Cruise or WDW parks with young children?

[bananapepper]

We are trying to plan our family trip for next fall/winter and are trying to decide between a cruise or WDW at AKL.

What is making me lean towards the cruise is 1) We can drive to Galveston so that saves money and hassle of not having to fly 2) Not having to plan so much in advance. Just the thought of having to work out fast passes and dinner reservations months in advance with three young children has me stressed. 3) Kid's clubs and childcare so that my husband and I can get a break and relax too.

My husband is leaning more towards the parks because our two older kids are really the perfect age to go. They'd be 5 and 8 and we worry if we don't go then, a lot of the "magic" of the characters and castles, etc will not be the same. On the other hand, the thought of WDW with a 2-year-old seems really hard with dealing with nap times and tantrums and picky eating and such.

What do you think? What would you choose? With the plane tickets and food, they'd end up costing us about the same.

Thanks

 

[Mom24Princesses]

We did the parks with DDs all of these ages:
10 mons, 1,2,3,4,5,6.....20! Never a bad experience. When they were small we’d open the park (they get up early anyway) leave about 11:00. Go back about 5:00. This was summer hours/temps. Naps or swim between. We did 2 cruises with all 4. We waited on purpose until the “baby” was 6. So 1st time they were: 6,8,12 & 14. Then they were 8,10,14 &16. I don't regret any Disney trips.

 

[randumb0]

If you take the cruise could you make it to WDW within 2 years? If not skip the cruise

 

[Chica1581]

We did both this year. We did the cruise with our 7 year old and 10 month old. We did the parks when the baby was 17 months.
The cruise was easier. We were able to go to the room whenever we needed: diaper change, nap time, etc. Our serving team had special purées food at each meal and sent the leftovers for our room for snack or lunch. If the kids were hungry, food was easy to come by. Our 7 year old was always entertained. We have another cruise booked for when he is 2.5 and our daughter is 8.

However, at the parks, the logistics were more complicated. Diaper changed in the dirty park restrooms were not fun. We didn’t leave the parks during the day so the 7 year old go go on as many rides as she wanted. But we had to spit up and one of us would ride with her while the other stayed with the baby. The baby would get hot (even though we went in October) and he would take naps in the stroller. He couldn’t really do much other than some rides, and we couldn’t let him walk because the crowds would have run him over.
The trip to the park was far from relaxing and we agreed he needed to be older before we go back.

 

[bananapepper]

If you take the cruise could you make it to WDW within 2 years? If not skip the cruise

If we did the cruise next year, we'd do WDW the following year when the kids are 3,6 and 9.

 

[bananapepper]

We did both this year. We did the cruise with our 7 year old and 10 month old. We did the parks when the baby was 17 months.
The cruise was easier. We were able to go to the room whenever we needed: diaper change, nap time, etc. Our serving team had special purées food at each meal and sent the leftovers for our room for snack or lunch. If the kids were hungry, food was easy to come by. Our 7 year old was always entertained. We have another cruise booked for when he is 2.5 and our daughter is 8.

However, at the parks, the logistics were more complicated. Diaper changed in the dirty park restrooms were not fun. We didn’t leave the parks during the day so the 7 year old go go on as many rides as she wanted. But we had to spit up and one of us would ride with her while the other stayed with the baby. The baby would get hot (even though we went in October) and he would take naps in the stroller. He couldn’t really do much other than some rides, and we couldn’t let him walk because the crowds would have run him over.
The trip to the park was far from relaxing and we agreed he needed to be older before we go back.

That's what I worry about. I'd much rather be able to easily hop to the room and read a book while the baby naps, or for a diaper change, etc. I've also heard really good things about the kids' clubs for the older two.

 

[lklgoodman]

Our dd was 6 yrs old when she went on her first cruise, so can't give advice on cruising with really little kids. I personally would pick a cruise for all the reasons you mentioned. I went to WDW for the first time when I was 27 yrs old and I felt like a little kid when a saw Winnie the Pooh for the first time. If you choose a cruise, I would advise not going in the Fall because that's hurricane season(or at least wait until late Oct/early Nov when there aren't as many hurricanes). We always cruise in Jan. The prices are a lot cheaper after the holidays. Everyone I know who has cruised with little ones say it's a lot easier than the parks.

 

[Chica1581]

That's what I worry about. I'd much rather be able to easily hop to the room and read a book while the baby naps, or for a diaper change, etc. I've also heard really good things about the kids' clubs for the older two.

Yes, the clubs are great. After going to the parks we asked our 7 year old what she preferred, and she said the cruise. She likes being able to make friends and play with other kids. Plus, she enjoys more interaction with the characters. She didn’t like the lines at the parks, and the character interactions at the parks were shorter.

Plus, I found that they ate more junk at the parks for snacks while on the cruise there are lots of fruits and healthy options that are quick and easy to grab.

 

[aggiedog]

We've done the parks with a 2 yr old. We had a great time, and my best memories of any trip with any kid was that one. She was enthralled by everything.

That said, a cruise is more of a vacation for you. Soooo much easier to have a stateroom right there, have dinner plans already made, have everything closer, less crowds, etc. You can't go wrong with either.

 

[MomOTwins]

We did the disney cruise with a 2 year old and I really wished I waited until he was a bit older, because:
--the ship is not very stroller friendly; very hard to get him around in narrow corridors and tiny elevators that are always full. This also meant he could not nap in his stroller like he could at WDW, so we always had to sit in the room with him for naptime.
--we learned the nursery is not a real daycare in the sense that if your child asks for you or starts crying, instead of finding ways to distract and engage them up they buzz you on the phone and you have to come get them. he never stayed in it more than 10-20 minutes or so before we were pinged to come get him and try again later. Every time we picked him up, they just had the kids sat in front of tv (sometimes showing disney movies with scary bits--princess and the frog, I'm looking at you!) so no wonder he was bored or scared. We weren't trying to leave him there all day: just an hour to get a spa treatment or play bingo. The kids club is much better and our older kids loved it, but you have to be three years old and fully potty independent.
--unless fully potty trained, he could not use the swimming pools, which caused a lot of sibling envy.
--a lot of the shore excursions were age limited, which meant we just stayed on the ship the whole time, and because of the unavailability of pools, evening entertainment and kids club, there just wasn't a lot for him to do.
--character meets for the most part involve waiting in lines and my two year old just didn't have the patience to wait 30 minutes for every character. Plus the character is right there in the open unlike in a closed room at WDW, so it was really hard to stop him from running right up and cutting in the line, and we ended up just avoiding characters after a few attempts.
--we missed out on a lot of the evening entertainment because he could not stay up for it and they do not have in-room babysitting. My husband and I took turns babysitting, but it meant no pirate night for me and only one stage show.

Castaway Cay is great, but there are beach vacations a plenty for a lot less money

In WDW, we found a lot more of it is geared toward toddlers. There were so many rides he could go on, shows/parades happening in daytime hours instead of once after bedtime, character meals and fastpasses, stoller parking everywhere, and it was all around just a lot more interesting and fun for him. We never planned dining of FPs 6 months in advance: there are always FPs for plenty of rides even if you don't get flight of passage and slinky dog. And dining reservations are wide open if you check the day before due to 24 hour cancellation policies (we ate character meals every night). People will tell you you "have to" plan months in advance for WDW, but all you really need to do is know how to use the app to make same-day fastpasses and night-before dining.

Editing to add one more big detail: at WDW, age 2 and under do not need a park ticket, and eat free at buffets. So the money savings is huge!

 

[Garyjames220]

We did the disney cruise with a 2 year old and I really wished I waited until he was a bit older, because:
--the ship is not very stroller friendly; very hard to get him around in narrow corridors and tiny elevators that are always full. This also meant he could not nap in his stroller like he could at WDW, so we always had to sit in the room with him for naptime.
--we learned the nursery is not a real daycare in the sense that if your child asks for you or starts crying, instead of finding ways to distract and engage them up they buzz you on the phone and you have to come get them. he never stayed in it more than 10-20 minutes or so before we were pinged to come get him and try again later. Every time we picked him up, they just had the kids sat in front of tv (sometimes showing disney movies with scary bits--princess and the frog, I'm looking at you!) so no wonder he was bored or scared. We weren't trying to leave him there all day: just an hour to get a spa treatment or play bingo. The kids club is much better and our older kids loved it, but you have to be three years old and fully potty independent.
--unless fully potty trained, he could not use the swimming pools, which caused a lot of sibling envy.
--a lot of the shore excursions were age limited, which meant we just stayed on the ship the whole time, and because of the unavailability of pools, evening entertainment and kids club, there just wasn't a lot for him to do.
--character meets for the most part involve waiting in lines and my two year old just didn't have the patience to wait 30 minutes for every character. Plus the character is right there in the open unlike in a closed room at WDW, so it was really hard to stop him from running right up and cutting in the line, and we ended up just avoiding characters after a few attempts.
--we missed out on a lot of the evening entertainment because he could not stay up for it and they do not have in-room babysitting. My husband and I took turns babysitting, but it meant no pirate night for me and only one stage show.

Castaway Cay is great, but there are beach vacations a plenty for a lot less money

In WDW, we found a lot more of it is geared toward toddlers. There were so many rides he could go on, shows/parades happening in daytime hours instead of once after bedtime, character meals and fastpasses, stoller parking everywhere, and it was all around just a lot more interesting and fun for him. We never planned dining of FPs 6 months in advance: there are always FPs for plenty of rides even if you don't get flight of passage and slinky dog. And dining reservations are wide open if you check the day before due to 24 hour cancellation policies (we ate character meals every night). People will tell you you "have to" plan months in advance for WDW, but all you really need to do is know how to use the app to make same-day fastpasses and night-before dining.

Editing to add one more big detail: at WDW, age 2 and under do not need a park ticket, and eat free at buffets. So the money savings is huge!

mad are going to be using the nursery on our cruise in 2021

I am I bit shocked that if he/she cry’s then just phone you and you have to collect them

what happens if your on an excursion or something? Surly they try to calm them down

 

[MomOTwins]

mad are going to be using the nursery on our cruise in 2021

I am I bit shocked that if he/she cry’s then just phone you and you have to collect them

what happens if your on an excursion or something? Surly they try to calm them down

I would not recommend leaving a child in the nursery and going on an excursion for that reason, and also because as someone here reported, at least one family that did that missed the ship and it sailed without them with their child on board.

 

[celina14]

I have never done a cruise (our first one will be in Feb) and our kids will be 5 and 8 at the time. I think with a 2 year old I'd choose parks personally. Mainly, because a lot of the allure of the cruise for me is that when we are at sea, I can drop my kids off at the kids club for a little bit and my husband and I can have some grown up time. The 2 year old can't go to the regular kids club, just the nursery which from what I've read you have to schedule and it costs extra (I could be wrong). Plus I know when my kids were 2 they would not have been happy about being left with strangers which would have stressed me out. Plus as others have mentioned, the excursions are more limited for kids that young. We did Disney when our kids were 2 and 5 and my 2 year old would fall asleep in the stroller, there were tons of rides he could get on and lots of things to keep him occupied and we had a blast on that trip.

 

[randumb0]

--we learned the nursery is not a real daycare in the sense that if your child asks for you or starts crying, instead of finding ways to distract and engage them up they buzz you on the phone and you have to come get them. he never stayed in it more than 10-20 minutes or so before we were pinged to come get him and try again later.

Which ship did you cruise on? We've been cruising on Disney since my son was 1 (he's 6 now) and I've never noticed a tv nor were we called early to pick him up. We were called to pick up our daughter two years ago from the nursery and that was because she spiked a fever

 

[Chemist]

No hotter topic than leaving kids in club and going on an excursion.

Different families, different rules.

Everyone just keep repeating that.

Cruise ship excursions are definitely a safe way to get adult activity time.

Nothing wrong with adults (or families with a caboose baby) getting what they need out of a vacation too.

Different families different rules. Different wants. Different needs. Different dynamics.

 

[MomOTwins]

Which ship did you cruise on? We've been cruising on Disney since my son was 1 (he's 6 now) and I've never noticed a tv nor were we called early to pick him up. We were called to pick up our daughter two years ago from the nursery and that was because she spiked a fever

It was on the Dream, last year.

 

[randumb0]

It was on the Dream, last year.

That's very odd I'm sorry that happened to you

 

[Garyjames220]

Which ship did you cruise on? We've been cruising on Disney since my son was 1 (he's 6 now) and I've never noticed a tv nor were we called early to pick him up. We were called to pick up our daughter two years ago from the nursery and that was because she spiked a fever

Can I ask what you think of the nursery ?

I was hoping to use it often but worried now they just want us back after 10 mins. Surly they try a bit more than that

 

[DietCokeMommy]

We put our 18 month old in the nursery on the Wonder several times over a 4 day cruise and never got called and I don't remember a tv there. She wouldn't have paid attention to it anyways. It's $9/hour and we did it in 2 hours chunks, once in the morning on our sea day, and then 2 or 3 times in the afternoon after her nap. I was pretty sure she'd cry when I dropped her off, and then be fine. And that's exactly what happened. But she's a daycare kid and used to this.

I think it's more about what vacation appeals to you more.

 

[randumb0]

@Garyjames220 I used it numerous times and I don't have any complaints. I believe they will let you tour it on the first day. Living in Orlando I know a lot of people that have taken Disney cruises and no one has ever mentioned having to go and pick up their child early.