Best age for daughter's first trip?

[Seaera]

Hi guys,
I was just wondering what your thoughts were on the best age to take your little one to Disneyland for the first time?
My daughter is only 10 months now (and, of course, I'm thinking about it already) but we were hoping to take her when she's 3. Is that a good age? I just want her to really enjoy her first trip! Thanks for any advice/thoughts.

 

[Judy from Boise]

I think it all depends on your expectations vs costs. If it is a big investment money wise I say 4 for DL and 6 for WDW.

 

[Sienna]

We took our daughter for the first time last fall when she was 5, almost 6. We wanted her to be out of the nap and stroller stage, and old enough to participate and really remember the trip. I think we succeeded! We also wanted her to be tall enough to go on lots of things. I'm glad we waited that extra year or two because it was really a special trip. And it was so nice to not have to deal with naps and tantrums!

 

[Tink208]

She may have a wonderful trip at 3, but she probably won't remember it as long. My husband and I made an agreement that 5 would be the minimum age for our kids. (We made that agreement while still childless and on a trip with two other couples and their four children ranging from 2 to 5 years...) Our oldest was actually a couple months short of his 5th birthday, but he was about to start kindergarten so we decided to go for it. He had a blast and still remembers the trip now at 11. We just took our younger son for his first trip and he was almost 5 and 1/2. He also had a total blast. In both cases, the boys were tall enough to ride all (or almost all in the case of the younger one) the "big" rides, but were still young enough to enjoy the rides geared to younger kids.

 

[DisSarahK]

The one and only time I went to Disneyland was when I was four. I still remember the sheer joy when my mother told me she was taking me there and I remember bits and pieces of the actual trip. It was a wonderful experience.

Our children will be 4.5 and 2.5 when they go for the first time. We know our younger child won't remember the trip, but we know he will LOVE it while he is there--and *we* will remember the joy our children will experience on this trip.

 

[Anater]

We lived about an hour from DL until moving to WA State last year. We are taking our son for his first trip to DL next week, and he is just turning four. Even when living in L.A. we made the decision not to go to DL because we felt that he wouldn't remember much, and with naps it would have been a difficult trip. At four I think it is the perfect age for him. He is big for his age and a daredevil so he can go on all the rides, except for Indy. But, that was our decision. I know other parents who have taken two year olds, and they loved seeing the reaction on their kids faces. I guess it all depends on the reason for your visit. For us, DL is an expensive trip, and since we like to go on rides and see attractions, our decision was based on what worked for us as a family. I would never take an infant, but there are plenty of families that do and have a fantastic time. Totally depends on each family.

 

[RuthieT]

We are leaving in just a couple of days and our daughter will be 4 in Feb. I think she will remember alot of things and really be able to enjoy everything DL has to offer.. She is tall enough to get on most rides so that will be good too.

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

My son was 13 months old the first time we went. It was fun, and good memories for us. But I'd say he really enjoyed it around 3 as well. That's what I love about DL, it just isn't for big kids who like hard rides. It's got something for everyone!

 

[disneyfaninaz]

We took my DD for the first time at 16 months. She loved the character interactions and the Fantasyland rides. She chased Pooh all of the The Plaza Inn during a character breakfast. She slept her first time through Pirates. It was so great to see her experience Disney for the first time through our eyes even at that age. Even now at 7, she loves to look at the pictures to remember her first trip.

 

[staley7580]

my kids were 4, and 1. They LOVED it! The baby a little less, but now, she is hooked. She is 2 and a half, and talks about it every day. We are getting ready to leave in a couple of weeks for our 4th trip, and she is more excited then everyone. She is also very big for her age, 40 inches, so she can ride almost all the rides.

 

[Rapunsel]

My DS was 5 months... Still nursing so it was easy. Just put him in the maya wrap.. He loved the music and lights.. We now have annual passes and go weekly..
He still remembers his first and our only trip to WDW when he was almost 2.

My DD is almost 3 and loves it all.
Her first trip was at 10 months..

 

[brenda1966]

3 is the age that popped into my head. I took DD when she was nearley 3, and she really enjoyed it. She loved, loved, loved the characters. She was young enough that she didn't know to be scared of Pirates or the Haunted Mansion. She cried when the fireworks were over because she wanted more.

I did take her again at age 3 and 4 and 4 1/2 and 5 and 5 1/2. So, we go often. Now if you're not able to go often, I would probably wait until age 4-5. If you can go often, then I think 3 is a nice age to start.

 

[flyinshirer]

We took our daughters when they turned 5. Although we did take our first daughter once when she was about 2 for a quick, last minute day trip with family. She doesn't remember that trip at all. My niece is turning 5 in a couple of weeks so I am taking them Wed for her Christmas/Birthday present. She's just tall enough to ride all but Soaring and Indiana. (My 10 & 8 yr old hates Indiana)

 

[Zoemakes5]

The age old question of when it's a good time to take them for the first time......it will differ entirely on who you ask.
I have to say, I've taken mine as young as 6 mo. for their first trip up to 16 months old is the latest I've taken them for a first time. For me, my thought process has always been a bit different about this. Instead of looking at it as "I want to wait until they remember", I want my kids to always have remembered Disney (whether it's DLR or WDW) as a part of their lives. When they're looking back on their lives, I don't want there to ever be a time when they don't remember Disney as being part of it. And, I have to say, both my DH (who as you'll see from my siggy isn't as....well, enthusiastic about Disney as I am) look back at our favorite Disney trip and we both think about our oldest son's first trip at 16 months. (And, my first trip to Disney was when I was 1 and I have a ton of memories of lots and lots of trips.) My DH and I were both in law school, very busy, DS had already had two of the four surgeries that he ended up needing before he was 4, I had just found out I was pregnant with my DS2...we needed some family time that we just focused on us. I worked for the Disney Store so was able to get discounts on lodging and food and merchandise, DS was free to travel, I had a frequent flyer ticket. The trip was so magical. DS loved the characters. Because we had him, I think we took better care of us. No commando style, we went to the parks in the morning and stayed until early afternoon. Then we went back to the hotel and napped, played in the pool a bit, walked around, ate dinner at the hotel and then returned to the parks to watch parades or fireworks, etc.
That being said, I think the magic window for children is somewhere between the ages of 2-7. Two being perhaps a bit young for some children, and 7 being a bit too old. I think that's the age range where everything is still magical, the characters are 'real', little things like the lights make them smile, the rides in Fantasyland are the big lure, and the hippos are scary on Jungle Cruise. Well, you get the idea. If we were thinking Disney would be a once in a lifetime, or even once in a decade kind of thing, then I'd shoot for somewhere in the 5-6 range, myself.

 

[Mrs. Bee]

If you have an annual pass and live in the area than taking them at any age is fine, I suppose.

We took my niece when she was about 16 months. We were only there a few hours and we only did a few rides. The only reason she went that young was because they were in town for our wedding (they live in the midwest and we lived in Orange at the time.)

My future Disneyland and WDW plans....
I probably won't take my kids to WDW until they are all at least 5 or 6.
Disneyland...maybe younger since we'll visit California much more often to visit family.

I went to WDW when I was 6, 11, and 14. to be honest, I don't remember a whole lot from any trip. Just stuff from pictures. I'm returning there next month so we'll see if that triggers anymore memories.

But overall...I'd say no younger than 5 or 6.

 

[LindaOwl1]

I have recently begun taking the grandkids to WDW when the are just short of their third birthday. This way they stay & eat for free (at all buffets including Character meals!) but are tall enough for many rides and potty trained and still really "believe" everything is real. The oldest is now 5 and we're going to DL in Feb for her forth Disney trip. She does still remember her first trip at almost 3. And of course I remember it and we have all those great pics!

 

[Sunobo]

I personally think it depends on how often you will make it to DL. If they aren't afraid of the characters, then any age will be great for them. My kids don't really remember their first cruise (2 & 4) but they remember the stories we tell them and they remember from seeing the pictures and videos.

We may not make it back to DL for a long time so waited until our youngest was 8 because she was finally tall enough to ride almost everything (48" exactly). If we were able to return more often, we would have made our first trip much earlier.

 

[lexmas]

We just took a trip with DS, and he turned 11 months when we were there. And we're going back next year, but that's probably it for us for DL for awhile. The airfare kills us! BUT, I would do it again with ds that little, we loved it so much. And he loved it too! Honestly, I wasn't expecting all that much, since he's such a baby still, but it was a lot of fun. He loved the characters and so many of the rides! Yes, he still had to nap, but we just let him nap in the sling and enjoyed walking around DL and eating and pressing pennies lol. We love the disney parks, so we couldn't wait to take DS there.

 

[Lillybelly]

For me the key is how long you can wait. Before we had kids I always said wait until they are at least 5. However my oldest turned 1 at Disneyland. We had help with us (MIL, FIL, SIL) so it was really easy with just the one kid. Even after that I thought we would wait to return until our youngest was 5, but 3 kids later I just couldn't wait 8 more years for the twins to be 5 before getting a fix. So we went back last summer with kids 5, 3, 1, 1. I was amazed how much the little ones enjoyed.

That being said, we live in Utah and can drive there so we don't have to pay for airfare which would probably change my mind. That's a lot of money for my own disney issues.

 

[rumblytumbly]

We just got back from a week there. It was my daughter's first trip. She is 3.5 years old. She had a great time! She loved everything about it. She loved the rides and meeting all the characters. She loved getting their autographs and talking to them. She was not afraid at all. My Son is 4.5 years old. He had fun too but DD had more fun. I think it just depends on the child.

My son was 18 months when we took him the first time. DH and I had fun but DS had no idea what was going on.