Having 2nd thoughts-

[disneymagicgirl]

We are currently booked on the Fantasy for a 7 night Western this September. Cost was around $4800. I am kind of sad to not do the parks at all this year. I am also kind of reluctant b/c of the fact that my youngest will be just shy of 3 and that means we have to do Flounders with him, which is a bummer for several reasons.

Considering switching to one of these other options:

Sun-Thurs in the parks followed by a 3 night on the dream
or
Sun-Thurs 4 night Dream followed by Thurs-Sun in the parks

Pricewise, the 7 night I have booked, as well as the land/sea options all fall btwn $4-5K. So that is not really a factor in deciding. The only other perk to the land/sea combo options is that DD13 would miss 3 days of school instead of 5.

What would you guys recommend for children the ages of ours? They will be almost 3, 4 1/2, and 13 as of the vacation date.
Should we wait until they are all over age 3 for the longer 7 night sailing?

I am so torn and DH dislikes all of it, so he is no help.

 

[mmouse37]

We are currently booked on the Fantasy for a 7 night Western this September. Cost was around $4800. I am kind of sad to not do the parks at all this year. I am also kind of reluctant b/c of the fact that my youngest will be just shy of 3 and that means we have to do Flounders with him, which is a bummer for several reasons.

Considering switching to one of these other options:

Sun-Thurs in the parks followed by a 3 night on the dream
or
Sun-Thurs 4 night Dream followed by Thurs-Sun in the parks

Pricewise, the 7 night I have booked, as well as the land/sea options all fall btwn $4-5K. So that is not really a factor in deciding. The only other perk to the land/sea combo options is that DD13 would miss 3 days of school instead of 5.

What would you guys recommend for children the ages of ours? They will be almost 3, 4 1/2, and 13 as of the vacation date.
Should we wait until they are all over age 3 for the longer 7 night sailing?

I am so torn and DH dislikes all of it, so he is no help.

I am biased....I love the parks but REALLY love the cruise. I would stay on the cruise...but that is me!!! I think it is a much more relaxing vacation while still getting my Disney fix.

MJ

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I am biased....I love the parks but REALLY love the cruise. I would stay on the cruise...but that is me!!! I think it is a much more relaxing vacation while still getting my Disney fix.

MJ

That is what I was going for when I booked it. I am just concerned that it won't be very relaxing b/c we will be limited to the amount of time that DSalmost 3 can go to Flounders. The good thing is he will be able to play in the pools b/c he will be potty trained. Our middle child was 18 mths on our last cruise and he hated Flounders and couldn't get in the pools. Sea days were MISERABLE for us all!
I just hope there is enough to do on the Fantasy to keep him busy. Looks like there are several different water play areas/pools. I just don't want him to be stuck with us while his big brother and sister are having fun in the clubs. He does everything with his brother, so it probably won't go over well...

 

[GatorMomInNC]

I would either do a parks cruise combo, or just the parks and book the cruise for next September or whenever you can do it again BECAUSE - right now your almost-3 year old gets in free to WDW, but will cost you EXTRA money and aggravation on a cruise and although he will have fun, he won't remember the cruise. The good thing about the parks/cruise option is your older kids don't lose out on going on a cruise, you still get to do the parks, and for a short cruise like that the age issue won't be so inconvenient.

 

[Niebz]

As much as we love cruising I too think you should switch to a shorter cruise and stick it with a few days at the parks. Your almost 3-year-old is still free at WDW and that way you get the best of both in one vacation. I'd probably go with with a 4-day because there is a lot to do on the boat even without putting your little one in the nursery so a 3-day might feel rushed. We cruised our first time with only one day in the parks and while we fell in love with cruising that trip we decided we'd always try to add at least a few days at WDW to the vacation because we love the parks just as much.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

While I agree with mmouse37 that longer is better, I admit my youngest is almost 12 so we don't have to deal with Flounders at all. You know what works best for your family. You've cruised DCL before so you know what to expect.
Why not do the land & sea and rebook a 7 nt while onboard (or dummy date for future 7nt.)?
Personally, I only do a 3nt when I'm absolutely desperate for some DCL & the dates coincide with my kids days off from school.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I would either do a parks cruise combo, or just the parks and book the cruise for next September or whenever you can do it again BECAUSE - right now your almost-3 year old gets in free to WDW, but will cost you EXTRA money and aggravation on a cruise and although he will have fun, he won't remember the cruise. The good thing about the parks/cruise option is your older kids don't lose out on going on a cruise, you still get to do the parks, and for a short cruise like that the age issue won't be so inconvenient.

Thanks for your opinion.
Flounders is OK, it just isn't ideal for 2 yr olds and it isn't nearly as convenient as the clubs. Not sure it would be sufficient on such a long cruise.

A lot to consider...

 

[KimmyK]

I also enjoy the longer cruise. The shorter one it seems you just unpack and its time to pack back up to get off. But thats just me.

You can check with Disney, but I have heard that if they are just under 3 but fully potty trained (no pull-ups), they can still get into the clubs.

When we went on our cruise we arrived a day early to go to WDW for a day before the cruise and stayed at a value resort to get our WDW fix before the cruise.
Wish we were going!!
Hope you have a great time no matter what you decide.
Kim

 

[kcashner]

The other consideration is that you can usually get free dining at WDW in September.