Taking the youngest to WDW

[tinktattoodmom]

We are going to WDW in October.....we have two DD and at time of the trip one will be 8 1/2 and the other will be 3 1/2. DH (cant decide if that is DEAR or DUMB) says that we should leave the younger one...who is our spit fire....home with grandma and grandpa.....I am not ready to do this because i know that she will enjoy the trip.....so we are on the fence....he has people telling him that she should stay and i have those telling me to take her.....since this is our first trip we do not know.....please please help.........at our local zoo she is not one to ride in a stroller however we are not at the zoo all day ....and the child trade off deal with the rides for the older child are certainly an option....that way we can both enjoy the ride with the older DD. (definately DEAR when referring to my girls!)...we are staying for 7 days.....AK....and we are entertaining the thought of changing the trip to a 3day on land and 4 day at sea cruise...

all your advice is appreciated!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[judben821]

Our DD was 3 1/2 on our last trip and she did great and had a wonderful time. She gets very excited about things and was in awe for most of the trip. She had one melt down (in MGM - that's the park that always get's me), but recovered quickly.

You know your DD best, but if it's just a question on whether a 3 1/2 is worth taking to Disney - the answer is YES!

 

[Amirah95]

I think it depends on what you want to do. With your 8 year old most likely you can ride with that child on almost anything whereas you will have to do a child swap with your DH so that everyone will have a chance to ride. I don't think it's a big deal taking him. Now, if my child was a handful and a half then I'd rethink the whole thing. I think that is why I waited to take my DD to WDW when she was 8 because I knew then she could deal with the weather and the crowds better than when she was younger. It depends on you and your child and how much you are willing to handle. Good luck!

 

[Mom to Jordan]

I would not go without the younger child. At 3 1/2, she know about WDW and to leave her home would just be wrong. If you do not want to deal with a small child at WDW, rather your DH does not, I would wait a year or two and take them both then. Good luck with your DH.

Jordan's mom

 

[mom2threeboys]

Definitely take her!! She'll love it. Like another poster said, at 3 1/2 it would be wrong to leave her home, she would understand she is missing out on the fun.

We went last year with our DS's - aged 5, 2 1/2 and 11mo. They were great and had the time of their lives! The baby didn't participate too much, but enjoyed the rides. There were only a couple of things my oldest Ds rode that the little ones couldn't. Our middle Ds (2 1/2 at the time, now 3 1/2) is still talking about meeting Buzz and Mickey, and riding Peter Pan. It was so fun we've planned a trip for late this year when our little one will be almos 3 - its just a perfect age! (we think! )

 

[Deesknee]

We took our triplets at the following ages:
3 1/2
4 1/2
6 1/2
8 1/2
9 1/2
11 1/2
13

THE best age was 3 1/2 IMO. We have 2DS and at that time 1DD. One of our sons was a handful - hyper. He was so excited (hyper) you couldn't help but get excited too! I love watching that video more than any video I own.
4 1/2 was really fun too. We have honestly enjoyed all of trips, but 3 1/2 was the best.

Just one moms opinion.

Good luck.

 

[tjmw2727]

I have been taking my kids since they were babies but since they are only 2 years apart I could not take one and not the other. It may differ with more of an age difference you know best!!

FWIW there is soooo much for a 3yo to do, my girls were 8 and 10 at Christmas and had the best time with my 3 1/2yo nephew. He was over 40" so they rode splash, btmr and TT with him and also had a blast on the fantasyland rides because "jack wanted to go". They just generally kicked back and enjoyed. They are at the age where they may or may not have wanted to meet miickey or ride peter pan but because they had "jack" and he wanted to see Mickey they loved it. My 1yo neice who had not been speaking much left the trip saying, BUZZ, ride, more, and more boat's!! LOL she LOVED our trip, never too young or too old for Disney.

Plan for some downtime each day - perhaps alternate with one parent doing a nap/resort/pool break with the toddler while the other parent takes the 8yo on the mountains, disney quest etc for some 1-1 time. Then switch the next day/evening.

My kids were great at sleeping in the stroller and hence a good fully reclining comfy stroller was a good investment. We would put them in comfy clothes, have them fed and happy for the evening and catch Fantasmic or Illuminations while they slept happily in the stroller, ahhh the days, LOL.

If you plan accordingly you can make it work with the toddler, IMHO that is what a family vacation is about and there is no better place than WDW for the family.

Have a great time
TJ

 

[tinktattoodmom]

Thank you all so much!....i agree...is it weighing on my heavy about leaving her...she LOVES the promotional DVD that disney sent us and that is why i was so torn......but reading what you wrote...i will definately convince my DH that it is worth it ...... (and i usually win)......

thank you thank you thank you thank you!
these boards have been so helpful to me.....

juls-

 

[Tinkerbellmom33]

One more to say bring her!! I brought my first Dd when she was 2 and she loved it. We were there in Nov with my youngest Dd who was 15 months and she LOVED it. She still calls Mickey and "Gooey" etc. You won't regret it.

 

[mjmcca]

My son who turned 4 in October had been the WDW 5 times. His younger sister ( she will be 3 in March)has been 4 times. The last 2 times we went were the best for them They loved the rides and the characters for the most part. Thye have both been saying for months that they want to go back. Almost every day lately DS has been saying can we go to Animal Kingdom momma? You will make great memories for your family.