WDW with 13 Year Old Both and 4 year old girl?

[Epcotgal8]

I have a friend who is surprising her son, DIL, 4 year old granddaughter, and 13 (almost 14) year old grandson with a WDW trip at Christmas. They are going Spring Break time. She's asked my advice but I know granddaughter won't be able to ride some of the things 13 year old will want to and he probably isn't going to be into It's A Small World and Princess meet and greets. I suggested they split up at times. Someone go with GD with a fastpass to Frozen Ever After, and some go to Test Track with a fastpass, for example. However she doesn't want to split up. It's going to be busy and they are only doing 4 park days. I told her about rider swap but she doesn't think GD will be patient enough to wait for something that she can't do. Suggestions? Thanks in advance.

 

[danielocha30]

has she ever been in Disney? She can easily entertained the 4 year old while the others ride, there is always the stores at the exit of every ride or some performers, etc. My advice is let them make their own Disney mistakes.

 

[powellrj]

My kids have a large age gap. They are now 35, 27 and 22 so I can tell you what we always did. We would do rope drop and I would do the big kid rides and DH would take the little kids. We would meet for lunch and then stay together for the rest of the day. You can get so much done at rope drop and then you can do parades and family activities together.

 

[pl71]

I went last year with my 3 year old and 12 year old sons. The older one rode all the roller coasters alone using Fastpass or single rider and I’d wait with my toddler with a snack or at a playground or we’d do a character meet.

Splitting up just briefly is really the best option and by using Fastpass and single rider it’s not a long seperation.

 

[3gr8boys]

Divide and conquer! My boys are all four years apart...while the together time is important, I have never hesitated to split up to accommodate their different abilities and and interests. A trip that short makes it even more important. That said, I get that not everyone is willing to split up. For what it's worth, part of the fun of our family TS meals during the day is the kids talking about what they each want to do/ride/experience-again and then figuring out how to make it happen for each of them.

 

[MomOTwins]

Your advice was sound--splitting up at times is the wise choice. Heck, at almost 14, if the grandson is responsible he could even go on his own to some rides and come back to a designated meeting point after. That said, there are definitely things that both teens and toddlers would enjoy at each park: MK: POTC, Jungle Cruise, 7DMT, Buzz Lightyear; Epcot: Living with the Land, Spaceship Earth, anything in World Showcase; AK: Safari, Kali River, Navi River, Trails; HS: Slinky/Saucers; Indoor shows; Fantasmic!

 

[ame6405]

This is exactly what our plan is. There are things we will all do together, but you will NEVER get my older boys on Frozen Ever After and my 5yo daughter's head may explode if she misses it. I have been finding things for each kid and we will just split up as necessary. I think flexibility is key.