“Why take them?, They won’t remember”

[blackpearl77]

They may not remember, but YOU will!!! You will have those memories! So go whenever you want!!

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

We started taking our kids to WDW when the oldest was 3, youngest an infant. It had zero to do with them "remembering it". We weren't going to sit home and do no vacations until they were older, so why not take them to Disney? No different than taking a family vacation to the beach or anywhere else. I have TONS of great memories from those trips and they loved every minute of it while we were there. Now, I will say that if you are planning a once in a lifetime Disney trip with no plans to return, it probably makes sense to wait until the kids are old enough to take full advantage of all the rides and attractions. I think there's a sweet spot between like 5-8 years old where they are tall enough for most, if not all rides but still experience the "magic". JMHO.

 

[Jess_S]

The people who are worried about the heat may have a point. I have seen parents dragging kids through WDW without rest in a way that borders on cruel. But I don't think that's a reason not to take small kids to WDW. It's a reason to make sure they get appropriate rest, food and potty breaks.

Other than that, I generally disagree with the whole concept of there being an age where kids are too young to travel. We have taken my son on a trip every year of his life and he has enjoyed all of them. Now, he likes to look at the photos, even if he doesn't have first-hand memories.

I've been meaning to share this article on the board since I read it and here is as good a place as any: https://www.parents.com/health/pare...s-have-long-lasting-impact-on-kids-happiness/. There are benefits to family travel other than the kid having perfect recall of the trip. I have little to no memory of most of the vacations I took with my family -- even at ages where I was supposedly old enough to remember. But I do remember the happy feeling I experienced on those trips.

 

[aliciamakino]

I get that, and I too, get the comments of "I can't believe you are taking her" My daughter will be 4 in July and our trip next month will be her 4th trip to WDW. Previous years she was free so not a big deal to have her there. And every year she enjoys it, and comments on our previous trips all the time. I know long term she won't remember it, but I will. And there is nothing better than experiencing WDW through your child's eyes. Also- prior to me being a grown up and taking my own family to Disney, I previously had been to Disney twice, once at 6 and once at 16. To this day I have very vague memories from either trip. The other element is that my husband and I are both working parents and when we take her on vacation we want it to be something she will thoroughly enjoy, call it parent's guilt, I don't know. But she loves Mickey and Princesses so it seemed a logical choice. That said, I have not forked over the dough to do Cinderella round table or, character meals or BBB. That is something I would wait to do till she is older and can appreciate a little more.

 

[aliciamakino]

The people who are worried about the heat may have a point. I have seen parents dragging kids through WDW without rest in a way that borders on cruel. But I don't think that's a reason not to take small kids to WDW. It's a reason to make sure they get appropriate rest, food and potty breaks.

Other than that, I generally disagree with the whole concept of there being an age where kids are too young to travel. We have taken my son on a trip every year of his life and he has enjoyed all of them. Now, he likes to look at the photos, even if he doesn't have first-hand memories.

I've been meaning to share this article on the board since I read it and here is as good a place as any: https://www.parents.com/health/pare...s-have-long-lasting-impact-on-kids-happiness/. There are benefits to family travel other than the kid having perfect recall of the trip. I have little to no memory of most of the vacations I took with my family -- even at ages where I was supposedly old enough to remember. But I do remember the happy feeling I experienced on those trips.

well said! And looking forward to reading the article.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I only took my kids when they were too young to remember because we wanted to go ourselves. Just like the other vacations we took when they were small. No way would I plan a WDW vacation, or any vacation, FOR an infant or small toddler. Same with a beach trip, etc. We planned them because we wanted to go and the places were kid friendly.

I took DS for the first time when he was 3. We did MK which he loved, Epcot for us, Universal for the Barney area and water parks. His favorite part was the water parks. We went back again when DD was 2 and DS was 8. That trip was mostly for DS....not for DD. We've been back several times since then.

I get why people don't go until their kids can remember it. Not everyone LOVES Disney. For some Disney is an obligation trip.

My BFF went when her kids were 3 and 3 months in June. She said it was complete torture going to WDW with an infant and 13 years later she has not been back.

 

[KrazeeK120]

I’ve gotten similar comments. It’s like...so we should wait YEARS to take a vacation so the kid will remember it? Uhhh, no. The vacation is just as much for me as it is for everyone else. It is amazing not to have to do any chores for a week! And even though babies and little kids won’t remember this period of their lives, shouldn’t we still be trying to make their lives fun? My son had an amazing Disney trip at the age of 18 months. And he won’t remember it...but I will.

 

[katyjeka]

Simply put... My husband and I take our kids for selfish reasons. WE want the memories as they will only be with us for so long. We are spending thousands of dollars to make ourselves happy and have NO regrets from any of our trips.

 

[RocketCityMama]

So here is my thought process on the situation based on our experience. We went to WDW in Dec 2008 (fil xmas present to us for 3 days) and then we booked a May 2009 trip for a week when they did the buy 4 get 3 free deal (amazing deal lol) and our kids were 8 and 4 at the time of the 2009 trip. We knew it was a possibility we may not make it back to Disney due to cost and work schedules, but we went and had tons of fun, met lots of characters, rode rides and overall enjoyed it. Kids had a blast, the 8 yr old who is now 17.5 remembers nearly everything, the 4 yr old who is now 13, remembers probably 10% of the trip and that is with pictures jogging her memory.

Do I think you should wait until your kids are old enough to remember a vacation to take it? No. Do I wish that my 13 yr old could remember her first Disney trip? Yes. Do I wish I had waited a couple more years? Sort of. I mean I have great memories of our trip and would not take it back, but I can see if you are taking a once in a life trip to WDW (or any place really) that is pricey, I personally would wait. This is why our current situation of not being back to Disney since 2009 is happening. My youngest was born in 2010 and we decided we would wait until she was a bit older to go to Disney, she will be 8 soon and I know she will remember it more so than if we had went once when she was much younger. We did go to Universal in 2016 and 2017 and she still talks about it like it was yesterday, so I think she will remember. We will not likely go to Disney again for quite some time, so for us waiting til she was older just made sense.

I would never tell someone not to take a trip when their kids are young, we do all kinds of things when they are young they won't remember, first birthday parties for example, more for mom and dad, not so much the kiddo. I do think it's easier to take a kid when they are young, knowing you'll be making many more trips

 

[xtinelizabeth]

We're planning to go Feb 2019. DS will be 5 DD will be 15 months.

Everytime someone asks me why I'm going since DD is too young, I reply with THIS TRIP IS FOR ME. NOT THEM. FOR MEEEEE

My big sister will never forget being told by my parents that we could go to disneyworld when I turned 5. My brother was born when I was 4 1/2. They said, "we'll go when your brother is 5, he won't remember it now".

When my brother turned 5, my dad got sick and went on disability. There was no more money we eventually had to give up our house and my parents split up not too long after. Now nobody remembers it because It never happened.

My husband and i will be 28 when we go. Itll be his first trip as well. My sister will be 34. At the time of the trip her 3 children will be 13, 3 and 1. Her firstborn has already gone three times and her second has gone twice. We are surprising our 64 year old mom with her first vacation since my sister was 4 and they went to the Philippines. I have never stopped wishing I could go. I am a big fan of Harry Potter as well so when they opened up that I was desperate to go.

But first I went to college. And then after I got pregnant. And then we had no money. We have busted our butts off and have 6 grand set aside for this trip already. You bet your bottom dollar we're gonna go. It will not put is into debt to go. My daughter is still free.

If we wait 5 years till she's old enough to remember, my mom will be 69. What if she can't travel anymore. What if my son no longer believes in the magic of it. What if one of us loses our job or gets too sick to work. What if somebody dies..

My plan is to start saving for our next trip immediately after we come back. That will be the trip she will remember.

She definitely wont remember this one, my 5 year might forget the details, but my husband and I will always remember their joy and excitement..We will never forget the time we'll spend there as a family.

 

[AFwifelife]

My kids are just lucky that we are Disney obsessed and Floridians who are currently living in a different state thanks to the Air Force. I've been going on regular Disney trips since I've been pregnant with my first. The first time my second went to Disney not in utero she was 4 months old (my favorite age to take them ). Even though they don't remember those early trips, there are still photos and now they will talk about what they liked to do as babies.

If it's a once in a lifetime trip, I can see waiting but really there's no good time that's good. Things can always happen.

 

[friedela]

Well, everyone will answer differently! For US personally we would never ever take a toddler to Disney. Just too much money and the amount of meltdowns I saw from toddlers last week was craaaaaazy! I would be really frustrated if I had to deal with meltdowns all week and with the heat + the long hours.. there are going to be meltdowns! My kids are 6 and 7 and they were a perfect age to take. No meltdowns, just happy happy happy and grateful which I so appreciated. Not saying it's the wrong choice for people to take little ones, it's just not something I would personally be able to handle and have a good time too. lol.

 

[_Kristi_]

I think one of the things I love most about a Disney vacation (even with young kids-we took our 16 month old) is that it's a vacation that everyone can enjoy at any age. We have done other kinds of vacations like cruising, beaches, mountains, lakes....I have been stuck at the bottom of the mountain with a 3 year old while others hiked and we played at the park. I have had to watch my oldest play at the beach while I was inside the house with the toddler who decided she hates sand. I have gone to bed early on a cruise and missed the shows because my kids were tired and cranky. But, at Disney, we all have fun together. No one gets left behind. Go. It's worth it.

 

[Ladyandthepuppies]

For my daughter's 2nd birthday we had a ball pit. It was a one day only thing and to my knowledge she was never in a ball pit again. Over one year later she saw an advertisement for a ball pit and said "we did that at my birthday party". So it seems to me that kids CAN remember things from when they're very young. I'm not saying my daughter remembers every single thing from that age but she definitely has some memories.

We took my daughter to Disney a few weeks before she turned 4 and my son was 15 months old. Obviously he doesn't remember any of it, but I was so pleasantly surprised by how much he enjoyed everything. He loved meeting the characters, his fave rides were Small World and the carousel, and best of all he was free to get into the park and eat at buffets. Definitely worth it!

We did put in an effort to go when there were low crowds, keep them out of the sun/heat as much as possible, take breaks for naps... but we had a wonderful trip with zero meltdowns. Hope yours goes just as well!!!

 

[happymommy]

I don't give a crap about two things:

Number One: what others think

Number Two: if my kids remembered vacations or not. I NEEDED a vacation, and Disney was the easiest and most fun (and we also took our kids other places like Hawaii, where I had lived, when they were VERY young, like 4 and 6 and my son was born there). No, they don't remember all vacations (the youngest actually has more memories of them than the oldest does).

No way was I going to wait, to vacation, just because a child would not remember it. I needed a vacation! We have photos as well, but that's not the point. We went where I and my husband wanted to go. I do not understand the mentality of waiting or doing stuff just for the kids. We took my oldest to Kauai at 3 months and Maui at 9 months. And the Big Island at 4 months. He has no memory, but we enjoyed hiking with him in the backpack.

Do what you want!

 

[HopperFan]

DS1 started at 1
DS2 started at 3
DD started at 4 mos, then 11 mos, then 14 mos ......

I don't care how old they are as Disney is fun at all different ages. I think it's more about if they have the personality that will be able to handle the crowds, the rides, the sensory, the noise, possibility of off sleep times etc.

Know someone who's kid is mortified of characters so ........ they finally took him at age 8 .... to the Animal Kingdom. I probably wouldn't have spent that much on that trip and not done MK etc but ......... it wasn't about their age but their ability to handle.

If if works for your kid go ... if you think you'll have issues, I'd wait until you won't ....... and many who say those things have no plan to go ever or maybe are jealous. I'd just laugh, say to each their own and let it go.

 

[SteveH]

My oldest son went to WDW when he was 4, the youngest was 1, then they when the oldest was 5, 9, 10 and 12. Why would I have waited until the youngest was 4 to go to WDW? As a family we do things together, sometimes it’s not always about the memories. My wife and I both enjoy Disney (hence we went this past January on our own), but the kids still have fun.

I really don’t care what other people think, the only people that matter to me in my life are my wife and kids. Frankly if somebody doesn’t think I should take my kids I’d ignore them.

 

[Hwtucker]

Curious if there are any threads on advice with a 2 month old + 2 other siblings? Dos/Dont's : ) . Obviously a fan for going if not too crazy!

 

[Shanti]

I have a question and want to assure myself I’m not crazy as to thinking this way.

Recently I was talking about how I would totally take my kids (i currently have none but when I do!) to Disney when there are young, probbly 2-3 becauseof how much fun they would have. and I was bombarded!! By people saying “why take them when they are young they won’t remember it” “Disney is not for kids it’s more for adults” “why drag a kid along just for your fun” “it’s borderline tourtue to take a kid that small in the Florida hear” and these seemed to be the only argument people had. and it made me stop and think.

Are people really only thinking about the memories? About the fact that the kid won’t remember the trip in 3 years? And becuase they won’t it Dosent justifi the cost of going on the trip all togather

In my opioion it’s complelty worth it to take a 2(almost 3) year old to Disney.they still believe it’s real,they are FREE and yes you have to do things at a slower pace.but are those experiences and memories not worth it?

LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK! I am very curious on this topic

It's worth it if you can afford to / want to go back. For many people, a Disney trip is a once in a lifetime trip, or at least a trip that represents a major expense and that requires a lot of saving. From that perspective, it 100% makes sense to only go on a trip the kids would likely remember for the rest of their lives.

We only went to WDW once when I was growing up. It was when I was in middle school. I never forgot that trip- that's what inspired me to go back with my son after I became a mom. I'm glad that the one Disney trip we took in my childhood was one that I can remember.

If you can easily afford to go back, and also want to, that's another thing. But a lot of people make WDW a one-time thing & assume that others do as well. That's the reason for the "wait until they can remember" advice. It's practical.

 

[Shanti]

We made the choice to go when our son was five. That seemed like a great age, for us...Money was tight, and while I knew we would go at some point and very much looked forward to it, there was no way I was going to head to WDW when he was younger and still very happy riding an escalator at the mall.

Exactly. I think the unspoken core issue of this debate is money.

If you can comfortably afford multiple Disney trips, then why not take the baby/toddler? Have at it. But if it's a trip you have to save & sacrifice for, & the child currently has as much or more fun just bouncing on Grandma's knee at home? Um, no.