Disney For New Family

[dakotix]

My husband and I are Disney addicts. I've gone, for the better part of my life, every other year. My husband got hooked when I took him 4 years ago. Four trips later I'd say we're hooked for life. In all of that time we've had no kids so going to Disney whenever we wanted to has been easy.

We're now in the process of adopting a child. We're hoping to adopt a child who is age 3 - 6. We just came back from Disney a couple weeks ago and can't wait to bring our soon to be son in a couple years. This is unknown territory for us and we're looking for practical advice on when we should go to take advantage of lower crowd levels without yanking our child out of school. Any other advice regarding traveling to Disney with a small child and what to expect. I know every child/ family is different. I'm just curious what others have experienced so we don't end up making newbie parenting mistakes! Thanks!

 

[disneyfam31]

When our kids were in that age range I found our trips worked best when we went for shorter periods of time (3-5 days). I also had low expectations of what we could accomplish (i.e. didn't try to "see it all") and focused on what DD or DS was most into at that time. We also made sure to have plenty of time to head back to hotel and relax, swim, take a nap.

Congratulations on your upcoming adoption!

 

[Tara1988]

If your school has a fall break, go then. Those are the rarest and most varied breaks, so the crowds aren't as bad as other times when school is out. If that isn't an option, the first week of summer after school ends or last week of summer before school starts.

 

[mm1971]

Congratulations on the future adoption! For lower crowds, January/February are the optimal time. Just avoid February vacation. Our second favorite is the middle of November before Thanksgiving week. As the parks get more and more crowded, these are really the only "slow" times if they exist anymore.

 

[snowman]

Gratz on the future adoption. We are exactly in that position right now. Our adoption day was in December. We are taking our new son next year for his 8th birthday. We decided that for this one year it was worth taking him out of school in order to go out in January.

One thing to consider is making sure you give your new child and yourselves time to get to know each other before taking a trip of this size. Our son has lived with us for almost a year. He has made such gains in that time that he is hardly the same child. However, I'm still glad we didn't try taking this big trip this year because after adoption day he had some set backs around first anniversaries without his siblings. I think putting the trip off a year was a wise choice.

Oh yeah...and the things they do at first that make you wonder what you were thinking? It will get better.

 

[kboo]

Congratulations on your upcoming adoption! Our daughter is 4.5 now and we've been taking her since she was 2 - on the younger age, I would definitely try to go when school is in session - recently we went in March before spring break and also last year in early May, both were terrific as far as weather and crowds - warm enough for the pool but not so hot that you HAD to use the pool. Also second the idea of taking a midday break and not trying to do too much at once. Finally - we just realized it this last trip - bring some ear (hearing) protection headphones. MK especially, and many of the shows, can be REALLY loud, and by the end of our trip our daughter was seeking them out to wear - I didn't even need to suggest them any more. I think it helps with overstimulation. We just ordered some for baby sister.

I hope you make some great memories!

 

[LovePug]

Congrats! My DS is also adopted, although he was home with us at a younger age. If you're dead set against taking him out of school, I'd do early June (as early as you can) or late August. We are doing early June this year and are just pulling my DS out the last couple of days (they don't actually do schoolwork at this point in the year, anyway, at his school). We also bought the noise blocking headphones for this trip because he has sensory issues due to high functioning autism. He is excited about them.

 

[Gracie09]

Honestly you need to wait until you have your child and are with him or her for a while. When dd came to us she was scared and had no clue which way was up but wanted to please us. We thought she could handle a trip to Disney that we had previously planned with family but it was rough. The noise and crowds and general overstimulation got to her and our usually happy go lucky kid was a wreck. She tried to climb out of the buzz light year ride. I wouldn't plan any Disney trips for the first several months after the arrival of a new child. Once he or she is comfortable then plan something

 

[snowman]

Honestly you need to wait until you have your child and are with him or her for a while. When dd came to us she was scared and had no clue which way was up but wanted to please us. We thought she could handle a trip to Disney that we had previously planned with family but it was rough. The noise and crowds and general overstimulation got to her and our usually happy go lucky kid was a wreck. She tried to climb out of the buzz light year ride. I wouldn't plan any Disney trips for the first several months after the arrival of a new child. Once he or she is comfortable then plan something

Yeah, what Gracie said. Our son was 6 when he came to us, but had been in several placements that disrupted. I am so so so glad we took the time to let him settle in before we even started planning a trip.

 

[dakotix]

When our kids were in that age range I found our trips worked best when we went for shorter periods of time (3-5 days). I also had low expectations of what we could accomplish (i.e. didn't try to "see it all") and focused on what DD or DS was most into at that time. We also made sure to have plenty of time to head back to hotel and relax, swim, take a nap.

Congratulations on your upcoming adoption!

That's great advice thank you!

 

[dakotix]

Gratz on the future adoption. We are exactly in that position right now. Our adoption day was in December. We are taking our new son next year for his 8th birthday. We decided that for this one year it was worth taking him out of school in order to go out in January.

One thing to consider is making sure you give your new child and yourselves time to get to know each other before taking a trip of this size. Our son has lived with us for almost a year. He has made such gains in that time that he is hardly the same child. However, I'm still glad we didn't try taking this big trip this year because after adoption day he had some set backs around first anniversaries without his siblings. I think putting the trip off a year was a wise choice.

Oh yeah...and the things they do at first that make you wonder what you were thinking? It will get better.

Thank you. Yes that's what we were thinking. We just got back from our trip a few weeks ago and we've decided to not go back for a couple years maybe three. We figure there will be lots of new stuff for us as well as time for our future son to get to know us before we take a nose dive into Disney.

 

[dakotix]

Honestly you need to wait until you have your child and are with him or her for a while. When dd came to us she was scared and had no clue which way was up but wanted to please us. We thought she could handle a trip to Disney that we had previously planned with family but it was rough. The noise and crowds and general overstimulation got to her and our usually happy go lucky kid was a wreck. She tried to climb out of the buzz light year ride. I wouldn't plan any Disney trips for the first several months after the arrival of a new child. Once he or she is comfortable then plan something

Thank you for sharing. We're on the same page. We're not planning our next trip for 2 or 3 years down the road.

 

[angiegal]

Congratulations on the upcoming adoption! We took our older children for their first trip when the were 5 and 3 and we will be taking our youngest just before his third birthday. My best advice for any trip with kids is to not overplan, don't forget to schedule in breaks, and really go with the flow. Young kids will find the oddest things entertaining. My oldest son loved a certain bench. He would have stayed there for hours if we let him so we made sure to go back and visit it a few times. He also begged for the Peter Pan ride but when the time came, he was terrified. So he and I went to the gift shop while Dad and little sis got on the ride. A new Peter Pan hat later, he wanted to try again so we did. We had to rearrange our schedule for the rest of the day but it was worth it. Let your kid be a kid and enjoy it

 

[wasnotafan]

... I know every child/ family is different. I'm just curious what others have experienced so we don't end up making newbie parenting mistakes! Thanks!

Making mistakes is what parenting is. The kid will survive and learn from as will you. Best wishes on the adoption. My nephew was adopted from overseas 18 years ago as a baby and survived my brothers and sister-in-law's lack of parenting experience. He will graduate in a few months and is doing great. Your child will do so as well.

 

[DopeyDame]

Both my kids are adopted and taking my son to WDW for the first time was one of the most memorable and poingnent things I've ever done. Your plan to wait a while until the child is settled in is really smart - keep their world small at first. And when you do go, definitely go at the lowest crowd times. That family bonding will be far more important than a few days of missed school.

Making mistakes is what parenting is. The kid will survive and learn from as will you. Best wishes on the adoption. My nephew was adopted from overseas 18 years ago as a baby and survived my brothers and sister-in-law's lack of parenting experience. He will graduate in a few months and is doing great. Your child will do so as well.

+1000. One of my favorite lines from Juno is when the adoptive mom is holding the new baby and asks how she looks, and the bio grandmom replies "Like a new mom. Scared ****less." We're all clueless in the beginning, regardless of how your kids show up in your family.

 

[andiraye]

I think you partially need to wait and see how old your child is when you are ready to go to WDW. I personally wouldn't hesitate to take a 3 or 4 year old out of preschool for a few days but would be more cautious about a 6 year old. If your child is young enough you can go during a time when school is generally in session.

Also, in recent years school breaks vary from region to region (other than Christmas, thanksgiving and New Years) so you might find a week where your region is on vacation but other regions are not. It really depends on the specific calendar during the specific year you are planning to go.

Of course as other have suggested you will need to make sure your child is ready and the time is right in many ways.

Good luck!!!!