Youngest Age For First Disney Trip?

[Coconuts]

Can anyone out there tell me the youngest age you would take a kid to WDW and have them(and parents) truly enjoy the experience? We are expecting #3 this week and even though our last trip was 4 months ago, me and the kids constantly talk about when we could get back. I would rather not have to take diapers or formula, but have never been there with an infant and I'm wondering how bad it really is. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[MSSANDRA]

The rule in our family is 6 mo old and we say that because we really think health wise that is smart. That being said, we plan to take our DGB for his first trip the week before he turns 3.

 

[nessz79]

Personally I'd wait until they were 6-9 months, but it really depends on the baby. Both of my boys would have been very difficult to take pre-walking. They both would have wanted to be down on the ground or being held the whole time.

We went for the first time when our youngest was 1.5 and our oldest was 3. It was fun, but beware the summer heat! It made our 1.5 year old sick (and we live in FL and left before 1 each day).

 

[Miz Diz]

both my kids had their first trip at 7 months.

 

[OU1247]

Ours will be 9 and 13. No disrespect but I can not even begin to imagine taking a kid under the age of 6. It's a lot of money for something they won't remember.
Plus they are to small to do a lot.

I am so excited for our trip and glad we waited. Don't think I am trashing bringing small kids it just wasn't what DH and I would want to do. To each their own.

 

[zickig]

Aug will be our first trip with three of our kids....age 5y/o, 2y/o, 18mos old. My 2y/o is the most excited of all of them! She tells everyone that she is going to "see Mickey" I don't mind taking them places that "they won't even remember" because we plan to go back again and again and they will remember those trips.

 

[dougsmom98]

Our favorite age to take the kids is between two and three, but we took our DD on her first trip when she was 8 months. We have older kids too and have decided that it is not fair to anyone to wait around for DD to grow up before we do things. She is so flexible. If the boys have something for school or sports, I grab a few diapers and a snack and we are out the door. If we are going on vacation, she comes. So far it has worked for all of us and we have no regrets. Remember that two years and younger get into the parks for free.

 

[t-beri]

My daughter was 3 months old on our first trip. Of course I would never take a 3 month old for their own sake, but our son is 7 years older than her and we didn't feel he should miss out and didn't want to leave her behind for 4 days and couldn't because she was nursing. We had a wonderful time. Of course we were WDW veterans and knew which rides were slow and dark enough for me to nurse her through (ie the haunted mansion) We had to make few concessions during the trip b/c of her. The baby swap makes it easy for everyone to get to go on the rides and there are baby changing tables in all the restrooms as well as a nursing station in each park (if you find it convenient to go to- most of the time I did not, but I'm not squeemish about nursing on a park bench w/ a recieving blanket over us, I did use the one in Epcot and it was quite nice. Prior to her birth we made MNSSHP a family tradition and have returned at least that one time every year since with a few additional trips thrown in and we have not had issues at any age. Of course you have to be patient and take your cues from the baby. But it was not a problem for us.

 

[MinnieGi]

DS was 5 months on his first trip. DD was 4yo at the time. He has been back five other times since then and he is now 3. Let me tell you at 5 months old he was a BREEZE!!!!! Really even with stopping to nurse and change diapers it was an easy trip to take him on. We either carried him in the BAby Bjorn or pushed him in the stroller and he loved to look at everything!!! If he needed to nap, he just dozed off. At that time he was not eating solids yet, so I didn't need any extra baby food. All Disney parks have fantastic Baby Care Centers with rooms for nursing, lounges for families to take a break, room with big changing tables plus baby supplies in case you run out of something. Also almost all the restrooms men and women have changing tables. He went on lots of rides with us and saw lots of shows and parades. It was WAY easier with him then compared to his toddler years when he was of his own independent mind and had his own plan!!!! LOL!!! Really I would not hesitate at all to take an infant.

 

[teresajoy]

Can anyone out there tell me the youngest age you would take a kid to WDW and have them(and parents) truly enjoy the experience? We are expecting #3 this week and even though our last trip was 4 months ago, me and the kids constantly talk about when we could get back. I would rather not have to take diapers or formula, but have never been there with an infant and I'm wondering how bad it really is. Thanks for the feedback.

On their respective first trips to Disney, our son, Corey was 4, Arminda turned 1, and Lydia was 4 months. I only regret waiting SO long to take Corey. Seriously, we all enjoyed every single age of child we have ever taken! We have wonderful pictures of Lydia at 4 months interacting and laughing with the characters, and Arminda at 1 year doing the same. Of course at 4 years, Corey loved it all too!!! It is just so much fun to watch your children no matter what their age!!!!

I though Lydia at 4 months was probably the easiest to take though. She sat in the stroller, didn't need to run to the potty, and since I nursed, we didn't have to bring her any food. It was great!


HI T!!!!!!

 

[Wendy*Darling]

My oldest was 2 on his first trip. My middle son was 10 months. My youngest was 3.5 months on his first and turned 1 on his second trip. I actually loved taking them as babies. They are much easier to take as young babies than they are once they start walking. We have numerous pics of the back of DS #3's head in his stroller from the trips when he was 12 and 18 months. He spent much of the trip trying to twist out of the straps to get out of the stroller and walk. LOL We went again just for a day when he was 21 months (went to a wedding just outside of Orlando so we decide to take a day trip before heading home) and he was much better in the stroller then. No idea if it was a difference of 3 months in age or if he just figured out we weren't going to give in and allow him to run willy nilly through the MK by himself!

 

[blessedby3]

Ours will be 9 and 13. No disrespect but I can not even begin to imagine taking a kid under the age of 6. It's a lot of money for something they won't remember.
Plus they are to small to do a lot.

I am so excited for our trip and glad we waited. Don't think I am trashing bringing small kids it just wasn't what DH and I would want to do. To each their own.

That is not a valid point when you have older kids like the OP and the baby is the second or later baby. Who would want to wait unitl all the kids were older than 6 to take? My oldest is 18 and my youngest is 6 months. If I had waited for my yongest to go at 6 my others would be VERY old. We just took our latest trip this past Jan. and our baby was 3 1/2 mos old. It was quite honestly very easy. I find from experience that the babies are the easiest. Once they can walk it is a different story. They dont want to sit in strollers as long and the tantrums/fits from overtiredness start. It still doesnt hinder us from going of course, but it is a new set of things to deal with. The diapers and formula werent a bother at all on our trip. We just packed a diaper bag with about 8 diapers, wipes, a change of clothes, a bottle and some powdered formula. Threw in a couple of extra water bottles and we were good to go. DD was nursing mostly at the time and we took advantage of the baby stations when we were nearby. They have everything you could need if you forgot something too. They carry formula, but only Carnation so bring your own if your baby takes something else. As far as rides our DD rode tons of stuff at the MK. We had her in the Bjorn a lot and we just took her on the rides while she was in it. She also went on rides and shows at the other parks and if we were doing an adult ride we just baby swapped. Worked out really well for the other kids as they got to ride it twice. Once with mom and once with dad. At 3 1/2 mos. I didnt think that our baby would enjoy Disney that much, but I was amazed at how much she seemed to take in. Especially the shows like Nemo, Lion King, Bear Jamboree, etc. She watched them intently and really enjoyed all the visual things Disney has to offer. I would not hesitate to take a baby again and of course we will. Hoping to be able to plan another trip really soon!!!!!

 

[MNMickeyWorldMom]

ITA. Babies are the easiest age. My youngest DS was 3 months on his first trip. I didn't ever have to worry about where he was, because he was always in either the Baby Bjorn or the stroller. He enjoyed seeing all the sights too. On his second trip at 15 months, he was constantly trying to get out of the stroller and wanted to wander all over the place. I was really glad grandma was there to tail him all day. Bottom line, if you know you'll be back some day, then you're never too young (or too old) for Disney.

 

[teresajoy]

I also wanted to add, sort of in response to the poster who commented on the cost of going when the little one won't remember it. Kids under 3 are free, so there is no extra cost to bring them (unless you fly and buy a ticket) and your older kids will remember.

 

[Tinkermommy]

We took my DS when he was 7 weeks old. It was very easy since I breastfed. He just slept, and when he woke up I fed and changed him.

He's also gone back at 7 months and 14 months and it gets a little more difficult in my opinion once they are mobile and want to be down/not sit in the stroller, etc.

I would really take the weather into consideration. We do not go in summer. I think either spring of fall would be best.

It's definitely a slower pace with a baby, but we have loved every trip with him. We just take it easy and take lots of pictures!

 

[t-beri]

I agree that w/ an infant the biggest consideration is the weather. I would go in the early spring or fall.

...t.

 

[Dallas_Lady]

I'd probably say 6-9 months old also. I would like the baby to be old enough to sleep through the night, sit up in a stroller, have a fairly predictable nap schedule and not need to be held all the time. We took our 12 month old and it was great! When they are little, weather is a big consideration.

There are a lot of things that you do with little ones that they won't remember. Trips to the park, first birthday parties, the zoo, etc. I don't think the fact that they won't remember is even an issue. I am not going to sit in the house not doing anything waiting for my kids to get to that magical age of memory.

We mailed down a box of supplies that included diapers. A baby in diapers is probably easier than a toddler that just learned to use the potty. There are no "mommy, I need to go potty" interruptions that always seem to happen at the worst time. When a baby in diapers has to poop, they just do it!

 

[DisneyPhD]

Both of my girls went for their 1st trip when they where babies. My oldest was 8 months old, my youngest went at 7 months and again at 9 months old. They were super easy at that age.

My oldest will be 7 next week, in May it will be her 13th trip.
My youngest is 3, she May will be trip number 7 for her.

They both were much easier as babies then toddlers. We tended to do babies and then take a little time off after they started walking but before they were 2 years old.

Both girls were breast feed, so we never worried about bottles, it is much easier.

The room the diapers took up in the luggage was room for more Disney stuff to come home with us.

I agree that time of year (crowds and weather) are more important then actual age. Making sure it isn't too hot or busy can make for a more more pleasant experience for everyone.

 

[Coconuts]

Thanks for all the helpful input. I was resolute about not going until the new baby was at least 2, but now am seriously considering talking DH into an earlier trip. And yes, I would never go in hot weather. Our entire family sweats when it hits 70 and we could never take WDW in summer. Thanks again.

 

[disneymomof2boyz]

My sons are now 2 and 3. But we took the youngest for the first time when he was 15 months old. We thought that he wouldn't appreciate it and wouldn't have fun, but boy was I wrong!! He had soo much fun!! He was able to ride A LOT of rides at the MK; Dumbo, Peter Pan, Small World, and POTC. He loved it, and we're so happy that we went then b/c we were really unsure and thought it might be too hard w/ him being so small, but he did enjoy it, He wasn't an infant, but I'm sure it'll still be fun w/ a baby. Just remember to try to go in the cooler months, b/c WDW is VERY hot in the summer months.
Good Luck.