should I take a 4 year old

[bumbershoot]

Well we haven't been to World yet, but we've gone to Land several times starting when DS was 17 months old, so obviously I don't think 4 y.o. is young.

In fact I'd be going NOW! And later too.

It was just so much easier to pay for DS's AP when he was 3, since he'd had two free trips already....

 

[tinkershell32]

Hello..Iam new here..anyway..

It depends on how she is with stuff like Charcters..We took my kids when they were 3 &4 and they were scared of EVERYTHING! We are goign back sometime this year, they are now 7&6 my youngest is 2 but he has never had any fear of those things!

 

[aprilsky]

Absolutely!
We took our little boy at the age of one, and two, and three!
Now he asks when we are going!
Great holiday, nowhere else beats it, but his favorite park is Universal and has been since the first visit, problem is now we have to pay for entry and flights for the little bugger so its getting expensive to visit from the UK.

 

[mom2meiko]

we went last year. it was dh, me, our 6 mo old dd, best friends and their 2 kids - 8 and 2.5 years. their 2.5 byr old still talks about the trip and all she did. we all plan to go back many times though - planning our 2010 trip now - so it wasn't a case of if she will remember it for the rest of her life.

if you are only going once, i'd wait. if you are going a few times, def go now.

 

[clutter]

The bigger question is...will you take her back again? I have a friend who took their children a few years ago, her youngest was around 3-4 years and they are going again because the child doesn't remember being there. Yes she has the pictures, but at age 9 she doesn't remember the trip itself.
We waited until our youngest was 7 years to take her because it is very possible it would be a one time trip for our kids and she is now 9 and still remembers her trip.
So... I guess if you think this will be her only trip, then I'd wait.. if you KNOW you will be bringing her back then go now and later!!

I'm with ya!!!

If this is a trip of a lifetime, I'd wait until 5 or even 6. (And I don't care about the bd promotion, if it's a one and only, go when it's NOT crowded and that's not christmastime.)

At 4, my dd wanted to be home after a couple of days. At 5, being in kindergarten, she 'got' World Showcase, which was really cool. She's still in the "magic" stage (which starts to leave at around 7) but has a much better grasp of the world.

I'm a frequent Disney traveller. I've done multiple trips every year since my dd11 was 3. 5 and 6 (into kindergarten) was my favorite if I had to pick a one time only.

 

[holly7347]

We took our first trip in Oct. My girls were 3 1/2 and 5 1/2 at the time. They both really enjoyed the trip and ask me almost daily when we can go back. Really the only difference between the two girls was their willingness to go see characters. My 5 1/2 year old loved seeing all the characters and hugging them. My 3 1/2 year old only went to some characters when she was happy and well rested. By the end of the day when she was tired she wasn't as interactive. But she still loved it and can't wait to go back. I think the timing for us was perfect and I hope to go back in about 2 years making the girls 5 1/2 and 7 1/2.

 

[GOOFY4DONALD]

Add me to the "it's a perfect age to go" list. We took DS4 last December (2007). It was great. He was 40 inches tall and could go on the "fast rides" (like test track and big thunder mountain) but he was still little enough to believe in the magic. DH wanted to wait until he was 7 or 8. I kept at him and finally won. It was all worth it. On our first day at the parks (MK to be exact) DS(thn 4) said "mama the train ride tickeled my tummy let's do it again" (he meant BTMRR and me heart melted. DH was convinced we made the right decision.

 

[tiggerx3]

I would take a child at any age. We took our DD at 9 months, 14 months, 22 months, 2 1/2 and our most recent trip, she was just a few months shy of 4. Every trip, her face would just light up with excitement. It was just priceless.
We usually plan our trips in the fall when it's slower. It avoids having a cranky child having to wait in a long line.
This last trip our DD was 40 inches tall and was able to ride some bigger rides. She especially loved BTMR. The ride would come around the last turn, and she'd say "Can we ride it again mommy...just 2 more times!"
And the princesses!! She was just in awe over them!

Since our last trip, she keeps asking when we're going back to Disney.
I'd keep trying to convinve your DH. He won't regret it.

 

[WIDisneyFan]

We have been to Disney every summer for the past 6 years. The first 2 trips were just my wife and I pre-kids. And since with our 2 kids (our son will be 4 in March, Our daughter will turn 2 in March, and we are also expecting #3 in late February or Early March) they have both made every trip with us starting at 3-4 months of age. So they are already Disney veterans

As much as we enjoyed Disney just the 2 of us - there is no greater joy than to see the magic through the eyes of a child! Last summer our then 3 year old loved every minute and i can't wait to see his reaction on our next visit.

Now that I have rambled on and on I should probably answer your question....4 is a perfect age

 

[sdarwkcabemanmy]

We took DS for his first trip back in July, a few months after his 4th birthday. My DH was also the type who thought that 4/5 was too young..too little to do any of the fun rides, too little to remember it, too little to really enjoy the trip.

DH was wrong. Not only does DS remember the trip, he CONSTANTLY talks about it..how he got to see Mickey, Minnie, etc. Although we were not able to do the "Dumbo or Die!!!" commando style of park touring that we normally would have done, it was still ok. We still rode a fair amount of rides and had a wonderful time. On the rides that we as adults wanted to do but DS was too little for, we babyswapped. It wasn't ideal, but it worked.

 

[RMulieri]

I disagree with the posters who say a 4 yr old won't remember any of it.My first trip was when i was 4( I am 35 now) I remember more of that trip than some of my later journeys, and I remember more than my parents.My dd went this past Sept ( she was 4), and has done nothing but talk non stop about her entire trip.She tells anyone that will listen long enough all about it , and has asked when we can go again( we are going in Sept and Dec this year).

 

[rt2dz]

Well, we go every year and my kids have had their first trips at about 7 months. My favorite age to take them was 3 and 4 years old. They still believe in the magic—as in it is *real*, not magic. That is amazing and it’s impossible to explain to those who haven’t done it. There is just something special about Walt Disney World and kids that age. Any age is good, don’t get me wrong, but those trips are different. Still fantastic, but different. Things really change by the time they are seven or eight.

However, there are a lot of things to consider. WHY does your DH think it is too young? Because your 4yo won’t remember it? Maybe, maybe not. On our last trip our youngest (who turned three right after we got home), was able to direct us through the park. We followed all his “that way’s” until we heard “There it is! Buzz Lightyear.” He knew where he was going, from memory. As in, he remembered. I remember select items from when I was there at two years old. However, chances are pretty high they won’t remember all of it the way some people want to at that age. But, that isn’t a guarantee at any age. I don’t remember many/most of the things that happened on trips when I was fourteen years old. A trip at this age should be about your memories and your child’s experiences.

Does your DH think your 4yo is too young/too short to experience much? Well, very little has height restrictions. By rule, there is way more that can be done by anyone than can’t. WDW is way more than rides anyhow. There are tons of shows. There are the parades and the fireworks. Is he afraid it will frighten your 4yo? Maybe, maybe not. My kids have all been on Dinosaur at age 3 and LOVE it. My kids have never been afraid of It’s Tough to Be a Bug. It even got my youngest over his bug phobia. My oldest and youngest have loved the characters from the beginning. My middle one was terrified of the characters for the first few days at 15 months, but then warmed up to the costumed characters. By the next trip he liked the face characters. Something about the characters talking didn’t appeal to him—the Mad Hatter told us it happens a lot. Go figure. Oh, and my youngest who loved the Disney characters, was afraid of Santa and the Easter Bunny and any other costumed characters at home. Disney was just different.

Does he not want to deal with a stroller? Well, that may be a point, but it isn’t anywhere near as bad as some dissers make it out to be. I’m actually going to miss the stroller; it keeps me from being a pack mule. And really, one more year isn’t going to make a huge difference on this point.

Is it a once in a lifetime trip? Well, maybe a point. But will you have other children? Are you going to “punish” the oldest because of the youngest? What if a surprise baby were to happen? Besides, nothing in life is guaranteed. I have a friend who thought I was nuts for taking small children. They were waiting until their youngest was 7 or 8 and their oldest about 11. They’d really get the most of it then. Well, until her step daughter had some type of school thing there. They took the kids at 2 and 6. She came back and said she got it now. It was an amazing trip and she was floored at how easy it was and how much fun they *all* had. A year later her DD was diagnosed with cancer at age three and lost her battle three years later. At the funeral her DS was talking about how that was a great family memory. She thanked me for that because I kept encouraging her to take the kids. She almost didn’t go and just let her DH go see her step daughter alone or with their son as a father-son trip. Sorry to be depressing, but it is a good memory for them.

 

[Nicoleclaw]

Take her! My daughter had a blast! Loved the characters (after I prepped her by watching the characters and kids on youtube), loved the rides, and shows!

 

[tink2]

Both of my kids have been at ages 6months, 2 1/2, 4-ish, and 6ish. I say- GO!!!! It is the perfect age- the magic is so real and they just love everything at that age. Both ds and dd (opposite personailites) LOVED it at 4 and the magic was priceless at that age. And yes, both talked about it forever and ever afterwards- they don't remember every single second no- but definitely remember little details and all the big stuff. I think 4-5 is the perfect age!

 

[katybugsmom]

I wouldn't hesitate to take my 4 year old! I teach 4 year olds everyday and there's no better age to make that first trip to WDW! We took our 3 year old last year-he hasn't stopped talking about it since. We are actually surprising both kids-DD 9 and DS 3(soon to be 4) with another trip this summer! He rode TOT, Splash, and BTMR-he was just over 40" when we went last year. We splurged for the dining plan and used all of our table service meals for character meals. We all had a ball and can't wait to do it again!
Good luck convincing DH that now's the time to go! They're only young once and then the magic is gone!

 

[Deesknee]

I apologize I didn't read all the replies.

But, I took my kids at 3 1/2,4 1/2, 6 1/2, 8 1/2, 9 1/2, 11 1/2, 13,15,17 and my husband and I agree 3 1/2 was the best, 4 1/2 was also awesome. It really depends on why you are bringing them. When my kids were 3 1/2 every bit of WDW was real...no questions. I believe my kids remember certain parts of it. They mention things once in a while that I don't remember until they mention them. This has happened ever since we took them. Maybe it's from the few videos we have. Maybe the really remember it. Either way at that moment, at that time they were the happiest kids on the planet, which made me the happiest mom on the planet. BTW, we knew we would take them again when they were older. We originally figured 3 1/2 and maybe when they were 9 or 10, then maybe again at 15 or 16. As you can see. We are addicted. There is somewhere that we all feel magic, the music, the rides, the people, the food, the resorts, but mostly the memories. What ever you decide enjoy the moment, make the memories.

 

[MHSweb79]

My DD was 4 when we first took her to Disney. You haven't lived until you've seen the look of wonder - I mean absolute total belief in magic - on a young child's face when they're in the Magic Kingdom. For us, it was Peter Pan's Flight. She totally believed we were flying and today, it's still one of her favorites (she's heading to college in the fall). She also got to meet Pocahontas, which was another magical moment for us.
Take lots of pictures and look at them now & again to refresh her memory in the upcoming years if you're worried she won't remember the trip.

 

[lindap1]

Thank you all for your replies. I think what he means is that we can't go to WDW every year or even every other year, so he wants to make sure that she is old enough to remember it. I have been telling him what all of you have said about how your children talk about it years after they first go. I also think he is beginning to realize that I want to go also, because I want to see it. Today he asked me how much it cost to go.

 

[SnowWhite607]

And even if they dont remember it, they are having fun at the time so isnt that what counts?

 

[fireflymedic]

I hope thats not to young

I'm taking my 2 and 3 yr. old next week,