Best ages to bring to WDW?

[2littleprincesses]

I have 2 dds (8 and 6 in july). My original plan was to go to WDW (1st time for girls) in Jan, but now with these good deals, I was wondering to go in June. My 5 1/2 year old is kind of whiny and does not like to walk much. Also, she is kind of scared of rides and will not go on them. I am concerned she will be whiny if we go this year and was thinking maybe I should wait til they are 7 and 9. We will only go once in the next few years so this is a big decision. What do you think? In general what ages do they appreciate it the most with being able to handle the walking?

 

[all4fun]

My ds also didn't like walking too much when we were at WDW last December. He was about 5.8yrs old. We brought a stroller for him, what a lifesaver! If you don't have one, you could rent as needed, but I think it costs about $15/day for a single now. IMO it's a sanity saver in our case, so worth the hassle of dealing w/a stroller. I don't know what advice to give about the fear factor. Maybe get the Birnbuam's "WDW for kids, by kids" book and read it to her so she knows what to expect of the attractions? I'm sure you could find things to do that are not scary. jmo

hth

 

[geishagirl81]

I vowed not to go until my kids are in upper-elementary. But my oldest will only be 2.5 years and my youngest 9 months when we go.

As a teacher who has dragged around kids your dd's age during long field trips, try to convince her to get in a Disney stroller in the afternoon once she wears out. It may hurt her pride, so try to make it seem cool and not baby-ish. But I know my friends who have kids that age and still rent strollers, it is just too much for little legs!

 

[homedad]

we taken kids at 2 and 4, then 4 and 6 and this year it will be 6 and 8...it gets better every year and this year I'm really excited and so is the oldest as he can go on all the rides...FWIW

 

[katied]

We took Dnience and DNephew when they were 8 and 6, and again when they were 10 and 8. I have to say, the trip when they were 8 and 6 was more fun, because they were still just a bit younger and into all the Disney things - a couple years latter, they were a bit more into being "cool". I think it is easier when it's not your own kids - DNephew learned from us pretty quick that whinning would not be tolerated. DH got as far as the park enterance with him on the second day - taking action after threats to return him to the room and park him with a babysitter for the day. DNephew decided at that point to apologize, and he did very well with whining for the rest of the trip. We did not have to worry about them being afraid of rides (except the more roller coaster type, plus Dinosaur in AK), but they were good sports about it. DNephew did manage to walk the whole time, but he is into sports, so I think that helped. Overall, I think the trip was such an amazing experience for them, that it put them on their best behavior.

Plus, helps that I planned either an early dinner or lunch break at TS every day, to give us all a well needed 1 hr + to sit in AC and relax. Also, we went in April, which was very nice weather wise. Next trip was late Sept. and much harder for the kids with the heat.

 

[susykt4]

I just got back from a GREAT trip with my kids ages 8 and 6. It was the best ever with no strollers, low crowds and cool temperatures. DS6 walked the entire 8 park days without whining. If you can stand to, I'd wait until January. (Unless you're going for New Year's) the crowds will be much lower and the cool temps REALLY help the kids (and adults) to be able to go much longer.

As far as the fear of rides goes, maybe start with Dumbo or the caroussel at Magic Kingdom (outside stuff she can see) and then move on to Small World and Pooh. Even if she flat-out refuses to ride ANYTHING there are so many shows and characters and so much other stuff to do... You may be frustrated, but you won't be bored!

The best thing I've done to curb whining and fighting is to give nightly Tinker Bell gifts. If the kids are good during the day, Tink visits at night (tooth fairy style) and leaves a small gift (either stuff I bring from home or stuff I buy at Disney.) The kids love this and a minor threat about Tink not coming straightens them out immediately if they start to whine/fight. It also worked well on my extremely (uh) strong-willed niece last week.

 

[RumpleMom]

Our first trip was when kids were 7 and almost 4. This was to be a once in a life time trip, maybe we could afford to go again when they were teens kind of a trip.

We planned the trip along the capabilities of the 4 year old. We made so many special memories on that trip because it was at a moderate pace. We never did use a stroller.

We prepared for the trip by watching Disney movies together and eating pizza on Sunday evenings, so everyone was getting excited about meeting the characters. This trip was for our family to enjoy together.

We started a spare change jar to save for our trip. I explained that we would go and have a wonderful time and have money for what we needed, but that there would be a lot of things for sale that we could not buy, just like at the museum gift shop(they understood). We told them that they could buy one medium stuffed animal and one t-shirt for sure and totally control this pick. That's exactly what we came home with for them and two refrigerator magnets for the family.

Our family started walking at our local park weeks before the trip to build stamina. I made sure that their sneakers were broken in before the trip and that they hadn't out grown them.

Yes, this was a big deal for our family and took a lot of thought, but it was the absolute most fantasic trip for us. We saw the trip as a priviledge and not as something on the to do list to check off.

Our family fell in love with Disney, saved and returned three years later! Ten years later we bought DVC. We had been staying at the All-Stars.

Our next trip will be with three generations. Disney has something for everyone!

 

[2littleprincesses]

I just got back from a GREAT trip with my kids ages 8 and 6. It was the best ever with no strollers, low crowds and cool temperatures. DS6 walked the entire 8 park days without whining. If you can stand to, I'd wait until January. (Unless you're going for New Year's) the crowds will be much lower and the cool temps REALLY help the kids (and adults) to be able to go much longer.

As far as the fear of rides goes, maybe start with Dumbo or the caroussel at Magic Kingdom (outside stuff she can see) and then move on to Small World and Pooh. Even if she flat-out refuses to ride ANYTHING there are so many shows and characters and so much other stuff to do... You may be frustrated, but you won't be bored!

The best thing I've done to curb whining and fighting is to give nightly Tinker Bell gifts. If the kids are good during the day, Tink visits at night (tooth fairy style) and leaves a small gift (either stuff I bring from home or stuff I buy at Disney.) The kids love this and a minor threat about Tink not coming straightens them out immediately if they start to whine/fight. It also worked well on my extremely (uh) strong-willed niece last week.

Thanks! THis helps alot--that was my original plan to go in Jan of next year, but these deals got me thinking. I will just keep saving until then.

Thanks!

amy

 

[klmorg]

suzykt4...I LOVE the tinkerbell gift idea!! We are going for 8 days in the end of March and staying at POR. My youngest daughter just turned 4 and this will be our second trip to Disney. We go every other year for 7 to 8 days. My two oldest are 15 and 17 and they LOVE Disney and have been a bunch of times throughout the years. My 4 year old is tall and is just at the height where she will be able to ride splash mountain and thunder mountain! She loves rides and we started her off on the Carousel and Dumbo too like someone else suggested. One other thing we did before we took her the first time was to be sure to explain that the characters were BIG...I told her Mickey would be big like her Daddy, so when she saw them for the first time she was not shocked at the size. This year she has her pictures from the last trip to remember them by. We also have made a Disney Countdown Calander (out of construction paper) and the kids get to put a Disney sticker up for every day that passes and the calander tells how many days left till we leave! (43 as of today!). I think your 4 year old will LOVE it. Have fun!

 

[MinnieNurse]

My son was 5 1/2 the first time he went and it was great. I think somewhere between 3-12 they are old enough but still young enough to really enjoy the magic. He was great at that age. We didnt need a stroller we did not go commando though. We took breaks when needed and when we were tired we went back to the resort. He is now almost 10 and still loves it.

 

[Not so Dumbo]

We went in May with DS8 and DS6 and brought a stroller for DS6 because he also doesn't like to walk and is a whiner. The problem was that DS8 saw DS6 being pushed around and didn't want to walk either. Which brought about countless rounds of fighting about who got to ride in the stroller.
We went back in October and left the stroller home. MUCH better. Neither DS complained about having to walk. No stroller= no problem because riding in it was never an option.

 

[mom_to_2]

I think it really just depends on the kids. We took our son for the first tme when he was just shy of three years old and a couple people said that he was too young, but he had such an amazing time- and so did my husband and I. He was able to ride a lot more rides than we thought he would and he loved the shows and the characters...so I think a 5.5 year old could definitely go and have a good time!

I think that with kids 6 and under (and maybe even older) a stroller is a must have, though!!!

 

[asmit4]

Everyone has a different opinion on this. I've read stories of mom's taking newborns and swearing it was awesome. However, I went last October with my entire family- my nephew was the only child, and he was 5. He is the whining type- the type who is tall enough to ride virtually everything- but refused to ride. It was not fun for any of us, we tried the 'be a big boy' route but it was a waste. He rode a few rides and called it quits. "I'm scared, I'm tired, I'm hot, I can't walk anymore"...my mom and I couldn't stand it and had to go off on our own to have any fun.

With that said- my husband and I have decided that until the kids are at least 44 inches tall, and until they are able to handle some of the moderately fast rides, we aren't taking them. I was a daredevil as a child and I was tall. I rode the Magnum at Cedar Point (which at present time was the tallest and fastest coaster in the world) at 8yo and if it had been there when I was 6, I would have ridden it! LOL! My husband was the same-only he was short for his age so he cried a lot over not being able to ride things.

I'm hoping that our kids are sufficently mature and tall enough to go to DW around 1st grade but I think it will depend on the temperment of the child.

I also think it depends on what kind of trip you want it to be. When I was a child, my grandparents set up stock accounts for all the grandkids. My grandparents were also avid disney goers and went every year. They have since passed away and I have been tryiing to decide what to use part of the stock $$$ for. We were gonna use it for a car, then we were gonna use it for a downpayment on a house...then I decided that I wanted to use part of it for an AMAZING DW trip- one where we could afford to stay in an amazing resort, afford to do the extra shows and events, one with deluxe dining and extra spending. I figure it will be a wonderful tribute to say that their great grandparents paid for the trip and we can sorta feel like they are there with us in spirit. It will be a once in a lifetime trip for us as we are unlikely to be able to afford something that high end again.

If on the other hand- you feel that this is the first of 2 or 3 moderately priced trips- I wouldn't be so stressed about the 'right' time as you will be doing it again.

 

[saraheeyore]

It does totally depend on the kids but i took my 2 year old and although there was a lot she couldn't go on we managed everything she was tall enough for even haunted mansion. She's a pretty laid back kid though in that sort of way nothing really bothers her so ghosts weren't a problem or the dark really we just had to tell her if something was going to go dark and she was fine. she loved characters and we have the best pictures and best memories of her with them. If you do decided to go I would watch the rides on you tube with them so they know they are not scarey and start off on the slowest rides and work your way up. My sister in law took my neice to disneyland paris at 9 and they took her on pirates of the carribean pretty much first ride so after that they couldn't go on anything else so just chose things carefully. Only thing we had a problem with is spaceship earth as my daughter decided she didn't like going down backwards

 

[prince.john]

Only you will truly know your own kids' tolerance/patience levels.
However a couple items that may influence your decison are; age and height. I believe 9 is the cut-off for child fares (if that's important to you, then you want to be sure to get there before a 10th birthday) Also check online for height requirements (just incase there was something you were planning on riding w/the whole family) Some rides have restrictions for 48", 42", or 40" tall.

 

[mjkacmom]

If you are not going to be able to get back for several years, I'd pick January over June, because of the heat and crowds. I think that's more important than the ages. The last time we were there, my kids were between the ages of 4 and 10, and everyone had a great time.

 

[scootch]

I take my girls to WDW by myself. I have been doing it for the past 5 years.... started when they were 2 1/2 and 5. I ALWAYS rent a disney stroller, even this year when they were 6 and 9. They are priceless. The kids are safe and they are so easy to push. They cost a fortune, but truly it is makes a huge difference keeping them fresh. I think any age is a great age..... we love it every time and see new things every time. Since I lost my dear neice to cancer, I say go now.... and go again later!! Life can be too short, enjoy each day!

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

In my experience, WDW offers 3 different children's experiences:

The toddler / young child experience. They enjoy all of the rides built for very young children - and there are many in Magic Kingdom. This is a great experience for the entire family. Everything is brand new and exciting to them, even if they were there last year.

The older child experience. These kids still get some joy from the rides designed for younger children, but they also start to try some of the more "exciting" rides. They are not as much work for the adults in the party.

The "I'm not a kid anymore" experience. These kids will try anything, but they have tired of rides like Dumbo. They have also learned to really appreciate more adult experiences, like those offered in Epcot. They will keep you out all night. Your chance to have as much fun as they are.

We are now in phase three...

 

[StitchFanZ]

Every time we've gone its fun. But I have to say that as they get older, we all enjoy it more and more. Our last trip to Disneyland with DD13 and DS12 was the absolute best!! They helped with planning, set the pace, and could go non stop from park open to close.
If you only get trips infrequently, like me, I vote for taking them when older and during the off season. Fewer lines, cooler weather, and being a few months older can make a big difference in everyones experience and stamina.