Taking a Poll

[luvmy2babies]

I have a child that visited at ages 10 months, 2.5, 3.5 and 4.5. Of note is that I also have an older child and he pretty much benefitted from the fact I had wanted to take her for so long. She was 7 on our first visit and I doubt I go if not for that. Would I take a 2 year-old without an older sibling? Yes I would. That is the age I wanted to first take my daughter. It just didn’t work out. Age 2.5 was great because he was able to enjoy himself, walk around, talk some and his admission was still free. We also ate at multiple character meal buffets where he ate free.

He has enjoyed every trip. And I got just as much out of watching him enjoy that first trip as I did my 7 year-old, which I admit I didn’t expect. I figured he’d have fun and I never considered leaving him behind, but he was really great. Two of my favorite shots from that first trip is one of him nose to nose with Pluto at Chef Mickey’s and one of him smiling getting special attention from Princess Ariel.

So he is not yet 5 and he has had a blast at Disney. He had such a great time at age 2.5 that he begged to go back the following summer.

Like msmama I started travel early with each of my children. I enjoy traveling and I wanted them to be good travelers. Thankfully it worked and they are both good travelers and love to travel. I don't think I'd have Disney be your child’s first vacation no matter what age you decide to do it; but, some people have done that successfully as well. I would just want to know what kind of traveler I had before investing in a Disney trip.

Congrats on your new baby and believe me I understand. I think I ordered my first planning video when my first child was 3 months old.

 

[Hope Counts]

DD is 4 and this will be her first trip.
We are not in a position to go frequently so we wanted to wait until she was a bit older and could get more out of it.
We probably won't be able to go back until she is 8 or so.
If her bday was a bit later or earlier and we could've gone at a less busy time we probably would have gone just before she turned 3 so she could get in for free.
I do think for the Magic aspect ages 4-6 are the best years. They are old enough to be able to handle most rides and messed up schedules but still young enough to fall in love with the magic of meeting characters and WDW.

 

[geminierin]

Son was 20 mths for first visit. Spent equal time out of his stroller running around, seeing, touching and doing and the rest in his stroller pointing and shrieking with excitement. Second visit he was 2 1/2, he still remembers the characters he met, Mulan kissing him at her meet and greet and what presents he got. He was 3 when we took him to DLP for his bday and he likes to talk about how he got his first haircut in the barbershop there! We'll take him to WDW in a couple of months for his 4th bday. He loved it every time he went, and each visit found new things he liked best. Disney has something for every child, at any age, at any stage of their development. There is no BEST time to go, only different things that they'll get out if it And each thing will be awesome

 

[WantToGoNow]

My ds visited the first time at 6 months. It was an extremely easy trip. He chilled in the stroller, looked around, loved the characters and did well on rides and in theaters and restaurants. My youngest dd spent her first birthday at WDW. It was definitely more challenging because she wanted to walk instead of ride, she was heavy to carry through the lines, and she was terrified of characters. My oldest dd was 10 and she did quite well.

 

[buzznina]

We have been going since our 1st DD was 6 month old and would do it again in a heartbeat. We always take lots of photos and also took videos of our trips. With out a doubt when watching home movies of WDW trips both DD's they will always ask to see the videos of the trips when they were a baby, those are their favorites We are a family that will miss taking our stroller, never felt like it was a hassle.

 

[happymommy]

We took our son at age 3 (DD stayed with my folks who live a couple hours away) for just 4 nights. It was fun, but much more fun the following year when DD was 2 and he was 4. At 2, she just had so much fun!

We traveled a lot with our kids since DS was an infant. We kept their normal schedule for bedtime, which always helped. Matter of fact, when they were really young, they never saw (nor missed) fireworks shows.

Age 2 is so fun at Disney! I wouldn't wait - if you really want to go, then go.

I go often with the kids when DH has to stay home and work, and the first time I went alone with the kids they were 4 and 6. It was a lot of fun, and so easy at that age at Disney!

 

[QueenQueso]

I would go at 2! If for no other reason, maybe you can convince him to go when she still gets in for free? My boys were 7 and almost 2 on our trip and I'm pretty sure the toddler had more fun. Every little bit of Disney magic is still real to them at that age, whereas my 7yo knew it was just a guy in a mask or an animatronic. I wish I could've taken him earlier, my 7yo. He is Mr. Serious, so we completely missed the magic he could've had if he still believed.

We travel fairly frequently, but it's usually weekend trips close to home. We do a BIG trip every few years, and both of them took their first BIG trip around 2. DS1 was almost 2 1/2 and we went to the beach for a week and he still has distinct memories of a few things on the trip. My camera broke on day 1 when I dropped it in the hotel parking lot right after check-in, so his memories are real and not affected by photos he's seen sitting around. DS2 was 23 months when we went to WDW and we have so many pictures and have talked about it sooo much that I don't know if he can actually remember meeting Mickey or he just knows that he did (probably the latter), but I wouldn't trade his trip for anything.

I'm tentatively planning a Sept 2015 trip (will be waiting to see what our tax refund is and whether they still do FD in Sept...) and we may be travelling with a newborn so that might be interesting...

 

[MichaelaF]

Took our DS at 5 mo, then to DLR at 11 months, then we're headed back in a month, when he'll be 17 mo. We wanted to get in as much as we could before he turned 2 (for flights) or 3 (for tickets) and we have to start paying for him!

Both of our last trips were easy peasy. Love the baby care centers. I've never been of the mindset that you shouldn't do Disney (or vacations) until they are old enough to remember, I suppose because we plan on going back regularly anyway. And of course, I don't think Disney is just for kids, anyway!

 

[monagh10]

First trip was a month after he turned 2. We are going the end of Feb for his 3rd birthday. He rode everything except the big coasters when we went last time & loved it. He talks about going to the castle and having a mouse birthday so I think this trip will be even better. He is 40" now so will be able to ride everything except Space Mtn @ MK