WDW with 22 month old

[cdotla]

I feel awful even posting this question, so maybe that's my answer. However, here goes:

I am taking my first WDW trip with kids in May. I have a DD who will be 4 and DS who will be 22 months. My parents will be coming with me. DH is an airline pilot and couldn't hold that week for vacation (of course this was only confirmed AFTER trip was booked). He is hoping to bid his schedule so that he is there at least some of the time we are there.

My question: should I bring my 22 month old along? I am really back and forth on this. If I don't bring him my mother-in-law would be able to take care of him.

On the one hand I know it would be a lot easier not having a 22 month old so that I am able to focus on my 4 yr old. Obvioulsly this would not be a trip my son would be able to remember anyway. That said, I would know that I didn't bring him and I wonder if I would regret it.

When I was 4 yrs old in 1977 my parents took me on my first WDW trip. We stayed at PV and I still remember it to this day. They also left my brother (age 1) at home with my grandmother. My parents are obsessive about family-togetherness so it still amazes me that they did that. However, maybe they just realized the difficulty of trying to do WDW with someone under 2.

Any thoughts? I would especially love to hear from those who have travelled with someone aged 1.5 - 2 years old and from those who have left someone that age at home. Any regrets???

Many thanks,
Tricia

 

[mamatojon]

Since you will have your parents with you I say bring him. My daughter turned two on our last trip and she had so much fun. No, she might not remember it that well but she sure did have a blast. If you were going to be alone then that would be a different story, but if it were me I would definitely bring him, especially if my mom and dad were going to be able to help me.

 

[becca011906]

I would take the smaller sib... unless when the younger one is older you are going to take them one on one to the world... ya know???
There are lots of stuff or 2 year olds to do, and it's not an extra ticket... i would have regreted not taking one of my kids to the world, i took my almost 4 y/o and younger sib was 18 months, we all had a blast, then again took my 5 year, 3 y/o and 12 month... although i think if one of the kids are hi needs or something then it might be helpful...

 

[emma'smom]

We took our first dd at 22 months (along with her 22 month cousin and 3 year old cousin). Three under three...we had a blast doing all of the Toon Town stuff.

Last year we took dd3 and dd14months....also a great vacation! So good that we planned another trip soon after (by then we had dd4 and dd18months).

This year we plan to go in February- dd4 and dd24months. DH has a conference, so I plan to have both of them alone in the parks for a few of the days. It will be fine...we'll do things like Pooh's Thoughtful Spot, the Carrousel, etc.

We have our big trip planned in March with the Grandparents (dd4 and dd25months).

My point- anytime is a good time for Disney. We haven't regretted any of the trips and both girls have enjoyed themselves and gotten a lot out of them. At 18 months, dd was especially cute because she enjoyed waving at the characters.

If it were me, I would spend the whole time I was there without younger sibling saying "I wonder how .....would like this?". We left our girls with my parents when we went to Hawaii and that's how I spent my whole trip- wishing they were there to experience it with us.

Take him...managing a toddler isn't really that bad if you are used to managing him at home.

 

[JERSEYGIRLINSI]

Without a doubt I would take both kids. While the age difference is enough to make a difference at Disney, you will not be alone. I would take both if I was alone also (that's just me). We took ds at the same age last year, and he still talks about it when looking at the pictures. You wont be sorry..have fun.

 

[nancy drew]

i would take the younger child. my daughter first went to disney when she was 15 months old. she is now almost 3 and im pretty sure she remembers a little of that trip. we brought her again when she was 27 months old, and she absolutely remembers that trip. she talks about it every day, and she cannot wait to go back. we look at the photos, and that helps her remember, but she remembers things that arent in the photos. and she gets SO excited when she talks about it... "remember when i saw peter pan and wendy???!!?!??" i know there is a big age difference between a 22 month old and a 27 month old, but i bet he will remember some of the trip. my daughter also remembers things from at least age 24 months old, without having any photos or conversations to remind her. toddlers have amazing memories, and i would think that taking him now will only help build the excitement for future trips.

plus, as the others have mentioned, you will have additional help with your parents there. they can take him back to the hotel if he is overwhelmed or tired, or one adult can take him to poohs thoughtful spot or the play area in toontown if he is restless. i think a vacation with extra adults is the best time to bring a little one, for those reasons. plus, he gets free admission and dining, so why not?

 

[gwcollins71]

I say definately take your 22 month old. My husband and I took our 13 month old and it was awesome. She is an official Mouse junkie now. If she sees any of the characters on anything now she gets excited.

I'm in the process of trying to take her back this spring. SHe'll be 21 months then. Cross your fingers that my husband agrees to it.

Gretchen

 

[coyandrew]

We just got back from WDW with our 17 month old and she loved every second of it. She would take a nap in the afternoon and then be ready to go the rest of the day. There are plenty of rides for a 22 month old, we did everything that she could legally do (including Pirates and The Haunted Mansion) and there was nothing she was scared of. Another idea that we did was to be a theme park cd before we went and play it for the kids. When we got on the ride at It's a Small World, our daughter had the music and clapped and squeeled in delight the whole ride because she had heard the song so many times! Hope this helps!

 

[jensen]

Our kids were the exact same ages as yours on our first trip to the world with our kids. I seriously debated the merits on bringing along the baby. But she ended up doing so wonderfully - maybe even better than her older brother. She loved riding around in the stroller all day as there was so much to look at and when she got tired she simply fell asleep. We never had to go back to the resort for naps. I kept her sippy cup close at hand and plenty of snacks in the backpack. She actually did better at 22 months than she did one year later on our next trip - and I'm really nervous about how she'll do on our trip next month... Unless yours is a very high maintenance kid, I'd suggest taking him along.

 

[MeLaNie9]

We took our DS in May at 22 months. We got alot of comments from family members saying he would be too young, wouldn't remember it, etc. However, it was a blast - he enjoyed many rides and he does talk about many things from that trip, so he does remember! I was pregnant at the time and the rides I couldn't ride were many of the ones he couldn't ride. DH just rode them himself if he wanted to. We used baby swap for other rides like Soarin. If he decided he didn't like a ride in the middle of it (Haunted Mansion, Ellen's Energy Adventure), he just hid his face against me and I covered his ears and he was fine. Also, since your parents will be there - you can ride the rides with your 4 year old (or they can) and someone can stay off and be with your 22-month-old. He especially loved character meals - CP with Pooh and friends and those with Mickey and friends and anything with a boat or train (especially the monorail!)
We will be going back in Feb so that I can attend a conference and are leaving our 3 month old with his grandparents, taking our other DS who will be almost 3. We actually considered taking the 3 month old too, but DH would be alone in the parks with both for a few days and didn't want to risk our 3 month old catching a cold or something down there.

 

[PrincessasMommy]

We took our 7 month old, 27 month old and 9 yr old in April 2005, and never thought to leave any of them home even though we had the option. We flew with 2 carseats, double stroller and playpens from Canada for a 10 day trip and everyone thought we were nuts, it was the best time of our lives! Your 22 month old will LOVE it! Take him! It's not as much work as you think it will be, they always have something to see, food is everywhere, baby stations are fabulous and the baby is free - can't get better than that! Have fun!

We're in the process of planning our next trip, with a 11 year old, 4 year old, just turned 3 year old and 4-6 month old - some people think it sounds crazy but the kids were so low maintenance there because everything is built to amuse them!

For the record, we have also taken them to a resort in Mexico (ages, 18 month, 3 and 10) and that was more work and it was a 5 star all-inclusive!

Have a great time!

 

[karibritt01]

I would feel so guilty leaving one home, that it would ruin my trip. Plan lots of afternoon breaks, and take a nap or swim in the pool. Take a comfortable stroller (one with a shade and that reclines fully) so he can sleep easier in the parks. I also took a bag cooler last year with some kool-aid and string cheese - my DD3s favorite snack, as well as a tube of mini M&Ms - perfect bribes when they are getting fussy!

 

[marybrat]

I agree... bring the youngest one along. We took DD when she was 16 months old and DS when he was 23 month old. (Not on the same trip.) People told us they wouldn't remember it and guess what? They didn't remember it, but we didn't take them with us for them to remember it. We took them with for us to remember it. When we were planning each trip, we just kept thinking about how much we would miss them when we would see kids of the same age. They had a ball and so did we!!

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

A 22 month old will not remember this trip, at least not for very long, so don't take him if this would be your main purpose.

Personally, if I had a reliable family member to watch the younger child, I'd just take the 4 year old; what a great opportunity to give her a memorable one on one time with you. Speaking as someone who has raised 2 kids to adulthood, take advantage of the opportunity to do something with only 1 child and don't feel guilty about leaving your younger one home for a special time with Grandma.

 

[2bearsmom]

I agree that since you'l lhave your parents bring him. My ds's are 5yrs and 18mo and we are going in 8 days for the first time and bringing my MIL along. If my youngest was any younger I don't think we would have planned a trip yet. I know he will not remember his first trip to Disney World but my dh and I will. We can't wait to see the look on his face when he see's Mickey, Minnie, the castle and everything else. Not to mention his first plane ride.

 

[mtemm]

we went to wdw in october with our 4 year old son and 2 year old twins (they were 2.5 when we went, so a bit older than yours, but still in the same ballpark). we had a fantastic time! some things that helped us was to make sure to take a break mid-day. even my 4 year old napped, although he protested at first. we told him to lay quietly for 15 minutes and he was usually out in about 5. we swam after, which was great, then would head back to a park or out to dinner, depending on the time. another thing that really helped was I planned dinner for 5pm (in our case, adr's, but you could do counter service, whichever works for you). my kids eat at 5 every night, if not a bit earlier, and I think holding that routine helped. I also stocked our hotel room with milk, veggies, fruit, cheerios, cereal bars, and stuff to make pbj's. HIGHLY recommend that.

if you want to read my trip report, you can find it here: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1256123&referrerid=&highlight=

good luck!

eta, I don't regret taking the twins one bit. even if they don't remember it, they had such a wonderful time while there! and in kid time, they are doing pretty well...its been 2 months and they still talk about it. just yesterday they were asking to go back, that they wanted to ride Pooh and Peter Pan. when I asked about Small World (a favorite), my 2 year old son's eyes got so happy they were almost dreamy. it was really funny, he just breathed, "small world." lol.

eta (once again), another thing that I thought was fantastic was joining tourguide mike. I had my doubts, since dh and I had been to wdw before, but was bored one night about a month or so before we left and signed up. the best days alone are worth the money!

 

[disneyfool_1202]

We went May 06 when my DS was 2.5 and DD was 9 months old. She had as much fun as her brother did. Our trip was very low key- we spent most of the time in toon town or pooh's quiet spot (which wasn't so quiet with all of the toddlers running around). She napped in her carriage during the day when she needed to sleep, loved the parades and characters and especially loved Pooh's ride (I forget the name). She spent the whole time standing up bouncing up and down with the biggest smile plastered on her face. I have the most adorable pictures of her with the princesses (Snow White kissed her cheek and I have a photo of her with big lipstick lips on her face). The memories my DH and I have of that trip are priceless.

 

[scjo68]

Last year we took our 20 month old ds along with our 8 year old dd. DS did great! My folks offered to watch him at home for us so we could just take dd. But we took him anyway, because he had never been away from us overnight (so a week away in a different state was not how I wanted to start that). Also, I knew everytime I saw something like pooh, etc., I would wish he had been with us. Actually, dd did not want to go without him, either. When she heard her grandparents offer to keep ds, dd said, "No! he has to come too!" It surprised me that she wasn't jumping at the chance to have my and dh's total attention at WDW, but she loves her db, and always looks out for him.

So, for those reasons, I would suggest you take him.
Just split up if you need to, so your 4yo can keep going if she wants, when your 22mo needs a break.

However, if you truly feel that it might work out better for everyone to leave your ds home, you shouldn't feel guilty. As others have suggested, you could consider this a special trip for dd. Just be sure to plan a special one-on-one trip for ds later. I could just picture him looking at pictures/videos of this trip, saying "where am I?" It will be helpful if you can say, "well *your* special trip was 3 years later".

Either way, have fun! You know what's best for your family.

 

[cdotla]

Thanks so much for all the great advice.

Even thought I was leaning heavily toward bringing DS, after reading all the comments there is now no doubt in my mind. He is coming!

I think based on the comments from others he will do just fine. And, even if he doesn't I will be prepared for it. We will simply do what the kids want to do, not rush things or have the crazy agenda/expectations.

Instinct always tells you that on "park days" when you are paying for a family of tickets you have to "get your money's worth" by mazimizing park time, ect. Maybe that works for families with older kids but I think I have to be prepared that some days our Park passes will only be spent until 2pm and if we happen to make it back for round 2 late afternoon/early evening then that is a bonus. SInce we are planning 4-5 park days with the hopper as I think there is something the kids would like at all parks I think I just have to have it in my mind that I will get my "money's worth" for a 1/2 day.

In a previous (childless) life, I was one of those fanatics who had to have everything planned with strategies to beat the lines and get as much park experience out of each and every day. Clearly this is not how you play the game to win with toddlers!

Again, thanks for all the info and helpful comments...can't wait til May!!

 

[NemoMOm]

We took DS at 7 mos, 11 mos and 17 mos. It keeps getting better. This last trip he understood so much more. And he loved riding the kiddies rides like Dumbo. I say take him. Could you spend a week without him?