The perfect age???

[WALT06]

I wanted to know what the perfect age would be to bring a kid to Disney World? My wife is pregnant and due in November. If it was up to me I would go in december for Christmas. Im thinking summer of 2008,she will be a year and a half old. Do you think she will be old enough to realize somewhat what is going on. The problem I am really having is I dont know if I can wait that long I wanna go now....
Matt

 

[Chape19714]

I think 3 is a good age. Potty-Trined is definately a plus. 3 is good because they still get in for free! :lol: I know I was 3 on my 1st visit, and although I do remember it, it's a bit cloudy.

 

[Glasgow]

I think the general consensus is that it differs from child to child; also, it depends on who the trip is for. If it's for you then no age is probably too young to take your child. If you want them to remember what's happening though you need to just decide that for yourself - every child is different. We're going through the same dilemna too!

 

[Scooter]

If your question is at what age you can bring a child to Disney, my answer is all ages.

If you are truly asking what, in our opinions , would be the PERFECT age to bring children, my answer is 6 to 14 years old. At age 6 they can walk (At least mine did) and you don't have to deal with strollers. After age 14 children start caring less about attractions and more about text messaging their friends back home.

Don't flame me...it's just my observations from my own experiances with my kids.
Obviously it varies from child to child.

 

[Yellow Shoes]

It also depends on how many trips you plan to make.

Obviously, if you are DVC members and assume that every vacation will be at WDW, then bring them any time.

If WDW will be once or twice in a lifetime, then I would wait until they are out of diapers and strollers (although THAT age is hotly debated!).

But by far, the most important criterion is when do YOU want to take a child.
Children, especially very young ones, severely limit what you can do. You will skip lots of rides, and if you are in tune with your child, you will spend lots of time in the resort for naps and swimming.

As each grandchild turned 5, they got a trip to WDW from Granddad. It was a great age--no diapers, no strollers, no fear of dark rides, no fear of self-fllushing toilets (I'm not kidding!) no fear of characters, a willingness to play along, a desire to believe, stamina for 6-7 good hours of walking, and the verbal skills to express their joy and wonder.

You are the parent. You get to make these decisions. And it comes down to what you feel you can deal with.

 

[Unplugged]

I wanted to know what the perfect age would be to bring a kid to Disney World? My wife is pregnant and due in November. If it was up to me I would go in december for Christmas. Im thinking summer of 2008,she will be a year and a half old. Do you think she will be old enough to realize somewhat what is going on. The problem I am really having is I dont know if I can wait that long I wanna go now....
Matt

Matt, My wife and I are taking our son for the first time Sep 25- Oct 5 of this year (he'll be 1 year old Sep 8th). We took our last trip when she was 5 months pregnant. Not having any other children, we have been suprised as to how advanced someone as little as him can be. From all I have read and seen, you can take them anytime as long as you restructure your trip plan accordingly. We were the hit 2 parks a day then PI at night couple. This year, we'll be the 1 park a day, plan around his nap, early dinner, relax at the resort couple. This will be good for us though as we'll slow down and gain a new perspective.

If you're curious how it goes, drop me an e-mail and I can give a trip report. :wave:

-Michael

 

[GrowingUpDisney]

Matt,

We took our son for the 1st time when he was 6 mo. While he will never remember that first ride on Dumbo, we definately was aware of and enjoyed the experience at the time. I have pictures to prove it. He is now 3 and has been 7 times with our next trip in only 4 weeks.

Noah was a very adaptable baby as he would sleep in the stroller for his naps. We never went back to the hotel. We just used nap time as an opportunity to switch off riding some of the bigger rides.

We did find that our 4-5 day vacations have now stretched out to 10 - 12 days, but we are DVCand have enough points to do that. We definately take our time.

We still ride the thrill rides, we just have to do them as a single rider. They child swap program that they offer at the major thrill rides is a plus.

I hope that helps

(By the way Children under two are free - Once they turn three you have to pay for them)
Niki

 

[Lanipie]

LOL, I'll probably get flamed for my opinion, but that's ok, that's why they're just opinions.

I tell all my friends and family "No younger than 5"

Every kid we've ever taken before that, by the time they're old enough to have cognicent memories, they never remember much before 5 years old. PLus the kids are too small to ride a lot of stuff, too young to really know what's going on, and often over stimulated. They end up confused, hot, tired, cranky....and for what? They most likely won't even remember it.

I know loads of people disagree, and that's cool. It a comes down to a personal choice. Whenever you decide to go, I hope you have a great time!

 

[RenegadeMilkmen]

My younger sister was 1 1/2 the first time we went to Florida- she really didn't seem to soak in much or notice alot except that she was scared of the characters . But we went again a year later when she was 2 1/2 and she seemed to enjoy alot of the stuff so I'd say between 2 1/2-4 maybe would be the best time to take them.

 

[Tigger1988]

My parents took me when I was 8 months old, so really its all up to you

 

[KICKYPANTS]

I can totally relate. Disney trips for us are few and far between...so we really have to make them count. My daughter was just over 3 yrs old when we took her to Dland. It was total MAGIC. THis year we are going to Dworld and she is just over 5....still really cool, but I'm glad we took her at 3 because she isn't that easy to fool anymore and questions things alot more. We took lots of pictures and we go through the album alot. She remembers sooo much. This time we'll be able to stay out a bit later. If you can, bring along someone so that you and your wife can go okut on your own. We don't have that luxury...but I think it would make the trip that much better. I know it's hard to hold off....but I'd wait til the kiddie is 3.

 

[scottnj1966]

I wanted to know what the perfect age would be to bring a kid to Disney World? My wife is pregnant and due in November. If it was up to me I would go in december for Christmas. Im thinking summer of 2008,she will be a year and a half old. Do you think she will be old enough to realize somewhat what is going on. The problem I am really having is I dont know if I can wait that long I wanna go now....
Matt

When your child cant stop watching the same disney cartoons over and over...then its time for them to see the world.

 

[WaltzingMatilda]

Lots of good solid advice here! So of course I have to add my own :animwink: .

We took baby girl last Feb, when she was a little over three. She liked some things, but COULD NOT handle the lines (our bad, we went Presidents Week). However, I think there's no bad age to take a kid. As others have said, be prepared to readjust your expectations of the trip (especially if you've been there without kids, as I had been twice before). I personally don't think it matters if they remember being there at 2, or 1, or whatever...it's about being there as a family. We spent an afternoon at MGM playing with the darn giant squirting Coke bottle(da**it, we have giant fountains at home!), and after I got over the fact that she refused to go into Ariel's Undersea Adventure I realized she was having fun, and so was I, watching her.

So that's my 2 cents. BTW, we are going again in less than a month and I'm prepared for anything except a refusal to ride POTC.

 

[princess noel]

We took our daughter when she was almost two. We thought it was a great age! She remembers alot of what she saw and did and she was too young to be scared of alot of the dark rides. She asks to go back to WDW all the time because she knows there are rides there that are not at DL. At two and three we went to DL and she was more afraid and more whiny. I agree with everyone that every kid is different, but I also think it is how tolerable the parents are and how willing you are to give up a few things to enjoy it with a child who will need a little more time! I hope that helps!

 

[Dj Corona]

Yeah, speaking from experience, my family took me for the first time, when I was give or take about a year, maybe a year and a half old.....absolutely no memories of any of it, (although there's plenty of pictures......did anybody look good in what we had to wear in the seventies? yikes!) Having no children of my own (that i know of...sorry, had to say it) I would have to say it's at the parents' discretion, really, as to how much you child or children can handle....heat,lines,crowds,etc. Trust me, nowadays i've seen many more behaved small kids then teenagers, and for that matter adults......just apply good judgement.

 

[The Mak]

My little sister's first time to WDW was at 8 years old. We completely surprised her on the day we were leaving and got it all on video. It was the best thing ever, something she will never forget.

My earliest memory is from when I was 3 years old, but your child's mileage may vary. I'd recommend waiting until 5 if you don't plan on taking tons of pictures and video. Anytime beforehand will be hard for your child to remember as they grow older.

 

[joelleharbert]

I can totally relate. Disney trips for us are few and far between...so we really have to make them count. My daughter was just over 3 yrs old when we took her to Dland. It was total MAGIC. THis year we are going to Dworld and she is just over 5....still really cool, but I'm glad we took her at 3 because she isn't that easy to fool anymore and questions things alot more. We took lots of pictures and we go through the album alot. She remembers sooo much. This time we'll be able to stay out a bit later. If you can, bring along someone so that you and your wife can go okut on your own. We don't have that luxury...but I think it would make the trip that much better. I know it's hard to hold off....but I'd wait til the kiddie is 3.

I agree. We went two years ago, with a then 4-year-old, then 2-year-old, and an eight-month-old. We knew the youngest two would NEVER remember it, but we wanted to go anyway and I'm glad we did. The 4-year-old loved it! He still "believed" and was in awe of everything! The 2-year-old was in a perpetual state of "Buzzdom" as he was a huge fan of Buzz (still is, two years later!), so as long as we promised him a visit to Buzz everyday, he was fine. This year, we're going back with a 6-year-old, 4-year-old, and the now 2 1/2 year old. The oldest is starting to question what characters are "real" (it makes me so sad!), but the 4-year-old seems to be at the absolute "perfect" age to be able to ride almost everything (except EE, SM, and RNRC). He's 40" tall, so we should be good for most everything else. The oldest is looking more forward to going to Sea World, to be honest. The youngest, my daughter, just wants to see Cinderella and she'll be happy. I would say that anywhere around the age of 4 would be good, but that's just my opinion. I, personally, still love going at 33, so who knows what the "perfect" age is?
:veryconfu

 

[kachow]

As others have said, I think it really depends on how often you go overall. If you're the type of people that go every two years no matter what, then the answer is probably around 12 - 18 months, because you're not that concerned about your kid not being able to go on rides and get the full experience of the park in that specific trip. If your trip is a once every 3 or 4 years type of thing, or you ARE interested in your kid being able to go on more of the rides that first trip, then I'd say 5 years old.

My wife and I don't have kids right now, but I know we'll struggle with this because we've generally gone about every two years since we met, but neither of us went for the first time before age 5, and we really remember our first trip, and how much we looked forward to everything, etc. I think it would be really cool to wait, and have our kid be into it to the point where they even help with the planning, and get really excited about it, and anticipate things more, but obviously that will require more restraint for us personally.

 

[Nemo14]

I have to chime in with others about it definitely depends on the child. We waited with our first 'til she was 2 because we thought it would be easier when she was potty trained. Wrong! At that age, they give you a 3 second warning, no matter where you are and no matter how recently they've been. I wouldn't hesitate to take a younger child, even though they won't remember it. Trust me, you will!

 

[Edeyore]

I think is really has to do with who do you want to remember the first time in the parks. The first time we went, (with our child), was when he was almost four. He still remembers a lot of the trip and obviously we have a ton of photos. Much younger than that, you will probably be the only one with the memories.