How Young is to Young

[MlWinans]

My sister and Bro-in-Law have a 6 month old and my wife and I are expecting in November. We were all hoping to go to Disney in Dec. 09 at the latest.

What does everyone think or feel from experiance about what is the earliest age to take children. I am sure opinions will vary widely, but I am very interested as we being to plan for our families first trip including the new young ones.

 

[Mophia'sMom]

Our DDs will be 2 & 13 on our 1st WDW trip.

 

[ksjayhawkfan]

Im due in July and we are taking the new baby with us in October.

 

[_queenie_]

Three months is the youngest we've ever brouhgt our kids on vacation, though six months is more ideal.

For you younger might actually be better than older, at thirteen months they'll likely be walking and geting into things where as at say, six or nine months, they'll be a little more laid back.

 

[Mickey and PSU]

Our oldest son was 14 months old on his first trip and our youngest one brags to everyone that he was 8 weeks old when he first went to Disney.

 

[WDWorBUST]

DD was 13 months on her first trip (well second technically since we went while I was pregnant ) I thought it was a great age. She loved it and it was really very easy.

 

[TJA]

When our twins were babies, we took them to WDW at age 7 months and then 13 months. Both trips were awesome! I see your child would be 13 months at the time of your trip and I highly recommend this age in disney. It's an age where the child will begin to observe and experience things in awe, and yet will still happily nap in the stroller so the adults can enjoy some nice sit-down meals with a quiet, sleeping child along side. We really, really enjoyed that trip!

 

[puffkin]

My son was much easier at 3 months (his first trip) than at 18, 20 and 22 months old.

 

[wishtdream]

Im due in July and we are taking the new baby with us in October.

We did this! DD (a July baby) was 7 weeks when we took her last September. She was the best behaved child in WDW.

 

[MlWinans]

Thanks for all the input. My wife and I are so excited about our next trip being with our first child!! What are some pointers that everyone may have when taking a child b/t 9-13 months?

Plus I am sure some of the pictures we will be able to get with the kid at that age will be absolutely priceless!!!!

 

[TJA]

Thanks for all the input. My wife and I are so excited about our next trip being with our first child!! What are some pointers that everyone may have when taking a child b/t 9-13 months?

Plus I am sure some of the pictures we will be able to get with the kid at that age will be absolutely priceless!!!!

It will be priceless -- you are right. You will get to experience baby's first impressions of disney world! And not having older children along will make it even more special because you will be zoned in and focused on the baby's reactions to every single thing. We had the time of our lives when our twins were babies in disney. Now they are 5 yrs old and we are still enjoying every single minute of disney with them.

There are lots and lots of pointers that you'll hear about. My initial thought is to take a comfortable stroller with you. Something that the baby will love to cuddle up in, has a large and sturdy canopy, and reclining seat. If your baby will nap right in the stroller, then you will have some adult time to enjoy in the parks. We took a baby carrier, such as baby bjorn, for when we had to stand in ride lines. We just stored it in the stroller until we needed it. Take along some familiar things from baby's bed at home, such as stuffed animal or special blanket. It will comfort your baby when he/she wakes up during the night.

Hope some of this helps!

 

[HelenePA]

We'll be taking an 8 month old next year. Last year my son was about 20months and he did WONDERFUL. Truthfully he was better than his older sisters.

 

[DevilDuckie]

I would absolutely not expose a child under 8 weeks to that many people, germs and stimuli. After that it is entirely dependent on your willingness to plan your trip around the baby.

Personally I'd be tempted to leave a kid under about 9 months or so with a relative because they aren't going to really get much out of the experience. Once they can sit up and take notice of what's going on, I would want to bring them along.

 

[HelenePA]

I would absolutely not expose a child under 8 weeks to that many people, germs and stimuli. After that it is entirely dependent on your willingness to plan your trip around the baby.

Personally I'd be tempted to leave a kid under about 9 months or so with a relative because they aren't going to really get much out of the experience. Once they can sit up and take notice of what's going on, I would want to bring them along.

That's all find and dandy if you have someone who's willing to watch your child that long... as for my family our lives dont stop and we put nothing on hold with a new baby... Where we go new baby goes.

 

[TarzansKat]

Our DS was nine months old the first time we took him, and we really had a great time, even though he did lots of napping. The character interaction was priceless!

 

[Luv Bunnies]

Lots of people bring babies and have a great time. Personally, our family didn't do it. WDW is across the country from us and involves major time and expense just to get there. We wanted to wait until our boys were completely able to do everything on their own. We didn't want to bring strollers, diapers, bottles, special food, etc. We thought about going when they were 4 and 7 but decided they would still be too young. We ended up taking them in '06 when they were 8 and 11. For us, this was perfect. They were able to ride anything they wanted and we all had a wonderful and carefree trip. We live within driving distance of Disneyland and we did take them there a few times when they were younger. It's a much quicker and less expensive trip than WDW.

I know a lot of people enjoy bringing their younger kids. This is just what worked best for us.

 

[EltonJohn]

I suggest you pick up the Unofficial Guide to WDW by Bob Sehlinger. It has some good advice in it from parents who have taken younger kids to WDW.

 

[Taja]

We took a 14-week-old baby to WDW last December. The trip had been planned for his big sister for the previous year (she was 9 when we actually travelled), but we had to cancel due to illness.

He was pretty laid back and did what babies do: slept when he wanted, ate when he wanted, eliminated when he wanted, and absolutely charmed everyone around him! *LOL* He's a well-socialized little guy who doesn't require special handling, such as quiet and dark to sleep, etc.

They (the family with infant) travled from California, and he was fine in the plane, as well. Most of the flight attendants tried to spend some time with him between Phoenix and MCO. He's following in his big sister's footsteps: begin traveling young!

 

[MlWinans]

I suggest you pick up the Unofficial Guide to WDW by Bob Sehlinger. It has some good advice in it from parents who have taken younger kids to WDW.

I do have Unofficial Guide to WDW for 2007 but not the most recent one. I hadn't thought just yet to look through the book, but it is a GREAT resource for any questions WDW related and I will have to read through it very soon. Thanks for the reminder about the book!!!!

 

[KTME]

Our youngest was almost 6 months old on our last trip to WDW. He did great! Slept fine in the stroller and the hotels pack-n-play. Wheeled him right into every TS meal we had...no problems. He was happy in the stroller. The character interaction was priceless...the smiles and giggles from our littlest guy will always be a fond memory.

Be sure to located the baby care centers in each park. They are fabulous!

HTH