How young is too young for Disney?

[SteffM]

DH and I had discussed to going to DL in March. Now he is wanting to wait. DD will be 6 weeks shy of her 4th birthday and DS will be 20 months. DH thinks that we are being unfair to DS.

 

[eduk8r26]

The 4-year old should enjoy it very much, unless she is scared of the characters. She can ride everything in Fantasyland and most others, too, except for roller coaster rides. The little one may enjoy some slow rides and may or may not enjoy the characters. Go and have fun!

 

[wackywexler]

Your son will enjoy it in his own way, you may be doing lots of baby swaps and maybe lots of shows, parades, play areas, a character meal, that kind of thing, maybe a lot of soaking up the atmoshpere and just letting the magic moments happen. You will have a wonderful time together as a family. Maybe during one of your sons naps the other parent can take dd for some special time. Have fun!

 

[CalGal]

My DS was 20 months his first visit. It was absolutely magical! He loved the characters, the parades (especially the ELP) and went on many of the rides including PoC. He was unafraid of the dark, so the Fantasyland rides were no problem. It may have helped that I took him on some kiddie rides at a local park beforehand.

All children are different, but with child swap on some of the rides and breaks during the afternoon, you should be able to have a great time.

 

[thelionqueen]

I would never take my child unless they were at least 4 hours old Seriously, I don't think any age is too young.

 

[ron808]

I agree. No age is too old or too young to go there.

They may be too young to recollect what happened there but pictures would never fail to remind them that they went there when they were a baby.

The kid would definitely have a blast (just please don't let them throw atitude/ tantrums around cause that would raise some eyebrows).

 

[steen995]

My youngest was 4 months the first time. My oldest was a little over a year his first time at WDW. I can still picture people making way for him as he walked along (obviously a new walker). I love my Disney memories.
And anyway, we've got a duty to bring these kids up right from the very beginning

 

[Disneyfan_77]

My youngest was 13 months her first time at DLR and absolutely loved it! Her second time was at 17 months and loved it even more!

 

[victorandbellasmom]

My dd was a 1yo and ds was 4yo the firts time we went. DS still remembers that trip (it probably helps that we took lots of pictures). He had a great time and the expressions of his face was just absoluetly priceless as he watched the characters come to life from the stories he's watched. Grandma & Grandpa took us with them and he thought they were just the best grandparents in the world. DD enjoyed a lot of the tamer rides (rides at fantasyland) but was a little frightened of the characters. She did enjoy Pirates of teh Caribbean. They've been back twice since then and have only grown to love Disneyland more. DD's now 4 and she loves looking at our old disneyland photos to see what she did. I agree with the other posters, no one's too young for disneyland. However, if this will be your only trip to disneyland in the next five years, I'd say wait til the your son is at least 3 yo.

 

[mickeyfan2]

One is never too young for Disney, just to young to remember the visit. I would postpone if this is your only trip you can make in the next 5+ year. If you could afford to go again in 2 - 3 years then do go. 4 is a magical age for the Characters.

 

[crazymomof 4]

It all depends on how you view things. To me I get enjoyment out of each of my children's ages there. They do too! I took the youngest there at 3 weeks for example. We also had a 9, 8, and 2 year old. Then last December the youngest was 12 1/2 months. This is a great age because they really take eveything in. You will find yourself paying more attention to their expressions than anything! So in my opinion you should go for it!

 

[Tink33]

My DD was 10 weeks old and my DS was 2 on their first visit. The pictures from that visit are priceless.

 

[joshua121301]

All three of our kids were under 2 months. Do the 2 month olds get a kick out of the rides, probably not, but we keep having kids and I can't stay away for the sake of the older ones. And I actually do think that all of them love small world.

 

[samkj]

I agree that no age is too young(our daughter was 13 months her first trip), however, if this is a once in a lifetime trip then older is better. For us we know we will most likely go to DL every year or two, so if the kids don't remember its ok. However we will most likely only make it to WDW and on the DCL once, so we are waiting till our kids will be able to enjoy everything.

 

[tvwalsh]

We will be taking our littlest Granddaughter to Disneyland, not WDW. We are DVC members at OKW and could have taken her and her parents to stay in a three bedroom villa at Old Key West for less point than it cost us to stay at the Grand Californian, but the distances and the bus rides are not right for a 2.5 year old. If she melts down at DL we can have her back in the room at the GC in a matter of minutes. At WDW it would take almost forever to get back to the room.

 

[Blackunicorn]

I postponed our Disney trip because I thought it wasn't fair to our daughter. We only went when she was three (almost four) because my mother said she would be taking the kids, then backed out, and we felt that we couldn't reasonably disappoint the kids when they'd been looking forward to it all year. We all loved it so much that we've fit in as many more Disney vacations as we could since then.

One thing I realized was that while I was trying to be fair to my daughter, I was unfair to my son, who is 4 years older. By the time we went to Disney, he was eight years old, and while it was fun for him, he was already starting to lose some of the fascination with the characters. I really regret not letting him go to the parks when it would have been more magical for him! My daughter has already forgotten most of the details of that first trip, but I was there and I know she had a great time. I think it would have been nicer if we had gone at least a little bit earlier.

There's lots and lots of things that your 20 month old could do. So many of the rides are family-friendly! Make sure to plan for down-time for both kids, and everyone will have a great time.

 

[dopeyfanatic]

I postponed our Disney trip because I thought it wasn't fair to our daughter. We only went when she was three (almost four) because my mother said she would be taking the kids, then backed out, and we felt that we couldn't reasonably disappoint the kids when they'd been looking forward to it all year. We all loved it so much that we've fit in as many more Disney vacations as we could since then.

One thing I realized was that while I was trying to be fair to my daughter, I was unfair to my son, who is 4 years older. By the time we went to Disney, he was eight years old, and while it was fun for him, he was already starting to lose some of the fascination with the characters. I really regret not letting him go to the parks when it would have been more magical for him! My daughter has already forgotten most of the details of that first trip, but I was there and I know she had a great time. I think it would have been nicer if we had gone at least a little bit earlier.

There's lots and lots of things that your 20 month old could do. So many of the rides are family-friendly! Make sure to plan for down-time for both kids, and everyone will have a great time.

Each of my kids went for their first time at around 14 months old. My boys didn't like the characters, but my daughter loved them. I wouldn't hesitate in going with your children. Your son will love it. Maybe not in the same way, but he will. And as said, if you wait until he can fully enjoy it, you're cheating your daughter. There are plenty of rides he can go on, and shows to see as well. You will not regret it. You may decide to go back in a couple years, but you won't regret going now when you see his face!!! It's PRICELESS!

 

[disneegrl4eva]

unborn imho

 

[peagreenid]

I remember trying to book my first trip. I went to the local travel agent and she matter of factly called me crazy, and said my kids were too young and My husband and I should either go alone, or take them someplace else. I asked her Where can I take them that they will "REMEMBER" I got up and walked out and booked my trip with someone else.
I took my twins before they turned 3. I will never forget that trip with them. We didn't even take or rent a stroller. They had "MICKEY" radar and could spot him a mile away. We try to do something Disney as often as we can. My husband's co-workers often make comments about our "DISNEY" trips. He always replies that there are worse things than DISNEY to raise your kids with.
smiles Patty

 

[jocotter]

We went last November with our 15 month old and 3 year old granddaughters and had a great time. By the 2nd day, our 15 month old had learned to ask for her favorite rides "Teacups", "Pooh" and "Horsies (carousel)". Both of them loved the trip and weren't scared of the characters at all, which surprised me. The three year old was telling me on the phone the other day that she wanted to go back to Disneyland when she is 4 and she won't be afraid of the dark rides anymore. (Mr. Toad and Peter Pan made her a little nervous.)