Cruise or WDW?

[nu2dis]

We are at WDW right now and having a great time. My daughter has her birthday in December and her first two birthday parties totally bombed. No one came! Seriously! Its just too close to Christmas. My son has an August birthday and also tends to be very out going so he has alot of friends. We have thrown him 3 really good birthday parties where alot of people come and we end up going a little over-board (even renting a zebra for one!). So I am thinking of what I can do to make my daughter's 3rd birthday (in 6 months) really special without having to depend on people showing up to her party. Its one thing if no one comes to her second, but it would break her heart if she understood like she would at her 3rd birthday.

So I was thinking...

DISNEY!

I really want to come to WDW when it isnt too hot and the crowds are better. We would come in the first half of December. I hear the crowds are small. My husband suggested we look into a cruise to do something different. But we wouldn't be able to book until August, so that might be impossible. I also worry that the cruise might be more fun when the kids are a little older?

So what do you think? A week at WDW resort or a Disney cruise for a 3 year olds birthday (with a 4 year old older brother and mom and dad)

 

[EthansMom]

My kids (7 and 5) love both WDW and cruises. They've been doing both since they were quite young.

If your kids are somewhat adventurous and they've never been, then they'll probably love going on a good cruise. One piece of advice: Most kids programs won't take children until they are 3 years old. So, you might want to look for a cruise just after your daughter's birthday. We took our kids on one cruise where DD5 celebrated her 3rd birthday on the day of our depature... I bought her a special birthday button to wear (like WDW) and she loved hearing "Happy Birthday" all day long. For cruises, we prefer Royal Caribbean.

OTH, I can say that early December is also a very nice time to go to WDW. We've been at that time and had great weather and relatively low crowds. The Christmas decorations were all up and Christmas music was playing everywhere. Just make sure you have most of your gift shopping done before you leave home so you can keep the relaxation of your vacation going right through the holidays.

Regarding kids' parties: We've gotten to where we only do kids' parties every other year... celebrating with a family activity (seeing a show, going to the zoo, etc...) on alternate years. For a December birthday, you might try having a kids' party in November or between Christmas and New Year's (when many parents are tearing their hair out trying to keep kids busy)

 

[bopper]

Keep in mind that she is 3 yrs old and at this point YOU are disappointed in her birthday, not her. You can do what ever you like, but she is only 3!

 

[*Toadstool*]

I'm trying to convince my DH to let us go on a cruise. He seems to be more open to this than going to WDW. Glad to know most kiddos love it.
I guess he feels better going on a boat since he is a captain on a boat irl.

 

[nu2dis]

Thanks for the replies. Bopper, my son was very aware of his 3rd birthday and cried about no one coming to his sister's party when he was 3...even though I tried not to make any issue about it. At 2 she didnt care or notice. But at 3 I am sure she will.

 

[antshelby]

Depends on your budget. I went on a cruise with my daughter and she had a good time. She also loves Disney. I took her last year to Disney for her B day. She celabrated all week.... The cruise can be expensive they will charge for both kids.

 

[RMulieri]

OP I feel your pain...My dd as born on Dec 26th

 

[akcire]

Have you considered having the party on your child's half birthday?

My cousins birthday is the 23rd of December, and no one comes the week of Christmas. What my aunt would do is have a family party with cake only and a couple of gifts. Then on June 23rd or near that time, she would throw a friend party. My cousin felt special since she was celebrating her half birthdays, and it was easier to get a good turn-out.

Frankly, I think from a present stand point she made out better than the rest of us. Not that I minded.

Just a thought.

 

[MomTo4+more]

My 7 year old wants to do the cruis. My 5 year old wants to do WDW. Since it is the 5 year old's wish trip that will bring us there, it will be WDW. The commercials for the cruises make it look so great for kids. I bet you would have a great time at either one. A cruise sounds more relaxing to me, but I have never done one so I'm no expert!

 

[RMulieri]

Have you considered having the party on your child's half birthday?

My cousins birthday is the 23rd of December, and no one comes the week of Christmas. What my aunt would do is have a family party with cake only and a couple of gifts. Then on June 23rd or near that time, she would throw a friend party. My cousin felt special since she was celebrating her half birthdays, and it was easier to get a good turn-out.

Frankly, I think from a present stand point she made out better than the rest of us. Not that I minded.

Just a thought.

I tried that idea, and our family was APPALLED and still did not come. So now we just celebrate it as a family of 3 on her Bday and the weekend after New Years for school friends/family

 

[minkydog]

Keep in mind that she is 3 yrs old and at this point YOU are disappointed in her birthday, not her. You can do what ever you like, but she is only 3!

I agree. The first few years the birthday party is really for the parents. We had family parties until the 5th birthday, THEN we invited 5 kids to keep it manageable.

Consider a different kind of party. When my kids were 3 & 4 I coordinated a playdate with the mother of the best friend. I decorated the front door, the dining room, and the backyard with streamers and balloons. The friend would come over and the kids would play in the backyard, wear dress-ups, play with makeup or balls, swing on the swings and generally have a blast for about an hour. The mom & I would sit outside watching the children,taking pictur and nursing our cokes. When the energy flagged we brought out cupcakes,sang Happy Birthday and opened the friend's present. Then we walked the mom & friend to the door and the party was over. Easy peasy.

You can take a cruise if you want to. But I'd opt for doing a small scale little "party" in the backyard myself.

 

[BigEeyore]

WDW by a landslide. For a 3 year old - her activities are going to be pretty limited on a cruise. Some cruises don't even let young children use the pool, even with a swim diaper. Most of the kids camp things on cruises are geared toward older children as well.
Early Dec is a fabulous time to go to WDW - all the decorations are up, the crowds aren't bad, and it is not too hot.
All that said...I agree with PP that you don't have to make every bday party bigger and better than the last!

 

[tam626]

We took our 3 yr. old son on a cruise in April & it was not near as much fun for him as Disney. Plus he got severly sick from soemthing he ate to the point he was severly dehydrated & we ended up having to be medivaced off the ship by the Coast Guard. I realize that is a rare scenario but it is scary to be 200 miles out to sea & have a very sick child.

 

[owensamo]

If you're thinking of a Disney Cruise, I'd say go for it! We took our DD on our first DCL cruise (first cruise of any type!) just before her 5th birthday. She was in the 3-4 group in the club, and *loved* it!! They do tons of princess-y stuff with that age group - Do-si-do with Snow White, Tea with Wendy, there's a ball with Cinderella and something else with Belle - the list goes on.

As long as your DD is 3 and potty trained - or nearly 3 and potty trained - she would probably have a blast in the club on a cruise! For the non-potty trained, they have Flounders which is a per-hour babysitting/day care and I hear they often spend some time playing in the Oceaneer's Club as well as doing some other activities. DCL does have a splash area for infants/toddlers in swim diapers, but I understand it's pretty much standard (like, law) to not allow swim diapers in the pools. DCL uses fresh water for their pools (unlike some lines that use salt water), and it's an inconvenience to *everyone* when they have to close the pool for a cleaning due to an accident.

Our DD is now 7 and generally will choose a cruise over going to WDW. Not something I'll complain about at all. We've got a back-to-back planned for next year, then hopefully we'll be able to do Europe after the Magic moves out there in a few years!

Amanda