Trip with young children

[DONALD38]

Just wondering, The next trip my DW and I take will be with children that we plan on having soon. We plan on waiting until 2007/2008 until our children are at least 3 years old +.

Did you wait to plan trips until your children were older to enjoy WDW? or did you decide to take then when they were younger?

 

[tjkraz]

Our son was 18 months at his first visit. Honestly it was one of the most beneficial things that we have done in his development. We prepped him for the trip with Disney Sing Along Songs videos like Disneyland Fun. That way he would be familiar with the characters before we arrived.

He had zero problems interacting with the characters at that young age. We have priceless video of him sitting down on the floor in front of Mickey as if the two were going to play together. Mickey took him by the hand, lead Andy over to his chair, and plopped him into his lap for a few photos and some goofing around.

Now at 2 1/2 years old, he still insists on watching the vacation video or looking at photos from the trip a couple of times per week.

Our son really came out of his shell during that trip. He had been saying a few scattered "words" leading up to the trip, but I probably couldn't count how many he was saying at the end of our 6-day stay.

We now have a 2 month old daughter, and honestly I don't think we will go back before she is able to walk. Others will argue differently, but that's my own personal cutoff point.

Will either of them remember a trip taken at age 2? Of course not. But that doesn't make their reactions and interactions any less meaningful to the rest of us.

 

[*123JOANNA123*]

We went to Florida on vacation last year with my (then) 3yo and 16 mo kids. I really thought they would be too young for Disney, but couldn't go all the way to FL and not visit Disney

We booked one night at the GF on a special, then added on a night at the AKL when we got another great rate. If figured we'd catch the parades and do a character meal and that the kids probably wouldn't get too much out of it. I was wrong- they both lapped it up, loved every minute and are still talking about it.

My dh and I decided there and then that we would go back for a longer period of time, and we're heading off for a week next Saturday. The kids are really excited and already talking about which rides they're going on, and about breakfast with Mickey.

Incidentally the 16 mo old couldn't walk at that stage and still had a ball!

 

[dmonroe]

We waited until our ds was 2.5 to take him. It was a super trip, and I would have taken him at an even younger age (may around 18 mos) if I had known! When we have another child, we won't wait at all! The next one will probably go to WDW at around 6 months! Don't want to miss our yearly trip ya know!

 

[JACKSDAD]

hi,
We are travelling to WDW in the morning!!!
Flying all the way from the U.K with 2 children. Our eldest 4years has been 4 times before, and our baby 7 months it will be her first trip.
Guess we are gluttons for punishment!

 

[CindyAnn]

I have to admit that DH and I were planning to wait until our son was older until he made his first WDW trip. We planned to go every four years, and thought the best ages would be 4, 8, and 12. Isn't that logical and organized? HA!!!

We ended up taking him when he was 2 1/2 (and I was 7 months pregnant with DD) because my DFIL had always wanted to go to WDW, and it was a visit with extended family for his 70th birthday. We had an absolutely wonderful visit, and DS went on just about everything that didn't have a height restriction. We also took an afternoon nap every day in order to make the trip more enjoyable.

So much for our plans of visiting every four years. DS (and of course his younger sister) went back when he was 7, when he was 8, when he was 9, and now that he's 10 we've booked a vacation for January. We're also getting annual passes for the fitst time, so you've got to wonder where that one's headed ...

If you think you might only make 1 visit to WDW, then I think waiting for a while is worth it. On the other hand, if you suspect you're a Disney addict, there's nothing wrong with going when they're younger, so long as you're willing to slow down the pace and see a bit less in order to have more fun doing it.

Just MHO.

 

[dph40]

We have twins, and when they were three we took them to Disney for the first time. My husband did not want to do it as he thought they were too young and it would be a waste.
NOT SO! We had a terrific time, and I would not have traded that trip for anything! I look back on all those pictures when the kids were three and it warms my heart.
Now, of course, there is a lot you can't do, obviously, like all the major attractions but I didn't care one bit. There is tons to do for the small kids, and there is nothing more glorious than seeing the look on your kids' faces when they see the characters for the first time. They truly BELIEVE. And you can't replace that innocence at any other time.
GO, GO, GO!!!

 

[JVL1018]

Originally posted by DONALD38

Did you wait to plan trips until your children were older to enjoy WDW? or did you decide to take then when they were younger?

Wedidn't wait..our first trip with kids our daughter was 3 months old, (sleeping through the night). We went in February so she wouldn't be dealing with the heat at such a young age.
That was an easy trip, she was happy, she could care less about being in WDW, but she was good and we were really happy to be on vacation, and quite honestly I needed that vacation more then any other vacation I've ever had, it hepled me remember I was a wife and not just a mom. LOL
Then we took her at 10 mos, she was still good, we took her at 13 mos..she was good, but didn't want to stay in her stroller which was a pain at times. We took her at 19 mos..we went in June and went to the parks twice and then said forget it too hot too crowded so spent our vacation at DD and our resort, that worked out perfectly as I was 6 mos pregnant at the time anyway.
The next time she turned 3 on the trip and her little brother had just turned one and they were perfection. I cannot even believe that they both stayed in the stroller, neither one had a temper tantrum, neither one cried for no reason,they both waited patiently on any line and were good in the restaurants- it was like they were not my children. LOLOL
This trip I have a 2 year old Beast of a Boy and know that he will rule our trip, but that's okay, we'll see what we see and what we don't, well we'll see next time. It's all good.

Anyway sometimes when they are younger it's easier, to tell you the truth.

 

[pstepka]

We went when my son was 18 months, then again in two years when his little brother was 18 months and he was 3-1/2. We all (older sister, too) had a wonderful time. I AM looking forward to next week's trip, however, because we won't have to worry about diapers, bottles, naps, etc!!! But, at the time, they didn't seem like a bother at all.

Pam

 

[Cameo]

I wouldn't wait until the kids are a certain age. Every age is great. They get something out of it, even if they don't remember it. And life is too short to wait to have great experiences Just think, you are also prepping them to travel and experience big, stimulating events. Our DD was 20-months on our first trip with her. She cried for one hour straight on one of our return flights. Our next trip is in September for her 6th birthday and she flies like a champ. We also took a trip when our son was about 2 and now he will be 3 1/2. He loves to watch the video we took of them last time. We didn't take near enough video and regret that now. On the next trip we'll do much more taping with the video camera.