Advice Needed - How Young is Too Young?

[Blackburn23]

My wife and I are planning a trip in May and our 2.5 year old daughter is a huge fan. She will be 3.5ish in May. We want to ensure that she enjoys herself and isn't overwhelmed. We are thinking maybe 5 total days. Some family members think we are rushing this but I think she is ready. What are your thoughts on taking a kid this age?

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[sshindel]

Check the WDW with Kids forum for TONS of thoughts/opinions/answers on this topic:
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/forums/wdw-with-kids.117/

Quick answer though, your daughter will likely be of a great age to enjoy WDW at that time.

 

[draybook]

When we have another child we aren't going until he or she is out of the stroller.

 

[earnedmyears2000]

Too young....I worked in the park for a year....I would only take a child younger than 5 if I set my expectations for the trip very low....and took in the parks slowly an witha short list of must do's.
I would wait until they are 6.
I took mine when they were 11 and 9.

 

[Blackburn23]

Check the WDW with Kids forum for TONS of thoughts/opinions/answers on this topic:
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/forums/wdw-with-kids.117/

Quick answer though, your daughter will likely be of a great age to enjoy WDW at that time.

New to the site, so thank you! This is very helpful

 

[Walt Disney1955]

Our son is 2.5 years old now. I wanted to go to Disneyland again right at this moment, but we don't have the money to justify it. My wife is pregnant now too, which wouldn't have changed our minds, but right now I am aiming for a trip in September 2014. We'll have a 3.5 year old who will not be in a stroller (honestly our kid walks a lot with us different places and if he's tired I'll carry him) and we'll have a 6 month old baby at that time. I would bring both of them to be honest. We have friends that go to WDW annually. They have 5 kids, aged 4 months (no kidding) to 7 years. They went when the baby was 3 months old. They had a blast.

If the kids are used to travelling from the get go, I don't think it's a problem at all.

 

[ExtinctJenn]

Check the WDW with Kids forum for TONS of thoughts/opinions/answers on this topic:
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/forums/wdw-with-kids.117/

Quick answer though, your daughter will likely be of a great age to enjoy WDW at that time.

New to the site, so thank you! This is very helpful

Also there is another thread with a good bit of conversation on this topic here: http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/at-what-age-to-start-bringing-the-kids.861407/

Welcome to the boards!

 

[Master Yoda]

No age is too young as long as you are willing to conform your schedule to their needs.

 

[rsoxguy]

We first took our daughter when she was between 2-3 years old. We went on free EPCOT AP's or we would have otherwise held off until she was five. It would have been a mistake. She loved it all from the beginning. Each child is different, but our experience was quite positive.

 

[stevehousse]

Taking a 3.5 year old is the perfect age to start going I think! 5 days is perfect as well. I woul not recommend park hoppers with a child that young, just pick one park a day, and do magic kingdom twice if you plan on having 5 day tickets.

The best option with a small child is to go to the parks early, leave in the afternoon to rest up, nap, or swim, then go back to the parks in the evening. We usually always schedule at least one sit down meal a day.

Speaking of eating out, a great way to test your child to see how they will do with characters (some are afraid) is to go to a character meal as your first meal, that way if your child doesn't like the characters, you won't have to waste your time waiting in lines just to get a crying photo or no photo at all! Also watch YouTube videos of rides to see if your child is interested or not in a particular ride.

We have taken both our boys once they were around 11 months, and we go every year. Our next trip is this Nov and the boys (now 5 and 2 1/2) are both so excited to go!

 

[minniemickeyfan]

We met up with my sisters family one year and at the time my niece was just over 3 1/2 and the parks weren't overwhelming at all for her. She loved all the rides and she go on almost everything at MK except the 3 mountains. They did have a stroller but lots of times she walked. I think everyone has to answer whether he/she is old enough to go. But if you think they are don't hesitate! The next time my niece went at 4 1/2 she remembered everything from her trip before.
We have a DD 17 and now have a DS 1 and have been taking him since he was 5 months- every trip is special. Just slow down, take an afternoon break, and have fun!

 

[bebert]

I am the wrong person to ask as we have taken each of our three kids for their first trip when they were between 8-12 WEEKS old. I get grief from everyone they will never remember but, my thought is they dont have too..pictures will allow them to look back at what a great trip it was and realize how lucky we are to have the family we do.
Here is a tip, pack snacks and drinks so if your child is starting to get cranky from being hungry you can just stop and grab some grub. Once we started doing this, the kids handled the day better. Nohting worse than being in QS line waiting for food and having a crabby child! Also, eat at off times to avoid lines.
One more thing.....take a ton of pics and have the time of your life.

 

[Kbullz]

We took our daughter when she was almost 3 and our son when he was 5. Took our double stroller and the kids had a blast. Every child/family is different. Our kids were able to be in the park from morning till night. Some people take breaks in between.
My daughter still talks about meeting the princesses and how she can't wait to see Aurora again

 

[Gabe1]

My DS was 14 months for a 7 night visit, he learned to walk the day before and do to the clumsy nature of a new walker he had his first encounter with a paramedic dues to a cautious CM, other than that he and we had a wonderful time. My DD was exactly 2 months and she enjoyed all the attention of her first 16 day trip and learned to sleep through the night on that trip.

 

[Blackburn23]

Thank you all so much! Very helpful to hear others who have had success with it and thank you for the great tips!

 

[G8rchamps]

We have taken our kids every other year starting at 18 months of my daughter. This summer at 6 it was fun to see that she remembered fro her trip at 4. I'm on the no age is too young side, but take the advice of planning breaks or naps and go at the kids schedule/pace. Have a great trip!

 

[Richards070712]

My wife and I will be going with her parents, sister and brother-in-law October 2014. At that time we will have a 9 month old boy and her sister will have an 11 month old girl. I think it's all about what you expect going into the trip. We're all Disney World fanatics so we'll have a great time regardless. We plan on riding everything still, with one couple hanging out with the kids while the other 4 ride. My wife's family went once, sometimes twice a year while they were growing up , and their parents cherished those times. I am really looking forward to seeing them with the grandkids at Disney World for the first time. If you think about it, that's what Walt wanted in the first place, a place where a whole family can come together and have a great time. I believe that I will!

So all that to say this. I think they're never too young to go, even if they don't remember much, you'll have the memories and they'll have the pictures as a poster above said.

 

[RedDad]

We took our youngest for the first time at age 14 months for a total of 9 days, and she has now been a total of 4 times before turning 4. I've also heard of others who took their young ones to WDW and didn't have a great experience (although I think planning and being prepared may have something to do with that). So, as others have said, there is no "right age" to start taking kids to the World. I personally wouldn't want to take a child that isn't walking, but every kid/family is different. We had a blast, and so did she, on every one of our trips.

You worry about them not remembering the trip, but our DD remembered lots of details about the rides during our last trip (she was 3 at the time, and had just been a year before at age 2).

We have found that 4 days in a row of hitting the parks hard is about as much as we can handle without a break. So we always work in a mid-week resort day to just play at the pool and rest. Have a plan for each day and work in naps. Every kid is different, but a decent stroller is a big plus if yours doesn't like to walk a lot (and you don't want to end up carrying them around, which I can tell you, in the August sun is not fun...)

 

[RandomPrincess]

My kids have been at 8 mo, 11mo, 18mo and just shy of 3. I think most 18 mo and older can enjoy the parks. My DD was old enough to know Mickey and friends and a few princesses by that age. She loved the rides as well. By 3 she was all in! We just took it slow on each trip to make it enjoyable to all involved and followed the kids cues.

 

[Theodore]

Taking our 7 month old on his first trip in 3 weeks