Kids Vacation Place
 

Our only child turns 5 this November. We have travelled a lot but this time we would like to take a vacation which would be mostly for or daughter on her b’day!
The first two places came in our mind is Disney world or Disney Cruise! She has not been to any of them & we are planning as the ONLY time trip during her entire childhood.
1. We came across minimum height requirement for may top attractions in Disney world is 48 inches & the age she can make most out of it, we are NOT inclined for Disney world until she is 8 or 9 years old. Does that make sense?
2. Disney cruise reviews suggest anytime after 3 years would be the best time & may be 5 if u would like them to remember for life-time. We did cruise last year on NCL to Eastern Caribbean with her & to Western Caribbean with Royal Caribbean & Princess to Alaska when she wasn’t born. Normally we don’t like to go on a cruise every year but considering want to do something special, we are getting sold for the idea. Considering this is the only Disney cruise we would take her in her childhood, is this a best age?
3. If so, which itinerary except the ones we’ve already been on & cruise ship do u recommend?
4. Are there any other vacation places in USA, which are worth visiting once in their childhood with your kids?
Thanks in advance.

Since this is mostly about causing, I'd check out the Cruise Forum to get the best response. You'll find peorleans with lots of cruise experience that can weigh in.

Look into an all inclusive that caters to young ages. My family enjoyed Virginia Beach and Martha's Vineyard both fun family locations but all inclusive was their favorite. Have fun!

Atlantis in the Bahamas?
Five is a little young to make it the first and last time you'd ever do "something", IMO.

Thank you all for your responses.
Good suggestions but we have been to Virginia beach & MV recently. We have also done cruise Bahamas from Florida for 3 nights.
@Gretchen- Are you suggesting to stay in Atlantis?
Also, I mean plan to do it once in a childhood- there will be other opportunities later for sure!

I highly, highly recommend the Aulani Resort in Hawaii. I took my 2 young kids there a few years ago and they still remember it to this day. This resort has a wonderful kid's club that allows you to leave the kid there and let you get away for most of the day. Trust me, your kid would rather be at the club than touring the island in a rental car.

We snorkeled at the beach accessible only from the resort(even saw a giant turtle), watched shows and movies at night next to the pool, had breakfast with Disney characters (must have experience), played at the small but wonderful water park onsite, and took a ton of photos with all the Disney characters.

We've travelled a lot and have stayed at many wonderful hotels but there's nothing quite like Aulani if you have a young child.

Thank you. @ sgvdomer-Can you recommend one b/w Disney experiences for now?

Nick, I'm not quite sure what you mean. Are you referring to Aulani or other places?

Yes 5 is a good age for the Disney cruise. So many places to see and visit as she grows older....I would get the Disney Cruise off the list now.

I took my kids at age five and they only remember what they have seen on pictures... it's a waste of money... Just go to any hotel with a kiddy pool area... wait til age seven to make memories...

As a "take" on what garyt says, our kids remember going to the beach every summer, making sand castles, playing in the tide pools. Lifelong.

We have traveled extensively with our kids. They are now adults. they remember little of any trips taken prior to age 8-10. Or what they do remember is things like "that was the hotel with the snow cone machine in the lobby". Our son remembers seeing prostitutes in the lobby of a hotel in Utica, NY when he was about 8 and my explanation to him, an elevator getting stuck in a hotel, and my being seasick on a ferry to Canada.

Obviously, not the vacation memories you imagined. She will have fun at WDW. She will have fun on a cruise. But neither is likely to create a lifetime of specific memories other than she enjoyed family vacations.

Like Gail and other posters said, it is often surprising (and funny) what kids remember or don't remember. For example, just recently I was surprised that my 8 year daughter didn't remember one single thing about a trip we took to Greece when she was 6 but remembered clearly the bunkbed in a VRBO house we rented in Spain when she was 4. Go figure.

Anyway, on your WDW/Disney cruise questions, I totally agree with your thinking on waiting until she is a few years older for WDW. We took our 6.5 year old (he is 48 inches) and 8 year old over spring break this year and combined it with a 3 night Disney Bahamas cruise. My experience was that 6 years (or 48 inches) is the minimum to really enjoy WDW rides due to the height restrictions plus even more importantly the ability to stand in lines. Even so, my 6 year old had a max capacity of about 30 minutes to stand in line and that meant we mostly stuck to fastpass reservations or what we could do early am before the lines got too bad.

The Disney cruise could be great for a 5 year old although I doubt she will remember too much. But who cares if you all have a ball on it and since it sounds like you enjoy cruises, I bet you'll love it. I had never done cruises so was not sure what to expect with Disney. We did the 3 night cruise during spring break (ship was Disney Fantasy) and unfortunately my 6 year old got some sort of flu bug and spent most of it locked in our room. So, we actually doubled down and immediately booked a 7 night Western Caribbean cruise (ship was Disney Dream) in early June this year. We LOVED it. The ship is a parent and child paradise as far as I'm concerned - activities and fun for all. My kids NEVER want to go to kids clubs and on this cruise, they wanted to go to the "Oceaneer Lab" every day! The only thing I suggest on the Disney cruise is that you want to schedule any extra activities like "bibbidi bobbidi boutique" appts for your daughter or spa appts, etc early as they book up fast....

We are now Disney cruise junkies based on our experience and I would never have said I was a cruise person... :)

This is really helpful. Thank you all so much!