Outnumbered!

[jewels1916]

We are a family of 5 thinking of taking our first trip with kids. The adults are not strangers to WDW, in fact we got married at WDW. But taking the kiddos is a whole new ball game. We have a soon to be 9 year old (who has been once at age 4), a little who will be 2.5 at the time of travel, and a baby who will be 8 mos. We are looking at the week after 4th of July.

Are we insane? How do families go with three kiddos these ages? Are rides out of the question? I need all the tips and tricks please!

Courtney

 

[disneyseniors]

We are a family of 5 thinking of taking our first trip with kids. The adults are not strangers to WDW, in fact we got married at WDW. But taking the kiddos is a whole new ball game. We have a soon to be 9 year old (who has been once at age 4), a little who will be 2.5 at the time of travel, and a baby who will be 8 mos. We are looking at the week after 4th of July.

Are we insane? How do families go with three kiddos these ages? Are rides out of the question? I need all the tips and tricks please!

Courtney

As they say in the South, "Bless your heart", lol. Not joking, I think you can do it if you really want to.
I've seen families with several young ones over the years at WDW.
However, we didn't take our 2 kids until they were 5 and 7 years old. Just a personal choice as we wanted them to be potty trained and a little older to be able to do most of the adult attractions too.
Everyone is different and I see nothing wrong with taking your little ones at this age. Sorry I can't give you more help but just another viewpoint. I'm sure you will get a lot of good advice from others who have done this

 

[hardcorestitch]

We are a family of 5 thinking of taking our first trip with kids. The adults are not strangers to WDW, in fact we got married at WDW. But taking the kiddos is a whole new ball game. We have a soon to be 9 year old (who has been once at age 4), a little who will be 2.5 at the time of travel, and a baby who will be 8 mos. We are looking at the week after 4th of July.

Are we insane? How do families go with three kiddos these ages? Are rides out of the question? I need all the tips and tricks please!

Courtney

It all boils down to accommodating some of your party members’ interests. Do what I do and script some of your attractions ahead, even without LL! You don’t have to follow the script verbatim… in fact, if you should have a breakdown or closure of any attraction, put some fallback attractions in!

 

[Genie+]

I think it’s worth considering splitting up some of the time. One parent with the 9yo, the other with the babies, and alternating parents. I’d draw up our loose plans around that.

 

[jewels1916]

I think it’s worth considering splitting up some of the time. One parent with the 9yo, the other with the babies, and alternating parents. I’d draw up our loose plans around that.

Yeah maybe we can do that. The 9yo is my stepdaughter, and would always choose to be with her dad if we are splitting up. I mean, we get along, I love her like my own (been in her life since age 2) and she loves me too. But she is definitely Daddy’s girl.

 

[Memorymakerfor4]

The first trip we took with kids was also the week after the 4th. We had a great time with nice midday breaks to nap and swim during the worst heat of the day. Our youngest was still a little small for some of the rides and Rider Swap worked really well in those instances.

With an almost 9 year old who can tolerate a little later bedtime, it could be really special to take a few nights and take them back to the parks for a few hours by themselves, each parent could take a turn. It would give you all a chance to ride things the younger kids can't do and would be some awesome one on one memories. **I was typing this as you posted above and just saw was you said, so adjust as your family needs but I still think the concept would be nice.

 

[Genie+]

Yeah maybe we can do that. The 9yo is my stepdaughter, and would always choose to be with her dad if we are splitting up. I mean, we get along, I love her like my own (been in her life since age 2) and she loves me too. But she is definitely Daddy’s girl.

Yeah then it’s probably best to stick together. It will also be a great bonding experience for everyone

 

[HopperFan]

I went with 9 year old, 4 year old, 4 mo old ...... and went again with the baby at 11 month, 14 month .... They really are the most flexible of all of us, especially if they will sleep in the stroller.

There is PLENTY to do for all of you and since there was less the trip was very much less pressure. I would consider what your 9 year old might want to do the littles can't and perhaps switch off taking them on more rides.

Here is the height list ~ plenty to do.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/faq/parks/height-requirements/


Note back when the youngest was under 3, we would go to the room and "rest" ... hopefully she slept (as did Dad no problem) and the other two would "rest" and I usually wandered hotel, took pictures and got us ready for round two.

 

[jewels1916]

I went with 9 year old, 4 year old, 4 mo old ...... and went again with the baby at 11 month, 14 month .... They really are the most flexible of all of us, especially if they will sleep in the stroller.

There is PLENTY to do for all of you and since there was less the trip was very much less pressure. I would consider what your 9 year old might want to do the littles can't and perhaps switch off taking them on more rides.

Here is the height list ~ plenty to do.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/faq/parks/height-requirements/


Note back when the youngest was under 3, we would go to the room and "rest" ... hopefully she slept (as did Dad no problem) and the other two would "rest" and I usually wandered hotel, took pictures and got us ready for round two.

I guess I’m wondering what rides I can hold the baby on with one of the other kids sitting next to me.

 

[Cupcakesmum]

We did our first trip with a 10 month old, 2 (almost 3) year old, 4 year old and 6 year old. We had a BLAST. We took 2 double strollers (I would suggest one for you). So many of the rides are baby friendly and a lot of the rides work for a row of 3.

When the baby and/or toddler are napping in the stroller you can knock off some of the older kid rides. This is totally doable!

 

[LuvOrlando]

Sure it is doable, only thought is does it need to be July? I went in hot weather when my DS was very little and the heat of having the baby on top of me as I moved around with high humidity so I couldn't cool down nearly made me faint more than once. Any chance for a cooler month? Although, maybe you are from a very hot state so you are used to it and it won't be a bother.

If you can afford it then the monorail hotels are the most baby & toddler friendly for MK visits.

 

[Nicnicnic.nic]

You can Google height requirements for all rides at each park and if it says no height requirement then you can have baby on lap plus kid next to you. There's a lot at MK. Plus don't forget about all the shows

 

[jewels1916]

Sure it is doable, only thought is does it need to be July? I went in hot weather when my DS was very little and the heat of having the baby on top of me as I moved around with high humidity so I couldn't cool down nearly made me faint more than once. Any chance for a cooler month? Although, maybe you are from a very hot state so you are used to it and it won't be a bother.

If you can afford it then the monorail hotels are the most baby & toddler friendly for MK visits.

July isn’t my first choice, but with the 9 year old we have to work around the school schedule, and I’m trying to squeeze this in before the two year old turns 3 and has to have a ticket. We are from Texas, but the Florida humidity is a different entirely. My original plan had been for last December, but when our surprise baby came around that went out the window. I have until October to get my little there for free.

 

[Rory607]

It’s definitely do-able with realistic expectations. There are plenty of things you can ride with everyone. We’ve taken kids at all ages and every trip is different depending on ages and interests. I agree that the heat will be bad. Do not mess around with it, especially with the baby. Talk to your pediatrician about appropriate sunscreen and the best ways to keep an infant hydrated. I would plan to get going early, then take an afternoon break. There are plenty of rides and attractions that are air conditioned as well.

Not sure if you would drive or fly, but the first time we went with a toddler and baby, I placed an Amazon order for diapers, wipes, snacks, etc. to be delivered to the resort so we could packer lighter for the flight.

 

[Nicnicnic.nic]

Also just FYI about baby centers are in each park. Good for AC breaks plus diapers and feeding