Not bringing 18 mos old to disney????

[o2bacelt]

Add me to the take her group. We took DD for her 1st trip when she was 21 months old, she's been 3 times since and has no idea that she'll be going the beginning of June as a surprise for her 4th birthday.

I'm home with DD everyday, I can't imagine leaving her home for anything more than a weekend away with DH, and it wouldn't be far.

There are tons of things to do with little ones that young, our DD didn't blink through shows like Beauty and the Beast, Playhouse Disney or the Bear Jamboree. If I had to go on the "Mickey Boat ride" (It's a Small World) again, I thought I would lose my mind but she LOVED all of that. I swear I could put that child on a boat at IASW and she would ride all day long.

Character interaction was fabulous. We watched one of the Disney Sing-a-long DVD's that was taken at Magic Kingdom, so DD knew all the characters and had an idea of size, she was a little hesitant the first time she met Goofy but by the end of the trip she was running to any character.

 

[kjetjl]

This is not the only reason to bring DD18 months along but it could be an extra fun "perk" for your 6 year old.

You can do the child swap on rides with height restrictions (splash mountain, big thunder mountain,etc.)

This is how it works...DD6 gets in line with you. Approach the line with hubby and younger daughter. Ask CM (cast member) for a child swap pass for your daughter and husband. Ride the ride with your daughter: ENJOY! Then meet up with hubby and let him ride with DD6. The pass the CM gave you allows your DD6 and hubby to get in the fast pass line to ride again with little or no wait!

My kids love this! They get to ride the ride twice with about the same amount of waiting for the ride once. (Hope this makes sense!)

Most rides you can ride together as a family! The child swap only works for rides with height restrictions.

 

[becky_AK]

I say take her! We took my son when he was only a year & we'll be going back this year when he is about 21 months. We flew all the way from Alaska...so we had a very LONG flight! He's not going to remember everything but we still had a wonderful time & took a lot of pictures. It was a great vacation with memories that my husband & I will have forever, even if DS doesn't remember everything.

 

[mom2girlsn1boy]

We took our dd to DL when she was 18 months and she loved it and she remembers things, we are planning a trip for WDW inOct. and she will pop up with little things she remembers we did and ask if we are going to do them again.

 

[kjh73]

This is tough, we had the same decision to make, about leaving our 13 month old behind, and taking our 6 year old. We would have never planned a trip when he was so young, but I won the trip and it had to be used by a certain date, it was only for 5 days, in the end we did not bring the baby along with us.....it was very very hard and I missed him like crazy, I really don't think I would do it again, however saying this we did have a really great trip, we saw so much and did so much in those 5 days that I know would have never been possible if we had brought the baby with us. I also know we would not have been happy stuck in a stroller in the extreme heat. It was also nice to have just time with our 6 year old. So even though I am quite sure I wouldn't do it again, it still was not all bad.

 

[Mickeyherewecome123]

I would say take her. I would not be able to only take one of my kiddos to WDW.
I noticed you said she isn't going to remember it, but you will. As a parent, you will see her face light up when she sees all the characters. I wouldn't want to miss out on that.

 

[beattyfamily]

Take her!

 

[dsneygirl]

Another one who says take the little one. My DS was 18 months on our Dec trip and he had a ball. It was such a joy to have him. Plus you can split up sometimes and your older DD can have one on one time with either mommy or daddy. I think when I got home I would be sad looking at my photos with one kid missing.

 

[Dylan_&_Blake's_mom]

As many have said I can't imagine splitting up my family for a vacation. If we all can't go together then we don't go. We are a family. If it was just an adult trip somewhere that would be different. I can't imagine leaving one of my kids behind, especially to go to the happiest place on earth. Our youngest son was 6 months old when we went last November and I absolutely don't regret taking him. I never once thought about leaving him. Of course they probably won't remember...but you will. It is so magical to see Disney through their awe. He will be 18 months old when we plan on going back this November and I can't wait to take him. Also, as stated before, my older two boys loved the baby swap thing because they got to get off the ride and then get right back on....so much fun!

 

[Minnie's Friend Dar5]

A year and a half ago, my stepsister and I went with 10 kids. My twins were 19 mos and her two youngest were 21 mos and 31 mos. We wouldn't have gone without them. They don't remember everything but they do remember some stuff just by how they react to pictures and when they see Disney on TV. It was fun to see their reactions to Mickey and Minnie. Priceless!! They now ask when we're going back. It was more work because of the stroller, etc. but I don't regret taking them. Our older children enjoyed it even with the smaller children there.

 

[tyandbash]

I can't imagine calling it a family vacation and not including the whole family. That being said, it is obvioulsy your decision and only you knows what will work best for your family. My youngest (who is now 5) gets jealous even now when she looks at pictures and isn't in them because she wasn't born yet!! lol She went to Disney at 13 months and then again at 19 months and had a blast both times. More importantly, she is in our family pictures from our family vacations!! Good Luck with your decision!!

 

[christa112]

I would take her. My dd first trip she was 16 mos and my sons were 4 & 6 at the time. With the Family pass you can still do all the stuff your 6 yr old wants and do it twice!!!! You can take and your dh husband can take her too. So what better than for her to go on her favorite rides two times. Also, there is alot of stuff your the baby can do like Winnie the pooh, dumbo, snow white, small world, haunted mansion and all the show including the 3D ones. Also, you are not going to be the only one with a small child. I can guarantee there will be people there with much younger children than you.

Take her and have a great time and you totally won't regret it.

 

[maidenfairy]

If you will feel bad and guilty then you should take her. We did not take our 2 year old last year and I'm ok with that. He was fine with his grandparents and loved the one on one time. Big brother really enjoyed the one on one time too. I'm sure I'll be paying the psychologist in the future for other things. Do what you are ok with. either way it will be fine.

 

[dougsmom98]

I vote for taking her. My DD is 2.5 years old and has gone three times already (8 mos, 20 months and 2.5 years). My boys are 7,7 and 9. My DD has had to learn to be flexible and go with the flow because there is such a difference in age between her and her brothers. If we are going somewhere, we grab a few diapers and my DD and go for it. She does everything her brothers do and we never think twice about it. Her brothers want her to be with us and they never feel cheated out of their time with DH and I. If anything, we have to remember to stop and smell the roses and not get so caught up with what the boys are doing or want that we forget to do special things with her.