4 or 5 years old, good age to go?

[helenk]

My nephew is now 1 1/2 and when he is old enough my daughter and I want to take him to WDW. We were discussing this with my brother and his wife and were were trying to decide a good age to go.
We thought we would wait until he was 4 or 5, this way he can enjoy the characters and we can finally get to Mickey's Toontown Faire.
Is this a good age or would you recommend waiting until he is a bit older?

 

[Scoootch]

I've taken my 4yr old since he was 7mos. As to when did he really start to enjoy it more than we did though, about 3 yrs old

I supposse that's why they start to charge kids from 3 and up. That being said though, for anyone traveling with a smaller child, Disney makes it very easy and just as enjoyable. But my ds really started to enjoy it for himself around 2 1/2 - 3yrs old.

 

[JrsyDebs]

I took my DD to Disney World for the first time when she was 4 years old (in the spring before she started kindergarten). I think that was the perfect age to go there for the first time. She really enjoyed meeting the characters in the parks and at character meal, and there were enough rides and attractions for her to enjoy for it to be worth going.

DD is hyperactive and I was worried about her waiting in line for any length of time. I was pleasantly surprised to see that she had the patience to wait in line very nicely (DH, however, was not as patient!).

One thing that I found was that we did need to take a break from the parks midday every day. Although my 4 year old did not normally take naps anymore, we needed the break and went back to the resort every day for awhile just to recharge...

If you want to wait that long, go when your nephew is 4, or three at least. You'll have plenty of time to save up for the trip, and enjoy it when you go!

 

[castlegazer]

I think if there is a perfect age that that would be it - they still suspend reality and have very active imaginations, they can go on all the rides, they probably love and watch over and over all the movies, and they are just adorable at that age making traveling easier.

That being said, my two year old has been twice already and loved it beyond my wildest dreams every time. He totally got it on our last trip and talks about it all the time - he had lunch with Winnie the Pooh.

 

[3DisneyNUTS]

The first time we went was right before DS was 3 ...like 1 week before and LOVED LOVED LOVED it. It is actually quite relaxing as a family trip because you are in an environment that is meant for children. He is allowed to be a kids and so are we. That is why we went back a few months later and now bought into DVC. We are so happy that our son is a Disney nut just like the rest of us

 

[disneyjunkie]

My niece and nephew were 5 and 6 when they took their first trip last April.

My niece; the 5 year old; was the only one I was worried about before the trip. She really surprised. She wasn't afraid to any of the rides. We have a great picture of her on TOT holding her mom's (my sister) hand with her left hand, her eyes and mouth wide open, and holding her heart with her right hand.hyper:

The only rides she couldn't rider were Mission Space, Space Mountain, and roller coaster ride in Dinoland.

She knows that the characters aren't real but was still very excited about getting autographs.

She didn't need a stroller. She was there for a week and didn't have any problems walking around the parks all day.

The only problems we had were in the shows and on the Snow White ride. She HAD to sit in the front row for all the shows. The witch on the Snow White ride really scarred her.

She and her brother are busy now trying to talk their parents (very non Disney people) into return at least two more times. My sister's birthday was during that trip, so of course my niece and nephew think they each have to get a birthday trip.

 

[Kendra17]

My daughter, who is now 12, took her first trip at 4. My son, who is now 7, took his first trip at 3. My daughter remembers a bit about her first trip, my son does not! However, when my son was 3 and we decided to go, we decided that although he might not remember it, he would still enjoy himself a lot while there. . .which he definitely did! After that trip, though, my intention was to go every year or every other year. It turned out that although my parents took my 2 children next year for a day or 2 long trip, so many personal things had happened, that I wasn't able to take him again.

Here's something funny. . .there were a couple of rides we knew our son would be too short for, just by a hair. So, we got the highest tennis shoes we could find for him (still boys, though) and inserted 1/4 -1/3 inch lifts inside them at the shoe repair guy's store! I know that some of you might disapprove of that, but we knew he'd enjoy some of these rides, and I didn't think 1/4 inch would compromise any safety issues. As it turned out, the measuring sticks the cms use are actually incorrect, and he towered over the height requirement. . .didn't even need those lifts!

However, we're going in October! YAY!
It depends what your motivation is. If it's just to have a great time, go when he's three. You can probably go again later. If it's so he'll remember the trip for sure, then wait at least another year.

 

[F1Julie]

I took my DD for the first time when she was 3 1/2. That was in October and she still talks about it. She loved it so much that we went back in May for her 4th birthday. I think the best age to start taking your child depends on the child. In retrospect, I probably could have started taking her at 2 1/2. I wouldn't take a child (at least an only child) any younger than that. I think 4 would be great, especially since most kids give up afternoon naps by then.

 

[DisneyMomx7]

Last year we took dds 4 and almost 6, and ds almost 3. We were worried how it would be for ds and if he would enjoy it. ALl three fell in love with WDW so much that we are leaving again in three days and already have next year's trip booked! DS is the one who can't stop talking about last year's trip and watches and planning video all the time and looks through the Birbaum's planning book too. We never thought he would be the one to be Disney obsessed, but it looks like he has his mother's genes.


3 MORE DAYS!!!!!

 

[Di$neyDad]

One word of advice I'd like to add to the previous great comments is no know your childs fears and limits and then find out which rides can accomodate them. When my DD was 3 we took her on some rides that ended up scaring her. Now she's 6 and she still won't go on them, even though we know she would be fine on them now.

Potential issues include darkness, loud noises, and things popping out at you. So do some research and make sure you don't end up traumatizing your child. There's several rides and shows that are great for small children.

 

[helenk]

Thank you for all the great advice, my children are 21 and 17 and its hard to remember when they were 4 or 5. My son was 2 when we first took him and he is disney obsessed to this day, my daughter was an infant on her first trip and then we did not go again until she was 7, and by then the characters were okay for her but she did not get excited by them. The "magic" just was not there for her and even now she will go to WDW but she does not get excited about it like her brother and I do.
So I wanted to take my nephew when he was old enough to remember some of the trip. He will be 4 in March of 2007, I foresee a trip in April of that year.

 

[poohkinandpiglet]

I think 4 is a great age because they still think the characters are real and it's so magical to see their faces light up.

 

[FOV]

Our first trip was when dd just turned 4. This was perfect because she was out of diapers and bed wetting and believed in all the characters - you should have seen her face when she met Cinderella! I still get goose bumps remembering our first family trip - it was truly magical!

 

[kelscross]

I took my girls younger than that. The advantage of taking children 4 or so is the potty training is finished. They will walk a bit more if not the whole time and they can ride more of the big rides if they want to. I would definately make a first trip before they stop believing that the characters are real.

Yes they still get excited, heck I do for that matter and I know that the characters aren't real. It's just so magical to see it through a small child's eyes. I really got choked up watching my girls last year. They reall think this is where all the characters live. It's really special.