What is the proper age to take a child to WDW for their first visit?

[mustinjourney]

First...CONGRATULATIONS! Jan 14th is my oldest son’s birthday - he turned 18 this year. Very special day.

I have 4 kids, I’ve taken them at ages 18 months and up. I started keeping a journal for them for our trips - at night in our room, we discuss what we did that day, what our favorite or least favorite thing was, what we ate, etc...that way, even if they don’t remember, we still have these sweet memories documented. We also do Memory Maker each trip to make sure we have family pics with everyone in the photo.

we've been trying to recreate some of our favorite photos each time we go. Not sure how long I'll be able to keep it up since it involves me with one kid on my shoulders while the youngest is being held in front of me (originally in a baby bjorn).

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

6-9 months. It's for your memories, not theirs. Best pictures ever were baby looking wide eyed at giant piglet. My favorite trips were ages 3y/9m and 4.5y/2y. Mine are actually more difficult the older they get.

 

[Lindsey R.]

We're actually leaving on Friday for a week-long trip with our 8-month-old. I don't really think there's a "wrong" age for going to Disney. It really depends on whether this is your "once-in-a-lifetime" trip, and what kind of vacation you want to have. An infant can ride on the attractions that don't have height restrictions, and rider switch is available on other attractions. We're planning to take it slow and go at her pace, but we've been to Disney many times before. I think if you are willing to have a laid back vacation and not see/ride every single thing in every park, going with a baby works. If you want to ride everything and power through every park, I'd wait until your child is a little older and can keep up/appreciate it all.

 

[AZMermaid]

We live in AZ and go to Disneyland for 3 nights every year. We took our kids at 9 and 10 months. Loved these ages! 13 months was super hard.

Because WDW is much further and much more costly for us, we waited until they were 5 and 6 to do a 9 night trip last summer. It was fabulous! No strollers, no whining, but plenty of Magic and they were tall enough for most everything. both were over 44 inches, my 6 year old was 49 inches, but we skipped DHS and just didn’t do Primevil Whirl since we don’t like it anyway, so the fact that he could ride and she couldn’t wasn’t any issue.

 

[Jess_S]

I agree that there is no right age. We took our son to DL for his first birthday and WDW when he was 3. Both were nice trips in their own way and DH and I have those memories. Plus we have photo albums that my son can enjoy even though he won't necessarily remember the trips.

We also bring our son along on our annual vacations every year no matter where we go. With the exception of trips that have an actual age minimum (i.e. he can't go on an African safari until he is six because it's a safari camp rule), I don't think there's a minimum age for any trip. It's just a matter of adjusting what you are doing so that it matches the child's interests and he or she doesn't get over-tired or over-hungry and accepting that there will probably still be melt-downs, etc. There's no guarantee that we will be around or healthy enough to travel when DS is the "perfect" age for any given destination, so we're not waiting for perfection.

 

[LVSWL]

First trip with our boys was when they were 5 & 9. No naps, no diapers, no strollers or bottles. Old enough to walk and understand what the expectations were. Also, tall enough to ride the majority of the rides.

 

[AinsleyLM]

Like others said, you will get several different answers. To me, the best age is right before they are 3. We took my twin nieces then and it was perfect! They were free, potty trained, and still talk about it now at 4. Yes, we had a few melt downs and did no late nights with them, but we had a great time!

 

[HopperFan]

EVERY family and every child will be different.

We were already Disney visitors and knew we always would be, going at least once per year once we were one day's drive away. We are now much more than that. DS1 first visit was 12 mos since we were at FL beach anyway, DS2 first visit was 3 as we were then a 2 day drive away and DD first was 4 mos, then 11 mos, 14 mos .............. and at that point we were going quite often.

In thinking of families that would only travel every few years or maybe just a few times total ..... I think 3-4 is perfect. Like you say you are past most the gear, they can appreciate and enjoy most the attractions, they will remember special moments and they are in FULL BLOWN MAGIC MODE.

 

[Jenniferj477]

I apologize in advance if this topic is over saturated. My wife just gave birth to our first child a week ago, January 14. As you can imagine, we've already started having fun with the idea of his first trip to WDW. We want to wait a few years, as we want him to be old enough to enjoy himself and have some fond memories of his first visit. Also, we want to enjoy our time with him while there and not constantly worry about changing him, feeding him, nap breaks, etc. We were thinking maybe 3-4, does that seem like an acceptable age? Can any other parents out there share some of their insight and/or experiences with first visits? Thanks you all so much!

We have 3 kids and have taken in ages ranging from 6 months to 9 years and this year our oldest will be 11 and she's still excited. Like others have posted it is a different experience at all ages. their height is different so the get to experience new rides, etc. I will say however that at age 5 I've found to be fun. They don't get cranky and tired as soon and seem to recognize and get a little more excited rather than afraid. My youngest is 5 this year and we're excited to see his reactions. He's now asking daily when we are going- 4 more minths

 

[laughinplace199]

First, congrats on your son!

Any age is a perfect time to go to Disney. We took our DD (now 18 yrs old) to DL when she was 14 mos. Then we went to WDW when she was 3 and DS was 15 mos. We went to WDW pretty much every year, even the year our third child was born - on that trip, the older kids were 7 and 5 and the baby was 5 months.

We still go just about every year and it's amazing at all ages!

 

[DisneyDaddy17]

We are leaving for WDW next week for my DS 1st birthday on Valentines day. We will be staying on site at a Disney resort (Polynesian) and we'll be utilizing Uber for our High Priority reservations (Uber has a great Car Seat option at WDW)

Since he is so young we are flying him to Florida for free as a lap child on American Airlines, and he will be able to get in to the Disney parks and restaurants for free!

we purchased the PhotoPass so that we will have countless pictures of our entire trip!

I will do my best to post up a review of our experience once we return home!

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

2 is great because they are still free! Once they turn 3 you have to start paying.