How long for a first trip with little kids?

[wonderstruck88]

We're planning a May 2018 trip with our 3 and 5 year old sons, and I'm questioning our length of stay. Currently we're booked for 6 nights, 7 days (although really only 5 of those are park days - no time for parks on arrival or departure day), but I'm second guessing and wondering if that's too long of a trip for their ages. We've always done week long trips, but we haven't gone since having kids, so I figured I would ask what other people do! The furthest they've ever been away from home up until now is 3 nights. How long was your first trip with kids? Did it feel too long/short/just right?

 

[Klayfish]

Frankly, and it's just my opinion, 5 park days is too short. I think the first trip we did to WDW with the kids was 10 nights/11 days (10 park days). They were 4, 1, 1 at the time. We took another trip with them when they were around the ages your kids are now...7, 4, 4 and it was also 10 nights/11 days. For us, we wanted to be able to do as much as we could without rushing around like crazy. We also just enjoyed being "on vacation" so the longer, the better. They were just fine being away from home that long and had a wonderful time.

 

[TMcHenry]

My son is 3 and we have taken him to WDW at 6 months, 2 years old, and now again at 3 next month. I think it really depends on the kid. For us, we do 2 days in the parks. Rest of it at the resort and Disney Springs. We stay one week, so usually 6 to 7 nights. He has a great time and is just as happy at the pool and playgrounds on non park days. While I think he could handle a 3rd day (and I love theme parks), my sweetheart prefers just 2 and that works fine for us right now.

At 5 days you can always just play it as you go and see if maybe a couple days you may not spend all day. We did usually go back for a nap time, even on other vacations, so this time we are going to see if we can come back after nap. In the past it just wasn't in the cards.

 

[FallsChurchDad]

We have done two trips with young kids. One was 9 nights (with 8 park days), one was 6 nights (with 5 park days). The latter trip was great but felt more hectic - not enough time in Epcot or Animal Kingdom.

The more park days we have, the more comfortable we are taking breaks, which makes all the difference to everyone's happiness.

With young kids, it works well to rope drop, eat an early lunch around 11, then leave by 1 pm. Book FPs for 10-11, 11:30-12:30, and 12:30-1. Then let the 3-year-old (and maybe others, on some days!) nap back at the hotel, while others rest/swim. Head back to a park in the evening, or just get a leisurely dinner and hang out at the hotel.

 

[amandaleigh2]

We have gone with young kids three times now, and we always go for 7 nights. We usually do 5 full park days, and one half day on the day we leave. We never go to a park on arrival day, and then we take one day off in the middle of the trip. Both of my boys have done very well with this schedule. We also never went back to the hotel for naps. They either slept in the stroller or crashed when we got back to the room at night.

 

[Monorail_Man_NJ]

I usually only do 3 or 4 park days. No park hoppers and no returning to resort other than Poly when at MK for a quick drink.

Thats was with a 5 yr old who is now about to be 9.

 

[TMcHenry]

I should add my son won't sleep in a stroller, never really has. So if yours will that gives you a bit more flexibility too!

 

[wonderstruck88]

Frankly, and it's just my opinion, 5 park days is too short. I think the first trip we did to WDW with the kids was 10 nights/11 days (10 park days). They were 4, 1, 1 at the time. We took another trip with them when they were around the ages your kids are now...7, 4, 4 and it was also 10 nights/11 days. For us, we wanted to be able to do as much as we could without rushing around like crazy. We also just enjoyed being "on vacation" so the longer, the better. They were just fine being away from home that long and had a wonderful time.

I should have specified, but longer is definitely not an option due to finances and limited vacation time. I'm sure we won't get to everything, but that's okay, we'll be back!

 

[wonderstruck88]

We have done two trips with young kids. One was 9 nights (with 8 park days), one was 6 nights (with 5 park days). The latter trip was great but felt more hectic - not enough time in Epcot or Animal Kingdom.

The more park days we have, the more comfortable we are taking breaks, which makes all the difference to everyone's happiness.

With young kids, it works well to rope drop, eat an early lunch around 11, then leave by 1 pm. Book FPs for 10-11, 11:30-12:30, and 12:30-1. Then let the 3-year-old (and maybe others, on some days!) nap back at the hotel, while others rest/swim. Head back to a park in the evening, or just get a leisurely dinner and hang out at the hotel.

This sounds very similar to our plan! They're used to napping around 1pm, so I'm hoping that kind of schedule will be perfect. Granted, we'll be keeping them up later than usual, but I'm hoping that just means they won't fight me at naptime like they usually do. Or at least like the three-year-old does. Big brother actually loves the naps, haha!

 

[NYCgrrl]

IMHO you'll do fine with the amount of time you are currently booked.
I think it takes many trips before you'll ever see the entire property and that's good too; gives you something to look forward to in years to come.

My kiddos began traveling for long periods when the youngest was 2 months old and the oldest about 3y/o. For that age group, home is Mommy and Daddy and maybe a fav blanket or stuffed toy not so much a building.

The five year older might think grandparents and a friend or 2 are included in the "home sphere" but are generally fine with being away from them for a week- something to talk about when they get back.

I would concentrate on a few parks with activities geared towards their wants and needs....probably AK and MK. The nice part about that is you can consider dropping the park hopper and multi park costs. Be sure to include a water park day if you can.......sooooooo much fun!

Glad you already know the resort day start and ending trick and don't forget that Disney Springs can be included in that thunk as well.

You should be able to have a nice trip that covers parents' needs as well as childrens'
Have fun out there!

 

[LongLiveRafiki]

We went with a not quite 2 yo and a 7 yo for 12 nights. We had 5 park days and the HW party and the rest were swimming at the pool or water park. There was a lot we didn't see at the parks, but I personally don't know that we could have handled any more park days during a 12 night trip. We alternated park day/swimming day and it was much needed for that down time. It definitely wasn't too long for my kids- we probably could have added on a few more days. We personally don't like shorter trips as they seem so much more rushed and less like a vacation.

I think the overall plan going into a trip will be a better determiner than the number of days for how kids will do on the trip. For instance, if you spend 5 days rope drop to close with no breaks and try to fit everything in, young kids are probably going to get very worn out not far into the trip. If you schedule some mid-day breaks or swim days or late start/ leave early days and have the mindset that it's about having fun rather than doing everything, most kids will probably be able to handle a trip of almost any length.

 

[TulipMom]

We're planning a May 2018 trip with our 3 and 5 year old sons, and I'm questioning our length of stay. Currently we're booked for 6 nights, 7 days (although really only 5 of those are park days - no time for parks on arrival or departure day), but I'm second guessing and wondering if that's too long of a trip for their ages. We've always done week long trips, but we haven't gone since having kids, so I figured I would ask what other people do! The furthest they've ever been away from home up until now is 3 nights. How long was your first trip with kids? Did it feel too long/short/just right?

That's exactly how long our trip was with our 3 & 5 year olds. It worked really well for us! We took a day to visit each park plus the 5th day was back at MK. Our kids did not nap, so we opted for ending our evenings early to get the kids in bed at a reasonable hour and didn't do any fireworks or nighttime shows. (Which I know that some people can't understand - but we had a FABULOUS trip and avoided a single meltdown. So, it worked for us.)

I think you have a great plan! 5 park days is great and it sounds like you have a plan to keep your kids rested via afternoon naps. You'll have an AMAZING time! Such magical ages!

 

[KrazeeK120]

We took our son in May at 18 months old. We did 4.5 park days. We had 16 hours of driving on both ends of the trip (broken up 8 and 8 on the way down and 6 and 10 on the way back). We did skip DHS on this trip, but the overall length seemed about right. We really can't be gone longer than a week due to my husband's job.

We only came back for an "afternoon break" one day and it was a disaster. My son was way too excited to nap. It was much better letting him conk out in the stroller. The rest of the days we did rope drop-about 4 pm and then came back to the resort for dinner, bath, and bed. We always put him to bed at his regular time (7:30). We will do nighttime entertainment when he is older.

 

[srwarden1928]

We are going this year with my 2.5 yo great nephew. We will have five parks days. 2 MK, 1 each Epcot, DHS, AK. If you think you need a down day, I think you need more time.

 

[Realfoodfans]

We did 5 hopper park days first trip with DGS at 3. We also did 2 water park visits. A couple of days we went back to resort for a sleep and a couple of times he napped in the stroller. We didn't do RD or extra hours (won't be this time either) and it was really good. DGD is 3 and he is now 8 going in 3 weeks whooo hooo!

 

[StaciaRae]

In 2016 we took our then 3 and 5 yr olds to WDW for the first time for 6 days and it was the perfect. We had a great time, but by the last day we were all ready to go home and my littlest had caught a cold (that we all had within a day or two of being back home).

 

[Princess Minnie321]

Last year, we went for 9 days when my kids were 5 and 3. They had so much fun! My son usually gets anxious being away, but he was having too much fun to worry. They were tired. I am not sure if it was the plane or because we turned the clocks back on our first night. They are night owls at home, but at Disney would get tired and ask for bed. They do not so so we stayed at the parks all day and left when they were tired, anywhere from 6-8 each night. I figure we have plenty of time to see the night entertainment when they are older and just wanted them happy. We are going next April for 10 days. They will be 7 and almost 5.

 

[Fosteringaprincess]

For my family we do 6 days in the park plus one day for pool and Disney springs and this works well! It seems to be our sweet spot! We have done 5 park days as well on our 1st trip..it was great but 6 days works better for us. We do 2.5 to 3 days in mk and 1 day in each other park.

 

[space_monkey]

I think your length of trip is fine and I would not consider shortening it. You won't be doing full park days at their ages so having the days to spread out will allow your trip to feel less like a missed an opportunity.
Last time I went when my daughters were 3 & 4, we only went for 3 park days. As is typical for any vacation I've ever taken to Disney, one of us got sick (always the stomach bug), this time my youngest daughter. So she was only able to enjoy the parks for 2 days which really upset me. And due to their age(slower pace, early bedtime, etc) and having to get to dining reservations, it was more like 2 half days. I regretted not spending more time on that trip and am making up for it this year by going for 7 park days which will allow for multiple days in multiple parks. Even when someone in our party inevitably gets sick for a day, it should be a fulfilling vacation.

 

[Realfoodfans]

I think your length of trip is fine and I would not consider shortening it. You won't be doing full park days at their ages so having the days to spread out will allow your trip to feel less like a missed an opportunity.
Last time I went when my daughters were 3 & 4, we only went for 3 park days. As is typical for any vacation I've ever taken to Disney, one of us got sick (always the stomach bug), this time my youngest daughter. So she was only able to enjoy the parks for 2 days which really upset me. And due to their age(slower pace, early bedtime, etc) and having to get to dining reservations, it was more like 2 half days. I regretted not spending more time on that trip and am making up for it this year by going for 7 park days which will allow for multiple days in multiple parks. Even when someone in our party inevitably gets sick for a day, it should be a fulfilling vacation.

Do you know why someone always gets sick? I always used to get sick but now I'm really careful about my food (found intolerances) and keeping hydrated and resting I'm so much better when we travel!