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My vote is to go to dW. Also, go when it is not hot (September is still very hot in Orlando) and the summer crowds can be brutal.Try to stay "on property" if you can. With a 5 year old, you can easily go back to your hotel if your son gets tired, take a nap, dip in the pool, etc. Then go back into the park later. You will find plenty of things to do that a 5 year old will love. With the economy the way it is, I am sure you will find many good deals.

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Well since I am a parent who started taking her kids to WDW when they were 8 months old...I am laughing at the statement that 5 is "too young". That can't be further from the truth, actually 5 is pretty much the sweet spot for the Disney age.

 

The majority of Disney rides don't have a height minimum. The ones that do are 40"...I can assume he is over 40" tall. ;) There are few that have a height minimum over that (Rockin Roller Coaster does)

 

My 4 year olds FAVORITE rides, Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean. When my oldest was 5, her favorite was Tower of Terror. So none of us can say that YOUR child would be fearful of the rides.

 

You actually just missed a great rate, September is called the "month of the young child", they give the meal plan for free.

 

If you want to talk to other parents who do Disney, come on over to the Family Board....

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=49

 

Or you can check out the DisBoards for ways to do it for less.

 

 

Thanks for the advice. I had heard that 42" tall was the magic number and we were waiting for DS to hit that. He has grown two inches since March and is now 42" tall! I will check out that board. Thanks!

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Why not take advantage of both worlds! Do the Disney Land & Sea Package!! You get to do Disney for 3-4 days (plenty of time for a 6 yo, IMHO) then 3-4 days on the Disney Ship! When in DW, skip all the character stuff, you get more character interactions on the ship!!! The kids club is great (in my opinion)!!! A bit more expensive, but in my eyes, well worth it!! My son turned 6 two weeks after the cruise (to give an idea of his age at the time). He enjoyed it A LOT!!! And they really cater to the kids on the ship!!

 

Just my 2 cents!!!

 

 

Last time I checked the WDW/Cruise option, it was super expensive, but I will check into again. Prices change all the time, right? Thanks!

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My vote is to go to dW. Also, go when it is not hot (September is still very hot in Orlando) and the summer crowds can be brutal.Try to stay "on property" if you can. With a 5 year old, you can easily go back to your hotel if your son gets tired, take a nap, dip in the pool, etc. Then go back into the park later. You will find plenty of things to do that a 5 year old will love. With the economy the way it is, I am sure you will find many good deals.

 

 

If we do go, that is what we want to do...go when it is definitely NOT crowded, and stay on property, and when it's NOT hot. DH and I are hot people anyway, so we do not like summertime heat.

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For me it would be a no brainer. Disney! Children grow up way too fast - and there will be many empty nester years to cruise.......

 

I have to agree that you are right about this. I can't believe how fast this first five years has gone and I don't want to miss out. Reading all these posts, it seems the majority is voting for Disney. I appreciate all the advice. I am a little scared of spending the money due to the economy, but again, I don't want to miss my DS getting the experience. I have never been to WDW myself, so it will be a first for me also. DH has been once or twice when he was a teen. I went onto mousesavers.com last night because a friend told me about it and I was almost immediately overwhelmed. I am not sure where to start or how to find the good deals that I am looking for. :eek:

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You don't need friends to travel with you to have a great time on a cruise. You'll be making lots of friends as soon as you board. Join the CC roll call and meet all the other people sailing with you.

 

There are alot of advantages to not traveling with other people. For one thing, you can come and go on your own schedule. You aren't waiting around for other people. You can focus on what you want to do instead of what everybody else wants to do. Best of all, you can kick back and relax and sunbath as long as you want. A cruise is a great time for me to catch up on some good reading.

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I have to agree that you are right about this. I can't believe how fast this first five years has gone and I don't want to miss out. Reading all these posts, it seems the majority is voting for Disney. I appreciate all the advice. I am a little scared of spending the money due to the economy, but again, I don't want to miss my DS getting the experience. I have never been to WDW myself, so it will be a first for me also. DH has been once or twice when he was a teen. I went onto mousesavers.com last night because a friend told me about it and I was almost immediately overwhelmed. I am not sure where to start or how to find the good deals that I am looking for. :eek:

 

I'd start with Disney reservations to get an idea of what they offer and go from there. They have accomodations in almost every price range and all kinds of packages. You can then check things out online and narrow your choices of accomodations and dates. You will have a WONDERFUL time. BTW, if you are going to Orlando, be sure to save at least a day for Sea World. It is a 5 year old's dream and very close to Disney.

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Thanks for the advice. I had heard that 42" tall was the magic number and we were waiting for DS to hit that. He has grown two inches since March and is now 42" tall! I will check out that board. Thanks!

 

The magic number is actually 40" tall....so he is definatly tall enough. ;)

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I have to agree that you are right about this. I can't believe how fast this first five years has gone and I don't want to miss out. Reading all these posts, it seems the majority is voting for Disney. I appreciate all the advice. I am a little scared of spending the money due to the economy, but again, I don't want to miss my DS getting the experience. I have never been to WDW myself, so it will be a first for me also. DH has been once or twice when he was a teen. I went onto mousesavers.com last night because a friend told me about it and I was almost immediately overwhelmed. I am not sure where to start or how to find the good deals that I am looking for.

 

I do understand the overwhelmed and wish I could help. It was a "simpler time" ;) :D when we did Disney with our girls. They are both out of school, married, and the older DD has a 2 year old son now. And yes, the grandson did his first Disney visit this year. And he loved it! He came back showing us how the Pooh ride went "way up high and way down low" and told us how Pluto played peek-a-boo with him (he was a little shy of the characters at first so they "played" with him from a distance.). He told us about riding the horse. Etc.

 

My older DD is now the family Disney expert. She visits all the websites previously mentioned. Knows how to look for the deals and reports back. (Gotta love it when you raise them right. :D :D ) I tried to research myself a couple of years ago and got totally lost...... :o

 

I love cruising and I love Disney. Good luck in your research! :)

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As DVC members (Disney Vacation Club) we go to WDW at least once or twice a year & we usually cruise about every other year (DCL, NCL or RCCL) & we love them all! We first took our DD when she was about 3 and I still remember how thrilled she was by all the characters & she wanted to ride It's a Small World over & over again. Like another poster said, no age is too young!

 

My children are older now (DD is 14 & my DS is 11), but we just returned from a recent trip to WDW to experience MNSSHP (Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party) & the F&W (Food & Wine Festival) & had a great time as usual. They are not thrill riders by any means, but there are a lot of tame rides that are a "must do" for us, we love the restaurants, shops, etc. As another poster stated, I also recommend staying on site so you can return to your room during the afternoon for naps or a rest & then return later for the fireworks/parades.

 

That being said, I would also consider a cruise sometime down the line, because my kids also love a cruise vacation no matter what line we choose. There is also a lot to be said for a vacation where you can have some adult time alone while your kids are in competent & safe hands in the kid's clubs. If you do decide to cruise, make sure you join a cruise meet thread. We've met some fantastic people over the years by joining the meet threads & it does make a cruise more fun when you have people to hang out with in the evenings (even if they are new friends).

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Personally, I'd wait a year or two before taking your son to Disney. There are so many nuances to DW, that a child that young really won't get the "full" experience", like he would at age 7 or 8. Having watched families with small children at our many trips to the parks, the smaller kids get tired, overwhelmed and the parents get frustrated. You'll simply get more of your money's worth of fun when he's a tad older.

 

Children are different. We took our son to DW for the first time when he was 3.5 and to this day (now 13) he tells us things he did during that trip. Your kids are only young once. If he's ready, take him to disney world and forget about cruising.

 

My wife and I cruised over 15 times before our son was born. For a period of 14 years we were unable to go on another cruise because we catered our vacations to him and never looked back. Oh, and last January we took him on a 12 night cruise and he loved it. In fact given the choice of going back to Diney or another cruise, well, we are sailing on a 13 nighter next April. The highlight to him was getting dressed for dinner and he wants to know if we can wear tuxedos for Thanksgiving dinner.

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The first 3 cruises we always went with friends and had a great time, the last cruise we went by ourselves because friends backed out and we had a great time by ourselves. We also became friends with a couple from the Meet & Mingle that I was corresponding with previous to the cruise.

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