Travelling with a youngster...

[Tinks1984]

Hello all,

I've pretty much got my mind set on going back to WDW in May 2015 (I know, agessss away!) and my little girl will then be just turned 3. I mentioned this to friends whilst I was away last week in Malta (first time baby had flown/been abroad, at 16 months old - and did extremely well) and they shot me down pretty much saying that the flight/time difference would be too extreme for a 3 year old to adjust too.

So it got me thinking, is it really the best thing to do at such a young age? I know plenty on here have traveled with a toddler, but could anyone weigh up the pro's and con's for me?

My immediate family are still confident we'd be great, there'd be 4 adults and the baby traveling, so there'd be plenty of us about to help, but I've now got niggling doubts after my friends mentioning the above concerns.

Any of my Disney friends want to talk me back around?!

 

[Button]

Hi, my son has been at 11, 17, 27 & 39 months and we have had a blast each and every time. Created memories at each stage. If it feels right for you and your family they go for it, don't worry what others think, who knows what life will throw at you so enjoy it.

 

[Elise79]

DD has been going since 9 months and is now 5 and I can honestly say that the time difference has never been a problem.

She tends to nap early the first day but after that no problem

Also we have travelled with family once but all the other trips its just been me, DH & DD and I love it

Go for it - you'll have a great time

 

[tinks_1989]

We took Elsie at 23 months and she was fine at 3 I think she would cope even better. The flight is long but we had plenty for her to do on the flight. With 4 adults as well I think you will be fine. There were plenty of other families with young ones on there. There was one man that I think walked the entire way to Florida lol! I think you did really well on your last holiday (from what I saw on facebook) and good for you it is hard work just looking after them alone let alone travelling with them alone. I think you deserve a medal. Time difference I think Elsie adjusted better then us I think the mornings she woke early was my fault from getting up and moving around the room.

Only con was we didn't get a lot done having to go back for naps and never really had a late night as didn't want to over do it with her. But at 3 may be you could stay out a bit longer. Elsie also isn't one to sleep in a push chair you might be a lot luckier with your little princess x

 

[Stitch's Greatest Fa]

DD has been going since nine months, she is nearly 5, we are also taking DS at 16 months this summer. Really don't worry, it's easy. It was a bit hard adjusting to the time difference when we returned home, but by about a week later they were sorted!

 

[Elise79]

Only con was we didn't get a lot done having to go back for naps and never really had a late night as didn't want to over do it with her. But at 3 may be you could stay out a bit longer. Elsie also isn't one to sleep in a push chair you might be a lot luckier with your little princess x

Just to say we have always gone back of an afternoon for a swim and a nap however we have always managed to do everything we wanted.

She has also always stayed up late enough for fireworks - she has seen wishes and illuminations on each of her 10 trips She would generally fall asleep on the way home afterwards but that's fine

What I am trying to say is each child is different so don't rule something out just because somebody else didn't do it and if you want to do something try it - they might just surprise you - I know DD does us constantly

 

[Laurafoster]

We have also taken Megan several times, She had just turned 2 on her last trip and we are taking her again in Sept when she'll be 3 and 4 months.

The travelling day was at times a bit difficult. Megan didn't nap at the stage so it was a bit harder to convince her to have a sleep on the plane. The long queue at immigration was also a bit of a pain with a tired toddler. They were my only "negatives" really and even those weren't bad. Like you we had 4 adults to keep her entertained and she fell asleep nicely that night. She didn't really suffer any ill affects of the long day other than being slightly tired on the first day.

We always took Megan back mid afternoon for a long nap. This allowed us to take her out in the evenings and for her to see the fireworks when we wanted. Asking as we recognised when she was getting tired and made sure she had naps then there was no problems.

The return flight was easier as Megan slept for 7 hours. We actually had to wake her to get off the plane.

 

[irenep]

they shot me down pretty much saying that the flight/time difference would be too extreme for a 3 year old to adjust too.

What a load of nonsense!

We travelled transatlantic many times when the kids were around that age and never had a problem. In fact I would say they adjusted better than I did

Only thing I remember being difficult was at parks at closing time when they would be sleeping in the buggy. Carrying a sleeping toddler and buggy on the bus wasn't fun but if you have a hire car it is so much easier.

Take lots of things to keep her occupied on the flights and you'll be fine.

 

[pascalstongue]

The kids coped with the time difference when we were there just the same as the adults. We all woke up early the first couple of days but soon got back into normal routines.

Coming home was the worst. It took the kids about a week to finally get back into their normal sleeping patterns. They wanted to stay up until 1am at first!!

Go for it. You will have a blast!

 

[catherine]

We've been flying backwards and forwards to the US since our girls were very young (DH is from CA) and we've never had a issue with jet lag. Our DDs have always traveled really well and have always acclimatised better than we have!

 

[Tinks1984]

Thank you everyone for the super replies. They're all very reassuring for me, I knew the Dis would help ease my thoughts.

I think DD would cope okay, in fact, despite being only 3, I think she'd love the characters. She loves Disney Jr even now, so she recognises the main fab 5 already and loves them.

Another thing they said to me was that she'd be too young to remember, maybe so, but surely the memories for me and photographs with us all would be sufficient for when she's older? I mean, I plan on taking her as many times as I can, even when older, so it's not like I don't plan on her seeing it all over again when older.

 

[flortlebap]

She will be fine at that age and will love it.

IMO, the kids adjusted better to the time zone than we did. My DD6 fell asleep in the cab when we arrived at the airport (couldn't keep her eyes open) but then when we got to the hotel she just wanted pizza and to swim, lol. She also slept through until much later in the morning than any of us adults managed!

 

[wideeyes]

Thank you everyone for the super replies. They're all very reassuring for me, I knew the Dis would help ease my thoughts.

I think DD would cope okay, in fact, despite being only 3, I think she'd love the characters. She loves Disney Jr even now, so she recognises the main fab 5 already and loves them.

Another thing they said to me was that she'd be too young to remember, maybe so, but surely the memories for me and photographs with us all would be sufficient for when she's older? I mean, I plan on taking her as many times as I can, even when older, so it's not like I don't plan on her seeing it all over again when older.

some people just over think things. she will love it while there! that is all that matters and you'll love seeing her enjoy it all.

 

[Laurafoster]

Thank you everyone for the super replies. They're all very reassuring for me, I knew the Dis would help ease my thoughts.

I think DD would cope okay, in fact, despite being only 3, I think she'd love the characters. She loves Disney Jr even now, so she recognises the main fab 5 already and loves them.

Another thing they said to me was that she'd be too young to remember, maybe so, but surely the memories for me and photographs with us all would be sufficient for when she's older? I mean, I plan on taking her as many times as I can, even when older, so it's not like I don't plan on her seeing it all over again when older.

She may not remember when shes older but Megan talks about our last trip all the time. We have a dvd of our visit that she watches too.

But even if she didnt remember - i do. I have fabulous memories of her visits, first time she did something etc. And IMO thats worth every penny.

 

[tinks_1989]

I agree if she doesn't remember you will and those memories you will treasure forever.

 

[LauraDaveCharlie]

We took our son for the first time when he was 3 years 2 months. We purposely waited until then from the day he was born as we wanted to be able to talk to him about it on a fairly mature level so he understood what was happening; it was a long wait!

We made him a book which we started showing him around 6 weeks before we went. It had a page or two to explain each aspect of the holiday he would encounter eg: a picture of the airport and some text about what we would do there, picture of the aeroplane (we flew continental so I used internet photos of their planes) and some text about what we would expect of him on the plane, a picture of the villa and the room he would have and so on. We had a couple of pages for each park purposely picking out photos of the things we knew he would love. We looked at it often over those six weeks. We also had a countdown chart for each night of the six weeks so he could cross a box out each day. Those two things really helped prepare him for the trip.

On the plane we had about 12 little presents we brought out as the flight went on - sticker books, little pots of playdough, a Thomas magazine etc. These really kept him busy along with the films on his DVD player. We were connecting so we really only needed these for the first flight as he just slept on the 2-3 hour second flight because by then it was his bedtime. There were also five adults so that helped as he picked someone else to sit with every hour or so which was better for him and all of us!

The evening we got there, he was amazing. We arrived at the villa about 8.30pm and he was so excited that he was still playing and chattering away at 10.30pm - we were all still up because we had managed to leave the car seat on the carousel after the first flight and had to borrow one from continental at Orlando airport. They then very kindly put it on the next flight down and brought it straight to the villa for us - great service!

The next morning when we were all up around 4.00am, he slept until 6.30am and then was wide awake. That was it for the jet lag. He needed an afternoon nap which he had happily in the WDW stroller (we took a pillow from the villa each day which made it much more comfortable). We were never out late tending to finish around 3pm (after being in the parks from opening) and then eating a late lunch before heading back to the villa for an evening of pool and playing - we stuck to the same routine every day. The villa really was fab for this and actually, despite being a big WDW resort fan, I really would recommend a villa with a young child as I think it suits them a bit better. When he went to bed at 7pm (we were keen to keep his bedtime routine) we didn't have to sit watching the I-Pad in the bathroom! We had the whole villa to use. It was fab.

He never had one meltdown and we had a brilliant, fabulous time - everything I had dreamed it would be for four years. Because we have been every year since then, it has kept the memories alive for him and he still talks now (at 7) about things he remembers from that first trip. Maybe it's different if you don't go back and the memories fade.

Have realistic expectations, plan well, accept you may not do everything you want to do because you have to be guided by your child and go and have a wonderful time!

 

[MrRomance]

Our DD has been many times starting when she had just turned 4. You asked for the pros and cons so here is my take....


Cons

Travel day can be a little tough especially if you don't put them down for a little sleep. Our daughters have always had bed times, and were in a routine, so at the same time they would have gone to bed at home, we turned off the movies and games etc. and told them to have a sleep. This is something we learned after not doing it the first time they went to the US!

No matter what age you are the first 2 days are a period of adjustment to the new time zone so don't plan too much in the first 2 days. That's not to say do nothing, but plan on half days in the parks and afternoons at the pool.

A child under 4 or 5 is unlikely to remember the trip long term. Our daughter remembers nothing of her first trip.

It takes a few days to get them back on UK time on the return.


Pros

There is nothing quite like the toddler age kids at WDW, they are so amazed and full of wonder about everything. Once they get older they get a little more sceptical

They are small enough to go in a stroller if they get too tired.

You're at WDW

You're at WDW

You're at WDW....

 

[Sundancer UK]

What nonsense

Seriously, where I live there are a lot of people that have moved here from all over the world and they frequently travel home with their babies and young children to see their families with little to no issue.

Our first ever trip abroad was as a family of 6 - I had never been on a commercial plane and our children had never been further than the coasts nearest to London. Our children were aged 9 years, 8 years, 6 years and 22 months old.
It was *fine*, really the youngest still being a baby meant we could put him in the sling on our backs if he got tired (or in the pushchair at Epcot ), but he was still big enough to explore and have fun. It was magical watching him and I don't care if he has few memories; I do, and we have loads of photos too.

Now we have another baby, I know we need to go back. He can't be the only one not to experience the magic! But as my bigger children approach an age that I won't want to take them out of school (and holiday times are not something I want to attempt) I know I need to take him soon, so he will be the same age his brother was when we went before. He won't have many memories, but I'll have photos and videos to prompt his memory and whether he remembers or not, the magic of those two weeks will be worth it as he's going to have fun every minute.

 

[orangetiggs]

My twins are four this year and it will be their third trip! They were fine all on flights and coped with jetlag better than us

 

[LeaversOnTour]

We have travelled with our Eldest who is now 4 when she was 9 months, 22 months, 3 and 4.

We now have a further 2 children who have travelled at 4 months and 18 months and 27 months and 6 months for the youngest. We are about to have baby number 4 and if i get my way we will be going back at Christmas when he will be just 5 months old.

The Cons:

Travel day is/can be hideous (immigration mainly) - But its SOOOOO worth it. Keep them occupied on the plane and try to get her to nap - we normally try to get them to at least go alseep at 7ish UK time when they normally go to bed.

You have to "go with the flow" which is hard for some people - namely my Husband who likes to plan everything kids set their own agenda and some times you just have to roll with it.

Jetlag kicks in after you get back to the UK - Normally takes us at least 4/5 days to get them back into the UK time zone. - Once took 2 weeks

Pros:

Its the most magical place on Earth!!!!!

She will LOVE it! So will YOU! - She may not remember it it when she is 30 but you will.

Character interaction at this age is fantastic. There is NO greater feeling feeling than watching your daughter getting excited the first time they walk up to Cinderellas castle. or Meeting Mickey Mouse.

My girls are disney Junior mad and love the hollywood and vine lunch - they cant get enough of Handy Manny! LOL.

She will still "believe" the magic. As she gets older she will become more sceptical of it all. I pary this wont happen to my girls for a long time.