Taking a Baby to Disney World

Several people have asked me about taking a baby to Disney. It was relatively easy taking Josiah for several reasons. The first is that Chris' parents went with us so they held him while Chris and I rode some of the "big kid rides" with Wesley and Lydia. Chris and I both got to experience Lydia's first time riding Splash Mountain, Test Track, and Tower of Terror. Of course, Grandma and Grandpa rode a lot of rides too.
The second thing that made it is easy to take Josiah to Disney is that he usually sleeps through the night. I feed him around 10:00 every night and he usually sleeps until 7:00. Wesley's teacher asked me if I needed a vacation from my vacation and I said, "No, I got more sleep on vacation. I slept later than normal every day because I didn't have any of my normal household chores."
The third thing that makes it easy to take a baby to Disney is that babies can ride almost every ride there. For instance he rode this ride, TriceraTop Spin, at Animal Kingdom. He rode most of the rides that don't have a height requirement (and not that many have one). He seemed to like the rides, especially It's a Small World. He had a minor meltdown on Spaceship Earth one day but then calmed down when he saw the lights near the end of the ride. The second time we rode it, he was fine.
Also, he wasn't afraid of the characters. He appeared to be interested in most of what he saw at Disney World.
The biggest challenge was just that everything takes more time the more kids you have. This is probably especially true with a nursing infant. I did nurse him on several rides like the Mexico boat ride and the Haunted Mansion. We didn't seem to get as much done on this trip. We didn't go to the pool (mostly because it was cold but we wouldn't have had time), we missed a few rides, and we only rode some rides once. This wasn't all because of Josiah; some of the lines were a little longer than they have been in September.

We did have a wonderful trip. We love spending so much time together as a family.

On Thursday, we saw one of Wesley's favorite shows - Flights of Wonder.
We also saw It is Tough to Be a Bug. Lydia looks so cute in her "bug eyes" and her crown.
The line to see Tigger and Pooh is always very long at Magic Kingdom but the line at Animal Kingdom is always very short. This is probably because you can't see the characters from the start of the walking path that takes you to them. I think most people don't even know that they are at Animal Kingdom.
We always skip seeing them at MK but enjoy them at AK.
That night we had dinner at Captian's Grille at the Yacht Club Resort. I think this restaurant is a hidden gem. It is off the beaten path because not that many people go to the Yacht Club. The food was very good and the service was the best we had all week.

Josiah was a little fussy at the start of dinner and Lydia and Wesley were loud (they are always loud) and I found it all a little stressful. Wesley also had to read a book to me while we waited on our food; he needed to practice his reading since he was missing a week of school. Trying to do school work probably added to my stress level.

When the appetizers came I told Chris, "I would probably enjoy my food more if the kids were better behaved." (They were staying seated, they were just loud.) Chris said, "I would enjoy this dinner a lot more if it was just the two of us!" Then he looked at his parents and said, "No offense." They were probably thinking the same thing, that they would enjoy it more as a date night too. Wesley and Lydia settled down when their food got there and Josiah took a nap and we all enjoyed the meal.

Of all the Deluxe Resorts, I find the Yacht Club to be the least inviting. The lobby was very "stuffy" to me. Even if Chris and I went without the kids, I wouldn't want to stay there.
These little armchairs are so cute though!
On Friday morning we headed to Magic Kingdom. We got there before the gates opened and saw the welcome show. We bought breakfast on Main Street using our snack credits.
Lydia rode Big Thunder Railroad for the first time.
Chris took Lydia and Wesley on Splash Mountain then we all rode Pirates of the Caribbean and the Jungle Cruise.
We all rode The Magic Carpets of Aladdin (aka Dumbo without the wait).
Here we are waiting in a short line to see Ariel.
Around noon, Magic Kingdom started getting crowded so we headed to Epcot to have lunch.
We saw Aurora in France.
The characters from The Beauty and the Beast make beautiful topiaries.
Earlier in the week one of the photographers told us, "The Beast will be out later for pictures if he is behaving himself." When Lydia saw the Beast she said, "The Beast must have been having good behavior today."
We saw The American Adventure. The kids were very good but I don't think they really liked it. Wesley kept whispering to me, "Is it over?"
Grandma and Grandpa spent the day at Hollywood Studios. They met us for dinner in Italy. It as our last dinner of the trip. We left Epcot as the park was closing at 9:00. It was a long day but everyone had fun.