To force dh to Disney world

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We have a limited budget for everything to come in for a 2week holiday in July for two adults and 5yo for up to £4K. We get travel discounts from friends.

Dh has found a deal to a not great hotel in Caribbean for £3k in July (st kitts)
Or all stars resort (3*) in disneyworld Orlando including park tickets (with mates rates) for £3k.
Both have no food included and I’m pretty aware £1k isn’t a lot for extras in Disney world but I realllllly want to go.

Husband says he doesn’t want to go to DW. He keeps comparing it to DL Paris which imo is ridiculous as hes not been to Florida one.

I really want to go to DW and actually am not keen on a non resort hotel in Caribbean with our hyper, never ever sleeps 5 yo. I can’t see what we’d do with her once it turns nighttime and whenever I’ve been to Caribbean pre dd I just used to go to bars etc.

Aibu to insist we go DW or are we going to end up breaking the budget?! It would not be holiday of lifetime or anything like that so would really be food and maybe trips that need the extra money.

Can I ask what are the main differences between Disneyland Paris and the US Disneys?

And why is 5 years old too young?

Go to Disney just the two of you. If all your park tickets are included in the 3k you can eat for 1k if you bring packed lunches to the park. Disney is fabulous for a five year old. I'd plan on some pool days in between park days as it is really full on. Disney does night parades and fireworks which sound perfect for your little one.

A resort with lots of activities and water sports and a good pool and kids club. Club med or Mark warner. Either of those should tire her out!

But absolutely do pay for the fast pass thingy where you can book your ride times. We brought our five year old and he absolutely loved it. You could spend a week in Magic Kingdom with a five year old. There is tons to do for a five year old. Favourite rides for my DS were Toy story and Peter Pan. My top tip is when the noise makes you feel like jumping into the river go to Tom Sawhers island and have a picnic lunch. It's shaded, cool and quiet. There is a spray pool area for little ones and I'd plan to keep going back there for a run through every few hours because it will be unbelievably hot in July.

Have you also factored in how you will keep your DD happy and occupied should you be stuck in the hotel all day for a hurricane.

3k sounds like a good price for DW, but if you are holiday snobs then 2 weeks in All Stars and 1k spending money isn’t going to cut it. It’s a perfectly pleasant hotel but it’s one of the budget options for DW.
We went for 10 days last year and spent an eye watering amount on food and very small souvenirs. We stayed offsite and ate mostly offsite including cooking quite a few times (which wouldn’t be an option in Allstars). We didn’t go shopping at all. We loved Disney but I think it would feel claustrophobic to only stay on site for 2 weeks with no budget for trips elsewhere.
It might be a bit shortsighted to force DH to go on such a tight budget because if he hates it you’ll struggle to get him to go again.

“you can eat for 1k if you bring packed lunches to the park”

Lugging around a packed lunch in 36 degree heat, then eating food that has been lugged around in that kind of heat is not very pleasant.

The Disney Fast Passes were free when we went two years ago. Has this changed TawandaT? The Universal Express passes weren't free though.

How tall is your DD? At five I'd imagine she's probably tall enough to go on all but the two biggest rides so I really wouldn't agree with those saying five is too young. My DS was four when we went and he loved it and went on most rides. Does your DH like theme parks? Is it just the Disney thing putting him off? Because you really don't need to like Disney to enjoy the parks. He could go and do his own thing while you wait to meet characters etc with DD. Although the joy on your kids face should be enough to melt any heart! It will be very busy in July though that would be the main downside I could think of. You'd want to make sure and get fast passes and things to make it an easier trip. Disney also offer children's activity centres and childcare on resort if you and DH wanted any time to yourselves. I'd either go with Disney or go back to the drawing board and find somewhere with enough to entertain DD.

Have you looked at Neilson or Mark Warner? Their childcare is fantastic and will not only keep dd busy during the day so she's more tired at night, but they also run creche sessions in the evenings so you won;t have to keep her entertained all the time.

YABU. A family holiday costs a lot of money and should be for all the family to enjoy. I'd hate to be dragged to Disney World. There are hundreds of options for holidays and you could easily find one to suit you all. Especially one that more suits your budget and your DD's extra needs.

Thanks for the replies. Our actually family holiday is at Christmas every year. This is a supplementary save me from the summer holidays holiday. I’m ok with people saying no to DW but some of these posts seem to divert from whether iabu to make dh go. I do actually like being with dh so short breaks throughout the summer seem to just mean staying away from him. I did go away in Europe without him last year but it doesn’t solve the problem of me being some carer throughout summer when dh won’t take annual leave as he feels it’s wasted if he doesn’t do something he likes with it which I get. My problem is he’s left it too late to book a summer holiday he likes within budget so we have been given these two options heavily discounted so I feel like we should just go for it. But reading through these I get that maybe that’s not going to end up in a happy ending!
Good point about hurricane season as well!

I’d look to do Disney next year - Easter is good weather wise, parks are busy but fine if you stick to uK time and arrive early. You could stay in a really nice aparthotel that your DH will like and save money by being out of Disney.

This summer why not go to Center Parcs instead of abroad. Again good quality accommodation and loads of activities for your DD.
Use the money saved to book a higher class of trip next year - and book early!

I think the only reason people including myself have commented on the sleep thing is not to dig you out op but just because it seems a huge thing in your life and what you’re basing your holiday around. Could you do a holiday with family too eg cottage caravan in uk to break up hols

Yes, go with your 5 year old and leave dh at home.
I would not go to dl/dw if you paid me 5 grand, my sympathies are with him.

I think yes YABU to make him go. He's not keen for it anyway - July is when the parks are at their busiest and the all star resorts aren't great. He'll likely not be converted to a Disney fan in those circumstances and then say no to going again in future when you have a bit more to spend on the hotel and can book in advance to benefit from the free dining plan and ticket deals.

Also bear in mind that restaurant reservations and fast pass bookings for July will have been open for a few months now so you'll struggle to get any of the more popular restaurants or experiences (e.g. Bibbity bobbity boutique in Magic kingdom for your daughter) booked at decent times, if at all.

Disney World! A 5 year old will be bored in the Caribbean surely, especially a non-resort hotel in the evenings as you said.

My OH wasn't sure about Disney at first, doesn't get excited by parades etc. easily, but loved it so much we were planning the next trip before we'd even got back home!

I'd show him everything there is to do there that may interest him if he's not interested in rides/parades, e.g. golf, shops, safari, musical theatre, exploring the different countries in Epcot,. They also have different child minding options if you both want an evening doing more adult-themed things. There's lots of lounges in the different hotels (and you don't have to be staying at that hotel to visit and go to their bars and restaurants).

Why not use some of the money to book holiday clubs for your daughter? Still go on holiday with her but also maybe book a sports club or drama club or something else she would enjoy. 8 weeks is a long time to spend being sole carer.

Do 1 week in Orlando at Disney, then drive down to the coast by Fort Myers and do 1 week on Sanibel or Captiva. The islands have a nature reserve to go alligator spotting and you can watch dolphins and manatees from the beach, or do boat tours. Lots of child friendly places to eat on Sanibel especially.

That was the format of my childhood holidays for many years and we loved it (I was 4 when we first went).

That way you’ll get both worlds - fun theme park and tropical island.

You are being unreasonable to say realllly. Have you thought about Butlins, (no, mners it is not just a centreparks for poor people) .some of their top range accommodation is nice and you can have a meals package. There will be plenty for your child to do. And no hanging around at airports.

I would go to DW. My brother and SiL took my niece there a few years back. They weren't keen for themselves, are not theme park people and in theory were only going for her. They absolutely loved it. The year after they went pack and took my mother with them. She loved it too.

The only hesitation I would have is the time of year. It may be extremely hot in Florida when you are there, which is no fun. Also, you should plan more spending money than currently.

You can get groceries delivered to your resort as well to reduce costs on snacks.
We’ve only been on dining plan but we have always spent very little money otherwise. we don’t like big breakfasts so we have eaten in the rooms, they all have fridges.
Portions are big so you can split lots of meals between you.
There’s lots of info online for Disney you can use to plan food, reduce costs.

DH wasnt keen and he loved it!

Thanks @Eggzandbacon that’s what we’re like. We were in USA at Christmas and we don’t eat a lot anyway. We are happy to save money and eat cereal bars etc and then just have meals for dd.
Anyway thanks for the replies,
so I can see that DW might be a nightmare. I agree with whoever said iabu for saying realllly too haha.

I think my dh ibu for not having booked a bloody holiday yet and dragging his feet when last year he did the same and left me in rainy U.K. stuck at home while he went to work all summer holidays.

Yes we can afford days out and I do take dd out but it’s not the same as having something to look forward to rather than a massive stretch of boring summer holidays plus I want a change of scenery if I can get one!
Btw to whoever said I’m a snob, we are not wealthy, dh gets bonuses throughout the year and we generally spend half of them on a holiday. On that we agree, it’s the place we can’t agree on!

DH did not want to go the first time, but even he had to admit, it was done extremely well and he enjoyed it! IMO, Disneyland Paris is just not in the same league, and there is not Universal Studios, etc there. We took our DCs to Florida, when all were four years old. They all absolutely loved it; and DS is now saying he will take DGD, when she is four!

There are other things to do in Florida, like the NASA Space Centre, shopping, the crazy golf, the Everglades, etc - there should be enough for all of you to enjoy!

I disagree about one great week being better than two budget weeks - it takes DH two weeks to unwind properly from work. One week just does not have the benefits of a holiday for him!

Find a third choice. I would refuse to do DW.

Dh refuses to go to the Paris one. He's always gone to Florida. My brother went to both and says Florida 1000 times better. We're saving for disney world next year. Just booked 2 weeks in a villa for next year for 3 of us, dd will be 4 so we pay full for her now. It's definitely a holiday of a lifetime and we've been saving for over a year so far for it.

£2.4k villa, flights and car hire (full cost split between 5 of us as pils are coming with us)
£1.2k park tickets
£700 pet boarding
£1k spends
£2k various other things like passport renew, food as we eat out alot there, and clothing