Can you do Disney with a baby? Surprisingly, yes!

 For many families, a Walt Disney World vacation is a landmark in your family's history and an event that you will cherish for years to come. While Disney does a world-class job at making each guest's experience magical, that magic come with a price tag. It's no surprise that Disney vacations are costly, leading many families with the task of trying to figure out if visiting Disney with a baby is feasible or not.

2016-2017 was a trying time for our family. Jennifer suffered numerous complications during her pregnancy with Robin, and Robin herself had some complications post-partum that ultimately prevented us from being able to take a vacation that year. We knew we had to make it up to the big kids in a big way, and there's no bigger way to make up on lost vacation time than Walt Disney World!

The challenge of course, was that at the time, Robin was just barely a year old. Was it really worth spending the money on a Disney vacation with someone who would barely remember the trip? Would the big kids have fun, knowing that we were going to have to plan around a baby's schedule? We were about to find out!

If you're thinking about visiting Walt Disney World with a baby, here are a few things that you'll want to do to make the most of your trip.

Make Baby-Friendly Plans

One previous trips to Walt Disney World we were up and in line for the buses first thing in the morning. This time around we made sure to make fast-pass reservations late enough to accommodate getting Robin ready in the morning. Give yourself an extra hour on top of what you might normally plan, if a baby can spit up on her outfit, she will spit up on her outfit.

We made it a point to schedule at least one fast pass per day toward something that Robin would enjoy. This ultimately meant a lot of character encounters. In fact, our very first fast pass was used on a meet and greet with Mickey and Minnie at Disney's Animal Kingdom. Being able to move through the queue faster really made the difference between having a happy baby and a screaming mess. Disney does a great job of making your queue experience meaningful and worthwhile, in this case, showcasing photos of Mickey and Minnie in their safari gear throughout the line. Robin had started babbling at this point, and one of her favorite words was "Mouse" (in reference to Mickey). She noticed "Mouse" in the photos right away, building her excitement as we approached Mickey and Minnie themselves. Once they were in view she let out a squeal and started clapping, we couldn't have asked for more!

While there may have been more-efficient uses of our fast passes, we wanted to make sure that Robin got to take part in activities that she would get to enjoy as much as the big kids.

[caption id="attachment_274" align="aligncenter" width="4000"] When Robin met "Mouse"[/caption]

Make use of the Baby Care Centers

Whether you are a nursing mother, need a clean place to change your little one's diapers, or just need a place for your baby to take a breather and relax, the Baby Care Centers located throughout each of the Disney Parks were a life saver for us.

Each baby care center featured nursing rooms, changing tables, rocking chairs, and even a place for younger kids to hang out, watch Disney cartoons and color Disney-themed coloring sheets. My older kids were kept occupied by pin trading with the Baby Care center staff.

If your baby is anything like Robin, she can get easily over-stimulated and need a little bit of time to chill out to avoid a full-on meltdown. We were worried that we would need to make frequent trips back to the hotel to give Robin time to chill, but thankfully all it took was a few visits to the Baby Care centers in the parks to get a diaper change, top her off, and let her crawl around and get some of her energy out.

If you're running low on supplies, such as diapers, baby wipes, even formula, the Baby Care centers have you covered, and believe it or not, you won't be charged an arm and a leg. By and large, how well-run the Baby Care centers were run single-handedly improved my, already high, opinion of Disney and their customer-oriented model of operation.

[caption id="attachment_268" align="aligncenter" width="1536"] Splash Mountain? Who needs that when I have a water bottle and Disney baby wallpaper?[/caption]

Be Prepared to go with the Flow

Diaper changes, nursing, just plain fussiness, it all comes with the territory of having a baby. There were several times when we had to split up to do things that both the baby and bigger kids would enjoy. Thankfully Disney's parent ride-swap option allowed both Jennifer and I to ride our favorite rides, and Billy and Leia got to double dip if they wanted!

While Robin was engaged and happy most of the time, she did sleep, a lot! This worked to our benefit since we went during Christmas and queues were longer than normal.

Surprisingly, Robin was able to ride on our laps for most attractions with the exception of the very obvious thrill rides such as Splash Mountain, Space Mountain and the Tower of Terror. Most of the open-air rail rides such as the Voyage of the Little Mermaid, the Finding Nemo ride and Peter Pan's Flight were baby friendly and Robin got a kick out of them. Her favorite rides were Dumbo and Toy Story Mania!

We also weren't the only people there with little ones, we encountered numerous parents with babies even younger than Robin. So if you're considering a visit to the Magic Kingdom with your baby, feel confident than you and your family will be able to enjoy yourselves!

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Just Be prepared for lots of naps!