What is the youngest you have taken...

[88golf88]

Obviously Disney is a place for children, but at what ages did all of you take your first child to Disney? There is a pretty good chance that DW and I are expecting. We have a trip planned for late this year as new DVC members and then....SURPRISE!!!

We are trying to figure out what to do. For those of you who took the little ones, how many of you flew? Did you rent strollers down there? What was your experience while you were there? We are obviously obsessed with Disney and we want our little one to enjoy it was well.

Any experiences would be appreciated...

 

[JVL1018]

We took our daughter in mid February 2000, she was born in late October 1999. We flew and took her regular stroller with the car seat attachment.

Her next trip she was 10 months old and we flew and took a reclining umbrella stroller-learned that umbrella stroller handles are too short for even averge height people to push around all day-it was uncomfortable and i kept stepping on the wheels. LOL

Next trip she was 13 months and we flew and took an umbrella stroller with extra long handles that fully reclined-that was the best stroller ever.

Next trip she was 19 months and we drove(from NJ)-same stroller as last time.

Next trip she was 3 and her little brother was 1 and we drove and took a side by side double. Ugh, hard to push.

Went every year after that, flying each time, and rented strollers (love those rental strollers-they are not made for infants though) until they were 5 and 7 and were too old for them.

 

[Buckeye Fan]

Hello, Cleveland!!!

We took DS when he was 4, and I swore I'd rather die than go back to Dis. Boy how things change! Since then, we had DD. We took the two of them when DD turned 1. We had an absolutely ball with her.

FWIW, DH and I always took our kids wherever we went. DD was born in late May, and we went to the beach over 4th of July. We had a great time. Just like you would expect, we had to work around her, but I'm really glad we went.

By the way, I hope an early congratulations are in order!!!

 

[Gary Pinkos]

Hello:
We have three daughters, that are now 20, 16 & 14. But in 1992 Our 20 year old was a only child and 2 1/2 years old. My wife and I wanted to go to Disney (it had been about 10 years since we had last visited) and family and friends advised against it, that our daughter was too young.

Well we didn't listen, and our 2 1/2 year old had a great time, although some days we may have pushed her too far (I like to go to parks early and stay late).

This was right around when Disney started selling the Disney Vacation Club, we did not look into it while we were there, but 6 months later we made a purchase of 270 vacation points, and we have been going once or twice a year ever since (almost every year).

When my next two daughters came along, we kept going to Disney, my wife knew where all the nursing stations were, and she always loved the great accommodations. Naturally when the girls were infants we didn't stay till closing and didn't always get there at opening. We would often do a baby or child swap (I guess Disney still does this?) and this was always very helpful on the adult rides.

For many years drove from PA (18 hour trip from door to door), mostly because I am cheap......although we fly now. We had a two person stroller, and this was great for carrying all our stuff (snacks, baby bottles, juice boxes, diapers, etc) and at the end of the day, it would often be our oldest daughter getting a ride, while I carried one of the smaller ones.....stroller was priceless! As time went by, we did rent strollers on some trips, hated spending the rental money, but I got over it.

I miss the autograph books, and waiting in line to see Mickey or Goofy, we no longer go to Toon Town, or do much in Fantasyland, although we do spend some time there.

My wife did not know she was pregnant on our trip in January 1995, but my youngest daughter who was born in July 1995 had been on Tower of Terror, Space mountain and all the rest while she was in the womb........that actually explains alot about her!

Enjoy every trip, as the kids grow, the trips change, but they are all priceless!

Take a picture with the whole family in the same place every trip.....we don't have them all, but we have many in front of the train station just outside Magic Kingdom.

Best Wishes,
Gary

 

[hakepb]

I really enjoyed appx 6 months. Old enough to notice and enjoy the surroundings, young enough to be happy carried or in a stroller (Once they start crawling/walking, they more want to experience the world on their terms and too much strollering can be difficuly) We drive and We always bought an upgraded umbrella stroller (~$25 on sale) with a reclining seat and basket beneath and get 1 or 2 trips out of it..

Take your time in the parks, you cannot go as fast, learn where the baby stations are in each park. keep afternoon nap times at the resort... If you want pictures, figure out the most agreable time (post nap, post eating or whenever, and do character meet and greets during that time. ) If you still want to do more adventerous rides, learn about the rider swap options... Be prepared for the child to most love something too simple, like the playgrounds (for slightly older ones)..

 

[iwrbnd]

We took a 6 month old once and he was a dream from the flight all through the trip. Now, taking a teenager? That's another story!

 

[vicki_c]

We took my son when he was just 2, and we flew. The only thing that was a pain was the car seat on the plane, getting it in the seat and locked in to the seatbelt. Getting on the plane is always so stressful anyway!

My daughter went for the first time when she was 2.5, along with her 4 year old brother! We drove that trip. In fact, we didn't fly again until they were 9 and 7 but that's more because we prefer to drive.

It's a great age to take kids -- they really really are into the magic and the characters (well my kids were). My kids have been many many times since then - they are 8 and 11 now and they definitely have the Disney bug.

 

[loveswdw]

DS6 went for the first time when he was still in the womb. DH and I still love to talk about how DS went absolutely crazy kicking Mommy's inside to the music of the American Adventure! But his first "actual" trip, he was 15 months. He was a champ! Couldn't have asked for a better trip.

DS2 was also in the womb his first trip--then he went again at 9 months old. He also was a trooper. And LOVED everything!

Both our boys now have multiple WDW trips under their belts and they both absolutely LOVE WDW and anything Disney. They both have always flown and do fantastic on the planes. DS2 is a little more work right now but for DS6, its old hat. He loves to fly. I personally can't fathom driving 16 hours in a car with 2 little ones. I couldn't stand to be in the car that long, I definitely don't think they'd handle it well.

We've always taken our own strollers but are considering renting one this trip from either Orlando Stroller Rentals or Magic Strollers. We have a Combi Soho that's been great through both kids but its pretty beat up and with DS2 already we don't want to have to "buy" another stroller. We'll see.

 

[Muhlenberg]

I just have to say congratulations! And continue planning!!! You're at the point where we were.

My DD25 and I planned a family trip for this coming August. She was in grad school and THEN...she announced there was a little bundle attending her graduation. And so...DD and Nana thought about it...and continued planning. DGD will be 6-1/2 months when we go. There will be 6 of us accompanying her on her first trip. We'll see how this goes.

 

[maryloubsw]

Obviously Disney is a place for children, but at what ages did all of you take your first child to Disney? There is a pretty good chance that DW and I are expecting. We have a trip planned for late this year as new DVC members and then....SURPRISE!!!

We are trying to figure out what to do. For those of you who took the little ones, how many of you flew? Did you rent strollers down there? What was your experience while you were there? We are obviously obsessed with Disney and we want our little one to enjoy it was well.

Any experiences would be appreciated...

I personally would never want to take a newborn, but I am new to Disney so I want to ride all the rides. That being said I saw a TON of mothers with their tiny newborns when we were there in February, so I think it's pretty usual to take little babies. Our "baby" was 20 mths when we went down. She walks but rode in the double stroller with our 4.5 yr old most of the time. All the newborns I saw were strapped to mommy's chest in a baby bjorn. I think it will be fine as long as you have someone to help you like a DH or mom or MIL, just another adult
EDIT: I forgot to say the plane ride was kinda torture with the 20 mth old, she squirmed and did not want to sit still and cried for the first hour. It would've been worse in the car so plane is definitley better IMO

 

[n2mm]

Been taking our grand children since they've been born. My Grandson's first trip was at 22 months old (before DVC--14 years ago). Stop counting the trips after 20. But as a teen he is no longer interested in going and told me last August he didn't want to come back again. Still trying to get him to go on our cruise with us in November this year! Actually last summer when my GS was 15, we took TWO of his 15 yo friends with us to keep him entertained. We stayed at the BCV in a 2 bedroom and all 3 were no problem at all.

Our first granddaughter's first trip was when she was 6 months old (4 1/2 years ago). At 5 years old she's been about 12 times now (2-3 trips a year)

Our second granddaughter's first trip was when she was 3 months old (she's 2 1/2 years old now) note to self -- this was too young for us especially since it was August and she was not a happy camper! She will be going with us next month and it will be her 6th visit to WDW (and she's not even 3 yet).

Both of the older grandkids are AP holders, and we still have at least one more under 3 trip to make with the younger one.

But there's another one who will take her first trip in Oct/Nov this year on the family cruise. She will be 18 months old. Her mom is not a Disney fan like my other daughter, so no real interest in going to WDW on a regular basis, so guessing she'll only come every other year.

BTW -- we always fly. It's only 2 hours from Dulles airport to WDW and no way would I ever consider taking a train or car to WDW. My back couldn't take it, my nerves couldn't take it and I don't think the little ones could take it either. I take a train to and from work every day (5 hours round trip 4 days a week) and even the idea of a train gives me cold chills. If we can't fly, we would not go. We are very lucky to have several airports an hour's drive from us and have been lucky to score great fares.

 

[kid-at-heart]

Our daughter had just turned four when we took her on our first trip. For us and her, it was the perfect age. She still believed every character was real and throughly enjoyed herself. Plus she was low maintainance, did not take naps, could handle several hours of touring, etc. We flew down and again, she handled the trip beautifully.

 

[BBG-BLT]

Wow - we took our first (twins) when they were 18 months but I think your question is more when should I take a baby.

Of our third and fourth children we took as babies, we found that before they can walk Disney is great. They stay in their stroller and you can pick them up, go on rides, have pictures taken and then back in the stroller they go. At this age bring your own stroller b/c the WDW strollers aren't that comfortable.

Once they can walk well... that's another story. The most stressful trips have been when our toddlers can walk (or run) but they don't listen. We were dealing with the older 3 this last trip and the almost 2 year old unbuckeled herself from her stroller and started to run (yes I mean run) down away from TSM. We caught her just before she turned a corner.

Anyway - we have found baby good between 18 months and 3 years difficult. Between 3-5 good but they have to get some rest and past that just pretty darn fun.

 

[oct2014]

Obviously under 2 months is not advised. We took DS at 4 months (drove/took own stroller with infant carrier attached). I had been really opposed to taking him so young, but it worked out well. You have to be willing to work around the baby's schedule though and don't assume that stroller naps will always do. We took him again at 16 months and found it best to either get that morning nap in the room, or head out early and get back to the room for lunch and the afternoon nap. To some this might seem like a waste of a trip, but we really enjoyed it. These trips were totally different for us. We got to focus just on being at Disney instead of trying to cram in everything!

Caroline

 

[nunzia]

We took our daughter at about 3 for the first time. Then we took a bunch of kids and grandkids last May with ages ranging from 18 months to 7 yo (see photo below) and they all had a blast. We heard the same thing about the littlest "she's too little, she won't remember"..but WE will remember and she will THINK she remembers when she looks at the vacation scrapbook I made her family. In January we are taking a son and his new family, and the wife only went once on a band thing and spent part of one day and the kids have never been..so whooo hoo..new eyes to see it all from. Their daughter will be 18 months and I just know how much she'll love all the sights. We typically take the train, and the kids enjoy it enough to not be a pain..my only problem was I didn't realize that the free tickets for under 2 meant they didn't get a seat, and our train was packed and that didn't work as well as it should...I bought a ticket for the 18 month old this time around.

 

[supersuperwendy]

We took our oldest when she was 17 months and it went well.

We have a trip coming up in May and we are not brining our new baby who is 4 months old. She is staying with her Grammy!

But...this November is her 1st birthday and we are taking her for that!

 

[Starr W.]

Our daughter had just turned four when we took her on our first trip. For us and her, it was the perfect age. She still believed every character was real and throughly enjoyed herself. Plus she was low maintainance, did not take naps, could handle several hours of touring, etc. We flew down and again, she handled the trip beautifully.

My youngest was 5 on his first trip. Past nap age and would have had a fit if I even suggested a stroller. Walked the parks no problem. Was just about a .5 inch shy of the height limits for the "big" rides, but 6 months later he was tall enough to ride Space Mountain and it's still his favorite ride at WDW.

Though his first comment about the characters was, "they're just people in suits" until he met one up close. He's almost 9 and he you should have seen the smile when Chip stopped to high five him during the AK parade.

 

[tjhsr]

First trip for our children they were 2 yrs old. Our 3 DGC made the first trip last Oct. all 3 were 8-9 months old then. There next trip is to VB next month.

 

[dsneygirl]

DS went at 3, 5, 10 and 14 months. He was a dream baby and he was free He was just along for the ride. At 3 months all he did was sleep. We even took him to the pool set him up in some shade and enjoyed the sun.

 

[medic318]

My dd was 21 months on her first trip and she loved it. She is 5 now and counting the minutes till we go again in October. DS will be 7 months then, so it should be interesting. McClaren makes a great umbrella stroller that reclines, has handled that extend, pockets, etc. that is great. Going to borrow it from my in-laws for the trip. My only concern was transportation. We don't rent a car, and there is going to be 7 of us going plus the baby, so we are going to be using buses to get around. We are staying at the THV which we are excited about, but the transportation isn't the most convenient.