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[vampira]

Hi everyone!
It's been more than 2 years since our last visit, but we are planning a trip to Disneyland in December! We (me and my husband) have been to Disneyland a few times before and have no problems planning at all, but this time, we'll be going with our daughter, who will be 13 months old in December.

We already decided we will stay at Sequoia Lodge, Golden Forest Club. We haven't been to Sequoia before and we like the fact it's pretty close to the parks. We decided to go book a GFC room, so we'll be able to go back to the hotel for a drink and something to eat and maybe let our little girl take a nap.
But I'm still a little anxious about going with a13month old child! A lot of people tell me we should wait until she's older, because she won't remember anyway. I don't really care about that. After all, we'll have photos, and we will all have fun.  But I'm sure more people have taken their little ones, and I was wondering, do you have some tips to make the trip a succes? 

[NCC1701Q]

I have just one piece of advice, something I learnt the hard way during our first three or four visits: don't plan, just go with her flow and enjoy being together at DLP.
When we first had AP's I tried to plan visits ahead, wanting to give everyone a good time and making sure our daughter and son (who are 6 years apart so have quite different interests) had a great day, every day. Boy was I wrong
When I thought they wanted to go easy or have some fun at Pirates' Beach, they wanted to do Big Thunder Mountain again. And when I figured the first 2 hours or a specific day they would be up for some walking, they wanted to sit and relax in the sun.....

TL:DR: don't try to predict your daughters behaviour, just have fun!
En veel plezier in december!

[dlpowl]

My youngest son was 16 months old on his first visit and my daughter was 14 months old for hers.  Not a problem at all.  Old enough to go on the majority of the rides (even Pirates!) and they loved all the shows.

We didn't go back to the hotel during the day as all my kids were happy to fall asleep in their pushchairs when they got tired.  We just popped the hood down, gave them their dummy/snugly blanket (whatever their 'thing' was) and they'd drop off.  We would use that time to do baby switch on the adult only rides.

Take lots of toddler friendly snacks with you as there's virtually nothing available to buy (especially if you want your baby to have healthy snacks).

Only problem we had was my 2 boys were scared of the characters if they got too close so we didn't do character meets.  They got over that by the time they were about 3 though.  Hope you have a great time.

[Greg]

We went with both our kids when they were really young - both around 3 or 4 months - and have been back several times since.  Our daughter is now 3 and son is 16 months and we are going back again in October. As dlpowl said, 13 months will be a great time to go, as your daughter will be able to go on many of the rides and will love the shows.  Our daughter loved the Disney Junior show at 14 months.

Similarly, we did not go back to the hotel much when they were this age, so Sequoia should be a fine location.  Our kids napped in the stroller while we used fast passes or baby switch for some of the more grown up rides.  I highly recommend bringing your own stroller/pushchair/pram/whatever.

Stick to your kid's regular schedule as much as possible, but realize they will be more exhausted than usual.  Schedule early dinners and don't try to stay for fireworks.   

One good thing we still do on trips is try to get suites or rooms with terraces.  That way you can put your kids to bed early and be forced to go to bed yourself.   

[vampira]

Thanks for the tips everyone! Feeling more confident already! 

[bp_serene]

We went to DLP two years ago when my youngest was 18 months. I can honestly say that the most useful items we took with us were the pushchair and the baby carrier. With the baby carrier we could still queue for rides even when she was sleeping and do baby switch if necessary. Some rides she even stayed in the sling fast asleep! She was totally sound asleep on my front on Pirates of the Caribbean Also useful when exploring areas like adventure bay and nautilus.

If your stroller or pushchair is quite an expensive one I would recommend taking a bike lock so you can secure it to railings. Just for peace of mind really. And definitely pack lots of toddler friendly snacks to keep her fuelled up!

[Slimy yet satisfying]

That is very unusual. The CMs are not permitted to allow a passenger with a baby still in a sling on any ride. You have to remove the baby and have them seated. This is the rule for IASW so I cannot see that it would be different for Pirates. Perhaps they just didnt see the baby?

[Karmaviolet]

Would definately recommend taking a sling or baby carrier of some kind (if you don't have one, you can hire one from a local slingmeet, so you don't need to pay out for one and you can try a few before you hire to make sure you find one that's comfortable!) - you can't take a buggy into queues (nor into most restaurants) so that would save your arms a lot!

As slimy yet satisfying says, they may ask you to take her out of the sling for rides, but some CMs are willing to bend the rules for a sleeping baby...

Take bubbles for queuing too - easily transported and entertains children of all ages for hours on end!!! 

[vampira]

Thank you! We have a carrier and were planning to bring it with us. 
A bike lock is a very good idea too!