How old was your child...

[pooh4evr]

The youngest we have had on a trip was just shy of her 1st birthday- her sisters first trip they were 4 and almost 2. Each trip was different but magical is the only way to describe it- we do go for them - we don't go to ride the thrill rides althought now the older 2 are tall enought to ride - you go with little ones more for the experience of seeing them enjoy the little rides, parades and characters it is a completely different trip with kids! We would not trade te memories of those first times they see Cinderela, Mickey and the Castle when they are still young enough to truly believe they are seeing the real things for anything- take her relax and enjoy!

 

[djp0630]

Good to hear this as I am taking a 13 month old and 3 1/2 year in Sept and am a little worried about the baby. DD loves princesses and I want her to experience the magic of Disney before she grows out of that stage. I think DS will like it to as he loves excitement, even now!

 

[Nennie]

We just got back from WDW. My son is 6 months old, and this was his first trip. He loved it...the music, the colors, everything.

He might not remember the trip when he's older, but I always will! Can't resist sharing a pic!

 

[kingcrab]

Interesting, and informative thread.

Our daughter will be 2 years 8 months in June when we visit, and we figured it was the perfect age for her(grandma thinks she is too young. ).

We are spending the week at Pop Century, and only spendiongone day at the Magic Kingdom, the rest of the time at the pool, eating off the Disney property, and a day in Cocoa Beach. We reserved lunch at CInderlla's Castle for the day we are at the park, and a dinner at Sanaa at the Wild Kingodm Lodge for the 2nd night we are there.

Hope its hot, it should be a blast.

 

[BebopBaloo]

Our daughter went for the first time right before her second birthday. I get tears in my eyes just thinking about it and I'm not the sappy type! She had sooooo much fun! Everything was just so real to her. She walks around the house with our maps from the trip and we have to pretend that we are at Disney World. We "wait" for the monorail and pretend that our rug by the door is indeed the monorail....
She also loved the characters!! (Except the ones that were big and shaggy like Baloo and King Louie, Sulley, even though she loves their movies).

She would get tired in the afternoons, but we made time for naps and chilling out. Just being together there as a family was such a great experience.

Go with the mindset that this trip is about them and what they would enjoy....you won't miss the roller coasters and other more grown-up attractions. Playhouse Disney and Winnie the Pooh will be your new best friends! (Oh and p.s. The Rose Garden outside of TomorrowLand is a great place to wind down and chill out for a few minutes. There's a shelter with chairs and it's hardly ever crowded.)

 

[Fall1]

We haven't gone yet, but we are taking our 28 month old twins in October. I can't wait. I know it will be tons of work and might not actually feel like a vacation, but I'm hoping it's tons of fun!!!!

 

[anotherdisneygal]

My older son was 14 months. We went for the Disney Marathon and brought both of his uncles and all of his grandparents along for the trip. It was EXCELLENT! He's been back when he was 2, 3, 3 1/2, 4 and our trip this month 4 1/2.

My baby was 5 months the first trip and 1 the second. He'll be 1 1/2 this trip.

 

[wishing4PA]

4 years old, but I would have considered going earlier if we lived closer and my DH wasn't such a beach bum.

We took short Fall & Spring trips to the beach more or less around our birthdays. So when my last birthday came up I said I wanted to go to Disney World instead.

Then my parents talked me out of scheduling during hurricane season.
We wound up going in Feb. with the buy 4 get 3 deal. I never would have thought I could stay on property 7 nights and ride so few rides! But we had a blast!

FWIW, if we had gone prior to age 4, I think it would have been a trip "for us", not for DD. So I'm kind of glad we went when we did.
Now it's just a question of when we can go back, what with "real" school starting up next year ...

Also, I do want to add I think the beach was a better age-appropriate destination when DD was younger. So it all worked out in the end.

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

I didn't vote because I have 4 kids and you didn't have my answer for the youngest I've taken. (all trip to DLR)

DD #1: 1st trip was for her 4th bday (didn't take DD #2)
DD #2: Took when 2, almost 3 (took all 3 kids)
DD #3: Took when 6 months (took all 3 kids)
DS: will take when 9 months

I'd say go for it with your 22 month old* (*as long as the child isn't totally freaked by characters or overstimulation/crowds) My SIL took my niece to DL at 15 months even though she freaked at people in costumes at Halloween and it was a rough trip. She didn't like any characters or rides inside/dark. It was also over New Years and the crowds were really bad.

 

[Dani C]

How old was your child when you first took them to Disney? Please explain your answer.

Five years old

I see no reason to take a child any younger to Disney as they have no or few "real" memories of it anyway. (Mostly, it is just what they can see through photos after returning and what their parents tell them so many times it seems like a memory.)

Let's face it, Disney is expensive. While I agree that a photo of a precious toddler hugging Mickey or Pooh is adorable, I just wouldn't do it unless there were either older children going as well or the trip was more for the adults than the child.

But, this is just my opinion.

Whenever you choose to go to Disney, have a wonderful time!

 

[DisneyPoohBear]

We took our son when he was one and rode most of the rides at MK. He did fall asleep on some of the rides, but he loved to take all of the sights in. This will be his 5th trip and we will be celebrating his 5th birthday in July. I have no regrets taking him so young and would do so again.

 

[msmama]

My guy turned 10 months old on our trip.

He had a great time - he was walking by then so walked a TON on his own. He loved the characters.

And 3 months later, he still likes looking at pictures of him with the characters. He know "MiMo" (Mickey Mouse) hanging in our hallway.

Of course, we knew this was going to be something we'll do regularly as he grows up so it made sense to us to start early. Plus, he was free.

 

[mommytoone]

The first time I took my daughter she was 5 almost 6. I waited because I didn't want to be there with a baby by myself. And because I wanted her to really remember being there, and guess what, she did. She was able to tell everyone all about the things we did, she saw and can look at pictures and tell what park and where we are/were. She actually thought that the princesses were real and lived at Disney, it was really magical. I took her again 2 years later and she insisted that the princesses we normal people dressed up, that was depressing, but we did much more than before because she was so young.

I am really glad I waited until she was older, it worked for me. It all depends on what is right for you.

 

[scootch]

I took my daughters ALONE, yes, without daddy... from Ohio.... when they were 2 1/2 and 5. I mainly went for my 5 year old(and my 40th birthday) I had only been there once before for one day. I knew the 5 year old would love it.... what I couldn't believe was my 2 1/2 year old... she came home a walking disneyworld commercial. My husband begged me to take them back again!!!! The memories I hold in my heart from that first trip are just priceless.

 

[lclark0621]

DS was 9 months old for his first trip, 18 months old for his second & has gone yearly since!

Loved every trip. Loved every minute.

We based our trip around him. But we are not "schedule" parents. DS used to sleep wherever he was.

We did take mid day breaks (we did that before DS also). And once he was alseep at night (which never took long), either DH & I crashed also (pretty common after a day in WDW), or we would keep the lights off & turn on the tv (low of course), or the laptop.

 

[woodnymph]

My oldest was 1 1/2 when we took her for the first time (1998). The little one was also 1 1/2 for her first trip in 2006. The middle one kinda got the shaft. He didn't get to go until he was 3 1/2 (2003).

 

[letsgoagainsoon]

DS was 9months and our twins were 3 months.

We have never been the ones who say wait until they can remember it. Our kids are pretty easy going though, so maybe that makes a difference. Plus, we like to get in as many trips as we can before we have to pay for them!

 

[paxsarah]

I voted 2 which was the age we first took a trip with DS including the parks - but we took him to DTD and to Chef Mickey's when he was 1 since my parents live in the area. We'll be taking DD this year at age 5 months, and I figured that I'd just trundle her around like I do at home - but then today I saw DS's Mickey ears from last year and thought how fun it will be to get some for DD. Of course she won't remember it, but we'll have some great memories and pictures!

 

[robinb]

My DD was 4 months old on our first trip. By the time she was 2-3 she began to be frightened of the characters and dark rides. We stuck to "face" characters and we have her a small Disney penlight that we bought at WDW for the dark rides. She still had a blast .

 

[JohnsonsRUs]

Our DD was 6 when we first went. It was my first time too. We felt that it was important that if this was going to be our only time going, that she be able to remember the trip. Of course, now we have been there 4 more times. We did like that she was able to hold up to more of the strain with the late nights and lots of walking/standing in line due to her age, so it worked out good for us.

I will say that she still loves all the characters and stands in line for autographs even though she is older. The nice thing now is that she understands how much things cost and is also able to decide more about what she wants to do and what she doesn't. The down side is that she is considered an adult for the DDP and park tickets. She did have a good time ordering from the adult menu when we were there in Feb.