Best age for a child's first visit?

[Chicago526]

My two nephews went at 3 years old and 9 months old. The 3 year old (now 4) still talks about Disney EVERY DAY! (kind of like that Disney cruise line comercial, almost ). The 9 month old doesn't remember, but during the trip was very happy and took in all the sights and sounds, and enjoyed being with Mom, Dad, aunt, uncle, and grandparents for a whole week.

But if you want them to truely remember their first visit years from now, you should wait until 4 or 5. I went when I was 8 and the memories have faded quite a bit. I still have memories, but just snippets, not the whole trip like I remember all my adult trips.

In short, there is no perfect "age" for the trip itself to be an amazing experiance for your child. But if you want them to remember, I'd wait until 4, and 5 would be even better.

 

[kmc]

i really think it depends on the child-i took my son when he just turned 3 and thought it was the perfect age and he was so wowed by everything he talked about it everyday until we just had to go back 3 months later i am glad i did not wait until he was older because we would have missed out on a lot of wonderful memories.

 

[Micca]

I think 10 is a perfect age for a one-time only WDW trip

 

[PlutoPony]

Since this is probably not a trip we'll repeat often (we try to use vacations to see different parts of the US - next year's probably Yellowstone) one big consideration was our DS being tall enough to ride ALL the rides! He's 9 now and can certainly keep up a good pace in the parks w/o complaining (I hope ) but young enough to still "appreciate" most of the Disney characters/theming. Also nice that we'll be able to save a little money since tickets. etc. go up at age 10!

 

[Disrookie0704]

As a mother taking her 9 year old, I have a different perspective than everyone else. I purposely waiting until she was older because I went twice as a child.

Once at Age 5 and Age 12. I don't remember anything from the first trip, however, I'm sure my parents do. Just remember that taking them younger is a great experience but it may not last a lifetime for the kids.

 

[Cailin'sMom]

We're taking DD this December and she will be 2 1/2. She only know that we are going to see Cinderella and Mickey Mouse one day...as she has no real concept of time. We can't wait. I would go tomorrow if we could. We can't wait to see how she reacts to everything.

She is an extremely laid back and fun child. We have taken her everywhere since she was about 8 weeks old (restaurants, long trips etc.) She loves action and music, so I know that we will get great video of her at shows and parades. Our main thing is that we realize everything will have to go at a slower pace and we will be doing things that she will enjoy. I like the "Big" Rides, but will not be devastated if we do not do them.

I think it really depends on the personality of the child more than the age. My nephews are much older (8 & 10) and they are not really easy going at all. They are extremely picky eaters and tend to gripe and whine when things are not exactly what they want. So I would much rather take my child to disney than them.
We are going to the Mts. with them in October so we will see how enjoyable that is.

Overall, I think that you should take your child as soon as you get the notion. From these posts we see that children enjoy it at all ages. I say go for it!!! I know that our next child will probably not be 2 when we go, because I want to take DD every year or 2.

 

[gottaluvdis]

I went once as a kid at age 9. My sister was age 6 and doesn't remember that trip. My parents were of the "once in a lifetime" mind-set, so they made it magical for us. I remember all of it. My mother was diagnosed with cancer soon after our trip, so I'm very glad we were able to go to the World back then (MK was the only park at the time).

Since I've been in my early 20's I've been at least once a year for the past 18 years or so. My husband's parents moved fairly close, so we have an excuse to go down 1-2 x/year. Because of that, our daughter (who's now 7 1/2) has been going 1-2x/year since she was 13 months old. I think she thinks it's normal to visit WDW that often. I have to explain to her why many kids in her class have never been etc. She still absolutely loves it and I don't think any magic has been spoiled for her by going so often. None of us ever get sick of it (except my in-laws who don't go to the parks anymore). This fall we'll be meeting friends from home at the parks, which will give us a different experience there yet again.

We've often said that if we didn't have family close by, we probably would have waited until our daughter was old enough to walk by herself and tall enough for the rides (most likely age 7 or older).

 

[BoyLovesBuzz]

I would HIGHLY recommend you wait until they cut the cord. But anytime after that, you're good.

 

[beattyfamily]

Originally posted by BoyLovesBuzz
I would HIGHLY recommend you wait until they cut the cord. But anytime after that, you're good.

 

[Gupsmom]

Given that you're planning on going more than once (you said the child's FIRST trip), I would say anytime between 3 and 5 yrs old. 40 inches would be a great bonus too. If your child isn't fearful (of rides and characters) this is a great age for WDW. Everything is so awe inspiring and magical. Mickey Mouse really is Mickey (not some guy in costume). Many people say to wait (and I agree if your only planning on going once) but my kids went for the first time at 2, 3 1/2 and 5 and we had a fabulous vacation. I wouldn't give up seeing them enjoy WDW at that age for anything.

Jess

 

[HenDuck]

I think it depends on the child(ren), the parents, and your budget and time restraints.

We took DS to DL in April and he was 3 1/2. It was truly magical because he believes in the magic! He fell in love with Belle and enjoyed his character meals thoroughly. He was not afraid of the characters at all. He did not care for dark rides but loved the roller coaster in Toon Town and, of course, Dumbo.

These are the things I would consider:

1. How long can your child go without a nap? If it's only an hour or two (and you don't want your child napping in a stroller), you will be limited in the amount of time you can do the parks.

2. How much help will you have? We traveled with my parents and brother and that made it easy for all of us to trade off carrying and tending to DS.

3. How much time do you have? If you only have one or two days, you won't get much done with a toddler or infant. You will need to take breaks for naps, potty or diaper changes, and for overall burnout.

4. How far do you need to travel to get there? We live in Hawaii and therefore "only" traveled to the West coast to see Mickey. We are not planning to visit WDW until DS is around 8 because it's a really long plane ride plus there's so much more to see.

5. Keep in mind the "who's trip is it anyway" issue. On this trip to DL, we made it clear, the trip was for DS, therefore his schedule dictated what we did and when (like it does most of the time when we're at home ). I did not ride some of the crazier rides because I was more focused on spending the time with DS. However, on our next trip in December, I AM hitting TOT, Indy, and that new roller coaster at DCA!

6. Lastly, you know your child better than any of us here. If you think he/she is ready - knows the characters, can handle new environments, etc. - then by all means GO!

Take lots of pictures and look at them and talk about the trip when you get back and your child will remember the trip more than you might realize.

Sorry so long, but really...GO!

 

[justus3]

We took our son when he was 3 1/2. He had a great time, old enough to walk some of it. Big enough to be picked out to be in the parade, he danced with Pooh, how much better can that get. He had a blast

 

[patriciauk]

Living in the UK, a trip to the world is a Big Deal. Took my son to DLP at 5, then wdw at 9. I would say he got much, much more out of the later trip, went on everything and still loved characters.

 

[The Sweetness]

That was my cue to introduce dd, and dh for that matter, to the wonderfull world of disney. She was still 2, and enjoyed a lot of the attractions. Her favie ofcourse, was meeting the characters. You could take a child in pampers, but I think a child who is closer to 3 will get more enjoyment from this trip than one who's not quite 2

 

[sters]

Any age is the "best" age!

 

[jann1033]

depending on how much money you have and how often you can go..our youngest was 4 or 5 the first time we went and it was good timing for her, old enough to be able to hold up ( we went in July) but still young enough to be amazed...come to think of it that amazment factor never goes away! since we didn't know if or when we'd be able to go again we wanted them to be old enough to remember, as it was we went every few years after that till they were in there teens but who knew!