My wife has a new job that she will be in Orlando for two weeks in January.

I was thinking of flying down with the 5 year old for the weekend. Even if we leave Thursday night, we would only have 2 days in the parks.

Would it be worth it ?

Absolutely, it will be worth it. With a 2-year-old, you will be limited as to what attractions will be of interest, so plan your agenda ahead of time. The park should be relatively quiet at that time (unless its MLK weekend) and lines should be manageable. You will be able to do a lot more in two empty-park days than a full week during Christmas or the summer.

There are quite a few posts with suggestions; feel free to email me if you need help. My family has taken 20+ trips to Disney in the last 17 years!

Yes, it will absolutely be worth it!

With just one young child, you should be able to enjoy yourselves very much in that short period of time.

Be aware that Disney is changing their park admission rules beginning 1/1/05, so you may want to do some research if you are buying park passes (especially if you feel that you may take your child back one day).....it is expensive to buy a two day pass (almost $120 per adult), and that won't give you park-hopping privileges, so you may want to opt for more days and more options to use in the future.

Frankly, the new passes seem VERY confusing :(

Have a great time....your child will LOVE it! I went to Orlando in November for 36 hours, and did one day at Epcot, and we had a blast. You will too.

A lot depends on how experienced you are with WDW vacations. If this would be your first time there, I would probably not recommend a two-day visit--the place will seem completely overwhelming. But if you've been before and this is just a bonus couple of days, then by all means go for it!

Keep in mind that there's lots to do at Disney besides the theme parks. You could spend a day at Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard Beach, shop and eat at Downtown Disney, or just visit the swimming pool at your hotel and bask in the Florida weather. If your wife's work was in, say, Kalamazoo, wouldn't it still be worth it to have a couple of extra days with her? ;)

Not sure if basking in Florida weather, even in Jan, is that good-I guess 50 deg F is still warmer than most places.
But there is a lot to do, both in Disney and out. And depending on where you are flying from, prices are dirt-cheap, especially to Orlando, especially in Jan/Feb. (Ex: AA/DL n/s BOS-MCO or NYC-MCO $131)

A lot depends on how experienced you are with WDW vacations. If this would be your first time there, I would probably not recommend a two-day visit--the place will seem completely overwhelming.

The key is to just plan on seeing a small portion of WDW. Maybe restrict yourself to the Magic Kingdom where there are lots of rides and activities appropriate for a 2 year old. Like, _choke_: It's a small world. Go early in the day, take a long break around lunchtime, and go back for the late afternoon/parade/fireworks. Staying on-property for the weekend will definitely help. The Swan/Dolphin usually have good rates in January if you're a Starwoods collector.

As was suggested above, a day of hanging around at your hotel (if you're staying in a nice place) or shopping at Downtown Disney can be fun too. Although I wouldn't necessarily recommend a waterpark for January.

Be aware that Disney is changing their park admission rules beginning 1/1/05, so you may want to do some research if you are buying park passes (especially if you feel that you may take your child back one day).....it is expensive to buy a two day pass (almost $120 per adult), and that won't give you park-hopping privileges, so you may want to opt for more days and more options to use in the future.

Frankly, the new passes seem VERY confusing :(flyerwife is right. WDW's new Magic Your Way ticketing system is one huge nightmare, not only for park guests, but for Disney CRO (central reservation office). I am on staff at MousePlanet.com, and we recently ran a preliminary analysis of the new ticket system, in our WDW park update for December 6 (read it here (http://www.mouseplanet.com/parkupdates/wdw/wdw041206.htm)).

Basically, the fewer days you buy your ticket for, the more expensive it costs for each day. A 7-day is cheaper. BUT they will nickel and dime you on everything. It's extra if you want no expiration date. It's extra if you want to hop between parks in a day. I'm glad I have an annual pass, but it expires in early January after the Disney Marathon weekend, so I have to decide what I want to do. I think I have a few unexpired park-hoppers lying around with extra days on it here and there, so I'll probably eke those out before I decide what to do.

As for going to WDW with your 5-year-old, by all means yes! Just remember that the most important thing you need to do is to go by your child's schedule. So often, I have seen parents scolding their kids in the park: "If you don't have fun, we are taking you back to the hotel room!!" Well, they're lacking sleep, spazzing on adrenaline, too excited from meeting characters, and bouncing off the walls from eating too much candy in the parks. No matter they get all wonky.

While I'm at it, you can read some of our older articles from Adrienne Krock, "Parenting in the Parks" -- it's Disneyland-focused, but it has a lot of great general tips for parents taking their young kids to the Disney parks (link (http://www.mouseplanet.com/adriennek)). Enjoy!

Thanks, looks like we are going to pass and try to do this on a longer weekend in Febuary when she is going to have to go back again.

Just too close to Christmas to take the time off of work.