Infant travel- Cooper at 9 months
The first time we took Cooper he was 9 months old. We weren't too sure it was a good idea since he was so young but we decided to give it a try. We were having Disney World withdrawals anyway. It definitely wasn't easy since he was crawling but we did just fine.
Flying:
We flew on Southwest out of New Orleans which was good because it was a non stop flight. Your infant or toddler can sit on your lap as long as they're under 2 years of age. They do require that you have a boarding pass for them and will ask to see their birth certificate. You do have to have an infant car seat if you are going to put them in a seat next to you. As far as the flight goes with an infant, make sure you have a pacifier, bottle or anything they can suck on to make the take off a little easier on their ears. We planned the flight during Coopers nap time so that helped us a lot. The flight is usually about an hour and a half which is about the right amount of time for a baby to start to cry or throw a fit or do whatever they can to make everyone mad on the plane. Luckily the plane is going to Orlando which means there are lots of other families with screaming kids so we weren't in the minority. Now, if you are going to Orlando for something other than Disney than you might be pretty mad when you see how many kids are on there. We decided to bring our stroller with us on the plane. They'll check it at the gate for you and give it back to you when you get off the plane. It was so much more convenient than carrying your baby around in the airport. Orlando airport is pretty big and not too easy to get around if you don't know where you're going.
Baby items:
I found out through another Disney mom blog about shipping baby food and other items straight to the resort. You can get the address of the resorts at Walt Disney World Resorts. Let me tell you it saved a lot of money and time. I shipped the package about a week before and tracked it to make sure it arrived. I then called the resort to make sure they received it. I shipped diapers, bottles, blankets and a few other baby items. You don't want to have to buy diapers or other baby items at the resorts if you can avoid it. It's very convenient but not cheap. You can also get groceries delivered to your resort from Garden Grocer. There is a $40 minimum and a $12 delivery fee. They have a bigger variety of items than the grocery store in the resort. As far as a stroller goes, there is a place to rent strollers at each park but I don't think they are comfortable for babies. You want your baby to be comfortable especially if they fall asleep.
Here's an example of shipping label:
Name
c/o Beach Club Villas
Hold for guest arrival on: 4/10/09
1800 Epcot Resorts Boulevard
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830
Disney Magical Express:
We decided to take Disney's Magical express from the airport. It's free and you don't have to worry about getting your luggage after the flight. Your luggage is delivered to your room within 3 hours after your flight. Make sure you have any items you need immediately packed with you on the plane. You don't have to be in your room to get the bags either. Also, you don't need to worry about a car seat for an infant on the bus. I know I was concerned about that at first and then realized that's not a requirement. Some people may choose to rent a car depending on their situation but we found this to be really easy. We will be renting a car in March because we have a wedding to go to so I'll let you know more about how it goes after that trip.
Resort:
We stayed at the Disney's Boardwalk Villas when we took Cooper the first time. Yes, it is a Disney Vacation Club resort but any guest can stay there. I won't go into too much detail about resorts this time. There is entirely too much to be said about them. We always like the Boardwalk because you can walk or take a boat to 2 out of the 4 parks in that resort area: Epcot and Hollywood Studios. When you have an infant it's always easier to be at place that you can get back to easily so they can nap and you can rest for a little bit. You can also take a bus to both of those as well but it would be a waste of time to do that. The other thing that's good about the Boardwalk is that their bus system only has one bus stop unlike some of the other resorts that are spread out like Disney's Old Key West or Caribbean Beach. Always be prepared to wait at least 20 minutes for the bus anywhere you are. Depending on how full the bus is it may stop at other resorts in that area, which are Disney's Swan and Dolphin and Disney's Yacht and Beach Club. The Boardwalk resort area also has many restaurants and kid friendly activities. It has an Atlantic City theme so it has carnival games, face painting, carnival type foods and bicycle rentals for the entire family.
I hope this helps those who are planning on traveling with infants. I wish I would've know some of this stuff when I went last year. It was a completely different experience with a baby. We were so used to going on an adult only trip that we had to improvise until we knew what to do. It was a lot of fun to have Cooper experience our favorite place on earth!
I'll have another post about going to parks with babies. This one was mostly about preparing and getting there. Of course, everything on here is what worked best for us. Please comment or add anything that you have done that helped you travel with a baby.
Flying:
We flew on Southwest out of New Orleans which was good because it was a non stop flight. Your infant or toddler can sit on your lap as long as they're under 2 years of age. They do require that you have a boarding pass for them and will ask to see their birth certificate. You do have to have an infant car seat if you are going to put them in a seat next to you. As far as the flight goes with an infant, make sure you have a pacifier, bottle or anything they can suck on to make the take off a little easier on their ears. We planned the flight during Coopers nap time so that helped us a lot. The flight is usually about an hour and a half which is about the right amount of time for a baby to start to cry or throw a fit or do whatever they can to make everyone mad on the plane. Luckily the plane is going to Orlando which means there are lots of other families with screaming kids so we weren't in the minority. Now, if you are going to Orlando for something other than Disney than you might be pretty mad when you see how many kids are on there. We decided to bring our stroller with us on the plane. They'll check it at the gate for you and give it back to you when you get off the plane. It was so much more convenient than carrying your baby around in the airport. Orlando airport is pretty big and not too easy to get around if you don't know where you're going.
Baby items:
I found out through another Disney mom blog about shipping baby food and other items straight to the resort. You can get the address of the resorts at Walt Disney World Resorts. Let me tell you it saved a lot of money and time. I shipped the package about a week before and tracked it to make sure it arrived. I then called the resort to make sure they received it. I shipped diapers, bottles, blankets and a few other baby items. You don't want to have to buy diapers or other baby items at the resorts if you can avoid it. It's very convenient but not cheap. You can also get groceries delivered to your resort from Garden Grocer. There is a $40 minimum and a $12 delivery fee. They have a bigger variety of items than the grocery store in the resort. As far as a stroller goes, there is a place to rent strollers at each park but I don't think they are comfortable for babies. You want your baby to be comfortable especially if they fall asleep.
Here's an example of shipping label:
Name
c/o Beach Club Villas
Hold for guest arrival on: 4/10/09
1800 Epcot Resorts Boulevard
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830
Disney Magical Express:
We decided to take Disney's Magical express from the airport. It's free and you don't have to worry about getting your luggage after the flight. Your luggage is delivered to your room within 3 hours after your flight. Make sure you have any items you need immediately packed with you on the plane. You don't have to be in your room to get the bags either. Also, you don't need to worry about a car seat for an infant on the bus. I know I was concerned about that at first and then realized that's not a requirement. Some people may choose to rent a car depending on their situation but we found this to be really easy. We will be renting a car in March because we have a wedding to go to so I'll let you know more about how it goes after that trip.
Resort:
We stayed at the Disney's Boardwalk Villas when we took Cooper the first time. Yes, it is a Disney Vacation Club resort but any guest can stay there. I won't go into too much detail about resorts this time. There is entirely too much to be said about them. We always like the Boardwalk because you can walk or take a boat to 2 out of the 4 parks in that resort area: Epcot and Hollywood Studios. When you have an infant it's always easier to be at place that you can get back to easily so they can nap and you can rest for a little bit. You can also take a bus to both of those as well but it would be a waste of time to do that. The other thing that's good about the Boardwalk is that their bus system only has one bus stop unlike some of the other resorts that are spread out like Disney's Old Key West or Caribbean Beach. Always be prepared to wait at least 20 minutes for the bus anywhere you are. Depending on how full the bus is it may stop at other resorts in that area, which are Disney's Swan and Dolphin and Disney's Yacht and Beach Club. The Boardwalk resort area also has many restaurants and kid friendly activities. It has an Atlantic City theme so it has carnival games, face painting, carnival type foods and bicycle rentals for the entire family.
I hope this helps those who are planning on traveling with infants. I wish I would've know some of this stuff when I went last year. It was a completely different experience with a baby. We were so used to going on an adult only trip that we had to improvise until we knew what to do. It was a lot of fun to have Cooper experience our favorite place on earth!
I'll have another post about going to parks with babies. This one was mostly about preparing and getting there. Of course, everything on here is what worked best for us. Please comment or add anything that you have done that helped you travel with a baby.
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