Dear Parents of Young Children:

[suncat73]

Wonderful advice!!! THANK YOU for these words. We are going on our third trip with our 9 and 5 yr old daughters (in 17 days!!!!) and I cannot wait to see the looks on their faces once again. Precious memories that my husband and I cherish!

 

[abyrd86]

Love this post so much. Nowadays, it seems that kids want to grow up too fast. We are taking our DS10 and our DD8 for their second trip in December. The first time was magical for them both and watching it through their eyes...especially when DD met Cinderella and DS met Buzz and Woody...was a memory that I can never lose. I am so excited to share the magic with them once again and especially at Christmas time!

 

[RachaelA]

We are here now with an almost 1 year old and an almost 3 year old. And I'm trying to soak it all in. The character interaction and CM attention we get is insane (along with just random people). We have people line up around us when we meet characters just so they can watch

Its what makes all the planning worth it. Its why we bought DVC and come back every year. These memories and pictures will be something I cherish when my kids are grown up and not at home anymore.

Love your advice!

 

[clambert1273]

awwww!! My kids are 20, 15, and 7 ... the 7yo (diva princess) still has that glow and she went to Disneyland this summer for the first time. They have never been to WDW either so this surprise trip I can't wait to see her face!!!

Makes every ounce of planning totally worth it!!

 

[elgerber]

So my unsolicited advice to you is to SAVOR every single moment of your WDW visit(s) with your young ones, ESPECIALLY if it's your FIRST VISIT. There's nothing like that moment when you first see the Disney signs driving in and when you walk down Main Street and see that castle. Good luck not tearing up, even if you are president of the he-man's club.

Brilliant, and so very true. My kids are 18 and 21 now, and I would love to go back to the early days now and then.

 

[Fargoman2]

we took our baby this past february for his first birthday, and it was so much fun....he was NOT too young and he loved every second of it. seeing him so happy and exciting was the best feeling in the world.

My thanks to all of you--young parents and relative "fossils" like me--for YOUR responses. Your personal stories warm my heart and allow me to relate and live vicariously through your joyous experiences and memories.

And a special note to those who are criticized for bringing their very young children to Disney because "they'll never remember it." Ok then, let's call off all birthday parties, going to the zoo, library, etc., when kids are very young because they'll never remember it. What a silly criticism. Enjoy the moments big and small as you live them--every age and stage has plenty of magic to treasure for a moment or the rest of their/your lives. See the photo above as Exhibit A evidence in demonstrating you are never TOO YOUNG for Disney!

 

[leahlefler]

This one got to me! I don't have toddlers, but we are taking our boys to Disney World for the first time in February. They are 7 and 8 right now (will be 7 and 9 when we travel). They are still very enthralled by magic and I can't wait to go with them and experience this with them!

 

[disneybirds]

Love this post! We took our girls for the first time when they were 2 1/2 and 5. We wanted the oldest to experience Disney when she believed in all the magic. They are 15 and 12 now, but still love Disney. We have APs this year and have really enjoyed taking several weekend trips. However, my daughter said as we returned on Sunday night that the weekend wasn't long enough to stop and just enjoy Disney. I will definitely have to remember that for our last AP trip in December.

We are also hoping to take our grandkids someday to Disney!

 

[PlutosBone17]

When we took our 18 month old daughter in 2012 everyone told us it was a waste of money and she would never remember it. Frankly, I can't remember yesterday or half the things I spend my money on. All that matters is she had a blast when she was there. She had an autograph book with the picture sleeves and put a picture of her getting the book signed by each of the characters. She loves it.

She now has a 16 month old younger brother who will make his first trip to Disney this year. I hope he enjoys it as much as she did. Now that she is 3, she wants to meet all the princesses, knows all the characters, is asking to go on the roller coasters. We can't wait to drive 2,700 miles with 2 toddlers in the back seat.

 

[iluvwdw_2002]

This is a beautiful post!! We leave in 19 days with our 2 and 5 yr old daughters and I'm soooo excited to see Disney Magic through their eyes!! Wdw is a beautiful and magical place no matter what and their faces and experiences are priceless!!! I can't wait to make special memories with our girls! It's such a gift to be able to do family trips like this!

Thank you again for your beautiful post and reminder!

 

[ollynholly]

We will be there on Sunday with our 15m old DD. It'll be her first visit! We are so excited to see her faces!!
Thank you for this post!

 

[KimP5]

Very sweet reminder. We took each of our older two when they were three. Then I, like a previous poster, had another baby girl at just shy of 40. We didn't make it down when she was three - money was just tight. But we are going in two months! Girls will be 14, 11 and 4. I'm finding myself planning like never before, partially out of fear of the Christmas week crowds. DH is annoyed at me, thinking I'm over planning and not going to allow us to stumble upon those magic moments. I am trying to be careful about that, but *not* planning is a bit scary to me, so I may actually have needed this reminder!

 

[ZephyrHawk]

OP, thanks for the reminder. We look forward to many fun Disney years with our DD(2). However, you shouldn't get so down. There is this thing known as "grandchildren". DD's 5 grandparents will all be joining us on her first Disney trip next year, and you can look forward to the same.

 

[Fargoman2]

OP, thanks for the reminder. We look forward to many fun Disney years with our DD(2). However, you shouldn't get so down. There is this thing known as "grandchildren". DD's 5 grandparents will all be joining us on her first Disney trip next year, and you can look forward to the same.

Yes, ZephyrHawk--thanks for the encouragement. DW and I often talk about that possibility. Everyone tells us being a grandparent is beyond cool. We'll wait to see if we are blessed in such a way.

 

[Pixiedustaway]

There is nothing like seeing Disney thru the eyes of your child.

Everything is exciting to them...they loo over meeting their favorite princesses. I don't want them to ever grow up.

 

[Pete S]

We took our daughter in August 2013 for her 10th birthday, and it was a bit sad when we left thinking we would not be back with her as a younger child. When we let her pick our vacation spot for next January we could not have been more thrilled that she chose WDW again! And she still wants to meet princesses, go to character meals, and go to the BBB. This is going to be great.

 

[daisyx3]

Totally agree with this post. We are entering the "couple" part of our WDW days for our next two trips, although my youngest (HS junior) may come with us his senior year. But we have sown the seeds for the future--my oldest who is married and living in San Diego has already been to DL twice, and my younger daughter is a CP who is seriously considering going back when she graduates--she thought about not coming home (!) but didn't want to lose her scholarships!
Daisyx3

 

[LoKiHB]

Well said!

We have been 3 times since 2011, first with our oldest for his 5th Birthday, and twice with your youngest who is 2 1/2. I agree one hundred percent with you. On our trip this past March, I made sure to just enjoy being there with my family. The phone was away- unless I was checking the time or the MDE app, and I really let the rest of the family dictate the day. The most frequent words out of my mouth were "Sure, whatever you guys want to do, I'm just here for the ride."

Believe it or not, because of the way our little family works, the whole FP+ system ended up helping us slow down and enjoy things due to the fact that we would have time between attractions to take in the whole world around us instead of running from one place to another trying to grab a fast pass. Yes, we were those people the first time that just wandered from land to land because our son wanted to ride everything, and we didn't think we'd be back any time soon so we obliged to do so.

All I can say, is that for me, sitting back and enjoying my boys enjoying everything made my trip infinitely magical.

My oldest is 8 now, but I am already dreading the first "I don't want to go"- whenever that may be.

Thanks for saying what lots of people are feeling.

 

[Crystal824]

This made me tear up a bit. We have a 4 year old and 4 month old. The 4 year old has been to WDW 5 times, but our next trip will be the 4 month old's first trip. She will be 10 months then. I can't wait to show her the World. It is easy to get caught up in trying to get it all done. I think this advice applies to life as well as WDW. Sometimes you have to stop and savor the moment, which isn't always easy with little ones and all the chaos that comes with little ones.

 

[TillyMarigold]

Thank you! (Especially for calling us "young parents," ha! We got started late.) We're taking our DS2 in January and I think everyone (grandparents, aunt & uncle) is most looking forward to seeing him at Disney.

He's a good stroller napper but a bad nap transitioner--so if he falls asleep in his stroller it's better to just carry on rather than try to take him out and put him in bed.