Family Vacation…Maybe
I recently discovered that we have flight points that are about to expire which will cover a large portion of flights somewhere in North America and I can also use points to pay for a hotel. Upon such a discovery, some people, like me, think Yay!! We can do something fun!! Some people, like Mr. MPB think, Just let the points expire. What’s the point on having some fun? Fun is overrated. Okay, okay, maybe that’s not exactly what he thinks. He probably actually thinks, free flights doesn’t mean a free trip.
Anyways, this is very classic of Mr. MPB and I. I come up with fun ideas and then find ways to make them happen, slowing working on Mr. MPB until he eventually agrees to my fun idea. (And for the record as soon as we are experiencing said fun idea, he always says This was a great idea! I’m glad you convinced me to do it!) As for Mr. MPB, he instantly thinks about the practicalities of my fun ideas, like money and time away from work. I honestly just don’t worry too much about that stuff and I am a firm believer that we work hard so we should be able to spend some of our money to play too. And honestly, it always seems to work it’s self out which I do acknowledge is in part because Mr. MPB is responsible and prevents me from going completely crazy.
As for this particular fun idea, I want to go to Disneyland, because how much fun would Disneyland be with an almost 3 year old?! Mr. MPB wants to stay home and not spend a penny. Or maybe go somewhere like Saskatchewan – not because Saskatchewan is particularly fun, but because there is virtually nothing to do there and therefore there is no way to spend too much money. I jest….sort of.
Like normal, I’m hell-bent on my idea and Mr. MPB is frustrated with me.
In fact, Mr. MPB is so against my idea, he actually asked me to share my idea here and specifically ask if Little MPB is old enough to enjoy a trip to Disneyland or if we should wait until he’s 4 or 5.
But, I no longer need to ask this question. You see, we’ve agreed to something all on our own, sort of like real adults.
After a bit of arguing/discussing, Mr. MPB finally just stopped saying no to my idea, but actually asked me to consider another idea. He suggested re-doing last years trip to Hawaii. He suggested going to the exact same island (Maui) and even staying at the exact same condo complex – we know just how perfect it was for Little MPB and how much fun we all had. Once Hawaii was part of the discussion we also decided to consider Honolulu because some family is going and it could be fun to meet up with them.
So, in order to make the decision he asked me to price out all the trips., and I asked him to actually read about 3 year-old kids at Disneyland.
I built a spreadsheet which compared our three options – including using our free points and paying for extra’s like Disneyland park entrances, food and little souvenirs, accommodations, etc. Disneyland will actually be cheaper then Hawaii because we can use points for the flights and hotel, even though we’d have to eat our for most meals and pay for the park entrances. Honolulu and Maui will be very close in price, but distinctly more expensive then Disneyland because we can only use points for the hotel and not for our accommodations, and Hawaii accommodations are rather expensive.
In the end, with all the facts on the table, came to a pretty solid agreement:
- Honolulu. We’ve been before so we know exactly what to expect – a giant urban city on a very busy beach. While it would be nice to spend some time with family who would be there. But, the destination just isn’t what we want. And the dates the other family is going aren’t ideal for us.
- Disneyland. I want to go now. Mr. MPB is still completely adamant that Disneyland will be better in another year. And, as much as I don’t want to wait, I know it wont kill me to wait another year. Let’s be honest, I’m fairly confident Disneyland will still be there in another year.
- Maui. Last year’s trip was the absolutely best family trip we’ve ever been on. The condo complex was perfect for Little MPB. We have made a point to never go to the same place twice, but this place, it was just so perfect for us.
So, it looks like we are going to use some points and go to Maui. My compromise is putting Disneyland off for another year. Mr. MPB’s compromise is spending more money then he’d really like to.
Mr. MPB and I can both be pretty strong willed, so it’s nice that we were able to work out a compromise together. And, probably even more importantly we realize just how fortunate we are to have this problem – we both realize how fortunate we are to be able to disagree over which warm winter family vacation to book.
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My Perfect Breakdown 
Definitely wait on Disney! My older girls went at 7&9, and it’s a fun but distant memory. Anytime before that is more about parents idea/sentiments on Disney in my view. They are not going to remember and it’s easily toddler mayhem! How’s potty training going?? We are working at it over here..
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I fully acknowledge a Disney trip at this age would be for me. Which I think is a very valid reason to go to disney. In fact I’ve tried to get him to go even before kids because I really want to go. I don’t remember my one and only childhood trip to Disney whereas he went a lot so he remembers everything – which I’m sure is why we completely disagree about the Disney trip.
But the toddler mayhem of Disney vs the calm of Maui, helped sway me. Calm sounds nice.
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Oh an potty training…. little MPB is asking to sit on the potty regularly and is now having multiple dry diapers a day so we were going to start trying again this weekend. But surprise guests means that’s on hold again – I’m not potty training with an audience!
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Even though you’ve already come to an agreement, it’s worth mentioning that kids 2 and under are free at Disney parks. (Although, you probably still could claim Little MPB as 2 when you go to save a bit of money.)
I’m also writing this from Disney World where we are vacationing with an 11, 3, and 1 year old and having a BLAST! Even though the little kids might not remember it all, my husband and I will remember it. And it’s so magical to experience everything through the eyes of a child.
Enjoy your vacation!!
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This is exactly what I thought people would say!!!!!! I’m so glad you are having a blast and loving Disney! And I have to say I’m very glad you mentioned that the 3 year old is having a blast too! And I fully agree that Disney with little ones isn’t about their memories, it’s about the parents memories. So glad you are making such wonderful memories with your kids!!!
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free to 3 and under…..we just got back with our 2.5yo……..best.trip.ever! we go every year with 19yo, 14yo and now 2.5yo. he was amazing and into the characters! we had some core memory moments for sure! GO! as soon as u can
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We love Disney, especially with little ones. We took my older daughter to Disney World for the first time when she was about 2.75 and she LOVED it. We went again this year with a 5 and 20 month old and they loved it and are planning another trip next year where they’ll be 6 and almost 3.
As others have pointed out, they’re free before they’re 3 (this means park tickets, food from buffets—they don’t just eat off your plate, they can have their own plates), so this really would be your cheapest time to experience Disney.
Disney is magical at so many ages and it’s fun when they’re little and all the magic is still real.
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I’m going to be on the fun hater side just a tad. We took Rebeccca at age 7 and she was old enough to go on all the big rides, which was just as fun for us. I remember thinking, I’m never bringing a young kiddo, who needs naps, a stroller, etc here. Disneyland is magical but it is a marathon, not a vacation. Give it a year or two and you will be glad you did. Maui sounds like the perfect compromise!
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Sounds like a great compromise! And I agree, Disney would be fun now – but it will be THAT MUCH BETTER when he’s a bit older and has the stamina for the park, as well as knows the characters more.
My sister wanted to take her kids to disneyland but felt they were too young…so instead she took them to Great Wolf Lodge in Niagara Falls, Ontario. It ended up being the BEST choice for them because it’s a giant indoor water park, themed like Disney is, and has stuff specifically for toddlers. 🙂
Although, I’d take Maui over GWL any day! 🙂
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Wait on Disney. 3 year old’s get too exhausted and it would be boring then for him.
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Traveling anywhere is so good for everyone’s soul and spirit!! I hope y’all have fun!
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Ok I can weigh in here because we just got back from Honolulu and we took BG to Disneyland last year.
We were visiting friends in California and did not stay on the property. We only went for one day and that was perfect! The best part was taking BG to the Mickey’s Surfs Up! Character breakfast–she lit up like I’ve never seen before and it was truly magical. Also the service and the brunch buffet was excellent with GF options for me. And it was great because BG’s entry to the park was “free under 3”. I wouldn’t want to do “the disney experience” (staying on property & doing multiple days) at 2yrs old though–one day was enough.
This year we went to Honolulu but we stayed in Ko Olina. Even though I lived in HNL for 7+ years I never visited Ko Olina, as it was a “tourist destination” and I avoided all that (though I love Waikiki and always will). We stayed at our friends’ 3bdrm townhome and it was great! You can take a golf cart to the beach and restaurants. The 4 Seasons is there and so is *Disney’s Aulani resort*. We did the Disney character bfast at the Aulani and again, MAGICAL! Kids were dancing and singing with the characters and we got great pictures where BG had the biggest grin! We also had a car and went to Lanikai beach (my fav) and Waikiki, but you’d be fine hanging in the lagoons at Ko Olina if you didn’t get a car. So my suggestion is, look on VRBO or air bnb in Ko Olina and that way you can do Hawaii AND Disney. You can of course stay at the Aulani Disney resort, but rooms start at $500/night and they are often booked!🍍🌴🌺🌋🌈 XOXO
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Also my friend who lives in Hawaii and traveled to both Dosneyland and Disney Japan said it’s *cheaper* to go to Disney Japan–park is way cheaper and so was airfare for them. Crazy right?!
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We took Clementine to Disneyland when she was 2y8m. She absolutely loved it, skipped her nap, and conked out hard during what would have been the fireworks had it not been so windy. She doesn’t remember a bit of it, except from photos. No regrets.
Also, Disneyland is more manageable than Disney World, and we went during a slow period, relatively speaking, because we weren’t bound by traditional school vacation calendars.
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I’m glad you were able to come to a compromise! Ultimately it seems like a win/win situation no matter what decision you guys made on this! Maui is amazing and you will have another amazing time! And please can you visit the amazing pie shop “Leoda’s Kitchen and Pie Shop” for me and have a banana cream pie? Please?! lol.
And I won’t lie…I chuckled hard at your comment about Saskatchewan! That was solid gold right there!
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we’re disneyland passholders, and even i would agree wait at least another year when little MPB can go on more rides and take in more without needing to take a nap. though bear in mind tickets will definitely go up next year when star wars land opens!
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I love Maui (we got married there), so I’m excited that you’re going back.
With respect to Disneyland, we have plenty of friends who have taken their kids there even as infants (it’s less than a day’s drive from where we live). We chose to wait until this year to take our twin sons because we wanted them to be able to remember the trip, and also to be tall enough to ride most of the rides and to tolerate the (often long) waits in line.
I am so glad that we waited. Our sons loved it, and moreover, my husband and I were able to enjoy it, too, because we weren’t dealing with toddlers whose schedules had been disrupted. As a prior comment said, Disneyland is definitely a marathon. And for the money it costs, I personally think it’s kind of a waste of money for younger kids. Not that they won’t enjoy it, but they won’t get the full experience, and they won’t remember it.
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Maui sounds amazing! I think you will have fun no matter what you pick, but I can tell you from experience, Disneyland with a little one was not as magical for us as we thought it would be. My oldest son was one the first time my ex and I took him and there wasn’t too much he was able to do outside Toon Town (and just walking around the park). We were lucky because my ex’s mom came with us so we were able to sneak onto a few rides (Space Mountain!!) while she watched Little Man. I wont say it wasn’t worth it… we did have fun and he enjoyed seeing all the characters but it was pretty exhausting and were it not for grandma spending so much time with Little Man, I don’t think we would have had as good of an experience as we did. 🙂 If you had decided to take him I think you would still have had fun, but I also think Maui is an amazing decision and will allow you guys much more chill time to enjoy him while he is young!
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I took C to Disney by myself a few months ago (so she was almost 3) and we had the most amazing time. I can’t wait to take her again.
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Do it! We took our twins to Disney World when they were almost 2, almost 3, and after they turned 4. Yes, I know it’s not Disneyland but it has to be a similar experience. I know the earlier trips are more for me than them but we all loved it so much. We’re going again in October and the kids are crazy excited. They talked about going back allllll the time even before they knew we were planning on it.
For what it’s worth, Little MPB will have some memories of the trip. My parents took me when I was 3, almost 4 and I still remember things like the sandy beaches of Fort Wilderness, buying a porcelain Daisy figurine (which I still have) and being excited about Minnie Mouse undies. I thought I’d made up the beach part until I went back there as an adult!
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I must’ve missed the part about Maui. I would definitely choose that over Disney, to be honest. But I’ve never been to Hawaii so that’s part of my draw. Someone else mentioned one day at Disney and I think that’s best for the youngest ones. Multi day trips are exhausting, and we only manage because we go for a week but only do parks every other day. You should definitely plan on it soon, in the next couple years because there’s something so magical about this age. V absolutely adored the princesses this last trip and I think M fell in love with Rapunzel. They both were over the moon to meet Mickey and friends, and even characters I didn’t think they knew. Then go back with Little MPB as an older kid and enjoy all the rides together.
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Ooooo what healthy functional adults you are!! I think waiting one more year will be perfect for Disney. Around 4 is such a lovely age. We did Canada for my brothers wedding when Saxon was 3.75 years and he still remembers it and was really great to travel with. I’m totally hanging to take my kids to Disney!
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I think we should plan to meet at Disney!!! That would be the best trip ever! 💖
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I was just thinking that myself!!!! ❤️ let’s keep in touch about that x
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Yes!!!
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So I live in Florida near Disney world we go almost every weekend with a three year old and a one year old. It’s totally worth it and so much fun. We’ve been to Disneyland too a million times so if you have any questions just ask. It’s totally doable for your family at any age.
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Formal protest. I, for one, love Saskatchewan! There is so much to do, and the scenery is amazing, the people friendly. I, deliberately have staycations in Saskatchewan for our family vacations, as it is truly beautiful and wondrous.
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