Vacationing with Small Kids - Disney or Just FL?

I am a Disney person, so I would go to Disney- but not stay AT Disney. We've gone a few times and just rented a house outside the parks, which was so much cheaper and we could make meals there (not all- it is still vacation). Plus, you don't have to go everyday to Disney- maybe 3 and then hit the beaches or other sites (don't forget Sea World- that was a big hit for my kids). Have a great time!!

I vote Disney, most of the rides are for fmilies withy oung childrenw ith only a handfull of rollar coster type rides. We have a timeshare we use when we go down so I can only reccomend the hotels we have used.

You have to do what you are comfortable with. I get bored easily so a beach trip especilly in Flordia would make me crazy.

You can do a day trip to Disney for your 7 year old. Otherwise enjoy the beaches, the warm weather and relaxation of not being home in the cold weather.
I often took my child to Disney for the day. Yes we did not see everything but who can.
My parents took four grandchildren when they were between 8 and 13 years old for a few days and it was a great success. My two daughters were part of the trip. My parents who never did anything like that for us when we were growing up had a wonderful time.

7 Day Disney trip...never a good idea! Our family LOVES Disney and we only live 2 hours away and get military rate so we go quite often, but NEVER more than 2 days in a row! If you do Disney, don't go 7 days! Every other day would be ideal...enough time to rest! The last time we went my kids were,4,3 and 16 months and I was pregnant. The whole family can pretty much ride all the rides.
If you don't do Disney, I suggest St. Augustine. We live an hour from there and we usually go there once a month. They have awesome beaches (nothing like the Gulf side, but...) and LOTS of fun places to visit.
Also it depends on when you go. It's not consistently warm enough for the beach until about April.

If the 5 year old isn't going to be into it and the 1 year old of course isn't going to remember it, then I would head to the beach and go to Disney on a day trip. I highly recommend St. Augustine! 90 minutes from Disney and TONS of great stuff to do there as well. The beach is gorgeous and incredibly wide. It's a great bike riding beach and since it's on the Atlantic, the waves are good. I've been going there my whole life as well as the gulf beaches, and it's hard to beat St. Augustine! There is so much to do with kids you may not even make it to Disney! We've stayed at a number of places there, and last summer we stayed in one of the newly remodeled condos at Colony Reef Resort. It was very nice and the pool was fantastic! The resort next to it looked great too, and I think it has 4 or 5 pools, so we're going to check it out next summer. Anastasia Beach, Crescent Beach or St. Augustine Beach is where you want to look. Palm Coast has some lovely new condos, but the beach isn't as nice and there's a sharp drop off in the ocean with some dangerous undertows -not the best kid beach. The sand is also much rougher there.

And yes -to echo others -unless you go to extreme south Florida, you cannot depend on warm weather and warm water until mid-late April and beyond. You can get really lucky in March, but you can also freeze your butts off!

We did Disney last Feb. We had a GREAT time. My girls are were 4 and 2. we had so much fun. We stayed at disney the whole time. Although we only did 1 park per day. we did 2 days of park then we stayed the whole day at the Hotel hanging out, doing the pool. then 2 more days at the park. We had a late flight the 6th day so we checked our luggage with magical express and let the kids pick where they wanted to return to. I reccommend the dining plan. so awesome. And make reservations for any kind of character didning you may want to do in advance. We did playhouse Disney at Hollywood studios (great for little kids), Cinderella's happily ever after at the Grand Floridian (my absolute Favorite), Cinderella's Royal Table in Cinderella's Castle Magic Kingdom (amazing cuz your in the castle but that one is pricey or 2 table service meal allotments), and Princess Storybook Dining at Akershus Royal banquet hall in EPCOT (Great to meet princesses but I didn't really like the food.). We were going to do chef mickey at the Contemporary resort but my kids wanted to do something else on the last day. Any of the big rides you can get rider switch passes. I would not go all day everyday it may be too much. Break it up a bit. Have a blast!

I think you should go for a day or two and explore the FL beaches too! I think you will have a great time!

M

I haven't read any of the other answers, but we just did Disney (and FL) this summer for the first time with our 7 yr old and 1 yr old. We stayed at the Hyatt Grand Cypress, since I had points--but would have loved to stay in a Disney villa of some sort if the price had been right.

We did Disney for 2 days (Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom)--that was enough for the 1-yr old and us! It was a nice sampler for our first time. The third day, we went to Kennedy Space Center and the 7-yr old LOVED it. The little one would sleep for a bit in the stroller (regular stroller...not an umbrella stroller) in the morning at the parks and we'd try to get her napping when we got back to the room after a full morning through lunch/early afternoon at the parks.

It's tough to do with a little one, but it is doable. I'm glad we got to go for the 7-yr old's sake. He was able to experience things differently than he would have if we'd waited a few more years. We'll make sure to go back when the little one is old enough to also appreciate and understand the Disney magic and by then the older one will get a completely different experience!

Good luck with your decision!

When our son was 5 & 18 yr old we split our vacation 3 days in Disney for my son and 3 days on the west coast in the Tampa area on the beach. We love the beach so the rest of the vacation was restful. Disney can be crazy and costly. Tampa is about 1 hr away and we stopped at some Dinosaur World on the way nothing great but my son loves dinosaurs. With 3 kids I alos recommend seeing if you can rent a time share this way you have a kitchen for breakfast/lunch and have food for the kids. We have a time share that is about 2 miles out of Disney with 2 boys I needed a kitchen.

We have been to disney a few times and I really don't even know why. My kids love the beach much more than the park. The best place for a vacation for kids that age, in my opinion, is the jersey shore. We try to go every summer. Look up ocean city or wildwood, nj and check out the boardwalk and condo rentals. Lots of rides and cotton candy, etc. Much cheaper than disney, and you walk out of the condo onto the beach. We also stop at sesame place just outside of philly on the way there or back and the kids love that more than disney. Even my 7 year old had a great time there last summer.
Anyway, back to disney, I would suggest staying somewhere around St. Petersburg - look for condo rentals there also, and you can drive to disney for one day. It's about 90 minutes away give or take. Your youngest won't be able to do much there regardless, so I would also suggest looking into the pirate/princess parties they have and just go to that. It goes from like 5pm-midnight - my 4 year old lasted all night long - it's cheaper than getting a one day ticket, and it's much less crowded. You can get right on the rides and you can also very easily do the autographs with the characters. There's nothing worse than waiting for 2 hours in 100 degree temperatures to go up and down on flying dumbo for 60 seconds. I think those 7 hours are more than enough to get the disney vibe without getting aggravated about the price or the lines.

We live close enough to Disneyland to have made my daughters first trip when she was 18 months. Some of the things were pretty scary (I forgot). After we got annual passes when she turned three it was much better and we still have have them to this day (she is 17). Unfortunately they have been over capacity this week! Good luck.

I am a Disney fan so I say Disney. And I honestly don't know why people always think that kids can be too young for Disney (unless you have a baby.) Going to a beach for a week can be so boring for a kid. My daughter gets bored after being at a beach for 2 hours. There is only so much you can do with sand and water.
Disney has so much to do for young kids. Its what it is all about. If you play it right and do your research, you can save alot of money. We went a year and a half ago. Paid $1500 for a family of 4 for a week. We stayed in one of the value resorts. We had 6 day park tickets, hotel and all our food (with 5 character meals) all included for that price. It was the best trip ever. We are going again this year. I know the prices went up and the meal plans aren't "free" anymore like they were 2 years ago. But, I choose Disney!

If it were us, we would wait to go to Disney. If you went when your youngest was 5 or 6 (and could enjoy and remember it), your oldest would be 11 or 12 and still be young enough to enjoy it. Also, by then your middle may be more brave and enjoy it more too.

I guess my husband and I tend to not enjoy paying a lot of money for something the kids won't love or even remember. Once they are of an age to have a lot of fun and really appreciate it, we love to splurge on these types of things. Plus, the younger one needing a nap still really takes a big chunk out of your fun right in the middle of the day. Quite expensive nap time. I guess we are just very practical.

Skip Disney until they are all old enough to enjoy it. Trust me on this. I just got back and I saw a lot of miserable parents pushing strollers with crying kids.
Go to the beaches and the pools and just enjoy yourself...
LBC

If you go to Disney, please be sure to stress the pretend aspect of the attractions. When we took our kids at age 6, they understood the concept of "Honey I shrunk the audience" and were quite concerned that we'd be permanently shrunk. At the age of 2 or 3 those worries were not there. Having spent the day with a child who was frightened by the third ride of the day, and refused to do any other rides, I have to recommend that you research the rides and skip any that have the potential to wreck your day. There are many attractions that are totally age appropriate and fear level appropriate for any age. There is nothing worse than spending a small fortune on Disney tickets, and spending your day sitting on a bench. That said, there is no better place on earth to have a great time with your kids, especially if they have a favorite Disney character.

Your 7 year old will probably enjoy Disney just as much when he is 10. In 3 years the others will be 8 and 4 and more likely to enjoy Disney and get more out of it, if you decide to do the all-out week-long thing. There are lots of rides and other attractions that are not scary at all and in a few years your middle child might be more open to trying them out. I would vote for 1 to 2 days at Disney, maybe a day at Sea World (which has a couple of rides but it's not the main focus), and beaches for the rest. Keep in mind though that the weather can be fickle and if you are thinking about going over the winter time, sometimes it still is too chilly in Florida to enjoy the beach much. My mother's friends spent all of February in Florida last year and it barely made it out of the 40's most days. Not typical, but it can still happen. Disney also has waterparks but again, if it is not warm enough, they will be closed.

I would go to Disney 1 or maybe 2 days then spend the rest of the time at the beach :-)

I vote to hold off on Disney.

I havent read any of the other post but my husband and I took our annual beach trip to Florida this past Spring. We took our 18 month old daughter. The beaches on the gulf side are AMAZING!!! The water is as close to carribean that you can get around here. It is calm 80% of the time, And the sand....omg, it is like flour.

If you could vacate somewhere around Tampa/Clearwater area you will be highly pleased!! The Lowry Zoo in Tampa (voted one of the best by Parents Mag) is really nice! Busch Gardens is awesome!! They have a Seseame Street area the kids LOVE! They get to meet all the characters. Between the amazing beaches and those 2 attractions, it makes for a really nice, fulfilling vacation.

We rented a condo from a couple who was extremely nice. Their website is www.barefootpassion.com. We found them on www.vrbo.com. Highly recommend these.

Good luck!! Im sure either place you choose, you will make lots of memories! Safe travels!

It's true that if you wait, you will loose the "magic" for the 7 yo. However, if he's the dare devil type, the "magic" isn't that important to him. He will have just as much fun when he's older doing the exciting rides.

So my vote would be to have a more relaxing type vacation this time. Enjoy the beaches and the warm weather. Relax and spend time with grandma. You may want to go to a different type of amusement park like Sea World, if your near Tampa, Busch Gardens would be a great place to spend a day or two.

Skip Disney and go to Sandenstin, Florida. It is a beautiful resort with sugar white beaches and tons of kids activities. I wouldn't think twice about it as Disney would not be enjoyable in my opinion. But, I am more of a beach, swim, natural fun kind of person and hate big crowds, lines, etc.

I think disney would be enjoyable for your 7 & 5 yr old. Not sure how the 1 yr old would do.

My mom took my sisters and I to disney when I was 8 and my sisters 6 & 5. We loved it. I still have memories and can't wait for my daughter to be old enough to go. :)

Maybe go to disney for a day or two and the beach for the rest of the trip?

I'd just enjoy thebeaches and skip Disney. Disney is just as magical for an 8,9,10 year old as for a 7 yr old. Heck it's magical for me and I'm 41. There are better years to do it when your 5 yr old is more open to rides and your one yr old is bigger. Maybe you can find an amusement park to bring 7 yr old to for a day.
Also, I'll share a life saver of mine with you for a trip like this... The One Trip Tote!!! Www. Onetriptote.com. It's a large, open tote that you throw all your things in for your daily vacation jaunts. Fits everything!! And collapses to fit into your carryon luggage. Great to use daily when back at home too. Multipurpose-to-the-Max!! Have a great time!!!!