Taking one kid and not the other?

For those who have done individual trips, why? And this really is purely curiosity--just because the thought would never even crossed my mind! Maybe because my boys are only 2 years apart and actually still get along great--even at 12 and 14. We waited until they were 5 and 7 so they both enjoyed their first Disney trip (and so did we!). And they've had so much fun together on every trip since.

I can understand if one child has a particular interest. Let's say the baseball fan wants to go to Cooperstown or something and the other couldn't care less. That I get.

But at Disney there's so much for everyone, why wouldn't everyone go? Is it ages? Is it a boy/girl thing? But then why not split up for part of a day, or even a whole day, but still do some things together?

Honest--this isn't a judgment! Just trying to understand because I think I'm missing something!
 
To answer why do individual trips - why not? My oldest two are also just 2 years apart but very different. DD was 6 at the time of her first trip/trip just with me and DS was 8 for his. DD LOVED/LOVES thrill rides and is full of energy; she was able to last all day and was excited over absolutely everything. DS gets queasy easily and is also very laid back. I was still able to do everything we wanted with DS but we went at a more mellow pace. If I took them at the same time (which I have done since then) for their first trips, my DD wouldn't have been able to do everything she wanted. I was able to give each kid the best style of trip to suit their individual needs/wants. I was able to give my full attention to each of them and share a place that I love with them each at their own special time.
 
A 3 year old has no idea what WDW is, and if they do and stay home with Dad, it's only going to affect him as much as mom and big sister let it. Don't plan in front of his face and he won't care. I planned and packed for the entire last trip as surprise for my 13, 9, and 8 year old and they didn't have a clue until 15 minutes before we left for the airport. It can be done discreetly in a house with a 3 year old, trust me.

It depends on the kid. My three year old knows what Disney World is from Disney Jr. The Mine Train comes up twice a week because those commercials are in heavy rotation. He also cares when one parent leaves and the other one stays - even when it was Daddy who took a four day trip (and Daddy is not the favorite!)

Your kid may be absolutely fine - you know whether he will be or not.
 
It depends on the kid. My three year old knows what Disney World is from Disney Jr. The Mine Train comes up twice a week because those commercials are in heavy rotation. He also cares when one parent leaves and the other one stays - even when it was Daddy who took a four day trip (and Daddy is not the favorite!)

Your kid may be absolutely fine - you know whether he will be or not.

True.

We don't let 3 year olds in our house decide or have final say on our vacation plans, so I guess I will never know.
 
My 3 year old daughter DEFINITELY knows what Disney World is and also can rattle off all the princesses names when she sees them in the parks. I have over 150 pictures of her having a BLAST at Disney 2 years in a row. She even remembers going her first trip when she was 2.5 years old and our most recent trip was at 3.5 years old (just got back from a 9 day stay last week). I have a 7 year old and a 3 year old and they couldn't fathom being without each other, so for me splitting them up in the name of Disney fun is not an option. However, I do recognize to each it's own and every family is different. Do what works for you and your family :) Whatever you decide have fun sweetie :)
 
It depends on your family & the exact circumstances. I took just my daughter (11 yrs old at the time) last year in October, for a week. We focused on things that interested her specifically (like the Wild Africa Trek, which would've been torture to my son). My son was 15 at the time & felt (& still feels) he has outgrown Disney (oh my!!). Both kids had been to WDW twice (at ages 5 & 9, then at ages 7 & 11). My son preferred to go winter camping in the boonies with Dad rather than do WDW with Mom. Crazy kid, but each had a blast & neither envied the other. :-)
 
True. We don't let 3 year olds in our house decide or have final say on our vacation plans, so I guess I will never know.
I don't let my kid make vacation decisions either (he was mad my husband left but he's going away again in two months) - I was just saying that my kid would care about it and know if he was missing out on Disney. Only the OP knows how their kid will react and if they're okay with managing that response.
 


My 3 year old daughter DEFINITELY knows what Disney World is and also can rattle off all the princesses names when she sees them in the parks. I have over 150 pictures of her having a BLAST at Disney 2 years in a row. She even remembers going her first trip when she was 2.5 years old and our most recent trip was at 3.5 years old (just got back from a 9 day stay last week). I have a 7 year old and a 3 year old and they couldn't fathom being without each other, so for me splitting them up in the name of Disney fun is not an option. However, I do recognize to each it's own and every family is different. Do what works for you and your family :) Whatever you decide have fun sweetie :)

The difference between your 3 year old and MOST 3 year olds, including the one in the OP, is that your 3 year old has been to Disney. I know my boys would love Disney if they went right now. For us though, the cons outweigh the pros for this age group. We do other, closer to home, less expensive vacations with them for now. For our family, that is what works.

As for the why on individual. I've never done an individual trip just yet. I do plan to when my girls are a little older. I think with 4 children it is important to give each of them special time alone with their parents as well as time as a family.
The reasons we didn't bring our boys on this last trip were many. There is a HUGE price difference between going as a family of 4 and going as a family of 6. We could have done it but for the extra money we just didn't think it would be 'worth' it, for us. Also, the idea of strollers, naps, missing fireworks shows, more frequent potty breaks, ect....didn't sound like the most fun thing in the world to me ;) It was *MY* first trip to Disney World (I managed to live 3 decades without going so I'm sure my boys will be fine a few years ;) ) and I wanted to enjoy it, I didn't want to mess with Child Swap and not ride with my husband on rides.
We considered for a short amount of time paying for my mother-in-law to fly down with the boys the last few days of our trip, but then we decided that we just wanted to focus on the girls this time. We'll go again in 2016, and this time we'll go as a family but I would do the trip we did this year again in a heartbeat.
 
When I was in high school, my mom took me and not my brother, and he was a miserable wimp about it. He was a goalie in hockey and couldn't go because he had games. But there were nightly calls about how much he wanted to be there, and how miserable he was with my dad.

We did not feel one bit sorry for him though and had a great time. He's gotten over it since then. :rotfl2: So, it wasn't a problem in the long run, just be prepared for some whining in the short-term.
 
I am planning to take my two youngest next Oct. they will be 8 and 4. I really wanted to take their older brothers too but they will both be over 10 and would more than double the price of the trip. I will be talking to the boys about it before I actually make any kind of reservations. If it happens DH will take the boys to the Halloween thing at Cedar point, or an overnight stay at Kalahari. We'll see if that makes up for it. I won't let them determine what we do but I don't want them to be traumatized either.
 
I have no problem leaving the ekids for H & I to go on vacation (we've left them to do Disney on our own), but I couldn't go to Disney -- their most favorite place in the world -- and leave 1 or 2 behind. They would be miserable and I would feel terribly guilty. My trip would be ruined thinking of how sad they were.

I am a middle child and still feel like my other siblings get more "whatever" from my parents and I never want my kids to feel that way about me. We try to keep EVERYTHING as equal as possible.

If this isn't going to be an issue for you, go for it & enjoy your trip!
 
I have been taking mom/son trips and mom/daughter trips for a several years now. We have older kids (18, 13, 13) and it's just been great! No one has had hurt feelings yet and it's a great way to spend quality time with them. We also do family trips where everyone goes. With our daughter she and I have been to Disney and NYC and we have done a couple of mini trips within Texas. And with our sons, we have been to Wash DC and just came back from a week at Disney. I really feel like it strengthens our relationship.
 
Not happening in our family, WDW is our family vacation, we all go
 
I have a 7 yr old daughter and a 3 year old son. I am looking at maybe taking us all back to the world for our daughters birthday in May but am onsidering going on a girls trip wiht just she and I. Has anyone done this with young kids? I don't know how upset our son would be, he would get to have fun weekend with daddy, probably a 5 day trip, two travel days of course. I know every kid is different but does this sound like. A generally bad or good idea to you all? Our next trip wouldn't be until 2016

I would consider a similar trip when he is around the same age.

But otherwise, I think he will be okay at age 3 to sit it out.

But our family doesn't due typical Disney vacations. We also do parent child trips for various reasons to various places. My kids appreciate fair but don't expect equal. My son went with his dad when he was 5. His sisters didn't bat an eye, but they are older. While they would have appreciated going along, they understood. Baby sister was not even 1, yet--so she didn't care. I may have been the most jealous.:rolleyes1

However--if this was the *only* family vacation and just the little one was sitting At home with a sitter, my opinion would be different.
 
I have a 7 yr old daughter and a 3 year old son. I am looking at maybe taking us all back to the world for our daughters birthday in May but am onsidering going on a girls trip wiht just she and I. Has anyone done this with young kids? I don't know how upset our son would be, he would get to have fun weekend with daddy, probably a 5 day trip, two travel days of course. I know every kid is different but does this sound like. A generally bad or good idea to you all? Our next trip wouldn't be until 2016

I have taken 2 birthday trips to WDW with just DD and I (last one was this October for her 12th birthday). DS was fine with it as I have planned DS/Dad events with him as well at other times. It's an awesome idea, especially since having multiple children limits your time with each on a daily basis. I try to plan at least one special trip (sometimes small, sometimes a little more) each year to get that alone time that is so important to both you and your child. I know a lot of people think it's unfair or that you should never give one child something without giving the same to the other, but honestly as long as you spend time with each child at some point I see no problem with it at all.

As far as the trip itself. It's one of the best times you would ever have and you would be able to focus on the things you enjoy together. The bonding opportunities are like no other. Good luck deciding.
 
That wouldn't fly in our family.
We are all going for both DDs birthday this month and DSs birthday in March.
Maybe when the kids are older, we could consider solo trips.
 

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