Should I take a father-son WDW visit...

[benjyt]

I'd like some input - should I take a father-son visit to WDW this summer? I have an event in Orlando on July 16, and I've thought about taking my 3 year old DS along. I'll be through on Sunday night, and thought I'd try to get a room for Monday night and enjoy a day or two at MK and/or Epcot.

We just had our second child four months ago, and my wife had to use most of her vacation time for leave - so we can't make it a full family vacation. She's not happy that she'll miss this, but she's come to terms with it...

Would my DS and I have enough time to enjoy ourselves? How is travelling alone with a 3 year old? We visited in October when he was about 30 months and my wife was about 30 weeks pregnant. We could handle him as a "team," and the resort wasn't too crowded. I'm little concerned about the heat, the crowds, etc. However, it may be some time before we have another family trip to WDW, and being that close...

What do you think?

 

[wacampbell]

I can't say enough about the special times I spent with my father (though I am a dd). Even now he and I (I am 24) still enjoy our time together just going shopping or anything. You develop a wonderful bond when you get one on one time with a child, so I would say do it! It can be tough though three year olds are handfuls, but only you really know your child. Talk to your wife about it, see what she says.

 

[DisneyDadof3]

Then nice thing is with just 2 of you - you guys can do whatever you want and pace yourself accordingly. If he starts to wear down, hit the hotel, get ice cream, watch a parade in the shade, hit Mickey's philarmagic, etc. - even if you do less, you may get more quality time. Don't forget to get a few pictures of just the two of you as well to remember the occassion.

 

[benjyt]

bump...

 

[PoohGal05]

I have to give you MAJOR props! For all of the 'Girl's Only' trips or Mother/Daughter vacations I read on this board, it is so awesome to see a father want to take his son to Disney!

If it's hot in the parks, which it will be, head back to the hotel for a nap, the pool, and a shower.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[benjyt]

Thanks for that response - I'm the Disney fanatic in our family, although my DW really enjoys WDW. I think I'm going to try to make this trip work. We have a room at the Omni/Champions Gate for Sunday night for a conference, and I'm trying to decide if I should move over to WDW for visits to the parks. It's very convenient to take WDW transportation back to the room/pool on very hot days - and, to me, there's nothing like staying on-site. Any suggestions?

 

[pezpam]

I did my first WDW Mommy-daughter trip when she was 5 and I'd recommend it to anyone.

Can you trust him (or do you have a way to safely corral him) while you're in the shower? If that question is covered, then pretty much everything else falls into place since there's no other time you'd need to leave him alone.

It's totally doable and totally worth it!

 

[DIZNUT57]

benjyt, you will have an excellent time.This is almost the exact situiation I had about. My wife was pregnant and we had a 4 year old.Us two loaded up and took off to WDW.We only stayed 3 nights but it was one of the best trips to WDW that I have ever taken.As a family we have been 7 times but this was very special. We got to see things sometimes we miss out on.My son and I are very close and this just increased that bond .I would not hesitate to go. As a matter of fact in Oct. the two of us plus my 3 year old son are taking a guys trip to WDW.Have an excellent time.

 

[momsully]

I say go for it. DH is not a Disney nut and I can usually only convince him to take one trip a year. I usually manage to sneak in a second trip with just the kids and me. Lasy year I took DS3 and DS5 for a week and had a ball. I just did a second trip alone with the boys now 4 and 6 and it was even better. I actually had to work two of the days we were there but the boys went to daycare for a few hours and I went to my meetings and it was great! Have fun!

 

[tjmw2727]

Sounds like a great idea, your dw will have some 1-1 time with the baby and you can bond with your son. If you can find suitable care for your son while your at the meetings this would be an ideal situation.

I have stayed at the Omni and its a beautiful resort with a great pool area but not what I would call kid friendly at all. That plus the fact that they only run shuttles to disney 2x in the am and 2-3x times in the evening would definately have me moving onsite if you possibly can.

I do a yearly trip as the solo adult with one or both of my dd's and as you can see by my coveted tag I love it.

If you decide to do it and want to hear more details on the pros and some of the cons, like saving a parade spot only to have your dear one have to go NOW , let me know.


TJ

 

[ilovemickeymost]

I took DD when she was 2yo. We went for a weekend. She was great on the plane. 1st night we ate dinner @ Ohana & walked on the beach from Poly to GF. The fireworks are great from there & no crowds. The next day, we did MK. And flew home the 3rd. It was a short trip, but was just enough for a little tyke. She did really well. I'm sure your DS would really enjoy some alone time w/ Daddy. We have a 4 month old & DD (12) is missing her Mommy time. If you can foot the bill, I'd try & get a savahna view @ AK. What 3 yr old wouldn't love having giraffes in their room (transport, kinda sucky) or any property w/ monorail. I say go for it. The 3 of us are leaving for a mommy & me trip in 9 days. A 12yo & 4month old & me what a group. I'm starting to think I've lost my mind. LOL

 

[tmt martins]

I do many of just ME & DD trips to the beach ,with me playing paintball out of town and aSixflags all summer.

I have a few more weeks vacation then DW so I use it to BOND with DD.

BUT be careful of the PICS DW might not want to see proff of you having fun without her.

 

[NYCDVClover2000]

I would say go for it. I wish I had time like that with my father but my father died in 1996 at the age of 48. Even though I am also a DD.

Have a great time.

 

[sif]

ABSOLUTELY, DO IT! I did a similar trip in Sept 2004 with my two sons, who were then 5 and 3. We had all gone as a family in April 2004 (incl DW and DD who was then 5 mos.). Had an oppty to take a really quick trip right after Labor Day, but DW couldn't go, so stayed home with baby. It was a GREAT trip, just the 3 of us. We still call it our "boys trip". If you can make it work, do it and you won't regret it. Enjoy.

 

[Zoemakes5]

YES, YES, and YES! That time that the two of you have alone will be the best! AND, it sends the message to your "big guy" that he's still special (in case he's feeling a bit left out with the baby around.)
My suggestions:
1-Stay onsite if at all possible. One, you don't want to suck your limited time up with transportation. You also don't want it to be out of the question going back to the hotel for nap time or down time. If money isn't a big issue, I'd stay at the Contemporary. I remember when I was young and being so excited at going through the contemporary hotel. We stayed once at the Polynesian, and I was so mad that we weren't staying at the cool hotel! The AKL sounds great too, but the Contemporary is just a hop away from MK. I don't imagine the pool will make all that much difference, as you prob. won't have a ton of time to hang out in one. And unless your DS is a good swimmer, won't matter about waterslides and stuff.
2-Make a res. to at least one character meal. For a little guy I'd probably do Donald's Breakfastasaurus or Chef Mickey's in the Contemporary hotel.
3-On the way down, or while you're at the other hotel, sit down with your DS and find out what all of his "must sees" are and see if you can come up with a plan to do those things. What we think the kids' favorite things are isn't necessarily what they are. When I was little one of my very favorite things was going over to Tom Sawyer's and getting a big pickle and PB&J from Aunt Polly's cabin. No one would have guessed that was my favorite, as I was 100% girly girl ! If he doesn't remember enough of the activities, maybe showing/using a WDW map, or prompting him with some of the activities you remember him enjoying.
4-Together come up with "rules" for the trip. I find that ones that they come up with are the best followed. For example, "bobby, what can we do to make sure Daddy doesn't get lost? What should we do if we do get lost?" Set the expectations, go over them again every morning. With only one set of hands, it might be more challenging keeping track of him. It would be very important to me that DS understand that he needs to be able to see me at all times so that I know I can see him, that he holds my hand without argument when I say it's necessary, and that he understands where to go/what to do if he gets separated.
5-When my DS's were little we went to DL and I got the boys and Daddy matching t-shirts. To this day (when it's difficult getting them to even wear the same color!) they love looking at those pictures the best of all our trips. If you're into it at all, your DS would probably walk around like a little peacock that he matched his dad. (Though, for me, it was a safety issue. The shirts I purchased were bright orange--which was great for them and their coloring anyway--and very easy to see in a crowd. Plus, if one of them got separated, I was able to hold the other up and show people exactly what they were wearing. A side benefit, there were a few rides the boys went on without the adults and I found that people automatically grouped them together and if one of them fell behind, other people would say "oh, you'd better catch up with your brother" or "wait for your brother", but only in a nice way.)
6-Make sure you spend time letting your DS look for something special for Mom and baby.
7-And it's totally "out there" but make sure you have the "stuff" needed for a WDW trip. I say that because my DH would just pick up and go and he'd come back with sunburnt kids with headaches and dehydrated and freezing because they didn't have a sweatshirt. When my eldest was 3, he would have NEEDED his lovey for any ride that required him to be brave, too. Things I always have with: A pill case that contains benadryl chewable, children's chewable tylenol or advil, tylenol and/or advil for me and pepto bysmol (I'm sure I spelled that wrong!); change for those various change eating things; sunscreen; rain ponchos; change of socks (boys love those water fountains wet feet lead big time to blisters); sweatshirt/jacket; bubbles for sitting waiting for parades; camera with extra film if it's 35mm, extra memory card if it's digital and an extra set of batteries; and a water bottle to keep them hydrated. I usually have a lot more, but those are the essentials to me.

Enjoy!!! I'm jealous!