Does Disney hate toddlers?

[KerrriK85]

brilliant...just where do you suggest a single mother of triplets come up with another responsible adult to look after her kids? (i'm not but i do have a friend who is in that position)???
not everyone has a mother or mother in law to help them or willing to help them!
kids toss their shoes on a regular basis-heck i've a 5yr old who does it when he's in the midst of a meltdown (yet another reason he is gac-bound)-some babies just will not keep them on no matter how much you repeatedly replace them-& then there are those who make it a game-
personally mine dont go barefoot in public past carseat-bound age (the point at which they outgrew their baby carrier/carseat) but some kids may have started out with shoes but just cant keep em on!
sure you shouldnt let yours run around rampant in a crowd, that's common sense, but there are times when what you think you see is actually something else!

totally understand, but the point is that disney has those rules for SAFETY reasons not to single anyone out. im sure you do the best, and from anothers point of view they think not (but they should mind their business when it comes to judging parents, all honesty). not even the best of the best super mommies can keep an eye on those many little ones at the same exact time in a heavily populated area thats the point im trying to get at.

Also, as a little bit of advice, if you do go and any of the children do not have a rider, ask a cast member to ride along for supervision, any cm will do it gladly, just inform the greeter outside the ride. goodluck with your planning, hope it all turns out well

 

[SteveUK]

I always enjoy the old 'I think my circumstances make me different and therefore the rules don't apply to me' argument.

In relation to taking young kids, we are going with our little one in September when he will be 18 months. I accept he won't remember it all, so we will take him again when he is old enough, but we will enjoy it this time and will have memories. Saying he won't remember so don't do it seems a bit like saying there is no point in me playing with him today, because after all, he won't remember in a few years?

 

[bmarkelon]

I always enjoy the old 'I think my circumstances make me different and therefore the rules don't apply to me' argument.

In relation to taking young kids, we are going with our little one in September when he will be 18 months. I accept he won't remember it all, so we will take him again when he is old enough, but we will enjoy it this time and will have memories. Saying he won't remember so don't do it seems a bit like saying there is no point in me playing with him today, because after all, he won't remember in a few years?

Absolutely....I don't think this debate belongs in here but people love to bring it whenever and whereever they can. This is what I always tell people, no the kids won't remember it but you will and I would never take the memories that I have made with my little ones away. I still tear up thinking about the look on my daughter's face when she was 3 and watching the show in front of the castle. Yup, I am tearing up right now. And now she is 6 about to go on your 5th trip in August and she is a part of the planning. She sits with us looking at the Guidebooks and saying what she wants to do on the next trip.
I can understand both sides, everyone has their own strong arguments for why they do what they do....so let it lie. Agree to disagree.
But when they are little the magic in their eyes is so real it makes it that much more magical for you as a parent. I also won't forget my son when he was 2 getting a running start after we waited in line for 45 minutes to give Mickey double high fives and hugs. It was so adorable and dramatic, that everyone in the line was reacting to his excitement. That's magic....I'm misty eyed now.

 

[DisneyHeather]

The vast majority of toddlers aren't going to remember a trip when they grow up. At best, they will remember hearing stories about it unless they have some kind of freaky "perfect memory" condition.

The freaky memory happens.

I vividly recall being 18 months old, sitting in my stroller, and my mother pushing me up to Mickey who had arms open wide and then hugged me.

True story.

 

[NewfieFan]

& remember folks, triplets are people too-& not all of us can afford a nanny ...not all of us have grandmothers who can help us (we are fresh out entirely) & we just want to do normal people things too!!! they are multiples, they dont have the plague & should not be made to stay at home until they can blend with the singletons of the world & appear "normal"
we are not jon+kate or octomom...we do not get tv perks or anything...we are just normal people!!!

I haven't seen one post in this thread where someone has indicated (or implied) that triplets aren't people!?! :shrug:

I think for the most part everyone has tried to give helpful advice/suggestions or just plain sympathize with the OP.

But I'm missing your point... obviously the rest of the world with multiples doesn't have a TV show and has to make do with the situation they're in. If a single mom with triplets doesn't have help... then a trip to Disney (or anywhere for that matter) is going to be difficult. That's just the way it is!

 

[rsoxguy]

Obviously if you are doing the trip for your own reasons, go. My post was directed at people who think they're doing it to "make memories" for their young kids.

It's not just about making memories. It's also about brainwashing. My wife and I started taking my daughter when she was two. Although the initial trips (there were many) are lost in her mind, she is a life-long Disney fanatic because of the careful work of the two Doctors Frankensox.

 

[bmarkelon]

It's not just about making memories. It's also about brainwashing. My wife and I started taking my daughter when she was two. Although the initial trips (there were many) are lost in her mind, she is a life-long Disney fanatic because of the careful work of the two Doctors Frankensox.

Ha! :sohappy: I love it!!

 

[mgjones03]

Our twins were 21 months old for their first visit, we got excited to see the Little Einsteins---had forgotten they had taken off their shoes while strolling around---got told real quickly that they had to have them on in order to see the characters, was a safety issue not to wear them!!! We remembered from that point on--no shoes, no characters!!!

 

[joanna71985]

Also, as a little bit of advice, if you do go and any of the children do not have a rider, ask a cast member to ride along for supervision, any cm will do it gladly, just inform the greeter outside the ride. goodluck with your planning, hope it all turns out well

I have a feeling most (if not all) attractions do not allow this anymore. I know at my attraction, we aren't allowed to ride with kids while working

 

[erinshaneb]

Well, allow me to be the jerkhole. While it's admirable to even have 5 kids, let alone travel with all of them, especially with 3 of them still toddlers, it doesn't give you (or anyone in your unusual situation) carte blanche to bend or break rules put in place to a: help WDW (or any other place you may go) manage crowds to the best of their abilities and b: minimize risk of lawsuits. Sure, a wagon is convenient for you to transport your triplets...until one of them falls out because there are no buckles. Or someone trips over it because it's so big and despite your best abilities to navigate, a theme park where people can move in any direction at any time is bound to have problems. Say what you will about Disney strollers, their height gives you more to see at eye level; a low wagon in a highly congested area where people are often looking up rather than down is a recipe for injury. Same with the shoeless kids. Sure, your kids weren't walking, but WDW has no idea which kids are able to get up and move, and they don't have the staff to follow every shoeless toddler to make sure they never try to get out of their stroller (sorry, wagon) and walk around, only to get their toes trampled, or step on sharp debris a custodial CM has yet to see and pick up.

You see your situation as proof Disney hates toddlers. I see it as proof that you thought your unique situation would afford you privileges other people don't get. Rules can slide for you, and there would definitely be no repercussions, and if something bad had happened to one or more children because of those sliding rules - falling out of the wagon, toes getting trampled, a necessary evacuation of your room during an emergency going wrong - well, WDW should just be able to look at you and know you're the forgiving kind and not the suing kind, right? And after things go SO swimmingly with you, they just loosen up all the policies they put in place for everyone. If a rule infringes on YOUR good time, it is inherently a bad rule with no purpose for being there, come on, give me a pass, don't ask me how I earned it, but believe me, I have.

Anyone can feel free to chop my head off, I don't care. I think it's ridiculous when people complain about Disney's policies because those policies inconvenienced THEM, as if that's what it was designed to do and there's no way that policy can serve any purpose besides punishing the one doing the complaining.

I was explaining this thread to my husband and this is pretty much what he said..you are not a jerkhole, just blunt !!! lol...

 

[George]

Why doesn't anyone answer the titular question? The answer is yes and you will learn more from my award winning expose that will reveal the process by which toddlers are turned into animatronics.

 

[EvilQueen-T]

i no longer have children as young as yours but last month we were sitting at the parade in the mk and noticed someone with a stroller that was a double but seemed to have a place on the back that a child a little older could sit. i saw a girl of about 5-6 sit on it for a while then when they left actually stood on this part of the stroller. i don't know if they were rentals (like kingdom rentals...def not a disney park rental) or brought from home but would something like that work for you? even with one like that you could do a regular double stroller for two of your children and one like that for the other 3. for the room thing look at a value suite, a moderate like the cabins at wilderness lodge or coronado springs, or either a deluxe suite or vacation club suite to fit the number in your party. worst case scenario maybe go without the 1 year olds until they're a little older since there is no way they'd remember going anyway and make it an extra special time with the older kids??? just a thought or maybe con a grandparent or another adult family member into joining you???

 

[DABIGCHEEZ]

Curious if anyone else has had some of the same difficulties with Disney World. It was our first visit since we had triplets and decided to reward the two older kids with a trip to WDW for all that they had to put up with in the year since the triplets were born. We got nothing but grief from Disney employees from the time we arrived.
First we weren't allowed to take our wagons in. Told they were a hazard to other guests and that some areas were "too narrow." So they forced us to get two of the park's double strollers (not enough for all five kids). Made it impossible for one of us to move when the other was on a ride with the older kids.
We were also told they triplets weren't allowed out of the strollers because they had no shoes on. They were 1 year old triplets!!! Have you ever tried to keep something on the feet of a 1 year old???? Apparently its ok for them to crawl on their hands with no "gloves" but they had to have shoes on.
Now were planning on taking my oldest daughter to WDW for her 6th Bday and we're being told we can't stay at any of the Disney resort hotels with three 15 month old toddler (have to have one adult per toddler).
We've never had these problems at at Zoo, Aquarium or any other park or attraction we've been to including Busch Gardens. Does Disney just hate toddlers?

Yep... you nailed it Disney hates toddlers. :hammer:

 

[slappy magoo]

I was explaining this thread to my husband and this is pretty much what he said..you are not a jerkhole, just blunt !!! lol...

Thanks heaps.

Originally posted by musketeer

I completely disagree with that. We took our twin 1 1/2 year old girls in december. Of course they won't remember, but WE remember. I'll always remember the girls dancing their brains out to the live music at the Magic Kingdom. Or one of them saying, "whoah" over and over again while on the Magic Carpets of Aladdin. Or one of them covering her eyes when the gorilla approached the glass at the animal kingdom and not opening them for 1/2 hour following. And I'll never forget my kid who walked all around one of the stores at the contemporary pointing out every single mickey mouse on every piece of clothing saying, "mee mou....mee mou...mee mou"

And now, 5 months later, about once a day they look through the photo album and say things like, "mommy...swimming" when looking at my wife head put on a scuba diver's body at the end of spaceship earth. Or the picture of my daughter next to minnie at a character dinner with a look of equal amounts of bliss and terror at being that close to minnie.

I can understand where one might say to wait until they remember, but the memories that WE have from that trip are priceless.

This is a discussion that comes up from time to time. The bottom line is, if you want to go with toddlers, and it's for your benefit and not theirs, have at it, enjoy every minute. But a lot of people will discuss going to WDW with toddlers as if they're doing it for them, and that's where the "WHY?" comments tend to come from. You seem to have the right frame of mind about it, but plenty of people talk about going to WDW with a toddler as if they're doing those kids a favor by taking them, rather than going because they themselves want to go, knowhutimean? My wife and I took our li'l Slappette to WDW in December of 2009, she turned 5 months old during that trip. We went because it might be the only time until retirement age we can go during December without it being the insane Holiday Week, and we wanted to see the resort decked out for Christmas. We knew that our usual mode of touring the parks would be drastically changed, perhaps gone forever, in order to accommodate our baby, and we instantly thought it was worth it as soon as we started talking about going. And I think that frame of mind, similar to yours, is the best way to consider going to WDW with toddlers.