Going to WDW with my four year old

[aimsicle]

I am soooo excited that DH is letting me do this.

BG: We have a blended family of 6 kids, ages 4, 11, 14, 16, 16, and 17. Before we got married, I had taken each of my girls to WDW at least twice, and they both got to experience it around 5 years old (which I think is a magical age for WDW). His kids have never been. We had tried to take them, but their mom kept bringing us to court for stupid stuff (she did not like him getting remarried and having a kid) so our vacation money kept going to lawyers. NOW, court is finally mostly over so we have been trying to figure out what to do.

In terms of planning, it was going to be complicated, but I was up for the challenge of bringing all of them to WDW in the fall of 2015. And then the cruises started leaving from near home so DH thought that would be a better idea for the age ranges we have and less stressful for us (mainly him). SOOO...we will be surprising them with a Disney Cruise for Christmas 2015.

In the meantime, I am sad that my four year old can't really go to WDW...a cruise is nice, but WDW is magical. An old friend of mine then invited me to his wedding on February 14, 2015 at WDW. So I asked my hubby if I could just go with my DD4. He is not a Disney fan (why did we get married? ) so he was totally fine with it.

SOOO off we go! I can't wait. We will be going the week before the wedding (since it gets busy after that). I am trying to decide between a late Monday night or trying to arrive early Tuesday. I am also trying to decide if I should start off with a bang (like a CRT ADR) or a little slower. We will have to do MK early on just because of the crowd levels increasing with President's Day. The wedding is at Epcot.

My DD is the easiest kiddo to please and travel with. I won't be able to go on the adult rides (mostly sad about the Rock n Roller Coaster), but I also know that whatever I do with her, she will be happy.

My tour plans have always included midday naps because I like to go early and stay out late.

How do you like to START your WDW trip? What time do you like to arrive at your hotel? Any tips on traveling alone with a four year old are welcome--I have never been the only adult before...at least in age.

I told my hubby that he gets crazy extra points for this.


PS...I have been on this board for years...guess I mostly read and rarely post!

 

[JillShari]

As far as a plan when you get there.... I'd say depends on what time of day you arrive and your child.

At 4 with my oldest, we got in and looked around the resort and then went to Hoop De Doo that evening for dinner which he LOVED and was a great start to our vacation.

This time with an 8 and 4 year old (the little guy is such a small picky eater), we stayed at AoA resort mainly so the little one could walk around and see the cars and stuff. We got in around 3, so we planned to have time to walk around and enjoy the pool and stuck around the resort. We hit HS the next morning and it was great.

Whatever you want to do, I'm sure will be great. Have fun.

 

[baseballnut]

For us, we went to MK our first day in the afternoon. Was nice to have just a half day to get used to it. Then CRT for dinner the next day - not at the end of the trip, when everyone is more exhausted. It's not like she'll really know what to be looking forward to, so if you do it early she'll have a find memory every time she passes the castle, lol!

As for traveling alone, she's in charge! Breaks were great. Bring tons of little snacks to help in the lines. And maybe a few dollar store toys to break out as needed. And glow necklaces and wands from the Target dollar bin (maybe on clearance after Halloween).

It really helped us to really plan each day, to save from doubling back when walking - but allowing for flexibility when she wants to do something 10 times. And a break day or at least half day every few days

Have fun!!!

 

[Altoqueenkelly]

I went a few years ago when my daughter was four for a mother daughter trip and it was amazing We had such a great time bonding and doing the things she liked to do. We spent a ton of times on characters, it was awesome. Have an amazing trip