What age did you first take your child to Disney World??

[Planogirl]

DS was 1 and he was great! He was actually easier at that age then when he was a few years older. DS may not remember it but I have pictures of a kid with big smiles so I know that he had fun at the time.

 

[fairestoneofall]

DD: had just turned three (and yes, we paid for her--never thought not to)
older DS: three months

this first trip was for a conference my DH attended. we added a few days onto the end of it.

baby DS: six months (for DD's 10th birthday)

 

[HM]

4 and 6 years old. Perfect ages. No strollers or diaper bags. Kids who thought everything was GREAT!

 

[dhardawa]

Emily was 4 and Max was 6 weeks. He was an absolute breeze. I put him in the Baby B'Jorn and we just went about our business. He rode just about everything in the carrier and was happy as can be.

 

[harleyquinn]

We took ours at 13 and 17 mos and back this summer for age 3. She wasn't walking at 13 months and that trip was MUCH easier than a few months later when she was walking.

I have trip reports for both in my signature.

 

[DeaverTex]

Tex Jr. is 22 and he's still waiting. Maybe when he finishes his degree.

 

[khertz]

We took our DS to WDW for the first time last fall right after he turned 1. It was fantastic! We let him set the pace since we had been many times before and had our chance to run from headliner to headliner. He napped in the stroller, and we fed him in the Baby Care Centers to get away from the chaos of the park and let him focus on eating instead of people watching. Also, a great place for him to run around and burn off energy since he had just learned to walk. He absolutely LOVED the characters! We got his first haircut done at the Harmony Barber Shop. He enjoyed all of the attractions, although we did find ourselves avoiding shows because he didn't want to sit for long periods of time. Although he mostly napped in the stroller at the parks, we still did get away back to the resort for an afternoon break. Even if he didn't nap, it was nice to relax a bit before heading back in the evening. We mostly had him back by his home bedtime of 7:30, but a couple of nights we changed him into his pajamas and let him sleep in the stroller so we could stay later for the fireworks. He would go right back to sleep when we got him back to the resort. I think for him, it was the PERFECT age to introduce him to Disney since we know we will be back many times to come.

Just last month, we took him to DL also. This time, he was about 19 months old. He was a lot more interested in the attractions and seemed to have a better time interacting on them. Lots more dancing, clapping, giggling, etc on the attractions. A little hesitant with the characters compared to our WDW trip, but he was not scared of them. Still a little too young to be scared during any of the attractions either. He didn't nap in the stroller, so we mostly stuck with his home napping schedule and went back to the resort to let him nap for a couple of hours before going back out in the evenings. He adapted well to staying out later, and even though he wasn't getting as much sleep at night as he was used to at home, he didn't get cranky on us. I found it was a little more difficult since he is used to walking and running around at home, so he didn't want to be in the stroller as much or held in the ride lines, he wanted to get down and explore. We tried to find opportunities to let him do this without disturbing other guests to keep him and us happy.

 

[Micca]

We took our twin DDs when they were 18 months old, but we lived about an hour drive away at the time. We returned many times since, and are now looking forward to taking our grandchildren to WDW. I think we'll wait a while though unless we live nearby again.

 

[ols386]

My kids were older the first time we took them to Disney World. Around 8 and 10.

 

[ilovefh]

DS is 13 months old now and he's been going since he was 3 weeks old. We live right down the road though. Honestly, when we lived in NH and we were trying for kids we still planned to go every year with my family. Actually we had a trip planned for February and I was due in December. That baby would have been 3 months old.

A pp said she didn't go with little ones because she was selfish. Well, truth be told, we go with a little one because we are selfish! We go because we want to go! When he was smaller we'd just put him in the stroller and do everything we wanted. Now we do a little more that is focused on him. He LOVES meeting Mickey!

Everyone we go with is spoiled by the stroller because we don't have to carry a thing!

 

[*DisneyDreamer]

I don't have kids, but my parents took me and my sisters for the first time in 1991. I was 3, almost 4, my older sister was 5, almost 6, and my younger sister was 11 months. My grandma came with us on that trip, and our second 2 years later. I think my parents probably enjoyed later trips more, since the three of us were older and no strollers would have been required, but they obviously managed just fine since we have been back close to 20 times since!

 

[pickledtink1911]

My dd was 19 months old and D's was 4. We found that although a little hectic with the stroller and diapers there was no sibling rivalry and no protests at all. They were too young to really know what they wanted to do and were completely satisfied with anything we did. It was very enjoyable actually. Now this past time we went they were almost 7 and 4 and the opinions and fighting were almost unbearable! this was my experience anyway...hope it helps!

 

[Robinrs]

Since I usually only go for thrill rides, taking a baby would be totally out of my realm of reality. I'm surprised so many people bring them!

 

[WDWJonasGirl]

I don't know about Disneyland but I first to went WDW at age 7, almost 8 and my first Disney Cruise at age 11. I'm 17 now.

 

[wishesuponastar]

DD1 - age 5
DD2 - age 3
DD3 - age 6 (would have went sooner with her but she was afraid of characters before this age)

 

[laughinplace199]

DD13's first trip to Disneyland was when she was 13 mos old. She was 3 for her first trip to WDW.

DS10 was 15 mos for his first WDW trip.

DS5 was 5 mos for his first WDW trip and 9 mos for his second trip. Five mos was definitely the easiest trip!

 

[aimyourarrowshigh]

I was a baby when I first went

 

[tae1218]

We first took DD when she was just under 2. It was also our first trip too. It was a great trip! We went to the parks at opening and went back to the resort for an afternoon nap and swim. Now DD is 14 now and we are leaving tomorrow morning for WDW and we will probably still get there are at rope drop and take an afternoon break.

 

[tara lynn]

No kids yet, but my parents took me for the first time when I was 7 and my brother was 9. My mom wanted to wait until we could both handle walking all day because she didn't want to have to deal with a stroller. (Ironically, I got really sick after we arrived and when I was well enough to go to the parks I had to be pushed around in a wheelchair for the first day because I was too weak to walk).

 

[Micca]

No kids yet, but my parents took me for the first time when I was 7 and my brother was 9. My mom wanted to wait until we could both handle walking all day because she didn't want to have to deal with a stroller. (Ironically, I got really sick after we arrived and when I was well enough to go to the parks I had to be pushed around in a wheelchair for the first day because I was too weak to walk).

The kids being able to walk all day is a benefit, but parents should consider there is some convenience to strollers. There were times when our DDs were technically a bit old for strollers, but they were tiny things and they enjoyed being "strolled" as they called it. If you're waiting for some worthwhile attributes before taking your small children, the ability to feed themselves and let you know when a bathroom break is needed far outweigh the ability to walk all day.