Camear people need some help with a DSLR

[Amstar]

looking at a canon powershot SX40 or a Canon EOS Rebel T3.  leaning towards the SX40 thoughts?

Basically looking to be able to take better pictures at Disneyworld than with my sony cybershot we took last time

 

[Neogenesis]

I'll be honest, you don't always need a  dlsr to take great pics.  I've got a SONY pocket cam that takes AMAZING pictures.  It's a Sony DSC-HX5.  I brought this over the my Nikon D50 last time.....I like it that much.  About the only time I break out the Nikon anymore is use the big telephoto lense. 

As for Canon DLSR, I can't help much, it's been a while since I last shopped for a DLSR.

[Viggen]

DSLR's do take much better pics however they are a pita to carry around especially with the larger lenses.....

My brother and his wife are big cannon fans my wife is a Nikon person thus that's what we use....

I believe you should get the best one you can.  When we were shopping my wife preferred the d60 and I thought the d90 was worth the added money.... We ended up with the d60 and 1-2 years later added a d300 (I think that's the model) for numerous reasons.  My brother did the same thing with their cannon stuff, I think they have upgraded 6 times in the last handful of years.......

You can go to click/dodds and talk to the sales people, they all seem very knowledgeable.  Not sure what the future holds for your kids but some cameras perform much better in action sports vs others.....