What age for a daughter's first WDW trip?

[DisneyDaver]

My first child (daughter) was born last week and I can't wait to share my love of WDW with her! What is the earliest age people would recommend for a girl to enjoy a trip to WDW? My wife (who's attitude toward WDW is pretty indifferent) thinks no earlier than age 4. I'd like to take our little girl earlier, but only if she would enjoy it.

I'd appreciate any thoughts or input from your experiences with your kids.

 

[ItlngrlBella]

First of all congrats on your new little angel! I know what how you feel - I was the same was and my hubs was indifferent but we held out a little...I'm glad we did.

Both our girls went at 3 (literally days before they turned four). Our eldest only remembers a couple of random things and our youngest (now 5) remembers nothing. It was fun to watch their eyes light up when they met the characters and the first time we took each of them were my favorite trips out of the several other times I've been (2x as a kid, 1x in high school, 2x college, 1x engaged, 1x pregnant). I'd recommend going when she recognizes and has interest in the characters. Both our girls watched tons of Playhouse Disney so that was fun watching them relate/know those characters.

 

[aw14]

Congratulations!

Our daughter was a few months passed her 3rd birthday. Amazingly at 12 now, she still remembers quite a bit from that trip in 2006

 

[englanddg]

I wouldn't take a kiddo until she was potty trained and at least a bit past the "toddling" phase. Age 3 sounds reasonable. Not sure I'd wanted to have taken my kiddo much younger than that (unless I was a local with an AP and could go for day outings).

But, I think 4 - 5 is around the right age myself. More so that more rides are options for the kid due to height than much else.

That said, any trip to Disney is a good trip!

 

[disneydad1000]

Everyone has a different opinion on this subject,but we took our daughter when she was 2..of course she doesnt remember,but we have tons of pictures and videos from that trip.That being said,our son was born in may of 2012 and his first trip to Disney was Aug of 2012..this will be his 4th trip to Disney this summer and our daughter's 7th..100% no regrets.I know it doesnt work for everyone but we have always had a great time..a baby will always have cranky days whether you are home or in Disney.Our feeling is a child is never to young for Disney.We also drive every year from upstate New York..but thats a whole different topic..lol.As long you are a Disney fanatic like we are I don't any down side.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Y'all are soft! We took our daughter at six months and we had an absolute blast (as did she). Sure, she had a blowout poop in the middle of Boma and threw a fit as soon as we sat down at Be Our Guest, but it was absolutely amazing nonetheless.

In all seriousness, it depends on how often you plan to visit. We'll be back every year, so we didn't lose anything by bringing her so young. If you're in a situation where you'll have to choose between bringing her as a baby OR brining her at 4 or 5, wait for 4 or 5.

 

[RedDad]

We took our youngest at 14 months, and she's been every year since. My personal threshold would be once they are walking and able to interact with the characters, etc. I don't think I would want to take a small infant, but plenty of people do it. Taking a kid under 2 brings a whole different set of factors into play - you can't just go all out all day long, but have to work around the little one's schedule to some extent. Obviously every kid is different, but it's best to plan for daily down time, and you really have to plan and be prepared in the parks.

I know people like to say "wait until they will remember it", but I've never bought that logic. We don't just go to the parks for our kids to have fun. WE enjoy the parks, and in particular, we enjoy watching our kids have fun and making memories with them. No, she doesn't remember that first trip, but we sure do. Also - how can you not take advantage of FREE park admission at least once? We took ours 3 times for "free".

I was also surprised by just how much my little one remembered from her trips even at age 2 and 3. She's 5 now, and loves that place more than anywhere else on earth!

 

[SAV]

We took our daughter for her first trip when she was 2. I'm not sure how much she actually remembers herself, We always look back on that trip with great memories ourselves. From the first time when she was on the parking lot tram and didn't want to get off of it because she loved the "choo-choo ride"(and had no clue what was to come), to the attempted child swap at Dumbo when she didn't want to get off of it and was sooooo mad about it(until she realized she was going back on), to the joy in her eyes watching the parade, running up and meeting the characters and princesses. I wouldn't have traded that for anything.

So basically, while the trip isn't completely in her memories, it will always be one of the best in ours.

 

[Weather_Lady]

It all depends! (I know, helpful, right?)

We don't have the money to go to WDW more than once every 2-3 years, and we like to travel as light as possible and make the most of our few vacations. Therefore, we made the choice not to take our kids to WDW until both of them were: (1) potty-trained; (2) able to walk intermittently for 4-5 hours at a time (e.g., at local festivals and short weekend camping/hiking/museum vacations) without needing a stroller; (3) sleeping well through the night; and (4) old enough to understand what WDW was so they could share our anticipation, meaningfully participate in some of the trip planning, and remember some of the trip afterwards. As it happened, all of those things fell into place not long after our youngest turned 4, so that's when we went. We had a ball (and so did the kids), without the encumbrance of having to take a stroller or diaper bag or special food/snacks, and without having to forgo more than a handful of attractions due to height limits.

That being said, as the comments above reflect, a lot of parents would (and do) gladly take on the limitations of traveling with a younger child, and have a wonderful time at Disney World. Your little one can find things to enjoy (or at least to sleep through) at any age -- the real question is whether you would like to take her to WDW as a baby/toddler, even if it means a little excess baggage and a slower, more flexible touring schedule. As I said, it just depends.

 

[MickeyMomV]

Everyone has a different opinion on this subject,but we took our daughter when she was 2..of course she doesnt remember,but we have tons of pictures and videos from that trip.That being said,our son was born in may of 2012 and his first trip to Disney was Aug of 2012..this will be his 4th trip to Disney this summer and our daughter's 7th..100% no regrets.I know it doesnt work for everyone but we have always had a great time..a baby will always have cranky days whether you are home or in Disney.Our feeling is a child is never to young for Disney.We also drive every year from upstate New York..but thats a whole different topic..lol.As long you are a Disney fanatic like we are I don't any down side.

We took our son when he was 2 and we had a great time. Just remember that with kids that young you are really taking the child for your benefit and your memories when they are that young because in all reality the child will really not remember anything. For us it was priceless as we went with grandpa and he passed away when my son was 7 so we have memories and pictures that we would never be able to get again.

Another plus to kids being under 3 is that they are free!! No park ticket or meal plan required.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

We took our son when he was 2 and we had a great time. Just remember that with kids that young you are really taking the child for your benefit and your memories when they are that young because in all reality the child will really not remember anything.

Who cares if they remember it? They can still have fun without remembering it. I wholeheartedly disagree that a trip with a little one is exclusively for mom and dad's enjoyment. Like I said, our six-month old LOVED the rides. Like, laughing hysterically. She wasn't just a bystander for mom and dad's fun.

 

[Seanual757]

Our 3rd daughters 1st trip to Disney was when she was 3 months old, we took our 1st daughter on her 1st trip to a car show when she was 4 weeks old.

 

[Tom 55]

From my experience with the grandkids I would say 4 year old. With the height restriction on some of the rides by 4 they are tall enough for just about everything. I remember how upset the grandson got when he could not go on Star Tours, Test Track and Soarin when we were there when he was 3.

 

[popcenturylover]

We took our oldest kids as teens and our youngest was 8 months old. It was a great trip even though we had extra stuff to bring! She got to ride alot & she slept in her stroller. We did go at a slower pace than we do now but, all in all we had alot of fun.

 

[awheartsdw]

Congratulations!

Our daughter was a few months passed her 3rd birthday. Amazingly at 12 now, she still remembers quite a bit from that trip in 2006

@DisneyDaver...I'm the other half to @aw14's post...I echo his sentiment. Congrats on your new little girl! There is nothing more precious than seeing your daughter's face as she sees the castle for the first time as you head down Main Street. It's one of those memories that will forever be etched in my brain, to see the absolute delight on her face at such an innocent age of 3, where she still believes in magic and princesses and fairy tale castles, I could relive that moment over and over again and never tire of it.

I say 3 is the prime age, she can experience some rides at that time and do some of the smaller scale things, like the fascination of riding the monorail or having your face painted or staying up late to watch the parade.

It goes by so quickly, so no matter what age you take her, savor every moment, we still do even in the 5 or so times we've visited since her first trip.

 

[Much-Pixie-Dust]

Congratulations!

Honestly, it depends on personal preference. My kiddo was 4 and we loved it because she could walk, and we did not have to pack all the stuff that a baby or toddler requires. Plus she was sick a lot a baby and toddler, so I did not take her into big crowds because of that.

I think every age can be magical and great memories can be made. Just get your wife on board. Trips are always more fun when everybody is on the same page.

 

[tlev]

I took my daughter for the first time when she was 2 1/2 years old. We had a blast and everything for her was free!!! True she does not really remember that trip, but I do. We made wonderful memories. I hate I did not take her sooner. She's was always good about staying in her stroller and napped very well in it so we never had to take afternoon breaks and return to the room. We would just find a shady spot and relax while she napped. I've made sure to take a stroller that was comfortable for her that reclined (unlike the ones you rent at the park).We go every year now at least once, sometimes twice.

 

[Seanual757]

Our daughter is 11 months old now and she just absolutely loves Disney she just loves to look around and when she seems Mickey Mouse it’s over she just giggles when she touches his nose. She has gone on many of the rides with my wife holding her. The pools she loves them as well.

 

[MickeyMomV]

Who cares if they remember it? They can still have fun without remembering it. I wholeheartedly disagree that a trip with a little one is exclusively for mom and dad's enjoyment. Like I said, our six-month old LOVED the rides. Like, laughing hysterically. She wasn't just a bystander for mom and dad's fun.

I was just stating that it was more for your memories not the childs. If we could have afforded to go when my son was 6 months we would have, again for our enjoyment of watching him and his reactions not because he would think back and remember a trip at six months old.

 

[zeebs758]

Well I don't have any kids but my parents waited until my sister and I were 6 & 7. They wanted us to be old enough to remember it. It seems a little late but because of that trip when I was that age, I fell in love with Disney World.

I know I'll be having kids in the next 5 years or so and I know I won't be able to wait until they are 6 years old ha. I think I will wait until they are 3 so they can begin to walk around more on their own and not have to rely too much on a stroller. Just my opinion