Is it worth it to go to Disney World with a 17 month old baby?

[greenskeeper]

If the business trip knocks your expenses down enough that it's "affordable" then why not? Your child won't remember but DS has some good points....you'll have memories of the trip.

My son is turning 3 this year, and we are going to take him to Disney for the first time (we normally go every winter for 1 week, but have skipped since he was born).

Nothing is cheap down there and I want him to at least be able to remember the trip.

[disneysteve]

One more point abou the "your child won't remember it" issue. No, he will not remember it, but you will remember it. You'll have pictures to show him when he's older. We inadvertently started a tradition on DD's first trip of having her picture taken with Tigger. We have since taken her picture with Tigger on every one of her 18 trips to Disney World. We love going back and looking through those pictures and seeing her grow and develop along the way.

Go and make memories with your toddler. Take lots of pictures to show friends and family and to show him when he's older. You won't be sorry.

[minnie1928]

I'm 100% with DisneySteve. I took my son before he was 2, my daughter was 2.5 mths on her first trip and they've been back more times than I can remember.

You will have wonderful memories, I wouldn't hesitate to do it.

Every trip to WDW is different and fabulous.

[Nika]

Thanks guys,

I am now excited about it. I've looked around DW website and Orlando Marriott Convention Center Resort's website. As soon as DH's training is confirmed I'll start researching DW for things that can be done with a 17month old and will come back with few specific questions.

I cannot go without baby. All our family members work, and they already spend most of their days to cover DH's mandatory business trips. Also, we are planning 2 more vacations this year.

[Like2Plan]

Nika,
Is your trip planned at the end of April? If so, the Flower and Garden Festival will be going on at that time. link to Epcot® International Flower & Garden Festival

Link to Festival Highlights

It is one of my favorite times to go. There are topiaries and flower displays set up all around EPCOT in celebration of the festival. Your toddler might enjoy the butterfly garden and in the past they have had a special play area set up for children as part of the festival.

[MonkeyMama]

Originally Posted by greenskeeper

Nothing is cheap down there and I want him to at least be able to remember the trip.

That's the thing - if it cost a fortune it would be a ridiculous splurge. Well, for a baby. But I think we have all agreed the adults will enjoy too. My kids have been to Disney about every year since they were born, but only that much because we usually never pay very much to go. (We have family in Orlando, and live close to D-Land, and couldn't justify all that expense otherwise).

I went to DW on my honeymoon.

[Sha Financial Diary]

Definitely go!! I took my niece at 3yo. Now she is 5 and she still talk about it. (We are talking about a 3yo who was 44 inches tall at the time and Splash Mountain, a ride with a 50 foot drop, was her favorite ride.) If I could afford to take her every year I would. We are going back next year. We go at rope drop, take an afternoon break, and may or may not go back in the late evening.

Me, my mom and niece, who are all at least 25 years apart love Disney. There is something for every age. The only concern with a 17mo is the character meeting. Some kids loves the characters and some are afraid, you never know what you are going to get with toddlers and characters.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by greenskeeper

My son is turning 3 this year, and we are going to take him to Disney for the first time

Nothing is cheap down there

One thing to keep in mind - children under 3 are free. Once your kid hits age 3, you need to pay for him so if money is an issue, much better to take the kid before his 3rd birthday. A 5-day park hopper ticket is over $300 so there is a significant savings by going with a 2 year old rather than a 3 year old.

As for the cost of a Disney vacation in general, it really depends. You can do it pretty cheaply or you can spend a fortune. It's entirely up to you. You can find a motel offsite for $30/night or you can stay at a Disney deluxe resort for over $400/night. You can fly to Orlando or you can drive. You can eat table service meals 3 times a day or you can keep breakfast food in your room, pack PB&J sandwiches for lunch and do counter service for dinner.

The 3 of us easily do a week in Disney for under $2,500 and if we had to, we could probably get the tab to $2,000 or maybe even less. I'm not suggesting that isn't a lot of money for some people but it isn't nearly as expensive as a lot of people think it is. And that figure is for 10 days including travel days. If we shortened the trip, that would further lower the price.

[Nika]

My trip would be at the end of March. Should be very nice temperature, from what I looked up.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by Nika

My trip would be at the end of March. Should be very nice temperature, from what I looked up.

That is a nice time to go especially if it is before the Spring Break crowds hit. Easter is April 8 this year so you're probably relatively safe in late March.

[minnie1928]

Originally Posted by disneysteve

As for the cost of a Disney vacation in general, it really depends. You can do it pretty cheaply or you can spend a fortune. It's entirely up to you.

I totally agree, Disney can be as cheap or as expensive as you want it to be. It's entirely up to you.

People assume that it's horribly expensive, but it doesn't have to be. There are lots of ways to cut the costs and still have a fabulous vacation.

We've been to Disney a LOT, when we lived on the east coast we normally went about 2 times per year. But, in order to do that level of frequency we usually bought annual passes, which allowed us access to discounted rooms. We would drive instead of flying (from NJ or PA), we packed food or stopped at a grocery store to buy drinks/snacks. We ate breakfast in the room. We did lots of things like that to help keep the costs down. But, doing those things did nothing to diminish the fun we had while on vacation and it allowed us to go often.

[dawnwes]

Disney is not for my kids, it is for me.....I remind them often that it is MY vacation and they are just lucky to be allowed to come along!

I would go in a heartbeat.

My older two sons started at Disney before they could walk, when we lived close to a Disney park.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by dawnwes

Disney is not for my kids, it is for me.....I remind them often that it is MY vacation and they are just lucky to be allowed to come along!

Love it! I agree. Disney is an adult vacation that masquerades as a family locale. We've often commented that it would be so much better if not for all the kids running around.

My wife and I started going to Disney World years before we had a kid, even a couple of years before we were married, and we are looking forward to the days when we will be able to go again just the two of us. It is a perfect couples vacation.

[dawnwes]

YUP!

We used to live 45 min. from Disneyland. We had annual passes ($99 SoCal passes) before kids as well.

I would even go alone if I had a business meeting down in that area.

Dawn

Originally Posted by disneysteve

Love it! I agree. Disney is an adult vacation that masquerades as a family locale. We've often commented that it would be so much better if not for all the kids running around.

My wife and I started going to Disney World years before we had a kid, even a couple of years before we were married, and we are looking forward to the days when we will be able to go again just the two of us. It is a perfect couples vacation.

[LuckyRobin]

We took our daughter to Disneyland when she was 2 3/4 and she had a good time. She did not like the really dark rides (especially Pirates, but that may have been the skeletons), but that was it. She loved the parades and the characters and the food. She liked the shows like Billy Hill and the Hill Billys and the musical performances, and the little musicals. There was so much to just look at.

My biggest suggestions are to rent (or bring) a stroller, go back to the hotel for naps and swimming, and bring your child's favorite stuffed animal or blankey. The stuffed animal or blankey gives them a touchstone if they start to get overwhelmed. Just keep track of it. We put our daughter's stuffed dog on a leash we tied to her wrist or the stroller.

[Like2Plan]

Originally Posted by Nika

My trip would be at the end of March. Should be very nice temperature, from what I looked up.

The Festival goes From: March 7, 2012 To: May 20, 2012 so you will still have a chance to see it.

[cschin4]

If you view it as family time or a vacation mainly for you and DH, then i think it is "worth" it. If you expect your child to have memories of this, he won't. But, it would be a great chance for you to have a nice time with your spouse, have some memories with each other and also a great chance to scope things out for a future trip. So i think you should go.

[Nika]

My husband's training got approved!

And we decided to go. My mom thinks it is a terrible idea to "uproot" and stress the baby like that. She is actively lobbying against it.

Anyway, so many logistical issues to research now. I've never travelled with the baby. Do we rent a car seat? Do we pay to bring ours? Will it be charged as checked bag? Should we bring a stroller or rent one... Feeding baby in a healthy way while there.

We can go for up to 8 days. I wonder if it is best to go for a long time like that (get baby situated, longer time between the flights, get him used to the new routine, new sleeping place).

I will probably not be buying tickets for all the days I'm there. Not sure what is the best thing here. Which parts of the park are best for a baby this small.

I don't even know how hotel cribs look like. Should I bring my own sheet? what about baby laundry?

Keeping it from getting too expensive would be great (it was the rest we are going to begin with) but with all these things that involve taking care of the baby take priority.

[MonkeyMama]

Enjoy!

As for your mom, seriously? I suppose it depends on baby's temperment. We took our 12-month-old to Hawaii and they have both been to D-Land and D-World very young. To be fair, we took my 12-month-old (or so) on a trip to visit family and I remember it being a VERY stressful trip. Maybe because it was our first time traveleing. I don't know, I just remember dh and I fighting like crazy (was unusual). Maybe tiring with messed up sleep schedules and such. Baby had a blast though. That's one bad trip and several GREAT ones with 1, 2 and 3-year-olds. I'd say my kids travel very well - you won't really know for sure until you try.

One thing, I've *never* had a good carseat rental experience. Enough so that we decided to avoid traveling until kids were older. Bring the car seat! (Cheaper, anyway). If you need a stroller, cheaper just to bring it.

Any hotel I stayed in had *pack n plays* for cribs, and sheets.

[thekid]

I can't comment on Disney, as I've never been, but we took our then 14 month old to Portugal this past summer and she loved it. Rented a car to drive around. She took her regular naps, eat well, really had a blast with the sights and outings. She was actually easier than at home.

I guess it depends on the baby, but we are very routine oriented and were quite worried about it. Ended up being more than fine.