Best age for kids?

[lemondog]

So when really is the best age to take the kids to Disney? We have a 3yo and 7-month old twins. Now is obviously not the best time, but I am dying to go! Went many times as a kid with my family and can't wait to take my children.

Angela

 

[vald1977]

We took our DS for his first trip when he was almost 3. To me this was the perfect time because he was free but yet old enough to enjoy most everything .

However, I wouldn't reccomend that if you are looking at this trip to be your one and only time to visit WDW. We knew we would be going back again so we were able to go with the flow. We didn't get to see everything because we were working with a two year old but that was okay because we would be back .

We will be going on our second trip in a couple of months and my DS will now be 5. This time around, he is excited and knows what he's in for, so to speak.

 

[tjkraz]

I think a lot of it depends on what you want to get out of the trip. We took our son for the first time when he was 18mos, and I don't regret it for a moment. We have absolutely priceless video of him running over to get his picture taken with Mickey, hugging the Pooh characters in the evening on the verge of exhaustion, and interacting with performer-after-performer in the old Tapestry of Dreams parade at Epcot.

To us, 15+ mos seemed to be about the right time. We at least wanted him walking, and when I say "walking" I mean really getting around well on his own. We also didn't want to deal with bottle feedings while on vacation.

In fact, our daughter will be about 18 mos when we take her for the first time this December.

Others have taken children when they were months or even weeks old. Infants can enjoy any WDW attraction that doesn't have a height restriction. They can join you on everything from It's A Small World to Pirates of the Caribbean to the Haunted Mansion.

Obviously there are a number of developmental milestones that may impact your decision. If you'd rather your twins be speaking in sentences, you may want to wait until age 3. If you want them to be able to ride some of the more adult rides, you might have to wait until age 4 or so. Our son will be nearly 4 this December but is already 42" tall in bare feet. He can't wait to ride Star Tours and Test Track, both of which have a 40" height requirement.

If you don't want to pay for the twins, go before they turn 3. Children under 3 get free admission to the theme parks and they even eat free at buffets.

The only consideration that I would recommend completely sidestepping is the "we want him/her to remember it" topic. I was 7, nearly 8 yrs old on my first trip to WDW. Even at that age I have exactly three memories of the entire day--buying a mug at a gift shop, another member of our party chickening-out as we boarded Space Mountain, and listening to "If You Had Wings" over and over again because the ride didn't require a ticket.

Now those are some magical memories, eh?

Go when you're ready to go. Take a ton of photos and video. Even if the kiddies don't explicitly remember the trip, they'll watch the home videos for years to come.

 

[Jen D]

I don't think there is any one perfect age. My dd went to Disneyland first at about 22 months and was enthralled with the sights and sounds, especially Fantasyland. The same a year later, at just shy of three (the greatest Disney bargain is taking a kid just shy of three. They understand and enjoy a lot but don't pay!) We did the World at 4 and were able to experience a lot of attractions, even some with height restrictions. Some of the scarier attractions were a bit to intense for her and sometimes one scary attraction could ruin a morning. On the other hand, she was mesmerized by characters, princesses, etc. Age 5 might have been best of all-- she experienced a wide range of attractions without too much fear, and was still into the "magic". We just went at age 7 and she was able to do more and had more stamina than ever! But while she still enjoyed Fantasyland and the characters, there wasn't that amazing sense of wonder you get from the preschoolers. Seven year olds are awfully cool these days. If we had waited to take her we might have missed out on that. Still it was a great trip at 7 and she loved being involved in the planning.

My point is, go when you want to-- you can deisgn a trip that works for your family--- it is just very different for toddlers than it is for pre-schoolers, and grade-schoolers, and so on.

 

[PrincessaC]

We took our sons for the first time when they were 2 and 5....they both had a great time....we took lots of pictures and show them the pictures often.....we took them back the following year ( 3 and 6 yrs old ) took lots of pictures then too.....they still look at the pictures alot esp. since we are going back again in a few days.....i think they remember alot from the first and second trip since i'm always bringing out the album and reminding them....they talk about disney so much now.......every time we go on a trip (not to disney) my youngest will ask if we are going to disney......I agree w/ the others....there's no perfect age to take the kids to disney....just remember to take lots of pictures....

 

[fizz13]

I would say about 5. They are old enough to go on nearly every ride they want and young enough to still have the magic of believing. They are also toilet-trained, can communicate their needs, don't get as tired as some younger ones etc. When we go in January, my kids will be DD5, DS3 and DS1. My daughter has been able to get involved with trip planning and organising but is jumping up and down with excitement about meeting her favourite characters. This seems to be the right balance to me.
However, all ages can be good as their little faces taking it all in is priceless at any age.
Much pixie dust,
Claire

 

[Leota]

I'd say there is no perfect age, although I'm glad we took my DS the first time when he was just 4. He still had the total belief in Magic. He doesn't remember tons from the trip, except from the pictures. But, then again, like tjkraz said - I went when I was 8 & only remember Mission to the Moon, Haunted Mansion & Diamond Horseshow Review.

We thought at the time, that would be our only trip to WDW - 12 years & 10 trips later, my 16 yo DS still loves his WDW trips - His HS graduation trip will be to WDW with friends. Every single trip has been special & Magical in it's own way. I wouldn't trade a single one of those trips for one at another age.

I think you pick when you want to go - The Kids Magic will happen whenever you go. Maybe you'll get bit by the Magic too & get to see many different stages of developement at WDW like many of us have.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Are you talking about a once in a lifetime trip or just a first trip? If it's once in a lifetime I'd wait until the youngest kids are at least 5yo and I think 7yo would be even better. You want the youngest kids to remember and enjoy the trip, but you still want the oldest to enjoy the special magic.

If you're talking the first trip and you'll go back, I would go in two years. The twins would still be free, but be a little easier to keep up with (depending on their personalities, of course) and your oldest would be at a great age.

Then you get home and start planning your next trip...

T&B

 

[tae1218]

We took our DD for the first time when she was 20 months old. We had a great time then. There is so much you can do at WDW even with a little one. But I will admit that I think we enjoyed ourselves more on the trip we took when she was 5. She was older and so into everything disney, especially the princesses.

You will have a great time no matter how old your kids are when you go.

 

[CindyAnn]

Hi Lemondog and welcome to the Dis! I think you're getting some really well thought out answers. People with children tend to see advantages and disadvantages for different ages, while people without children tend to have more rigid ideas, oddly enough, about what time is best.

Before kids, I imagined that we would go maybe three times, and I thought the ideal ages might be 4, 8, and 12, in order to enjoy different aspects of WDW. It wasn't exactly that I was wrong, LOL, it's just that I couldn't foretell the future. DS's first trip was at 2 1/2 and for him it was great timing. He was EXTREMELY prone to tantrums, but loved just about every moment o his week at WDW. Apparently we had finally found something for him with the appropriate stimulus level! "Free" was also a good concept. DD's first trip was at 4 and that worked well for her, too. She was in love with the princesses and familiar with many Disney movies, so it was great. I'm sorry to say that my timing was off, however, since after DD's first trip at 4, she returned at 5, 6, and 7 (she's now 8). Yep, we're hooked.

I honestly think it's maybe more of a danger to wait too long - something that especially happens when the ages of the children are spread out. I have a friend who wants to wait until her youngest is 5, but her oldest will be 12 by then. I have a feeling he'll be a bit jaded (unlike my DS, who has been raised on Disney and hopefully never feels too old).

Whenever you go, have a great time!

 

[lemondog]

Thanks everyone for the replies! Sounds like there is no perfect age...just whatever works best for your family. I know my 3yo is more than ready right now, but I just can't imagine traveling down there with two infants in tow. She'll just have to wait a little bit longer.

Thanks again for the input!

Angela

 

[ErinInCT]

Angela,
Honestly, the infants may be easier!!! We just got back with dd4 & dd1. The one yr old was a BREEZE! The 4 yr old. Let's just say I thought Disney magic & pixie dust would make her the most perfect well behaved kid! WRONG! Any little problems she had at home were magnified 10 times over. There is so much overstimulation! We tried to keep her on her usual routine (eating & sleeping) & let things go at her pace, but it was really hard. She would not listen to us at all (I think a lot of it was because she was distracted a lot & it is noisy) & every time a ride dumped you out at a gift shop she got a case of the "gimmies". And then would throw a tantrum if we did not give her what she wanted. Anyway, all kids will act differently so just because mine turned into a monster doesn't mean yours will!
Our baby was great. She went on everything & was fascinated & mesmorized. However, she was a bit scared of the large non human characters!
All being said, I still can't wait to go back in 2 yrs, just before dd turns 3 (last time she'll be free). By then dd will be 6 & will be a bit better behaved (hopefully!).
We learned an awful lot on how to do a vacation from this past trip. Best advice, allow enough time to do everything. A lot of the time I felt we were under a time pressure & always stressed about getting somewhere at a certain time. We were only there for 5 days (3 parks) & could have used 3 days at EPCOT, 1 day MGM & 3 days MK. Next time we want to do AK too. So either go with the assumption you can't do it all & it'll give you something to do next time, or give yourself 10 days!!!!
Have fun! To me, the planning was the best part!!

 

[craziefortigger]

I took my DS when we was 3 mon. from turning 3yr old and he loved it!

I know you will have your hands full but I would start rationalizing a trip now. I don't think I could handle having to wait 2-3 more yrs to go!

Just make your trip NON Commando, go with the flow, let the kids dictate the days.

Have fun!

 

[maci]

We went for the first time when DS was 3 and DD was 6 months. And it was great! She was so easy. Disney is so famly friendly, that is really not a big deal to take a baby. And the pictures are
SO cute, the characters kissing her bald head!

 

[DisLUV]

Like others have said. Don't expect to do too much. Just go with the flow and enjoy the look in your children's eyes. My wife and i have tried to go every other year since we have been married and this will be our first time to take our DD Abby. We are taking this trip totally for her. We will do the things that she would like. We are gonna go back to the room for a nap in the middle of the day for her and we are just gonna enjoy watching her get all her disney firsts.

She may not remember all or any of that she did but it will not be her last trip to wdw and we will always remember the look in our daughters eyes as she sees Cinderella for the first time in person. I am getting excited just thinkinig about it!!

 

[disneysteve]

We've taken our daughter at every age starting at 5-1/2 months. Next trip will be her 12th! I can honestly say every trip was wonderful. She enjoyed every trip on a different level, even when she was an infant. As a 1-year-old, she was walking and loved exploring all the little nooks and crannies on her own. As a 2 or 3 year old, she was able to do more and remember more. As she has grown older (and taller), she started being able to do some of the attractions she was too small for before. Last trip, she was 8 and got to do Rockin Roller Coaster and Mission:Space for the first time.

So every age is a good age. I don't think there is any one perfect age.

 

[HenDuck]

We took DS to DL when he was 3 1/2. It was a really good age to take him. He still believes in the characters and we all enjoyed watching him in the parks.

We are waiting until he's around 8 to take him to WDW because there's so much more to see. Plus, we live in Hawaii and the airfare alone will send us to the poor house.

However, if I lived closer to WDW, I would probably take him somewhere around 5 years old, if I could hold out that long.