Disney with 3 kids

[catrax]

This August will be our first visit with 3 kids. Before, we could do the one parent per child thing, but this time, we're outnumbered!

With DS6, DS5 and DD1 in tow, things are going to get tricky. We already decided on bringing both a double and a triple stroller. We'll be staying in a Value resort - either ASM or Pop Century - not sure which - please weigh in if you think it makes a difference with 3!

What I want is advice - how can we make it easier? Mainly, we won't be taking a car and we are worried about the end of the day. The wait for the buses and then dragging the kids and the strollers onto the bus can be a killer with just 2! Also, meals - did anyone have problems getting tables for 5? We'll be booking 180 days out, but I'm afraid that the 5 top tables will be harder to come by.

Also, anything else that maybe I'm forgetting - toss it my way!

Thanks!

 

[Poohbug]

If you are planning on taking a break in the middle of the day you might want to skip the stroller for the older kids for the morning. I was surprised that once the kids were 5 and up they really did not need the stroller-no problems walking.

I would pick and choose my night events. Staying out late every night just results in everyone being crabby. Sometimes a cab back to the resort is well worth the money. It seems to be getting harder to find a seat on a bus and standing with small children, bags and strollers is just not possible. Look for less stressful alternatives like watching MK fireworks from the beach at the Poly-no crowds, less noise(my kids always hate how loud the fireworks are) and the kids can run around a little on the beach while you have a drink.

I have never had any problems getting tables for 5 at any restaurant in WDW.

I have only stayed at Pop, so I cannot help you there. Pop is very nice but one thing I hated was the bus que. It is out in the blazing sun and gets very hot. I don't know if ASM has covered bus que but it makes a big difference.

 

[Aliceacc]

My kids are older than yours, but we never had a problem getting seating for 5. And our ADRS included the Coral Reef, Le Celliler, 1900 Park Fare, Yak and Yetti, Sci Fi-- some pretty popular places.

I can't address the resort issue, since we stayed at the Poly (and loved it!) But my husband has chaperoned trips to All Star Movies, and my best friend and her 3 college age daughters have stayed at POP, and both come highly recommended.

Have a blast!

 

[MSSANDRA]

We like POP much better. Buses there were best of any resort we stayed at.

Over all, just slow down and enjoy the ride!!! Go at the kids pace and see what you can. Perhaps one parent in charge of the older two and one the toddler. I am not sure why you would need the double and the triple strolers??

The older two may need a stroller some, but chances are not both a whole lot. Double only may be fine.

Tables should not be a big deal but you may want to try for earlier ADR times with three young children.

You will be at WDW...all will be fine.

 

[browniemtb]

We have been in the same boat as yourself. At the time we had a 7, 5, and 1. We brought only one stroller, a sit n stand model. That way the two older kids could switch back and forth on the stroller quickly while the little guy is in front. The biggest pain with multiple strollers at Disney is getting them folded and on the bus. Two strollers and 3 little ones can take some time with one stroller one parent can keep an eye on the little ones, that was my wife, while I was the pack mule with the stroller and all that fits under in the basket.

Dining was a breeze with 5, not really an issue at all. We always do the dining plan and hit many character dining events. Never had an issue.

Just take what you may need, the less you have the quicker you can move around. Good luck and have fun on your trip.

 

[queen&2princesses]

This will be our first trip with 3 kids - 7, 5, and 2. Our plan is to just take a double stroller. The 7 year old will be fine walking. The 5 year old can sit if she needs to but will mostly walk. The 2 year old needs to stay in the stroller or we'll lose him.
I made all our dining reservations without a problem.

 

[deerhart]

I would go to Pop based on transportation alone. Pop gets the bus all to themselves. The three all star resorts have to share a bus, so the lines are longer and generally the time on the bus is longer. We had no problems with transportation when we stayed at Pop and we watched over and over packed all star buses.

 

[my 3 princesses]

We've never had an issue with ADRs and there are 6 of us. Come to think of it, more often than not we visit the parks with other people. For our upcoming trip I booked ADRs for 12 of us sans problem. I did get the whole "we may need to split up your party" schpiel but that's yet to happen to us. Most of the ADRs I've made have been pretty last minute and again I've never had an issue.

As for Disney with three kids....honestly, I didn't find it much different than having two. This is our third trip to Disney as a family of 6 and we're still going strong. I'm sure you'll have a great time.

 

[Rita007]

My little ladies will be 7,5 and 2 on our next trip...we've done 2 previously. the double stroller is handy...also holds all the "stuff". We never had any issues with dining either.

remember that for the buses yhou have to fold up the stroller, get it (or them) on the bus, as well as all the children. We made sure that we had a backpack, and one other bag with handles that my oldest could carry on the bus, so that dh could handle the stroller, and I the 2 smaller kids. Really, this part was probably the worst for us.

Otherwise, we simply go with the flow of the kids!

Our first trip we stayed at POFQ, our second at ASmus. I found it a bit tight with the strollers and all of our stuff, but we managed. This time we are trying to decide now between a family suite at ASM or a trundle bed room at POR.

Mostly though...we're just excited!!!

Have fun!!!!

 

[northcoast_momma]

It's so weird that you mention this debate as we are going through this right now for our November trip. We stayed in the ASMu Family Suites just this past Sp Break 2009 and had an awesome trip - lots of space for everyone to unwind (and two bathrooms). This year, we're going with another family (family of 4) and they really want to do POR. Our kids will be 11, 9 and 7 so cramming 5 of us in the room seems like a step down from the comfort of the Family Suites - but I'm torn between the setting of the POR resort as it really does look lovely.

Good luck (and I'm interested in what you decide)

 

[Schmeck]

OP - could you explain why you would take both double and triple strollers to the parks at the same time? Are you planning on picking up some extra kids?

 

[kohlby]

Is the one year old a young one or closer to 2? If closer to one, I'd take a sling as well. It really helps standing in lines. Plus, it gives you another option outside of the stroller. I'm going with three kids very soon and we're only taking a single stroller. My 6.5 year old is too big in size for a stroller anyway, so he'll have to walk. The 3.5 year old will use the single stroller when needed. The 11 month old, 24 lb child, will be in the sling. The exception will be naps since I don't think he'll nap in the sling anymore. In the past, we found that a 3/3.5 year old would want to walk the entire first day. Then a little less the next day. etc- until the last day was almost all stroller. So I agree with 5 and 6 year old not needing the strollers alll day, every day.

 

[my 3 princesses]

Is the one year old a young one or closer to 2? If closer to one, I'd take a sling as well. It really helps standing in lines. Plus, it gives you another option outside of the stroller. I'm going with three kids very soon and we're only taking a single stroller. My 6.5 year old is too big in size for a stroller anyway, so he'll have to walk. The 3.5 year old will use the single stroller when needed. The 11 month old, 24 lb child, will be in the sling. The exception will be naps since I don't think he'll nap in the sling anymore. In the past, we found that a 3/3.5 year old would want to walk the entire first day. Then a little less the next day. etc- until the last day was almost all stroller. So I agree with 5 and 6 year old not needing the strollers alll day, every day.

I concur! The sling has been a lifesaver for me. I also use it for discrete nursing when I'm walking around the parks.

 

[maxiesmom]

I would go to Pop based on transportation alone. Pop gets the bus all to themselves. The three all star resorts have to share a bus, so the lines are longer and generally the time on the bus is longer. We had no problems with transportation when we stayed at Pop and we watched over and over packed all star buses.

The All Star Resorts do not always share busses, in my experience. Stayed at both the Sports and Music in 2008, and each resort had their own bus much more often than they shared. We never shared at park close, which was awesome!

 

[My_3_Mi_Princesses]

One thing to keep in mind is during dining most places do not allow strollers inside, so if your youngest can not sit by themselves in a high chair things can get tricky. At times it just got easier to do CS meals vs TS meals for that very reason.

As for transportation we tried to avoid high traffic times, like park closing etc. We didn't get to see fireworks everynight but the bus ride back was a lot easier.

 

[mjkacmom]

The more kids I had, the less stuff I would bring with me. We rented a double the last time we went, but the 2 youngest were 4. I really don't think you need a triple - I assume you will be taking afternoon breaks, and your older ones can walk. Bring a double if you want, just in case. We were there with my parents, so we needed tables for 9, and had no problem getting ADR's. My biggest advice is to pack light for the parks - we just had a small backpack.

 

[Keri]

We just went with 3 the same ages as yours -- 19 mo, 5 and 6.5. It was GREAT. I was really worried about my youngest, but she was a rock star. We only took a single stroller and rented a stroller for the bigger kids on 2 days as a "treat" (AK and MK). We also didn't take breaks -- The baby napped in the stroller every afternoon for 45 min or so and I just walked her around while my DH & MIL (we did have help, but totally could have done it without her too -- the bigs were pretty much always together & I had the baby all the time since she was overwhelmed & wouldn't let anyone else touch her) took the big kids on rides.

We stayed at Pop & got connecting rooms, which is what we do every year. It gives us more room, and a place for the kids to go to sleep early before we the grownups are ready. And a place for the early riser of the group to come hang out while the girls sleep.

Otherwise, there really wasn't much we did this year or last year (when DD was 7 months) that we did differently the year before (with just 2). We split up sometimes & I took the girls on something while my DH took DS (and MIL rested). It all worked great -- MUCH better than I had feared.

 

[tzolkin]

We've stayed at Pop with 3 kids the past two years in May.

I agree with others that the bus transporation for Pop is good. We drive to FL, but use the busses the whole time we are at Disney.

Especially since you are going in August, I would suggest taking a long afternoon break. Even in May we need to get out of the heat and crowds for a few hours. We usually get to a park for am EMH and stay until about 11. For our first trip, we were a bit worried about the break and the older kids, but we found that once we got into the cool room, turned out the lights, and got into bed we ALL fell asleep within minutes. We usually slept until 4 or so and then headed to another park for the evening.

As another poster suggested, if you plan to return to the resort for the afternoon you may be able to do without strollers for the older two kids for the morning.

 

[hmacmahony]

3 is easy! I would also suggest just a double stroller. Remember you have to get 3 tired kids, and two strollers and all your stuff on that bus at the end of the night. At 6 your oldest should be able to walk a majority of the time, and I would just switch off with the other one when needed.
The last trip we had a 7, 6, 4 and 15 month old, we brought one double stroller. My two oldest, never sat in it the entire time.
I was in charge of kids and stuff on the bus, my husband got the kids. At the end of the night it was still a hassle sometimes, I couldn't imagine throwing in another stroller on top of it.
We never had a problem getting reservations, and we have made 4 trips (3 with 3 kids, one with 4). As long as you make them early you should be fine.

 

[Rita007]

It's so weird that you mention this debate as we are going through this right now for our November trip. We stayed in the ASMu Family Suites just this past Sp Break 2009 and had an awesome trip - lots of space for everyone to unwind (and two bathrooms). This year, we're going with another family (family of 4) and they really want to do POR. Our kids will be 11, 9 and 7 so cramming 5 of us in the room seems like a step down from the comfort of the Family Suites - but I'm torn between the setting of the POR resort as it really does look lovely.

Good luck (and I'm interested in what you decide)

Okay...after many discussions with hubby, we decided to stick with the suite. Its about $50 extra per day, but for that we get the kitchenette, queen bed (oh yeah!), private bedroom and second bathroom. At least we can sit and watch tv or talk after the kids go to bed. I also like the location of the suites in relation to the main building, pools etc. Also, any passed out children can be put in the bedroom and then transferred later.

Okay...done! Space=sanity for me!

good luck with your decision! Now I just need a free dining offer