Planning a trip w/ quadruplets
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| Mon, 07-16-2007 - 11:16am |
Hi all. I have never posted here but I figure what better place to ask questions about planning a DW vacation? Anyway dh and I are planning on taking our quads to DW in April or March of 09 when he gets back from deployment. They will be 2.5 years old and even though they may not remember alot at least it will be free for them to get into most things and we'll take them back when they are older anyhow.
So just a few questions to start and I know I'll have more down the road.
1. Dh and I just purchased a timeshare so we are going to use those point to getting a room. When it comes to best resort w/ child friendly activites which are they?
2. Will the weather in March or April be appropriate for us?
3. Even though we won't be staying at a hotel w/ the character breakfast will we still be able to go into the hotel for breakfast?
More questions to come I'm sure,
Carly



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Our home timeshare is at Myrtle Beach SC so I haven't had a chance to look into the resorts at DW. If they don't let you book more then 7 months out I guess we won't be able to book one until August of next year.
Should I even look into taking the kids to any other parks then MK?
I know you say that there are alot of kid friendly resorts and that is good but will they take care of my " babies " when they go do the kid activities? What about baby sitter services? Sorry we had to do IVF to have the girls and I'm overly protective of them.
Hi There....
I'm not sure what you mean by "...will they take care of my " babies " when they go do the kid activities?" but I can tell you that they may enjoy MGM - that is where Disney Playhouse is and there are all sort of toddler activities there.
Hi, Carly,
I'm sorry I can't answer your questions about the weather & age-appropriate things to do, but the other posters here gave you excellent advice about how to find out!
We are timeshare owners too (not DVC though). Our home resort is Split Rock Resort in the Poconos, Pennsylvania. We are going to WDW in December '07. Yes, that's PEAK WEEK but I didn't want the kids to have to miss school (my two oldest are in college, they're 21yo & 20 yo). Our timeshare exchange company is Interval, and dh started calling in January, as soon as we decided to do this. Maybe because it's peak week, but we could NOT get anything within WDW site itself, so we settled for Star Island Resort. Perhaps if we go during a different week next time, it will be easier to get a suite on-site. I sure hope so because that experience must be amazing :D.
I posted questions re. Star Island in the Accomodations section of this board below, FYI.
As far as I know, you can eat in any restaurant, in the parks or the hotels, no matter where you're staying, unless it's a busy time and you might not be able to get a table. Many restaurants (I suppose the ones that are IN THE PARKS) require park admission (good guess on my part, lol). I suggest you take advantage of Advance Dining Reservations even if you're staying off-site. We have four ADR's for X-mas week; we may end up cancelling one or two, but the other two required pre-payment, I guess because they are so popular. I'm considering trying to make a couple of other ADR's if I can still get them and if they are cancellable. I'd rather have them and cancel some the week prior, than decide at the last minute that we want them and not be able to get them. OTOH, there are a lot of counter-service options that sound nice too!
Quads, wow! Congratulations :D! You sure will have your hands full ;D.
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In peace,
Max
In peace,
Max
Trading into a DVC resort through Interval or any of the other trading companies is EXTREMELY difficult to do. Not many DVC owners let their points go by unused either by them or by renting them.
Have you looked into the Shades of Green resort since you're military?
When you talk about child friendly activities, are you talking about just things to do around the resort like playgrounds and pools or are you asking about drop off type things? None of the Disney kids clubs take kids under 3, and if over 3 they must be potty trained. There are kids activities at several resorts that any child can go to, but they have to be 4 and potty trained for those activities.
Check when Easter falls, March & April are peak season and the parks will be busier than usual, with crowded being an understatement immediately around Easter. As to the weather being appropriate, that really depends on where you're coming from and what you're comparing it too.
You may visit any of the resorts for shopping or dining. You will be given a 3 hour parking pass when you get to the sentry.
At 2.5 your quads will get free admission to the parks and will eat free at all buffet/all you can eat meals. Everything else you'll pay for.
Coming from a military wife persepctive, and a TA perspective, if your dh is due home in March or April, you may want to schedule the trip fpr May, June, or wait until the fall. Deployment dates are subject to cheange, and the guys need some time to adjust not only to the time zone differences, but to the changes that have happened in the house while they've been gone. 4 little ones are going to be an adjustment, especially since toddlers change soooooooo much in a year, your dh will have a lot of adjusting to do, and you will also. You'll have to get used to him being home, having someone else that is there tohelp out all the time, etc.
FW Cabins- Dec 2006, POFQ- August 2006, FW Cabins- Dec 2005, Contemporary-Sept 2004, offsite July 2002, FW
Thanks for all the info ladies it is really helpful.
Dh is in 3rd Special Forces group and scheduled to leave in Nov 07 and be gone for 8 months ( I love SF so much more then 82nd b/c their schedule doesn't change like 82nd ) so he'll be back in July 08 and be here for 14 - 16 months then deploy again so we'll have plenty of time to re adjust before we go to DW.
Our exchange company is RCI so I'll have to look and see exactly what resorts they offer when I get my password. It should just be a few days since we just purchased it. I do know that they deal w/ both point and week resorts so we'll see.... This is our first timeshare so it'll be a learning experience.
So the drop off children activities don't take children under 3? What other options do we have so that dh and I can go and ride a few adult rides without having to take the kids?
Looks like we'll also we going to quite a few buffets since the kids eat free there.
Thanks for answering about being able to go to the character breakfast b/c I do want them to go to that.
LOL busy is not even going to be the word. Not only are we taking our then 2.5 year old quads but we have another baby due this Oct so she'll be 1.5 years old when we go. It'll be worth it for the memories though !!!!
Carly
Carly - As for riding the adult rides - they do have the child swap program (I know I don't have the name right), but basically you can ride the ride while DH stays with the kids, and then when you get off he can get on without having to wait in line again and he can ride the ride while you wait with the kids.....Good Luck... and have fun planning....
They do have in-room sitting available through Kids Nite Out--you should do some checking, though, because I think there might be a limit for the # of kids you can leave with them (w/out needing two sitters).
If we could hire one of the sitters to go to the park w/ us that would be nice. I've mentioned to my mom that she should go but I don't know if she will or not. It would be nice to take someone that I could trust b/c I'm so overly protective of my girls. Since we'll be using the timeshare to get the room maybe she'll go not having to spend so much money.
Keep the info coming ladies it is really helpful.
Oh yeah and dh just came home for lunch and told me they are leaving the middle of Oct so now we are debating having a c-section so he'll be here or just letting me go when it's time and a v-bac since this is my last chance whether he's here or not.
Carly, if I may give you my unsolicited advice...all meant with the best of intentions (warning, I am opinionated)
1. VBAC all the way, even with hubby gone, especially if this is 'your last chance'!
2. See if you can find any way to bribe your mother! If at all possible, make it a no-expense trip for her. For the benefit of having her vs. someone you hire (stranger or not) to help you out, I'd pay for her ticket, hotel, food, park tickets, EVERYTHING! If you get along with her at all, and if she's in good health to truly be a helping hand, her presence would be invaluable IMHO.
3. Do lots of research about the best WDW time of the year to minimize crowds -this can be really crucial! Sonya gave you some excellent advice about going for either May-ish or September-ish. I would stay as far as possible away from the whole Spring Break thing (which can last longer than you'd think, because different places have Spring Break at different times).
4. Just as a backup in case your mother doesn't go, I thought the idea to take a teen you trust (if you already know one, which would be lucky) would be great. I would have been thrilled to spend time with a family like yours at WDW when I was 14-16!! (Even if it mostly involved toddler care rather than riding, just BEING there!) With of course a few allowances for time for herself...as many as you would give yourselves...which takes me to the next and final point, finally:
5. I would plan on just a few, carefully selected adult-only rides, you know just the headliners (since it would be too tempting to avoid those :) and really make it all about the babies. Particularly plan on taking things easy, at their pace not yours, smelling the roses and looking at the small things toddlers will look at, etc. Then you can really have happy memories!
OK now I've said more than enough. Again I mean all of these with the best of intentions so I hope I haven't offended you with any of it. Wish you the best and keep posting, this is a great board.
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