Disney World vs Land, for children under 5

[quikah]

Man you guys are all a bunch of curmudgeons. I took my son at 1 & 2 to Disneyworld and Disneyland respectively. He had a blast. He LOVED the characters. He doesn't remember a damn thing about it, but I do.

When taking young kids on trips you have to be SUPER flexible. Don't bother planning anything, go with the flow. If you can't do something, oh well.

The Park hotels at Disneyland are really nice and are super kid friendly. No such thing as a 15-minute walk from the park to the hotel in Disneyland - more like 30 minutes.

From the park to the hotel (which is the one that really matters) is 15 minutes from the hub in front of the castle to DL Hotel. Grand California is less, probably 10 minutes. I was just there last month, that is my experience. That is pushing a stroller, so probably longer if your kids are walking. Going TO the park is longer because of lines at the gate/security.

My real point though is it is a HELL of a lot better than Disneyworld. You can be waiting 15+ minutes just for the stupid bus to arrive, then another 15-30 minute bus ride. The only exception is one of the monorail resorts and only if you go to Magic Kingdom. Then it can be ~15 minutes. All this waiting around SUCKS with small kids, but is fine with older kids.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Either one really. I took my son to Disneyland when he was around 5 and he loved it. It is expensive though, for my wife and son and myself it was like $250. Thankfully, it is only about an hour's drive from north county San Diego so we didn't have any travel expenses other than gas and food.

I haven't been to Disneyworld since I was a kid so I can't really comment on how much fun it is with much accuracy... that was a long time ago.

 

[CPA]

I was going to make that same recommendation. My kids still remember going there when they were little. My kids barely remember their trip to Disney (which, if I recall correctly, was the same year.) Then again, I barely remember the trip to Disney except for one part - the "It's a Small World" ride. 17 hours of hell on that ride, or at least it seemed like it. Oh, and Space Mountain - their indoor roller coaster. Having been to Cedar Point, Busch Gardens (both of them), half a dozen Six Flags parks, Kings Island, Kings Dominion, etc., I'd have to rank that coaster around 50th of the roller coasters I've ridden.... lame. My personal feelings, after having done Disney in Orlando, was that it was greatly over-rated.

No place beats Cedar Point for coasters.

 

[DominionSeraph]

Remembering my first visit, it was pretty confusing. I had no idea why a seemingly random jumble of characters was there. Was terrified by the creepy twitching dolls singing "It's a Small World."
The Dumbo ride also freaked me out. A plastic elephant should not be in the air! I loved the planes, though.

I'd say wait a year or two for Disney unless you've been feeding them a steady stream of Disney. At really young, something like a Santa's Village is just so much better.

 

[FoBoT]

the differences won't matter to a kid that young

 

[PowerEngineer]

I agree with Fmr12B that your kids will be exhausted by noon (because you want to be there when the park opens when the lines are shortest). You need to pick a hotel to which you can easily retreat for a mid-day nap and swim (maybe not in February?). The Disney hotels are nice, but expensive; still might be your best option (sadly none have suites for larger families). Return to the park in the early evening. I wouldn't try to stay for the fireworks. Have fun!

 

[TXHokie]

Can't speak for DisneyLand but just came back from DisneyWorld with 3 kids albeit a bit older than yours. We went for 4 nights/5 days WDW during Christmas and holy hell that was some crazy crowd. Anyway I hauled 3 kids age 5, 8, and 9 and we had a blast. We splurged and stayed in one of the Disney resort (Port Orleans was the only one that has space for 5 people in one room with two beds and pull out trundle on the floor). We rode the bus, boat, monorail and did the meal plan all thru Disney. Sure it's a bit more expensive but with three kids, the convenience outweighs the cost. Can't imagine having to drive into and out of the park each day. Got the park hopper pass to jump between the 4 parks (Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Animal, and Hollywood). We rode almost all the major rides surprisingly but skipped out on the shows cause my kids just don't have patience for singing/dancing stuffs either. Our rule is we don't wait longer than 30 minutes for any rides. It was exhausting from all that walking around each day but we made good use of those "Magic Hours" where the park closes and is reserved for patrons that live on resort usually early morning or late night to take in rides with short or no lines (7-8am, or 10pm-1am, or 12am-3am depending on days and which park). This was how we did most of the rides and got back to the room late 1-2am every night and wake up at 11am and repeat. Thankfully my kids are night owls so that worked out well. When it's too crowded during the day, we just kind of chill out watching people or use FastPass or ride the less popular ride and there were sporadic holiday parades to just sit back and watch. With the Disney meal plan, we made reservations for restaurants in the park that have the Disney characters our kids liked and during dinner/lunch, they'll just come to your table for pictures so we also skipped out on lines just to see Mickey or Princesses and get their autographs etc.
The trip was more for our kids but we all gave double thumbs up to the 3-D StarWars ride at Hollywood. That was an awesome ride.

 

[bfdd]

Always Disneyland, always. Disneyworld is the shitty version for foreigners.

 

[Sonikku]

No point taking kids younger then 10 to disney anything. They can't even enjoy it.

 

[SamQuint]

My parents made me wait till I was 8. I have absolutely no memory of going. This will be more for your benefit than theirs. To a kid that young going to a park and playing on the swings is just as much fun. Just take lots of pictures of them at the park so you can prove you took them to Disneyland.

While there find out when they do the character story time. It is usually on main street somewhere. About 15 or so characters come together and snow white or one of the other princesses will read a story to the kids. Your kids will love it. My neice remembers that the most.

 

[Homerboy]

Took my daughter and son to World at 4 and 6 -- They BOTH loved it.
Took my daughter and some to Land at 6 and 8 -- They BOTH loved it.

To say they can't appreciate it is simply stupid. There is TONS of things for kids 3+ to do at either park.

That being said, World has a TON more to offer across the board.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

My wife and I went to Disneyland/LA for our honeymoon. While there we saw a family of 5 that was having a hell of a time.

Mom was pushing a stroller with a ~1 year old in it, trying to hold on to a very tired and cranky 3 year old, while being laden down like a pack mule with 2 over the shoulder bags full of kid stuff.

Dad looked even worse off, carrying just one bag, but holding the hand of a 5 year old who may have been on meth because he was so energetic and bouncing up and down, dragging his dad around running from one ride to the next. Mom had to stand by the line in the heat with the kids who couldn't go on all the rides because of height.

They gave each other the most hopeless look of despair I have ever seen: "why did we think this was a good idea?"

Wife and I decided to not bring kids there until the youngest is at least 5.

Have fun!

There problem is that while they spent thousands to get there, they are to much of tightwads to spend the extra $70 or whatever on a double stroller rental for 4 days.

I went with my kids a year ago. Age 3.5 and 6 at the time. We got the double stroller. They loved it. We loved it. Anyone that thinks a 5 or 6 year old is going to walk around for miles on end and not be miserable is an idiot.

This is Disney in Florida BTW. It's to late now, but spend the extra cash to get a hotel on the monorail. It saves time. Waiting for buses sucks. The parkhopper is nice but not needed. The Polynesian is my favorite.

Go to the park that opens first each day. It will be empty. Go to the popular rides first. And for very popular rides like Test Track and Flight (which your kids might not want anyway) get there early and get a Fast Pass. Stay in the park till around 11 or 12 am. You will notice two things. It's getting Fing hot out and it is geting VERY busy. You have young ones. Go back to the hotel and nap till 2. You can have lunch at the park before leaving or when you get to the hotel. At 2 PM, go back to the park till it closes. It will still be busy. But most parents are to stupid to go take their kids for a nap. Their kids are going to crash hard. It thins out a little bit. But at around 7 or 8 PM, it really starts thinning out. Your kids are refreshed and will have no problem staying till close.

Peter Pan needs a park hopper and can be a long wait. Get a Fast Pass and do the small world.

Your kids won't like haunted mansion. It is scary for a 4,5 year old. 6 might be OK. They have exits pre-ride if your kid is too scared.

Did I say enough? PM me with questions.

Measure your kids heights before you go to Disney. They don't say close enough if you are 41.5 inches tall and the ride has a 42" height requirement. Plenty of sites online have ride heights listed. This kind of research may also show you that you might want to wait till another time to go.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

I went when I was 8, had a blast. My brother came as well, and he was 4. He doesn't remember a second of it.

Take that how you will.

He remembers that he had a happy childhood.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

I'm going over all the posts.

Oh, BTW, I pay a premium for he Disney resort hotels because they are super nice. I am paying for the experience. Some people are on tight budgets and can not spend the extra $500 or whatever. That's fine. But if a Disney hotel is affordable, just do it. It completes the experience. 4-5 days of not driving and being in very nice amenities can make anyone happy. For me, spending 10% less overall to save money at the cost of being in a very inferior hotel is not worth it. If you are already spending $4000, what is the difference between that and $4500? Not much.

Oh, for food. Better bring alot of money or get a meal plan. With two kids, expect to spend $150+ a day. And just accept it. It's hot. Get your kids ice cream when they ask. Or a drink. Food is very expensive there.

And speaking of food. If you want better food you will need to make reservations to places for dinner.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Can't speak for DisneyLand but just came back from DisneyWorld with 3 kids albeit a bit older than yours. We went for 4 nights/5 days WDW during Christmas and holy hell that was some crazy crowd. Anyway I hauled 3 kids age 5, 8, and 9 and we had a blast. We splurged and stayed in one of the Disney resort (Port Orleans was the only one that has space for 5 people in one room with two beds and pull out trundle on the floor). We rode the bus, boat, monorail and did the meal plan all thru Disney. Sure it's a bit more expensive but with three kids, the convenience outweighs the cost. Can't imagine having to drive into and out of the park each day. Got the park hopper pass to jump between the 4 parks (Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Animal, and Hollywood). We rode almost all the major rides surprisingly but skipped out on the shows cause my kids just don't have patience for singing/dancing stuffs either. Our rule is we don't wait longer than 30 minutes for any rides. It was exhausting from all that walking around each day but we made good use of those "Magic Hours" where the park closes and is reserved for patrons that live on resort usually early morning or late night to take in rides with short or no lines (7-8am, or 10pm-1am, or 12am-3am depending on days and which park). This was how we did most of the rides and got back to the room late 1-2am every night and wake up at 11am and repeat. Thankfully my kids are night owls so that worked out well. When it's too crowded during the day, we just kind of chill out watching people or use FastPass or ride the less popular ride and there were sporadic holiday parades to just sit back and watch. With the Disney meal plan, we made reservations for restaurants in the park that have the Disney characters our kids liked and during dinner/lunch, they'll just come to your table for pictures so we also skipped out on lines just to see Mickey or Princesses and get their autographs etc.
The trip was more for our kids but we all gave double thumbs up to the 3-D StarWars ride at Hollywood. That was an awesome ride.

This is mey exact sentiment. Granted I think you can get away with the park hopper. Next time I'll be doing the park hopper. Had it for my Honeymooon and it was awesome.

 

[MotionMan]

I just skimmed the thread after the first few posts:

We live about an hour from Disneyland and have been there many, many times as kids, adults and parents. My kids are now 11 and 7.

I agree that under 5 is too young for Disney parks.

You will NOT want to do more than one or two days as most of the rides/attractions for kids that age can be done in one long day or 1.5 easier days.

Have you thought of Legoland? My kids loved that when they were <5.

MotionMan

 

[dud]

Planning a small group trip in the last week of Feb or first week of March. Looking for ATOT input, recommendations... Would prefer Land as we have friends and family in that area but fun factor for the kids is more important, will gladly go to world even if its a tad better for the kids.

Duration is debatable, can be anywhere between 3 to 5 nights, depending upon how much is there to do.

Where to say? Is it really much more convenient to say in the park? Budget is not the biggest issue but if savings is a LOT more, can say outside too. One thing to keep in mind, as they are small kids they need to rest/nap in the afternoon.
Its all about the kids, all are 3,4,5. They should have fun. Fun factor, rides, shows for kids 7 and above or adults, is irrelevant.

TIA

Please go to DL ... it's too damn crowded here in Orlando.

Too many tourists ...

 

[DesiPower]

talked to my friends today and updated them with all the ideas... I think we might want to wait a few more years before we visit the resorts so that we can enjoy all the rides and stuff, One possibility is to just visit it for one day and visit the other parks in LA. One day each park, visit 3 or 4 of them, ofcourse we probably wont be able to finish all of them but what the hell...

Another possibility is going for a all inclusive beach resort. But I am not sure with the weather in the end of Feb, there will be too many good options available. HI is definitely an option but a 8 - 10 hour flight from TX would be too much... The tropical islands would also be about 6 hours more or less but doable.... Any suggestions for good kid/family friendly beaches?

 

[MotionMan]

talked to my friends today and updated them with all the ideas... I think we might want to wait a few more years before we visit the resorts so that we can enjoy all the rides and stuff, One possibility is to just visit it for one day and visit the other parks in LA. One day each park, visit 3 or 4 of them, ofcourse we probably wont be able to finish all of them but what the hell...

Another possibility is going for a all inclusive beach resort. But I am not sure with the weather in the end of Feb, there will be too many good options available. HI is definitely an option but a 8 - 10 hour flight from TX would be too much... The tropical islands would also be about 6 hours more or less but doable.... Any suggestions for good kid/family friendly beaches?

There are no good places to vacation in Texas?

Kids that age do not know the concept of "vacation". They only know they are not in their home, not in their bed, don't have all their favorite toys, and are not eating their regular food (unless, of course, you bring it along, which is a pain). The kids are so small you should really just make things easier on you and just go some place close and relaxing for you that is kid-friendly.

When the kids are older, then you can start making memories.

(Even with older kids, "vacations" can be a pain. When we were in Tokyo with five kids under 10 (mine and my sister-in-laws family), we ate many meals at McDonalds so that we could get something in the kids.)

MotionMan

 

[DesiPower]

Texas sucks for vacations... plus, its not just kids, we all want to "go" somewhere... have a proper vacations...

 

[MotionMan]

Texas sucks for vacations...

I don't believe that for one second.

You are either being close-minded or not looking hard enough.

http://gotexas.about.com/od/familyfun/Texas_Size_Fun_For_The_Whole_Family.htm

http://seaworldparks.com/seaworld-sanantonio

http://www.sixflags.com/overTexas/index.aspx

MotionMan

 

[DesiPower]

I don't believe that for one second.

You are either being close-minded or not looking hard enough.

http://gotexas.about.com/od/familyfun/Texas_Size_Fun_For_The_Whole_Family.htm

http://seaworldparks.com/seaworld-sanantonio

MotionMan

I live in SA, been to Corpus/Port Port Aransas, South Padre, Galveston several times... camping and state parks are also nothing new to us anymore... want to go somewhere, have a sami-lavish vacations...

 

[MotionMan]

I live in SA, been to Corpus/Port Port Aransas, South Padre, Galveston several times... camping and state parks are also nothing new to us anymore... want to go somewhere, have a sami-lavish vacations...

Wait until the kids are older. Also, don't forget that all those places will be new to your kids.

MotionMan

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Bunch of babies in this thread. I guess I love my kids more than most. At 3.5 and 6 my kids loved it. And we loved it. They are not going ot remember it. Get over it. You work 50 weeks a year or something. Take some of your money and a week and have something you enjoy.

God, people act like you can not have good memories. Hint: I doubt at 60 I'll remember much about Disney when I was on my honeymoon at age 27. I guess it was a waste of time. Heck, at 35 I barely remember the details. I do remember that it was the most stress free and enjoyable week of my life that I can recall. That I will never forget.

Man, this remind me of visiting Niagara Falls ( I agree up near there). All these F'ing vacationers. They get to the falls. Take a picture of it in the background and them in the foreground and move on. I doubt 1&#37; of them sit there and enjoy it. No pictures. Just sit there and look at it. Do people know how to enjoy themselves anymore? Pathetic.

 

[Leros]

I've been to both.

If you're going with kids, you're probably only going to the Magic Kingdom park. The Magic Kingdom part of Disney Land and Disney World is close enough to not really matter. I kinda prefer Disney Land actually.

Disney World has Epcot which is a great place, but kids wouldn't appreciate it.