Getting nervous.....

[wrmiller13]

We leave in 25 days. Very exciting, but also a bit nervous! We have been to Disney many, many times ( this will be trip #4 this year alone) but, we haven't been with young children in quite awhile. We will be a party of 9, myself, DH, DS 20, DD 18, DD 15, DS 13 and our 3 little fosters G 4, B 18 mos, and B 12 mos. We traveled often with our first 4 when they were little, but things "seemed" less complicated, and as they grew, it was "easier" as they were bigger and not as hard to manage. We are excited to bring our new little ones down to introduce them to the magic, but I am getting nervous of the logistics of taking so many little people with us! The stroller is huge, will have so many diapers and items. I was hoping to keep the trip "low key" but I'm scared the general hustle and bustle mood of the parks will escalate my little ones, and me, into a stressful mess! I guess I really just wanted some reassurance that we can do this! That it will be ok! That we can take our time and enjoy our trip with our mixed age big family! Thanks for reading and understanding!!

 

[ajwolfe]

Well seeing as my youngest is 10 it's been a long while since we've dealt with diapers and strollers in Disney. My advice would be just to plan on taking it slow and packing just enough to get you thru the day instead of packing the whole house full of extra clothing, etc. Do the older kids help with the younger ones? Might make your life easier to let them take one of the littles every so often for a snack break/ride/etc so you can lighten your load so to speak.

 

[srwarden1928]

IMO I would SERIOUSLY give all four of your older children a great deal of freedom going by themselves or at least in pairs. Disney with very small children is a VERY different trip. Your speed is MUCH slower. Child swap is nice, but takes a lot of time. Dealing with the stroller takes time. Your older children have expectations of Disney based on their previous trips. They may be disappointed in how much they miss without freedom to tour apart from the whole family.
I hope you all have a wonderful trip.

 

[LuvMyEAR]

What an awesome family you have, pretty much spanning 3 generations in ages. The previous poster nailed it, as touring styles and logistical requirements will be very diverse. No doubt there will be times when your older children will want to enjoy seeing the magic through the younger ones' eyes, as well. I hope you are comfortable with the idea of spending some time completely apart, too, and can head back to your hotel/house/resort if the stimulation shows signs go becoming too much for you or any of the young'uns.

Since you are Disney vets, and no doubt extremely organized at home, I would bet a Mickey Ice Cream bar that you absolutely thrive in hustle and bustle every single day.

Having two in diapers will certainly make the baby care centres a part of your touring plan. I loved those when travelling with young grandchildren. May this be one of your best trips ever!

 

[jvz82]

Going to Disney with little ones can definitely be stressful! I don't know what your little ones are like, but I know that we had all sorts of meltdowns on our last trip. I think just acknowledging that it will probably happen, and that it's ok when it does, will go a long way. Along with the stress and tantrums, there will also be incredible magical moments. Try to focus on those moments!

I agree with others about letting your older ones have some time to explore on their own while you focus on the little ones. I LOVED being a teenager at Disney and being given the freedom to go off on my own with my siblings!

Good luck, you will have a blast!

 

[elaine amj]

Use the first day as a test run acknowledging you will learn a lot from it. That will help you plan better moving forward. We learned tons about folding up strollers and managing the stuff hanging off the strollers that first day. Packed differently from then on and it went much smoother

 

[wrmiller13]

Thank you everyone! Our littlest
3 are our Foster children! We love them so much! I totally agree about giving my older 4 lots of free time, probably hubby too! Haha! Our family motto is "Expect the best, but plan for the worst" Everyday does bring its own kind of crazy! We just cried our way through a trick or treat event in our town! Thank you for everyone's kind words and well wishes!! We just went in Oct ( my two biggest girls and I) got MNSSHP, it was a breeze travelling with 2 teenagers....I KNOW this will be MUCH different!!

 

[SmallWorld71]

Mine aren't little anymore, but I have traveled in large mixed age groups. It generally works very well. My kids get as much joy from seeing the joy on their little cousins faces as they do from their own fun things.
As far as Disney goes, we generally would have a game plan for the morning and then ease up as the day went on. We spend a lot of time together, but aren't afraid to split up as needed.
Make sure that everyone knows that if they are not having fun, they need to speak up and do something about it. Nobody should suffer in silence. If someone needs a break, they need to say something. You may want to go over expectations ahead of time with your older children. What does this vacation mean to them; how much are they expected to help etc. to make sure everyone is on the same page.

Also, make sure that you know who is in charge of the little ones at every moment. I am thinking of the 4 year old in particular. It's very easy in a large group to be sure that the child is with someone else when they are not. Make sure the 4 year old knows what to do in case you get separated.

Have fun!