Should I go?

The main reasons not to go: crowds, price, and meeting all your little kids’ needs while touring theme parks.

If the reasons to go are greater than the reasons not to go, you should do it.

Profiles of people considering Disney that should not go while their kids are ages 0 - 3

• You’ve never been to Disney World before.
• You don’t love Disney already, but you think probably will.
• You mainly want to go because your friends are talking about it.
• You don’t want to research/plan in advance. (If you are reading this book, you probably aren’t this person)
• It doesn’t sound fun if you have to leave the parks in the afternoon for kid naps.
• You are stressed out about money right now.

A formula to tell if you should go

1. Look up the cost of the Disney World package (hotel, tickets, meals) that fits your expected vacation. Leave off the cost of travel. You can price a package at https://disneyworld.disney.go.com. To keep it simple for this exercise, just pick a Disney hotel.
2. Write down that price here: ___________
3. Now double that number and write it here: ___________
4. Would you still want to go if it costs twice as much?

IF YES

GO! You will have a great time! I don’t predict you will end up spending twice as much as you planned on. The point of the exercise is to see if you love the idea of going to Disney World enough to outlast the crowds, prices, stress, unexpected difficulties, kid’s crying, you crying and still have a worthwhile vacation.

IF NO

You still might enjoy going. But you might get there, feel tired from walking everywhere, your kid’s are fussing and think, “Why’d we think this was a good idea?”

Think about waiting to go when your kids are older. Your kids will be more independent, you’ll qualify to ride more rides with height requirements, and they will probably have seen more Disney stuff that gets them excited about it.

Are you still reading this because you really, really hope it makes sense for you to go Disney World with little kids? Well you probably ought to go then. It’ll take a lot of research, preparation, energy and money but you can do it.

Why this formula?

If you love going to Disney World so much, you’d still go if it costs twice as much, you are going to be able to overcome the challenges, the stress, the tiredness, the foregone ‘big kid’ attractions and still have a great time.

Or if you have enough money that doubling the price doesn’t dissuade you, you are going to be able to pay for conveniences and upgrades that make going with little kids easier.

Footnote: What money can buy that makes it easier

• A bigger room to compartmentalize your kids for their sleeping
• A Disney hotel on the monorail, or walking distance to Epcot for easy retreats for breaks and naps
• More meal and snack options in the parks that you don’t have to pack yourself and bring in
• Babysitters
• A Disney resort, which gives you the airport/luggage express service
• A rental car
• Photopass Plus service where Disney photographers take your photos for you leave your nice camera in the room
• More days vacation so you can not jam-pack every day with activity
• Room service

You don’t need any of these to have a good vacation with little kids, but money will help you.