10 Days with a 4 yo

dakotix

DIS Dad #852 from Central Massachusetts
Joined
Jul 12, 2012
We may be a little crazy. Our 4 yo went to Disney last fall when he had just turned 3. We did a VERY short 3 day trip. He loved it and aside from the usual power struggles of that age we found Disney to be chock full of opportunities for redirection when our DS wasn't getting his way. Most of the time he was happy and ready to go-go-go all day long.

Our son is agreeable as long as there is fun planned. The problems usually arise when the fun stops (bedtime) or if he gets crazily focused on something he wants. For example we could be on our way to the bus to go to the Magic Kingdom and walk past the pool and there is always the chance that he would stop in his tracks and demand to go swimming. So yeah its the usual 4 yo antics.

Our next trip is at the tail end of February. He'll be 4.5 yo. Are we nuts? lol I'm Interested to hear from others with young kids who have taken similarly long Disney trips. We're staying at AKL with 10-day park hops plus the dining plan.
 
Not nuts. We took our daughter when she was four for a ten day trip. It was wonderful. So much fun seeing "the world" through her eyes.
 
Not nuts. We took our daughter when she was four for a ten day trip. It was wonderful. So much fun seeing "the world" through her eyes.
That's what we're hoping. I know he'll have so much fun. He's very excited because he was only 37 inches for the last trip and now he's 41 inches so he'll be able to go on some of the roller coasters.
 
Hi
Be sure to check out the Resort offerings.
There is usually
1. evening poolside movie offerings,
2.Campfire / S'Mores making by the pool,
3. night vision of the animals,
4. storytelling in the main Hall at Jambo house,
and there is always room service--order some cookies and milk.
You will get a resort Activity calendar when you check in.
Good Resort resource here:

http://www.aklresort.com/content/resort-activities
http://meandthemouse.com/animal-kingdom-lodge-resort-day-activities/
http://allears.net/dining/menu/animal-kingdom-lodge-in-room-dining/all-day

I always take extra paper and crayons with me,,my granddaughter loves making medallion rubbings in the lobby.
medallion.jpg


Pack popcorn microwave packs to make a treat for evening movies.(Mara Restaurant).
Just an idea,,when my granddaughter was younger we would get ready for bed (pjs and housecoat/slippers) grab a blanket and head down to the lobby where the fireplace is,,,then read one of her favorite stories,,this became a routine to a calm before bedtime activity.
Have fun planning!
Best Regards
Mel
 
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We have been going twice yearly (up until last year) since our 1st DD was 6 month old, usually a 5 day and a 10 day trip. We had great trips, not a single bad trip(knock on wood). On our 10 day trips, we learned, when they were between infant and probably 6-7, that it was best to just do 3-4 days of parks and then do a resort day just to unwind and get in pool time etc. and that really seemed to help our DD's.
 
The best thing about longer trips is that you can go at a slower pace :) I definitely recommend the resort offerings, too.
 
Hi
Be sure to check out the Resort offerings.
There is usually
1. evening poolside movie offerings,
2.Campfire / S'Mores making by the pool,
3. night vision of the animals,
4. storytelling in the main Hall at Jambo house,
and there is always room service--order some cookies and milk.
You will get a resort Activity calendar when you check in.
Good Resort resource here:

http://www.aklresort.com/content/resort-activities
http://meandthemouse.com/animal-kingdom-lodge-resort-day-activities/
http://allears.net/dining/menu/animal-kingdom-lodge-in-room-dining/all-day

I always take extra paper and crayons with me,,my granddaughter loves making medallion rubbings in the lobby.
medallion.jpg


Pack popcorn microwave packs to make a treat for evening movies.(Mara Restaurant).
Just an idea,,when my granddaughter was younger we would get ready for bed (pjs and housecoat/slippers) grab a blanket and head down to the lobby where the fireplace is,,,then read one of her favorite stories,,this became a routine to a calm before bedtime activity.
Have fun planning!
Best Regards
Mel
Those are great ideas. Thank you!
 


We have been going twice yearly (up until last year) since our 1st DD was 6 month old, usually a 5 day and a 10 day trip. We had great trips, not a single bad trip(knock on wood). On our 10 day trips, we learned, when they were between infant and probably 6-7, that it was best to just do 3-4 days of parks and then do a resort day just to unwind and get in pool time etc. and that really seemed to help our DD's.
That's what we've done with our plans. We're doing 4 days at the parks and then a "down" day where we are staying at the resort all day and have dinner reservations at Boma that evening. We are toying with the idea of going to Fantasmic at the end of that day but that all depends on how he is.
 
I love the rubbings idea a lot. I never even thought of that. It's amazing all the fun things you forget about when you're an adult. In fact I think we are going to do that this weekend! It is Halloween season after all. We live in New England so there's lots of great old cemeteries here.
 
I think the longer trip will allow you to do more of the things that catch your son's attention. You may not be able to do them at that exact moment--your example of passing the pool on the way to the parks comes to mind--but if you tell him we will swim at some specific time during the day (after dinner, before bathtime, etc) and stick to it, the antics might be minimized.

The Neverland Family on YouTube, just did a series on things to do at AKL.

Our first trip was 9 days with a 5.5 yr old and a 2.75 yr old. We did two park days then one rest day. We did RD each park day because our early bird kids never sleep past 6:15. We planned nothing past 2 pm. Some days we stayed later at the parks, some days we went back to the resort to swim, some days we left and came back to the parks. It was all dependent on the mood of both of the kids.
 
We did 10 day trips when our oldest was 4 and our twins were 1. Starting when they were about 7 and 4, the trips stretched out to 14 days...and now they are 17 days. It's wonderful!!! We take a nice slow pace, or at least try to. We stay offsite, as that's what we want to do. We'll spend 4-6 hours in the parks, then go "home" and relax, go to the pool, go for dessert, or any other number of things. We'll alternate between mornings and nights in the parks. So some mornings we sleep in nice and late and don't hit the parks until 4pm. Some days we're in the parks by 10am. We take a day trip to Daytona Beach.
 
I just finished an 8 day trip with DS9 and DS4. It was great. Of course, we passed the pool every single day that we left for the bus or came back from the bus. However, I always promised him that we would spend an afternoon or 2 at the pool (and we did).

It is tiring for a 4 year old. And it was hot when we went. But we paced ourselves. We had a stroller. We had some "half days" where we were done with the parks by noon or 2 pm and went swimming. I found the splash parks at MK and Epcot were lifesavers for him when it was hot.
 
I don't see anything wrong with 10 days. I would like understanding of the 10 days of park hoping. The only reason I am asking is I thought about a short trip and would get park hoppers but for a longer trip single day seems okay to me. Is it just a preference for some individuals, or is it for dining purposes?
 
I don't see anything wrong with 10 days. I would like understanding of the 10 days of park hoping. The only reason I am asking is I thought about a short trip and would get park hoppers but for a longer trip single day seems okay to me. Is it just a preference for some individuals, or is it for dining purposes?
We always park hop. Its just what we like to do. We have dozens of trips to each park under our belt so we tend to focus on a specific area of the park rather than trying to do the whole thing in a day. We'll then go to another park to hit a show or a few other attractions. It also is pretty necessary since we are doing the dining plan. Most of the restaurants we like are at Epcot too. We have 5 days or so in a row where we have reservations at a restaurant at Epcot.
 
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I don't see anything wrong with 10 days. I would like understanding of the 10 days of park hoping. The only reason I am asking is I thought about a short trip and would get park hoppers but for a longer trip single day seems okay to me. Is it just a preference for some individuals, or is it for dining purposes?

For my family hopping takes time, so on a longer trip we are not so worried about how long we stay in any given park. We tend to eave earlier, relax at he resort or swim, and then later go to a different park for dinner. I don't like to lose a lot of travel time on shorter trips.

I find the longer trips easier on children. Our DGD was 4 on her first trip, and it was 8 days. We lengthened the trips to 10 for a while after that because we could spend more time just letting her enjoy the moment.
 
We have been going 2-3 times a year since DS was 2. He is nearly 10 now. DH goes once every other year with us, so normally it's just been me and DS. We have DD 12 months now , and even with her, I find longer trips are preferable. We do 1 or 2 5-6 night trips, then a 10-11 night trip every year. On longer trips it's much more relaxing, because we spend less time in the parks each day with more resort time. As far as diverting attention, I've always let DS dictate what we do on vacation at Disney. If he wants to do the fast passes we have scheduled, we go, if not nbd...we can do them next trip. If he wants to swim, we swim. I figure it's Vacation at Disney, I'm there to have fun with my kids, I don't force them to do anything ( with the exception of ADR's because I don't want a no show charge.) Hope you have an amazing trip with your little one!
 
We have been going 2-3 times a year since DS was 2. He is nearly 10 now. DH goes once every other year with us, so normally it's just been me and DS. We have DD 12 months now , and even with her, I find longer trips are preferable. We do 1 or 2 5-6 night trips, then a 10-11 night trip every year. On longer trips it's much more relaxing, because we spend less time in the parks each day with more resort time. As far as diverting attention, I've always let DS dictate what we do on vacation at Disney. If he wants to do the fast passes we have scheduled, we go, if not nbd...we can do them next trip. If he wants to swim, we swim. I figure it's Vacation at Disney, I'm there to have fun with my kids, I don't force them to do anything ( with the exception of ADR's because I don't want a no show charge.) Hope you have an amazing trip with your little one!

Good advice! Our son is very strong willed and we find that working with him and involving him in decisions works out best. Otherwise its a constant tug of war. lol and i mean WAR. Validating his feelings/ wants/ desires and then offering a viable alternative if need be tends to work. For example (real example), It's 2am and he wakes me up wanting to go for a walk outside. And I say, "oh I know it would be super spooky and fun to walk outside wouldn't it?" (nods head yes) "But we need to make sure we are well rested so we can do xyz tomorrow. Lets look out the window instead and then get some rest". Works most of the time.
 
We started doing long trips when our youngest was 2. It's less pressure to get all the rides packed in, so the kids have more time at the pool, kids club, and naps. We love the long trips.
 

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