odyssey restaurant.
- What can you do with a new born at the Parks? Well the great thing about Disney is there are lots of things geared towards toward kids. We rode rides with Tanner. We took him on the Jungle Cruise, Haunted, Mansion, the People Mover, and the Winnie the Pooh ride in Magic Kingdom. In Epcot we rode Los Tres Cabelleros, Living with the Land, Figment, Spaceship Earth and Finding Nemo. He slept on most of the rides. The movement made him fall asleep. The weather in January was perfect and we were able to walk around and enjoy being outside in the fresh air.
- Lessons learned. Make sure to be flexible. It is a different type of trip with a newborn but it is totally doable. I was a bit afraid of traveling with him but it worked out really well.
This was a great first trip for Tanner and we are looking forward to the next adventure with him!
