How old was your child/children when....

[stepnut]

I'm sure it varies for every family. We took our kids when they were 6 & 8. Much younger than that and it would have been a huge hassle, IMHO. The magic would have been lost on them, it would have been a tremendous amount of money for all the irritation, they would have gotten tired too easily, they wouldn't survive serious disruption to bedtime schedules, and I would have been miserable. I know my kids, and I know how I am when my kids are overstimulated, underslept, and mis-nourished. (I KNOW they would have eaten a whole lot more junk food than normal!)

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

2 months-old. We would have taken her sooner but her reflux was really bad and car rides were murder.

 

[2Princes2Princesses]

My 2 youngest made their first trips in utero!

Otherwise:
My oldest DD(now 15) was 9.
Older DS(now 13) was 7.
Younger DD(now 4.5) was 1.
Little DS (now 3) was 6 months.


May will be the sixth trip for the younger 2, the fourth for DS13, and the third for DD15.

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

Each of my 3 kids first went when they were just a few months old.

 

[rt2dz]

The youngest I've taken a child s 7 months. I think any age is fine to go to WDW, but you will have a different trip at each age--speaking from experience.

At 7 months, we did not have the baby in character lines, but when characters were out and about they would stop and pay a ton of attention to my child. The baby slept a lot and could have cared less what was going on around him, but was fascinated with all there was to see. I have some beautiful memories and photos. We took advantage of child swap to do many rides and took the little one on tamer rides. We really enjoyed the trip and found him easier to handle at WDW than at home--he was needy and difficult.

At 15 months my kiddos enjoyed all that went on around them. One loved the characters; another loved them from a distance. Each of them came home with a love for anything Disney, although they never understood where that came from. Again, no worse than a day at the mall or anywhere else.

At 2 years the kids loved what they saw and believed in it all. They did not comprehend or appreciate all that WDW had to offer, but they loved the trip and were able to experience most of it.

At 3, it is truly magical. It is all real and all appreciated. My kids at that age enjoyed that trip the most. Very little wasn't experienced and the characters were enjoyed an extra amount.

At 4, my kids knew that things were more an illusion than real, but get caught up in it. They love what is going on, but definitely have opinions on what they should do and when. They are also a little selfish and don't realize that it is about the entire family. Ditto for age 5 and 6.

At 7, they start to appreciate the subtleties of it all.

It also depends on what your tolerance is. If you are the type that will avoid the mall or a restaurant with a young child, you'll find WDW challenging. If strollers and diaper bags are part of your daily routine anyhow, you won't notice any extra work with a child that age as you would any day trip.

I've been just about every year since 1976. I don't remember most trips so waiting until they can remember it seems silly to me. I have walked away with impressions and experiences that carried into the rest of my life and that is what I hope for/want for my kids. As an adult, I remember. And I have pictures from all trips. I go for me and my kids are just lucky benefactors of that.

 

[Jaymie]

Our son was 5 months. It was the easiest trip since he wasn't mobile and didn't have much of an opinion yet.

 

[rt2dz]

I just wanted to add that you control the trip. It is all about how you approach it.

You can force your kids into some kind of theme park commando schedule, or you can keep their normal schedule, or find something in between. I let the normal schedule go out the window and have never had a problem getting them back to normal the day we get back. For example, we don't leave for a park before they wake up on their own.

We also snack on the healthier things that the parks offer and skip the fried foods. OK, my kids won't touch a chicken nugget for anything anyhow. But you don't have to purchase Mickey bars, fruit is readily available. My kids don't drink soda, but stick to water, milk and juice. My kids will only eat just so much pizza and hotdogs. Therefore, we have meals for the room, eat offsite a little bit and do sit-down restaurants. I found Harbor House offers great sandwiches and soup.

Just decide what you want and plan for it, keeping your expectations realistic. At whatever age you first decide to go, it will be what is best for your family. Just take opinions with a grain of salt, especially from those who don't have the actual experience of having done it. I am sure they made the right decision for them, but they are not necessarily qualified to tell you exactly how it would go.

 

[Aristomommy]

DS was 8months old and did just fine. DD was almost 3 during her first trip and other than going back to the hotels for naps, she had a great time. If you plan to go with little ones, I would suggest taking a slower pace and going early. We skipped a lot of the night shows and went early in the morning. This worked for our early bird kids.

 

[blana]

We're taking DS this month, at 2 years, 4 months. Had to get in before he turned 3!

 

[glass slipper girl]

My oldest was 3.5 and my middle son was 21 months. We LOVED that trip! They have since been 9 times and are 7.5 and "almost6." My youngest was 3 months on his first trip. That trip wasn't "for" him. We had a trip planned for Sept 06 for months and months before we found out I was pregnant with surprise baby #3 and due in October. We decided that wasn't a smart idea given that I have a history of preterm labor and other complications at the end of pregnancy so we cancelled. Our kids were really upset. We decided we would reschedule for as soon as we felt like it made sense to return with the baby. That turned out to be 3.5 months. DS #3 was 14 months on this last trip and had a ball. If I were only taking 1 child, I'd shoot more for the 21 month mark than the 14 month mark (of the ones I have experience with) but taking a toddler was a LOT of fun!

 

[lntsmom]

or for them? If you want to go and are willing to deal with handing off, babyfood or formula, or whatever is involved, then I say make the plans and go.

But, if you are going for your child, for their enjoyment, I say wait until around age 4. I took each of my boys at that age and we had a grand time. By that age they had interests of their own and enjoyed the preschool-aged activities. It meant I had to give up riding what I wanted to ride a lot of the time, but that was okay with me.

 

[momto2girls]

My oldest was 2.5 years and my youngest was 13 months.

 

[Karmel96]

My DD was 5 and it was wonderful- believed in everything, couldn't eat lunch until all the Princess came by our table (Norway), loved meeting and getting the autographs of many characters (little hesitant with Goofy, but warmed up to him- just a bit too tall for her!) and LOVED the castle! My DS will be 4 1/2 this time and I hope for some of the same!

 

[Karmel96]

My DD was 5 and it was wonderful- believed in everything, couldn't eat lunch until all the Princess came by our table (Norway), loved meeting and getting the autographs of many characters (little hesitant with Goofy, but warmed up to him- just a bit too tall for her!) and LOVED the castle! My DS will be 4 1/2 this time and I hope for some of the same!
BTW, I had just turned 4 when I went the first time and I barely remember anything; I remember much more from our second trip when I was 7 (only did MK b/c it was THE only thing!)

 

[Karmel96]

My DD was 5 and it was wonderful- believed in everything, couldn't eat lunch until all the Princess came by our table (Norway), loved meeting and getting the autographs of many characters (little hesitant with Goofy, but warmed up to him- just a bit too tall for her!) and LOVED the castle! My DS will be 4 1/2 this time and I hope for some of the same!
BTW, I had just turned 4 when I went the first time and I barely remember anything; I remember much more from our second trip when I was 7 (only did MK b/c it was THE only thing!)

 

[Karmel96]

Sorry about the triple reply therer- tried to delete it but it won't go away!

 

[DISNEYmooner2008]

To all those asking if we would be planning this trip for ourselves, or for our child.... Actually, both is the correct answer!!! We want to plan a trip for next year, but know a new addition will probably come along before November of 2009. So I wanted to see some other's experiences with an infant at WDW before we got to the point where we are able to book the trip. My parents will both be going with us and neither one of them have ever been to WDW. They are not really "ride" people and would be the one's the baby got "handed" off to when DF and I wanted to ride something. So no, this trip isn't just for the child, but it's also not just for us either. Maybe that clarifies a little We just know that we want to plan a 2nd trip soon and invite my parents to go along with us since they've never been. However, we are almost positive there will be 5 of us instead of 4

 

[dahrjo]

DS was 4 months old! DH and I wanted to go. It was a very memorable trip for us. DS was very good the whole time, he loved looking at everything and we took him on whatever rides we felt safe doing with him. Then we went last year DS was 10, DD 8 and DS 5. Still lots of great memories! Any age is good!

 

[Matt'sMom]

I know we are in the minority here...

We waited until our son was 7 years old before taking him to WDW. Age for a first trip is very much a personal choice, based on your own values and expectations. We did not want to have to drag around a stroller, diaper bag, soft sided cooler and lots of other stuff while traveling & on vacation. Just not our idea of a relaxing, rejuvinating experience.

We also wanted to be in a secure financial position before spending the $$$ that a WDW trip involves. Again, personal choice--we do not like to borrow any money (beyond what is absolutely necessary), and prefer to pay off all cc bills in full each and every month. So, we waited until after we had our home and vehicle loans completed paid off and could afford to pay for our entire WDW vacation (including travel expenses) without carrying any balance on the cc.

I have no doubt some people do genuinely enjoy taking their infants to WDW... but for us, it would not have been an enjoyable vacation. We just would not have been comfortable spending the $$$ at that point in our lives--we had other financial priorities. Nor would it have been a relaxing experience for us (and we go on vacation primarily to relax). For us, personally, it was well worth the wait.

 

[Desnik]

DS was 8 months and DD was 9 months on their first trips. They were the easiest trips ever!