1st time disney cruiser

[mkbowlkw]

My wife and I will be married 12 years on Aug 1. For the past 11 years we have taken nice anniversary trips (4 to 7 days) to Jamaica, Hawaii, Vegas, Mexico, Caymans, etc. and several cruises, but we have never been on the Disney Cruise. This years, we are seriously thinking about doing the 7-day land/cruise option (3 days on land and 4 day cruise). We have 2 boys ages 4 and 7 (by August). We are concern that it is too early for the 4 year old to enjoy himself at Disney and on the cruise. What do you all think? Will they get too tired standing in the long lines?, will he be able to participate in enough of the activities (too young), etc. We are looking at getting verandah cabin. Is it too dangerouse to get a balcony with a 4 year old? Should we just wait for another year until he gets 5 so that he can enjoy it better? Should we just do the cruise now and maybe do the land next year. It will be pretty expensive for the 4 of us so we want to make sure that we/they will get their money worth of of it.

Any feedback you can provide would be highly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[CAMICKEY]

Don't know the answer to your question but wanted to welcome you aboard. - Mike

 

[Bbgrizzle]

Welcome!

If you have never been to WDW before, I would add another day onto the land portion so that you have 4 days at WDW and 4 day cruise. No, 4 years old is not too young to enjoy the cruise! The kids clubs are a blast and kids love swimming in the Mickey Pool. And NO ONE is too young to enjoy WDW!

 

[hydster]

First off Welcome to the board!!! You'll find a ton of knowledge here!!!

As for taking your boys....we took our kids 2 years ago and our youngest ds was 3 almost 4. He LOVED IT! He was old enough to go to the club and play, old enough to enjoy the characters and not be scared of them and old enough to enjoy the shows. However only you know your kids and know if they would enjoy it or not. The characters are fun on board since the number of kids is limited. The swimming and going on the Mickey slide is a blast for kids that age. The shows are fun, eating at Pinocchios and Plutos along with getting ice cream at scoops while in the Caribbean sunshine is great! I think if it is something you want to do and feel your kids would love do it! They are only young once! At the younger ages (versus teens) the kids are SO enthralled with the characters. It's nice to have all the food "included" and to have all the entertainment included as well. Our kids loved every single second of it and are so excited to leave in a week they can hardly contain themselves! We got a room last time with a balcony and it was nice. On the 4 day we didn't use it much but we had stops each day and in the Family Stateroom the 5th bed blocks the entry to the balcony so it was impossible to get out there without waking the kids up. This time we got upgraded from a Cat 8 with a porthole *2 connecting rooms* to 2 connecting Cat 4's with balconies! I'm excited that the kids can have their room and hubby and I can sit out on the balcony while they sleep at night or early in the morning. If price is a huge issue though usually you can get inside rooms MUCH cheaper than a balcony and there are tons of places to be outside. On a 4 day you wouldn't get much time on the balcony unless your kids LOVE the clubs. For the 4 day I don't know if I'd splurge for a balcony but only you know what's best. There are also Secret Porthole Rooms *though they are in high demand* but you get a porthole type room though obstructed for the price of an inside room. There are also a few rooms that got downgraded categories that still have balonies for a lower price becuase the balcony is smaller I think. If you go to www.castawayclub.com Barb and Tony have a wealth of information on their site as well as pictures and navigators so you can see if there is anything that might interest your kids!

I'd say if you can swing the $$$ to go for it! It is truly magical and I don't think your kids are too young to enjoy it!!

Heidi

 

[staylor]

Ok, this is just my opinion but I think 4 is not too young. My oldest was 4 when he went on his first Disney cruise. He absolutely loved it. We went on the 7 day cruise and it was perfect. He loved the kids club and wanted to be there almost all of the time. So we got to enjoy some adult time at the adult pool and stuff. It was a great vacation for all. We also had a verandah and now I won't cruise without one. It was perfectly safe. There are extra locks on the door to the verandah that the boys couldn't reach so we didn't have to worry about anything happening while we were sleeping. We prefer the 7 day cruise over the 3/4 day cruises. Just as you get unpacked and comfortable, it's time to pack up again (on the shorter cruises).
The one time we did a 4 day cruise we felt like we spent more time getting to and from the cruise than we did on the cruise itself.
As for the parks, our DS's (now 8 & 4) were each around 2 years old the first time they went to the parks. We go just about every year, therefore we weren't worried about them being "too young" or "not remembering it" (as all of our famiy said to us before the first trip). We go early, like when the park opens, and stay until noon or so then go take a nap and then go back to the park in the evening. We found this works great for all of us. Last year was the first problem we had with the little one (3 at the time) because he wanted to ride everything that his older brother was riding but was not quite tall enough. So I was constantly standing outside the rides with a crying toddler. I felt so badly for him and vowed that we wouldn't go back until he was at least 42 inches tall (tall enough to ride the "mountains"). Although I will say the CM's were wonderful at each ride and gave him the certificate to come back and ride when he's taller and they'll take him to the front of the line. He has hung on to those things and we'll be taking those with us in Jan. 05 before our 7 day cruise.
Sorry this is so long, I guess what I'm trying to say is make sure your little one is tall enough to ride so you don't have to wait outside and feel like the "parent of the year".
I sure hope this helps. Have fun no matter what you do.
Staci

 

[mickeyboat]

My DD's 3 and 4 had a blast, especially with the characters. BUT they did get really tired. We were in bed by 9:30 every night and they fell asleep in every show we went to, even the matinee. Just make sure you consider what they can tolerate and try to encourage an afternoon nap if you can.

Your four year old will have a great time.

Denae

 

[mkbowlkw]

Thanks to all for your feedback!!! It is very helpful. I think we will definitely book the cruise for this August. We don't know yet, we may go for the 7 day cruise and do the land another time. We picked the 4-day cruise because we weren't sure how well they would enjoy it. We have never cruised without a balcony so we will definitely get it. I guess we are just spoiled. Also, since this year it will eat into our anniversary time this year my wife would appreciate the balcony. Maybe we can sneak in a little romantic time when the boys are off to bed.

Thanks again for all of the feedback!!!

 

[staylor]

Make sure you book the Surial Bath in the Spa.
Very romantic!

 

[DreaminDisney]

We're going on our first Disney cruise in 16 days!! And our kids are 4 and 7. We think they're going to have the time of their life

We took our kids to WDW in 2002 when kids were just 2 and 5 and they still talk about it. DD was only 2 and she remembers some things. We all had a blast. Plus we have a ton of pictures to look back on.

 

[TheWog]

I say go for the 7 day cruise. You will enjoy it so much. Go to the parks another time. If you utilize the clubs at any point, you can get your romantic time in there. Check out Palo's and make reservations if possible if that's something you would like. Enjoy...

 

[ericamanda01]

Our first time to the WDW parks we had booked the land and sea.for a family of 15. However my SIL booked a couple extra days for the parks. Her DD's were 5 and 7. She said it was the best way to go. She was able to return to the resort to let the girls swim and cool off then take a short nap. By doing this they weren't running through the parks trying to make the most of the time they had. Hope this helps.