How old was your child...

[earthur0915]

How old was your child when you first took them to Disney? Please explain your answer....trying to decide whether or not to take 20 month old....

 

[GottaLuvMickey]

How old was your child when you first took them to Disney? Please explain your answer....trying to decide whether or not to take 20 month old....

We haven't gone yet, but we're booked! We're taking our daughter for her first birthday in September! I used to work at Disney World and from what I witnessed, and learned from talking to guests... I think as long as you're okay to take it at your childs pace and understand naps still need taken and such, go for it and have fun! They wont remember it, but you sure will!!!

 

[bumbershoot]

We *barely* count for this, because our trip to Disneyland was a DAY trip on a bigger trip to southern CA to visit my brother. But still, he was 17 months old and we went. We weren't Disney "fans" at the time, just figured "eh, while we're here we might as well go", but it helped to start all the trips in my signature, LOL.

If we are able to have another, we'll definitely go with that baby when that baby is very young, simply because babies go where we go, and we would want to go to Disney!

 

[bellebud]

our first trip my kids were 3.5yo and 21 months (so 21 month old was technically 1yo) and we stayed 12 days... we had such a great time we've been back 1-3 times a year since then (they're now 9 and 7). So when my ds was 21 months, he LOVED the characters, loved all the rides he could go on, napped in his umbrella stroller, still drank from his ba-ba (attached to his stroller so we didn't lose it), and we really took it easy. morning emh's, lunch adr's for 11:30am to get out of the heat, back to the resort for swimming/naps, usually stayed at the resort for the evenings (sometimes we'd go to catch a parade somewhere). If I had to do it again, I'd do it even if my youngest was an infant. Disney makes taking little ones so easy! As long as your child travels well, I say go for it and have a great time!

 

[MickeyMomOfThree]

I didn't vote because we have 3 kids who were all different ages on their first trip.

We took our oldest for her 3rd birthday. It was amazing, fun and she still rememebers it (she is almost 15 now).

We took our DD9 when she was 9 months and our DD7 when she was 10 months. Do they remember it? NO Do we? Absolutely, and it was truly amazing to see them experience it.

So, people have asked us if we have any regrets, our answer is always YES! We regret that we waited to take our oldest and did not get to see her as a baby see Disney. Sure, she remembers her first trip (parts of it anyway), but seeing your baby see Disney is priceless!

Go for it, I don't think you'll regret it!

 

[My5Mouseketeers]

We took our oldest when she was 14 months old and I was pregnant with twins! Of course, she does not remember any of it, but I have wonderful memories of her toddling around and her face when she went on Small World...still makes me happy. I try and remember those times when we are bickering since we are starting those "wonderful" teenage years. LOL

 

[susykt4]

My daughter was 17 months her first trip. She loved the characters and the Fantasyland rides. She slept ok in the pack 'n play at the resort. She wasn't frightened by any of the rides but didn't like the loud booms in some of the shows. The only negative I remember was that she pretty much ate only ketchup our entire trip.

My son was 28 months his first trip. He was a difficult child at home, requiring to be kept on an exact schedule and hating crowds and characters. We were pretty worried about taking him and even had a plan for one of us to go back to the resort with him if necessary. (Trip was all about DD 4 at the time.) He LOVED Disney! He loved the characters, did well with the crowds and schedule changes, ate well, slept well. He talked about it all year until we went back.

 

[WantToGoNow]

My son was 6 months old on his first trip and my daughter celebrated her first birthday at WDW. Both were very easy trips although dd was afraid of the characters which wasn't good since we had 3 character meals planned plus her birthday "ice cream social" at the Garden Grill. She had also learned to walk about a week before the trip so she wasn't content sitting in the stroller.

 

[scottish mum]

We have 3 kids and the youngest we took any of them was 22 months. She had a great trip and I wish I had taken the boys when they were younger. They never got until they were 4 and 5 yrs for their first trip

 

[tchrrx]

Our daughter was 6 the first time we took her. Of course, we didn't adopt her until she was 5 and we had to wait until summer vacation to go. If you want to take your daughter now, then go for it!

 

[mom2travel]

I voted "2" because DS was 23 months when we took him for a day trip to MK and became addicted to WDW, and DD was 2 1/2 on her first "real" trip (I'm not counting a 2-day when she was an infant).

DS loved MK when he was 23 months! Had so much fun, just geared the entire day to his interests. DD also loved all four parks when 2 1/2 - but needed the characters to stay a respectful distance away

I don't think there is any age that is too young but if it would be someone's only trip, then would wait until a bit older. We've been to WDW with our children/nieces from ages 18mos to almost 14 and every single age has loved it! Every trip is different. We tailor the trips to our/their interests at the time. I would imagine your 20-month old would have a great time! Would be feeding off of your excitement and looking at the World with awe - all the sights and sounds. Just keep a toddler's pace in mind when planning out your days and you'll all have a ton of fun!

 

[princessmom29]

My DD was 5. We waited untill we were sure she could handle the kind of schedule we wanted to keep, and she would be old enough to understand how special a place it is. We went 12 hours a day every day and she did just fine. I personally could not have done it with a baby ou young toddler without feeling like I didn't get to do and see everything we wanted. It is really all about how your family would handle it. Our first trip last year was absolutely magical, and we are going back in November.
ETA:
I see some people saying that they waited so as not to need a stroller. Personally I an dreading the day when she is too big for it. It just makes it sooom much easier on everyone when she has a place to sit and rest for a few!

 

[wilma-bride]

DS was 5 when we first took him to the World, although we had been several times before without him. Here is our reasoning behind it though, some of which will probably not apply to you:

A 9 hour flight with a toddler is NOT pleasant
DS is so into his 'routine' (even now at the age of 6) that doing ANYTHING which took him out of his comfort zone was a real killer
Dh and I were unsure how he would cope with long days and late nights - again, normally at home he is in bed and asleep by 7 pm. Factor in a 5-hour time difference and you have a potential nightmare.
Our first trip was our Honeymoon so we definitely weren't taking any of our kids on that one

Having said that, I was so glad we did wait to take him. Our first family trip (last April) was wonderful. DS adjusted reasonably well although we did have some behavioural issues (easily resolved with the threat of leaving whatever we were doing and returning to the hotel for time out).

If we lived closer/didn't have the time difference issues we would probably have taken him younger though

 

[RMulieri]

Mine was 4. I flat out refused to do disney with a stroller and a kid in diapers.She potty trained completely at 3 1/2 we started "walking training" 6 months before our trip, and as a result....We had a great time, she remembered the whole trip, and it was a vacation for even MOM.

 

[CLEO Z]

DS was 14 months and DD was just shy of 4 yrs. The only reason why I took them at that age was bc it was free! My parents picked up the tab for the entire family to celebrate their 40th. It really wasn't as hard with a little one as I had expected. He was so cute with the characters!

IMO: I would not have taken them that early only due to $$ and that they have no memory of it. Due to the cost of Disney, it isn't a trip we can take every year. If it wasn't for the $$ issue, I would do it FOR ME because my memories of the trip are great. In the end only you know your budget, your baby and your desire for all things disney.

 

[Kit'smommy]

My son was 22 months when we took him for his first visit. DH and I had planned to go alone, but my mom was injured the week before we were to leave. She was fine, but not up to keeping an almost two year old right then.

We had a great time. He loved Spaceship Earth, all the MK rides he could go on and the Safari ride. He was terrified of the characters, but we had an easy time avoiding them.

DS loves to eat and eats a wide variety of big people food normally, so feeding him was no issue at all.

 

[rbork]

Ours were 4 and 6. I've NEVER rented a stroller. At 4 and 6 they walked the entire day. (stopping along and resting to enjoy some stuff) One day they went from early opening at 7am to closing at 11 pm. If they had gotten cranky we would have gone back to the hotel for sure - but they didn't. It was also April, so the weather wasn't to hot. My DS6 remembered the trip but DS4 only remembered a few things. We've since gone back this past February so, DS12 and DS 9 had a blast. However they were not interested in staying at the parks all day this time. They wanted to got back and play on the beach and in the pool everyday.
On a side note... when our boys were toddling around the terrible 2's, we stopped eating out because the experience wasn't pleasurable at all. I couldn't imagine taking a nice Disney vacation if they'd be great one minute and a terror the next. That just didn't strike me as a VACATION.

 

[SharpMomOfTwo]

My oldest daughter was 3, almost 4, and my youngest was just 2.

My 3 year old was my difficult one, and the 2 year old was my easy one - boy did that change in Disney!!! The 2 year old was such a pain the entire time - I want this, I don't want that - every time DD3 got in a stroller, DD2 wanted THAT one, you know how it goes!!
My DD3 (the one that WAS difficult) became our angel! She gave into everything DD2 wanted, and made the trip bareable (other than that Norwalk virus everyone got....). Even DD3s teacher said she was a new child when she got back from Disney! DD2 has since gotten back to normal, thankgoodness!! I think it just depends on the child, and nt so much the age. Having said that, we won't be going back for a few years now.....

 

[EricaG]

Took my son as part of a larger family trip (extended family) when he was 13 months old, and not walking yet. It was December, so not hot, which probably makes it a bit easier for the little ones to keep their energy up.

He mostly just slept in his stroller--getting the stroller around (e.g., on and off buses) wasn't a big deal, assuming you have two adults. And diapers weren't a big deal, either--lots of restrooms with changing stations, etc.

All in all, we had a great time, and he still loves looking at the pictures (he's 3 1/2 now).

 

[Aneille]

Oldest was almost 3 yrs.
Middle had just turned 1.

We only had 2 kids for our first trip.

Youngest was 3 months. It was a few years after our first trip.

We have gone a bunch of times now and each is different but we never had a bad trip due to the kids ages.