Soon to be new parents. At what age would you suggest we take our daughter?

[cmccleary44]

So my wife an I are Disney fanatics. We have have vacationed to Disney World four times in the last three years, but have done so alone. But, we are expecting our first child, a girl, in almost 3 months! My question is at what age do you think it is the best time to start taking your child to Disney? Of course my wife and I have made many observations as being a childless couple and visiting the parks such as, it seems like taking an infant would be okay because of the amount of time the baby will sleep, but that is pretty much just an excuse for the parents to go to Disney, haha. It also seems like ages 1-2 might be a tough period because they won't enjoy it to its entirety and might even be scared and overwhelmed by experience.

I ask this mainly because we are DVC members and I am trying to strategically figure out what we want to do with our points in the meanwhile. Thank you for any tips!

 

[blessedby3]

So my wife an I are Disney fanatics. We have have vacationed to Disney World four times in the last three years, but have done so alone. But, we are expecting our first child, a girl, in almost 3 months! My question is at what age do you think it is the best time to start taking your child to Disney? Of course my wife and I have made many observations as being a childless couple and visiting the parks such as, it seems like taking an infant would be okay because of the amount of time the baby will sleep, but that is pretty much just an excuse for the parents to go to Disney, haha. It also seems like ages 1-2 might be a tough period because they won't enjoy it to its entirety and might even be scared and overwhelmed by experience.

I ask this mainly because we are DVC members and I am trying to strategically figure out what we want to do with our points in the meanwhile. Thank you for any tips!

Our oldest dd is 24. We took her for her first trip at 2. We have 4 kids now (ages 24, 18, 15 and 6). The youngest we have taken one was our youngest at 3 1/2 mos. She is 6 and getting ready to go on her 6th trip in June. I think that babies are so easy to take. We would put her in the sling or use the stroller. Babies are so portable :good vibes
She has been an awesome traveler at all ages (but is our easiest even tempered child also). Some children (like our 3rd) are not so easy to travel with.
I love WDW so much…I am not one of those who want to wait "till the kid will remember the trip". I have so many awesome memories and pictures of our kids in their early years. Even at 2, our daughter talked about that first trip of hers nonstop!
If you and your wife love WDW, take your little one early and let him/her enjoy the sights and sounds of WDW. Even at 3 mos., our DD loved the activity in the shows and parades. I was surprised at how much she reacted to.

BLT is an awesome resort for folks with a little one in a stroller. Walking to the MK is wonderful! I noticed the BLT in your signature We stayed there in 2010 and were family of the day at check in! I have a link in my signature from that trip

 

[Gillyrose779]

You are going to get a lot of opinions on this. All I can say is go when it feels right for you and your family b/c everyone's family is so different. Some kids nap great in strollers while others need breaks from the park during the afternoons. Some children love the characters while they terrify others- you just never know.

But you can easily do Disney with and infant, 1, 2 year old, etc... if that is what you want to do. Your touring style just might change a bit depending on nap/snack times.

My biggest excuse for taking the kids early was they were free until they were 3 so why not!-lol

 

[eliz603]

You are going to get a lot of opinions on this. All I can say is go when it feels right for you and your family b/c everyone's family is so different. Some kids nap great in strollers while others need breaks from the park during the afternoons. Some children love the characters while they terrify others- you just never know.

But you can easily do Disney with and infant, 1, 2 year old, etc... if that is what you want to do. Your touring style just might change a bit depending on nap/snack times.

My biggest excuse for taking the kids early was they were free until they were 3 so why not!-lol

First of all, congratulations!

This is what I totally agree with, though. Just do what's right for your family. It's hard to describe that until you actually get to know your little one! As a mom of three, I can tell you that all of mine have had very different personalities and needs from the get go. But even my 2 year old who is very high maintenance did great last year at 16 months.

We took my oldest at 3, and it was fantastic. He was old enough to understand most of what was going on, but still young enough that the characters he met were totally real. My middle child had her first trip at 10 months, and she was great, but she is my most laid back, go with the flow kid. You will just have to see what works for you!

Only thing I would recommend is not taking a baby in the summer. It is tooooooo hot.

 

[4HppyCamprs]

So my wife an I are Disney fanatics. We have have vacationed to Disney World four times in the last three years, but have done so alone. But, we are expecting our first child, a girl, in almost 3 months! My question is at what age do you think it is the best time to start taking your child to Disney? Of course my wife and I have made many observations as being a childless couple and visiting the parks such as, it seems like taking an infant would be okay because of the amount of time the baby will sleep, but that is pretty much just an excuse for the parents to go to Disney, haha. It also seems like ages 1-2 might be a tough period because they won't enjoy it to its entirety and might even be scared and overwhelmed by experience.

I ask this mainly because we are DVC members and I am trying to strategically figure out what we want to do with our points in the meanwhile. Thank you for any tips!

My kids have been at the ages of 6m, 18m, 22m, 3 years, 4 years, 5 years, 6 years, 7years and 8 years and then a Disney cruise were they were 2, 4 and 9. (Various ages of our 3 children when we traveled)

I have not regretted a single trip and all appeared to be enjoying themselves in moment and have memories of the trips that last at least a year and sometimes longer.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[Tasmen]

We took my DD for her 3rd birthday but did take her to Disneyland when she was 18 months. On both trips, she had a blast.

She is almost 6 now and still talks about that WDW trip and all the things she did last time that she wants to do this time again. Those birthday cupcakes certain made a lasting impression

 

[njmom76]

We took my DD at 3.5 the first time. We also went this past year with my 5 year old DD and Ds who turned 8 months while we were there. We just took a lot of breaks, but had a great time. As stated above, do whatever you are both comfortable with and Enjoy!!!!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[MSSANDRA]

Our family rule is after 6mo old. I need for them to have those first immunizations (tons of people from places where they may not have these in place), have a bit better body control and maybe have a bit better immune system.

Everything is going to so depend on the temperament of your baby. Some are easy to take and do (I had one of these), some are horrific to travel with (had one of these too!). Since it will not be a once in a life time trip, I would take her as soon as you feel comfortable as parent traveling with a little one.

 

[MouseMama11]

Congratulations!!!! When's your due date? I'm also expecting in about 3 months (May 27th)!!

We took our 1st when she was 2.5 and I gotta say I'm SO glad we didn't wait!! She remembers it perfectly as if it happened yesterday. She loves talking about what rides she went on and what characters she saw. I cried when she saw the castle at MK for the first time and had pure amazement on her face. And by that time she was easy to entertain on the airplane and she napped in the stroller half the time and the other half napped in the hotel room. We just went at her pace and read her cues if she was hungry or tired and it was enjoyable for everyone

 

[lcj19]

Congrats!!!
We haven't taken our DD to WDW, our trip is in Nov, but we have taken her DLP 4 times now.
The first for her 1st birthday. Sure some things scared her, but we quickly figured out what worked for us and enjoyed the trip.
The next trip she was 1.5 and she enjoyed alittle more.
At 2 she was starting to engage and was remembering "her castle".
2.5 was the best...she LOVED every moment and still talks about it a year later.

Would I go back and put off taking her until she was older? Never. It was worth it to us. Once we figured out our family pace everything went great.

 

[DaniMoon]

As soon (and often) as you can afford it.

I've always been a SAHM, so one of the things we have sacrificed has been big vacations, so we didn't get their til they were older (5&6, the oldest was 8 the first time he went).

If we could have afforded to go more often, we probably would have taken them younger.

 

[brandigregory]

You are going to get a lot of opinions on this. All I can say is go when it feels right for you and your family b/c everyone's family is so different. Some kids nap great in strollers while others need breaks from the park during the afternoons. Some children love the characters while they terrify others- you just never know. But you can easily do Disney with and infant, 1, 2 year old, etc... if that is what you want to do. Your touring style just might change a bit depending on nap/snack times. My biggest excuse for taking the kids early was they were free until they were 3 so why not!-lol

Absolutely...Free Until 3...that was our motto when we went 2x at 16mo and 30mo! We are headed back in Sept this year and it stinks we have to pay for her now

 

[Cadets74]

I think every age has pros and cons... Just go when you want and you may just have to adjust plans to make it easier (more breaks, bring a grandparent... Etc)

 

[GigiDisneyfreak]

You are going to get a lot of opinions on this. All I can say is go when it feels right for you and your family b/c everyone's family is so different. Some kids nap great in strollers while others need breaks from the park during the afternoons. Some children love the characters while they terrify others- you just never know.

But you can easily do Disney with and infant, 1, 2 year old, etc... if that is what you want to do. Your touring style just might change a bit depending on nap/snack times.

My biggest excuse for taking the kids early was they were free until they were 3 so why not!-lol

This!

The youngest I have taken was about 5-6 months old. If you want to go and are comfortable with taking your baby go for it. You will have people tell you they will not remember it(like my mother) so why bother. My response has always been it is for me. I will remember my 6 month old daughter trying to suck Minnie Mouse's nose and I will remember my 16 month old GD running up to Mickey Mouse and hugging him and telling us bye when she was told to tell Mickey goodbye. These are some of my favorite memories in WDW. My daughter who is now 15 loves to here the stories of when she was younger and to see the pictures. They grow up really fast so take the moments for yourself and treasure them.

 

[MandiC]

I think with how often you go and being DVC members, any age! Infants less than 6 months old are super easy, they sleep anywhere and through anything. If they are tired, they fall asleep, especially if moving (whether in a stroller or baby carrier) and outside. 1-2 could be hard but honestly many 1 year olds will still fall asleep and get a full nap in while being pushed in a stroller. 2 and 3 year olds you'd probably have to go back to the room for naps, some 4 year olds still need naps. I think 3-4 is when they really 'discover' princesses, so there'd be the awe in that age. We waited, we knew we wouldn't be going often (and at that point we figured we'd bring them once *maybe twice*) so we waited until our girls were 7 and 9. We wanted them to be tall enough for all the rides and old enough to really get it. However, now that we've gone and I want to go back we will probably bring our boys in the next 1-3 years (they'll be 3/5-6/8)

 

[woodynjessiesmomma]

I was just looking on this board trying to decide about taking an 8wk old... Sounds like that might be on the young side.
I agree with others that is depends on the temperament of the child. DD at WDW at 3mo was a breeze, but then DL at almost 2y was pretty rough. DS did great at 3.5y and 5y was easy and likely would have always been easy on trips.
Congratulations on your baby girl! Hope you have many happy Disney memories

 

[mickeyschickie]

I would say that since you are dvc members you could try a nice restful vacation with the baby, your baby would be only eight weeks old which means your wife would be only 8 weeks pp. You also don't know what your baby will be like, she might not sleep ALL of the time, she might be fussy. Every baby is different and every new family is different, but I know that when I was a new mother I would have appreciated a restful vacation with a massage or some other treat. Also, you need to think about your transportation, would you be flying, driving, renting a car, transporting all of the stuff your baby will need, this vacation might end up being more stressful then you bargained for. You wouldn't really know until your little one is here and you can know what your wife is ready or willing to handle

 

[Gumbo4x4]

The first 5-6 years, you should vacation where YOU want to go. If that's Disney, so be it. If it's somewhere else, that's fine too

 

[bumbershoot]

So my wife an I are Disney fanatics. We have have vacationed to Disney World four times in the last three years, but have done so alone. But, we are expecting our first child, a girl, in almost 3 months! My question is at what age do you think it is the best time to start taking your child to Disney? Of course my wife and I have made many observations as being a childless couple and visiting the parks such as, it seems like taking an infant would be okay because of the amount of time the baby will sleep, but that is pretty much just an excuse for the parents to go to Disney, haha. It also seems like ages 1-2 might be a tough period because they won't enjoy it to its entirety and might even be scared and overwhelmed by experience.

I ask this mainly because we are DVC members and I am trying to strategically figure out what we want to do with our points in the meanwhile. Thank you for any tips!

Assuming everyone is healthy and full of energy...go whenever you want to go.


There is nothing at all wrong about parents wanting to do things when their baby is little, assuming of course everyone is fine. Being someone who was utterly exhausted (found out when DS was 4 that I had had a near tranfusion-worthy hemoglobin level and no one cared to share that with me) and who ended up a bit of a hermit for various reasons, I will tell you that that is NOT fun. If I had known we would become Disney fans, I would have gone much earlier.

We actually started taking DS when he was first 1 and then 2. We were in San Diego visiting my brother, and did 2 one-day visits to Disneyland. It was AWESOME. He was so easy!

At 17 months old he was just in the mei tai wrap, with a bit of walking, and had a great time. A year later he was in a back carry in the Ergo, walking a bit, with a rental stroller just in case, and again he had a great time.

Honestly it was when he turned 3 and started developing his own opinions that it got at all difficult. But the trips when he was 3 were terrific in different ways. Same at 4, same at 5. etc. Now he's 9 and has grown up in Disneyland, Disneyworld, and now Universal (he's tall enough for ALL rides), and it's nearly seamless for him. They are "places we go".

YOu guys are DVC members (as we are) and were before expanding your family (we bought when DS was 4). You obviously like the place. You've obviously made plans to be there for years to come. No reason to delay anything when you want to go, again, assuming everyone is healthy.


Unsolicited advice time...

I highly recommend Beco and Ergo carriers, though wraps are awesome when babies are tiny. When on the front, babies should face the adult wearing them, both for the sake of their spines and pelvis, and for the sake of the wearer's spine, and also so they can see their adults and not just face out towards strangers for hours on end.

Just figured I'd throw that out there now, so you don't have to unlearn bad habits caused by how people use the more mainstream carriers (a pox on Bjorn).

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

The youngest we've taken them is 3 months old and every other age past that up to age 9! They are portable when they are young and you see the parks from a different perspective. This year they are all TALL enough to go on all the rides, so it's a new experience once again!!! There is no magical age, it's all in what you are willing to do!