Parents who brought young children - advise

[fredms]

Okay - here's the question. I'd like to take my four fantastic neices and nephews (and my sister) on the Disney Cruise. There father is very thrifty (CHEAP) and will probably not take them himself (he hasn't even taken my sister on a honeymoon - nine years later!)

I've gotten adjoining secret porthole rooms for a very good price thanks to DU.

Gabrielle will be 6, Sam/Sarah - 4 and lil' Mickey 1. Are the three big kids too young to enjoy it? What do you think? Should I wait another year? Its just that I don't think I can wait as I am so excited to take them. Any thoughts/recommendations are much appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[shelly3girls]

We had a wonderful cruise when traveling with DD's 4 and 2. We did the 4 day and had a blast. DD(4) loved the kids club, DD(2) made out well in the Flounder's but was old enough to realize what she was missing out on. I really think it depends on what you are looking for. You will be limited to the amount of time the younger can spend in Flounder's. You will also be limited to the excursions you can take as many of them prohibit children under age 5. If the youngest is not potty trained at the time of sailing she will not be permitted in the pool.
We decided that it would have been difficult to cruise on the 7-day. So many days at sea if she couldn't go in the pool.
We decided not to cruise again until our youngest was potty-trained and preferably atleast 3. But that said we still had a magical vacation that we would not have given up for the world! I think I would rather do a land/sea with a young toddler.

 

[manchurianbrownbear]

We were on the 11/6 3-Day Wonder and our kids all loved it! They never wanted to leave the clubs and there are so many opportunities to see characters on board.

They may enjoy it more in a year or two, but I'm sure they'd have a lot of fun right now too!

Incidentally, we were in adjoining SPH rooms (5022, 5024) and it was really nice to be able to let the kids spread out in two rooms!

 

[Alex]

I may be a little off topic here... but I see the question "what is the right age to bring my child to disney" so often. The cruise is the same way. My feeling is EVERY age is a good age to go..as long as you have reasonable expectations. Every age offers something different

 

[axsimpson]

Dont wait, take them as soon as you can. They have activities for all ages. We just got back from the 7 day with a 2 year old and had a blast.
Take advantage of the special and have a great time.
Arlene

 

[ChattyKathy]

Personally my vote is to wait a year or two.....you seem to be cautious about going with realizing that they are young.... Your obviously excited too .. I would wait it out another year or two...


Good Luck!



Kathy

 

[aprilgail2]

They are not to young! I took my daughter when she was 2 1/2 and she had a blast! We had such a good time together on that cruise....we are going again in May and she will be 4 and I know she will have just as good of a time then.

 

[lbgraves]

We just took DD 3 & DS 5 on the Magic for our first cruise. They both LOVED it & are still talking about it a month later. They want to go back right away. We were going to wait 2 years but have decided to go again next fall. We went to MK for the first time the Thursday before the cruise. Now IMO that was more work than the cruise. DD stayed with us most of the time but DS went to the club whenever he could. Also, they have made one of the Mickey ears for the non potty trained kids so Mickey could still have fun while the bigs kids played in the rest of the pool. Don't wait!!!

 

[takemeaway]

The older children will definitely have a good time on the cruise. AS for the 1 year old, I think you might want to wait a year or two with him. Personally, I would not want to take a 1 year old on a cruise...for more my sanity than his.

 

[RKB]

I would wait until they are a bit older - this also gives you more time to look forward to the trip! My DH and I took our three kids on the 4 day Wonder they were ages 8 1/2. 13 1/2 and 4. The older kids had fun and participated in the clubs and went on excursions. The four year old is very shy and would not go into the club. Daddy stayed with him while I took the older kids out. At Castaway Cay we took all of the kids out and spotted a hermit crab right away. I picked it up to show the four year old and he screamed loud enough for the whole island to hear. He freaked out and had to go back to the boat. He would have been happier going to our local zoo for the day. He was too young and timid to enjoy the cruise and he hampered the enjoyment of the rest of us as well! I won't take him again until he is probably 8 and can swim well!! I guess look at the child's temperment and how well they enjoy preschool and new activities.

 

[fredms]

Thanks for all the info. I am going to discuss with my sister tonight!

 

[videoman]

Live for today! Go for it...Making memories is what life is all about!!

 

[HooKooDooKu]

Go for it!

A 6 year old will remember the trip for the rest of her life.
A 4 year old will propably remember bits and pieces.
A 1 year old will not be able to remember a thing.

But the real key is that you want to take this trip and you want to take it with THEM!


Back in September, we took a long hike to the top of Mt. LeConte in the Smokie Mountains to a rustic lodge accessable by trail only.
We took our one year old son with us, carrying him in a back-pack infant carrier. Someone asked why we bothered to take the one year old because he wouldn't remember a thing about the trip. We took him because we wanted to go on this trip, and go as a family.

 

[jfis1020]

DS 10 loved everything! especially the lab

DS6 loved it as well......wanted to know why we were picking him up at 12:45 a.m. He didn't want to leave the clubs!

DD4 didn't want to leave the clubs as well. When she got tired, she took a nap right there!

I wanted to be with the kids more, but they were having fun doing their own thing...............we started doing our own thing and everyone was happy!

 

[Dreamer04]

Hi! The 6 year old and 4 year old will love it. The baby will have a ball, too. Don't wait. If you can afford it, treat your sister like a queen and her kids like princesses and a prince! You won't regret a thing.

 

[westjones]

As an 'aunt', you may want to wait a little longer. Taking care of very young kids is VERY tiring. Have you ever cared for this many young children for several days at a time (or were you thinking of bring your sister along too?).

As a parent, I got used to the demands of my twins (and I only had 2 to look after). But my sister who doesn't have any children would get tired out from them in just a few hours.

It is your vacation too, so just be prepared for what will be involved. As a parent, I would go with my kids at this age in an instant! As an 'aunt' taking on a new responsibility of looking after a group of 4 young kids----well I would wait until they were older.

It really gets down what you want from this trip.
DJ