My baby Emily
If you are considering taking a baby or even a toddler to Disney, people have probably told you that you are crazy. (And I bet those people have never even been to Disney World themselves.) So how young is too young for Disney?
My advice to parents who email me with this question is pretty straightforward. If you are only going to go to Disney World once in your life, don’t go when your oldest children are babies (unless you win the trip or someone else is paying or you have to go for business, etc).
This opinion does not apply to family with both older and younger children, obviously you don’t want the older kids to have to wait on the baby to get older.
If you are going to go to Disney World multiple times, go whenever you feel ready to tackle the World with your baby.
Jacob was 2 years and 2 months on our first trip to Disney World and he had a blast. Yes, we had to stop and change his diaper. Yes, we had to break for naps. But we knew that wasn’t going to be our only trip to Disney World so we didn’t hustle. We took our time, we saw everything our kids would want to see and we sacrificed the things that appealed to us as adults.
On the second trip, he was 3 years and 2 months and it was a completely different experience. He was potty trained and no longer taking naps. He wanted to walk more, ride more and could sit through more shows.
What age did you take your child for the first time? Would you take them at that age again?
I am taking my daughter,son in law and their four children,ages 8,6,3,and 12 weeks. We will take two strollers and a FrontPack. The goal was to take the oldest to be a princess one more time before she outgrown the princess thing.(she is already in a size 10).We were there last year and saw a lot of young toddlers (ages old enough to want to creep until walking steadily) who were decidedly unhappy being left in a stroller and frightened by the characters. We are hoping to avoid this by going once more and then waiting to go again until the youngest is over three and ready to walk and do Bibbidi Boutique. Any suggestions?
My oldest was 3y1m on her first trip. My middle was 19 months on her first trip. My youngest was 9m on his first trip. My oldest and middle have been twice and the baby once. We’re going back next summer when they’ll be 6.5, 5, and 2.
I took my 7 month old and 10 teenage Girl Scouts along with two other adults so while I had minimal help I was basically a single parent for the week. It was hard but I would do it again. Mickey played peekaboo with my daughter for almost 5 min! I just wish she was able to remember the magical experiences she had. We also did one day at Universal Islands of Adventure that day was hell. The park had loud music blasting and there was 1 ride I could take her on( and to top it off that was the worst day of teething. Did I mention she cut 2 teeth while on the trip?). Disney is much more baby friendly.
We did have to slow down a little because of the baby and I disappeared a lot to nurse but she slept in the stroller do we were able to keep going and the teenagers had fun putting silly hats on her. We had been saving for the trip for 3 years. I backedd out because I didn’t want to slow them down/deal with baby on trip. The girls all talked me into going (none of the scouts are related to me)
I took my oldest when he was five months, and my youngest when he was three months. Hey, they are free to take under three. And I love that I have baby pictures of them when characters playing with them. Know where the baby care center is and use baby swap. You’ll be fine.
Kristin,
I don’t think I’d ever seen that sweet Emily photo before! Too cute!
We first took our kids when our oldest was 5 1/2 and our twins were 2 1/2. My older daughter and the girl twin had a wonderful time. Twin brother did not like to travel and be away from home and also got sick while at WDW so things were a little tougher for him. We went back about a year later and I agree with you that it is a much different experience when everyone is potty-trained! All 3 seemed to enjoy that trip a lot. We never went back to the room in the afternoon, just let the kids nap in the stroller. We took my youngest when he was also 2 1/2 and he had a great time,too. It’s just too good of a deal to pass up to be able to take a child under 3 when they can stay for free, get in the parks for free, and eat at buffet meals for free. :) Now my older 3 are Disney “adults” and trips to WDW are expensive. I think it is definitely nice to travel there when they are in the 3 to 9 year old range..
We took our kids for the first time this past January- our twins were 5 and our youngest son was 3 (they are now 6 and 4). It was wonderful!!! They all had such a great time & we are looking forward to trying to go yearly or at least every 1.5 yrs from now on. I grew up on Disney as a FL resident, and loved it at every age! I def. am glad we did wait until they were all tall enough to ride most all the rides, though, as that is such a big part of the experience. It was all magical for them!
My husband and I have been a number of times (as the kids and as young adults)…this October will be our first time as “THE PARENTS!” My dd will be 4 1/2 and my ds will be 17 months old. BEYOND EXCITED!
We took our kids the first time as todlers and they remembered nothing……..
($$$$ wasted – the local park would have been more fun)
Took them again as young adults – same trip – and they remember everything.
$$$ well spent. Don’t waste your time under 15 years old.
I told my oldest son when he was tall enough to ride all the rides then I would take him. We went last November, just the 2 of us and left the 2 little kids (2 & 4) home with Daddy. It gave us some special bonding time that we needed. He was 9 so we rode what we wanted and did what we wanted and stayed as late as we wanted. We had a BLAST!!! I decided that I would take the other 2 kids when they get about the same age and just me and that child will go. It was a special trip that he will always remember. He also helped pay for the trip as well by saving his birthday and Christmas money and any extra money he earned he saved. We saved for about 2 years. He was able to pay for our plane tickets! We spent 9 days and got to see all of Disney. It was amazing! I hope to go as a family also.
We took our 10 mo DD with our 5 yo DD and did not have a problem.
We first took our son when he was 5 months old and his cousin was 1.5 yrs old. They were excellent to have there. Ours stayed in the stroller and loved all the noises and lights and excitement. No problems on any of the rides or shows. My nephew did get a little scared in some.
The next time we went , my son was 8 and our daughter was 6 and it was perfect for them both. They were a great height for all the rides and loved it all.
It’s not how old the baby is, it’s what you think you can handle. I’ve taken my 5 mo. old so that we could take our 2 1/2 year old. I’ve also taken a 7 mo. old so that we could take our 10, 7, 5, 4, and 2 year old. Both times that we took infants it was fine. Our 5 Disney World trips have always been with an infant or 1 or 2 year old with only my husband and myself. On the last trip I had talked to 2 different families with 1 mo. olds.
We took my daughter (only child at the time) when she was 20 months old. It wasn’t a huge trip, just 2 days at Magic Kingdom. We went at our own pace, let her nap in her stroller and went on kid-friendly rides. She LOVED it!
We just went again in May and my daughter is now 4 1/2 and my son is 1. My son had a BLAST! There were a lot of rides he could go on (and he LOVED them), he loved the shows and quickly adapted to living in a hotel and napping in a stroller! We rented a double stroller, which was perfect. I would take him back in a heart beat.
(By the way – 4 1/2 was the most magical age to take my daughter! So if you have a child in that 4-5 range, when they believe everything, go to Disney! You won’t regret it!)
My daughter is going to be exactly 4 1/2….this just made my day, I am beyond excited!
My mom takes the grandchildren when they turn 5. My daughter and nephew are both turning 5 this year so she is taking them and the three older ones with the parents in October.
I took my girls when my oldest was 6 and my youngest 3. They had a blast. We did still have to rent stollers but that was okay it helped to keep them in the parks longer.
The first time my kids went the oldest had just turned 3 and the youngest was 19 months. We are heading back this summer and they are now 6 and 5, plus we have a 2 year old. It all depends on the kid. I think having my 2 year old there this time is going to be a lot harder than it was last time when we had a 19 month old, because he’s a more high maintenance impatient kid. But it will be worth it because the older 2 will really enjoy it and will be able to do a lot of things they weren’t big enough for last time.
My son was 3 months his first trip to dwd and it was super easy! He was 15 months his second trip and got his first hair cut there and loved seeing Mickey! He will be 21 months on his first trip to Disneyland!!
we took our son when he was 23 months old. he really enjoyed himslef and still remembers many things from the trip. however, trying to explain to a very curious and active 23 month old that they have to wait in line with 40 thousand other people is next to impossible. he also refused to take naps during the trip because there was so much going on, which lead to several major meltdowns during the trip. we made the most of it but i would not do it again. i guess it depends on the child- some are patient and not as active as our son. we plan to take him again in dec 2014, he will be one month shy of 4 years old, and will hopefully be tall enough to ride some of the “big”
My oldest was 3 and my youngest was 15 months when we took them with us to WDW. It worked out fine. Sure there were some adjustments along the way, but for the most part, it worked out great. They napped in the stroller when they were tired and my husband and I would take turns on rides while the other watch the kiddos. We would’ve had to do that regardless of nap anyway. I think that was a more magical trip than when they were slightly older (5 and 3 was their next trip.) When my oldest was 3, she actually believed the characters were real. By the time she was 5 she was starting to be suspicious and skeptical. Either way, it was a great time. As with anything with parenting, you just roll with the punches.
Our first dd was 15 months old when we went and we had a great time, she loved Mickey mouse club house so you can imagine the smiles and happiness from meeting mickey. Our 2nd dd was 10 months and it was alot more work. I was usually off at a baby care center to nurse and missed time with my older dd. And she slept through most of the trip. But other than that We had a great time. We are going again this time odd will be 4 and ydd will be turning 2 during our trip. I think this time will be more fun. I would not want to go with a baby again.
We took our son, Ben, right after he turned 5 months old. My husband and I have been to WDW every year since we were married so we were prepared for a change of pace. We took it slow, made sure to note where the baby care center was in each park, and tried different experiences than we used to like playing Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom instead of running from ride to ride.
We think Ben was the perfect age to take to Disney. He was small enough yet to comfortably sleep in his stroller with only a little coaxing so we didn’t have to go back to our rooms but was still interested in what he saw, especially the characters. It was worth taking him just to have the sweet photos of him grabbing Mickey’s whiskers!