Advice on whether to take a toddler to DLR

[Jaina]

Planning a hypothetical trip to Disney sometime in Jan-Mar of 2013. Very hypothetical, but still. We will have an almost 6.5 year old, a 5 year old and an almost 3-year-old. Her birthday is in June. I can't decide if we would take her or leave her with her grandmas. In my family we never took anyone before they were about 4, and tall enough to get on almost all the rides (that was before CA Adventure and a lot of the taller requirements).
Reasons to take her:
*She's essentially free still, minus some food.
*She loves Disney stuff as much as her older siblings, and thinks she's 4 or 5 already.
*She's not a big tantrum-er and I think she'd mostly be good.

Reasons not to take her:
*The other two are 42-43 inches, but she won't be 40 inches by then. This is the biggest reason. I know there are a lot of rides we'll have to do the "swap" on that otherwise we could enjoy "all together." Rides are a bigger deal to us than dining, (it's just not as fun on a tight budget!) character greets (we'll stand in line for 5 minutes, but not 20), or even parades and shows (though we'd like to see some of those).
*We will definitely need a stroller or even two strollers. (Not sure how my then-5-year-old will do with all the walking and even the 6-year-old will probably need a break. With only the two I had thought to only bring one (bigger) umbrella over some of the time. We have a double jogger, but how much trouble are they to navigate with?

I wouldn't think about bringing her if she had to have her own ticket, but I'm worried that she'll -know- what's going on and be upset.

I'm the oldest of 5, rather spaced out age-wise, and have been there with kids before, but never as -the parent- or with a toddler. Thoughts from parents who have been there?

 

[Crazy4Disney06]

My soon to be 2 year old will go on his second Disney trip in December. My 10 year old has be many times with his first trip at 22 months. Many toddlers in the parks and many memories have been made with my kids as toddlers in the parks...even if they don't remember them... I DO !

 

[VictoriaAndMatt]

We've done DL with my son when he was 14 months, 22 months, 26 months, and when he was just shy of 3. We are going again with DS who will be turning 5 now and our newest DS who will be just over 2.

There are a lot of rides that a toddler can go on. Last couple times we went he was at just the right age where he started interacting with the characters, giving high 5s and hugs.

He loved riding on the rides, and when he couldn't go on one we would do the baby swap. It actually worked out pretty well with FP because I could get one for one ride and DH would get one for a different ride at the same time and then we could use the swap. DD loved it because she could go on all the rides twice.

DS doesn't really remember the trip, but he did enjoy it and talk about it after. I couldn't imagine not bringing him, or our now 2 year old with us. Just my opinion. I didn't find things all that difficult with a toddler. I was a little disappointed We didn't get to ride all the rides together, but there were still a lot we did get to do all together so I was happy.

 

[Cal-Pie]

Disneyland time is family time for our family... and everybody gets to be there. What other vacation is all about having fun with your kids like Disneyland is. On our last trip my kids were 8, 6 and 2.5. It worked out fine.

 

[nana50]

Definitely take her. While dad and the others are on Thunder Mountain (or whatever) you can take her to bibbidie bobbity boutique. You can all go on the rides she can go on and while she goes on them again, they can go to the "big kids" ride. You are your hubby can take turns going with the bigger kids. Also maybe waiting in line with her for the princesses won't be so bad if it is just her and one adult. Try to have lunch at Ariel's grotto. It is a great way to see all the princesses in one go and they ALL come to your table for a mini meet and greet and photo op. It is so worth the cost of lunch. Have fun!

 

[disney4cam]

I say bring her. I agree with the above comments. My kids have gone at 9 mos, 20 mos, 3, 4 and up. We have a great time together, and I can't imagine leaving my son home when he was a toddler. I would feel like something was missing.

As for the rides - you never know if the kids will even want to go on the big rides. They might be tall enough, but too afraid.

I would take one umbrella stroller and have the other two walk. They get a lot of breaks waiting in line. Starting at 4, we stopped bringing a stroller. The jogging stroller would be a major hassle, imo.

Good luck. Have fun!

 

[deanimal]

I have to admit, I can't fathom bringing two kids to DL and leaving one behind, especially when the age gap isn't that big. But from a purely logistical sense, I can see your point. Still, an almost three year old will get a lot from the trip and will probably be old enough to know they're being left out.
Have you looked at a chart of height requirements? There really aren't that many, especially in DL. Do you know for sure that your 5 and 6 year old will want to go on all the rides anyway? Lots of kids aren't ready for things like Space Mountain even if they're tall enough. Is this you're only chance to go as a family? Could you wait until your youngest is tall enough for the big rides? It seems like you're really not keen on splitting up to stay with the youngest while the older kids ride, but my personal choice would be to stay together for 99% of the vacation and split up for the rides rather than be apart from one family member for a whole vacation so the rest can be together for a few rides.

We went with a barely three year old this winter and besides the four mountain rides there really wasn't anything she couldn't do, and she loved every single moment of it. It's been 9 months and she still remembers the trip and talks about it all the time. Only you know what's best for your family and I hope I'm not coming across as judge-y, but that's my personal take on it. I hope you have a great trip whatever you decide!

 

[princesscinderella]

You definitely have to take the 2 yr old. We have three kids and our youngest went at 3 months! Our middle one was still a couple months from turning 2 and our son was only 4. We had annual passes for WDW that year and we went every month from dec-may. My middle one enjoyed it so much more than my son. Everything there was is magical for a 2 year old. They don't care if they can't go on the big rides. The rider swap is awesome too as the older ones get to go on the rides twice without double the wait!

 

[DLmama]

I agree with the other posters, you should bring her. We took DS for the first time when he was 2.5 and he LOVED it! He'll be going for the second time in Dec. and he'll be 4.5. We're debating on bringing an umbrella stroller for the nights if he gets tired of walking.

 

[1disneyfanatic]

I agree with all of the previous posters. You gotta take all of the kids.
I wouldn't worry about the stroller issue too much. On our last trip my daughter was 2.5 and my son just turned 1 the week before we left, plus we has a 7 and an 8 year old. We flew and toured all of the parks with a double stroller and didn't have any problems except on the tiny elevator at the Polynesian resort. My then 2.5 year old remembers enough of the trip that she can't wait until we return in July of 2013! Plus she recognizes herself in the pictures and would definitely notice her absence in them.

 

[Jaina]

Wow, thanks for the replies so far. Definitely opposite of what I've gotten when getting opinions from people "in real life," but they're not all Disney fanatics, so... Sounds like we definitely need to take her. (If we get to go! I need to start sticking 20's in that Disneyland bank we have...) We plan to go to Disney often as life moves along, (and we actually have a decent income) but trying to time our next child will either put us there in early spring of next year or not until later in 2014. I am super sick when pregnant, and have been there when pregnant (not completely planned) and don't think I want to do it again. But our older two are still at the age that everything will be magical to them, I think, and I want them to get to experience it while they're still little! We thought life was going to go differently than it has, and we've been talking up a Disney trip for a good two years now. Whoops. We won't have money for "extras" like character meals this first time, but I if we go when the weather's decent there's plenty to explore and play with and watch while waiting. Cell phones have made all of that so much easier!

So with the ride swap, can the second parent take -2- children on with them? I thought you could only take one other person. (I haven't seen much ride-swap since my family didn't take kids until they were older)

Potty training. She'll -probably- be potty trained by then, and with all 3 littles I'm dreading the inevitable finally getting through the line and someone HAVING to go potty RIGHT now. How much of a problem is this for you? Our we going to spend the whole trip in the bathrooms? ;-) (At least they're pretty clean. As one who had somewhat severe "morning" sickness at Disney, I know...)

 

[chrissiecutie]

Sounds like you've decided to bring her! Yay!

I doubt that at this age she'll remember the trip. But the older kids certainly will! And they will remember that Mom & Dad didn't bring her. And as siblings do, they will tell her she was "left" time & time again. Especially on future trips to DLR. Poor thing- why put her through that!

My DS was 3 on his 1st trip. While he doesn't remember the whole trip, he does have some really special "snapshot" memories. Searching every door in Fantasyland for Mickey, running from Minnie while she pulled the tail of his shirt, eating ice cream & waving to Goofy during a parade. These are fabulous little moments in time & how happy I am that each visit after, he remembers those moments & says "remember when..."

 

[Lorinda]

I say bring her and also bring that jog stroller. She can ride and the other 2 can switch off. As far as pushing it goes, it is WAY worse hunching over a short bumpy umbrella stroller!

 

[RaceCar]

Ages 2-3 just might be the best time to take a child to Disneyland for the first time. They're old enough to be excited about EVERYTHING and young enough not to question any of the magic.

If people say that things doesn't matter if a child won't remember it, does that make child abuse ok? After all, the child won't remember it. Of course not! We know it still affects our development. That applies equally well to Disneyland. We don't do things with our children so they can remember them, we do things for the here-and-now experiences that shape who they are and will become. A trip to Disneyland will affect your child in a positive way - regardless of whether they remember it or not.

No matter what else you do, don't miss the parades !

 

[Jaina]

Yeah, I was feeling guilty at the thought of leaving this little princess behind:

I just wasn't sure if the logistics were worth it, or if she'd be just as happy at home getting spoiled by her grandparents. The jogging stroller would definitely be easiest and have all the features needed, I just didn't know if we'd have a hard time getting around with it.
I'm am a video-phile, so she can watch herself and hopefully keep some of the memories fresh even though she'll be little.
Don't worry, we won't miss the parades - we watch those already on YouTube...

 

[cari12]

1. I know a guy whose family went without him when he was 5 and at 35 was still bothered by it and went with some friends... finally
2. I wouldn't bother with the stroller,just take breaks to watch shows or eat when they are getting tired. We went when ours were 4 and 6 and no stroller and had no issues. Although the afternoon we were going to do Redwood Creek trail, we ended up watching Disney Junior Live instead as the kids were tired.
3. Is this going to be your last trip? You can concentrate on the littler kid stuff and not stress about the bigger rides if you are planning to go back in a few years. That's what we did and are so excited to do some of the things we didn't do last time.

 

[cari12]

Disneyland time is family time for our family... and everybody gets to be there. What other vacation is all about having fun with your kids like Disneyland is. On our last trip my kids were 8, 6 and 2.5. It worked out fine.

I agree with this, what is family time if someone is excluded?

 

[Jaina]

Like I said before, that's how my family (of origin) did it, and it wasn't a huge issue. But we play up Disney a lot more. Also, our Disney trips were more about sprinting to be the first ones in line at Space Mountain after rope drop than about watching the parades and/or shows. We never did repeats of those (my dad didn't have the patience for it). My DH and I went to Disney in 2009 (before I got pregnant with the 3rd) and our kids were 18 months and 2 1/2 and didn't think about taking them. We still have a happy family, and everyone had plenty of Disney trips. After they were 4. ;-)

Are you saying I shouldn't take a stroller with a not-yet-3 year old? I just don't see that working out...

 

[KateDrake]

Totally take the stroller! She will need it, and after a long day, you won't want to carry her.

What has worked well for us is to have DD3 ride in the stroller from the hotel, up Main Street to wherever we happen to be heading. Say Tomorrowland for example. Then we just park the stroller there, leave it as long as we are having fun in Tomorrowland, and don't bother with it until we are ready to move on. Walking between the individual rides isn't bad, it's the long haul down Main St. at the end of the night that is a killer.

For potty training, we took our daughter last year right after she was trained, and it was no problem. We made sure we took frequent potty breaks, and if you didn't go, you didn't get to go on the next ride. Having something fun waiting for you is a big incentive!

For rider swap, you should be able to take both of your older children with no problems. Just ask for an extra rider swap ticket from the CM.

I agree with several of the previous posters, it is just not family time without the whole family there. This way you and your husband will get to spend some alone time with each kid, plus get plenty of time when you can all be together. Plus, I can't imagine how much you would miss her if you left her behind!

 

[DorkyDisneyMom]

I have 3 kids as well. We took our first family trip when my youngest was about your little girls age. He was just a bit over 3.

What we did with the stroller was bring an umbrella. We checked it with the stroller rental place in the park. The Disney strollers were bigger and better than the umbrella. They checked our umbrella. They gave us a claim check and at the end of the night when we were ready to go back to the hotel we gave them our claim check and they gave us the umbrella to stroll to the hotel.

The strollers were free when we did it with the Visa. I know it's not a perk anymore. I'd still do it that way even if I were paying for my stroller. We only had a big bulky stroller and no way was I going to haul that through the airport or through the park.

My son doesn't remember much about that trip but I do and so does my mom. He and my mom went on Pooh 4 or 5 times in a row while we did Splash. He still has the Pooh from the shop by there. He always asks my mom when she comes to visit if she remembers when they did that. It's one of my moms most favorite moments with him as she lives far away in Hawaii and hasn't been able to see him as much as the other grand kids.

My daughter went the first time at 18 months. She remembers nothing. I remember how scared she was of Sully. She loves looking at pictures of that time too. She was so cute!