Taken DC 2 + 4 to Disneyland Paris and they’re being nightmares

[Cheepcheepcheep]

Probably should have NC but sod it.

For Christmas we booked for DH, me, and DC 2 + 4 to go to Disneyland Paris. We don’t have stacks of spare cash and really prioritised this as they’re both in love with all things Disney. They’ve been talking about it all of Jan.

It’s been a bit of a disaster of a trip…

Arrived on the ferry lunchtime Monday, the kids were so good and loved the ferry. A smooth drive to an Airbnb near the park. Due to a few logistical issues with getting into the Airbnb they were late to bed (by an hour, adjusting for the time changes) but god. They were up for a further 2 hours, awful but put it down to holiday and over excitement.

Today, wake up, super excited for Disney. We get to the park and within 10m 2yo has a meltdown. Not unusual, I’ve had some concerns about ND but he was inconsolable. Then 4yo has one too. Very unusual for her. Screaming, crying, corpsing “I want to go home I don’t want to be here”. No amount of lovely chatting about Disney castle and meeting Mickey and Minnie could help. So we admitted defeat after all of 30m and went back to the Airbnb, have been here all day bar a quick trip to the supermarket for dinner (had planned to eat at the park).

They’re now “in bed” (8pm here) with a view to them sleeping nicely ready for an attempt to go back to the park tomorrow but up and down and shouting. They have their moments (which 4yo and 2yo don’t, potential ND issues aside) but I feel so defeated that we didn’t even manage to do anything, we literally walked two screaming kids up to the castle and back again. No rides, shows or even a meet with characters.

For the record I’m not a Disney adult, far from it. Frankly if they told me they wanted to go do a cultural city break I’d be delighted. I’m just gutted we’ve spent the best part of £1k (when costs are very tight) on something I know they’d love but tantrums and screaming have me on the RER in tears. DH and I being snappy with each other (albeit with appropriate apologies when it’s calmer) because we’re just so deflated and yelled out by the two kids.

4yo was apologetic about tantrum and appears to be trying to be better. 2yo doesn’t have a huge amount of language but accepts he needed to be kinder today.

Am I over optimistic? I’ve never bought into instagram parenting and accept there may be lows but god, I’d like to be one of the parents we saw today with kids of the same age who weren’t screaming so hard they had to leave.

Hiding in the Airbnb bedroom drinking a glass of wine while DH tries to settle them…

If you have buggies then I’d just strap the kids in for any tantrums

Sorry but that’s abusive. You don’t restrain a child, strap them down like a mad person in an 1800s asylum until they behave…

You are never too young for Disneyland, ours went from babyhood ( one ND / one NT) , they weren’t always perfectly behaved but we always had fun - even if they can only remember it from photographs .

I would probably go with the mindset of spending a morning at the park, and plan to start off just pottering around the main park for a bit, maybe head to the Cheshire cat maze (Alice's curious labyrinth) in fantasy land and they can test the waters and run around a little bit. There is also the tree house thing that someone else mentioned. There are a few other themed none ride attractions like the upstairs of the castle, Aladdins passage (which I have never seen) and there is the nautilus submarine in discoveryland. There is the tree house thing also that someone else mentioned. I don't think the riverboat or running which is a shame as that's quite low key. If they are doing OK and the rides aren't catching their attention then Mickeys Philharmagic is fun, it's like a 3D film, normally not a long queue and in a quieter part of the park. It does briefly squirt water at you from memory though. That doesn't start until like 11:30 though. If you are still having fun, there is also a 10 minute minnie mouse show in the other park, the studios, they would probably like that. I haven't seen it it is new. The studios has a few good show options if the kids are enjoying themselves, and normally queues are manageable. I've turned up only 5 or 10 mins beforehand and always got in fine, with the exception of Frozen but that's on a break anyway. If they need a break and it's not going well you can always wander out the parks and down to the lake to try and reset, instead of heading back to your accomodation.

You've taken that totally out of context! The poster made balanced comments.

I honestly think that 2 and 4 is very young for a disneyland trip. It's a lot of walking, queuing etc and the reality of it isn't the same as the fantasy. Mine were 5 and 6 when we went and we did a 4 night trip with lots of downtime built in so it wasn't so overwhelming. Lower your expectations and go with the flow a bit. If they need quiet time in between being in the park, find a quiet area for them to play and relax. Don't try and pack too much in or whip up the excitement. Keep your own responses low key and reassuring, hopefully if you are calm and chilled it will rub off on them a bit. Remember they are in a new environment away from everything familiar and that can be unsettling for little ones.

I think 2 is too young for Disney.

We did it with a 6 and 7 year old and I'd say that was the perfect age! Old enough to not get too overwhelmed but young enough to really believe that they're meeting the real Mickey Mouse/Buzz Lightyear/Cinderella/Tinkerbell etc

Ours are ND and have minor physical disabilities so we had disability buggies for them both and they were an absolute must even at that age. They both slept while we were there

I'm gutted for you though! It's very disappointing when they don't appear to enjoy it as much as you were expecting. I imagine the sounds and sights were overwhelming. Plus were they scared of the characters? Some kids don't take to them.

Disneyland Paris for Brits is a great FB group to join. We got an absolutely amazing deal staying at Newport Bay for 3 nights, four days. I think it was about £800 all in during the school hols and included a meal plan, flights etc. That was a few years ago mind but the group is great for sharing good deals.

Plus my kids loved dressing up each day in their Disney outfits that we'd bought along.

Ah, solidarity, OP. I remember those days. They were referred to by DH and I as ‘Sobfest’. Hoping for a better day for you all tomorrow!

This is exactly why I don't take my kids on holidays 😄

Mine are also 4 and 2 and they pretty much ruin every nice day out we have. They can also never seem to behave on the same day and recently it seems to be 4yr old DD doing most of the bad behaviour (crying, whinging, paddying). 2yr old DS might whinge a bit but generally it's due to tiredness and he just nods off shortly afterwards.

I feel for you OP, but as others have said they're probably just overwhelmed. They're quite young to enjoy Disney properly.

We took a 3 year old , they cried , were scared.
Wouldn't eat anything.
Took an 11 year old , all had a great time.

They’re very young and overwhelmed.

Aw that's so disappointing OP

My DCs had a meltdown at a theme park last year. We ended up sitting on a bench with a 30min timer on saying we weren't moving til the timer buzzed. I think we let them watch Bluey or something on a phone. After that they were good to carry on. It was summer though, not sure this would be an option Feb!

In terms of lowering expectations, good options would be/ have been:

• don't try to go to the park on the first day of the holiday, and have rest days. Just be in the air bnb, go to the supermarket or local playground. That's for another time obviously as you already have tickets this trip.

• don't do a whole long day at the park, just a morning (although appreciate this is a waste of tickets)

Good luck today OP. And don't beat yourself up about how it went. Mine are a bit older now, love going on holiday and I am feeling that I should have done more when they were younger as I don't have many years left! This thread is bringing back memories of UK trips which remind me why I waited for the bigger ones - but if you had waited and they loved it at 5 and 7 you would be sad you hadn't gone earlier. So make the best of it and remember as parents we can never win!

Yabu just for calling them nd alone. They are 4 and 2, they sound perfectly normal to me.

I agree. Do people just not do anything until their kids are 10?

Funnily enough if you take them everywhere early, they learn how to behave. I have a 7 year old I am confident I could take into any environment because she's been exposed to it so much. That attitude explains why some kids can't cope with anything..!

I never felt that Disney with tinies would be enjoyable. When I took my older kids there were so many over whelmed, over tired tots screaming the place down. Just look like an expensive way to be stressed to me.

some people go with little kids and it’s ok. They don’t get as much out of it as if they were older but they don’t spend the whole time screaming so everyone has a nice enough time. But there’s a reason under 7s can often go for free.

lower your exceptions. Go with a plan of what you’re going to do and tell the kids what that plan is before you go so they know what to expect. Don’t expect to be able to spend all day in the park. If you can it’s a bonus, but don’t expect it. The other side of the castle are all the little kids rides. Hopefully you’ll make it as far as the tea cups. Good luck.

I would divide and conquer going in to the park so one parent take the 4.year old and the other (whoever the 2 yo behaves better for) takes the 2yo just ro give.him time to get.in slowly.on his terms without setting himself and his sibling off, then meet back up once in and happy.

How is this helpful?! They’re there NOW.

OP I feel for you, I hope today is better.

This cannot be serious.

Sorry, op. It's tough when they're that little. Mine are also 4.5 and 2 and I wouldn't take them just yet. We always need a few days to settle in before they start having proper fun, though the oldest doesn't really need this anymore, the youngest still does. We're planning to take them when the youngest is around 4/5.

I hope you can enjoy the second day with them at Disney regardless.

OP, I was going to say that they are too young, your expectations too high and I wouldn't have done this for at least 5 years.

Wouldn't really be true though. Experience eventually taught me the above but I'd have totally done something like this based on how much I thought they'd love it. The anticipation of seeing their excitement and of watching them look around in wonder had me doing a few too many things like this before I learnt my lesson. And there were always others whose children behaved like angels and managed it like pros
It's absolutely no reflection on you OR your kids. Mine were actually really well behaved most of the time but I put them in situations they were just too young to appreciate. Always with the best of intentions, just like you.

I so hope you are having a much better day today 💐

OP ignore the "they're too young" comments, it's absolutely rubbish, always trotted out by people on MN who believe you should never do anything nice with young children because "they won't remember it". There's nothing wrong with just enjoying something in the moment even if only the adults remember all the details.
Our children have been on lots and lots of different types of holidays, long haul, short haul, European road trips, city breaks, beach holidays and without a doubt the most enjoyable trips have been to Disney (Paris and Florida). They're currently 7 and 4, the oldest has been to Disneyland Paris 4 times since 18mths plus Florida, and the youngest has been twice to Disneyland Paris since 15mths and to Florida.
They did Florida at age 6 and 3, 20 theme park/water park days in a row and loved every second. They're not overwhelmed but they're huge theme park fans and been visiting since babies so used to it. Hundreds of thousands of people visit Disneyland/Disney World very very successfully with these age children so clearly the ages are not too young for many people or people wouldn't rush back again and again.

I really hope you have a better day today, start with a show, a small gentle ride like Small World, take your time, stop for snacks, watch the parade, my daughter loved the Carousel and would be happy to ride that all day, Dumbo is another good one, just ease them in gently if they're not used to this kind of your trip. Never regret doing something magical for your children - it's lovely to take them at an age where they believe in the characters.

Can I also add that Disneyland Paris is fun at all times of the year if it’s somewhere that you actually enjoy , personally I prefer the winter months as I like cold weather . The Christmas season is by far the best , just dress appropriately