2 weeks 2 long for a Young Family

Eldon Ahmu

FanBoy
Joined
Mar 23, 2019
Hi,
we just booked our first every WDW vacation for April/May 2020.

We have 3 kids (4, 3, 11months). At the moment we have only booked for 7nights at OKW, however, Im looking at staying at another resort, still undecided, maybe Beach resort or Poly based on what the kids will enjoy during our time not at parks.

My question is, Is 14days (2weeks) too long for a young family? We just want to take our time and not rush through all the parks, Maybe 2weeks is too long, not sure. We will most likely do 2 split 7 night stays, to change it up, and also make sure we do rest days or half days to pace ourselves. Yes we will go with the Park Hooper option..

I was thinking maybe we just do 12 days and spend 2 days at Universal.. still undecided.

thank you!
 
Hi,
we just booked our first every WDW vacation for April/May 2020.

We have 3 kids (4, 3, 11months). At the moment we have only booked for 7nights at OKW, however, Im looking at staying at another resort, still undecided, maybe Beach resort or Poly based on what the kids will enjoy during our time not at parks.

My question is, Is 14days (2weeks) too long for a young family? We just want to take our time and not rush through all the parks, Maybe 2weeks is too long, not sure. We will most likely do 2 split 7 night stays, to change it up, and also make sure we do rest days or half days to pace ourselves. Yes we will go with the Park Hooper option..

I was thinking maybe we just do 12 days and spend 2 days at Universal.. still undecided.

thank you!

Our favorite WDW stays to date have been those of 8 nights and more. I recommend it to any that have the time and funds available for all the reasons you already thought up:). Haven't visited Universal yet and not sure what it has of interest to kiddos your age but sure someone else can say.

Haven't spent any time at OKW but have at YC, BWI and Poly- in fact just returned from Poly last night. All worthy locations for a split stay with different advantages for families.

Have fun no matter how you spend your time.
 
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There is very little at Universal that would interest kids that young. One park has a Seuss-themed land, the other has some cartoon stuff, but most rides, they'll be to short for (and a lot of the rides are very wild). I would hold off until they're tweens.

We've done 2 weeks, but we stayed off-site and did shorter park days and days when we didn't go into the parks at all. The Poly and Beach Club (hotel or DVC) are both quite nice and have their "draws". Interestingly for my family of 6, our favorite turned out to be OKW. The 2BR villas are slightly larger, but more importantly, it really felt like getting away from the parks, but still with a Disney feel, if that makes any sense. We were close to both a bus stop and a community pool, but it felt so remote! There was a screened outdoor porch overlooking a stream, with plenty of trees and wildlife. It was just a nice, relaxing place to hang out, a good counter-point to the crowds and chaos of the parks, yet we were really just a short bus ride away. I realize that not everybody wants "remote", but with little kids, having a restful place to get away to might be a good thing.

P.S. If you're looking at other things to do while in the area, give consideration to Gatorland and the Orlando Children's Museum. Neither requires advance tickets, and each would take 2-4 hours or so.
 
We typically stay for 3-4 weeks, so no 2 weeks isn't too long.
With young kids, the longer the better as long as you take break days and enjoy your vacation. Don't be the commando family and you'll have an amazing time.
We like to split stay even with the kids, it gives everyone a chance to check out new pools and resort activities.
 
We've done stays from 5 nights to 14 nights. Two weeks is just right, in my opinion. Take your time, let your kids be your guide. Enjoy the magic through their eyes. With 2 weeks you can take breaks when needed, if your kids sleep well in strollers you can enjoy the parks some nights. Whatever you dechide, have a magical stay! !!
 
If you are going to visit another park, Legoland would be better than Universal with your kids’ ages. It has way more things for little kids, and is laid out in such a way that there’s always a play area or kiddie ride next to a height-restricted one. My four-year-old adored Legoland! She’s right when @QueenIsabella says there’s not much at Universal for your family. Plus Legoland is MUCH less expensive.
 
Two weeks might be a tad long in one room, however I think that if you booked a resort with enough room that would make a difference. You do not say what size villa you booked at OKW, but that resort is a great home away form home IMO. We booked a 2 bdrm, and it was perfect for a family to use as a vacation getaway with all the comforts of home, but wil the added attraction of a lovely restaurnant, pools, games and rental movies. Etc.

We have stayed 12 days and for my family, that was a good stay. I like 8 days or more.
 


Long stays with young kids are the best for the exact reason that you don't have to rush and go commando style. You can spend a lot of time at the pools and do half park days and not have to force yourselves to try to see everything in a compressed timeframe.

IMO, one week trips to WDW have been pushing it ever since AK opened. Covering four parks in a week with kids and trying to still have a relaxing vacation is really pushing it.

We are DVC members and have stayed at OKW a number of times. It's a great resort. Be sure to take your kids to the community hall which has a lot of activities like games and coloring. Some activities, like painting pottery, do have an extra cost.

I second the recommendation for Legoland as a second park. The attractions there are definitely geared towards younger kids. We went a few years ago when our kids were 8 and I think it was good timing because if we waited until they were older I don't think it would have been as much fun for them. It's about 45-60 minutes south of Disney, so you may want to consider spending a night or two there instead of driving back and forth. We stayed at the Legoland Beach Retreat which were super cute lego themed bungalow style rooms. Note that the Legoland rooms have kids sleeping in bunk beds (I think this is true for all the rooms), so if you don't think your 4 y.o. is ready for a top bunk and the 3 & 4 y.o. won't share a bed, you might want to look into this further.
 
Personal opinion is yes, that is too long for young kids. My one kid is a picky eater, so it would be 2 weeks ok chicken nuggets. And 2 weeks out of their routine and away from the comforts of home would be tough.

I think this is an important piece of the picture. Some families are better at rolling with disruptions to the routine than others. I had one kid who could easily sleep anywhere, and another who was a terrible sleeper who would disrupt everyone. I was always cranky from sleep deprivation when I traveled with him as an infant/toddler. Two weeks would have been too much for me with him, but fine with his brother.
 
Our longest has been 10 days. We have had 2 trips that long and those were the only ones where we didn't hate to see it end. The first one my children were 8 and 2. Last trip with a free toddler and a Disney child so we did it up with multiple character meals and meet and greets. Ended up being a blessing we were there that long because a tropical storm came through and we had 4 days of rain. We still had fun. My children took turns splashing me by jumping in the puddles.

Then our trip last summer was 10 days. It was probably our best trip yet. We did AK and DHS twice each, Epcot once and did MK three times. We aren't a rope drop, midday break, evening in the park type of family so it was great. Some days we rested and did pool time first, then spent the evening at a park. Other days we did park time early and rested and stayed at the resort in the evening. In the middle we took a day off from the main parks. We went to Blizzard Beach came back to rest and then that evening went to Disney Springs walked around, and saw a movie.

Don't have enough vacation time to do a trip that long this year unfortunately.

It sounds like you have 3 children who will still be napping and going to bed early. My son did great when he was 2; but he was a great stroller napper. If you have at least a 1 bedroom at OKW, you can have more of their normal food and enough space to keep them happy. I probably wouldn't do more then 10 days and I probably wouldn't do a split stay. So I'd either do what you have booked now or switch to 7 days at the Poly. The Poly being on the monorail would be an advantage as I imagine you'll be dealing with a stroller, possibly 2.

Whatever you decide, have a great trip.
 
Our trips are usually 10-12 days long. On our 1st in 2006 my daughter was 5 almost 6 and she loved being there that long. I did schedule on full pool day and one day in town shopping with her mother and great aunt thou. Later when her half sister (my god daughter) came along we took her for her 1st trip when she was 2 and she loved the time as well.
 
We have always gone for 10 days+ with our children, and have been going since the next to last one was born. We enjoyed the longer stays because we could let the kids behavior/demeanor determine each day. Need a quiet morning at the pool? Sure. Want to run in to do 2 rides? Not a problem. Dad needs a nap? great. Want to run to do some shopping? Not a problem.

Issues with kids and vacation, from our perspective, was based on trying to fit everything into 5-, 6- or 7 days. There is almost a panic to get everything done, so it turns into crazy long days for little ones, and it isn't a good memory for anyone. Take your time, enjoy some half days at the park (sometimes morning, sometimes afternoon, sometimes evening), and try not to let them get too overstimulated too many days in a row. Otherwise, it will be a nightmare two weeks for you. If you keep the trip as a vacation and relaxing, the two weeks will be amazing.
 
That would be way too long for our family, but agree you could do it if at OKW or another low key resort (SS too). Even with slower days, our littles were exhausted from all the stimulation and lack of routine. Maybe one week on property and one week off?
 
A villa with a full kitchen, washer and dryer and separate bedroom will work much better than a single room like a hotel room or studio for a trip this long. That way you can take days off and just hit the pool for a while, watch some television, do some coloring or games in the villa instead of feeling trapped in a single room.
 
Two weeks with three kids 4 and under? In a hotel room? That would be too long for our family. But maybe your family is super chill, the kids sleep beautifully in a bed not their own, nap in strollers, will eat whatever you give them, can wait patiently, and need only one change of clothes daily.
If so, can we trade?

In all seriousness, traveling with tiny kids is beautiful but it is WORK. Totally agree with the recommendations for a 1BR villa and to plan for a lot of down time away from the overstimulation and crowds in the parks.
 
depends on the kids.some kids don't mind all the different stuff,some get tired of it and just want home and routine
 
That’s the way to do it! When the kids were young we would stay 12-15 nights regularly. I think once we spent two months of the year in Disney. Sleep in some days, hit the park early others then get out. Relax at the pool, no rushing around take it easy. My best memories are of these long trips when my kids were about the age of yours. There is only so much park food you can eat. We would buy peanut butter and jelly from the gift shop and make sandwiches in the room for lunch sometimes, best lunches ever lol !
 

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