We recently took a trip to Disney World’s Magic Kingdom and Universal Studios in Orlando... with our almost six-month-old...in a weekend. Crazy, right? But it was a great experience and our son couldn’t have been better behaved on the trip.
Now, I’m not being paid to talk about our trip and tricks. But if it can help a nervous mum or dad out, then I’m glad I wrote it!
Disney World
I love Disney World. It is probably my favorite amusement park to go to. Before we went, my husband and I made a pact – if our son was cranky and needed to leave early, I would stay with the group we went with on the Magic Kingdom day and he would stay later at Universal Studios. We’d talked about the respective parks and made our plans for working around having a six-month-old with us.
Because we only had a short trip (a weekend!), we were only spending one day at Disney World. My favorite park is Magic Kingdom, but I’m equally partial to Epcot and Hollywood Studios. Animal Kingdom can be nice to go to, but it’s just not my favorite. I’d have loved to walk around the countries at Epcot, or go on the Rocking Roller-coaster ride and Tower of Terror at Hollywood Studios. But, needs must and we only had Magic Kingdom.
Research, Research, Research
Before we got to Disney World, I researched to find some tips and tricks on going with a baby. Should I bring a stroller? Do I need a fan? Will I get to ride any of the roller-coasters within reasonable time? I searched for answers to these questions – and more – so I could be as prepared as possible.
Reading, I found out that I could either a) rent a stroller or b) bring my own stroller. I already knew that we could bring our own food in; it would just go through a bag check. I found out that there were “childcare centers” in each park, in which was a calm room to change diapers, go to nurse, has some extras stuff in case you forgot anything. Additionally, there is a “parent rider swap,” meaning you let a cast member know that you want to do the parent swap. Then once your significant other rides while you wait, you go through the fast lane to ride while they stay with the baby (or child who isn’t tall enough)
In reality, this was our experience.
Babywear, No Stroller
We did not bring a stroller. Why? You may ask. It would’ve been easier to carry all you needed, you add. True and it might’ve been. But after a long discussion, we didn’t want to bring a stroller. It would’ve taken too much space in our car and because our son was so little and is not sitting up by himself yet, we would’ve had to have the stroller with a carseat, so he’d have been in the car seat all day. Additionally, it was going to be really crowded and we didn’t want the hassle of moving in the crowds with a stroller.
Instead, we decided to wear him.
We have an Ergo Organic carrier, and it is great (we got it at a consignment sale), except he can’t really see out of it. Additionally, because the weather was crazy warm for this time of year, it was soooo hot. He sweated so much through that one. But we still took it to each park because he slept better in that one than the ring sling.
I also brought two ring slings – both True North Ring Slings. These slings are really comfy and cute (not sponsored, just love of the brand). Plus, I have the 1.5 and it supports as I would think a double layer does. And one of them is a triple-shoulder; which means, you got it, more support on the shoulder. I ended up wearing him (switching shoulders about every couple of hours) for the twelve plus hours we were in the parks.
While I wore our son, my husband carried the backpack. We both agreed it ended up being heavier than him, so we didn’t trade off but once during the day. Within the backpack, we packed: extra sunscreen, a change of clothes (socks included) for H, enough diapers for the day, wipes, extra pacifier, burp cloth, nursing cover, changing pad, extra carrier (Ergo stayed in there nearly the entire time), extra hat, a bottle of expressed breastmilk, snacks, first aid kit, and two bottles of water for us (which we refilled throughout the day). It was heavy but worth it to have everything we needed.
Bathroom Fails
So honest note – I did not use the child-care centers. I couldn’t find it. For half the day, we forgot to get a map and even though we had an app, I had a hard time using the app – it was clunky and wouldn’t refresh very well. When I did find the center, it was back at the very front – nowhere near where we were. And the family bathrooms, because it is Magic Kingdom with lots of children, they were always busy.
Very honest here – we totally parent-failed, mum-failed, dad-failed, etc. at Disney World. I realized once we were back at the hotel that we had only changed our son twice in the park that day. Every time we thought about it was when I had to go to the bathroom. He never complained but his poor bum was red and raw. We definitely did better about that the next day.
I also am not one to be shy about nursing. Yes, I’ll cover my breast with a nursing cover, but as long as he is comfortable, I’ll nurse wherever I am. I nursed waiting in line several times – for the Peter Pan Flight (that line is always long) and waiting to meet Mickey and Minnie. Since he was in such a good mood, and we only had so many hours, we nursed in line instead of going to a "child-care center" out of the way. Several people looked, but, well, it's a natural thing and neither my husband, nor I, cared.
Rider Swap and Being Alone
While I had read about how Disney let’s parents swap out so they can ride the rides, I wasn’t sure what to expect. And, being honest, I was disappointed. Basically, you let a cast member know before you get in line that you want to do the rider swap. They scan your ticket. The person (or people – you can have one other person stay with you) wait outside the ride while the other person goes through the line. Once they are through, you can switch out and you’ll get to go through the Fast Pass line.
But you have to stand outside the ride without your party. Yes, one could walk around and do something else, but you don’t want to wander too far off because while the line times are estimated, they aren’t set in stone. It was miserable waiting for my husband to go through the line and then I had to go by myself – at least for the first ride because we weren’t sure how to go about it. The second time, we used the Fast Pass and he waited with me while the rest of our party went through. We grabbed an ice cream and waited. Then we rode together while they watched our son. So it was better.
In my opinion, Universal Studios did much better on their rider swap.
Universal Studios
Universal Studios “Child Swap” is probably the best thing (besides Harry Potter World) that I enjoyed. It ran smoothly and was, in short-terms, fantastic. It is completely different than Disney World. Before you get in line, you just say you want to do the child swap. They nod and let you know to tell them at the front of the line. And, excluding a few rides (the Hulk, E.T., Rock-it were set up a little differently), you were able to go through the lines with your party. You could wait together, laugh, bemoan the long lines – together.
Then when you go to the front, they sent you with a ticket to a room off the way. In that room, there were benches, a TV playing a movie, etc. that goes with the ride, and a baby changing station. Right there. I didn’t have to go into a bathroom where harried parents were trying to not touch anything and change their kids. Right there along with sanitizer. Believe you me, I took advantage of that. Nearly every ride, I changed H's diaper – we weren’t having a repeat of only changing twice in twelve hours like the day before.
So you waited in this (quieter) room. Unlike Disney – where I saw no nursing mothers – I saw several mums take advantage and nurse. I did too. Once your party was finished riding, as they exited, you see them and they’d come to you. You could leave one person with the baby there, and then go ride – and your group (up to 3 others) could ride with you – so you wouldn’t have to experience it all alone. And plus, some of your party might be excited to ride twice. They did the “child swap” right. It was a much better experience.
A Magical Time
All in all, we had a magical time. That’s the only description. Our son was absolutely fantastic – he was fussy one night around bedtime (when we were at Magic Kingdom), and then cried as we got him ready for bed at the end of the day. He definitely was over pictures before we even took any, but overall – he did so well for all the new experiences!
Of course, once we got home, it took nearly a week to get back on his schedule. Those were some rough days. But we’ll definitely take him back to Disney and Universal! It just might be a few years.
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