We have a Southwest Airlines credit we need to use by March 2011 so we are trying to plan a vacation. If we plan soon enough we can get two trips out of it, but we cannot decide where to go. We need to use it in December and February during my daughters school break. We have two girls ages 4 1/2 and 2 1/2. We were thinking of taking a Disney Cruise to the Bahamas in February and maybe a day or two at one of the Disney parks. We have never been on a cruise, but everyone we know who has taken one has raved about them. Other option in February is just to skip the cruise and do the Disney Parks, but I am not sure how much my 2 1/2 year old can do with height and weight restrictions for rides. We were also thinking of going to San Francisco during the end of December as we know there are lots of kid friendly things to do. We live in Chicago and are looking to get out of the cold during our vacation so I welcome input and tips on our possible destinations and any other child friendly vacation spots. Thanks!
I would go for the Cruise. I have done both and love the Cruise with the kids. The park was also fun but I was totally exausted and needed a vacation to recover after the park.
Much to our great surprise the Disney Cruise was extremely relaxing and fun. Who would think that would be the case when you're stuck on a boat with a thousand little kids? :P We actually want to go again, and our kids are 16 & 13!
We have been to the parks a hundred times (?) - while they are very fun, they are also exhausting (I agree with Susan C.). If I was going to do the combo package I would do the parks first so you can recover on the cruise.
Good luck and hope you guys have a wonderful time.
Your kids can ride all but 2 or 3 rides in each park. Most of the rides are for younger kids. I have 3 kids and have gone with ours since they were babies and as long as you plan you will be fine. I have never taken the cruise. If I had a choice I would just go to the parks.
I have never been on a disney cruise but i have heard from many its an amazing vacation for kids and parents!
We've been on a couple of Disney cruises and are going on another one next year. I highly recommend doing the cruise first. We've ended with the cruise, but disembarked the ship so early that we were stuck at the airport for 4 hours. (Our boys were 2-1/2 and 13mos at the time, and it was excruciating.) Next time, we'll start with the cruise so that we can go straight to the hotel and have the entire day at the parks. Your youngest daughter will be tall enough for most rides...even the kiddie rollercoaster.
Cruise: if you use the childcare on the ship, your younger daughter will have to go to the nursery (for kids 3 and under), while your older daughter can do the kids club/camp. Don't know if that would be an issue for either of them, so it's something to consider. It's an additional cost, but so worth it for at least 1 evening! Mickey's Pool is only 2ft deep, so my son loved being able to stand and be independent in the pool, but swim diapers aren't allowed. If your younger daughter isn't potty trained by then, it will be torture for her not to be able to go in the pool. We just received a mailing, and they finished some construction at their private island, including a new play/splash area for little ones. The private island is great, and the water is very still.
GO and have fun!!!! Your kids will have an amazing time. My son still says, "I want to go back to the Mickey Mouse boat" and it's been a year since our last trip.
Instead of San Fransisco I'd consider San Diego it's more likely to be warmer than San Fransisco and there's lots to do there too.
Disney Cruises are expensive in comparison to Royal Caribbean or any of the others but I know every one does rave about them plus most of them do a package deal that gets you to the parks for a couple days. At Disney World there aren't that many restrictions on the rides except for the obvious, roller coasters and things like the Test Track at Epcot that she wouldn't be able to ride. Just plan on her being exhausted! We went back to our hotel room for naps each day when we took my son just before he turned three and for that reason, invest in a park hopper pass. The advantage of taking one less than three is they're free at all the parks. February is actually a really nice time to be at Disney it's not quite as crowded.
We live in S. Cal and about 20 minutes from Disneyland. We had a family reunion in Florida at Disneyworld. After adding everything up, it would have run our family $7,000 for the week....including airfare, rental car, hotel and tickets. We decided against it and went to St. Thomas for a week....it ended up being $2000 cheaper at it was Easter week!
If you came to S. Cal, you can do Disneyland and get the park hopper tickets or get a few days of tickets at Costco for WAY cheaper. You can stay at a Disney hotel or a cheaper motel within walking distance. (We like to have the kids take a nap and then go back until closing, refreshed.) Then, you could drive to San Diego and go to Sea World for the day. Legoland is on the way to San Diego in Carlsbad. All of these are perfect for kids that age. Don't forget, that the San Diego Zoo is amazing and the Wild Animal Park can be fun. There's the Long Beach Aquarium or the aquarium within LegoLand.
I lived near Chicago and near San Francisco, and in the winter SFcan be just as cold! Right now the high in SF is 55 degrees and the low is 37 degrees.
I did the Disney cruise to the Bahamas, but it was years ago. It was ok. Last year, we did a Mexican Riviera cruise on Royal Caribbean and had the time of our lives. It was late November and still in the high 80's/low 90's when we hit Mazatlan.
Our kids are 8, 4, and 2 with another on the way.
Do the cruise! You will all benefit from the fun, excitement and relaxation.
Disney Cruise is great, and if you do it after a day or two at the parks it would be relaxing. There are not too many attractions they cannot go on, or you can do the baby pass where one of you goes on with your older one and they let you pass the younger one on to the one who was just on the ride and you get to get right on and go.
San Francisco is fun, but know it is cold and wet, so if you are trying to get away from that here you will only be going from very cold and snow to not as cold and wet. It is much warm and more kid friendly in Southern California, with Disneyland, Seaworld, Legoland, and Universal.
I do have a spreadsheet for Walt Disney World I made for my boss when she took her 4 year old with info on what she could take her on and extra, I could send you if you would like it, just let me know.
J.
We took our kids to DisneyWorld this past Jan. They were almost 5 and 2 1/2. They had a BLAST! They BOTH loved the shows and many of the rides. We only avoided the "adult" rides. They went on Haunted Mansion and all the others that they were tall enough for. We hit Magic Kingdom (2 days), Animal Kingdom (1/2 day), and Hollywood Studios (1/2 day).
We've also taken them on cruises (Royal Caribbean) to the Bahamas. A BLAST! So much fun! I HIGHLY recommend a cruise!
They are old enough for either of those choices in my opinion.
