2 and 3 yr old - too young?

[Picabo]

Let me preface this by saying we are NOT going to be able to be one of those (lucky) famalies that get to go to Disney on a regular basis. We'll have our first trip in Dec and I imagine it'll be a good 3-5 yrs before I'll be able to drag DH there again. So having grown up near Disney and having it be such a huge part of my life as a kid, I wanted to be sure to take my own kids there while they still 'beleive' in all of it.

But now I'm nervous that maybe they are too young? (Especially the 2 1/2 yr old.....) My older DD will be almost 4 but DD2 obviously isn't going to even come close to be 40" tall...and don't you have to be that tall to go on most of the rides?? Will we find ourselves taking turns (and sitting out) an a majority of rides b/c DD2 is too little? Mind you, she may not mind a bit b/c she is much more apprehensive than my older daughter - but it just seems such a waste of time (and no fun for the adult who gets stuck having to sit out on everything) if she can't do much. We do plan to spend the majority of our time at MK and are staying at the Poly so we'll be nice and close.

But just wondering if we should wait another year or so to make it more "magical" for them both. (Although i think I'm looking more forward to the trip than the kids and not sure that I'd be able to wait much longer! )

Guess I need some reassurance that I'm not going crazy and this isn't going to be a complete waste of money!

 

[2sets]

We went in May '08 with two 23mo olds and two 3.5yr olds and had a BLAST!!! The almost 2yr olds didn't totally get it, but still had fun and they were such troopers, lasting 9-4 in the parks even! The 3.5yr olds STILL talk about the rides. We couldn't do anything requiring 40inches and it was not a big deal for us....the only ones that require that height (I think) are Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain. Maybe you guys can take turns taking your older daughter on the rides and whoever stays with the little one can go get an ice cream treat or something?

 

[Picabo]

We went in May '08 with two 23mo olds and two 3.5yr olds and had a BLAST!!! The almost 2yr olds didn't totally get it, but still had fun and they were such troopers, lasting 9-4 in the parks even! The 3.5yr olds STILL talk about the rides. We couldn't do anything requiring 40inches and it was not a big deal for us....the only ones that require that height (I think) are Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain. Maybe you guys can take turns taking your older daughter on the rides and whoever stays with the little one can go get an ice cream treat or something?

WOW, 4 kids under 4! Amazing. My hat goes off to you!
And you are making me feel MUCH better now. I was afraid most things requred 40inches and not even sure if DD3 would be that tall by then. (She's 39" now) So where did you focus most of your time - which rides did they lvoe the most and which shows should we be sure to not miss!
We are thinknig of skipping DHS - doesn't seem much there to appeal to young ones (aside from a few Disney Playhouse things). Any thoughts on that?

 

[laceemouse]

First let me tell you the December is a great time to go with little ones, they will not be hot!
I would not even worry about things with a height requirement, anything without one you can all ride together, and at Disney there is so much to do and see that does not have a height/age restriction I would just concentrate on that stuff.
If you were never going to go to Disney again I would say wait until they are older. If you plan to go back in a few years I say have a great trip!
In the future you may just skip the Poly (as wonderful as it is) and stay value so you can go more often

 

[laceemouse]

Both of your kids will be able to do most rides at all of the parks. Are you staying a full week? There are several shows at DHS, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, and Playhouse Disney come to mind. I would do at least a half day there if you have a full week.
Be sure and book some character meals. Take lots of pictures too, that will help your little one remember the trip better

 

[turkeymama]

No that isn't too young. DS was only 18 months old on our first visit. Now, I'll admit I'm not a big ride person anyway, but there was still so many things I was able to do with him, while DH took my 5 year old on the "big rides" like Big Thunder and Splash. He was mesmerized by all the performers in Epcot and of course, he loved many of the things in Futureworld. He also really enjoyed the character meals. I'm sure he doesn't remember it, but we have so many pictures and we have been lucky enough to visit a few more times since then.

Use rider swap when available if both you and your husband like to do rides. There is so much to see and do in December that you won't feel like you have wasted anything by taking them so young. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

 

[MALE*RN*777]

Our middle kid was 18 months when she went and she had a great time. Now the boy will be 10, she will be 4 and the littlest will be 2 1/2ish. The best thing (and each kid is different) is that adults can get on mostly all if not all of the kids rides which is great. No they won't remember it but if its a smile on the kids face you will remember it forever and the stories you will be able to tell them. Go and have fun... PS we are also one of the families that can only go every 3 or so years.

 

[2sets]

WOW, 4 kids under 4! Amazing. My hat goes off to you!
And you are making me feel MUCH better now. I was afraid most things requred 40inches and not even sure if DD3 would be that tall by then. (She's 39" now) So where did you focus most of your time - which rides did they lvoe the most and which shows should we be sure to not miss!
We are thinknig of skipping DHS - doesn't seem much there to appeal to young ones (aside from a few Disney Playhouse things). Any thoughts on that?

What we did was always make sure to get there right when the park opened. We would then head straight back to Fantasyland. All those classic Disney rides like Dumbo, It's a Small World and the teacups are there. Besides Fantasyland, we spent alot of time in Toontown and Tomorrowland too. Their favorite rides (the ones they still talk about) were Dumbo, Astro-Orbiter, the teacups and the Barnstormer (only the older ones could do Barnstormer at the time b/c it requires 35inches). They had a lot of fun in the race track cars riding with adults too. Their favorite shows were the Bear Jamboree, the tiki birds and the Philarmagic one. They really loved ALL the shows at all the parks we went too though...I was really surprised about that, I though they'd be just a good chance to sit in some a/c, but they were GREAT!).

We skipped DHS the first time, but this time we're doing it. I think 3 park days over a week was our limit last time, so we chose to do 2 days at MK and one at AK. Since our last trip, the kids have just LOVED the characters from Toy Story (we'll do Toy Story Mania, eat at Pizza Planet) and my daughter loves Belle (so we'll do Beauty and the Beast show) and Ariel (they have some sort of Little Mermaid thing there). I think DHS will mostly be shows for us, but from our last trip, I know my kids love the WDW shows. Also, my husband is dying to take the older ones on the Star Wars ride!! We're doing the character breakfast at that park 1) b/c I've heard it's awesome and 2) it's really the only character dining I could get. All in all, I think it's okay for you to skip it...we just wanted to do a 4th park day this time and I chose DHS over Epcot.

 

[2sets]

Both of your kids will be able to do most rides at all of the parks. Are you staying a full week? There are several shows at DHS, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, and Playhouse Disney come to mind. I would do at least a half day there if you have a full week.
Be sure and book some character meals. Take lots of pictures too, that will help your little one remember the trip better

I think that's a good idea to do 1/2 day at DHS, if you take a look at what's there and think your kids would be interested in a few things there. One think I like about DHS is that it seems like the parking lot is really close to the entrance and it's a smaller park, so not as much walking as MK is for example.

 

[ChristusG]

2.5 is a GREAT age for Disney!!!! I have a 5 year old and a 2 year old who have been going to Disney since they were infants. Taking a two year old is one of the best ages, in my opinion. They are amazed by everything! We're going again in October and my DD will be 2. 5.....I'm looking forward to it!

 

[ktlm]

My DD was 2 yrs 10 mths on her 1st trip last December. It was a great age because everything was absolutely real to her. There is a ton of stuff you can do at that age including most of the rides. What I think helped the most was that she had little books with most of the characters for months before we went, so she knew who they all were when she got there (a mix of a little board book set and golden books"). The look on her face when she saw the characters in her books come to life was amazing. She was a complete character junkie. I think Mulan was a bit surprised as she was walking through China to have a 2 year old running for her at full speed screaming her name. We took advantage of the 4/3 deal and went back in May when she was 3 and it was still wonderful, but she is a smart one and she is already starting to ask lots of questions. (i.e. how can Ariel sit in the grotto with her tail when there is no ocean here, and why does she have her tail again since she is human and married to Prince Eric). I think 2 was the perfect age for her first trip.

 

[drgsjh]

DD was almost 3 on her first WDW trip and loved it. Had a blast. We took her to DL at 3 and she had even more fun. DS was not quite 2 when we went to DL this past Jan and he loved it. They won't remember it but I will never forget it.

The height requirements are on the Disney webpage so you can prepare yourself before you go. If you are close to one of the limits for something, prepare yourself to be judged each time you try to ride. DD was close on Space Mountain when she was 4 and they let her ride it once and then later wouldn't let her ride it. Biggest down moment I've ever had at WDW and it was going to be the last ride of our trip. We managed to salvage it but it wasn't easy.

Rideswap is a great thing. Your 3yo will benefit from it the most. At Barnstormer I noticed they let one parent ride with the older while the other held the baby and then let the other parent ride with the older again. So the older got to ride twice in a row with each parent. Always ask about it. At DL we used it in combo with Fastpass and rode some things again and again with DD. You can also rideswap on things neither kid is big enough to ride so you both can ride without both standing in line. Usually they let the second person thru the Fastpass line. Always ask the CM in front of the ride.

And I thought we wouldn't get to go very often but now that we've started taking the kids, we watch the deals and have gone to WDW twice and DL twice in the last 5 years. We stay value, use the dining plan to our advantage (we share and hardly have to buy extra meals) and start saving for the next trip!

 

[leilaandjamilsmom]

Don't worry about it, I know some people think that they won't remember things and it won't mean as much to a smaller child. But last year I took my son that was 3 at the time and my daughter that was 1 at the time. Just today when we were goin gthru our countdown until our next trip he started talking about things that we did last time that he wanted to do again. My daughter still looks at her pic with cinderella and talks about how she had pretty teeth. it's amazing what disney means to kids and how much they remember. I think that no matter what age it is also the feeling of being in such a magical place that meant so much to you as a child with your family. Don't worry it will be great! YOu'll have a blast. My daughter didn't get excluded from any rides that we wanted to go on.We didnt' go to the big coasters or anything, but everything else was fine and she loved it, even the tea cup ride and the pirates ride that I thought she wouldn't go on was fine!

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

They are a great age to go! There is soooooooooo much more than the big thrill rides. There are many, many rides to do with the whole family. If you sit down and really look into what the parks have to offer, you may find out that you guys are better off not doing the major thrills.

We took DS and DD in April and DS was amazed at everything we did. They'll never know that they're missing the "mountains" on their first trip as they'll most likely be doing other things that are just as fun.

 

[bumbershoot]

I think that if YOU want to go, then go! And of course the kids come along. If you make it alllll about the kids, especially when they might not even remember it, it's not a great idea, but if you want to go then go.

I too was thinking that about your resort of choice! Stay "lower", go more often!

 

[rangermom]

Absolutely not too young. DD and DS have been going every year since they were 3 and 1 1/2. They both have some memories of our first trip. There are many rides that do not have a height requirement and are pretty tame. We got to ride all the rides that we wanted by utilizing baby swap. The plus to going at their ages, is that the 2 yr old is practically free to take with you. I say that cautiously, since we all know no kid on vacation is free, but you will not have to pay admission or for dining at some resturants.

Disney is made for kids of all ages and all of our trips have been wonderful. It is ultimately up to you, but like many others have said, if you want to go then go. You will have a blast.