How many days with a 4 year old ?

[bryon]

2 experienced Disney Veterans are about to embark on their next Disney adventure. A trip to Disney with a four year old who has never gone.

How many days would you recommend?

I was personally thinking 7.
Other elder member of the clan was thinking this would be to much "fun" for a four year old. In the sence that the 7 days would be to much excitment and we would have the last 2-3 days with a grumpy child.

Anyone have any input to help us decide. Tell me how many days you took with a four year old, and do you wish it was more or less.

Thank you!!!

 

[alfredromero1975]

I'd say you are both right. 7 days is great but plan on taking lots of downtime and breaks in the afternoon. You may want to stay on the monorail loop (Contemporary, Polynesian, Grand Floridian) so that you can easily squeeze in some mid-day naps.

 

[AStamm]

We did our first WDW family vacation with DS when he was 4 1/2. I'm pretty sure we did 8 nights (Saturday - Sunday) on that first trip and had NO problems with the length. I remember going to DTD that first evening to have dinner at the Rainforest Cafe and I'm sure we didn't do too much that last day before the flight home, but I know from looking at pictures that we did the other 7 days non-stop. One day we headed to Universal, but the other 6 days were all Disney, all day. The age was great because we didn't have to bother with naps, but believe me, DS slept really well each night. We went in early December, so the parks closed relatively early--pushing DS to the point of being really tired, but not breaking down with tantrums.

As you can see from our other trips, that first trip in '03 was the start of something crazy--we all love WDW so much and can't wait to head back for trip #7 in just a few weeks!

 

[GadgetRick]

Taking our son (turning 4 while we're there) for his annual b-day trip (leave this Thursday). As he's gotten older he can handle a little longer in the parks but just be aware you'll need to get some down time towards the afternoon. They enjoy it but it just gets overwhelming at a certain point.

He sleeps quite well after the first couple of days in the parks.

 

[secretkeeper]

Our 2nd trip was with a 4 year old and we went for 7 days. We did stay at the Poly so were able to get back to the room easily. It was a fabulous trip. We leave in 2 months with our now 15, 13 and 3 year old (yes, surprises do happen). We are doing a 1 week cruise followed by 8 days at WDW. This time we rented a car for ease of return to the resort for naps (naps for me that is not my 3 year old ) but only you know your child. If you have a child that is easy going and rolls with schedule changes go for it. Whatever the length you decide, have a wonderful trip!

 

[MomofCKJ]

We are doing 7 days next month on our kids first trip. Our little guy is almost 4.5. We have quite a few afternoon breaks planned, some early nights and a sleep in day. I think he'll do fine, I hope so at least!

My thought is coming from MA, having to pay $$$ for airfare, it just would not be as worthwhile to stay any shorter.

Allyson

 

[jayandstacey]

We just did 10 days with DD5 and DS2. We:
- had a 2 seat stroller. HIGHLY recommended.
- stopped when it was time to stop, regardless of what time it was
- sucked it up and let them 'do their thing' in places like the dinosaur dig, for as long as they felt like doing so.

With the stroller, the struggle was less about their legs holding out, but the opposite - finding physical activity to do. Shows, rides, standing in line and riding the stroller doesn't include any actual movement on their part. So while your legs may be stretched, be sure to give them a chance while you sit on a bench.

Then you'll find they get into a groove and magically it seems like they could live there and be perfectly happy.

Enjoy. Disney is great - and even greater through the eyes of a toddler. Be sure to kneel down often and view the World from their vantage.

 

[LaraK]

I think seven days is perfect (which is why we're doing that many in the parks). We're also building in "down" days and nap times. Don't underestimate the power of the pool! Plan for mornings in the parks, but mid-days and some evenings just resting, vegging or swimming. Once you get past about 5 days, the park tickets are so cheap per day, who cares if you're doing half days.

 

[skuttle]

We went to WDW last December with DS when he was 2 1/2 for 8 days/7 nights. We never had to go back to our room for a nap. DS always napped in his stroller. We rented one from www.abbf.com . He had a couple of "free" days thrown in where we didn't go to a park. We also let him decide what we did and/or didn't do. We basically approached the trip and planned as we did in the past before we had DS (went 4 times before) and just changed things as needed. One thing that surprised us was that he cried when the rides, shows, parades, etc were over because he didn't want them to end! He loved all of the characters. We had a great trip and are headed back in January!

 

[kohlby]

We went when DS had just turned 3. We had planned on doing parks every day. We ended up doing parks 4 days and 2 down days at the hotel/pool/area. So, it was 7 days total with coming and going eating up a day. We went when it was hot and crowded on Memorial Day weekend. We're headed back in two weeks and are planning one week again, but with only one down day. The travel to get there and back are the worse part for us. (We drive). I have a baby as well, but she didn't really effect how much park we could do.

We listened to our son's cues. We tried going back to the room mid day, but it ate up too much of our day and he didn't nap. (He gave up naps well by 2). We then tried just going until he couldn't go anymore, and it worked MUCH better. You may change your plan mid-day. Just plan it around your child and everyone will be happier!

My son is an anti-stroller kid. He was worn in a sling until he was 33lbs, which was 16 months. We bought a harness since he's a runner. We ended up not needing it because he knew he would have to wear it if he didn't stay close. (So I guess we did use it in a sense!) We got him to want to sit in the stroller by taking the front bar off, so he could hop in and out of the stroller as he wanted. We didn't have to help him out and he felt like he had more freedom.

 

[hniki234]

I think 7 days would be better than 3 or 4. With 7 days, you can spread the fun out while you'd have to try and cram it all in in only 3 or 4 days.

 

[ppony]

I think it will vary with the child and honestly I think it might be hard to tell what your child will be like until you are there. We stayed 10 days (I think ) last time non-peak and Dec weather and at the Poly for monorail convenience. DS (3 1/2 at that time) was gung ho from the get go. He wanted nothing to do with leaving for a nap and he simply amazed me with his stamina! We had decided ahead of time that he would really dictate when we restsed and how long we went but with the aide of a stroller of course, he had more energy than we did. He blew both hubby and I away actually in that dept. Well, expect for falling asleep just as the MVMCP 11PM parade was starting and NOTHING could wake him up then. He slept in his stroller the whole time. Music blaring. I'm looking forward to him SEEING it this time. My advice would be to go as long as YOU want to go but let your child determine your resting and touring speed. Try to be flexible. That is exceptionally hard these days of planning everything 180 days out but give it a shot. (Weather can ahve a LOT to do with that though, we went when it was very comfortable)

 

[blessedby3]

I think 7 days is a great amount of time to go. We always go for 7-9 days and have taken kids of all ages through the years (10 mos-15 yrs). This gives you plenty of thime to go at a slower pace and take breaks when needed. I cant imagine doing a shorter trip when you live so far away. If we lived closer and could go more often then we might do some shorter trips. All that planning, money and travel distance- go for a week.