First Disney trip - what age?

traci1774 · April 2012

Thinking about taking DD to Disney World in the October. She will be 21 months then. Although she will be too young to retain any memories of the visit, I know she will have a blast. And we will enjoy seeing her experience the magic for the first time. In fact, if she doesn't remember it, the 2nd visit a few years down the road will be like the first time for her as well - kind of a bonus Big Smile

At what age do you think is a good time to bring LO for first time visit? Do you think it's easier for a toddler who is in diapers or potty trained?

Also, any tips on the best way to book - Expedia/Orbitz, travel agent, WDW direct?

Hyfagal · April 2012

We took Ellie at 11 months and we all had a great time. No she won't remember it but she had fun and we have some great memories and pictures from the trip. She was amazed by watching everything and everyone. There are also no age or height restrictions on many of the rides at Disney. We took Ellie in most of the rides while she was in the Moby and she squealed and clapped through most of the trip.

I don't understand the "they won't remember it" argument. They won't remember anything from this age, does that mean we shouldn't do anything with them? We don't plan our lives around what she'll remember.

Chelz · April 2012

Kids under 3 are free. We "may" go next March when DS is a month shy of 3. Family is going so we'd love to go to. A friend of mine took her daughter around 24 months and she said just be prepared to head back to the hotel to rest/nap and she went with 2 other adults so they stayed out with her 7year old while she went back to the hotel to let the younger one rest.

I think its do-able!

I'm not sure best way to book. We have family that have been Disney members for more than a decade. We requested a free planning guide from Disney's website and there's a few blogs that have been mentioned on here in the past that give advice for Disney. (sorry, I don't have a link but you could try the search on TB)

wife1014 · April 2012

First, I need to say that in no way are we "Disney people". We first took DD#1 when she was 18 months. My aunt gave my family her timeshare fro the week, we had miles for our flights and my mom, dad, sister and niece were going so we tagged aong. She had such a great time. It as so awesome to see such genuine smiles and out loud laughter that a year later we went back. I was just newly pregnant with DD#2. Again, she had so much fun. She does remember bits and pieces of the trip.

The second time she was potty trained. We were running to the bathroom a lot. It was easier the first time because she was in diapers.

We are going again at the end of the month and we are all so excited. Disney is the perfect kid vacation.

CopperT0p · April 2012

I don't really have a fascination with Disney, I could handle not going ever. My ILs insist that they want to take their grandkids there. They would take him this summer if we let them, but I said I'd rather wait until he's 5 or 6.

delg23 · April 2012

Well, I always said I wouldn't do it until 3 but I can see him having a blast. I would definitely not try to stay an entire day though. Maybe get a couple day pass. And we're moving to Orlando so it will be super easy for us.

insertclevername · April 2012

DH refuses to take LO on a plane and probably will until he mellows out a bit. So we will not be going anytime soon. Ideally I would like to go to Disney once we are done having kids and the youngest is around 4 or 5.

wife1014 · April 2012

I didn't see you were asking for booking advice.

We never stay in regualr hotel rooms when we travel with the kids so staying in a timeshare or condo type hotel is a requirement for us. That being said, we can't afford to stay on Disney property in a condo style. So, we've always stayed at the Sheraton Vistana. My aunt gave us her week the first year and we booked there the second time. This trip, my aunt gave it to us again. It is a perfect property with kids.

Great sites to look at are https://allears.net/index.html , https://www.mousesavers.com/, the moms panel on the disney site https://disneyworldforum.disney.go.com/

If you have any questions, let me know. Again we aren't crazy disney people but I've certainly learned a lot in the last three trips.

Oh and FWIW, I never really thought I would be taking my kids to Disney this young. I never really loved it as a kid. But it really is the best vacation with little ones. It is cliche but it really is magical. (If you can let your kids be kids, that is)

Rosebud1313 · April 2012

We will be taking DS when he is 24 months. We really want to get a trip in while he won't need his own ticket. I also don't care that he won't remember it, I will and I think while he is there he will love it. We are Disney people and go every two years so I know he will have many trips there when he is older; if this was a once in a lifetime trip I would probably wait until he was older. We usually book through Disney but this time we are using Dreams Unlimited and I highly recommend them. They just do Disney stuff so they know what they are talking about.

traci1774 · April 2012

Exactly! A lot of people say she's too young b/c she won't remember and I wholeheartedly disagree. She won't remember her 1st birthday party or anything else for that matter from her first few years, but she sure did have tons of fun. And we have the memories and the pictures that we can share with her.

wife1014 · April 2012

traci1774:
Exactly! A lot of people say she's too young b/c she won't remember and I wholeheartedly disagree. She won't remember her 1st birthday party or anything else for that matter from her first few years, but she sure did have tons of fun. And we have the memories and the pictures that we can share with her.

I couldn't agree with this more. No matter where you vacation with your toddler, they're not going to remember.

ASmallWonder · April 2012

People who say "Why bother at this age" are saying it because a trip to Disney is expensive. It's a lot of money to spend when the person won't remember it. I don't think there's anything comparable to a vacation in terms of the cost to enjoyment ratio (birthday parties are what? in the hundreds maybe?). Not everyone has thousands to spend and would rather hold that money aside for a later time when the kid can take full advantage of everything the parks have to offer (since you're paying for it anyway!)

shelbell1028 · April 2012

wife1014:

I didn't see you were asking for booking advice.

We never stay in regualr hotel rooms when we travel with the kids so staying in a timeshare or condo type hotel is a requirement for us. That being said, we can't afford to stay on Disney property in a condo style. So, we've always stayed at the Sheraton Vistana. My aunt gave us her week the first year and we booked there the second time. This trip, my aunt gave it to us again. It is a perfect property with kids.

Great sites to look at are https://allears.net/index.html , https://www.mousesavers.com/, the moms panel on the disney site https://disneyworldforum.disney.go.com/

If you have any questions, let me know. Again we aren't crazy disney people but I've certainly learned a lot in the last three trips.

Oh and FWIW, I never really thought I would be taking my kids to Disney this young. I never really loved it as a kid. But it really is the best vacation with little ones. It is cliche but it really is magical. (If you can let your kids be kids, that is)

This is where we are staying when we go in May!!! My sister has stayed here before and loves it as well!

DD will be 20 months and while she may not remember the trip I am 100% sure that she is going to have a fantastic time! We are all really excited!

myattemptatmotherhood · April 2012

We are taking DD next month, so she will be 23 months. I don't care if she remembers it or not, I know she will have a blast! (I hope!) THe only thing I stress about is the plane, but thank goodness it's only a 2 hour flight!

Hyfagal · April 2012

Mom2Oli:
elmoali:
People who say "Why bother at this age" are saying it because a trip to Disney is expensive. It's a lot of money to spend when the person won't remember it. I don't think there's anything comparable to a vacation in terms of the cost to enjoyment ratio (birthday parties are what? in the hundreds maybe?). Not everyone has thousands to spend and would rather hold that money aside for a later time when the kid can take full advantage of everything the parks have to offer (since you're paying for it anyway!)
Agree with all of this

That's fine, but I'm not trying to convince everyone to take their kid to Disney. I hate hearing that about the trip I'm planning when it's no one's business how much I'm spending. It's a pet peeve after hearing about how pointless my own trip was going to be because she wouldn't remember it.

insertclevername · April 2012

Mom2Oli:
elmoali:
People who say "Why bother at this age" are saying it because a trip to Disney is expensive. It's a lot of money to spend when the person won't remember it. I don't think there's anything comparable to a vacation in terms of the cost to enjoyment ratio (birthday parties are what? in the hundreds maybe?). Not everyone has thousands to spend and would rather hold that money aside for a later time when the kid can take full advantage of everything the parks have to offer (since you're paying for it anyway!)
Agree with all of this

I agree as well. While we have young children who are in daycare we really don't have the extra income to take big vacations. So we will take some smaller vacations close to home. Once we are done paying daycare costs that will allow us some money to put towards larger vacations like Disney, Atlantis, etc. and the bonus is that LO will be old enough to fully enjoy and participate in all of the activities.

ASmallWonder · April 2012

Hyfagal:
Mom2Oli:
elmoali:
People who say "Why bother at this age" are saying it because a trip to Disney is expensive. It's a lot of money to spend when the person won't remember it. I don't think there's anything comparable to a vacation in terms of the cost to enjoyment ratio (birthday parties are what? in the hundreds maybe?). Not everyone has thousands to spend and would rather hold that money aside for a later time when the kid can take full advantage of everything the parks have to offer (since you're paying for it anyway!)
Agree with all of this
That's fine, but I'm not trying to convince everyone to take their kid to Disney. I hate hearing that about the trip I'm planning when it's no one's business how much I'm spending. It's a pet peeve after hearing about how pointless my own trip was going to be because she wouldn't remember it.

Gotcha and I agree- people should STFU. If I had the money we'd definitely go. I was looking at it from the perspective of people challenging the answer of why we aren't going, kwim?

Hyfagal · April 2012

elmoali:

Hyfagal:
Mom2Oli:
elmoali:
People who say "Why bother at this age" are saying it because a trip to Disney is expensive. It's a lot of money to spend when the person won't remember it. I don't think there's anything comparable to a vacation in terms of the cost to enjoyment ratio (birthday parties are what? in the hundreds maybe?). Not everyone has thousands to spend and would rather hold that money aside for a later time when the kid can take full advantage of everything the parks have to offer (since you're paying for it anyway!)
Agree with all of this
That's fine, but I'm not trying to convince everyone to take their kid to Disney. I hate hearing that about the trip I'm planning when it's no one's business how much I'm spending. It's a pet peeve after hearing about how pointless my own trip was going to be because she wouldn't remember it.

Gotcha and I agree- people should STFU. If I had the money we'd definitely go. I was looking at it from the perspective of people challenging the answer of why we aren't going, kwim?

I completely understand that. It can be very expensive, especially if you have to travel. It just seems like there is so much animosity over Disney on these boards. I don't understand getting yourself so invested in someone else's vacation!

shopgirl78 · April 2012

We have gone twice. 2009: My kids were almost 4 & 23 months. In 2012, they were 6.5, almost 4.5 and 26 months. We had a blast.

For a girl, I def say go during the height of the princess phase...around age 3.5-4.5...

iheartsippycups · April 2012

DH & I have annual passes- DS first went when he was 5 months old. He is 22 months now & has been 4 times. He has also been to Sea World, and Blizard Beach (disney water park)

My opinion doesn't count though because we go for us, DS won't remember any of it- although the last time we went (ds was 20 months) he LOVED the rides. And even at 5 months, I thought it would be a pain with him so small, but it really wasn't.

Keep in mind, we only live 2.5 hours away from disney world...

hoping4sticky · April 2012

I'm debating going with my in-laws when T will be just over 2 and DS will be about 9 months. I am only considering it because it would be a nice family vacation, we will have family there to dump the kids on (I mean watch them), and we can do it relatively cheaply between military discount tickets and free hotel rooms.

I wasn't really factoring in T appreciating the experience, but she got so freaking excited about seeing all of the big furry characters on Monday that I am reconsidering. I know she won't remember it but she will have fun and since she won't remember I will make it a relaxing trip and not feel the need to fit everything in.

LilyRose28 · April 2012

We won't take our kids until they're much older - I'd say when the youngest is 5+. But for us it will be a big trip $$$ and we want to plan and do everything down there - all the Disney Parks, Universal (Harry Potter!!) so we need lots of time to save and a time when the kids are much more self-sufficient, etc. I'd ideally like to go for 10 days so we don't have to cram everything in and can take time to just swim at the hotel, etc.

If I thought we'd have more opportunity to go, or lived closer, I'd probably go much sooner, but I don't see us taking them more than once or twice in their childhood unless we start rolling in the $$$ more than we are.

tyke29 · April 2012

We plan to go next May, DS will be 1.5 months less than 3. So he will be free except a plan ticket. We also will not have #2 unitl DS is atleast 4 so if we wait he will be 8ish for his first trip and that was too old for me. I want him to go when everything is real to him. He really thinks Tink flies from the castle, etc. Also I think is will be a nice family trip for us before we have a second child.

KristenFMR · April 2012

We went at 12 months and will return when he is 24 months

CGKyle · April 2012

We just got back from Disneyland. Stuff is less spread out at Disneyland imo which made it a lot easier. DD loved it! She was able to go on a ton of rides. She loved seeing mickey up close and didn't want to leave him. Just bring plenty of snacks. Something about Disneyland made my kids stomach a bottomless pit!

LilyRose28 · April 2012

tyke29:
We plan to go next May, DS will be 1.5 months less than 3. So he will be free except a plan ticket. We also will not have #2 unitl DS is atleast 4 so if we wait he will be 8ish for his first trip and that was too old for me. I want him to go when everything is real to him. He really thinks Tink flies from the castle, etc. Also I think is will be a nice family trip for us before we have a second child.

I went for the first time on my honeymoon and it was all still so magical. haha

wife1014 · April 2012

I just want to give you all an idea of what we spent on our upcoming trip.

500.00 time share from aunt

1200.00 all four tix for flight

700.00 5 day (bought 4 got 1 day free)park admission (that is only because we have to pay for DD#1 this year)

rental car 215.00 on hotwire

We are staying in condo so will prepare most meals, which I would have to do if we were home. We bring our refillable water bottles and our own snacks into the parks.

I'm not sure how many week long vacations a family of four can take for just over 2500.00.

My point is, it is definitely doable if you shop around and aren't determined to stay on property.

wonkatalia · April 2012

wife1014:
I just want to give you all an idea of what we spent on our upcoming trip.

500.00 time share from aunt

1200.00 all four tix for flight

700.00 5 day (bought 4 got 1 day free)park admission (that is only because we have to pay for DD#1 this year)

rental car 215.00 on hotwire

We are staying in condo so will prepare most meals, which I would have to do if we were home. We bring our refillable water bottles and our own snacks into the parks.

I'm not sure how many week long vacations a family of four can take for just over 2500.00.

My point is, it is definitely doable if you shop around and aren't determined to stay on property.

I agree, Wife. If you plan the trip well, it's not that expensive and totally worth it.

I was always one of those people that said "What's the point in going before they can remember it?" until I realized that she won't remember ANYTHING we're doing now. And she gets in FREE until she's three so who cares anyway!

SO, we're planning a trip with family for October when DD will be 26 months old. It will also be for our 5 year wedding anniversary. We're lucky though, it's only a 6 hour drive. I think I would probably reconsider if I had to pay for plane tickets and deal with her on a flight.

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