Babysitting services for 2.5 y/o?

[DoraBA]

Planning an April 2020 trip to WDW and USO for the family - Bar Mitzvah Boy (DS13), DS10 and possibly the resident house elf, who will be 2.5 then.

We're travelling from Israel, so this is a major trip both in effort and $$$. So Ive been going back and forth trying to decide whether to bring the house elf or not. On one hand, having a 2.5 y/o is a major headache (naps, early bed time) and means being unable to be together with the older kids on the rides, but he will have a great time -- on the other hand leaving him at home will force us to make our vacation shorter than we'd like even though itll be more like our fantasy.

So my BIL had the brilliant idea of finding a local sitter, for midday naps and some evenings. Having someone pick him up from the park, get him to nap at the hotel then find a way to meet again, 3 or 4 hours later.

Im not sure how the elf will react to a stranger, hes very easy going but we're talking a complete stranger here...

Anybody ever tried something like this? Has recommended babysitting services?Maybe even Hebrew speaking ones?

Your thoughts and ideas are greatly appreciated!

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

I must admit, "house elf" is a term I've never heard to describe a toddler

I'll give you my honest opinion. First, I would feel horribly guilty leaving the toddler at home. At 2.5 there is so much at WDW for him to enjoy. Sure, you will have to go at a slower pace. But IMO it's worth slowing down a bit to enjoy the parks as a family. Second, I would not trust a total stranger with my child. Maybe for an hour or two in the hotel for a dinner reservation or something. But to have a stranger traveling to/from parks and hotel for hours at a time...I just wouldn't feel comfortable. That said, I'm sure there are people who have hired sitters and will be able to give you better advice if that's what you decide to do. Good luck!

 

[DoraBA]

Thank you, I am absolutely looking for honest replies! The sitter thing is sonething I would totally do here, but the US is a whole other (bigger, riskier) ballgame...

 

[OpieDoodle]

Personally I'd never leave my toddler with someone I do not know at all, my son just turned 3. I love the house elf name lol! We call my son "Captain Chaos"!

Personally I'd take the child with me, which I have in the past. There is SO MUCH TO DO for younger kids that I don't see a reason not to bring the child with you. Now there are some rides the 2.5 year old won't be able to ride but you can always use the rider swap system to be able to still ride everything you want. My 3 year old is 40.5" so he can ride the large majority of the rides. I do recommend a stroller but then take off and have a great time with the whole family!

If I left my son with a family I didn't know in a different country I'd be a nervous wreck. I wouldn't be able to enjoy my trip at all because I would be constantly worried.

 

[sponica]

Is there any one else who can go with you as an extra set of hands? Or would that be too cost prohibitive.

Also you'd be surprised to what extent toddlers can "hang" in the parks, especially if they stroller nap...

 

[siren0119]

I can tell you that there are babysitting services available in Disney, but they won't pick a child up in the parks and bring them to your room. You can hire a sitter to be in your room while you go out, for an hourly fee. But there's far too much liability involved for transporting to/.from rooms, hotel access, leaving the parks, etc.

And as other folks have mentioned, there is a LOT for the littles to do and enjoy in the parks, and if you aren't bringing a stroller with you - have Amazon deliver one to the hotel for your arrival (can be a simple umbrella stroller) so that the house elf has a place to nap in lines or during down time. You may be surprised at how well they can hang with the bigs And then maybe use an in-room babysitter for a couple of hours to do something specific with just you and the bigs on one of your days!

 

[stephk1981]

We have used Kids night out several times, and been amazed by their care and consideration for my DD1.... However as a previous poster stated they are legally not allowed to pick up the child and travel elsewhere with them( even on Disney transport without you there.) I vote bring a relative along, or friend that may be willing to help out. If you aren't able to bring someone, there is NO WAY I would trust someone that I'd never met to travel with my child, and hope and pray they end up where I expect them to. Not a safe idea. I know this is a huge trip for your family, and most likely a super special venture for the older two children. There are rides the 2.5 year old can go on, but will it be more challenging juggling him, heck ya it will be lol! It may not be the trip you are wanting to experience as far as larger rides with the 2 oldest kids. You all can use rider swap, but in my opinion that isn't the same as going altogether as a family. If you all will return then I might leave littlest child home, you could bring him five years from now, and then focus on the two oldest. I'm not sure if 2.5 year old is toilet trained yet, but I can tell you that for our family it takes up a ton of our day changing DD1, going back for naps, and yeah that 8 pm bedtime definitely puts a crimp in those night time plans Before DD1 came along our touring style with DS10 was great! Even pool time was more fun as far as being able to go on the resort slides altogether. We still have a ton of fun with DD1, but we live closer to Disney and can go more often. If this trip was something special for my older children and I had the option, I would leave littlest at home. Either way, I really hope you and your family have an incredibly magical vacation!
Edited:
I don't know if you will find a Hebrew speaking sitter, but also keep in mind if you do decide to bring 2.5 year old....Kids night out will go into the park and watch the toddler while your family does the larger rides. That may help to be able to keep him with you if he would nap in a stroller. They will take him to change him as well while you go on rides ( if he needs a nappy change.)

 

[Klayfish]

I would absolutely do it, and we have. We stay off site, so we had the sitter come to our rental house. Our kids were a bit older, around ages 8 and 5 when we first started. We searched on Sittercity.com and Care.com and interviewed a lot of sitters before settling on one. She was absolutely wonderful. Kids had a great time, so did we!

 

[Kathryndisney]

There are services such as Extra Hands where you have a sitter accompany you in the parks and they can also stay with the kids at your hotel for the evening, the sitter could sit in a shaded area while he sleeps in a stroller or take him on smaller rides whilst you ride the bigger ones so he could still enjoy himself in the park and you could still do the thrill rides.

 

[mjkacmom]

Thank you, I am absolutely looking for honest replies! The sitter thing is sonething I would totally do here, but the US is a whole other (bigger, riskier) ballgame...

I don’t know why you would think hiring a sitter is riskier in the US. There are companies that get great reviews. I’ve never used a sitter service, although I’ve used onsite nannies and kids clubs at resorts without hesitation.

That said, we have 5 kids, each has been left with the grandparents while the rest of the family went on vacation, sometimes even all of them!