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Toddlers: 24 Months+
If you've taken your child(ren) to Disney
What age were they and did you feel it was a good age? Why/why not?
Every year, we go to the beach for a week with my parents and my sister. We've started talking about what year we want to swap out the beach vacation for a Disney vacation. DS will be three in September, and we planning to start TTC in the spring. We can't go early next year, because it doesn't work with my parents schedules. We could go next fall (instead of the fall beach vacation), but if we get pregnant right away like we did with DS (which I know that may or may not be the case), I could be six months or so pregnant in Disney. We could wait until 2013/2014 (when DS is 5 or 6), but then we'd likely have DS and a baby or young toddler.
So, we're trying to figure out at what age DS would get a lot out of it, and also, when is best to take him taking our TTC plans into consideration and when we may have another LO.
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Re: If you've taken your child(ren) to Disney
I just got back from Disney and I have a 3 year old and an almost 2 year old. I felt like they were far too young for the way we did it. We had park hopper tickets for 5 days and it was just too much for the kids. We had a decent time, but they spent a lot of the day in their strollers and that isn't much fun for a toddler! We went with my parents and had handicapped access because of my sister so we didn't have to wait in any lines. I cannot imagine waiting in some of those lines with toddlers!
I suggest that if you're going to go just do Magic Kingdom. It held the most interest for young children and in my opinion, was the only park that was truly "magical". There is tons to do in that area besides Disney too- we spent a day at Discovery Cove and it was by far the best part of the vacation, even for the kids! If I could do it over I'd concentrate less on just Disney and plan more kid-friendly outings.
We went when DD was 22 months and will be doing again when she is 2 months shy of 3. She loved it!!! We also had the park hopper tickets and I didn't think it was too much. I guess it all depends how you do it and the temperament of the children. I also liked the flexibility it gives. While the Magic Kingdom is the best for small kids, my DD absolutely loved Animal Kingdom as well. We hadn't planned on going back to AK a second day but because we had the park hopper one afternoon we just went back on a whim.
I think another factor is whether you''ll be going back anytime soon. If Disney is going to be a once in a lifetime trip for your family, then maybe wait until they are a little older. We're a real disney family so I knew we'd be going back so I didn't mind taking her so young.
"Just keep swimming, just keep swimming..."
We went when L was 8 months on a family trip with my dad and sisters. We only spent one day at Magic kingdom and for an infant it was just perfect (we were there ALL day open to close!).
DH and I have talked about it, its not a once in a life time trip for us or we would not have gone that young. We plan on taking L next fall when he is 3 and we will have an infant, we will go again when #2 is about 3 and L is 6.
With LOs I woudln't bother with the hopper pass, you can leave a park and go back to the same park that day if needed. I would just plan a park a day with rest days in between if time allowed.
Our kids went when they were 4 years (DS) and 9mos (DD), and again when they were 6.5 yrs and 2.5 yrs. I absolutely LOVED taking them this last time when they were 6 and 2. DS was old enough to really enjoy a lot of the rides and activities, and with DD, everything was just so magical! I will never forget the way her eyes lit up when she saw her first Disney princess in person, or the way she curled up on Sleeping Beauty's lap and fell asleep after a day at Epcot. I think 2.5 was the perfect age, because the innocence and wonderment is just amazing to watch.
I sound like a Disney commercial. lol
ETA: Don't waste your money with the Hopper passes when they're little. Stick with one park a day, and don't try to cram everything in. We did the park until the kids were just too tired, went back to the hotel and napped, and then spent evenings swimming or relaxing around the resort. You can go back to the same park again on the same day with your ticket, but that would have been just too much. We did stay until close at Magic Kingdom because our kids were up for it after a later start to the day. We also went at a time when the parks are empty, so we got to do everything we wanted to, and had barely any lines. It was great!
Spend your money on a good resort close to MK.
Plan on 1-2 parks (depending on the length of stay) and also plan on leaving early for naps/breaks. Don't cram everything in.
LOs don't have the same endurance an older child or adult has. MK seems to be the one park I'd be willing to do with DS, on a cooler month.
We went in Oct when DD was 3. She loved it! We went to Magic Kingdom, Animal KIngdom, Epcot (more for the IL's) & Hollywood Studios. We did get the Hopper Pass because we went to some of the night shows like Fantasmic. DD was so excited to meet the Princesses and all of the other characters. She still talks about how she got to meet Princess Belle and can't wait to go back.
There were a few meltdowns since DD does not nap in the stroller well, but we tried to plan going to the parks a bit later some times and not going every day to a park.
It was so much fun for the whole family. Since we have a baby due in Sept we are thinking about skipping Disney next year since my teaching schedule won't allow us to go in Oct anymore.
We live in FL, and I grew up going every year or 2, but usually just for 1 or 2 days, so I really wanted to take DD for a longer trip. We went for 5 days this past February for her 2nd birthday and had an amazing time. We stayed at a hotel on property and went to all the parks, DD loved them all, though MK is her fav, with Epcot as 2nd - tons of characters there.
We went in February with free dining, and DH loved that. He could get whatever he wanted to eat (I did tons of research to find the restaurants that he would love) and he felt like we were getting such a great deal when the bill came. It was tough with a 2 year old that was waking up REALLY early, but we all 3 napped every day, so that helped a lot. We've been back twice for a one day trip (we bought season passes) and as she gets older it's even more fun. I'm REALLY looking forward to going for a 3 day trip in early December, she'll be almost 3, and baby will be about 4 months.
We'll probably let our passes expire, then do the 5 day thing again when this LO is 2.5 or so and DD is 5ish (before she starts school, so we can go in the winter, when the weather is cool and lines are short.)
We went in October when DD was 22 months and she's not a super into Disney at all. We just went for a day and half and stayed on the property at the Polynesian. It was fun, but I can't imagine doing that for a week. I like to relax on vacation, not stand in line. We got there late afternoon on day one and relaxed in our room/unpacked and then went to Downtown Disney for a dinner and walked around for a bit. The next morning, we went to the Magic Kingdom for the day - but really it was the morning. We came back to our room around 1:30/2, took a nap and then went to the pool for a few hours and then went to Epcot for dinner. We left the next morning after breakfast.
She had a good time, but she doesn't remember anything. We'll go again for another short trip - maybe 3 days? -when she doesnt' need to nap. I also didn't like how you have to pay for each park separately - the pricing for Disney is very confusing and I constantly felt like I was getting nickel and dimed even though I paid alot of money already. You have to pay extra for all the character meals/experiences, etc.
I think it really depends on your child. Mine gets overwhelmed by huge crowds and likes to explore on his own. Not really a good scenerio for Disney.
MH had a conference there so DS and I tagged along. I took him to AK (by myself) and he did awesome. We got there first thing in the morning and had a touring plan that we loosly followed. He was ready to go after about 3 hours though. A few days later MH and I took him to MK. I'm probably the only one in the world to feel this way, but MK is totally overrated. We stayed about 3 hours and had more fun at the hotel pool. We followed a touring plan loosely and used fast passes, but in 3 hours we only rode 3 rides. Way too crowded.
So obviously my response is based on my bias against Disney.