What is the right age to take a child to Disneyland or WDW?

[arielchickenofthesea]

HELP!!!

I don't have my own kids, but have nieces and I am wondering from parents, as to what the right age is to start taking kids to the Parks, and the age that would really get something out of it. I know my next door neighbor took their kids and the twins were 3 and the little boy was terrified of the characters. Not every 3 year will be, I know, but what is the age that the kids can enjoy it and be aware of the trip itself?. I don't know if I am even asking the right question or asking it the right way. Please help.

We would be flying, the oldest is 13 which is fine for Disney and the airlines, the youngest is 4 which I am not sure is age appropriate yet. The little one seems to melt down more and is cranky after a long time up, so is that too young to go?

I really need help with this as I have had no children and don't have the experience that parents have with this. I applaud all of you with kids for knowing what to do and when to do it with kids.

I LOVE kids, but never had any of my own. They are so cool to watch at the Parks and if any of you see an older hip lady watching the kids with the characters and smilling with tears glistening in her eyes, that is probably me. I tend to live vicariously through the families there. Of course I get my picture taken with the characters too! My hubby and I love to watch the little ones with Pooh, especially, and of course Mickey and Minnie. It is truly amazing to watch. It spreads pixie dust Park wide!

I hope none of you mind that I have some very happy moments from watching the children there from a distance, of course and never insinuating myself into the family scene. It is such a joy to see families having so much fun and the kids seem to brighten the whole place up, (until the screaming meltdown starts, anyway and I scurry away!!!)

I guess the up side is that I don't have to deal with the meltdowns, but get to watch the character interactions which is just priceless. I don't take pictures and I never try to interact with the child. No weirdness intended. Just a love of children and seeing them at Disney is amazing. I am the true Auntie now! Seeing children meet Mickey for the first time or see the castle for the first time is the true Disney experience, seeing it through the eyes of the little ones, reminds me of the first time I went and how amazed I was!

Thanks for any tips and age tips you can give me. The wealth of information here at the family board is immense and wide. That is why I came here to ask my question! I thank you for any help!

Arielcots

 

[MissDaisyofTexas]

I suppose every child is different...but we took our son when he was 4 1/2 and it was a great age! He still talks about it (18 months later) and remembers details that we wouldn't have expected him to. He wasn't tall enough to go on several rides, but we just avoided those and still had a ton of fun!

 

[arielchickenofthesea]

I guess we would have to take as slow as the little one would let us. That is the key, I guess, going at their pace and not trying to run them through the whole Park in one day. I would get tired too, if I tried that. It is all in the pacing, it seems.
Thanks for your answer!

Arielcots

 

[sue and co]

We didn't go until ours were 7,7 &9 which was absolutely right BUT we come from England and had a 16 hour journey (inc. a 10 hour flight) so it was a little different to those of you coming from within the states. To be honest it depends very much on the children as some are ready much younger than others.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

You are going to get 40,000 different opinions on this board. It's really your decision.

Personally, I'd wait until at least 2 years old. But there are some here you take infants with them. It doesn't seem worth the stress to me.

As for melting down, one of the big tips is to go back for nap time at your resort after lunch. This is especially true during the summer months when it usually rains in the afternoon anyway. We've done that pretty well our last three trips. Although my kids are at the age where I think this is going to be no longer necessary.

 

[frtchr]

I don't think there is a perfect age. We took DD the first time at 11 months, and DS was 6 months on his first visit. They're now 3 and 17 months, and we're taking DD on her fifth trip and DS on his third trip in May.

We have never had a problem with meltdowns or freak outs because we stick to a familiar schedule, don't push too hard, and don't do too much.

Hope you all have a great trip!

 

[AliceinHalloweentown]

I agree with there not being a perfect age.. the first time I went to DL, I wasn't even born yet

But I went to TDL and DL when I was 3, DL again when I was about 6, and WDW when I was 8, I have vivid memories of all of these trips.

I agree taking it slow is the key, and don't push anyone (no matter what their age is) over their personal limits.

Enjoy your tri :]

 

[simba20]

Our daughter has gone at the ages of:

15 months
20 months
21 months
2 years old (just after her b-day)
and our trip last weekend -- she is 2.5

next trip she will be almost 3 (about a month and a half away from her 3rd b-day).

Gotta get the free trips while we can.

Oh, and she totaly gets anything and everything out of the parks. She is beginning to recognize the buildings for rides, from far far away. She saw Space Mountian from the bus as we drove up to MK and screamed "That's Mommy and Daddy's roller coaster." While on the carousel, she pointed to IASW and said "I want to ride Small World"

To quite someone else...."will I quiz her about these trips when she is 20?" No. But she loves her Disney and will probably be here on the boards before she turns 5. She is already an experienced Disney go-er.

Her face lit up at 15 months. She bgan remembering trip deatils at 20 months. After 21 months, she was talkign about what she wanted to do again, and after her 2nd birthday trip she was already planning what to do on the next trip. When we go in May, she's saying that she won;t be scared this time and will give Mickey Mouse a hug and get his autograph. OMG! She can totally tell you about WDW.

 

[Hillbeans]

While I think there is an array of great ages to take kids to WDW, I think the "ideal" age to experience all of the rides is around 8 - 11 years old.

I do have to say though that we took my oldest right before his 3rd birthday when he was our only child and it was a magical trip.

 

[monkey30]

I agree that it is really the kids not the age that matters. ds1 was 4, 6 and 7 on our trips, ds2 was 18mth 3 and 4.5 on the trips and well ds3 was only 2mths.

We had a few meltdowns when ds2 was 18mths but the rest of the times were pretty enjoyable.
I found it east to take a infant as he was not demanding, asking for everything or even caring that his brothers were doing something he wasn't!!!LOL

As for flights its again depending on the kids we don't usually do direct flights down just so the kids can wear off energy about half way and then do direct back because they are so tired from the trip the 5.5hr flight is a good rest!

 

[MSSANDRA]

Our rule is 6 mo old. That is more for health and safety than anything else. Don't like germs and newborns and like them to be able to sit a little too.

Now if there was only going to be one trip ever and you wanted the child to remember and be able to do it all I might say around 8.

As far as meltdowns, 3 yr old DGS had one at the grocery store today so....

 

[Luv Bunnies]

We took our kids to Disneyland when they were 5 and 2 because it's an easy drive from here, not terribly expensive and can be done in a few days. For WDW, we waited until they were 8 and 11 because it's a long, expensive flight and we wanted to spend at least 10 days. We can't go to Florida often so we wanted to make it a really big trip for them. I'm hoping to go back as a family at least one more time before the oldest graduates from high school. We have until 2014 to pull another trip together! In the meantime, we'll keep going to Disneyland every year or two.

 

[katied]

We tood DNiece and DNephew for the first time when they were 6 and 8. It was an easy trip over all. We did have to establish some "ground rules" early on, but once the kids learned we were serious, we had minimal whining, etc. (It's also easier to be the aunt/uncle vs. the parent in these cases, because kids will normally be on better behavoir for the aunt/uncle than their own parents).

So - if you're looking at taking Niece/Nephew - I'd say they need to be old enough to be comfortabley away from their parents for the week. We thought 6 and 8 was perfect (no strollers needed). We took them again at 8 and 10 - still a good trip, but not quite a "magical" because they were getting a bit older and more interested in roller coasters (their day at universal was the BEST part of the trip according to them) and less interested in the Characters/magic of disney.

Now, for my own DS, we didn't wait at all. I know he'll be many many times over his life, and he's already been at 6 mo, 8 mo, 13 mo, 18 mo, 20 mo, and 32 months... I would not have missed any of those trips. They are all perfect in their own way, and we already have Jan 2011 booked when DS will be just shy of 4 and new baby will be 7 months.

 

[Zeebs]

Many of the children of the parents on the boards are lucky to be able to go numerous of times to WDW.

If it was going to be a one in a lifetime trip, then I would wait until they can remember it, ride the thrill rides and don't have as many meltdowns.

That said we have had wonderful trips, with the youngest our children have been is 11 months.

We don't find taking them very young stressful. I find staying at home all day on my own with them more stressful

But also because we know we will return at some point to WDW we also didn't feel the need to do EVERYTHING. We missed many rides and shows just to take things easy.

Kirsten

 

[stitchineeyore]

OP, you said "nieces". We didn't take DD until she was eight, because we wanted her to remember the experience, enjoy the rides, etc. I wish we had done it sooner! She would have loved to run around the parks in a princess dress when she was four or five, kind of the perfect age for that sort of magic. (Although I see plenty of teenage girls in tiaras!) She is 21 now, we have been to WDW numerous times since (thanks to joining DVC) but I still regret not doing it sooner.

 

[honeydiane1953]

WELL the savant Marilyn something or the other in the Sunday's Parade says 10. I took my grandkids when they were 8. They were sooo tired but loved it. Now every Spring they want me to take them again. As a matter of fact I am taking my granddaughter in April and she is two. I know she will enjoy it but I do think that's too young. Now get your flames ready folks that take babies are insane. The poor babies are miserable and the poor parents are in a lot worse shape.

 

[Colleen27]

I don't think there is one perfect age. Too much depends on too many other factors, not the least of which is whether it is a once in a lifetime trip or one of many. And I think parental attitude matters too - not all parents want to hassle with diapers and strollers on vacation, and that's as good a reason as any to wait. We've run the gamut of ages for our kids' first trips, and there are pros & cons to any age IMO.

My oldest was 7 on his first trip. If I had it to do over and had the ability (we couldn't afford Disney when he was small), I'd rather have taken him younger. He never got a trip where he really believed in the characters; by 7, they start to suspect that Mickey is an actor in a big fuzzy suit. But he was already big enough for all the rides and hitting Tower of Terror and Rock & Roller Coaster with him was a lot of fun.

My middle child was 4 on her first trip. It was magical. She truly believed she was a princess when she went to tea at the Grand Floridian or had lunch in the castle in her Sleeping Beauty dress, and a hug from Minnie Mouse was the best thing ever. But she was old enough to be scared, and even rides like Pooh & Peter Pan were cause for anxiety because she couldn't see what was going to happen. And diapers are nothing compared to traveling with a fairly recently trained preschooler; I'd much rather change a diaper than drop everything and sprint for the restroom, hoping there's no line!

But the most amazing first trip was my youngest's. She was only 15mo, absolutely in awe of every sight and sound and happy as can be just to watch it all go by. She knows Mickey & friends from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and she squealed with joy every time she saw Mickey, real or on a balloon or a shirt or a banner. Her mouth hung open through the castle stage show and she clapped and wiggled in her stroller or on my shoulders through every parade. We rode every ride that she could without any tears or fear and baby swapped the ones she couldn't, and on Dumbo she really was flying (complete with flapping arms). So many people told us she was too young for the trip, that she won't remember it, that traveling with her at that age would be so much work that we wouldn't get to enjoy it, but it was the most wonderful, magical trip we've ever taken.

 

[iwrbnd]

I read that Walt Disney felt age 7 was the "perfect" age!

 

[Colleen27]

Our daughter has gone at the ages of:

15 months
20 months
21 months
2 years old (just after her b-day)
and our trip last weekend -- she is 2.5

next trip she will be almost 3 (about a month and a half away from her 3rd b-day).

Gotta get the free trips while we can.

Oh, and she totaly gets anything and everything out of the parks. She is beginning to recognize the buildings for rides, from far far away. She saw Space Mountian from the bus as we drove up to MK and screamed "That's Mommy and Daddy's roller coaster." While on the carousel, she pointed to IASW and said "I want to ride Small World"

To quite someone else...."will I quiz her about these trips when she is 20?" No. But she loves her Disney and will probably be here on the boards before she turns 5. She is already an experienced Disney go-er.

Her face lit up at 15 months. She bgan remembering trip deatils at 20 months. After 21 months, she was talkign about what she wanted to do again, and after her 2nd birthday trip she was already planning what to do on the next trip. When we go in May, she's saying that she won;t be scared this time and will give Mickey Mouse a hug and get his autograph. OMG! She can totally tell you about WDW.

I'm hoping to fit in two more trips before our youngest turns 3 and I've no doubt that she's getting something out of our travels. This is a kid who learned to say "castle" and "Donald" and "Foofy"(Goofy) and "Pooh bear" in a week in the parks before she could even say "juice". Every time we sit down to watch a Disney movie she sees the castle graphic and starts chattering about things we did on the trip!

 

[Deesknee]

Hi! I was the loving fun aunt for years. Although I never had the $ to take my nephews to wdw. I have 4 of my own now. I still love watching the 1st timers... child or adult!

We've taken our own kids ranging from 11 mnths to 18yrs. I think the best age is 3 1/2yr - 4yrs. They are still completely innocent. ( no school influence as to whats real, whats not) no diapers, although potty runs can be a pain.

2 pieces of advise: 1) no human being is perfect. if the child has a melt down try to remove them from the area you are at & calm them down. Most likely it is bothering you more than anyone else.
2) buy a disney sing along (our fav is disneyland singalong) dvd watch it with them as much as possible. mention how much larger the characters are than the children, remember customed characters don't talk. make it fun. The first time I took my oldest they were 3 1/2 we watched the singalong every night before bed. for the most part no fears. they loved the characters...at 18 they still do!

Good luck. If you want to ask more specific questions, feel free to pm/email me. Like I said, I loved being the cool aunt & wished I could have taken the nephews. Would be honored to help you make your trip special.