How young?

[GBSevens]

Hi all!

In your experience, how young was too young for a first trip? We are sketching out next year's trip but are also in the early stages of the adoption process... which could mean that we wait years or months after we go 'live'? I just don't know at what point we would pull the plug on a potential trip.

 

[Karalee402]

Hi all!

In your experience, how young was too young for a first trip? We are sketching out next year's trip but are also in the early stages of the adoption process... which could mean that we wait years or months after we go 'live'? I just don't know at what point we would pull the plug on a potential trip.

First of all, a huge congrats on starting the adoption process!! Our kids came to us through adoption, and it goes without saying that it's been the greatest blessing and most life-changing experience imaginable!
It's so tough with the adoption process because you just don't know as far as timelines go. The best advice I can give is to move forward with plans but always get trip insurance just in case. We took our son at about nine months, and we had a blast. It was definitely a slower trip that we were used to, but I'll never forget that trip holding the baby that we had dreamed of for SO long!

 

[scrappinginontario]

Congratulations! Another mom here who formed my family via adoption!

My daughter was 14 months the first time I took her to WDW and it only took me that long as I needed to wait for her citizenship. Once I had her passport in hand the very next day I booked our first trip to WDW!

The one caution I would consider is how old your child(ren) may be and what their life experiences may have been prior to their adoption. WDW can be overwhelming so if you child(ren) has previous trauma, you may wish to wait a bit before introducing them into a highly stimulating environment. If your child will be a baby then I would choose whenever you're ready to take them. To me there is never a 'too young' situation with any child.

 

[sponica]

I primarily wanted to be out of bottles (and have enough PTO) so our first trip was at 20 months. But i know people who wouldn't go on a trip until everyone could walk and do early entry, back to the room, and then close the park.

If you're one and done, err on the side of older is better, if you go once a year or every 3 to 5 years, it's more what you think you can handle.

 

[reddog21]

Having basically raised two kids at Disney World, if given the option, it would be at least 2.

 

[Rory607]

Will you be making repeat trips to Disney or is it a one and done situation? If once in a lifetime or very infrequent, I’d wait until they’re older. If you plan on going more than once, there are pros and cons to every age. My one hard and fast rule is not taking a baby before they have their first round of vaccines, which is about 2 months. But most people aren’t looking to go that early anyway, especially with their first child. I also worry about very young ones in the summer heat and sun in FL. Babies aren’t really supposed to wear sunscreen until they’re at least 6 months.

Beyond that, it’s so kid and family dependent. Our oldest went at almost 2 and then we celebrated our younger one’s first birthday at WDW, which was amazing. Highly recommend the first birthday trip! Yes, we had to take all the diapers and bottles and everything, but it was fine. I was tired at home, so I figured why not just be tired at Disney for a week instead? Best wishes on the adoption process! You will have the best time whenever you end up going!

 

[DisneyDillyDally]

Hi all!

In your experience, how young was too young for a first trip? We are sketching out next year's trip but are also in the early stages of the adoption process... which could mean that we wait years or months after we go 'live'? I just don't know at what point we would pull the plug on a potential trip.

We took our son in his first trip at 2 - he had fun but it was pretty limited in terms of what we were able to do between heat and his nap schedule. We’ve taken him regularly since, the trip when he was 8 was the first time it felt like he could really do everything. We are here now and he is 10.5 and he is outpacing us. I do wonder when I see very young breastfeeding babies in the parks - between the heat and the germs not sure if this is the best idea, but to each their own.

 

[unrequited23]

We waited until DS was a couple of months away from his 3rd birthday. He was able to communicate his needs, consistently sleeping through the night and had a variety of foods he enjoyed. We started with county fairs and then an overnight stay at a small amusement park a couple of hours from home when he was newly 2.

I would continue to plan your next trip, but book everything as refundable as possible. Room only reservation vs package. Plan to drive vs fly. Undercover Tourist will refund 95% of unused tickets within 365 days of purchase.

 

[LuvOrlando]

The right answer is always whatever makes you and your family happiest.

I will say that the hotter months with heat rash are the least pleasant with a little one. Not only is it very tough to make sure they are well hydrated and comfy, because they can't really tell you, the heat rash situation can get out of control quickly and then the crankiness takes hold. On top of that I remember trying to do the baby carrier on my body in the heat and that was awful because we both overheated. A baby in the cool temps of Jan-March is much easier to manage and why we switched over and never looked back.

 

[craedaisy12]

my son has gone 8 times since he was 5 months old, he is now 4.5yo. Every trip has been wonderful, you never take the same kid twice, every time has been its own kind of fun. if you're not going frequently then a little older is better to enjoy more and they can tell you what they thought of things.

 

[katyjeka]

We have taken our girls from a very young age, with no regrets. They have no memories of the trips but we love watching the movies from years ago together. Now that they are older I'm thankful my husband and I have the memories. It's a very personal decision and only one that you as the parent can make. We have traveled with ours for years around the world, as a matter of fact, one of the first things we ever bought our babies was their passports.... Congrats on your growing family.

 

[danceintherain]

For my kids, there wasn't a "too young." It was just whatever worked best for our schedule and budget.
DS15 - 3 months - DH was getting stationed in Korea (5 total trips)
DD12 - 18 months - DH was getting deployed (3 trips)
DS9 - 9 months - my dad had a conference at the Swan (2 trips)
DS6 - 3 years - this one was too late IMO. COVID, then cancer meant we kept pushing it back.

I think my favorite was probably 9 months....old enough to be aware, but not walking yet so he didn't get pissed being put in the stroller.

All that said, it's really a matter of what works best for YOUR family. The only bad trips I've had anywhere were when others were making too many decisions for me.

 

[cruisehopeful]

Age won't matter as much as what your individual child enjoys/tolerates. My oldest loved the parks, hated hotel stays up until about age 4 when she was okay with hotels.

My youngest was great with travel as long as she was attached to me, but would get overstimulated by the noise after a few hours. That never changed.

 

[marmentrout85]

We took ours at 14 months.

 

[Nabas]

Hi all!

In your experience, how young was too young for a first trip? We are sketching out next year's trip but are also in the early stages of the adoption process... which could mean that we wait years or months after we go 'live'? I just don't know at what point we would pull the plug on a potential trip.

We waited until they were out of diapers.

 

[slo]

DD#1's first trip was at 2 1/2
DD#2's first trip was at 13 months

Both were wonderful experiences.
IMO......only you can decide what is to young. People would say my kids were to young, but my philosophy is.......my girls do not remember their first trip, but I do, and they are priceless memories, and I matter too. My pictures of them at WDW at those young ages bring tears to my eyes, especially now that we are empty nesters.

The only time I would say age matters is if the trip is a one and done. If you are not returning, then you will want your kids to remember the trip, and therefore they should be a little older. But if you're returning again and again, do not hesitate to take a baby or toddler.

 

[crickee]

Congratulations on your upcoming adoption! We adopted our daughter at 12 months in August of 98 and she went on her 1st Disney trip in April of 99 at the age of 20 months. To make things more interesting, I found out 2 days before of Disney trip that I was pregnant! We had a great time and thankfully we had family with us as I was completely exhausted from the pregnancy but we have so many wonderful memories of her 1st visit.

Fast forward 12 months and our son had his 1st visit (well I guess technically 2nd) in April of 2000. It was a wonderful also.

In both cases our kids don't remember a things but my husband and I do, like my daughter practicing going up and down steps at the Port Orleans pool or meeting Esmerelda and Mulan or my son being fascinated by the lights. We had family with us both times which was a big help but I'm sure we would have managed by ourselves.
I'd say go for it. Also, the trip insurance would be a good idea.

 

[MamaMermaid]

FL resident, APs... our son went at 3 months old and hasn't stopped.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

DS's first trip he as 3 and DD's first trip she was 2. I do not regret those trips at all but they were work when you have to push strollers and pack so much stuff to take into the parks. I think being out of bottles, formula and diapers is the best bet.

I think the best age is 5. They can walk a lot more, you could be out of the stroller stage, they still believe in the magic, they can ride many more rides and are much more self-sufficient. It really makes a world of difference.

 

[disneycat321]

Congratulations on growing your family!

We are west coasters, so haven’t done WDW yet, but we did DLR for our daughter’s second birthday and are going again this summer for her third. 2 was a very fun age, and 3 will be even better since she’s talking so much more now.

When we have a second child, we plan to wait until they’re close to 1.5 due to personal preference based on vaccine schedules and being able to walk pretty confidently. Our daughter walked a little later at 14.5 months. We did a non-Disney trip when she was 12 months, and it was tricky needing to find places for her to crawl around and explore. Things were much easier once she could walk. It’s also so much easier to feed them on the go at that age since they’re comfortably eating a larger variety of solids.

But it’s all personal preference!