How Young is too young?

[IndyDisney]

Hey all -

New to the site. I've been a DisneyHead since my first trip in '90 when I was 10. Now I have my own daughter and can't wait to share Disney with her. The issue is she just turned 1 on Friday. So as the thread title states - How young is too young?

If I had it my way, I would be going this summer, but DW thinks she's too young. I'm trying to push for a summer '09 visit, again, DW say's 2 is too young.

So any thoughts on this? I know this is one of those questions that a lot of people mull over, so I wanted to get some opinions.

Thanks,

Dave

 

[mousefan1972]

This is one of those "hot" topics that everyone has strong opinions on, so you will get lots of feedback. The best answer I can give you is that each family is different, and only you and your wife know what is best for yours.

For my family, we took our 2 kids on their first trip at 13 months and just turned 3 years. They will go for the 5th time next week, and are just 4 and 2 now. :lol: So obviously, it works for us. Others here have taken theirs as young as 10 days old. :lookaroun

The general advice with babies of any age is realize you will tour the parks slower, need more breaks, go according to the baby's schedule, etc. It definitely can be done. Good luck with convincing your wife.

 

[mouselvrmom]

I really think it's a personal decision on what you think is best. Our oldest went for the first time when she was 5. Our youngest, however went at 11 months.

I think they both have their good points. If you wait until your child is older, it will probably be easier for you. There is less that you would have to drag around. But if you bring them when they are younger, their reaction is priceless. My 11 month old LOVED the characters. She had the best time. We often say that she was the best behaved of our kids on that trip. (Probably because she couldn't speak to us :lol

It has also been nice seeing her grow up with disney. Since she met the characters so young, she has never developed that fear of them (except for the male face characters :shrug and she looks at disney as her second home.

Our other two kids we took at 2 and 3 years and they were both great at those times, too. So I guess it just comes down to what you all are looking to get out of the trip. I personally just feel that there is no place better to have family fun than disneyworld. And I totally think it is worth it to bring our kids young.

 

[Master Yoda]

My youngest was 10 days old on her first Disney trip so I am going to put the too young cut off age at 9 days old.

You are going to hear dozens of different answers to this question and none of them will be wrong. It is totally up to you and your wife to decide what age is the right age.

There is one thing however that is consistent enough to be considered fact. Your child will make the schedule not you. You can not do the parks in commando mode like you did before. You must take time out for naps, eating , breaks etc. If you don't there is a 99.9% chance that your child will have a meltdown and make you as well as anyone around you completely miserable.

 

[tigsmom]

Its really all up to you. I've seen what looked like newborns at the parks.
We took our oldest at 4 and our youngest around year and a half. The only reason we waited so long with the first was because of money (we didn't have much).
As long as you realize that your visit will be guided by the needs of your child - break times, meal times, the fact you may miss out on some of your favorite attractions this time - you will be fine. To me, as a parent who has been thru this, there is nothing more exciting than seeing the look on your child's face when they visit the World for the first time. Yes I know people will say why bother, they won't remember it, but you are making family memories and I can say from experience that those photo albums will get plenty of use. :lol:

and they are free :lookaroun

 

[happymom52003]

You will find people will have very strong opinions on this in both directions.
Our DD had just turned one on her first trip, and we had an amazing expereince....we thought it was so great that we booked another trip as soon as we got home, and she has now been four times with her 5th trip coming up, and she just turned three.

You have to go into with the right attitude and expectations.
Keep her on schedule, and have plenty of down time. Make sure not to over do it.
Chances are she will do fine on the rides and with the characters, but there is always a chance they will scare her. So be prepared for that so you do not get frustrated.

There is soooo much a child that age can do. She can go on the majority of the rides.....anything that does not have a height restriction.
Alot of people will argue that you should not take kids that young because they will not remember it.
That arguement just does not hold up in my opinion...if that were the case, then why do anything with a toddler? Why take them to a zoo, or a park, or a childrens museum? When you think of it from that perspective, it makes that arguement sound silly.

The only exception I can see would be for people who will only be able to take their kids to Disney once due to financial reasons. In that case, it would make sense to wait until they are older.

If you want to go, then I say go.
We too had plans to wait until our kids were older, but we just could not wait any longer! And we have no regrets.

 

[MattyFresh]

My first trip was when I was 3. I know my parents got alot of excitement and joy from the trip. But there isn't much that I can recall from the trip. There are little bits and pieces, but most of it I think I have put together from stories they have told me.

So I guess the question becomes, do you want your child to be able to have their own memories of the trip??

 

[DisneyJoe]

My oldest son's first visit was when he was 6, almost 7.

My youngest was in-utero for his first trip, and then he was at WDW again when he was 1, 3 and then 5, and will be going again in a few days at age 5 1/2.

He enjoyed age 1, but only the face characters, any with masks he hated. We carried him onto many rides, he slept a lot too.

At age 3, he ONLY liked the princesses, and enjoyed a lot more rides.

Ages 1 and 3 he was in a stroller the majority of the time.

At age 5 - AUTOGRAPH and photo TIME!!! Loved all characters, many more rides! No stroller. Enjoyed the different hotel theming too.

It depends on you and your family, its best to let them set the pace when they are younger.

 

[JustPlainBill]

I agree with the previous posts...There is no real "perfect" age, unless you word it to mean perfect age for your family. We waited until our girls were 7 & 9. We certainly could have gone sooner and it probably would have been fine. Our youngest was having a lot of emotional issues, acting out and such that we wanted to wait until she was more mature. Our oldest could have gone at two and it would have been good. I can make a pro-arguement for any age really.

 

[DisneyJoe]

So I guess the question becomes, do you want your child to be able to have their own memories of the trip??

I disagree. Even though the child may not have strong memories of a trip, they are having a family EXPERIENCE - and all learn from the experience, good and bad.

 

[MattyFresh]

I don't disagree with the family experience. All I was saying, from my own personal experience was that I would like to be able to remember more of the trip then I do.

Trust me I wouldn't have traded it for the world, I mean its a part of who I am now. And something that I hold very special since my parents are now divorced.

 

[IndyDisney]

Thanks for the quick responses everyone. I'm really excited to get to see her reaction to WDW. For me, the sooner the better, but I can understand why people wait. I guess we'll see what happens. Thanks again for all the anecdotes.

Cheers,
Dave

 

[Iknewagirlnamed]

I personally think that anyone younger than 10 is too young because they probably won't remember it and they also won't be able to go on everything. I think 10 is a good age to start because they can remember and go on all of the attractions. However- why wait 10 years? If you want to go- go. Just that your child back when they're older

 

[Cole'sMom]

We took Cole on his first trip at 10 weeks-he will be taking his fourth trip in September. It was fun! I enjoyed every minute of it. He noticed things, loved Pooh-still does to this day. I feel he was getting good experience on a plane, in crowds, restaurants, etc. I can take him anywhere now! I tjust depends on your own feelings, your child, how long you want to stay away from WDW. It is a lot of work, but well worth it. You will need to take breaks, rest, go at your childs own pace, but you experience things through their eyes so it has so much more meaning! Good luck with your decision!

 

[DisneyJoe]

I personally think that anyone younger than 10 is too young because they probably won't remember it and they also won't be able to go on everything.

Just be careful, I know some 10 year olds that won't want to go on everything, they would consider themselves too grown up for the little kiddie rides.....:wave:

 

[progroupie]

I personally think that anyone younger than 10 is too young because they probably won't remember it and they also won't be able to go on everything. I think 10 is a good age to start because they can remember and go on all of the attractions. However- why wait 10 years? If you want to go- go. Just that your child back when they're older

Wow, do you honestly not remember anything that happened to you before you turned ten?

 

[tigsmom]

Just be careful, I know some 10 year olds that won't want to go on everything, they would consider themselves too grown up for the little kiddie rides.....:wave:

I don't even want to go on everything (never have) and I'm ...well...old enough to know better. :lookaroun

:lol:

 

[Glasgow]

I'll keep this short and sweet. We took our 15 month old last Sept. and had a great time! She loved the characters, went on every single ride (w/o a height reqt of course) and we got LOTS of awesome pictures. The only difficult times were during bus rides and meal times, when you are basically sedentary and nothing exciting is going on.

It all comes down to your child and what they like. Good luck!

 

[MouseMadness]

Hey all -

New to the site. I've been a DisneyHead since my first trip in '90 when I was 10. Now I have my own daughter and can't wait to share Disney with her. The issue is she just turned 1 on Friday. So as the thread title states - How young is too young?

If I had it my way, I would be going this summer, but DW thinks she's too young. I'm trying to push for a summer '09 visit, again, DW say's 2 is too young.

So any thoughts on this? I know this is one of those questions that a lot of people mull over, so I wanted to get some opinions.

Thanks,

Dave

Hello, Dave, who likes to open cans of worms :wave: :lol: :lookaroun

Youngest we took was 6 months, and we had a blast. I think I had a better time with them those trips when they were "too young" than I do now! Less whining then :lookaroun And their potty breaks were a wee bit less intrusive in my schedule :lookaroun

I don't go "for the kids" I just happen to really enjoy having my kids around, and my kids happen to enjoy WDW too! :sohappy: It all works out. :lol:

If you guys decide to go, I think it's pretty obvious that you just have to take it easy and let your daughter keep to something similar to her usual schedule, and keep her cool.

Good luck! :wave:

 

[Hakunamatata]

There is so much about WDW that does not involve rides that as soon as the child is old enough to leave the hospital to go home, they are old enough to go to WDW!