Is 6 Months Old Too Young??

[KYDisneyMouse]

My DH and I love Disney and have been over 15 times together over the past 8 years, it is for sure our happy place! We had our first child, a DD, at the end of January--she is a great baby, sleeps through the night and is very flexible. We are trying to decide if taking her on her first WDW trip at the end of July will be too much.

I BF her and have done a lot of research on the Baby Centers and they seem like a great tool. I am just looking for a little advice from anyone that has taken a little one at that age--did they enjoy it? Did you enjoy it? Any regrets after taking them that early?

Thanks so much for the feedback!

 

[buzznina]

We went when our 1st DD was 6 months and had a GREAT time. I had to modify how I liked doing the parks from "lets go, lets go" to slow and easy. I will admit that the first couple of days were hard, but truthfully it ended up being soooooo much more relaxing and we have not gone back to having park tour plans since. You are also in a great situation where you have been many times that, I am guessing, you do not need to hit a lot of rides so will not be disappointed with it. We made sure we brought our stroller that totally would lay flat for sleeping and diaper changes. For us going back to the room during the day did not work and after a few tries we just let her fall asleep in the stroller. Most important bring camera/camcorder, both our DDs now love watching the videos of them at WDW when they were infants and toddlers. It was a very easy and laid back trip and for rides we did SW, the train, PP, etc. no really dark or loud rides.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

we are looking forward to August and out trip with 4 month old granddaughter

 

[DizneyLizzy]

When our son was 4 to 5 months old, we took him on my husband's family's annual trip to the beach. We had to. It's one of those annual trips that no one really opts out of Anyway, it was not very much fun - he was still a little too young to completely slather with sunscreen, he didn't enjoy the sand or the ocean yet, and we basically sat in the condo most of the week except for the evenings when we brought him down to the beach. While we were there and noting how not ideal a beach vacation was with an infant, my husband and I were trying to think of vacations that would have been more fun to go on as a couple (bc it's not really a trip for the infant...it's still about the parents, and the infant is just along for the ride) and we both concluded that Disney would have been great. At that age he was pretty amenable to just riding in the stroller looking around. He would sleep anywhere, including strollers, and his diet was still pretty much breast milk centered. He was super portable! So after that long story, yes I would totally take a 6 month old. By 6 months, you and your hubby will need a vacation, and Disney is a super baby friendly place to do it.

 

[westie55]

I took my 8 month old and we had a spectacular time! He is a very easy going baby and I'm not sure there's any age I couldn't have handled him in Disney. I think 6 months is old enough. Will she enjoy it? Not in the same way an older child will but there will be plenty to look at to hold her interest. Mostly at that age babies just need their basic needs met and that can happen anywhere! I say go for it and have a great time!

 

[ayz75]

Took my first child to Disney world when she was 5 months and it was great! We slowed down and didn't do any rides that she couldn't do (it wasn't our first time so it didn't matter if we skipped the exciting rides). We would usually leave the parks by about 7 or 8 as well, so we all had time to rest at the hotel. It was really pretty easy (a good carrier is important!)

 

[KYDisneyMouse]

All of these replies are giving me more confidence--thanks for the feedback! We have booked AKL for 5 nights July 27-August 1, I know she won't remember the trip but I think she will enjoy it in the moment and I know DH and I will have a great time! It just seems like so many people tell us not to take her to WDW until she can "remember it" but I hate that philosophy, I always ask them if they didn't take their babies anywhere until they could remember it...that usually shuts them up

 

[Jenna319]

We took our daughter at 12 months, 15 months, and am now planning a quick weekend trip in June when she will be 19 months. Our daughter is also an "easy" baby, very flexible with her schedule, rarely crabby, so both trips so far have been great. I know many will say she won't remember it so why spend the money, but I completely disagree. YOU will remember it, YOU will have the memories and pictures forever, I say go for it, knowing that you will not hit every ride and take your time and just enjoy the park.

 

[quagmire0]

It's really a 'your mileage may vary' situation. Your 6 month old might be awesome and sleep when needed and not freak out at rides and characters. Or, she might hit a 'phase' and not sleep well and be a crab. You'll obviously have your finger on the pulse better than any of us will. Only thing you need to really keep in mind is that this will be unlike any Disney trip you've ever taken. You'll need to take it slow, take breaks, take turns, end the night early, etc. etc. I'm sure being four months in you understand that by now. A 6 month old isn't going to get 'into it' the way an older child will, so this will mostly be you guys enjoying a Disney vacation while taking care of the baby. So, in effect, this is really more of a vacation for you two. A 1-2 year old will interact with characters and get into the rides more. 3 and up is where you really see them getting excited and being able to do their own thing. I'm sure you'll have fun!

 

[ColonialMouse]

We went recently when DD#3 was 6 months. It was great---we didn't push hard, and I got to do things I don't normally do like watch the sunrise across the lake from the contemporary.

The only thing I would be careful about is ADRs. She wound up being a bit cranky late in the day and her nap schedule was less predictable than normal. Two or three times that resulted in my wife staying at the room with her while I went with our other daughters to the dinner ADR. Disney doesn't charge a penalty if some people in the ADR don't show up, but they do if no one shows up. If it's just the three of you, I assume you wouldn't want one of you to go by yourself to dinner in that case. So I might be careful about making ADRs. I wouldn't do more than one a day and just be aware of needing to work the schedule around them. You won't know how she'll react to Disney until you get there...

Bruce

 

[disneymom0104]

We took my 3rd when he was 6 months. Other than the usual extra things you have to do for a baby (change, feed often, etc) I didn't find it too difficult. I loved nursing in the baby care centre's- especially the one in Epcot- so nicely air conditioned, etc. He LOVED the characters- grabbed their faces and tried to eat them, lol. He remembers absolutely none of it, obviously, but the pics we have are wonderful! Our 4th will be 2.5 when we go in Sept- I have taken a few 2-3 year olds to Disney and I find a baby a lot easier overall!

 

[Tara1988]

It can be done. But I personally wouldn't take an only child that young. We are going in October with our almost 5 and 2 year old boys and our daughter will be 3-4 months. I don't have any problems taking her with them, but if it was just her, I'd wait until she was old enough to really get into it and enjoy it. At that age, she's basically just a backpack that has to be fed and changed. My oldest went for his first trip at 16 months and it was perfect.

 

[NinaBella]

My personal opinion is yes, 6 months is too young. But everyone's opinion is going to be different.

 

[bostonminnie]

We took our son at 6 months and it was one of our favorite trips. My husband and I are also huge Disney fans and go often. When we brought our son for the first time we slowed our pace down a bit, but had a great time. He's 3 now and loves to look at the pins we bought for him on the trip when he was 6 months old. The baby centers are awesome. I hope you have a great trip!!

 

[Shellyb84]

I took DD when she was about 9 months, for a day trip (we were on a week long beach trip in the Tampa Bay area). She did great. We ate at Crystal Palace and she got a big kick out of the characters. I was also breastfeeding, and the baby care centers are great.

As long as she stays hydrated, lots of sunscreen and in the shade a good bit she'll be fine. Have a great time!

 

[KYDisneyMouse]

I took DD when she was about 9 months, for a day trip (we were on a week long beach trip in the Tampa Bay area). She did great. We ate at Crystal Palace and she got a big kick out of the characters. I was also breastfeeding, and the baby care centers are great.

As long as she stays hydrated, lots of sunscreen and in the shade a good bit she'll be fine. Have a great time!

The heat is one of my biggest concerns so we are planning on getting to the parks early and heading back to the resort when it is the most hot in the afternoon and going back in the evenings when it cools down a bit. Just gives me an excuse to buy her more cute hats to wear

 

[KYDisneyMouse]

We went recently when DD#3 was 6 months. It was great---we didn't push hard, and I got to do things I don't normally do like watch the sunrise across the lake from the contemporary.

The only thing I would be careful about is ADRs. She wound up being a bit cranky late in the day and her nap schedule was less predictable than normal. Two or three times that resulted in my wife staying at the room with her while I went with our other daughters to the dinner ADR. Disney doesn't charge a penalty if some people in the ADR don't show up, but they do if no one shows up. If it's just the three of you, I assume you wouldn't want one of you to go by yourself to dinner in that case. So I might be careful about making ADRs. I wouldn't do more than one a day and just be aware of needing to work the schedule around them. You won't know how she'll react to Disney until you get there...

Bruce

Good tip on the ADRs, you are correct in that neither of us would really want to eat by ourselves! So far we only have two reserved for the trip and they are both late breakfasts a little bit after she wakes up from her morning nap. I have a feeling it will be a lot of QSRs for us this trip--we have become pros at eating quickly in the past few months, always seems like she decides she wants to eat when we start eating!

 

[TravelingTotMom]

We took DS for the first time at 7 1/2 months, and we had a great time!

We had low expectations, but we ended up doing more than we thought we would. He got his first Mickey ears hat with his name on it, and then we took him to meet talking Mickey. He had just started watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse about a month before, and he certainly recognized Mickey! The second we were in the room and he saw him, he started squealing (happily) with his arms and legs going.

I think the best thing we did was take a front-facing carrier (found one at Ross for around $25... not as great as something like an Ergo, but worked well in this case). This helped in lines, and then I could easily get on/off rides, all while he got to face forward and see everything.

 

[kreckl]

I would not do it. Personally I think the heat and overstimulation is just something little babies don't need to be doing. Sure Disney is a baby friendly place, so it really shouldn't be any more difficult than a day trip someplace, if that's what you're asking.

 

[LISmama810]

I took my kids to Disneyland starting at 6 weeks, and we took DD to Disney World when she was 6 months.

Is 6 months too young for them to appreciate it and remember it? Sure. But it's not too young for YOU to appreciate and remember it.

I wore DD in various baby carriers so I could face her inward if things got overstimulating. One of them was a UV-rated breathable solar sling, so that was great for sun protection. The Baby Care Centers were nice for occasional breaks when we were near them, but mostly I nursed her on-the-go while wearing her.

She seemed slightly amused by some of the characters. Other than that, she didn't seem to care much either way, but she was very easy-going and just went along with everything.