Too Young?

[mbarber]

Definitely not too young. Sounds like the perfect ages!

 

[ucfknight]

I've been going to Walt Disney World since I was 4 years old.... I wish my parents had started taking me sooner. I do have a few memories still from that first trip when I was 4.

I first took my kids when one was 2 years old and the other was 6 months old.
They are now 7 and 5 and still love it when we are able to go. There is so much to do at all different ages.

 

[ajwolfe]

Great ages for a trip. We took our oldes for the first time at 2 1/2 and our youngest for the first time at 18 mths. Now they will be 7 and 10 this trip and already a smidge of the magic is going away. They no longer totally believe in the characters being real (even though they pretend well and still get excited!). Plus when they were younger it was the highlight of the trip for my DH and I just watch the expressions on their faces and seeing the thrill. I wouldn't have traded those younger day trips for anything...Now we are looking forward to more trips just experiencing the magic and rides as our kids get older.

 

[TavieP]

Hi,

We're planning a trip to DW in October. Our son will be 9 and daughter will be 5 by then. This is a once in a lifetime trip (i.e. we'll only be able to do this once). Maybe this is a silly question, but are they too young to come, or should we wait? I'm kind of set now on the trip as I've started looking and planning so would be dissapointed to wait, but at the same time, the idea is for them to hvae the best time. I guess my concern is that my daughter won't even remember it. I went to DW when I was 9 and have vague memories (but my memory is bad to begin wtih ). Havnig said that, my daughter is in the princess phase so we don't want to miss that time...and as my son is getting older, it will be harder for him to tolerate the younger type attractions (we'd like to do some family things together but also realize that we will have to split apart for some attractions).

Thoughts?

My first trip, I was 3 and a half. I remember it VERY well, 31 years later! They're gonna have a blast.

 

[FoursCompany]

I think it's too young to remember it, but obviously not too young to go.

I waited until mine were 6 and 8. They had a blast. We make sure to talk about the trip with them and show them photos to keep it in their memories. I think my son who was 6 probably won't even remember it in time if I let the memory fade. We're going again this year at 7 and 9, but just doing Universal.

eta: I evidently went to Disney Land when I was in kindergarten and remember el zilcho of it.

 

[mmullena70]

My daughter was 4 and my son turned 6 while we were at Disney for our first trip. They are now 11 and 12 and can still remember details of that first trip that I've forgotten, things that were important to them. It's not imperative that they remember every single thing, but they will remember the fun we had as a family.

Take lots of pictures and make photobooks or scrapbooks for them. Also, after we returned to our resort each day, I'd ask them what their favorites were that day - food, character, ride, etc. And I'd write it all down. It really helped to do it then while the memory was fresh instead of waiting until our trip was over. Of course, my son always said "Everything!" when I asked his favorites.

 

[CharmedLife]

Who cares if they remember it or not? They're old enough to ENJOY it and you will always have those memories of them there! Take lots of pictures for them to look back on. And it always does some great family bonding when you're on a trip together and siblings are forced to be each others' best friends.

FWIW we took my daughter when she was 4 months (had actually planned the trip with friends before becoming pregnant) and we still had a great time. At every age there is something new for my kids to experience and explore. She's now 13 and still loves it just as much, but of course we don't do princess stuff anymore - she loves going for tea with mom, going to water parks, exploring the different country shops in Epcot, etc. Certainly not things she enjoyed when she was in her mad "princess" phase but I sure love my memories of her when she was there, as much as I love spending time with the new "almost-grown-up" version of her.

Disney is awesome because it can grow with your kids... I've been going my whole life and haven't outgrown it yet! And even though I don't really remember those young trips anymore, I know my mother cherishes those memories... (I do remember eating 10 cent hard boiled eggs at the camp store at Fort Wilderness - we were budget Disney vacationers and at those stupid eggs every day!)

 

[Frozen2014]

Thank you all for the great feedback. The overall consensus is this is a good time. I'm sure we'll go "camera happy" so will have lots of pictures to keep.

As for this being a once in a lifetime thing...well, it's not exactly a cheap trip for us (given that we have to add flight) and there are other vacations we'd like to do in the future (maybe even a disney cruise). So most likely, this will be our only time visiting DW, but I suppose you never know.

 

[ghtx]

My son's first trip was at 13 months.
Both of my daughters had their first trip at 3 months.

Never too young!

If it's a "once-in-a-lifetime" trip, then that's a different question. If you have two kids four years apart, then I think the ideal ages to take them are around 5 and 9, or 6 and 10, or 7 and 11.

Enjoy!

 

[bloodonthesaddle]

Hi, We're planning a trip to DW in October. Our son will be 9 and daughter will be 5 by then. This is a once in a lifetime trip (i.e. we'll only be able to do this once). Maybe this is a silly question, but are they too young to come, or should we wait? I'm kind of set now on the trip as I've started looking and planning so would be dissapointed to wait, but at the same time, the idea is for them to hvae the best time. I guess my concern is that my daughter won't even remember it. I went to DW when I was 9 and have vague memories (but my memory is bad to begin wtih ). Havnig said that, my daughter is in the princess phase so we don't want to miss that time...and as my son is getting older, it will be harder for him to tolerate the younger type attractions (we'd like to do some family things together but also realize that we will have to split apart for some attractions). Thoughts?

My first trip was 5 years old and I still remember portions of the trip 30+ years later. Disney has attractions for all ages, so there is a chance that you will not be able to enjoy different style rides no matter when you make the trip. Circumstances change at different points in life, go enjoy now with your family, you may be able to make another trip in the future that doesn't seem possible right now.

 

[disnut8]

Hi,

We're planning a trip to DW in October. Our son will be 9 and daughter will be 5 by then. This is a once in a lifetime trip (i.e. we'll only be able to do this once). Maybe this is a silly question, but are they too young to come, or should we wait? I'm kind of set now on the trip as I've started looking and planning so would be dissapointed to wait, but at the same time, the idea is for them to hvae the best time. I guess my concern is that my daughter won't even remember it. I went to DW when I was 9 and have vague memories (but my memory is bad to begin wtih ). Havnig said that, my daughter is in the princess phase so we don't want to miss that time...and as my son is getting older, it will be harder for him to tolerate the younger type attractions (we'd like to do some family things together but also realize that we will have to split apart for some attractions).

Thoughts?

Oh my gosh - those are perfect ages! My granddaughter and then later, my grandson, made their first trips at age 5 (barely). So precious moments they remember now (age 15 and age seven). We kid our granddaughter with things she was then afraid of (dark, fire, water) and now she wants to ride everything (she's been back twice). With my grandson, he hooked into me so we picked out everything green and orange (his and my favorite colors) everywhere we went. My daughter-in-law also went on a record breaking six times on Spaceship Earth for the little guy.

So, the trip doesn't have to be about "we rode Space Mountain twenty times!" It's about family and the time you spend together.

 

[KaLyn]

Those are great ages!! Go, go, go!!

 

[Rosy Robin]

Great ages!! Took mine at 3 and 4, and they don't remember much, but they remember the trip at 5 and 6

 

[ariel326]

Not too young at all!

We took our 3 1/2 year old and he wasn't too young at all. We did tons of character meet and greets, rode tons of rides, and had a wonderful time.

He rode all the rides he was tall enough for including test track, soarin, star tours, thunder mountain, etc.

The great thing about your age kids is that your older one will be tall enough to do the bigger thrill rides, so one of you can take him to do those things while your younger one may be more into characters and such. You can split up for part of the day and accomplish things that both of your kids will be interested in.

Also, never say never. You may find that if you have a great time you will find a way to do it again!

 

[Kellykins1218]

So most likely, this will be our only time visiting DW, but I suppose you never know.

Famous last words

 

[dawgfan]

In 2002, I was a "young" father with two beautiful princesses. My wife and I had fed them a steady diet of Disney movies. They watched the Disney channel daily. I was unaware of the complete Disneyfication that was going on in the house. My wife and I agreed, I think as most parents do, that a trip to Walt Disney World was due at some point. I was the practical father. Knowing this was a trip that was waaayyyy toooo expensive to be considered anything else but a "once in a lifetime trip", I wanted to make sure that my kids were old enough to remember the whole experience. My parents had taken the family to WDW (back then it was just the Magic Kingdom). Back then, to my father, it was a very expensive trip to plan. He too looked at this as a once in a lifetime trip. It was just that for him. My parents never took us back. They were not theme park folks anyway.

Well...I worked off that same plan. This is one shot. My wife finally said it was time to take the kids in 2002. I argued that they were too young at 6 and 4. They would not remember the trip. She said that they were the perfect age and really would love it. I eventually caved and began to plan.

Well that trip did not go without trauma. I will spare you the details but it started with me being horribly ill the very day we were set to leave and leaving a good three hours later than we expected. It ended with my father in law having a heart attack and eventually by pass surgery. The crazy thing about it was that we all agreed that we had a great time and loved Disney. We vowed to return at least every other year as that was what we guessed we could save for and afford.

Long story short that once in a lifetime trip was about 12 trips ago. My oldest is 18 and youngest is 15. They still LOVE Disney and want to go as much as they did when they were younger. We do other types of vacations and Disney is not a yearly thing for us, though it has become a more frequent and closer to yearly thing for us. And no, I do not make a great deal of money and I have not had any sort of raise in over 7 years. I have learned to save for our trips and used various sites to learn how to get the most for the money.

Soooooo....never lock on to "it is a once in a lifetime trip" and think you will never be back. I did and look at me now. I am a certified Disney nut who has raised two more just like me.

Disney has raised prices and they have skirted the edge of a family of four or more being able to afford it. We still scrimp and save and return.

BUT...back on point....your kids ages are perfect!!!

 

[NorthernBuckeye]

If this is truly once in a lifetime. I think that 7 is the perfect to only go once as a child. Anywhere from the 5-10 range would be great.

 

[kpapiezjhbk7211]

We took our "once in a lifetime trip" in 2012. My boys were 1 and 4. I swear to you - my 1 year old remembered it until our next "once in a lifetime trip" in September 2013. Our next trip - which I now realize is not a "once in a lifetime trip" will be in November. FYI - we will be booking the BB offer this time!

So I say go for it. And like someone else said - if your 5 year old doesn't have exact memories, you will! And you can go now, tomorrow isn't promised. Go and have fun!

 

[siskaren]

5 might be too young. Like puberty, we all develop at our own pace. 5-6 is the typical age a child's brain develops to the point that these earliest memories are retained

http://articles.latimes.com/2011/may/12/science/la-sci-child-memories-20110512

So what if 5 years old is too young to remember it? That doesn't mean she's too young to enjoy it. Heck, I was almost 21 on my first trip, and I don't remember much about it.

 

[tina.tina]

When we went for our first visit, DD was 10 and DS was 5.5. He is now 8.5 and have not been back yet. DS has a hard time remembering the trip and stuff he remembered a year ago, he has now forgotten.

I think it was magical to see WDW through his eyes and I wish we had been able to take DD at his age (but then DS was too little).

I would also caution you about the once in a lifetime thing. DH really did not think he would like WDW that much but we all felt that it was our best vacation ever. I wish I had spent less on our first trip and saved some of that for our second. Now, I'm in school full time but really hope we'll get there next year.