To take or not to take

[Goofyta]

I keep going round and round with this in my mind.

We are going next summer for either 4 or 5 nights, haven't decided yet. We have a (will be at the time of visit) 10 and 8 year old (both boys) and a 2 1/2 (dd) year old. I can't decide if I should leave the 2 1/2 yr old at home and just take my oldest 2. I know it is going to boil down to what we feel is right for our family.

There is sucha big age difference when it comes to the attractions, so I am not sure if it is going to work out. I know the boys aren't going to want to do the babyish things and my dd is not going to be able to do a lot of the rides the boys are going to want to do.

Part of me wants to leave her (2 1/2) at home and take her back in 3 or 5 years and the other part of me feels real guilty for leaving her behind.

How do you guys handle the big age differences if you have older children and babies?

Thanks!

 

[beattyfamily]

I would bring the little one. That's such a magical age!

I would do parent swap on the big rides and sometimes separate and take the little one on the babyish rides and the other parent take the big kids to the big rides.

To each their own, but I'd definitely, without hesitation, take the little one, but that's just me.

 

[kldmom2000]

In December, we took our 2 girls.... my younger one had just turned 2 and she LOVED it... the look on her face when she met the characters was absolutely priceless!!! She enjoyed herself so much (my 4 yr old DD hated it.....) It was hard not being able to do the types of attractions/rides that my DH had grown accustomed to doing in our pre-baby days, but it was the most memorable trip by far. Good luck w/ your decision!

 

[Deesknee]

We just returned from a 7night trip. OUr family consists of this DS14,DS14,DD14,DD22months, as well as DH & myself. We had a great time. As the previous poster stated baby swap is a great option. I would wait with baby while DH went with the other 3. When they got off DH would wait with baby & I would go on with the teens (the fp states a total of 3 can reenter the ride, but some of the rides car seats 4 so we'd ask & they usually allowed us 4 to go on. I don't know about the rides that don't seat 4 I didn't ask on them.) The babies reactions to the characters, rides, parades, fireworks were precious & IMHO the most magical experience.
BTW when asking the teens what their favorite part of the trip was this time, two of them said seeing the baby interact with the characters.
I realize my older ones are a bit older than yours, but I definetly would do it again.
Good luck

 

[disneyfreak74]

When we took DS for the first time he was 2 1/5. We also took my little sister (10 1/2). They rode everything together. And little sis LOVED being able to ride things twice because of the baby swap!!! TAKE HER!!!!!

 

[daisy_77]

If it were me, I would take the 2 1/2 year old. She is old enough to really enjoy it and on rides she cannot ride you can do a baby swap. I remember my whole family went to Disneyland w/o me. I was about 3. All my cousins went, my parents and some of my aunts and uncles. I was pretty upset-I knew where they were going and what was going on.

You are the mom and you know what is best for your family. I hope you have a great time whether you take her or not...

 

[ThreeMusketeers]

If you really don't want to bring her this trip, what about taking your 2 oldest kids down now..and then next year or the year after bring your dd down alone. So that you can enjoy the magic alone with her like you did your other children. (i like the little wizard guy..can't you tell.) lol

 

[Carolinagirl1063]

I would take her. You would have a better time not worrying about her, at least I would.

 

[Pembo]

We just got back and took our 9, 6 and almost 3 yo. We took the oldest when he turned 5. Went again when the 2nd one turned 5.

Taking the little one was alot of fun but we did alot more waiting around with parent swap etc. Also with the little one we had to cut our days a bit shorter. Things just weren't as simple as with just the 2 older ones.

So if you know you will go back, then just take your older ones. You will see more/do more and in our case not having the little one is a special treat.

 

[WhoLetTheMouseOut]

We were in a similar (age) situation our first time. We are definately glad we took the whole family, for all the above mentioned reasons and more you will experience yourself. It is a priceless event and you will look back on it and be glad you did. We do. And take lots and lots and lots of family photographs while you are there.

 

[MATTERHORN]

Take her, Take her, Take her. What if you didn't have anyone that could keep her for you? Would you still go or not? If you would still go, then I don't see why you wouldn't take her with you. I couldn't imagine leaving just one behind. There are far more rides that you can all do together than seperate! And you would be surprised at the kiddie rides an 8 and 10 year old will still want to do. Heck, I still rode all of fantasyland all through my teens, and am more than willing to visit that part of the park for hours with my kids. JMO, Take her and have a fabulous time.

 

[Yardbird]

I would say, take her. Last month we took our 2 1/2 y.o. grandson for the first time and he loved it! I actually thought that he would be too young to enjoy it, but found out that it is such a wonderful age to experience it through their eyes. For the past few years we have taken his older (6 y.o.) brother, so we did have to add attractions geared toward younger children, but we all enjoyed them too. The 2 1/2 y.o. got such a kick out of the character meals! We are going back in October, and I can't wait to take him again!

 

[Now Mom of 3]

We have a fairly large gap (7.5 yrs.) between our oldest and youngest also. We do not have anyone I would be comfortable leaving him with so that would not even be an option for us. Our last trip was to DL when my youngest was 18 months. There were so many things that all 3 kids could and wanted to ride together! He just loved the characters too. It took a little bit for him to warm up to them but not too long. He was "in love" with Minnie and Cinderella by the end of the trip. Amazingly, he remembers how Minnie Mouse picked him up to see the dolls come out of IASW one morning, and that was 6 months ago!
Our next trip will be in Jan to WDW when our youngest will be 2.5. Our first trip was when our dd was this age. I think it is one of the most magical ages to go!
I'm sure you will have a wonderful trip whatever you decide!

 

[TinkerbellMama]

If it were me, I would take the 2 1/2 year old. She is old enough to really enjoy it and on rides she cannot ride you can do a baby swap. I remember my whole family went to Disneyland w/o me. I was about 3. All my cousins went, my parents and some of my aunts and uncles. I was pretty upset-I knew where they were going and what was going on.

You are the mom and you know what is best for your family. I hope you have a great time whether you take her or not...

I agree that you know what's best for your own family!!
Personally, I could never even consider leaving ds home while we go on vacation! Probably because of the way I was raised...we went everywhere as a family. I honestly did not even realize that some people leave their babies home to go on vacation until I read it on the Dis!! It never would have occurred to me! LOL

 

[Zoesmama03]

My dd is turning 2 on the 26th. We are going in Sept. I know she will enjoy it.

My step brother goes with mixed aged kids and true the big ones like to go on their own rides and not have to wait. My dad offered the older girls the chance to go alone so they don't have to wait with the really little rides if they got all A's on report card. So they did and he owes them trips alone but they live in Florida so big difference.


I'd say if you have the slightest feeling they boys would enjoy more leave her home but if you got two adults going you could always split up. So it really depends on your situation.

I know I went when I was 10 and my brothers were 8 & 9 and we had fun though there was some things I could ride but they couldn't my dad would take me on the big rides and my brothers would go with step mom(who doesn't care for roller coasters and such anyway) and grandparents to the littler kids ride.

You could also all wait in the bigger rides and do the baby swap thing. There is sooooo much that 2 year olds will like. But if you feel you can handle being away from her that long(I know I couldn't at this age) then go for it w/ just boys.

 

[stacy6552]

Oh no! You have to take her. If you don't the guilt will spoil the memories! And WDW is the one place where my older son is so great with his little brother (5 yrs younger). Take her! Don't give it another thought!

 

[ladyelle]

I don't understand why you are even THINKING of leaving one of your children at home while you go on vacation? Age should have nothing to do with it. You MAKE it work for your family.

I would never go on vacation without all of my children - I would rather not go. Sorry if my opinion upsets you. There have been others who have brought up this subject and I just don't understand.

 

[SqueakyMouse]

I LOVE going on vacation with and WITHOUT my kids!! I love my children but definitely need a break from them occasionally. That being said....

We originally planned to leave our 2.5 yo dd with her grandparents during our May trip to WDW. The older children (ds almost 5 and ds almost 13) were really into the trip, watching videos, making plans, etc. Dd showed absolutely NO interest. We knew that she would enjoy a week of pampering from the grandparents and that grandmother would enjoy a week with just her granddaughter and NO boys.

However, this was not to be. In fact, we weren't sure if we'd be making this trip at all when dd's grandfather became very ill with pneumonia and had to have surgery. Fortunately, all went well; but he was left feeling quite weak.

Dh and I no longer felt comfortable leaving dd with her grandfather still needing a fair amount of attention and having quite a few follow-up doctor's appointments. Thus, we decided to take dd with us.

Surprisingly, this worked out well. Yes, dd was demanding and grumpy at times. No, we did not get to do as much as we would have liked or give our ds' as much attention as we would have preferred; but dd had a wonderful time, and we have lots of great memories. A month after our trip, she's still talking about it! I cannot wait to return with her in Oct.

But back to what I said at the beginning....Dh and I are going to WDW for 5 days at the end of July...with NO children. All 3 are staying with the above mentioned grandparents. I am SO looking forward to this. Our May trip was for the kids. This one is for us.

Dh and I have talked about taking each of the kids separately to WDW for long weekends. This would be especially nice for our middle child, who has always had to share Mom and Dad during Disney trips. I really feel that he is the one who has been short-changed by having his little sister along -- not that he would know the difference.

We are lucky to be able to visit WDW as often as we do. If this were not possible, I'm not sure if I would take a young child. As it was, this ws dd's first trip to WDW; and I have absolutely no regrets about NOT bringing her sooner. WDW is magical but it doesn't change my little ones into angels. There are still many frustrations involved when dealing with a "terrible two" while on vacation.

Don't let anyone tell you what to do. Go with what you want. If you truly want your youngser along, the little pitfalls won't bother you all that much.