Tips - Doing Disney with a baby

As good as Noah was (and seriously... he was amazing...) there are still things we realised that we had to miss due to having a 7 month old at Disney. I'm sure it's the same with a toddler. So I have some advice for those planning a trip to Disney with a young child.

1. Be flexible! Don't expect to be at the park for opening, to get on every ride or to stay until closing. Go with the flow of your child and don't push it. And when you see a character - abandon all plans and get pictures! The moments that stick out in my memory the most are those of Noah interacting with Mickey Mouse, Tinkerbell and Eeyore. He wont remember those moments, but I sure will.

2. Go with grandparents or other family. It's been great to be able to leave Noah with someone else so that we can go on rides too without having to use 'ride swap.' It also makes it a little more enjoyable and exciting to share.

3. Get a 5 day pass. This was my 7th trip to Disney and it has definitely taken more time to cover the park with a young child. You need those extra days if you want to see and do a decent amount of things.

4. Bring your child's comfy stroller that can recline. I know it can be a hassle and takes up lots of room, but without it Noah wouldn't have been able to sleep at the park and that would have meant trouble!

5. If you can - go to Disneyland vs DisneyWorld. I realise most people will probably just go to whatever is closer and that makes sense for them. But after this trip we decided it'll be Disneyland only until our children are much older. We have done both - and Disneyworld is just so big we could never have covered it in a week with a small child. Disneyland is much more condensed and all the hotels and resorts are within a 5 minute drive. There are only two parks which means you can see alot more. And the food is way better in our opinion. Plus, the bonus for us is that it is only a 2.5 hour plane ride from Vancouver. We were actually in the park the same day as getting home. Awesome!

6. Get a hotel room that is a suite and has a kitchen. So much more space for kids and its nice to have a full kitchen so that you don't have to eat out every single meal.

7. Go off season. We didn't this time due to my little brothers spring break timing. But it was pretty crowded so there were some longish lines. Of course we utilised the fast pass system which helped alot.

The last thing to remember is that Disney is all about kids. The staff and characters were beyond wonderful with Noah. There is a baby room at each park and change tables in every single washroom (both men's and woman's.) They even have a system set up so that adults who are travelling with young kids can switch off without waiting in line for rides.

So if you are concerned about taking a young child, I say as long as you are flexible and don't have super high expectations. Go for it. I would do it again in a heartbeat!