6-month-old twins at Disney... decisions, decisions!

[KroppinK]

My whole extended family has been planning a trip to Disney World for this Thanksgiving since this past fall (a year in advance)... and "all of a sudden" (long story), we are adopting twins from Vietnam!! They will likely come home in October.... one month before the big Disney trip. In November, they'll be about 6 months old. Our son will be 3 1/2 years old.

We're not making a decision YET... (and probably not officially even until November)... but I'm just wondering how crazy we are for still entertaining the idea of POSSIBLY going to Disney in November...with 6-month-old twins... Is it doable?? Can it be enjoyed??

It will be my parents, my brother & wife & 2 kids (ages 11 & 13), and then the 5 of us. We would be driving there (10 hours) & we already have a place to stay (my parents are paying for the condo for the whole gang). So at a minimum, we could just go & hang out with the family in a free condo for a week & have some family assistance with the babies, without even setting foot in the parks. But we'd have to survive the 10-hour drive with new 6-month-old twins!

We even already have our park passes (non-expiring) & my son would LOVE it!! (We already took him in Feb. this year.) Would it be a waste of a park ticket to even try to enter the park with 2 babies?? We could take turns during the week taking our 3-year-old to the parks with other family members, while the other parent stays "home" at the condo with the babies. Or can it be enjoyable enough to make it worth using a park ticket to be present at the park? I suppose it won't be too hot in November, so we could sometimes use baby carriers / slings (but have the double stroller there too). Is this too nuts?

(I'm only asking this from the twins at Disney perspective... I'm already quite knowledgeable about transition & bonding issues after bringing the babies home from Vietnam & will definitely be taking that into consideration when the time comes around! Like I said, we'll be making an official decision AFTER they're home. But somehow, I'm hoping that this trip can still be doable!! ....assuming they really do come home about a month or more before the Disney trip.)

Thanks!

 

[sss]

Hi,
I have a pair of twin girls who will be 5 in august...they were born term and had no health issues. it's a tough call and you'll have to wait and see what their personalities are like and if they have any health issues....I do know the first six months with my twins was a blur...even if you don't have the physical recovery, they keep you boogeying from dawn to dusk (and sometimes then some). I am completley ignorant on adoption so I have no input on how that process would effect a trip. On the other hand, it seems like you will have lots of extra hands...do you think they will truly be helpful or just wave and smile? Would this be a good opportunity for your twins to bond with extended family and they with the twins?
Do know that we took our ladies to WDW for the first time when they were 14 months old and had a blast. Just be very clear that you will under no circumstances get "done" anywhere near what you would get done with grown ups (sometimes rationally people know this but emotion gets in the way). If you take it slow, maintain a very que sera attitude, and get a camera with lots of memory then it could be a lot of fun. If it's a boat ride, babies love it (unless it's in the dark, in which case, it's a toss up).
HTH SSS

 

[wahoostampingirl]

We did a 14 hour drive with our twins when they were 3 1/2 months old and 4 1/2 months old to see my parents. We broke out the drives into two days and it wasn't too bad. My ds did scream the whole time we were stuck in traffic (about 2 hours), but other than that, they were both fairly content. We were able to find rest stops that had nice areas where we could sit and quietly feed the babies. So the drive is doable.

I personally, would rather stay at the condo with the babies rather than haul them around the parks. But, my ds was NOT an easy going baby. I think it sounds like a nice vacation though, to have plenty of family around to spend time with all your children. And if your twins turn out to be easy going, I think a few hours in the park on some of the days of your vacation could be lots of fun. Disney does have child care centers in each park for feeding, changing, etc.. In fact, a CM told us on our last trip that our 5 year old twins were welcome to come in and watch TV for awhile. We politely declined since we do have a TV at home.

Congrats on the new additions to your family! Multiples are so much fun.

 

[twinspluscade]

This is a tricky one!

My twins would NOT have done well with a ten hour car ride (to be honest, even now it would be hard for them--they're 5). They both had severe Reflux and were very fussy. A long car ride just wasn't do-able--heck, I used to dread 30 minute car rides when there were that age ! BUT for laid-back, easy going babies I think it would be "okay" (not exactly fun, but it wouldn't be a total nightmare). My son would've done "okay" with a 10 hour car ride at 6 months; he was very easy going. So I think much of it would depend on the personalities of the babies.

I think the even bigger issue though will be with your 3 1/2 year old. It will be a HUGE HUGE adjustment for him/her to suddenly have two new siblings. Plus given that they are twins--they will get major attention at first--I know until mine were about 3-4 years old we got constant questions at the mall, on vacation,etc. People are fascinated by infant and toddler twins. Will your 3 1/2 be fine with hanging out at the condo instead of doing the parks? Or will your relatives be willing to take him/her? Will the relatives help out with the babies? Will the babies have any medical needs (Reflux, etc) that will make a trip difficult? What has your ped and social worker said about the proposed trip?

Oh--and Congratulations!! on your new babies--I'm sure they'll add a lot of joy to your family!

 

[Magic2000]

Congratulations on your new babies!!!

I would wait and see how the babies are once they come home with you. If they are easy going babies - go and have a great time at Disney! Work with your older child and let him/her show his/new new babies what his favorite rides at Disney are! Also, you may want to consider driving at night with the babies. We used to do this when my kids were younger. We'd leave at 2:00 AM, so they were asleep for most of the drive! It really helped out! Not too many "Are We There Yets???"

Whatever you decide, congratulations!

 

[Zoemakes5]

We've gone when our little ones were little. DS2 was not quite 6 months when we went the first time with him. And, we drove MN to Orlando when DD was 13months. Dear friends of ours recently took their DD who was 5 months to WDW for the day and they (and she) loved it.
Personally, I would to it. I think that there will be enough changes for your D3y.o. to deal with when the babies come and losing out on a big family vacation, and to WDW none the less, could cause some really hard feelings.
But, that's me, and I've always had the attitude that I'm comfortable taking my kids just about anywhere/anytime. We've had pretty good results with that philosophy, and kids that seem to be able to adapt pretty well to lots of different situations.
One thing that really has worked for us with the car ride issue (and we've had to take quite a few of them) is that we leave about two hours or so before our typical dinner time. We push that time back as much as we can, and then stop for dinner. We then drive through until we need gas again, which typically co-incides with "bed time", and so we get the kids all dressed up in their jammies with their lovies, and put on soothing music in the CD player and they typically fall right asleep. We then use their sleeping time to our advantage and drive through the night. It has always worked very well for us. With a 10 hour drive, you could leave at, say, 4pm and you'd still be getting in around 2am the next morning, and most of the time in the car would be sleeping time. Something my ped recommended when we told him about our longer car trips when DS's were little was to put them down for their naps in their car seats in the house for a few times before heading out. They learn to get comfy in their seats that way, so it's not completely foreign to them to sleep in.
I'd also bring them to the parks. Honestly, for us, 6months was probably one of the easiest times. They were amazed and excited by everything. They weren't mobile, so being in strollers and/or slings were just fine for them. They would/could still fall asleep anywhere. They were old enough to be able to hold their own bottles for brief periods, so we didn't have to stop each and every time we needed to feed them. We weren't dealing with potty training yet. They were not yet "scared" by things, unless it was a loud sound.
I guess, if it were me, I'd plan to go on the trip as planned, including the parks. And, then adjust as necessary, should you feel the need. I'd take the time to talk to your siblings and the cousins and tell them you're going to need some help. I'd probably focus the need for help with keeping your D3yo happy. He or she may not understand why you can't sit with him on a ride or go on all the rides together. Or, he may need some extra special "attention" while he's there. Having your siblings and their kids seem really excited to go on teacups with your child, or offering to hold their hand, or "remembering" that Pooh is his favorite animal, or being willing to stand in line for the characters with him, for example, may brighten his day and make the trip. But, I guess what I'm trying to say is that before the trip, try to make sure that the "extra" attention is being given to DS as much as possible, and focus your family's energy on helping with him which will help with you and DH being able to care for the babies.
Congratulations to you! How exciting, all the way around!

 

[disney[xo]sweetie]

depends really on if theyre laid-back babies, or if theyre loud bored-easily babies. but since you really dont know until october, youre in for a hard desicion!!
i went down with my toddler nephews DN 6,DN3, DN3#2 (twins) and DN10mos.
DN10mos. (Calvin) was pretty tolorable, but loved to scream and use his vocal chords. (ah, how fun that was...) so, just kindof be prepared for that in the middle of the night. sometimes they wont be crying, they just like to make noise.
I think you would actually be able to take them to the parks with you one day just to see how that goes.
6 months is a great time for taking kids to disney, cause they will love everything.
just if yiu are putting them on rides, think if there are any real loud noises, becuase that will set them off, and may trigger a tantrum or two.
and i think you'll be fine because the kids will want to help!!
i hope you guys have a great trip, and if you need a nanny id be happy to come with!! lol.
have a great time!!