How old were your children on their first visit to Disney World?

[JKB DIS]

."Mom, how does Mickey Mouse know I'm here? Priceless!

How magical! What a memory to have!

 

[JKB DIS]

Our youngest son was 12, the older one was 15 and didn't want to go, he stayed at home with the grandparents!

I hope the older one has changed his mind and has gotten to experience the Disney magic, at least once. It is truly for all ages!

 

[Karalee402]

Our kids are pretty far apart in age - we currently have one about to turn 18, a 14 year old, and an 8 year old. We took our first when she was 5, which was such fun. But because we fell so in love with Disney as a family, we took the other two even younger. Our middle kiddo went at 18 months (we had grandparents with us, which was an incredible help!) and our youngest was 3 during her first trip (post-Covid). There's absolutely no wrong age to start taking them. It's been magical every single time, and I believe it always can be with the right attitude and expectations. We never hesitated to get a stroller, even as the kiddos got older, because their little legs could always use a break, and it's also a great place to store all stuff we bring with us into the parks.
How exciting to be dreaming of all new memories with your grandbabies! I love it!

 

[wabbott]

Hi---We took our son for the first time at 5 years old and had a great time!! We faithfully did RD, took a break after lunch in the park, and literally took naps everyday back at the resort. June was hot so it can depend on the month you go but taking those breaks are essential to prevent the meltdowns.

On our first trip, I ordered him a Mickey Mouse basket from a company online---it was delivered before our arrival and was on the bed when we walked in. I'll never forget what he said....."Mom, how does Mickey Mouse know I'm here? Priceless!

LOL! We took DD @ age 4 in 1990. As you, we did early morning, then back to the room for a midday break. On about the 4th day, we got up from our nap and looked over on DD's bed and she was stretched out on her back, arms spread out, mouth open - dead to the world! She was one tired little girl. I've ever since regretted not getting that picture.

Also, recall they had the Roger Rabbit stuff over in HS then - The Dipmobile, etc. When she saw the black panel truck of the Weasel Patrol, she would go nowhere near it!

The Wizard of Oz was her favorite movie up until that visit. After seeing the Wicked Witch of the West in The Great Movie Ride, she quit watching it.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

My 5 kids were all babies on their first trips, because we’re DVC and go every year. But we were lucky because my parents were always with us and they would take the kids to the room when we needed help. I will say though that in my opinion the “best” ages for kids to visit the parks (when they’re most excited, easiest to deal with etc) are ages like 5-12.

 

[disneyseniors]

My husband and I have recently become first time grandparents, and can’t wait to take our grandson to Disney! I am wondering at what age your children first visited Disney World. My children were 10 and 6 on our first visit. My niece was 3 and seemed to handle it well. I am just curious about others’ experiences.

5 and 7, perfect age for us!

 

[Ensusieasm]

Our son was 7 and our daughter 10.
It was a great time. I do remember our 7 year old had a bit less stamina than our 10 year old.

 

[Starport Seven-Five]

17 months. She seemed to enjoy it and the Disney parks allowed her to ride so much that it was enjoyable for the adults as well. We used rider swap during her nap time to ride Tron and other coasters.

We have also taken her to Busch Gardens at the age of 2 and that was pretty much a waste. The only ride she got on that day was the train.

 

[Becky2005]

11, 8, 5 and 18 months. My husband wanted to wait until the youngest was 5 but that didn't work out too well because it would have meant our oldest would have been at least 15 by then. I did not want to do that, so we went then & the youngest was free that way. Also, as they said, this way it was only 1 that we had to pay the adult price for vs. 3 if we had waited.


I know we have a trip coming up this year and it will be my great-nephews first trip, he is 8. My grandkids are also going at 9 & 5 but they have been multiple times. I think they were around 5 & 1 for their first trip.

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

My kids were 10 and 7. It was a multigenerational trip with my parents and my sister too. Great memories!

 

[DizneyFamof4]

6 months and we went twice a year and then 5 years later we had our 2nd DD and she was a little bit younger on her 1st trip and we kept going twice a year until about 5 years ago. The only issue we had was on the 1st trip when we tried to do a mid-day break, after 2 failed days, our DD would just fall asleep in the stroller Also, we LOVED having a stroller, it helped out sooooo much, keeping our DDs and us parents from melt downs. If we needed to get somewhere quickly, we tell them to get in off we went at an adult pace. LOL Not to mention the great storage for extra clothes, drink holder etc. We never had issues using buses etc. with the stroller. DH and I were actually a bit sad when we did not need the stroller anymore. LOL The very best part is that we took lots of pics and videos of all those times and our DDs love to watch the trips from when they were really young, they had me transfer them onto a HD for them so that they can watch on their laptops. Those are memories that we would not have if we waited for the "right age".

 

[JKB DIS]

Those are memories that we would not have if we waited for the "right age".

I love this!

 

[karen4546]

17,20, 21, 29

 

[mistysue]

One was 6, one was 6 months, and one was close to 1 1/2. Those infant trips were great. The younger ones took naps in their strollers so others got to take advantage of ride swaps to get extra rides in. Meanwhile they're a baby and there's more to distract them with in the parks so it was almost easier than just being at home. You push them around in the stroller, you don't have to carry things because it all fits under the stroller, and if they're in a bad mood they are both easier to distract and people don't get mad at you because it's a baby.

The ages that were the worst with all three of them were in that maybe 4-10 range. It's when they beg for stuff, get tired, sore, constantly change their mind - in the morning all they want is MK, and you get there and all they want is something at Hollywood Studios, you park hop and they just want to go to the pool. They stick to what they want when it's inconvenient, but before 4/5 years old they are just happily along for the ride. After around 9/10 they can be negotiated with.

Your 8 year old has a tantrum and every person within 100 feet is scowling at you, they can run off - or do the pout and refuse to move thing so you're dragging a kid who is acting like you're kidnapping them... I mean the good days are good. But the bad days with that middle age are just so much worse.

 

[Silvermist999]

They were 6 and almost 4. Perfect ages.They still remember their first visit.

 

[jormom1030]

2,4,5

 

[Peaseblossom36]

Our first trip she was 2.5 and we had a fantastic time. We just went with the flow, spent mornings in the parks and afternoons at the pool, had a couple relaxing days mixed in and were able to do the Halloween Party. She's now four and talks about specific things she did during that trip, it surprises me every time.

 

[wendlle]

My Eldest DD was 19 months on her first visit and our Youngest DD was 10 months.
Both amazing trips.

 

[miksicnarf]

Our granddaughters were 2 and 4 on their first WDW trip, but we’re local to DL and they’d been going there since the oldest was 1. Youngest missed out a bit due to the Covid shutdown. Our own kids were 7, 9 and 11 but again had been going to DL all their lives.

 

[DizneyFamof4]

I forgot to mention a very important fact, in my previous post. Infant until up to 5th grade we could almost go any time and we were not handcuffed by school, so could pick lower crowd times to go. Once our oldest DD hit 6th grade, missing a week really put her behind on subjects like math, science and biology. Because they would complete a full section in a week and move on to the next and it made it very difficult to catch up.