What age do you think kids will remember their trip?

[My2Qtz0205]

I remember being terrified of Haunted Mansion when I was 3. I also remember going on 20 Leagues Under the Sea.

 

[monorailsilver]

I think it depends on the kid.

For me, I went to Disney when I was about 3 1/2-3/4 in 1975. What I remember was going somewhere not in Disney with an orange head person to take pictures with. I swear we went to sea world and rode in dolphin strollers. I remember watching the fireworks from the Poly in our room (which is now the Hawaii building) with my cousin, my mother & his mother while my sisters and his sister were at the MK. And my mom or his mom closed the blinds during the fireworks because it was too late and we had to go to sleep.

Fast forward a few years and we went to California in 1977. Elvis died while we were on that trip, I remember hearing that. We were in traffic in the desert on our way from LA area to Las Vegas. My mom got out of the car to find out why (I don't recall that). We went to Disney but I don't remember it at all I don't think. I recall the hotel we stayed at on the Pacific Ocean and there was a dolphin pool that was small & I threw them in a tic tac to eat and they drained the pool and it was still there. And there was a girl at the people pool who told me if your 2nd toe is longer then your big toe you will be a princess so we both stretched our toes as best as we could.

Basically what I am saying is that I was 3 & 6 on those trips & I don't recall much.

We took our oldest to Disney when she was 15 months old. I don't think she remembers anything but lets just say at that time of her life when she was there she loved it. She had so much fun. *I* needed to go to Disney & she was free to get in the park so it worked out for us. Our other 2 kids also did Disney pre age 3. And again they loved it, my son was more shy but still they all loved it.

Its not about what they can remember its about making a memory at that time.

 

[sophie832]

I think the older you get, the less you remember. The first memory I have of a vacation with my parents is the pattern of the floor in a hotel we stayed in when I was just 1 year old. How do I remember that? I don't know. Memories of trips through basically my teenage years are just moments, such as a show we went to or a person we met. We took a trip to WDW in July when I was 11 (almost 12), and I barely remember it. Maybe I blocked it because we stayed in Kissimmee, and it was 100+ degree hurricane weather, lol. I have a lot more memories of Disneyland or other local theme parks from my childhood because we went to those places more often. We are taking our 2-year-old to WDW in October, and I know he won't remember it, but we will have fun and we are really probably going more for ourselves. I think the "moments" stick with you as memories as early as 3 or 4 years old, so if you definitely want your child to have some memory of the trip, that's probably a good age.

 

[MandiC]

I know I already responded on this but I do have to say. We left our younger two kids at home but it was NOT because we didn't think they would remember it. I'm not sure if they would have or not, we left them home for a number of other reasons. #1, we wanted to focus on our girls, and princesses and whatever else they wanted to do. #2 it was also MY first trip, I didn't want to deal with strollers/diapers/naps/ect. I wanted to be able to do fireworks and rope drop and just be pretty flexible and #3....they weren't tall enough for almost all of the rides with height requirements lol not a huge deal but I wanted us to be able to ride together, not deal with child swap, ect. Bringing them would have cost a LOT more, since we would have had to pay for 2 additional plane tickets (they were both older than 2) and a larger room, plus their park tickets, meals, ect So we weighed our options and decided it was best to leave them home.

If we had had the money when our oldest was younger, I would have brought her when she was a toddler and not worried about the memories, it's a different experience and if it is your only child or you have kids similar ages you will be going slow anyways so not a big deal

 

[abouley]

Our first trip to WDW was when my oldest was 19 months, then we went when they were 2 and 4 and 4 and 6. We're going back this year and they will be 8 (almost 9) and 11. I don't think either of them really remember the trip when they were 2 and 4 but my son has memories of the trip when he was 6. I'm really looking forward to this trip as they will be able to ride everything and I know they will really remember it. Plus we are doing US and since my youngest is reading Harry Potter she is super excited.

With that said, I have such fond memories of those trips. My DD isn't into princesses anymore so I'm so glad that we got to do the princess thing with her and they really aren't into characters anymore so not really sure how many character meals we'll do (especially paying adult price for DS). I have such great memories of their character interactions when they were young! I think at each age the trip has changed for us and we make a different kind of memory. Now, if I were only going to go once with my kids what age would I choose? I think around 6 and 8 would have been ideal.

 

[bluezy]

I know I already responded on this but I do have to say. We left our younger two kids at home but it was NOT because we didn't think they would remember it. I'm not sure if they would have or not, we left them home for a number of other reasons. #1, we wanted to focus on our girls, and princesses and whatever else they wanted to do. #2 it was also MY first trip, I didn't want to deal with strollers/diapers/naps/ect. I wanted to be able to do fireworks and rope drop and just be pretty flexible and #3....they weren't tall enough for almost all of the rides with height requirements lol not a huge deal but I wanted us to be able to ride together, not deal with child swap, ect. Bringing them would have cost a LOT more, since we would have had to pay for 2 additional plane tickets (they were both older than 2) and a larger room, plus their park tickets, meals, ect So we weighed our options and decided it was best to leave them home.

If we had had the money when our oldest was younger, I would have brought her when she was a toddler and not worried about the memories, it's a different experience and if it is your only child or you have kids similar ages you will be going slow anyways so not a big deal

We had a similar situation. The first time DH & I took our kids to Disney, it had been 20 years since we had been there (and only MK existed....though Epcot was being built the last time I had been there). Our older boys were 12 & 14 at the time while the "littles" were 1 & 2. We knew the older boys would want to do different things then the littles and it wouldn't really be a "family" trip as DH & I would most likely have to split up and one of us do things with the older boys and the other one deal with the littles. So the littles stayed home with my mom, sister, and 2 beloved regular babysitters that they knew well. I don't even think they missed us. Meanwhile, we could just focus on the older boys for the week and didn't have to worry about strollers, diapers, appropriate food, naps, early bedtimes, etc. (honestly, it was a refreshing break for me that gave me a chance to recharge my inner self). We never once regretted not taking the littles on that trip, but we knew we'd return with them in a few years. When we returned in 3 years (for what was supposed to be our "last" trip for the kids) the older boys spent the days off doing their own thing in the parks and would meet us for dinner every evening. DH & I spent our time doing whatever the littles (not so little at that point) wanted. We've been back 4 more times since then (so much for "we'll take the kids once or twice...."). I completely agree that the ages of all of the kids is something to be considered when taking very young children to Disney. I wouldn't have hesitated to take all 4 kids on that first trip if they were all close in age.

 

[Broker]

We took our first when our daughter was 6. My nephew will go with us when he's 6. 6 is kind of the magic number for us and they certainly remember everything at 6.

 

[scrapquitler]

What do you guys think? Im opposed to taking infants as they can't appreciate the magic of Disney yet! What age for those in the know did your kids start remembering or appreciating the magic a bit more..?

I'm leaning in the 4 5 or 6 range but I can be mistake!

Parents help!

We took our daughter for her first trip at 5 years 2 months, and she does not remember it. She remembers the later trips (4th, 5th and 7th grade)
DS went at 9 months, 3 years old and 4 years old, and doesn't remember any of them.

I think that infants and little ones enjoy the magic, even if they don't 'appreciate' it or remember it later. For the moment they are enthralled, and YOU get to treasure that memory even if they don't.

 

[MystikaFaith]

We went when my daughter was 4 and my son was 8. My daughter (now 9) remembers lots from our Disney World adventures, she even brings up things periodically that I had completely forgotten. My son on the otherhand (now 13) remember very very little about our Disney trip.

 

[librarymom2007]

It really doesn't matter if they'll remember it, they'll enjoy it at the time and YOU'LL remember it forever.

This is how I feel. If I took DD when I thought she would remember it then she wouldn't have experienced the magic of meeting Mickey and the princesses and completely believing in them. That, to me, mattered way more than whether or not she would remember it. We first took her at 4, which I thought was the perfect age.

 

[isabellea]

The first time I went to Disney in 1991 I was 12 and I barely remember it. In fact, the only real memories of WDW I have from that trip is one from Typhoon Lagoon, when my dad called my grandma from Futureworld in Epcot and Street of America in DHS (then MGM). So when someone tells me I should wait before going so my kids can remember it, I say BS! We go because we know they will have a lot of fun and that they believe in the magic. They might remember some or not but I don't really care about that.