5 Tips for Taking a Baby to Disney Parks

Often I hear from parents, "I don't want to take my kids to Disney until _____." I understand many reasons, such as kids who won't sleep away from home, not wanting to deal with naps, and not wanting to deal with a stroller, but one thing I never understand is "waiting until they're old enough to remember". Ugh, what a lot of pressure for your kid! How long do they have to remember to make it worth it? First thing you need to do when you think about a Disney vacation is to throw that minimum age out the window. Now, consider the fact that your child can fly free as a lap passenger until age two and doesn't need a Disneyland or WDW ticket until age three. Now are you considering it?  Let me share some tips on how to make Disneyland and Walt Disney World FUN with a baby!

Here are 5 things that we found essential for a six month old:
1. As mentioned in part 1, you'll have a much easier time if your baby is accustomed to sleeping in a portable crib, in a car, in a stroller, in a baby carrier, etc. If you have a good sleeper, you're golden. Lilly went a lot of places in her first 6 months and I like to think that contributed to her being a great sleeper, but who knows, we could just be lucky.

2. A buckle baby carrier like the Boba Air. We love the Boba Air because it folds up into a little pouch that can be stuffed in a backpack, and it's very lightweight and comfortable. You can actually bring your baby on any ride that doesn't have a height requirement, in any style of carrier, with the exception of Toy Story Midway Mania, where you are required to use a buckle carrier. We used a ring sling up until this trip but have used the Boba Air almost exclusively since Disneyland. It's just that good!

3. Know your baby care centers. There is one in each park (check a park map for locations), and they have nursing areas, a small kitchen with a microwave, several changing tables so you're not waiting in line in the regular restrooms, and small tables and high chairs. I will report back on all the ones at Walt Disney World in November, but I can tell you that the one in Disneyland Park is vaguely creepy like a turn of the century maternity hospital (that may have been the ancient bossy gatekeeper who was working the first night I stopped in to nurse Lilly) and the California Adventure Park one is a more pleasant daycare/preschool atmosphere.

4. Stay at a Deluxe Resort! I know, I know, before you had a baby you saw your hotel as a bed to sleep in and want to be in the park from dawn to dusk. Well, now you have a baby. You might need to go back to your room for any number of reasons, and I am tired just thinking about walking to bus stops. We stayed at Grand Californian at Disneyland in January and are staying at Wilderness Lodge in November. I'm already thinking about Contemporary next year.

5. Be flexible! Trust me, I love making as many dining reservations as I can fit into the day, but with a baby we scaled back. We had a reservation at Blue Bayou at Disneyland because I've always wanted to eat there, but other than that we mostly ate at Storytellers Cafe at Grand Californian. For our trip in November, I have limited dining reservations to one per day and I'll limit Fastpasses to the most important things (like the fact that I STILL have not been able to ride Seven Dwarfs Mine Train).

At the airport on the way home. Don't we look like we've been on an honest to goodness vacation?

Ready to plan your Disney Vacation? Email me at beth@francethtravels.com!

How to Have a Magical Time at Walt Disney World

I recently read a blog that was a list of "rookie mistakes" made by first timers visiting Walt Disney World. Besides being a lazy list stretching to fill itself out (what parent needs to be told that everyone needs to go potty when one has to go?), I don't like when a list of tips is couched in the smug terms of "rookie mistakes". Planning your first trip to Walt Disney World is already intimidating, right? I'd rather tell you how to add value than imply that you're going to make mistakes!

1. Obviously my first tip is to use a travel agent who is a Disney specialist! (That's me!) A great Disney specialist thinks the Disney travel agent training College of Knowledge test is too easy. They can help you book dining, Fast Pass +, special tours, and will have all kinds of extra tips. Most importantly, it shouldn't add any additional cost to your reservation! The travel agent is paid commission by Disney and the prices they see are the same ones you see if you do it yourself. You should DEFINITELY take advantage of this free service if it's your first trip. And even if you are a veteran of WDW, chat with a travel agent anyway! You might learn about something new!

2. Use My Disney Experience! Oh, I love this smart phone app so much that I keep it on my phone home screen even when our next trip isn't for 424 days. *cough* Sometimes I just like to put it up to see how long the line is for Toy Story Midway Mania right now, or if I could get a Be Our Guest reservation tonight. Whether you are using the browser version or the app, you can manage all your dining reservations and check menus, see ride wait times and manage Fast Passes, see character and entertainment schedules, and even see where all the PhotoPass photographers are, and you can do ALL of this in real time because the parks have free wifi. My Disney Experience is essential for making your vacation easier.

3. When it comes to rides, there are two things you should know about. First, FastPass+ (FP+) is Disney's pass for skipping the lines. Unlike Universal's Express Pass or Six Flags Flash Pass, the Disney FP+ is totally free. It's a good idea to get advice on booking FP+ if you don't visit WDW often, so you don't "waste" a FP+ reservation on a ride that is typically walk-on (5 min or less wait). Second, WDW has this cool feature called Rider Switch that will let both parents ride a ride a ride that their kids cannot (or will not) ride without having to stand in line twice. Click the link for detailed instructions on how to use Rider Switch.

4. Stay at a Walt Disney World Resort! I cannot stress this enough. So many people I talk to balk at the price of WDW lodging because it seems much more expensive than, say, a Holiday Inn. Here are just some of the things you get when you stay at a WDW resort: Magical Express picks you up at the airport AND takes your bags straight from the airplane to your room. No waiting at the baggage carousel! Extra Magic Hours get you an extra hour at the parks in the morning and two extra hours in the evenings. Resort transportation gets you anywhere you want to go so you don't need your car and don't have to pay parking fees at the parks. This is especially great if you decide to Drink Around the World at Epcot. You can have your park purchases delivered straight to your room, so you don't have to carry them around. You can charge to your room with Magic Bands. AND you get early access to dining reservations, which is a big deal if you are dying to eat at Beast's Castle. I could go on and on. I stayed off-property the last time we were in Orlando and I'll never do it again.

5. Splurge on something special. It's hard to know the value of an experience you haven't seen yet, so you will just have to take my word for it. Here are some suggestions that will be the highlight of your magical vacation: Pirates and Pals Fireworks Voyage, Keys to the Kingdom tour, Fantasmic Dining Package, Wishes or Illuminations Dessert Party, Wayama Safari (adults only).

The Triumphant Return of Francis + Beth! Now With Lilly!

Welcome to Franceth Travels! Many of you may know Francis and me (Beth) from the blog I started in 2008, Craves, Caves, & Graves. In the 6 years of writing that blog, I met, married, and had a baby with Francis, and also learned a lot from him about photography, and changed a lot of my philosophies about writing a travel blog. I also became a travel agent just for the joy of helping people plan their Disney Vacations, and I started a home based business so that I could stay at home with Lilly, spend more time writing, and generally spend more time having fun. That's a lot of changes! There was so much I wanted to change about CC&G that it got overwhelming, so I decided to take a break when I was pregnant and see how things went when Lilly was born.

I am happy to report that at three weeks of age, Lilly seems to be fairly portable, happy in the car, and a great sleeper, so we have started venturing out of doors! Not only that, but we just booked our next Disney Land & Sea vacation for October 2016, so I feel like every excursion in the next 15 months will be practice for taking a baby on a major vacation. I'm hoping we can share lots of fun and funny tips for traveling with a new baby in the coming months!

Here's our first tip that Francis discovered when we went to WDW in December when I was pregnant, and we were just starting to scope out other people's strollers: The squirrels know where you are keeping the good snacks, man. Consider packing Tupperware! (This is not our video, but I was delighted that it came up when I Googled "squirrel bandit".)