Leaving kids at home...pros and cons

[normbalko]

I need some advice. I am itching to return to WDW, but now that we have three kids (8, 4, and 1.5), it is getting a little pricey. My 8 year old has been to WDW twice (last when she was 5), and to DL once. She is at an age where she'd be more willing to do some stuff she couldn't/wouldn't do before. The 4 year old is leery of most things now.

My question is, is it wrong to maybe just take the 8 year old and leave the other two with family? And then next time, just take one of the other kids, so on and so forth? It seems like the 8 yr old would enjoy it the most and be able to enjoy it more w/o being slowed down by a larger group. My 4 year old has already told me he won't go on anything because it's all "scary".

OR, is that just wrong to split up the family during a "family" vacation? Anybody else do this or try this? I'm torn.

 

[Plowboy]

I tend to agree with everyone else. Either take all the kids and cut back a bit or maybe do adult only. There are plenty of ways to conserve $$'s. One thing you don't mention is how you get there (I see you're in MI). Cost to fly 5 would be a ton, however, if you are brave enough to drive it eek, well, good luck!

 

[normbalko]

We would love to have a "just the two of us", scaled back vacation to WDW. The problem is my oldest has some pretty bad separation anxiety, and i'm not sure how it would go leaving her for 5 days. I'm hoping she grows out of that soon!

I'm surprised it is so unanimous and that nobody out there has anything positive to say about my original plan. So glad I asked, we'll just have to figure a way to make it work with the 5 of us!

Thanks to all of you for the suggestions

 

[Saoirse1916]

Even though we've only got one child, I couldn't imagine splitting them up if we had more than one. Beyond that, I couldn't really imagine taking a trip at all without our daughter. My wife's family used to do that and they way she described it it sounded miserable despite her best efforts to spin it as a positive!

 

[Nemo14]

OK - I'll chime in on the other side. Your 8 year old has really had to share your attention, and hey, if you can afford it, why not make it a special "rite of passage" to have her own special time with you before Disney considers her an adult? I think if it's done in that spirit, it could be a wonderful experience for you and for her. I would make it a much shorter trip, or maybe just a portion of a trip with the whole family, but I really think it's not a bad idea at all.

 

[Minnie1976]

My kids are grown, but I never could have gone to Disney and not taken both boys. Oh my goodness I don't think they would ever have forgiven me. You also have to think about how you would feel knowing one or 2 were at home. You may get away taking the older ones and not the 1 1/2 on this trip.

 

[unkadug]

OK - I'll chime in on the other side. Your 8 year old has really had to share your attention, and hey, if you can afford it, why not make it a special "rite of passage" to have her own special time with you before Disney considers her an adult? I think if it's done in that spirit, it could be a wonderful experience for you and for her. I would make it a much shorter trip, or maybe just a portion of a trip with the whole family, but I really think it's not a bad idea at all.

While I agree that the 8 yo HAS had to share the attention of the parents. He/she also got 4 years of undivided attention that the 4 yo and the 1.5 yo never will see.

I like the idea of the right of passage idea, but it only works if the idea is followed through with two more exclusive trips for the other two children.

 

[normbalko]

OK - I'll chime in on the other side. Your 8 year old has really had to share your attention, and hey, if you can afford it, why not make it a special "rite of passage" to have her own special time with you before Disney considers her an adult? I think if it's done in that spirit, it could be a wonderful experience for you and for her. I would make it a much shorter trip, or maybe just a portion of a trip with the whole family, but I really think it's not a bad idea at all.

this is kind of what i was thinking, at one point in their childhood, each kid will get their own special WDW vacation. kinda like the senior spring break trip, but for kids (and minus the alcohol and debauchery).

i just wonder how the now 8 year old will handle it when she is 13 and her brother is 8 and it's HIS turn to go alone! :shrug:

 

[Nemo14]

While I agree that the 8 yo HAS had to share the attention of the parents. He/she also got 4 years of undivided attention that the 4 yo and the 1.5 yo never will see.I like the idea of the right of passage idea, but it only works if the idea is followed through with two more exclusive trips for the other two children.

Yes she got that undivided attention at a young age, but that might actually be all the more reason to spend some "alone time" with her now. My kids are 4years apart, and I know it was hard for my daughter when her little brother arrived to be patient all the time when the baby needed so much of my time. So the first Disney trip we took with the 2 of them, I booked a character breakfast for just the 2 of us while Daddy stayed with the baby. It made her feel a little more grown up, and allowed me to enjoy her company too!

 

[SMS55]

If you are going to leave anyone behind then leave the 1.5 year old. He/she can't do much,will hold you up quite a bit and won't enjoy much of anything. The only problem is that you might regret not having the whole family together. You other option is leave the kids and have some quality time with your sginificant other.

 

[vcstr]

this is kind of what i was thinking, at one point in their childhood, each kid will get their own special WDW vacation. kinda like the senior spring break trip, but for kids (and minus the alcohol and debauchery).

i just wonder how the now 8 year old will handle it when she is 13 and her brother is 8 and it's HIS turn to go alone! :shrug:

I can tell you that if my parents had done this, despite all the logic involved, 13 year old me would have been positively furious at the thought of my parents and younger sister taking a trip without me, even if I had gotten the same experience a few years earlier.

If your oldest feels the same you'll likely find it quite difficult to not follow through and take her when it's the middle child's turn.

 

[Magenta Panther]

During all of my visits to WDW, I have heard a lot of fussy, whining, crying, screaming, unhappy kids. IMO, kids don't appreciate the parks the way adults can. I salute all parents who deal with kids during their WDW visits. To me, it's staggering what they have to go through. Being single, I can happily visit the parks alone and concentrate on pleasing only ONE kid - ME! :lol:

 

[Nemo14]

i just wonder how the now 8 year old will handle it when she is 13 and her brother is 8 and it's HIS turn to go alone! :shrug:

Trust me, when she gets to be 13, she'll know much more than you, and you won't be able to do anything right anyway, so you and her brother will be glad to be taking a trip without her. :lol:

Oh, and get used to this face...

:ROFLOL:

*proudly wears her "I Survived Raising 2 Teenagers" shirt*

 

[coachwnh]

i would do an adult trip. go for a long weekend, just the two of you. my wife and I are planning to do the same for the first time. our daughter, 6, and son, 9, have been there a lot and we just want to experience it ourselves to do some adult things at disney. i'm sure we'll miss them, but the next family trip to WDW would be planned by the time we left. have fun!

 

[Flip83]

Taking only some of your kids would definitely give you "Worst Parents of the Year" Award lol. If you see friends/family later that year and they see pictures and ask "hey, where's ______" and you say, ahh well we tried saving some money. You will definitely have your ears ringing for a while. If I can't afford it at some point... I won't go till I can

 

[Allygator]

I'm assuming two adults with three children? If so maybe you can plan a day with each parent so the 8 year old can do the rides that the younger ones won't do. The other parent can do more preschool age stuff with the younger children and save the shows and mellow rides for the whole family.

 

[durangojim]

I'm a parent of a 6 yo and 3 yo. My wife and I have gone to WDW a number of times where it has been just the two of us. We have no problem doing that. We would not consider taking one child and not the other as they are both disneyhaulics. That being said, I don't feel it's my place to judge, so do what you feel is right, just make sure you plan for all possible hurt feelings.

 

[Uncle Lupe]

Most of the fun is being able to enjoy things with your kids while they are young. Seeing it as if it was all real. Creating memories that will last a lifetime. If I had left my 2yr old at home to save on airplane tickets and hassle, I would not have my favorite memories. see link http://memories.disneyparks.disney.go.com/#/detail/41937/

Just think of the middle child complex that you will feed if you cannot return at the promised time.

 

[tinkerbell35]

In my opinion do everything you can to make it cheaper on your family so that all of you can go together.Pick a time of year that maybe you can get some free bees or deep discounts in order to help with pricing. Look for free dining and look for AAA discounts which cost about 50 bucks a year to join but can save nearly 30 percent or if you go frequently one of you could by an annual pass which could save nearly as much as 40 % depending on where you stay. Pick a place you can afford and a ticket dining option based on that. If your youngest is younger than 3 then they are free all they way, so you are already saving. The memories that you are making with your family will last forever and you will never regret taking the whole group. There will be a time when they are all grown up and you will remember foundly these times you had together. I know that is how we feel. Our son is oldest at 17 and our little girl just turned 2 and while one is grown up and nearly an adult we would never go without him, when he is an adult we will always go with out daughter. The memories of the two of them together will be with us forever. As long as he waited for a sibling to, he is having just as much fun reliving it through her just as he did the very first time when he was 9 years old. Family times are only so many and before you know it they are all grown up. Do what you can for your budget, but i do encourage you to take all the family and do the best you can. Good luck!:wave: