That's great, you sound like really responsible parents. I know you also seem to be a connected guy with WDW, someone who can pull out interesting and insightful resort and ride statistics. So I'm wondering what connection you used to track my family all week to audit my son's total hours of sleep per day, so that you could properly judge our parenting skills? I knew we'd be getting monitored wearing our magic bands, but had no idea it could extend this far.
I'm sure you're a phenomenal parent who always puts your child's needs ahead of your desires while on vacation at WDW and I commend you for it.
The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World (the best WDW book there is, IMHO) has an interesting section titled The Agony and the Ecstasy that delves into the topic in some depth, providing sage advise for parents taking their young ones to WDW.
One of my favorite quotes from the chapter reads:
"Whose dream are you trying to make come true: yours or your child's?
"Young children read their parents' emotions. When you ask, 'Honey, how would you like to go to Disney World?' your child will respond more to your smile and enthusiasm than to any notion of what Disney World is all about. The younger the child, the more this holds true. From many preschoolers, you could elicit the same excitement by asking, 'Sweetie, how would you like to go to Cambodia on a dogsled?'"
When our youngest twins were 3 and we took them to WDW for their first visit, DW and I knew the trip was more for us than for them. The children would have been just as happy staying at a local hotel with a swimming pool.
Frankly, just about the only things they remember from those early trips were the hotel swimming pools.
Once they were old enough to start remembering trips, they began to ask: Why did we take them when they were so young?
We knew all along that the trips were for Mom and Dad.
![Smile :) :)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)