Settle a dispute between wife and I?

[liznboys]

I understand your wife's thinking, as both dh and I originally planned to not take our kids to WDW for the first time until our youngest was atleast 4 yrs old... Well, long story short, in winter of 2003 we needed a getaway, and thought what the heck, let's go to Disney World! Our oldest two boys were 3 and 17 months old for the trip-so definitely younger than our planned age "rule". Well, boy are we glad we changed our minds because it was a WONDERFUL trip!!! I never realized that WDW is a great place to go even if you have babies/toddlers/preschoolers. We've been back now with our 3rd son who was a baby/toddler for the three 2005 trips we took, and I was pregnant for the last trip in December. On the next trip our 4th son will be 5-6 months old! Our tune has certainly changed from the "atleast age 4" thing!

They grow up so fast, we want to enjoy these young years while they last. And since we've discovered WDW is our favorite vacation destination, we want to go there a lot while our boys are little and love it so very much. Life is short, we don't want to put off doing what we truly love to do!!

Good luck! And congrats on the new baby!

 

[lovesdumbo]

Will you have any more children? Won't that just push the date further out? I thought the easiest child I ever took to Disney was my 11 1/2 month old. Disney is the easiest place to travel with kids. I'd much rather take the kids to Disney than say a beach house. Will you not vacation in the next 4 years?

I agree with others. Give your DW a few months to recover and get used to being a mom.

 

[goofy4wdw2]

Before we had our DD, my DH swore none of our kids would go if they required a stroller. He said at least wait until age 5. I kept quiet because I knew he would soften. He was the one pressuring me to confirm the details for our April 2006 trip...with our 8 month old daughter (she will be in April). Funny how things change...

Editing...I just read the PP. I have to agree with giving your DW some time. I was a bit overwhelmed after DD was born and couldn't imagine traveling anywhere with her the first few weeks, so now probably isn't a good time for her to be thinking of WDW with the baby. She'll start to come out of the "new baby fog" around 4-6 weeks or so Congratulations and good luck!!

 

[WDWNicole]

We took our DS right after he turned 3 - it was a great age. He enjoyed everything and still remembers. We are heading back at the end of April. It will be his third trip and he'll have just turned 5. This will be DD's first trip and she'll have just turned 1, so it will be interesting to see her reaction.

 

[Nicolepa]

When i was pg my dh said the same thing. The problem is he is a Disney freak and cannot be in the state of Florida and not go to DW. (We have family in Ft. Lauderdale.)

My DD took her first trip at 7 months. She will be 6 in June and has been at least 7 times. My son will be 4 in April and has been 6. His first trip was at 5 months.

I would not do a child under 6-7 months again. It just makes it so much easier when they can sit up on their own.

 

[reggiemcp]

Hubby and I went back and forth on this and the truth is we couldn't imagine waiting that long. We took DS on Disney cruise at 5 months (it was great) and just took him to Disneyworld this past December (another blast). Of course, it changed our usual routing of hitting all the rides, but we saw it through his eyes and had a great time. He loved lunch with Winnie, the parades, the music, the pool and he had his first haircut there. We had such at great time we are going back in May. So I say go for it and enjoy! Just don't get overly ambitious with your itinerary.

Enjoy!

 

[mickeymousemom]

Our youngest is two and a half and has been 4 times already. She is a DISNEY FANATIC! She knows the princesses, alot of the other characters, is great at finding hidden Mickeys anywhere! She loves to watch the vacation planning dvd and Cinderella is her favorite princess. I dread having to pay for her when we go in October(she's 3 in July), but I love seeing the look on her face when anything Disney is discovered in her surroundings. When we went last year, she was just 2 and she had an awesome time! I think your wife is outnumbered here!

 

[lorli]

We took dd when whe was just about 3. Originally we thought she would be too young and never remember the trip. Finally we decided that een if she didn't remember anything about the trip it was so magical to watch her at that age we were glad we didn't wait. We have been once since when she was four and are planning to return each year. Surprisingly she remembers an awful lot about her trip and has become as big or bigger Disney fanatic as her father and getting very close to me.

 

[Donnaly66]

I haven't been to WDW in 8 years (far too long, I know). And since then, I now have a 3 & 4 year old. We are going in June, meeting my folks for a family union at OKW. I wanted to wait until the kids were older so they would "enjoy" it more but my dad insisted we go this year and he is paying our way (mostly).

I realize now that the kids will totally enjoy themselves and I will enjoy seeing Disney thru their eyes at this magical age. You've all convinced me this will probably be the most MAGICAL time to take them! Thank you!

 

[all4fun]

"Reset the freshness" My DH would DIE if I told him this! He thinks going 2x a year is "perfect". We have taken ds to WDW 4x between 13 & 24mos and 2x to DL (prior to our trip when ds was 13mos our prev trip was when I was 8 wks pg so we felt like we had to make up for lost time!) Anyway, if you ask my ds if he wants to go to Disney he always says yes (and you know 2-yr olds - they say NO to everything, lol). He loves it! And like everyone else said, before 3 is free, so you can't beat that. I'm kind of bummed we can't afford to fit one more trip in before he turns three in a few months!

 

[dbarker]

laughatjimmy: You are arguing w/ your DW while she is Post Partum??? Are you Crazy??? Do not even attempt to have a rational discussion w/ her right now, let alone an argument about something several years away. I say wait a few months before you have this discussion w/ her. Let her get used to the baby being a major part of her life first. Good luck.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

We took our babies at 4 months and 11 months.


I will never understand the "they're too young to get it argument".

I always wonder--what do you do at home...put them in a box until they are old enough?

I think your wife is wrong---and my children have enjoyed their visits to the park at each of their ages. Always something to see, something going on, and something to do.

Do they remember their first visit? No?

Do they remember their first diaper change, their first smile, their first time to crawl, walk? No?

But the memories that I have of these events---PRICELESS!

 

[maxiesmom]

My youngest niece's first trip??? 11 weeks old!! And my sis was breast feeding! But it was so easy to do it was ridiculous. At that age there is no I want this, I want that, I need to go potty. Wait until your DW has had a chance to catch her breath, then re-introduce the vacation idea. I couldn't make it 4 yrs between trips, I barely make it 1!!!

 

[Dreaming of Disney]

We took our twin 3 yr. old DD's and had a great time! Just make sure you schedule lots of breaks!

 

[lclark0621]

Yikes! I dont think I could wait that long to go.

We took DS for his first trip at 9 months old. We were planning a trip for his first birthday, but DH had a conference come up & we made a family trip out of it. We took him for his second time at 21 months, and now his third trip at 31 months. All the trips have been wonderful! All of them have been magical.

Seeing DS's face light up when he met Buzz, or rode Dumbo is SO worth it.

I can wait until next week!