Are these ages okay? Or do we wait?

[abcboys]

We are not every year or every other year disney people so it was a big deal for us when we went on our first family trip in 08. The youngest was 2 years 10 months, 6, and 9. I could have really cared less if the youngest could remember it or not and tell you what....he was better behaved than the bigger kids!! And a big plus, the main reason I wanted to go then, was he was FREE!! We are planning our next trip for either may or november 2011 and they will be 6,9,12.

So even though a lot of people on here take there kids as babies and toddlers, they are also able to go every year or even every other year so it doesn't really matter. I knew we wouldn't be back for several year and it was great!

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I think those ages are OK. I've taken a 2 year old to Disney twice, and both times everyone had a blast.

 

[zoemurr]

I agree that it depends on how you see this trip fitting into the bigger picture. DH and I decided early on that we would do one blowout Disney trip for our kids (neither of us had ever been to Disney World as children ourselves). We waited until they were 8 and 5. It was a PERFECT trip and we were so glad we waited. In addition to our wonderful memories, the kids remember, too. Having said that, we loved it so much that we've been back several times since then. Each of our subsequent trips have been equally wonderful and created completely different memories as the kids have gotten older.

If you think you're only going to do it once or twice, my advice is to wait and do it BIG! If you know you'll go back often, there's no reason to wait, IMO.

I totally could have written this. We waited 'till they were 5/8 and the sky was the limit 'cause we were only going once. We had an amazing time then.. and the next year.. and the year after that...

 

[Luv Bunnies]

I also think it depends on how often you plan on going in the future. We live in Calif. and it's expensive to fly across the country. Plus, if we spend the money to go, we want to stay for 10 days or so to make it worth our while. We waited until our boys were 8 and 11. It was perfect for us. They were certainly tall enough for everything and we were happy to be free of strollers and car seats. I would like to plan one more family trip before the oldest turns 18 (he's 14 now). We can go to Disneyland much more often, but WDW is definitely not a once a year trip for us.

 

[ktlm]

Our DD's 1st trip was when she was 2 years 10 months and it was absolutely magical. Everything was real to her and she had looks of pure joy on her face so many times. I'd say as long as you plan on going back sometime when your youngest is old enough to hit the bigger rides to go. Plus, he is free until he is 3 years old, so 2 years 10 mths is a great time to take advantage of that.

 

[mjkacmom]

It depends - if this is the first trip of others to come, go for it. I took my 2 oldest when they were 2 and 4, and had fun. They now have no memory of it, and yes, they did prefer the hotel pool most of all, but I have no regrets. If it was a one and only trip, it wouldn't be worth it, though.

 

[puffkin]

We go twice a year, but one of my favorite trips with DS was when he was 2.5. He is tall and was able to go on pretty much all the 40" rides then. He was fearless. Loved the characters. Everything was real to him. He is a bit willful, but didn't know better than to go with the flow. He was also small enough to be in the stroller mostly and he still napped BUT he could go a day or two without a nap at that point.

At 3 all of a sudden he had an opinion about everything. Suddenly developed all these fears. Was much more difficult. Our last trip he was 3.5 and was even worse with the opinions and stuff, but it is hard to tell because his 9 year old cousin was with us and could have been egging him on somewhat. I am very interested to see how he does on the 4 year old trip next month!

Besides his 3 month old trip (so easy to take him as a baby!!!), the 2.5 year old trip was our next favorite!

 

[Eeyore's Wife]

My parents and I lived overseas and we came back to the states just before I turned three years old. We visited Disneyland, as there was no Magic Kingdom yet.

I have several very clear memories of that trip. I could not be remembering other trips because we didn't head back there again for many years. I remember the rented blue plastic stroller. I remember riding the Materhorn. I remember the parade, storybook ride, and the fireworks.

It was incredible.

I also remember a sucker as big as my head!

Just because they are little does not mean they won't remember the trip. We have taken our children when they were small and while they have been many times and I cannot be sure if their memories are from toddlerhood, I will always remember the first time my daughter reached out and touched Mickey's nose and then made the sign for friend.

Priceless.