Advice on whether to take a toddler to DLR

[starshine514]

We took our girls to Disney (wdw) the first time when they were 5 and almost 3. My youngest is now 5 and still talks about stuff at wdw (we've been to do since, but not wdw). I would recommend taking her, I think you'll all have a great time. Oh, and take at least one stroller, or a double if you need it. Your littlest one will definitely need it, and your 5 yr old might (you can decide that when the time comes).

 

[Rubygoose]

Sounds like you've decided to take her. That's great! Have you ever thought of asking the Grand parents or other relatives if they want to join you on this trip? It might be helpful to have the same number of adults as kids. That way Grandma can take the two year old on Winnie the Pooh while the rest of the family is on splash mountain (for example). One parent taking two kids on some of the rides may be tricky. Does your little one fall asleep in a stroller? Mine does (he won't nap otherwise!) so when he's asleep DH and I take turns waiting with him while the other ones takes DD on the rides he's too short for. We went last year when DS was almost 2 and DD was 4. We're going again in 6 days! DS will be almost 3 and he is so excited. I don't know if he remembers the trip last year, but from pictures and souvineers, he know's he's been to Disneyland. People comment on his cute Mickey mouse shirt,and he tells them "My go Dis Land. My go Dis Land again, 10 more days." I have a feeling he will remember this trip coming up. I can remember things from when I was 3 years old, but only things that really stand out. Wouldn't that be great if your daughter's first/oldest memories were from Disneyland?

 

[TheZue]

I LOVE taking toddlers. The youngest we've taken was seven months, weren't planning to but our babysitting fell through and he did love it then. He was honestly a little young, he had fun but he didn't get it. At two they get it, completely. And they really really think it's ALL real. It's not some guy in a Eyeore suit, it's Eyeore. One of my favorite pictures of my son is him with Eyeore when he was 2.5, it is the happiest picture I have of him. And even with a five year old, you may have to do child swap anyways. When my oldest was six he had no desire to go on Hollywood Tower of Terror, too scary.

As for remembering it, I remember my parents leaving me behind when I was three. The funny thing as an adult I don't think I missed out as much as they did. And under the "they won't remember it" files, why bother with Christmas, or playgrounds, or anything else fun if they won't remember it? I think people say that to justify not spending the money on it until later; which is fine if you are holding off. But if you are going anyways take the little one. It's truly amazing at that age.

 

[Mugglemama]

Sounds like you've decided to bring your youngest, and I just wanted to chime in and say that we have four children, and the youngest age we've taken any of them was 4 months old. We've taken *every* age above that, all the way to 20 years old, as well. And we've done it multiple times, and usually for 3-5 day stretches in the parks.

So you can imagine that those visits included strollers (we never took more than one, though), breastfeeding, bottles, diaper bags, baby food jars, diaper changes, potty training, etc. And while I know that there are some visits that some of our kids will not remember, I wholeheartedly agree with the previous poster who stated that these kinds of experiences add to the here-and-now of the child's life, and help shape them...they are meaningful to them *now*...just like holiday memories that mean a lot to them now, but that they likely will not remember much of when they are older. That said, my 14 year old can remember Disneyland visits from as early as 3.5 years old, and my 20 year old can remember a trip from when she had just turned 4.

We've done parent swap a *gazillion* times....and while I began to tire of it after years and years of doing it...I can honestly say it was NO trouble or hassle at ALL for us for the first 6 years of doing it. Actually, some of my favorite DLR memories were created while waiting with one (or two) of the younger kids while the older kids went on Indy or Grizzly River Run with their Daddy.

This past May was the FIRST time that all of our kids were tall enough to go on everything in the parks....after 16 years of going regularly (sometimes twice per week when we lived nearby). But I wouldn't trade ANY of those earlier trips for ANYTHING.

Your DD2 is going to have SO much fun joining in the excitement of the anticipation of the trip with the rest of your family!

 

[Jaina]

Thanks for all the happy responses! She may or may not fall asleep in the stroller. My kids don't like to sleep if there's anything going on, and even now she won't fall asleep even in her car seat unless it gets a few hours past nap time. But Disney can wear you out. I remember carrying my 5-year-old brother out of the park one night, totally sacked out. (I was 21 - I'm only 5'4, so I couldn't take a very long turn - he was too long for me!)
I was almost 4 when I first went, and I have 2 clear memories of that trip. One was being sucked under the water at the beach and my cousin "rescuing" me (not as traumatic as it sounds - but definitely made a memory!) and one was of my cousins distracting a cast member (by asking for some complicated directions) so my dad could sneak me onto Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (we always called it the "Runaway Railroad" for some reason) because I wasn't -quite- tall enough. Bad, I know, but it was their favorite ride at the time, (still is one of mine) and he wasn't worried about his ability to hold onto me, I guess. People were a little less careful (and paranoid) in the mid-80's... I remember being pretty excited to go back when I was almost 7, so I must have remembered a lot about it at that age still.

Grandparents are a possibility, but it depends a lot on schedules (none of our parents are young enough to be retired yet, and 3 of the 4 work) and finances. A good idea, though it would also be fun if we could swing just our little family. Either way, I've got to start saving some money.

There are sometimes some better deals in the "off" season on hotels and even tickets, right? What would you consider a "good" deal for a standard queen room at one of the Good Neighbor hotels? I'm seeing anything from $120 to $160 right now, but I'd be excited if we could find a decent close one for under $100. DH and I stayed at the CCI once and loved it, but I think the rooms might be a little bigger in some of the more-value hotels. We've stayed a the Desert Inn and Suites a few times 10 yrs ago or so, but I remember it being -very- no-frills. I was looking at the hotel super thread, but the reviews there were all several years old. Thoughts, with kids? Current favorites?

 

[Malcon10t]

All of my kids' first visits were by the age of 3 mos. My granddaughter was a late one, as her first trip was at 6 mos. She has had 4 visits to date, and she is now 20 mos.

I love taking toddlers. The look on their faces as they see everything. So magical! Even if you have to do rider swap.

 

[Malcon10t]

Grandparents are a possibility, but it depends a lot on schedules (none of our parents are young enough to be retired yet, and 3 of the 4 work) and finances. A good idea, though it would also be fun if we could swing just our little family. Either way, I've got to start saving some money.

I am 14-20 years older than my youngest 4 siblings (there are 8 of us.) One advantage of this was while having my kids, my siblings were old enough to babysit. I would frequently take a sister with us on a trip to help with the kids, or watch them in the room while we went to an adult dinner! Just another idea.

 

[kailuagirl]

my daughter has done at 2, 3, 4 and we are going next week at 5. She loves it!

Take a stroller for sure! We are taking one now even for a 5 year old. She never rides in one at home, but it is a must for us at Disneyland. She is 44 lbs and I don't want to be carrying her around, plus it holds all our drinks and goodies!! You can park it and leave it if you must, but at least you'll have one.

Have a great time!!