Land and Sea vs 7 night with little kids.

[C1-10P]

Hello all,

We have been planning for a DCL trip not next March for a while now. Plans have changed along the way and I am hoping to get some confirmation or opinions on our thoughts.

It will be the four of us, dad, mom and 7 YO and 3 (turning 4 on the cruise) daughters.

First plan was a 7 night on the Fantasy, me and my wife got off a 5 night on the wonder this march and loved it, thought 5 nights was great, not too short but weren’t craving extra night by the end either. Part of that could have been because the kids weren’t with us so going home to see them was wanted too.

After some time we started thinking about doing the parks too. My little one hasn’t been to Disneyland yet (we live in socal) so thought it would be fun to try and do magic kingdom. We were also concerned about the 7 night, if for some reason my daughters didn’t enjoy it, sea sickness, fear of the ship/ocean. My oldest is a very anxious girl so sometimes gets fearful over stuff like that.

Current plan is 4 nights at the art of animation with three days at the parks then 4 nights on the wish.

Overall I like the idea of doing both, even though it is a bit more costly. But feel like we might be missing out on the full experience of the cruise and paying more to do that.

Anyone have any feedback for cruising/parks with little ones that might confirm our decision or help up decide if we should go back to a 7 night?

Thanks!

 

[Intr3pid]

For our family, a day at sea almost always trumps one in the parks, which are now too crowded and tiring to enjoy. If it was us, it would easily be just a day or two in the parks combined with a 7-nighter on the Fantasy. In that order.

That said, if you want to try out the Wish - a 4-night trip at max - you could extend your land vacation. Start with what you feel is the least exciting part of your vacation and end on the Wish.

 

[C1-10P]

For our family, a day at sea almost always trumps one in the parks, which are now too crowded and tiring to enjoy. If it was us, it would easily be just a day or two in the parks combined with a 7-nighter on the Fantasy. In that order.

That said, if you want to try out the Wish - a 4-night trip at max - you could extend your land vacation. Start with what you feel is the least exciting part of your vacation and end on the Wish.

My original thought was to do a couple days in the park then the 7 night but based on the kids spring break schedule we would have to do the parks after. And I hated the idea of going to the parks after we are all relaxed on the cruise

 

[Chemist]

A random thought about parks last.
On the cruise, everything is "free". My kids really got accustomed to snacks, drinks, etc being free.
I think it would be a rude awakening to finish in the parks where you can't have everything you see because it costs $$.

 

[Jhondy]

My opinion is usually opposite every one else but I’d rather do parks after cruise. To me the cruise is so exciting that I feel like if I did the parks first that I would not be enjoying the moment cause I’d be just too excited to get on the cruise. Plus, after the cruise I hate getting off and just going home (sometimes waiting long periods of time at airport) so I’d love to get off and go do something fun like spend some days at the parks before going home.

And if I did cruise first, parks would probably be a bit easier cause I wouldn’t need to worry about taking the kids to see all the characters again since a lot of them will be seen on the cruise already.

All that being said, I’d probably do the 7 night cruise over 4 night cruise and 4 park days. I would rather focus on enjoying either the cruise or the park and not feeling like I have to rush around to see everything for both in a short period of time.

 

[tntstults]

When my kids were little we did 7 night Disney cruises. They were perfect. I didn't want to take them to the parks because of the long lines, heat, etc. If your youngest still naps, its so convenient to go back to the room to let them nap for a little while. If you have a verandah you can enjoy it while your little one naps. Also on the cruise they can see so many characters and rarely have to wait in a line. The cruises were a perfect balance of fun and relaxation. My kids at those ages loved the kids club as well. I would highly suggest the 7 night cruise. I recall on one 7 night cruise the kids club had a Pluto's pajama party. The kids all went in their pjs, Pluto showed up and they made pluto pillow cases. What great memories!