Neighbor said my kids are too young to enjoy disney, rant

[Bugsmom73]

Phooie on your neighbor. Take your kids. DD has been at 15mos, and 3 1/2. We are planning on going again when she is 4 1/2.

 

[Disneyonmymind]

What difference does it make anyway... my kids don't remember their first birthdays and Christmas, but we still gave them a party and presents under the tree! As a matter of fact, due to the brain damage that two consecutive pregnancies have caused me (only half kidding here) I DON'T REMEMBER OUR LAST TRIP! I honestly don't remember hardly anything about being there.... just bits and pieces and I was 25 at the time. On the other hand, my DS 4 still talks about things that happened to him before he turned 2.... DD 2, is the same way

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MoopDog - You are so funny, and so right on! And I know exactly what you mean about the pregnancy-induced brain damage. Of course we still do special things for our babies that they won't remember. If the "wait till they can remember crowd" really felt this way, they wouldn't bother with the poor babes until they were at least two.

I completely agree with everyone who says it's a wonderful trip for children and families of all ages. However, I must say that, until I actually went to WDW for the first time, I couldn't possibly have imagined what all the fuss was about. I used to just shake my head at my one friend whose family goes every year. To be honest, I didn't think I would even like it all that much. All I can say is "Boy was I wrong!!!"

I am so glad we won a trip to WDW seven years ago. Otherwise, I don't think we would have ever wanted to go. Maybe when the kids were older, we would have taken them on the once-in-a-lifetime obligatory trip to see the mouse. I am so glad I know now what a magical place it really is and I am able to share it with my young children (and enjoy it myself) Anyway, for folks that have never been there, it may seem like they should wait until all the kids will remember it. Gee, I may have even said this same thing.
Jackie

 

[kayandray]

I will never forget our first trip to Disney, my 9 year old was then under 2 and we spent most of the time watching her chase the water spouts at Ariels Grotto - she squeeled with delight, we made the trip about her and her reaction to everything.

I now have 2 girls 5 & 9, every trip is different - they go everywhere with us. What is the saying? "We cannot remember days, we remember moments" - We are busy making great moments in our family for both child and parent, any age.



Take them, you won't be sorry!

 

[tink2]

An above post made me think of this- my SIL didn't have a birthday party for her 2 year old twins b/c they don't really 'understand' what birthday parties are about. I thought this was crazy and had to share. Different strokes for different folks- go and enjoy!!!

 

[liveforthemagic]

Your neighbor is WRONG and probably jealous that she isn't going!

I wish we had taken our kids at that age. The magic is different for them at every age....2 and 4 is that wide-eyed time when everything is real and they don't question why the characters don't talk, and if that is really a huge mouse. You know!

They may or may not remember it directly. That's what video and pics are for. And you will always remember the first time you gave your children the magic and their eyes when they see MK for the first time. Priceless. (little teary).

Have a wonderful time!

 

[Cameo]

Our children have been going since they were about 20 months old. We have gone every year since then and DD is 7 and DS is 5. We have enjoyed different things on every trip. One thing I consider is it also teached your kids how to travel - how to be patient, wait in lines, meet new people, make a schedule, make plans, etc. I hope my children grow up to travel even more than I do (not much) and I think this is a great training ground. It's amazing how they have improved on their ability to travel with a good attitude over the years.

 

[DebIreland]

Stitch Inside,

That photo is absolutely *gorgeous*!!! What a sweet little boy you have. Now I'm getting really excited about my daughter's reaction (15mths when we go) to the Pooh charcters

 

[kimber-lilly]

I would tell your neighbor to "shut it", nicely of course!

She can have an opinion, but doesn't need to voice it--and besides, I bet she is JEALOUS!


Have a wonderful time with your kiddos--we took our son the first time when he was three--very fun!

 

[PaulDavid's mom]

We are going next May (2006) and my son will be a little over 4 years old....EVERYONE is trying to convince me that he'll be too young and I cry myself to sleep at night

 

[cwnhokie]

Thank you for all the support. I am getting really excited. My 4 year old can't wait to see Buzz Lightyear. And is surprisingly excited about the "flying Dumbos". I know he will be amazed by everything. My 2 year old just say's "WOW" to everything he sees.

That is the whole reason we are going, to see the magic in their eyes. That is pretty much why we do everything.

My neighbor is taking her 8 year old to Key West and leaving the other 2 kids at home, so her priorities are just not the same as ours. Like many of you have said, to each his own.

I hope I can contain my excitement, it's growing every day!!!

 

[gurleym]

We have been going to WDW since our oldest son was 11 months. He had a great time and we have pictures to show him of those first few trips now that he is almost 11. We now have a 2 year old that we took to disneyland when he was 16 months he loved it. They may not remember the trip but we have lots of pictures that we can show them. Our youngest had lots of fun he especially loved its a small world so much so that he was sleeping when we got on the ride and as soon as we heard the music he was up and looking around pointing and smiling. it was great. We try and go every year our oldest son who is almost 11 has been at least 7 times he loves it and it just keeps getting better for him every year. Hopefully our youngest will love it the same way.

I mean what better place can you take your kids to see their little eyes light up as soon as you get off the monorail. It is great but what am I talking about it is not just the kids I still love every bit of WDW my eyes light up every time to. It is just something about it.

Your kids are going to love it. However I do suggest that you do a character breakfast we usually do chef mickey. It is a great way for your kids to meat mickey and some of the other characters without the hustle and bustle of the park especially for mickey. The wait time to see mickey can be very long in the park.

 

[Stitch Inside]

We are going next May (2006) and my son will be a little over 4 years old....EVERYONE is trying to convince me that he'll be too young and I cry myself to sleep at night

The way I see it, he's too old, he's no longer free.

And thanks for the compliment DebIreland Luckily, he looks more like his Mom. The picture was from Crystal Palace if you didn't already know that that is where all the Pooh characters are. Bo Bo was mildly entertained by the rest of the characters, but he about came out of his mother's arms when that big pink pig came to the table.

 

[Nik's Mom]

PaulDavid's Mom,
Your son is not too young. Don't you listen to what others are saying. My 1st DS was 20 months when we first took him. And my 2nd DS was only 1 year old during his first trip. They both had a great time! As long as you take breaks when your child is tired, WDW is a perfect vacation for children of any age!

 

[cutienibbler]

I took my now 4year old when she was 21months, she had a BLAST! I have the greatest pics of that vacation. She is a 100% Mickey fan even to this day! I took my now 21 month old daughter when she was 17 months, she had the greatest time! She was waving during parades, during Philharmagic she kept her 3d glasses on and WAVED at Aladdin and Jasmin when they came up to us on their magic carpet! Talk about some awesome memories I will never forget. We are going back in April,, and why? Because my 4 and 2 year old LOVE it there!

 

[5kwallace]

Your children will love it. We took our DS when he was 2. It was absolutely magical. He really thought the characters were real. We had such a great time that we are planning our 4th trip in 14 months. I don't understand people who say those kind of things. I have told people that we (Parents)have the memories. And I ask them why they buy Christmas or Birthday presents at that age? Do you think that they will remember that? That usually shuts them up. Have a great time when you do go!

 

[scorp111]

So far my 19 month old DD has spent 2.1% of her life at Disney....

And she loves it! She loves Disney Movies, Music, Characters, the parks...etc

Now does she love this because my wife and I have exposed her to it?
Absolutely!!

Is quality time with family even more magical at WDW ? I think so. The upcoming trip will even have time with both sets of grandparents...

 

[Mom to Will and Finn]

Blech! Your neighbor doesn't know what she's talking about.

We took my youngest when he was 10 months and he had a great time.

I hate the argument that "they won't remember it" if you take them too early. Well, so what?! Besides, it's not like you won't be able to take them again and again. Are we not supposed to make our babies' and toddler's days fun since they won't remember them when they grow older?!

 

[newholidayx2]

we first took DS when he was 4 and am I glad
at 4 he was interested in Fantasyland & Toontown
we didnt return until he was 9 and he didnt want to step foot in those places