Can we travel with a 5yo, 2.5yo and a 8 week old?

[Biddler]

We have been many times to WDW the youngest when both of our kids were 8 months. Are we crazy to consider going Thanksgiving with an 8 week old. What about carriages? My 5 yr old gets tired and needs one. I am debating on purchasing a double stroller. Do we bring it? I know it can get a little cramped on the buses. I can imagine going with a double and reg stroller on a bus! Some advice from the experts please.

 

[LKS]

I went with a 5 yo, 3yo and 3month old. It was me, my Mom and MIL taking the 3 kids. We rent a double stroller for the two older ones, and I brought mine from home for the little guy. It was fun, but he slept a lot and I sat by the stroller while the grandmothers took the other two on rides. I was also nursing and that went very well. It was easy to find good places and I didn't have to worry about mixing, heating, washing bottles.

We returned 4 months later, just my husband and myself leading the troops, and that went fine too.

Got 3 trips out of those FL resident seasonal APs. Now, we've left Florida so the deals aren't as good.

 

[momxx5]

While I'm sure it can be done, how much "fun" do you think it will be?

I know that age that infant stage the babies are easy to just take along but I would be kinda worried about taking a young infant to a very busy place. Well, I never was a germ freak until DS got a fever at 5wks of age and the whole protocol(including 3 days in isolation, spinal tap, chest x-ray) freaked me out. I also consider WDW to be a place were "international germs" are - meaning people from all over the world are there.

I would be more incline to take a spring vacation when the baby was a bit older(had more shots) and your oldest could last a bit longer.

If you really want to make the trip, who doens't want to go to WDW?, then I would consider either

1. Taking a stroller for the baby and then renting a stroller in the parks for the other children

2. Taking a double stroller and an umbrella stroller - put younger 2 in double stroller and 5 yr old in umbrella stroller. When not using the umbrella stroller fold it up and hang it off doublestroller handle.

I would also recommend driving to the parks. We do this for most of the parks because we are using 2 strollers as well and find it easier getting to the parks and leaving the parks when the little ones are tired. Just wheel the stroller out to your car/van and away you go. It is extremely hard to balance sleeping toddlers and 2 strollers on a bus.

Good luck in whatever you decide.

 

[LKS]

I would second the idea to drive to the parks. We were staying in a Wilderness Cabin and drove everywhere - even to the point of letting the grandmas ride with the big kids from MK to Epcot while I moved the car to the EPCOT lot with the baby. We didn't want to be trying to ride back to the MK lot after the fireworks in all that crowd. I wouldn't have considered taking the 2 buses minimum required to get back to the cabin. There are some accomodations to be made....

 

[BevS97]

I took a 12 week old and we had a great time, but 8 weeks, I think I would prefer to wait a few more weeks. if you are talking 8 weeks at Thanksgiving, then he/she isn't here yet - so you can't really predict how old he will be with any great accuraccy - you could be talking about a 6 week old baby, or a 10 week old - there is a bit of difference between the 2.

We took our dd at 12 weeks and had a great time - it was a bit more hard work, but we enjoyed the trip and I have no regrets. I don't think I would have been so happy at 6 or 8 weeks - I had a c-section, not planned but it can happen, and it takes a good 6 weeks to recover from that, plus sorting out all your sleep and feeding. While I am a big fan of travelling with babys and children, I think I would wait a couple more weeks.

Plus - Thanksgiving will be really really crowded, could you go right before or after christmas or new year? Christmas week is busy, but the weeks before and after aren't too bad - we were there December 1 - 14 last year and it was perfect crowd-wise

Bev

 

[Amirah95]

I wouldn't take children that age to Disney World. I would take them to Orlando with me on vacation, but I wouldn't go into any parks. I waited until my DD was 7 to go to WDW. I guess it's all in preference and how much you can handle.

 

[JennsBabySky]

I may be in the minority here, but I would do it. My 6 month old has been to Disneyland 5 times (we have season passes). He was 4 weeks old at his first trip. I am worried about germs (I'm a microbiologist), but when my kids are this young, I tend to keep them in the Baby Bjorn. In this carrier, I feel like they are minimally exposed to germs because they are nestled right next to me. Plus at 8 weeks, your baby should sleep most of the trip. Since having baby #2, I've turned into a stroller collecting addict. So, as much as I'd like to tell you to bring lots of strollers, I don't know how much your 8 week old will really use them. I imagine it depends on which parks you will be visiting the most. At Disneyland, my baby can ride almost everything that our 4 year old can ride. So, I felt a stroller was impractical at that age. It was too hard for me to park the stroller, take the baby out, get in line, ride the ride, put the baby back in the stroller and repeat (all without waking the baby). However, we did bring a stroller for our 4 year old. She is big enough to get in and out of the stroller by herself. If you'll be spending alot of time waiting with baby while the others are on rides, then I would bring a stroller for baby. If you'll be carrying the baby in a front carrier or sling and taking baby with on the rides, then I would skip the stroller. At 6 months, our double stroller is much more practical because he is awake so much more, so I don't need to worry about waking him up!

Have fun,
Jennifer

 

[frstimer128]

How about a double stroller and a front carrier for the baby. The 2 older kids will walk some of the time, I would asume, and then you can lay the baby down to give your shoulders a break. I think 2 strollers may be too much, but that is just my opinion!