how young is too young

[nemofans]

My 1st DS was at Disneyland at 6 mos old. It wasn't difficult going w/him, but he couldn't do much. Then we took him to WDW for the 1st time at 19 mos old & that was such a memorable trip! He loved loved loved everything! It was so sweet seeing him excited about everything he saw & I will never forget how he squealed when riding Dumbo.
Now we have a new DS in our family & he will have just turned 1 yr when we go.

I decided to wait til he was at least 1 yr so he can be wowed by WDW. I don't listen to people who comment on how they won't remember it. Otherwise, why bother taking a baby to a zoo, museum, farm, library, or anywhere else for that matter. I understand there is an decent size expense for a WDW trip, but I think it's worth the family time spent together there even if the baby doesn't remember it. That's what video & pictures are for!
Also, studies have been done show that during the 1st 2 yrs of life while the brain is developing, it's important to expose babies to many different experiences.
That's my opinion!

 

[disneygeek]

18 mos minimum. You do not want to take someone that needs 2 naps a day. You can plan around 1 nap but 2 is difficult.

 

[ChristinaB]

I would say age 2 and up is a great age to take a kid.
I just took my 3 year old to Disney for 3 days and my daughter who's only a year and half for one day, this was the first time for both of them.
My daughter was tricky because she's so young we have to have her in a stroller in the whole time. She's also too young to really enjoy any of it and was afraid of a lot of the rides.
My son who's 3 on the other hand had a great time. He was able to sit through the shows in Disney Land such as the 40 minute Aladdin show twice! He enjoyed Fantasmic and the parades. His favorites were the merry go round,train, flying Dumbo ride and the Jungle Safari ride. He also loved toon town. The only thing that was disappointing was he's only 36 inches tall so he couldn't go on any of the 40 inches and up rides, but I know they do offer a free pass that parents can use to trade off and take turns riding a ride without a shorter child without standing in line twice.

I would just recommend taking a young child during the an off season because the lines can seem like FOREVER to a young child. I bought my son a toy Mickey car which I pulled out during long lines as well as snacks.

Some people say it's a waste of money because a child doesn't remember going when they're too young, my parents took me at age 3 and 6 and I can barely remember Disney at age 3, but can remember it fairly well at age 6 and had a great time! And no matter what age I think you and you're child will have a blast.

Hope this helps.

 

[arielmomma]

I took my DD for the 1st time at 4 months and it was so easy! She was portable, I nursed her so no bottles, and she slept in the stroller so DH, DS (age 3 at the time) and I didn't even have to really slow.

I found 2 1/2 to be the hardest age so far, but anything younger and older (my DS is now 5 1/2) has been very manageable.

Now this has been my experience and every child and every day is different, but I believe that you can take a child at any age, but be prepared to be flexible.

I wish you well on bedrest. I only did it for 3 weeks and I nearly went nuts! I hope yours is better. Good luck planning your trip and I pray for a healthy baby!

 

[kaligal]

I wouldn't take a kid that wasn't potty trained, but that's me. I'm sure you could have a lot of fun if you set your mind to it.

 

[Ty_Ty]

My personal opinion is wait til the kids are old enough to remember and appreciate, and really and truly have fun. That's just my opinion though.

 

[MFLetou]

Actually, I think pre-potty training is easier, if we're talking about an older kid. Ours will be 3 in Jan. and is just now making the switch--frankly, its easy with him in diapers. He has a stinky-dirty diaper every 2-3 days, but other than that he only needs a change every 3-4 hours. Its easier than having to take him to the bathroom!

Anyway, we'll be going next week with a 7 month old and our just about 3 year old. My parents will be going with us so we have a support system. We've gone back and forth on this question and we do have a bit of apprehension about it. We're going for 10 days to ensure that we aren't rushed and that we'll be able to do everything all the adults want to do. Our son has a healty fear of rides, so we are prepared for him to not go on any. However, he LOVES the Disney characters--loves them. He'd watch Mickey for 12 hours a day if we let him. So...we think he'll love seeing them, and he is SUPER excited about going to "Mickey's house."

Yes, I realize the trip is really for the adults, but...I think he will get a lot of pleasure out of it, and it will be worth it if he does.

We're staying at CBR and renting a car.

 

[hmacmahony]

Never too young! We made our first trip with a 6 week old. Babies are so easy, and so portable. That trip we actually travled with 5 kids, all under the age of 3. We had two babies, my 6 week old, and a friends 10 week old.
The babies were super easy, we both wore them in slings the entire time, they slept when ever they wanted to, and rode everything without a height restriction. I nursed whenever she was hungry. The characters LOVED her, mary poppins offered to babysit her for the rest of the day, snow white held her for about 5 minutes. We had a ball.

We travel a lot, and have traveled with babies of all ages. Yes, some ages require more care, but I believe a lot of childs attitude comes from you. If you go into it knowing you are going to have fun, and don't sweat the small stuff you WILL have a ball. If you go into it stressed out that the baby (or any kid), won't sleep, won't like this, can't eat that, don't do that, you will all be miserable.
For what its worth, the whole they won't remember it doesn't fly with me. I do things on a daily basis my kids won't remember. Its not all about making sure they remember it, you will.

 

[JayTyAdd]

I think that the most wonderfull thing about Disney is that it is magical for any age. We took our son to Disneyland when he was only 3 months old. He obviously doesn't remember anything but his older sister (3 at the time) remembers the trip with her brother and they both love looking at the pictures now. As long as you plan for nursing/bottles, naps, diaper changes, etc... you will have a magical time with your family.

 

[linzbear]

DS was 8 months when we went in October, and I'd do it again (even though we all caught a cold halfway through!).

It was much slower than previous trips, and we had both sides of grandparents there at the same time (all in different resorts), so we got probably 2 nights out alone

Anyway, it was fun to see WDW through a baby's eyes:

We just let him nap whenever he wanted, didn't bother to schedule the day around it, and shopped and walked around while he napped. Fed him & changed him at baby care centers, though I will say that DHS' baby care center was a total waste, don't bother going there!

 

[Huck Sawyer]

If we did go with an 8 month old, what rides could we go on with our little one?

 

[blanq]

I totally agree with Dalt01. If you go for yourself then do whatever you feel you can accomplish. If you are going for the child then 6 or 7 would be the absolute youngest. I may get flamed for saying this but a 0-5 year old child will not remember the experience as an adult, and at that age children are happiest when they have a routine they can rely on.
That being said I would do what YOU want. Many parents cannot handle having their Disney vacation usurped by a crying baby, while others are just happy to be in WDW with their young one. It's different for each of us.

ITA! I think the most important thing is for parents to know their limitations. I know mine and never could have handled strollers, diapers, bottles, (or taking a child who is toilet training ), tantrums, etc. We waited until our DS was 6, and it was the perfect age. He did not need a stroller, and was beyond napping stage. He was over the meltdown phase as well. We ALL enjoyed the experience. Another thing, I would hate to pay for expensive tickets, only to have to do baby swap with my DH, never getting to ride many rides with him.

 

[linzbear]

If we did go with an 8 month old, what rides could we go on with our little one?

Anything that does not have a height requirement.

 

[TheWescotts]

We are here right now with a DD3 and DD6weeks. We brought the older when she was 2 and also went on a cruise, that was 15 months ago and she still talks about it "Daddy, this time I will like the teacups, I didn't like them last time"

I do not think you need to wait until 5, if you are going for you. We have memories now that we will be able to cherish forever even if she doesn't.

That being said, we have a very good natured DD, We'll let you know how the 6wo does at the end of the week.

We also drive 12 hours to get here, 14 with stopping to feed the little one. We break it up into 2 days.

 

[connie1042]

In 2008, we took our 3 month old grand daughter and her 2 1/2 year old brother. We had a great time. The baby loved the characters. Will she remember them, no, but the pictures sure do tell a story. Now, we stayed in the ASMu Family suite. We had a small kitchen and could put the kids to bed in the bedroom and still have a space to sit on a chair and watch TV or whatever. We stayed behind a couple of days and took care of the kids, so mom and dad could do things they wanted. We took a couple of days, just for us. It worked well with 4 adults and 2 little ones, If it is just your husband and you, then you would have to baby swap on any of the rides you can not take a baby on. Maybe you could ask a set of grandparents. I took the 2 1/2 year old to the Halloween party by myself. We had a great time. A good tip is to have a great stroller. I bought Combi strollers for the trip. It made into like a buggy, flat and roomy for the baby. Had nice storage for the necessity's. I would do it again in a heartbeat. We had a great time.

 

[aanderson5]

If you plan on taking any trips with and infant I think WDW is a great choice. Who cares if they won't remember it, you will. They will still get so much out of it.

DS(3) has traveled quite a bit starting at 3 months to visit family. He has been to Vermont, Dominican Republic, Cayman Islands, and we are planning our fifth trip to Florida (plus numerous weekends aways). We are not going to put our lives on hold until he is old enough to remember trips.

I agree with PP that travelling with babies can acctually be easier than other ages. You have to know your and your babies limitations and be willing to go with the flow. I have been blessed with a easy going child but I truely believe he is easy going because he has always been exposed to going out and has grown up learning how to behave in restaurants, sporting events, in line waiting for rides etc.

Good luck with the rest of you pregnancy. I think trip planning is a wonderful way to keep yourself busy on bedrest.

 

[aksunshine]

The youngest we had ever taken a child was when we took our son at 16 mo. It's a trip I will treasure FOREVER! The memories we have were worth any crabbiness Levi may have gotten, though he was really quite good!

January is a great time to go, right after new years, first week or 2. Perfect crowds, weather is comfortable for the most part. And you can take baby on almost anything. Then there is parent swap. When we took Levi, I really wanted to ride Soarin, so Matt took Levi on Living with the land, nice and relaxing.

I would say GO FOR IT! We are planning our next trip in exactly one year. And our newest addition will be 6 mo! Since we are having a Vow Renewal, my sister will be bringing her little guy along, too, he'll be 14 mo.

 

[pinkerbell]

How can you raise a happy child if you dont encourage them to have fun? Will you lock them away until they are "old enough". I don't remember as much as my 6 YO so should I NOT go? What I am saying is none of us remember everyting but we live in the moment and have fun and those happy times make us happier people.

I do think it was easier to go before our DD6 walked, once she learned she wanted nothing to do with a stroller. DD3 is laxy and prefers to sit whenever she can
pre potty training was definately easier also. One yr we went with 2 in diapers and the next yr none! That was nice!

Congrats!

 

[Mrs. Charming]

Oh my gosh no. Go for it! 8 mos is nice, they're still portable, not mobile for the most part, and FREE!!

Bedrest stinks, doesn't it? I was on bedrest from 20 weeks on with my DD!

 

[Mrs. Charming]

If we did go with an 8 month old, what rides could we go on with our little one?

Pretty much everything! Just not the "biggies" like the rollercoasters and a few others. A sling will be your best friend!