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

[SandraC]

dd was 4.5 years old....she doesn't remember much, but she had a great time during the trip! LIVE IN THE MOMENT!

ds was 15 months old....he says he remembers stuff, but I think he refers to the vacation video. He had a great time and he was COMPLETELY FREE! He ate FREE at all buffets and ate more than dd, who was 7 at the time.

Here are the ages of my kids trips:

dd was 4.5 yrs, 7.5 yrs, 8.5 years, 12 & 13

ds was 15 mos, 2 years, 6 years, 7 years

 

[chrisw127]

When I was in my 20s, I lived in FL and went to Disney a lot and I would always dream about taking future children when they turned five because it seemed like the perfect age for the first trip. Then I read the Unofficial Guide and they basically said it was too young. Well, we just took our five-year old and he had a great time. He went 100% for six days straight but when we got home, he completely collapsed. It was actually kind of funny. On the other hand, his very sweet cousin, also five, joined us and was overstimulated by almost everything. Thank goodness we stayed at the FW cabins where he could decompress because the kid really lost it. I think it all depends on the child. Our kid loves Mickey and Buzz and has always been pretty calm, so he took everything in stride. Our nephew is used to going to yoga retreats and eating a lot of tofu. Nothing wrong with that, he just wasn't used to all the stimulation. And ice cream.

We also took our 9 1/2 month old twins. They did fine. I would actually think younger kids would do even better as they sleep so much. What I did see a lot of was very overstimulated three-year olds and parents who were not handling the situation well; if your kid is crying, it's time to go back to the room. Our standards for what we could do were very low, so it worked out well, even the day we only spent a few hours in the park and the rest in the room.

I loved the babycare centers and the staff was terrific. Also, we used Kids Nite Out for one day. Worth every penny.

 

[Tinka_Belle]

I waited until DD was five before we went. I don't think that there such a thing as too young. (other than newborns and tiny babies) I chose five because that is supposed to be the age where they can start remembering things. Plus she fully understood what was going on and was no longer afraid of Santa and the Easter Bunny. So I figured that she would do well with the characters. Kids mature at different ages and I think that the parents are the ones who know their children the best and are the only ones that can make the decision if the child can handle the trip and excitement.

 

[fairestoneofall]

We went when DS was three months old and DD was three. However, the only reason we went was because DH had a conference at the Contemporary. And there was NO way I was letting him go without us!

We only spent 1 1/2 day at the parks. I spent most of my time feeding/changing/caring for DS, but it was fine with me. DD had a wonderful time, so it was worth it!

We went back November 2006, when DS was two and DD was almost five. DS still remembers it. And when he sees pictures, he says, "I want to go there again. Now." We're planning a trip for next Thanksgiving.

 

[David 1980]

This past summer my twins were 5 and it was their first trip to DW and also their first plane ride. I had such a great time just looking into their eyes at the plane ride and also the first time we walked thru the gate of the MK.

 

[avamadison]

We took our twin girls when they were 6 months old. We took them again when they were 16 months old. For our next trip in April 2008 they will be 22 months old. I don't think that there is a right age to wait for. We had a blast both times and I look forward to the many more times ahead. Have fun!

 

[MandM-Mom]

My oldest first trip was when she was 3 1/2
My middle daughter was 3
My youngest was 15 months

Perfect age for each!!!!

 

[tjlovespooh]

DS was 18mo when we went this past May. He LOVED the characters! It was priceless to see his face light up! I know he won't remember it for much longer but I'll certainly never forget Actually, I was EXTREMELY nervous about taking that trip. I worried about how he was going react to so much stimuli and such. Well, he shocked DH and I - he was awesome! He had a few minor melt-down moments (about not wanting to sit in the stroller) but all in all he actually has more of those moments at home on a regular basis than he did in WDW. Of course, we made it a point to go back to the hotel to nap each afternoon and made an effort to get him into bed around his regular bedtime - that certainly helped us all enjoy the trip

 

[dunbarfamily]

In my opinion, its never too young to take a child. People will tell you that its a waste because they won't remember. My reply is that I WILL remember.

Here are the ages of my kids on our past trips. They don't remember every little detail, but they each had fun in their own way.

2005 DS was 2.5 months shy of 4, and DD was 9.5 months

2006 DS 1.5 months shy of 5, DD was 22.5 months, and I was 5 mths pg with baby

2007 DS 5.5 years, DD was 2.5, and DS was 5 months

2008 DS 6, DD 3, DS 9 months