Looking for experienced parent reviews

[StitchBuddy]

We had a 4 and a 6 year old the first time we went. They both used the stroller. I think the six year old needed it more than the 4 year old.

 

[MandiC]

OK…. You didn’t specify this choice and I fully expect a torrent of nasty replies to what I’m going to say. But, it is the way we ran our 4 kids through WDW and DL. We have made the first visit to Disney a rite-of-passage for our kids. Once you could ride the majority of the rides (~42” height), you could go on a Disney trip. Since we only went every 2 or 3 years and our kids are separated by 5 years, there was only one trip where the younger child would not go to Disney while the older siblings went. The younger child would spend a week with Grandma and Grandpa (always held in high regard as the better vacation by the younger kids). Waiting until the kids were at least 5 or 6 cut out the whole stroller and diaper routine while having the kids be old enough to really get into the entertainment and history behind the base story, book/movie of the rides and each of the “lands”.

We never put off a trip due to age. We just didn’t take the real little ones on that specific trip. We have always been fortunate to have a strong family support group where we live and our kids thoroughly love spending time on Grandpa’s farm. So, it was never viewed as a loss for the littlest one.

Now….fire away……

We are the same. We left our younger two at home and brought our older two. Unless you have a tall child, a 3.5 year old will likely not be the magical 40", so if I *had* to chose between the ages I'd pick the younger ages for the sole fact that the little one would be free anyways.

 

[cyneswith]

DH shot down either option, as he thinks traveling to WDW with young children sounds horrible. So... we're going with his original plan. At age 6, the same sex parent takes a kid to WDW for a short trip...

...And because I'm the most spoiled person in the world, my mom is going with me, a 3.5 year old, and a 14-15 month old.

Now to try to stop obsessing about a trip that's ~21 months away.

 

[MommyMK]

DH shot down either option, as he thinks traveling to WDW with young children sounds horrible. So... we're going with his original plan. At age 6, the same sex parent takes a kid to WDW for a short trip... ...And because I'm the most spoiled person in the world, my mom is going with me, a 3.5 year old, and a 14-15 month old. Now to try to stop obsessing about a trip that's ~21 months away.

That's funny to me that he feels that way since WDW is by far the easiest and most kid friendly place I have traveled with my children and we travel often!!

 

[theyoungs07]

I agree with the PP. We go to WDW because it is the easiest vacation for us right now. The last time we were there we had 7 kids and the youngest was 6 months. If you can go during non-peak you can do what you want at your pace. I feel the way the OPs husband feels but instead for vacations to the beach, or Yellowstone type vacations. In April, I'll have kids age 13, 12, 10, 8, 7, 5, 2, and a six month old at the parks and they will ALL find things they enjoy...and so will we. It's all about attitude and whether you have kids that are trained not to wander.

I wasn't sold until the first time we went as a family in 2008, now I wish we could go every year

 

[puffkin]

That's funny to me that he feels that way since WDW is by far the easiest and most kid friendly place I have traveled with my children and we travel often!!

Us too!!!! We travel with the kids fairly often and WDW is by far the easiest!

 

[MandiC]

I think the new plan sounds like a win-win You still get to bring them, and dh doesn't have to deal with little ones. I would encourage you to actually wait even longer if the one trip at 6 (each) is the only trip they will get (after the one with you and your mom of course).
My younger daughter wasn't 48 inches until she was almost 8, she was just barely there when we went 2 months before her 8th birthday. Once they are 48 inches they are tall enough for pretty much everything (apart from a slide or two at the waterparks) plus there is a pretty decent maturity difference between 6 and 7/8. Able to go longer periods without being cranky, able to wait on food or potty breaks if necessary, ect.
I'm not opposed to bringing young kids, I just know for us we aren't going often so to make the most of it we don't bring the little ones (though if I was offered a free trip with all 4 kids tomorrow I'd do it )

 

[cyneswith]

I didn't quote most of you because you said the same thing - I don't get it either. Once I pointed out to him that our 17 month old did just fine in Jamaica, which is why I like the idea of an even more kid-friendly vacation, he lamented not having more vacation time in a year.

I think the new plan sounds like a win-win You still get to bring them, and dh doesn't have to deal with little ones. I would encourage you to actually wait even longer if the one trip at 6 (each) is the only trip they will get (after the one with you and your mom of course).
My younger daughter wasn't 48 inches until she was almost 8, she was just barely there when we went 2 months before her 8th birthday. Once they are 48 inches they are tall enough for pretty much everything (apart from a slide or two at the waterparks) plus there is a pretty decent maturity difference between 6 and 7/8. Able to go longer periods without being cranky, able to wait on food or potty breaks if necessary, ect.
I'm not opposed to bringing young kids, I just know for us we aren't going often so to make the most of it we don't bring the little ones (though if I was offered a free trip with all 4 kids tomorrow I'd do it )

We DO plan on (depending how many kids we have) either taking them all when number 3 is 6 and/or taking them all at some other undefined date in the future. *I* want to see their reactions while they are still into Disney. I was 10 before I went - too old to care about Magic Kingdom (and too young to not care about that - "the age of not believing") or meeting characters. DH is anti-Santa, Easter Bunny, etc., so I don't imagine he cares about seeing our kids "meet" a fictional character they adore.

 

[theyoungs07]

Heh, I'm anti-Santa and the Easter bunny, but that is because they detract from the true meaning of the holidays. I LOVE fantasy and my children's imaginations run wild though. I can't say that we have stressed meeting characters, but we do character dinners.

I completely understand your DH's concerns, I say no to a lot of things because I think that dragging our kids to it would be a horrendous ordeal. I've just found through my experience that this place is set up so that makes it completely do-able, even for a large family like mine. I'm not sure how I got over that for our first trip, but I'm glad that I did.

Any chance to go to Disney is a blessing, enjoy it however you get to.

 

[cyneswith]

He sees it as not lying to the kids. Which I'm fine with. But I feel by that same token he'd probably find it necessary to explain "That's not really Mickey. It's a person in a costume."

 

[bdoyledimou]

we have gone every 2 yeas since my oldest was in the womb.
we now have a 17 year old and a 15 year old and every trip has been a very different experience -- and all of them wonderful.

The magic changes for them as they age up -- they see new things, they notice the differences , or see something they never notice before as they mature.
And we , the parents are experiencing new through them as well -- reliving the magic in a new and different way each time.

 

[Lupeix]

I would go with 5 and 2.5. It is nice to go at least once when they still "believe" in the Disney magic. It is amazing to go when they still think Mickey is the real thing, and by 6 they may not.
Bonus is the 2.5 will be free.
Potty training is a consideration though, do not go in the middle of potty training. Either have diapers or don't. In WDW bathrooms can sometimes be a walk away, and lines are sometimes long, which is a recipe for an accident for a potty newbie. I honestly think it is easier to go with a kid in diapers than with a toddler that has to go every 2 hours.

 

[theyoungs07]

I would go with 5 and 2.5. It is nice to go at least once when they still "believe" in the Disney magic. It is amazing to go when they still think Mickey is the real thing, and by 6 they may not.
Bonus is the 2.5 will be free.
Potty training is a consideration though, do not go in the middle of potty training. Either have diapers or don't. In WDW bathrooms can sometimes be a walk away, and lines are sometimes long, which is a recipe for an accident for a potty newbie. I honestly think it is easier to go with a kid in diapers than with a toddler that has to go every 2 hours.

Plus almost all of their bathrooms have the automatic flushers...which are the scariest ride in all of WDW for potty training kids!

 

[Lupeix]

Plus almost all of their bathrooms have the automatic flushers...which are the scariest ride in all of WDW for potty training kids!

The still scare my almost 4 yo! I am glad I have a boy so for the most part he does not need to sit down in public restrooms.
I heard kindergarten teachers are having problems with automatic flushing toilets!

 

[mylittlebuttercup]

OK…. You didn’t specify this choice and I fully expect a torrent of nasty replies to what I’m going to say. But, it is the way we ran our 4 kids through WDW and DL. We have made the first visit to Disney a rite-of-passage for our kids. Once you could ride the majority of the rides (~42” height), you could go on a Disney trip. Since we only went every 2 or 3 years and our kids are separated by 5 years, there was only one trip where the younger child would not go to Disney while the older siblings went. The younger child would spend a week with Grandma and Grandpa (always held in high regard as the better vacation by the younger kids). Waiting until the kids were at least 5 or 6 cut out the whole stroller and diaper routine while having the kids be old enough to really get into the entertainment and history behind the base story, book/movie of the rides and each of the “lands”.

We never put off a trip due to age. We just didn’t take the real little ones on that specific trip. We have always been fortunate to have a strong family support group where we live and our kids thoroughly love spending time on Grandpa’s farm. So, it was never viewed as a loss for the littlest one.

Now….fire away……

I am not going to offer a nasty reply, but I just wanted to offer an opposite perspective to this for the OP. We took our first at 17 months and had a great time. I didn't find the stroller or diaper routine to be a hassle, and even though he didn't understand the storylines and wasn't tall enough to ride the thrill rides, we still had a fabulous time. He especially loved all of the characters, the Seas at Epcot, and the snow at the Christmas party, but he enjoyed everything else as well. So I am of the mindset that earlier is better, especially because your 2.5 yo is free at Disney. I have been going to Disney since I was a child, and this was probably my favorite trip.

 

[sandybeach14]

My kids were in a double stroller this summer for the night time walk back to the resort. Ages 7 and 4.5. After a long day we still need the stroller.

I think 2.5 is not too young. They really think it's all real. That makes it even more magical.

 

[JoAnna525]

I've taken my son at 22 months and 34 months, and both trips were outstanding (his park admission being free both times certainly helped, LOL). His tastes developed so much over the year between our trips, so it made the two experiences entirely different, but both were so much fun. We are taking him again for his fourth birthday in December 2015, and I expect that will outstanding as well.

 

[Marthasor]

I have taken my DS about 20 times since he turned 1 (he is now 7) and, the older he gets, the more enjoyable the trips become. If I had to choose between 2.5 and 3.5, I would choose 3.5

 

[chrissyb2411]

We went the first time when's DS was a couple months shy of 3, the second time he was 5 1/2, and dd was just 2. Both were fantastic. At 2 ish they are really amazed by everything. At 5 1/2 ds could ride almost all the rides (he was somewhat tall though). With the 2 kids we had just our one stroller. It easily accommodated ds when he needed a bread, and I always kept a sling or carrier on hand for dd. I remember strolling through Epcot with a snoozing boy in the stroller and a snoring toddler on my back. It was perfect.

 

[happymommy]

Go as soon as you can. You never know when life is going to get in the way and make a planned trip impossible. Go when you can go, and if you want to go later, go back.

I totally agree! Otherwise, where would you vacation? No where is as magical (and easy) as Disney! Life is short.