One touring plan or separate plans when going w/3 and 6 yr old?

[jpell123]

I'll be going to WDW for the first time since I was a little kid this November for 2 - 2 1/2 days with my DW, DD(3.5), and DD(6). Our 2 girls are both big Disney princess fans, but our oldest is also an adrenaline junkie and loves to go on the "big kid" rides.

For those parents with 2 or more younger children, did you split up for chunks of the day to go on rides? Our oldest is 46" tall now, so for the most part, height minimums won't be a problem for her. However, our youngest is 38" tall, so I doubt she'll be 40" tall by the time of our trip in Nov. I'm wondering if we're going to need 2 touring plans, since I know my oldest will want to go on a number of rides that her sister can't. We plan to hit AK one day (Sun) and MK for one day (Mon and possibly an additional half-day on Tues).

 

[Minnie824]

By 2 touring plans, do you mean, one of you w/DD6 and one w/DD3? We went last year with our DDs then aged 4 and 1.5, going again this year, they'll be ages 5 and 2.5. My 4yo last year was able to go on all the 40" rides and loved them. DH & I just took turns with her. While the younger one was waiting, we got her a snack, or walked around in the stores. She had no problem waiting at all. There are much more rides that you'll all be able to go on. For example, at MK, maybe go on Pirates (all of you) then head over to the Mtns, and your younger one can walk around there. You mentioned you're going in Nov. We did as well. There were NO lines. DD4 and I had our own log on Splash Mtn and the wait was as long as it took you to get to the boats. I'm sure you'll be fine as long as your younger one can go on a ride every other ride, or something like that.

 

[jpell123]

Yes, I meant one parent with each child. Our youngest is very energetic, so while she might be OK waiting for maybe one or two rides, I don't think that plan would work for the whole day. Maybe we can try to make a mixed touring plan where we figure out what attractions we'll do as a family, and then my wife and I can take turns doing separate things with them when our oldest goes on a "big kid" ride.

 

[QueueCT]

I would recommend split up/meet up days. So, first thing in the morning, split up in the park so that your oldest can get on the "big" rides before the crowds get too bad and agree on a meeting time to grab a snack and hit some family rides. Repeat as necessary during the day so that everyone gets a chance to do what they like. I've found that the two way radios work well as long as you're in the same park.

Do remember, though, that it's a family vacation and everyone has to be flexible. Your oldest will have to put up with some of the "boring" rides as well. Good luck.

 

[3princesses+aprince]

I don't think you would need 2 touring plans. We went last year with our 4 kids, then 8, 5, 3, and 1. Big age dif. from the first and fourth child. We all stayed together and did just fine. Being in Disney was good enough for them anyway, but if one went on a ride the other one couldn't we would just split up for 1 ride, this way everyone got what they wanted and we stayed together. I know i cant' wait for my Disney vacation for all of us to just be together. And most of the rides are for everyone. Especially MK(fantasyland)
Have Fun

 

[bartleby1]

We never officially split up. Sometimes we were able to do the "bigger" rides when/if the younger one fell asleep. Or, usually we could find a ride for the younger one that was fairly close to the ride that our oldest wanted to do. We used fastpass for most of the bigger rides, so the little one really didn't have that much time to kill anyway. HTH!