Ideal trip length for kids??

[Ciyra]

Question: What do you think the perfect length of time for a WDW trip with kids is? Specifically a 3-4 year old and a 6-7 year old.

Before kids, my husband and I did 2 trips to WDW (from California) that lasted two weeks each. They were heavenly. We'd change to a new resort at the one week mark. Basically just spent 2 weeks doing parks in the morning, lazy afternoons, and then parks at night. We always joked that after kids we wouldn't come back WDW until the kids were grown up because we sure as heck weren't going to take them with us!

Well... now I'm working on talking him into doing a trip with kids because I'm seriously jonesing. But I get the feeling a leisurely 2 week trip might not be all that pleasant with littles. If it helps, we'd probably be renting 1 bedroom DVC so everyone could have a little space. And time-wise would probably be early May.

 

[sponica]

Probably depends on how well the kids travel more than anything. We did 4 park days with a 20 month old. Next year she'll be just shy of 4 and we're doing 8 park days so that we can have a more leisurely pace and enjoy the resort and the parks.

 

[MadMadamMim1]

I’d say ideally 6-7 days. Gives you enough time to do everything and also not rush.

 

[Brett Wyman]

If it helps, we'd probably be renting 1 bedroom DVC so everyone could have a little space. And time-wise would probably be early May.

Because of this a week is easily doable. We do 7 nights in a 1 bedroom with our young kids, 5 and 3 now, and they always ask to stay longer. We started going again when they were 3 and 11 months. Having the living room for them to unwind and play as they would at home makes all the difference. The kitchen and W/D help immensely too.

 

[Schneewittchen37]

It always depends.... but my kids have been doing 3 week RV road trips since they were born, so they're very comfortable travelers.... and more recently we've been staying in hotels for longer trips.
Anyway, my kids are...
Cool with stepping out of the routine.
Okay with packing limited toys.
Happy to sleep on a random bed.
Fine with eating new stuff as long as slushies are involved.

This past April, we spent 10 nights at Caribbean Beach. It was great. We had our pickup, so we did go off property a couple of times - once to visit with family and the other time to go to on an airboat ride. A long trip lets you be more chill about park days and we bought APs, so I think I've finally kicked my park commando habit.

But we were definitely ready to go home at the end of the trip. We probably could have gone a little longer in a suite with a full kitchen.

After 10 days in a 1 bedroom, 2 bath condo hotel in Hawaii with a full kitchen, lanai and washer/dryer - we wept, we weren't ready to go home....

Back to your question. I think 10 days is optimal if you take plenty of afternoon breaks and head off property every once in a while. A DVC 1 bedroom should give you access to a good pool for those afternoon breaks and the chance to have breakfast or lunch in your room if you want. Maybe you'll even be able to get a 2 bath room.

 

[Klayfish]

Yep, purely depends. The first trip we took with our kids they were 4, 1, 1. We stayed 10 days. Did a few more of those, and then over the past several years have done trips ranging from 3 days to 18 days. The only downside for the long trips were that our kids missed the dog...beyond that if my work would allow we'd rent a house for a month there if we could.

 

[Geomom]

I would do a week. I think anything less than that is too short and it would be hard to build in some downtime, and you also want a long enough trip to make it worth the flight from CA. It's up to you whether you want to do a longer trip...

 

[skippytx]

I can tell you when we did 12 nights, around night 9 they started asking if "we were ever going back to Texas". 7 to 10 days is a good trip length imo. We took it easy with mid day siesta's and a day off in the middle of the trip and they were still done on day 10. 4 full days at DLR is good for them as well. Went 5 days once and day 5 was just repeats. who wants to ride star tours for the 23rd time?

I think it's better for my kids to leave them wanting a little more than to overwhelm and burn them out. We're DVC now so we go back every 12 to 18 months or so, so a lot of the pressure to do everything is gone, because we're already planning the next trip.

 

[SG131]

If the older child is in school, the longest I would do is a week. If it's summer break 9 or 10 days is nice so you don't have to rush, but by the end you will probably be ready to head home. I did 9 days with a 4 and 7 year old and that was plenty.

 

[stephk1981]

Our first trip was 8 days with DS ( then 2.) He is now almost 11 and we have increased our trip length from anywhere from 4 or 5 days to 16 days. DD first trip was at 5 months....she is now 23 months. I find going for longer trips helps us relax more with kids. Kids are so variable until they are about 6/7 on their moods/ crankiness that you never know when you need to call it a day and be done. If the trip is longer you can have more resort time at the pool and still make your mornings and evenings leisurely in the parks. That's what we do. Have a great trip!

 

[mattbaker]

I think 7-10 days would be great, adventurous and long enough to make good memories.

 

[tinkerjo]

It depends. Are they good travelers and have you taken them to DL (since you are from Cali I figure it’s a possibility) if they are good travelers and have been to DL you probably already know their limits. I agree to make it at least 7 days so you can take your time and still have busy mornings, leisurely afternoons and go back to the parks later in the day. I would not switch resorts because the kids would just get used to one sleeping arrangement and have to switch. Staying DVC sounds wonderful, have a good trip, your kids are the best age to see Disney through their eyes

 

[SanderMC]

I have a just turned 7 year old and we do 2 weeks. We'll go to the parks for a couple of days and then have a down day and keep going like that until we leave. That works perfectly for us. For me I begin starting to relax around day 6 so I can't imagine only going for a week because I would feel like we just got there any then we are leaving.

 

[MrsSLF]

We just did a 7 night/8 day trip to WDW with our 7 year old and we both wanted additional days (my husband was ready to go home). I think that is probably the perfect amount of time for the age and we're planning another trip for January of similar length.