How will I wait so long?!

[StuCrew]

Ever since the birth of my daughter almost a year ago I've gotten back into Disney big time and really, really want to go back to WDW. I haven't been since I was a kid in the 90s. She's turns a year next month, and my husband is on board for a Disney vacay and we want to do it "big": deluxe monorail resort, dining plan. But he wants to wait until she's at least THREE! Logically, I get it. Big expense, wait until she can ride more and start to get it/remember. But how will I wait? Secretly hoping I win the #whyiwantdeluxe contest...until then I'll be reading trip reports, listening to Dis Unplugged, daydreaming for two years.

 

[SydneyDisney]

I can relate. DH and I have travelled to the world every two years from Australia for the last decade. We worked in different states and it was our happy place to be together! Now we have a baby girl we've vowed to wait until she is 4 ... Thankful to have the Dis to help me survive the wait! But think of it this way - you can start planning soon!

 

[StuCrew]

I can relate. DH and I have travelled to the world every two years from Australia for the last decade. We worked in different states and it was our happy place to be together! Now we have a baby girl we've vowed to wait until she is 4 ... Thankful to have the Dis to help me survive the wait! But think of it this way - you can start planning soon!

Well glad I'm not alone! Truthfully he's thinking three or four, but I'm optimistic the power of persuasion will help us go on the earlier side. I know it's for the best, because taking her now we would be a hot mess. It's honestly still really enjoyable to read about other trips, research, and listen to the podcast. A nice escape from work and daily craziness. We'll live vicariously, and by the time we book we will have absorbed all the Dis wisdom!

 

[Atilley]

I don't know if it would work but you could always try the "If we go before she turns three we wouldn't have to buy a ticket for her" line. But if this is a once in a lifetime trip or it would be a while before you came back I would probably just wait. We have set an every 2 years limit and I start planning within a month of getting home.

 

[StuCrew]

I don't know if it would work but you could always try the "If we go before she turns three we wouldn't have to buy a ticket for her" line. But if this is a once in a lifetime trip or it would be a while before you came back I would probably just wait. We have set an every 2 years limit and I start planning within a month of getting home.

That is a fabulous tip and I totally already tried that angle, unfortunately lol. Even though my husband loves to save money, that wasn't very compelling to him. We don't travel a whole lot and so for my husband he's ready to spend the money but wants her to maybe remember. I hope to go every couple years during her childhood and make some magical memories!

 

[Atilley]

That is a fabulous tip and I totally already tried that angle, unfortunately lol. Even though my husband loves to save money, that wasn't very compelling to him. We don't travel a whole lot and so for my husband he's ready to spend the money but wants her to maybe remember. I hope to go every couple years during her childhood and make some magical memories!

Ah well can't blame us for trying lol. When all is said and done 3 is a great age to take them. My DS was 3 (almost 5 now) when he went and I love watching his face light up as he talks about his memories. Enjoy researching and planning for now and I wish you a very magical vacation when the time comes.

 

[StuCrew]

Ah well can't blame us for trying lol. When all is said and done 3 is a great age to take them. My DS was 3 (almost 5 now) when he went and I love watching his face light up as he talks about his memories. Enjoy researching and planning for now and I wish you a very magical vacation when the time comes.

Thank you! Hope your next trip is magical as well!

 

[annadreamsofdisneyworld]

We took my daughter at 14 months and had a great time. Some of our favorite memories of her ever were watching her excitement/reactions to meeting her favorite characters. We got some photo books made after the trip, and she loves looking at them and talking about how she met Pooh/Piglet/Mickey, etc. Just because a 1 year old won't remember doesn't mean you won't remember! Maybe you could start with a shorter trip at a value resort to get your Disney fix if your husband doesn't want to go big yet.

 

[Princess Minnie321]

We also wanted to wait for our youngest to be 3. I wanted her potty trained and not napping. We are going in the fall when our kids will be 5 1/2 and almost 3 1/2. I am glad we waited since it is such a big expense. I am hoping to be able to visit every 2-3 years.

 

[Hikergirl]

Tell him you don't need to go big now, you can do a "test run" to see how it is, and then go back in a few years when she's older for your BIG trip

 

[StuCrew]

Tell him you don't need to go big now, you can do a "test run" to see how it is, and then go back in a few years when she's older for your BIG trip

That's true! Honestly, the younger she is the more important to me that we're at Contemporary when we go, which doesn't help the "smaller, inexpensive" idea, but maybe a long weekend at first and then back for a full week in a couple years. Walking back to the hotel for a nap or as a break will be KEY.

 

[StuCrew]

If we were going to do moderate or value, any recommendations with little ones with a shorter-ish commute to the hotel from MK?

 

[MalkaR]

I'm doing our first trip next year when my youngest will be four for this exact reason. I've been dying waiting. We did do a one-day trip to Disneyland when we visited my folks in CA, and it helped a bit. I've spent my time planning mock trips, reading these boards. My oldest will be 7 so I've been waiting for many years.

 

[Mousemommy1]

I will just say that DH and I were going annually for a few years prior to getting married and then for our honeymoon in 2002. We decided to take a break and start our family and then wait until the kids were "old enough" to go to Disney. We ended up returning in 2009 and our girls at the time were 3 (had just turned 3 the day before) and 5. We have been going annually since then and kept saying we wished we didn't miss all of those really early years in Disney.

We ended up having a son in 2015. He is 16 months old and has now been twice (3x if you count when I was pregnant with him, lol). His first visit was at 3 months old and then last month at 15 months old. Taking a baby to Disney is so much fun!!! And last months trip was so wonderful, watching DS take everything in.

That's a lot of rambling, but honestly, I would tell you not to wait. There's so many magical memories waiting there for you to capture.

 

[msmama]

If it makes a difference, my son was 7 and had 7 trips under his belt before we stayed at a monorail resort. I actually liked the busses a little better when he was little because he'd fall asleep on the busses just like he fell asleep in the car.

So I'd try to push him on the idea of a smaller trip now and then save the BIG trip for when she'll remember it.

 

[mm1971]

Ever since the birth of my daughter almost a year ago I've gotten back into Disney big time and really, really want to go back to WDW. I haven't been since I was a kid in the 90s. She's turns a year next month, and my husband is on board for a Disney vacay and we want to do it "big": deluxe monorail resort, dining plan. But he wants to wait until she's at least THREE! Logically, I get it. Big expense, wait until she can ride more and start to get it/remember. But how will I wait? Secretly hoping I win the #whyiwantdeluxe contest...until then I'll be reading trip reports, listening to Dis Unplugged, daydreaming for two years.

With young children, I would suggest going less expensive and saving the big trip for when DD is a little older. I know my kids loved the pool and the theming of the values when younger as much as anything. The giant decorations and many pools/kids activities were a lot of fun. Just a thought. You could take a trip for a lot less and then keep saving for the big trip. Just a thought.

We took our kids for the first time at ages 3 and 5. We didn't go deluxe until they were 9 and 11. We went up to the Moderates (POFQ has a new play area for little ones) and then to deluxe when they were old enough to appreciate it a little more.

If this is a once in a lifetime or every 5 years trip, I say wait. If you see your family going back in a reasonable amount of time (we have been more times that I can count), then I would say budget vacations now to fell the magic and go big when DD is a little older. Good luck no matter what you choose. I'm sure you'll have fun. As far as passing the time, Sorcerer Radio app for music and park information is a good option. I watch wishes, Fantasmic, Illuminations, parades, etc.... every night before bed to keep us tied over. We may also visit the Disney Store more than we should, but that's another story.

 

[rideswithchrist]

That's true! Honestly, the younger she is the more important to me that we're at Contemporary when we go, which doesn't help the "smaller, inexpensive" idea, but maybe a long weekend at first and then back for a full week in a couple years. Walking back to the hotel for a nap or as a break will be KEY.

Is that because you can ride the monorail to the parks? Because that is a BORING resort for a 4YO. My kids were not even impressed that the monorail goes through it. We stayed at Pop Century and they loved walking all around and looking at the amazing stuff and taking pictures with the "GIANT TOYS". The time spent in parks outweighs the time in the room. Plus, you have to take the monorail to the ticket center/transportation center and then get off to get to Epcot- the monorail does not run directly to there, or just take a bus.

For us, we would rather do more budget trips than 1 large expensive trip every 5 years. My almost 3 year old has barely any memory of the trip we took last year so you may find that the memories you look for are mainly for you and your husband, and then you want to go back in a year or two.

As a mom of 3, I would look for kid-themed resorts over the contemporary, mainly because as a kid, they will love the goofy themed rooms so much more than the "stylish" ones. I showed my kids the pirate room at the Caribbean, and they still wanted Pop Century.
My husband and his family stayed at the Swan and Dolphin as kids and he said he barely remembers it because it was just a normal fancy hotel to him. (That was before POP).

Honestly, if we still fit into a POP room, that is where we would stay, but we will be camping this time because the AOA is a bit out of our "Return to Disney every 18 months" budget.


I wish we would have taken our firstborn earlier, but we kept having another every 2 years and we could not afford it then, so she was 6 when she first went and loved it, but the 2YO and 4YO loved it too.

If you decide to wait- just plan a little at a time, and there is no reason not to make a countdown timer anyway

 

[buzznina]

We have been going since our 1st DD was 7 months old and our first trip we were like you and did a deluxe monorail resort, because we read all the "it is so much easier" posts. Well, we found that staying at a value or Mod and taking the buses and having a stroller was NOT even close to the "horror stories" we read. To this day I still do not understand how people say having a stroller is such a hassle Don't get me wrong, we had a great 1st trip but it wasn't because we were staying deluxe or because of the monorail. Also; we are so glad we did not wait til they got older, we have so many great memories and videos of our DDs now.

 

[happymommy]

If you don't want to wait so long, I'd say figure out a budget and go soon. We've traveled with our kids various places since they were babies. I didn't want to stop going on trips just because I had kids (although many folks seem to do so, my sister in law for one).

My son had been to Kauai, Maui, and the Big Island in 3 separate trips before he was 9 months old (but we lived on Oahu, and I also took him at 6 months old back to Missouri alone for 3 weeks to visit family & friends).

First trip for DS and DD to Disney was when they were 2 and 4. We stayed for 10 nights. It was an amazing fun trip. Two years and a couple trips later, I started sometimes taking them without my husband. A trip to Disney is such an easy vacation with kids!

I also learned that although DH and I enjoyed deluxe resorts, the kids don't really care! Now DD and I are booked again for another mom/daughter trip to Pop late August. I'm not happy with the prices of deluxe resorts (even though we've always gotten discounts), so unless I'm renting DVC or get a great deal, I'm going to stay at the less expensive resorts when I can.

My son doesn't remember a few of his first trips to Disney, but while there we had such fun times!

 

[mshanson3121]

Ever since the birth of my daughter almost a year ago I've gotten back into Disney big time and really, really want to go back to WDW. I haven't been since I was a kid in the 90s. She's turns a year next month, and my husband is on board for a Disney vacay and we want to do it "big": deluxe monorail resort, dining plan. But he wants to wait until she's at least THREE! Logically, I get it. Big expense, wait until she can ride more and start to get it/remember. But how will I wait? Secretly hoping I win the #whyiwantdeluxe contest...until then I'll be reading trip reports, listening to Dis Unplugged, daydreaming for two years.

Haha. If I had the money that I could afford a deluxe vacay, I wouldn't be waiting. I'd do a smaller scale trip now, and then another one down the road. What's the point in blowing all that money on a fancy place to sleep - she's not going to care one iota. Id' rather spend the money on two trips.