please help me decide

[bankgirl05]

Hopefully someone will be brutally honest with me and help me decide whether or not to take my family: 13,2, 6 months to Disney over spring break. I keep having this visions of toddler melt downs and 13 year old attitudes over the necessity of taking frequent breaks, or possibly even skipping some parks. My two year old is Highly energetic, very unruly, and difficult to reason with right now, and I am honestly dreading the trip we have planned (7 nights at Wilderness Lodge) over SPRING BREAK... maybe I should postpone until October or November? Please tell me what you think...

PS. don't get me wrong, my kids are good kids, but they are not Saints in any way, well except maybe the baby...
PSS did I mention that we are going to have to drive, due to outrageous airfare that time of year??? am I really crazy?

 

[msce2]

I say as long as you have a double stroller it's doable. I highly doubt that the situation/behavior will do a dramatic turn around by Oct/Nov. Also I think it's tough to judge behavior at home vs behavior in WDW! I was terrified when my parents took my DD who was 3 at the time. She was a holy terror at home. We would always lose her in the store, she got into everything at home. She was a perfect angel for them. She was too tired to get into everything. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure there will be a tantrum or 2. But my vote is to go, have a good time.

 

[lovetoscrap]

Wow, what a difficult decision. I agree that you may want to put this one off. If you do go you will need to realize you can't go, go, go all day long. You will have to take it slow and take many breaks.

We have a Disney for Families board that I am going to move this to. I think that may be the best place for you to get some great input and ideas.

Good luck no matter what you decide!

 

[candielips]

I would totally go. Your 6 month old will be fine and I am sure as long as you take your 2 yr old back to your resort for rests in the aft. everything should work out fine. And there is plenty for your teen to do back at WL while your babies are resting. I would even get your 13 yr old here on the teen board to help get them super excited.

 

[4Ms Family]

Well, I'm about to go on trip with a 6 month old, 2 year old, and 2 almost 4 year olds but at the end of September/early October. We chose to go then because of the smaller crowds. I've been to WDW for spring break in college and it's pretty busy. Again, we didn't mind as much then, but to imagine going as a family now, I probably wouldn't do it. Not to say it's not doable either. You will be taking a lot of breaks most likely and probably only do half a day with both the baby and 2 year old needing naps. But even if you go later in the year you will have that same issue, except that the baby may be walking by then and you would have 2 toddlers to chase after. Another thing, depending on when you go, like October, it will be cheaper than at spring break. Really there's no right answer here. Either way you just have to accept that some tantrums will probably happen, and that you can't spend all day at the park or will have to at least leave for naps or breaks. You will not be able to see everything whether you go for Spring break or later in the year. And I'm sure your 13 yo will have a blast. Just have to make sure they know in advance that you will not be able to see everything. Maybe have something for 13 yo while the kids nap. Or ask what rides they want to go on for sure and make sure your 13 yo actually rides them. Gives you a chance to take a break with the babies and your teen won't feel like they missed out on too much. Good luck and have fun.

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

As far as when you should actually go, I can't answer that for you. I've done WDW with a 6mo--can't say he got a ton out of it, but we went as a family.

We have 4 kids--on our next trip (June), they'll be 14, 12, 6, and 3. It will be the little guy's third trip. Here's what worked for us:

First off, bring or rent a double stroller. In addition, if possible, work in family walks to build stamina. Believe it or not, #3 was able to walk 3 miles at age 3. She's very self-motivated, and we still brought a stroller for her, but it can be done.

Second, this is the grand plan that worked for us--plan on splitting up daily. If you're nursing, you're probably the one on the hook for the mid-day break. During the morning, collect fastpasses for the cool rides the teen wants to do. After lunch, one parent brings the younger two back for a rest. Meanwhile, the other adult brings the teen and does the high-caliber thrill rides. I recognize that this means that one adult misses some stuff. C'est la vie. What we found was our older kids were much more relaxed and inclined to enjoy, say, "Winnie the Pooh" through the eyes of their younger siblings. They knew they'd get to do "their" rides later, so were willing to cater when we were all together. I was amazed at how well this worked. Every child felt like at least some fo the activities were just for them.

Always have an exit/back-up plan in place. What we do is, we alternate--if it's "my" day, I'm the one who does diaper duty, missing the parade if the baby is screaming, etc. No worries--tomorrow is DH's day, and I know I'm off the hook.

For meals, we stick with counter service and buffets. Of course, we own DVC, which helps, but expecting young kids to sit through a long meal isn't being realistic.

I realize this isn't perfect--we get very little adult alone time. I would prefer a little more time enjoying WDW with DH. But, this is the price we pay for having 4 kids over 11 years. We enjoy each other's company in our villa.

 

[gabriellyn]

We just got back from our second trip - it was GREAT!!!! Our DS2, normally a handful, was the same handful, so nothing out of the ordinary there! Our DD13 LOVES LOVES LOVES LOVES WDW, so she never ever whines about anything while we are there. Our DS7 had a blast too - no problems. Don't underestimate the power of Disney magic on your kiddos!

 

[bankgirl05]

Oh my, THANK YOU all for your help and understanding!!! Still trying to decide, but tell me, how does the "baby swap" idea work at the bigger rides? are there small play areas and benches to wait on or am I dreaming?

 

[brockash]

Hopefully someone will be brutally honest with me and help me decide whether or not to take my family: 13,2, 6 months to Disney over spring break. I keep having this visions of toddler melt downs and 13 year old attitudes over the necessity of taking frequent breaks, or possibly even skipping some parks. My two year old is Highly energetic, very unruly, and difficult to reason with right now, and I am honestly dreading the trip we have planned (7 nights at Wilderness Lodge) over SPRING BREAK... maybe I should postpone until October or November? Please tell me what you think...

PS. don't get me wrong, my kids are good kids, but they are not Saints in any way, well except maybe the baby...

I'd go in a second, but I'm guessing you won't find too many ppl. on here that wouldn't. I say definetley have a double stroller. The only thing that would concern me would be the crowds, however when I was a kid spring break was really the only time we went, and it was fine. I'm just spoiled now

 

[brockash]

Oh my, THANK YOU all for your help and understanding!!! Still trying to decide, but tell me, how does the "baby swap" idea work at the bigger rides? are there small play areas and benches to wait on or am I dreaming?

By Splash Mountain and Thunder Mountain, there's a play area for little ones to wait with an adult. It worked great for our then 17 month old our last trip. There's the TTA next to Space Mountain, which would be nice and relaxing for the little ones and the adult when waiting for folks on Space Mountain. There are little restuarants near Soarin; and a show room that's air conditioned at the exit of Test Track. There's not much around Rockin Roller Coaster or Tower of Terror, but there are benches/bathrooms and shops that worked fine for us. There's a nice, and when we were there very uncrowded little shaded benches by the exit of Dinosaur in AK. Good luck, and I'm sure you'll have a great time if you go.

 

[bankgirl05]

sorry, but what is the "TTA next to space mountain" and are all of these areas where the actual "child swap" takes place?

 

[cbrooks45]

We decided not to take our one year old. She is going to stay with my sister. She would not remember anything and wouldnt know the difference. We will take her when she gets to be 3 or 4ish. Is there someone you can trust to leave you 6month old with?

 

[ADisneyQueen]

Is there another adult going with you? Could one of you stay with the 13 yr. old while the other takes the young ones back to the resort?

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

The first two days they'll all behave horribly and you'll be looking for the bar by the pool .

The next few days everything starts to settle down and you don't feel like screeching at everyone in public every five minutes.

The last few days everyone is feeling the Disney magic and you decide it was all worth it

 

[rlt7272]

We went thru the same thing while planning our trip (also during spring break) Ours are 12, 8, and 18 mos. We are fortunate to have grand parents on both sides that would gladly watch the baby but it did not feel right leaving him behind. In the end we decided to take him with us.

 

[bankgirl05]

oh,YES!!! my husband is going also, but we prefer to stick together, but I think it may all work out because my 13yo will enjoy the time in the afternoon by the pool to get a tan to make her friends jealous. If we decide to go that is, still tossing it around... please keep the info and suggestions coming...