Would you rather?

[mrsp1030]

Going this week with my mom and youngest DS: age 3.5....

would you...
A. Leave MK early and miss Festival of Fantasy parade...and come back later for Christmas Party

B. Just Stay in MK and not do Christmas Party

C. Do Both

 

[tink9702]

I'd really hate to miss the FoF parade with a kiddo that age! My kids are also NOT nighttime attendees. Will you ever go back at Christmas time? You could stay, see the parade and make a last minute decision on the party if there are tickets left maybe?

 

[kwdw]

This depends upon how well YOU hold up all day, how well your son sleeps in a stroller, and how long you and your mom can tolerate each other before getting on each others nerves. And if you are starting the day well-rested and your plans for the next day.

The 3.5 yo is NOT going to stay awake all day/night. That's a given. If he's a happy stroller napper, you could do A or C. I've experienced the way too long of day with a 3.5 yo. She actually did okay. ONE day though. The next day, she was awful - complete pill, grumpy, annoying, whining, tantrum throwing toddler. The next day ended early and the day after started later.

Maybe it's because I'm getting older, but I can't go from rope drop through a party anymore......

 

[ajwolfe]

We would do both...What is making you come up with this question? Do you not think your kids can handle the length of time in the park? What time are you planning on going into the park in the morning?

 

[DisneyWishes14]

With a 3.5 year old, I would skip the party. We took DS last year when he was 7 and he was done by fireworks time. We enjoyed it, but it was a bit pricey for only a few hours of park time.

 

[happymommy]

Neither of my kids could stay up late at that age. I would pay dearly. I kept to their normal routines at Disney (or any vacation), so I would not bother doing a late party! I'd be dealing with a child who needed to sleep!
My kids didn't ever see fireworks until they were much older at Disney. They also didn't care. They were at least 6 and 8 I think, or maybe 7 and 9. Then it was maybe once or so a trip.
I wouldn't spend the money either really!

 

[UmmYeahOk]

I took my daughter when she was 2 to MK during the extra magic hours, and she got to see all the parades and fire works. Had to spend some time at City Hall, and almost missed the very last bus to our hotel! Kid was worn out, but awake. She had a nice nap during the afternoon after rudely interrupting Obama like some kind of terrorist! She ended up napping right outside the hall of presidents while I was in line to buy milk (and funnel cake). When she's asleep, that's the time to shop! Ended up doing the entire World Pavillion at EPCOT while she slept.

 

[mrsp1030]

Thanks for all your help! I think we will skip. We can watch the fireworks at the Poly and enjoy from there!!!

 

[Accident]

When would you be coming back? it takes about 30 minutes for the parade to make it to the end. If your planning on coming back for 4pm, could you make it more like 3:15 and leave a little earlier for your break? It sounds liek you already have a ticket for both the park and the party to do both.

maybe adr dinner to get some more rest between parade and party?

 

[shm_helene]

I know I am in the minority, but I would skip the parade and come back at night if you're not too worried about the cost, depending on your daughter. Mine needed to leave for a nap, it was not a choice. My youngest did ok in the stroller but it wasn't a quality nap. Then you could come back at 5 or so do some of the xmas stuff...stay as late as you are comfy and maybe that would be a good fall asleep time. My kids are sleepers but almost every Disney night was after 10, even though normal was 8. I know I might get flamed for this but we (occasionally while on vacation and not as a daily, weekly, or even monthly occurrence otherwise) used a children's sleep aid (ozzzzzz 's of Amazon) and that worked well for at nighttime. Good luck and have fun, that's a great age!

 

[tmh43]

I would see the parade and skip the party. BUT maybe that's just because that's what we did! It was our first trip with DS so we had no idea how he would react- would he nap, would he be wired, ... ? The cost of a party ticket was not worth the what if for us- but it was just us 3 and we will be back again in a few years, probably at Christmas time again.

Or may I present option d: let the 3.5 year old crash at the park. My 3yo will not sleep in strollers, but I brought my wrap and he passed out at the parks by 8 pm the two nights that we stayed "late". It was really, really nice to grab a beer with DH and watch illuminations with a sleeping, snuggly preschooler! Of course, we hadn't paid for a special party ticket for him, so we were free to go back to the hotel at any point having got our fill of the parks and there was zero pressure.

I don't know how quickly the party tickets sell out, but is there any way you could wait until there and see how it's going at the parks before purchasing? If the 3.5 is napping and staying up late, you could always buy a ticket then! Just a thought.