Take her....or leave her? 22 month old

[aLLpInK]

I cant believe im even asking this question, i already know how i feel i just need some reassurance i guess, or really i need some opinions on if this is a good idea or not.....

We are planning our 1st Disney trip (yay!!!!!) For this may. It will be myself, my husband, and we have 3 daughters ages (when arriving) 8, 3.5 and 22 months. While planning this vacation my mother and my husband strongly feel that we should leave our 22 month old with my mother at home and enjoy the trip with our 2 older daughters. They say it will be too hot for her and that she will be miserable and she will never miss it. Now i agree that it will be difficult with 3 kids and the age difference. I know that yes, it would be a lot easier to get around, get in and out and one less crying kid....that said I can't imagine going to DisneyWorld and not take all of them. I think that i would be thinking about her the whole time missing her not being there (yes even tho she wont remember) to me, DW is special, my husband just dont get it.

Well i just dont know what to do. One minute im trying to talk myself into thinking that we'd be doing her and us a favor letting her stay with my mom.
Is there anyone out there that has been in my shoes?

Thanks so much!!
~ Mel
(CANT WAIT FOR MY FAMILY's FIRST TRIP TO DW!!!!)

 

[SpoiledDisFam]

Personally, I would take her. My youngest was 2 1/2 for the trip in June to WDW and LOVED it. She still talks about going and goes nuts for the commercials. We also had my mother, my sisters (10 & 8), and my oldest DD (9).
Good luck with your decision.

 

[LlamaMamaof2]

It is hard to decide. We left each of our kids home when they were less than a year old. After that, they came along. My youngest had his first trip when he would have been 26 months old. He had a great time and rode everything. Yes, it is harder with the age differences so we split up sometimes and took turns going to the room with him for naps. Have a great trip!

 

[DisAmyK]

Personally, I would take her. We took our daughter for her first trip to WDW when she was 15 months and then again when she was 25 months. We will be going again with her in April when she is 2.5. She loved the rides, shows, pool etc. even when she was as little as 15 months. We do only have one other daughter, and she is 9 years older than her sister, so definitely not as young as your children. You might be surprised how much your 22 month old enjoys the trip. With that said, I would certainly go with your gut feeling.

 

[aanderson5]

Take her. Almost 2 is a great age for Disney. I actually think 3.5 is harder. LOL DS was braver on rides, napped in the stroller and was free at 2. He has had a fantastic time on all our trips (about to go on his 5th) and I couldn't imagine leaving him behind.

Another consideration is the height's of your children. Unless your 3 year old is tall there is a good chance she won't make the 40" rides and there will be things she won't be able to do that your 8 year old will. Your almost 2 and 3 year old will actually be more compatable ride wise.

She may or may not remember the trip but who cares, you will. DS remembers parts of our trip when he was 26 months and loves looking at the pictures.

I know people do it but I would never take a trip with a couple of my kids and leave one behind because they were young. But this is coming from someone who has only managed to be away from DS once, for a girls weekend, when he was almost 3 so I may not be the best judge. Good luck deciding.

 

[rparmfamily]

Without a doubt, take her. I guess I wouldn't even consider leaving her. When we vacation the whole family goes, from ages 9 to 7 months!

 

[letsgoagainsoon]

I couldn't imagine leaving one of my kids at home.

 

[BC Disney Lover]

I haven't been to WDW, but judging by our trips to DL I would say take her, especially since it's a first trip. I know at Disneyland there's so much more than rides for kids to experience, I wouldn't worry about it.
Also, I think that if your other two kids were both older and the four of you could go on rides together I might say yes. Are there many rides that the 3.5 can go on that the little one can't?

 

[Kayleebug]

My DD who is now 8 was 23 months old when we took her for the first time. It was in late May, so it was pretty hot. She had an absolute ball! We tried to teach her about Disney characters by letting her watch some Disney movies like Cinderella, Snow White, etc. She was mesmerized by the castle at the Magic Kingdom. I cried when she saw it for the first time because she was so excited to see it. The look on her face was priceless, and I wouldn't trade seeing her reaction to everything at the young age for anything. Yes, we went back to the room every afternoon to take a nap. That was something that we couldn't have done without. I would definitely take your daughter if I was you.

oh, and to the Dis!

 

[msmayor]

Unless a trip was specifically set up ONLY for my DH and I (like an anniversary trip) there is no chance I'd ever take a "family" vacation without the whole family.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Unless a trip was specifically set up ONLY for my DH and I (like an anniversary trip) there is no chance I'd ever take a "family" vacation without the whole family.

Exactly! I hate to say it but whenever this subject comes up it just boggles my mind. Why on earth would you (a general you) leave one of your kids home on a family vacation? Because it is "easier"? Really? I cannot stand that nonsense. Sorry but this is a pet peeve of mine.

OP- do whatever is best for your family but if you are looking for opinions there is no way on earth I would leave any of my kids home.

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

she is still free! take her, imo. we loved taking our little ones. seeing their joy and happiness is overwhelming.

 

[loveysbydesign]

Took our ds when he was 23 months at the end of May and he LOVED it! He's 2 1/2 now and asks to go to Mickey's house everyday! I have 2 older children as well so any rides the little guy couldn't go on we just took turns with him while the other parent took the older 2 on the ride. It was actually very enjoyable spending 20/30 minutes here or there spending one on one time with him and then with the older 2. Plus it forced us not to be so "commando" so we enjoyed ourselves more.
Tip-get a stroller fan to clip onto the stroller in case your little one falls asleep and it's hot...we got one at CVS for $5.00.

 

[stsomewhere]

I would take her. You are already going to split up. The 8yr old is going to want rides that the 3.5 won't want to do.

 

[Colleen27]

I'd take her. My kids were 11, 8, and 16mo on our most recent trip, and they all loved it. We parent-swapped the big rides and the big kids LOVED parent-swap because it let them ride everything twice, but we didn't split up nearly as much as we thought we would. The older kids just loved seeing the baby's reactions to everything! DD8 in particular wouldn't have enjoyed the trip nearly as much if we'd left the baby home with Nana; she'd have been talking/thinking the whole time about how much Katie would have loved this or that.

And DD16mo LOVED the trip! She knows "me mouse" (her word for Mickey) and friends from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and she was out of her mind excited to get to meet them. Even the Mickey balloon DH bought her was a constant source of smiles and giggles every morning! She picked up so many new words while we were there - she now says "Donald", "Goofy", "castle", "Pooh Bear", etc and at the start of Disney movies, she recognizes that castle and starts babbling about "me mouse" and Donald. Sure, the trip is a little different, a little slower paced with a baby in tow, but the memories are just so precious that I wouldn't trade it for all the commando trips in the world.

It really isn't as difficult as you might think to handle a toddler at Disney. In fact, I think it is one of the most toddler friendly places a family could ever travel - there are play areas and out of the way niches to give the little one some run time out of the stroller while the big kids are on rides, she can go on anything without a height restriction which means only a handful of attractions at each park are out (many of which your 3yo won't be big enough or old enough for anyway), and it is the most kid-friendly/baby-friendly atmosphere anywhere.

I'm not opposed to traveling with some of the kids while leaving others home when circumstance or interest dictates. With 10 years between oldest and youngest and the oldest being a boy who is into typical boy things, we do split up for some trips, do DH & DS can go camping without us girls, or the girls & I can go to Flower & Garden festival without the boys who have no interest. But I don't see the sense in leaving a toddler home from a trip to one of the few places in this world that is really enjoyable for ALL ages.

 

[KelnRon]

I wouldn't even think twice, take her! Yes, it might be easier but the memories are going to be priceless. We went last Feb. and we took my dd who turned 2 on the trip. She still talks about it and we have a million pictures that she just loves to look at! We are going again in Feb. for her 3rd birthday and I can't wait! We also will be bringing our 9 month old at the time & it will be much harder this time around but I can't imagine ever leaving her behind.

 

[lizzyb]

Without a doubt, take her. I guess I wouldn't even consider leaving her. When we vacation the whole family goes, from ages 9 to 7 months!

I agree! DS was 15mths the first time he went and it was soo easy. We are going again in 2 weeks with our newest addition and he will be 9mths. Although they wont remember much of it we will have tons of pics to remind him.

 

[robinb]

Welcome to the DIS!!!

I would take her. It's not too hot in May and you would miss her too much, especially on a very first trip. She gets in for free and she eats for free so she's not going to cost you anymore.

There are two disadvantages to taking a smaller child with two older ones. If your 3 1/2 year old is above 40 inches then she will be able to ride some of he thrill rides like Space Mountain or Splash Mountain but the 22-month old obviously cannot. You will have to "baby swap" on every ride. A baby swap is where one parent waits with the kids who are too short/scared while the other parent rides. The upside to the baby swap is that the other two kids can ride with each adult because the child swap pass is good for up to 3 people. The other disadvantage is that you will have to bring or rent a double stroller. It is very unlikely that your 3 1/2 year old will be able to walk around Walt Disney World. A few people have reported that their preschoolers can make it, but they are far and few between. I would recommend bringing your double stroller (or borrowing one) because the ones at WDW are $30 - $35 per day.

I went to WDW the first time with my DD when she was just 4-moths old. I cherish those memories and photos even though she doesn't remember a single thing.

 

[simba20]

We took our daughter at age 14 months, 20 months, 21 months, and one week after her second birthday. She remembers EVERY bit about those trips. She amazes me with the stuff she remembers.

Taking her was not a hassle and no different than packing a diaper bag to spend the afternoon at the mall (and we live 45 minutes away from the mall and big city).

We have an uncoming trip for next month (she'll be 31 months) an our real vacation in June (35 months).

Why wouldn't you take her?

 

[mckinnonlori]

she is still free! take her, imo. we loved taking our little ones. seeing their joy and happiness is overwhelming.

FREE!!!! being the key word here!