Tell me about a quick trip with kids

[NJlauren]

I love quick trips, (my personal shortest was 5am flight down, 9pm fight home same day) but usually when I’m taking my kids I try for at least 4 park days and hopefully a rest day.

However my husband is suggesting a quick 3 day trip, fly in Thursday have all day Friday and Saturday and most of Sunday before we head home.

This will be in early May, so before school ends but it’s a weekend. Am I totally insane to even consider this? We also have a 6/7 night trip on the table but it would be August and I’m not sure I want to deal with the heat again this year.

Talk to me about your experience with a short trip with kids (mine are 4/8). Pros cons?

 

[katied]

We‘ve done them and had fun… but it is exhausting. Since we go every year, it’s not about doing everything, but picking your highlights. I remind the kids, we will be back. I would much prefer a quick trip in May over August heat too.

 

[hsmamato2]

depends on how old the kids are IMHO. If they're older tween/teen,sure. Younger than that,I wouldn't want to do that.

 

[pinkxray]

We have done it. Most of the times it is to do a RunDisney weekend. Our last short trip was for Marathon weekend 2020. Kids were 15,5 and 3. We flew in Thursday, hit the expo, dinner at Beaches and Cream. Would have hit SAB but DD dint feel well that night.

Fri spent the day Hollywood studios. I ran the half marathon Sat, then we hit MK all day. Flew home Sunday. We had an awesome time. I would absolutely do it again and have tried to recreate it again but haven’t been able to since COvid slashed flight times. We always had early flights available from Hartford to Orlando and those kind of disappeared.

 

[Castlequeen5]

I do these all the time with Halloween and Christmas parties! But it’s the same idea. When incorporating a party ticket, I’d only get a 1-2 day ticket. One year we had APs. We usually fly on Friday. Do parks on Saturday and Sunday. Go home on Monday. But most of the time, we stay 4 nights and go home on Tuesday. Since we’ve done this multiple times, my children were various ages. But none were under 5 at the time.

 

[Marthasor]

I've done 2-night trips with my DS. It's usually with some very set goals in mind - a holiday party, an Epcot concert of an artist we like, a nighttime show we haven't seen yet, etc. As long as you know you won't do and see everything, they can be fun.

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

We've done it exactly once and we said never again. It's hectic and rushed and even on your non park day, it's not relaxing.

 

[flowergleam1211]

Our family has twice traveled to WDW and each trip spanned three full days, arriving in the late afternoon on day 1 and departing in the morning on day 5. We do two park days (not on a weekend) and one resort day and while I personally would love another full day, this amount of time has worked very well for us!

Pro's: My twin kids are 5 years old. Since the kids don't have all of their toys/arts supplies, feeding them is more of a challenge without a kitchen, and everyone is just more tired than usual due to the parks and excitement, I find the child care in another location to be challenging as time goes on. My kids enjoy the parks but they also can find it stimulating and overwhelming, and I try to respect their limits. My husband is still not a WDW convert, so I respect his limits as well. So for my family, it's good to leave the party when we're still having fun!

Con's: I am hopeful that we will return to WDW soon enough, but if you think that this is your one and done trip, you can't comfort the kids with the idea that you will return again one day. A quick trip also wouldn't feel great if you have to travel a long way (our flight time is only three hours, so the ratio of travel to vacation time isn't too bad. The trip length also doesn't provide a lot of wiggle room when life happens, such as if someone gets sick or if the itinerary changes up considerably due to flight delays.

 

[sponica]

Until recently most of our trips have been 3 or 4 park days, while it is doable, I'd be reluctant to do it during the school year. Just because your older kid would be WIPED when you got back.

 

[NJlauren]

First thank you everyone for your insights! I am leaning towards doing it and maybe trying to convince my husband we need to miss 2 school days for 4 days…. I also have a possible Tron trip on my radar… my older daughter is dying to ride it!!

We‘ve done them and had fun… but it is exhausting. Since we go every year, it’s not about doing everything, but picking your highlights. I remind the kids, we will be back. I would much prefer a quick trip in May over August heat too.

I should have added we went this August as a family, and I’m taking each kid this year for varying lengths of time. So it’s not like they haven’t been or aren’t going to go again. However we may skip a big trip in 23 and 24 so they might not get the big long trip anytime soon. This is a way to get our fill, we may have a problem.

We have done it. Most of the times it is to do a RunDisney weekend. Our last short trip was for Marathon weekend 2020. Kids were 15,5 and 3. We flew in Thursday, hit the expo, dinner at Beaches and Cream. Would have hit SAB but DD dint feel well that night.

Fri spent the day Hollywood studios. I ran the half marathon Sat, then we hit MK all day. Flew home Sunday. We had an awesome time. I would absolutely do it again and have tried to recreate it again but haven’t been able to since COvid slashed flight times. We always had early flights available from Hartford to Orlando and those kind of disappeared.

Great point we did do a race weekend in Feb 2020 but it was a tad longer then this, but not much.

I do these all the time with Halloween and Christmas parties! But it’s the same idea. When incorporating a party ticket, I’d only get a 1-2 day ticket. One year we had APs. We usually fly on Friday. Do parks on Saturday and Sunday. Go home on Monday. But most of the time, we stay 4 nights and go home on Tuesday. Since we’ve done this multiple times, my children were various ages. But none were under 5 at the time.

Oh I love that idea for parties in the future how fun!!

I've done 2-night trips with my DS. It's usually with some very set goals in mind - a holiday party, an Epcot concert of an artist we like, a nighttime show we haven't seen yet, etc. As long as you know you won't do and see everything, they can be fun.

Ah I may be creating a monster in myself I would love to do a quick trip for a concert! The Broadway shows are always on my radar!

We've done it exactly once and we said never again. It's hectic and rushed and even on your non park day, it's not relaxing.

Oh it def would not be relaxing at all in any way.

Our family has twice traveled to WDW and each trip spanned three full days, arriving in the late afternoon on day 1 and departing in the morning on day 5. We do two park days (not on a weekend) and one resort day and while I personally would love another full day, this amount of time has worked very well for us!

Pro's: My twin kids are 5 years old. Since the kids don't have all of their toys/arts supplies, feeding them is more of a challenge without a kitchen, and everyone is just more tired than usual due to the parks and excitement, I find the child care in another location to be challenging as time goes on. My kids enjoy the parks but they also can find it stimulating and overwhelming, and I try to respect their limits. My husband is still not a WDW convert, so I respect his limits as well. So for my family, it's good to leave the party when we're still having fun!

Con's: I am hopeful that we will return to WDW soon enough, but if you think that this is your one and done trip, you can't comfort the kids with the idea that you will return again one day. A quick trip also wouldn't feel great if you have to travel a long way (our flight time is only three hours, so the ratio of travel to vacation time isn't too bad. The trip length also doesn't provide a lot of wiggle room when life happens, such as if someone gets sick or if the itinerary changes up considerably due to flight delays.

We are lucky we are only 2.5 hour fight a bit shorter actually so that’s good. My kids overall are pretty good travelers and I would need to fly solo with them going. These are great points!

Until recently most of our trips have been 3 or 4 park days, while it is doable, I'd be reluctant to do it during the school year. Just because your older kid would be WIPED when you got back.

Yeah that is a concern for sure, she could be really exhausted after the few days. I mean I will probably be dead too!!!

 

[Ensusieasm]

I love quick trips, (my personal shortest was 5am flight down, 9pm fight home same day) but usually when I’m taking my kids I try for at least 4 park days and hopefully a rest day.

However my husband is suggesting a quick 3 day trip, fly in Thursday have all day Friday and Saturday and most of Sunday before we head home.

This will be in early May, so before school ends but it’s a weekend. Am I totally insane to even consider this? We also have a 6/7 night trip on the table but it would be August and I’m not sure I want to deal with the heat again this year.

Talk to me about your experience with a short trip with kids (mine are 4/8). Pros cons?

It will be surprisingly hot in May

 

[NJlauren]

It will be surprisingly hot in May

Fair, but not as hot in August!

 

[MamaMermaid]

Almost all of our trips are quick. We live about 2.5 hours away so we usually just go up for the weekend and always have a blast! We are at an advantage, though, because we go often so skipping rides/parks/etc isn't a huge issue.