What's the best age to bring an infant to Disney?

[LuvOrlando]

I'm with you. I am not going to Disney only for my kids sake, I'm going cause I love it too! I'm perfectly happy taking a trip for my own benefit, I deserve it.

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[ExpeditionEmily]

We're new first time parents as well! We have our daughter's first trip booked for late June, and she'll be turning 10 months on the trip. She is already super social, nosey, and interested in all things people and music, so we're hoping for positive results but also prepared that our FOMO girl might fight us pretty hard on napping with all the fun going on.

 

[Rory607]

There is no right or wrong answer. We took our oldest to Disneyland at not quite 2 because we were already in the area for something else. We had the absolute best time! She could walk or ride in the stroller and loved the characters. She was a very easy going toddler and baby in general.

We took our second for his first birthday. I convinced my husband we needed to take our first family trip to WDW and celebrate his first birthday there. He was/is not an easy going kid We had to set reasonable expectations with a preschooler and baby. The baby didn’t sleep, but we weren’t sleeping at home anyway, so why not just be tired at Disney instead, lol?

The memories of that trip are some of my favorite, a decade later. He got his first haircut at the Harmony barbershop and we had a birthday cake at Crystal Palace. He obviously remembers nothing, but the rest of us do and it was magical!

 

[bp2412]

We've taken our 2 1/2 year old son now on 3 trips and we always agree that the easiest trip with him so far was his first when he was 9 months old. He was still taking two naps a day and took them right in the stroller so if we were at the park we would switch off doing adults rides and on our pool days we were lucky enough to always get an umbrella spot and parked him under there. Just had a stroller fan on him and a shade cover that clipped onto the stroller and he was good back then for 1.5 hours. No opinions and wasn't moving around yet so that was helpful compared to the last 2 trips. Did Topolino's for breakfast one of the mornings with the characters and we got some of the best photos and videos so I would definitely recommend a character meal. As previously mentioned, still plenty of rides for the little ones. My wife loves to keep track and mention it on her post vacation instagram post, and I remember that first trip he was able to do 19 different rides between the 4 parks. Whenever you go, you're gonna have a blast!

 

[BlueGreen5]

I am someone who has taken kids at almost every age - from infants who cannot walk to young adults. We've fed bottles in the parks. We've dealt with toddler meltdowns. We've lost kids who were probably a little too young to be lost for a few minutes. We've experienced the "too cool" years. My advice is to take them at any age and repeat as many times as you can. There's no bad age, no perfect age. There are different memorable moments at all of them. I miss the days where we could just sit down next to the stroller and have a cocktail without complaint. I miss the days where the resort splash pad was the adventure of the trip. I miss the days when the magic was REAL. I miss the days when the fight was over which parent they COULD sit with, instead of who HAD to sit with us.

The key is to just be realistic about what you are signing up for at each stage of life. Trust me, you won't be sitting on your death bed saying to yourself "man, I wish we hadn't taken our ___ age child to Disney World in 202__."

 

[ccahpp25]

I've taken my son at 1, 3, 5, and on our trip this year he will have *just* turned 8 (we go every other year, but all previous trips were summer trips before his July birthday, this year will be our first fall/Halloween trip!) He has autism and ADHD and Disney is by far our favorite place to travel, they're so incredible with accomodations for kiddos with special needs. I was a single mom until he was four, so our 2019 (1 year) and 2021 (3 year) trips were solo me with him, then our 2023 (5 year) trip was him and I, plus my wife. All kids are different, but I have yet to take him at a "bad age," and watching him grow up through our Disney trips has been so fun because he's super into something different at every stage. I think that's also the best part for people who like to go to Disney multiple times, with growing kids and changing interests, you get a completely different trip every year.

We have always, and will still this year, rent a comfy stroller with a large sunshade from an outside company, not the hard plastic Disney ones. I also still wear him in a back carrier on occasion, which he naps well in (he has atonia and he's in the 12% for growth, so we're not talking average 8 year old, we're talking 44 lb 8 year old). We rope drop the parks, and if we're doing breakfast reservations, I go for the pre-open times so we get in even earlier. We do a mid-day break at the resort, nap, snack, clean clothes if we've gotten gross and sweaty, then head back to the parks, usually until close. I always pay for memory maker, even though it's not just him and I anymore, because those pictures of all of us together that I couldn't get myself are SO worth the cost. The most important thing is to be realistic with your expectations. You probably won't be speed running the parks. You may end up with a toddler who wants to ride Pooh 13 times in a row and will refuse to do anything else. You likely won't be able to do open to close with no breaks, because even if they can nap in a stroller at home, this is way more people, way more noise, and way more activity than they've likely ever experienced in their little lives. But you will know your kids habits and needs best, so really just play it by ear with them.

 

[eliseisawkward]

We waited until our daughter stopped napping. She’s a little over 3 years old and we go in 2 weeks. Personally taking a baby who naps more than 1x a day feels like a hassle to me, and 2-2.5 was tantrum/meltdown city for us. LO stopped having daily tantrums shortly before turning 3, so hoping for smooth sailing for our trip.

 

[Mouse Tracker]

I think "how do you plan to parent" should factor in.
Being it's your first, maybe be parents for a bit and then decide. Factor in your new lifestyle, expectations, and the being away from home adjustments.

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

When we had our first, we took him at lots of ages. Before he was mobile was the easiest! We went around 5 months. He was looking around and showing interest in things by then. Loved the big headed characters. Slept in the stroller while we ate meals. We took it easy, and were back at the hotel early each night. We have wonderful memories (and pictures) from that trip even though he obviously remembers nothing.

Once he could walk, it was way harder! Not only did he want out of the stroller, he had serious opinions about where to go. Got easier again around age 2.5-3. But then we had kid #2 and all bets were off!

 

[Brob2132]

Agree with a lot of things posted in here for different reasons.

We took my middle daughter at 18 months and the HARDEST thing was the waiting in line. She just didn’t have a concept of waiting to get on something. She melted down multiple times and everyone stared (I didn’t care at all but my wife was mortified).

She’s also a wild child that runs around and is energetic. We have friends that their kids are reserved and followed directions easily at that age. You get the kid you get , and can’t give them back! We’re going back just before she’s three this spring, and I can’t describe how big of a difference it will be based upon development.

But in reality it was one of the best memories of my life and I still watch the character interaction videos. I wanted so badly to take my first and we never got the opportunity. Cherish it!

 

[OlliePop27]

We've taken kids at 1, 2.5, 3.5, and 5. We always prioritized an afternoon nap and break from the parks at the hotel. Our kids never napped well in strollers, and the break is good for all. There's pros and cons about all ages, but each visit has been amazing and memorable. When we've gone with two, one parent stays with the younger child while another goes on a ride, and there's a lot to do all together of course. Some of my best memories are playing with my daughter while my wife went on a ride with my son.

I love WDW and will be there soon with a 6 and 2 year old. I will suggest, however, to think about Disneyland with super young kids. It's so easy there with everything being so close together, lots of hotels walking distance, and the weather tends to be a bit better.

 

[BlueGreen5]

We've taken kids at 1, 2.5, 3.5, and 5. We always prioritized an afternoon nap and break from the parks at the hotel. Our kids never napped well in strollers, and the break is good for all. There's pros and cons about all ages, but each visit has been amazing and memorable. When we've gone with two, one parent stays with the younger child while another goes on a ride, and there's a lot to do all together of course. Some of my best memories are playing with my daughter while my wife went on a ride with my son.

I love WDW and will be there soon with a 6 and 2 year old. I will suggest, however, to think about Disneyland with super young kids. It's so easy there with everything being so close together, lots of hotels walking distance, and the weather tends to be a bit better.

IMO, you absolutely cannot beat VGF for those ages! The pool layout, the beach, the monorail, the boat, the fireworks view from the resort, it's all so nice for families with young ones.

 

[westie55]

Mom of 3 here. I've taken my kids at every age from 3 months on up. Infants and toddlers won't remember the trip, but you will. Therefore the best age is when you feel comfortable taking them and are excited to do so. I've never had a trip at any age that I didn't enjoy, but I'm a huge Disney fan. I know a lot of people that think going to Disney with a baby or toddler sounds like torture. Remember that your baby or toddler will continue to behave like a baby or toddler wherever you go. IMO, might as well be in Disney! Some kids do go through a phase of being afraid of characters. I would say this peaks from 1-2 years and then starts getting better slowly. If character photos are really important to you, you may want to consider going before 1yo just in case they are afraid after that.

 

[ak517]

Everyone has already said it, but pre-walking is by far the easiest stage to bring a kiddo to Disney! We brought our to WDW son when he was four months old and I breastfed him and we traded off baby wearing and pushing him in the stroller. Then I brought him on a mama-baby trip truly the week before he started walking and it was great timing as he didn't give me any huge issues. During that trip, I used the stroller and still baby wore him in the ride lines. A few weeks later we brought him to Disneyland Paris and we used a Tushbaby instead of a carrier and it was absolutely perfect because he just wanted to be up and down all day. We're going to WDW next month during runDisney when he will be 20 months and I am extremely nervous that he's going to be a PITA about walking when it will be jam-packed, so we might bring the carrier to signal he's fully restrained (he's in the 50th percentile so we still have this luxury).

Honestly, every age has its challenges with respect to feeding, sleeping, changing, etc. You roll with the punches and figure it out! Highly recommend utilizing the baby care center for any sort of break, especially at Animal Kingdom, and especially if it's hot!

 

[cheryllarsen]

At any stage if they do strollers well! If not, than it's easier before they fuss about the stroller or if you don't plan on doing much and can let them out to wander.

 

[wendlle]

I took my babies for their first visits when they were 19 months old and 10 months old.

Honestly they both LOVED it, the photos we have are amazing and priceless and we had the best trips ever on those two visits.
They are now 9 and 6 and love our trips but they aren't the same. The baby phase was the best trips we ever did with them.

 

[CayBoo]

We took our son for his first trip around 16 months. He did amazingly the entire time, but wasn't too sure on the character meet & greets. We took him on his second trip just before his second birthday, and that was probably the most magical trip I've been on in a long while. He was so excited to see the characters, and had a better grasp on what was happening in the rides. I'll be taking him one more time next month before he turns three and before his younger brother is born (I'll be 30 weeks pregnant while there, Lord help me haha.) and now he's constantly talking about getting to see Mickey and ride on Pirates again which was his favorite from our last trip.
All this to say, Disney with littles is totally doable! Just keep in mind that you'll have to go at a slower pace, and naps will definitely be needed, but soak up those special memories. Just be aware that you may be creating a future "Disney Adult". My parents first took me at 4 months old, and I've been hooked ever since haha.

 

[Tink_83]

Thanks all, we definitely aren't going once. It sounds like maybe the 6 month mark is ideal, followed by the 2-3 year age range (maybe right before they turn 3 for Guest of Mickey reasons?).

I'm specifically planning my trip this year before my youngest turns 3 just because of the ticket cost factor (and we are going this year regardless since we haven't been in three years and I wanted to take my older children back). My kids have always napped in strollers though so that hasn't been an issue for me.