Treasure vs. MK/Wish

[Taylormade0503]

I need opinions on something. My family and I will be taking some form of a Disney cruise vacation next May. Our daughter will be a month shy of five years old. We can’t decide if we want to do a whole week on the Treasure or do 3 nights/2 park days in WDW, then do a half week cruise on the Wish. They come out to be about the same price. What are people’s thoughts?? Thanks!!

 

[holula]

I would take the 7 night cruise any time over a 3 or 4 night cruise. 7 nights are so much more relaxing and have a better itinerary than a shorter cruise.

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

Normally I always vote for a longer cruise. But, that age is kind of right in the peak magical time for the WDW parks. I would definitely go with the parks + shorter cruise at that age.

 

[Taylormade0503]

Normally I always vote for a longer cruise. But, that age is kind of right in the peak magical time for the WDW parks. I would definitely go with the parks + shorter cruise at that age.

We took her for the first time right before she turned three. Obviously, she had a magnificent time. She still talks about very specific details of the trip over a year later. This is the direction we’re leaning, however, I’ve just heard the Treasure for a week is a flat out awesome vacation.

 

[Mommb]

It depends whether you most want to please the child or the adults.

If your daughter loved WDW at 3, she will probably also adore it at almost 5. However, Walt Disney World with a preschooler is exhausting. To do rides she is too short for, the adults would need to do Child Swap or just take turns staying with her. You may need to consider allowing for nap time and trips back and forth from the hotel.

The Wish is basically made for preschoolers. The Treasure has more lounges geared to Disney-loving adults. A 7-night cruise would allow more time to explore the ship without feeling rushed. A cruise requires much less planning than a park visit. You can plan excursions, adult dining (with your daughter in the kids club), spa treatments, etc. but you can have a great cruise without those too.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

I need opinions on something. My family and I will be taking some form of a Disney cruise vacation next May. Our daughter will be a month shy of five years old. We can’t decide if we want to do a whole week on the Treasure or do 3 nights/2 park days in WDW, then do a half week cruise on the Wish. They come out to be about the same price. What are people’s thoughts?? Thanks!!

If you just do the cruise, when is the next time you'd likely do a Disney vacation?

If this is the only Disney trip where your daughter is preschool age, I'd do the split. WDW is truly magic at that age and you can balance out things like which characters you'd be able to meet in the parks vs the ship, where to do BBB if you so choose (on the ship lined up with Princess Gathering is my vote), etc.

If you do a Disney trip every year or two, then I'd go full cruise one year, full parks the next year. Not having to pack up all of your stuff and get to/from Canaveral in the middle of a vacation is more relaxing, but obviously annual Disney trips just don't fit with most budgets.

 

[Drfate102]

Honestly, with an almost 5 year old daughter, do the Magic Kingdom split with the Wish. The magic you will see in her eyes will be worth it and live in your heart forever.

 

[Taylormade0503]

If you just do the cruise, when is the next time you'd likely do a Disney vacation?

If this is the only Disney trip where your daughter is preschool age, I'd do the split. WDW is truly magic at that age and you can balance out things like which characters you'd be able to meet in the parks vs the ship, where to do BBB if you so choose (on the ship lined up with Princess Gathering is my vote), etc.

If you do a Disney trip every year or two, then I'd go full cruise one year, full parks the next year. Not having to pack up all of your stuff and get to/from Canaveral in the middle of a vacation is more relaxing, but obviously annual Disney trips just don't fit with most budgets.

We will probably do some from of a Disney trip every 2-3 years (WDW or a Disney Cruise). This vacation is absolutely not about us, its about our daughter. So I think the big thing for me is what would she enjoy more? Would being on the Treasure for a whole week just been too long for her? I've heard outstanding things about the Treasurer, especially the Moana show (its our daughter's favorite movie). While I have heard mixed things about the Wish. Again, she will be almost 5.

 

[sponica]

There's no wrong choice?

Mine will be turning 9 and 5 in August and we're doing a 7 night Treasure this year (and 3 nights/2 days post cruise at the parks because it was the same price as flying home on disembarkation day)

Last year we did 2 nights pre cruise at POR, one day at Epcot and a 4 night cruise. That felt like too much unpacking/repacking in a short period of time....and rider swap ate up the morning at Epcot.

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

We will probably do some from of a Disney trip every 2-3 years (WDW or a Disney Cruise). This vacation is absolutely not about us, its about our daughter. So I think the big thing for me is what would she enjoy more? Would being on the Treasure for a whole week just been too long for her? I've heard outstanding things about the Treasurer, especially the Moana show (its our daughter's favorite movie). While I have heard mixed things about the Wish. Again, she will be almost 5.

FWIW, the first cruise we did was 4 nights on the dream. My kids were 6 and 8 at the time and it was not really awesome. Neither of them liked the clubs, the younger one had some motion sickness, neither really wanted to do much of anything. We had to drag the younger one out of the room one day just to see a movie (which then he enjoyed as soon as it started). They were up at the crack of dawn every morning except when it was time to leave, and then we had to drag them out of bed whiny and complaining. When we got off I thought we were never going to do another cruise. But, a little over 2 years later we tried again for a week, and with the kids having a little more autonomy, and getting off the ship to do cool excursions made a big difference and we had a lot of fun that second time around. For us, the older they have gotten makes the cruise more fun for all of us.

So all that to say ... if the goal is for what would be fun for your child, I would definitely do the parks + Wish. It sounds like the parks will definitely be a hit, and the shorter cruise gives you the experience without being committed for a full week. If you have an enjoyable time, maybe consider the full week for the next Disney trip in 2-3 years. I know after our so-so 4 night first cruise, I kept thinking about all these things we could have done differently, and then I was able to apply what I had learned and made that next cruise even better.