What to do with younger kids

[ESiobhan]

We have a trip planned for October 10-15. It's our first family Disney trip. I have four kids, 6, 4, almost 2, and a baby who will be four months old. We have wanted to take the oldest to Disney for years but I keep getting pregnant (lol) and I am high risk so no travel, especially somewhere with all the Disney walking. So we decided just to do it this year.

Initial plan was to take DS 6 and DS 4. The whole trip is planned this way. The two younger kids are staying at home with the family and the nanny. The closer the trip is getting the more DH and I are wanting to bring our daughter (23 months) and our 4 month old son. We have booked a one bedroom suite and there's still availability for another one bedroom suite at the same resort.

Choice is this. We could just not bring them as planned. We could bring them (and the nanny), booking the nanny her own room and leave the nanny at the resort all day with the smaller kids. Or we could bring at least the 2 year old on our park trips as much as possible.

We are doing TL, AK, and MK. My daughter is not at this age into anything Disney, she doesn't watch tv much at all, so the characters are not a draw. Is there much for a 2yo to do, or would she be happier at a resort playground, pool and splash pad?

We were planning to bring a double stroller for the bigger boys but this would limit our ride options or deal with rider swap since neither of the boys will want to ride alone. I'm thinking of naps and chasing a toddler around and wondering what she'd get out of it. Also I'm
Wondering about reservations. Some of them (chef Mickey) are sold out, could we just show up with a fifth under 3 and have it be no big deal? DH and I have four weeks to decide (obviously the sooner the better.). WWYD?

 

[Disney Khaleesi]

Children under 3 get in free to the parks. I don't see why you would bring your younger two children with and leave them stuck in a hotel room all day. I don't think it would be much of an issue to take them into the parks with you. You can work something out with your nanny if you'd like her to accompany you, or take the double stroller and have the three older children rotate and just wear the 4 month old as needed. I don't think your nanny would enjoy being cooped up in a hotel room all day, either.

As far as rider swap, the majority of rides will be able to fit three in a row, so your boys won't have to ride alone. One parent can accompany them, the other can remain with the two younger children.

You cannot just show up with an extra person, no matter their age. Restaurants like Chef Mickey's and others are very popular and have been booked for months. They can turn you away at the door if they cannot fit you in, and even if they are accepting walk-ups (if you show up with an extra person, you will be treated as a walk-up) you are most likely in for a long wait.

 

[Alesia]

booking the nanny her own room and leave the nanny at the resort all day with the smaller kids. Or we could bring at least the 2 year old on our park trips as much as possible.

I don't see the point of bringing them if you're just going to leave them in the hotel all day. That's way worse than leaving them at home. If you're going to leave the nanny stuck in a hotel with 2 kids that have nothing familiar around them, I hope you're planning on paying her extra.

We are doing TL, AK, and MK. My daughter is not at this age into anything Disney, she doesn't watch tv much at all, so the characters are not a draw. Is there much for a 2yo to do, or would she be happier at a resort playground, pool and splash pad?

There are plenty of things to do for kids of every age.

Also I'm wondering about reservations. Some of them (chef Mickey) are sold out, could we just show up with a fifth under 3 and have it be no big deal?

Not likely. You'll either have to wait for them to squeeze you in (which could take an hour or more) or you'll be turned away completely.

 

[AFwifelife]

We are taking our just turned 2 year old and 4 month old to Disney for 4 days later on this week. I'm not concerned about the 4 month old at all. I will either baby wear her or have her chill out in the stroller. We've taken our 2 year old earlier this year when he was 15 months and had an awesome time. There is plenty of things for him to do, especially at MK where there are only a few rides with a height restriction. He loved the Astro Orbiter the most actually. Then the second favorite for him was the fireworks at night. We did spend time at the hotel for him to chill out/nap after lunch and we took a very laid-back approach to touring the park but everyone had a great time. When DS was overwhelmed, DH would stay back in the hotel with him so I could still go to the parks with my mom and sister.

So I wouldn't bring the younger two and just stick them in the hotel all day. It's kinda silly to do so.

 

[Mousemommy1]

Please don't leave your children in an unfamiliar hotel room all day. That sounds awful.

We brought our son back in April and he was 3 months old at the time. We go to Disney annually, and we were also with our (then) 10 and 8 yr daughters.

We did have to slow down a bit and kind of adjust to our son's needs, but he did great. He slept in his stroller a lot, but when he was awake he very much enjoyed just looking around and taking in the sights and sounds. He enjoyed many of the rides.

We carried him in his Ergo a lot, but it was great.

Our next trip is in April as well, and he will be 15 months old. We can't wait to see how he'll like it now!!! There is so much for him to do!

 

[ESiobhan]

Interesting, thanks for the replies. Had no idea so many rides were 3 people across. And I really hadn't thought of it as sticking them in a hotel room all day. There's pools and a splashpad and a playground and things to walk around and see. Way more stuff to do than at my house, where she usually is all day, plus this way she'd get to see us every day, which obviously she is used to. And we have a non park day planned. My thinking was it seemed awful to have her stuck in a stroller all day in the sun, which is also my thinking in bringing the baby. I understand that people have done it, etc, but if I had the choice I don't see why I would bring a 4 month old to an amusement park. I wear him around when needed but with 3 other ones to keep up with (two of which like to kind of wander/run away), wearing a baby can be super inconvenient. I will have to keep weighing the options with my 2 year old. It just sounds so scary to have a kid that age in such a crowd. And my nanny is fine with it either way. She has been on vacation with us before to Hilton Head when my daughter was an infant, she spent the days mostly at the resort and had a nice time.

 

[BabyHabs]

I can't imagine not taking your 2 year old! I can see leaving a baby at home, but 2 is such a great age for Disney! I brought my DD when she was 20 months and she absolutely LOVED it. There are so many rides, attractions, shows for kids that age, plus she loved the parades and fireworks. I'd bring all the kids and the nanny along to help out (and not leave them in the hotel).

 

[BrittanyLynn]

While I understand your predicament regarding the infant not getting anything out of the parks....I don't think the cross to leave my 2 year old out of all the fun would cross my mind. We are leaving this week for my son's 1st birthday and I fully expect him to get a lot out of this trip and have a blast. I am also taking my older two which are 7 and 9. Remember they have rider swap for almost everything with a height requirement. Most things in Magic Kingdom are doable for all ages. Age 2 is a magical time!

 

[monorailsilver]

I couldn't leave my kids either.

There were rides that my 7 yo did not want to go on but my 4 yo did so I sat with her and my 2 yo on a bench. There were rides that I got 4 fast passes while my dh and 2 kids went in the short line and I hung out with the 2 yo and when they got off, they wanted to go again, so I took one while dh sat with the 2 and then we flipped. No biggie.

My kids loved the characters each in their own way, loved looking at the rides.

I can never imagine leaving a child behind because they are a baby, I think of the pictures and how much that child/baby would love looking at the lights, etc... I also think back to before I was born and I look at pictures so jealous that my sisters went to DL (I eventually went when I was 6/7) and San Francisco (never been) but I know I wasn't born but I still hate that I was not there for their first big family vacation.

Back to rides, we are a family of 5, my oldest when she was 7 rode Goofy's alone because we had the 4 & 2 yo to sit with. We sat her in the row between dh & I and there were no issues. Some rides we sat 3 across depending on the ride car.

As far as naps, we all go back to the room after lunch. We are in the park by 8, at the gate by 7:30 and when my oldest was 15 mo old on that Disney trip I stopped her am nap. Anyways, nap time is a big hit, we all sleep. The trip I did not sleep and did laundry, I had a migraine on the final days, not fun. Now I just do laundry on our non park day which is every 2 days. So for naps, everyone is so tired that once the lights are out, curtain drawn we are fast asleep. And we stay in just one room and there are no issues.

My decision is that I would take the whole family and leave the nanny at home so she can have a break/vacation/visit family/whatever. If you got 4 fast passes for each ride, you and your dh could sit out with 3 kids and find something to do, then you swap and take the older child that was sitting out with you.

 

[pooh4evr]

2 is a great age at WDW, really all of your kids are perfect ages. The baby will be the easiest by far. Take or rent a good stroller, all of you can go on the majority of rides, and your 6 yr old may not be tall enough to go on the bigger rides anyway. I am not sure with kids those ages I would do TL (but that's just me) I would do DHS or another MK day, and enjoy the pool. Are you off site or on? The biggest problem right now will be your fastpasses, and ADRs. I assume the others arent included in those numbers which you will need to change if possible, you really can't show up to the rides or restaurants with more people than you booked for.

 

[mom25kiddos]

Maybe my kids are really different, but I find 2 to be a really hard age for travel, and especially restaurants. I have done both, taken little ones, and had little ones stay behind with grandparents. It also depends on the child, and how set in routine they are etc. A couple of our kids when they were toddlers (we have five kids) stayed behind and had a fantastic time at home being the centre of their grandparents universe. it meant we could focus on the older kids more and we also know since we typically go annually it isn't that the child won't ever go-just not that one year. We have always taken them when they were infants (because they were nursing), but that 1-2.5 age range I actually find quite challenging to travel with.

We have an amazing nanny, as I am sure you do, and she would have no problem entertaining the kids (not sure where you are staying, but especially if on a monorail resort or something similar where they go explore) for part of the time, or take the little ones back to the room for a rest. We have never taken our nanny on holiday with us, but have thought about it-so would love to hear how it goes for you!

 

[ragrubbs]

My son was 22 months when he went (a little over a year ago), and he LOVED it. I made a photo book from our trip, and he looks through it everyday (still). He was a little scared at some of the character meals, but he hung back and watched his big sister. He was able to ride plenty - he loved it. He would not get in a stroller b/4 Disney, and now he associates the stroller with Disney. I can't even roll it from our garage to the car w/o him wanting to hop in. We are going back in Dec (he will have just turned 3), and he has his own list of must dos

 

[fujamaga]

I brought my 2.5 year old and 2 month old to Disney and had a blast. My 2 month old slept almost the entire time, so he was pretty easy. My 2.5 year old LOVED Disney. I thought she was going to faint she was so excited to see mickey. I would definitely bring them.