Best age for child's first visit to WDW? Poll Inside!

Best age for child's first visit to WDW?

  • 1 year old

    Votes: 22 6.6%
  • 2 years old

    Votes: 51 15.4%
  • 3 years old

    Votes: 35 10.6%
  • 4 years old

    Votes: 67 20.2%
  • 5 years old

    Votes: 91 27.5%
  • 6 years old

    Votes: 31 9.4%
  • 7 years old

    Votes: 22 6.6%
  • 8 years old

    Votes: 8 2.4%
  • 9 years old

    Votes: 2 0.6%
  • 10+ years old

    Votes: 2 0.6%

  • Total voters
    331
My daughter had just turned 8 when she made her first WDW trip. She was able to walk as much as we walked, and hung in there for everything. She was also still young enough to appreciate Disney through a child's eyes.
 
Not reading everyone else's post so sorry if some of this is repetitive.

I think it depends on if there will be future visits as well. My parents took me once. I was 4...when my wife and I planned our trip with our daughter they talked about how great that trip was...trouble is I only remember the photos of it, I knew we had been from the stories and photos, but felt like I really hadn't been since I had no memories of it firsthand anymore.

That's why we waited until our daughter was 7...that and not having to deal with a stroller :)
 
This was really hard to answer. I have taken my kids and grandchildren all at different ages, and we have taken some tag a long teenaged friends, most who had never been to Disney. we have a trip planned for February 2018 and are taking my son's girlfriend who has never been and she is as excited as a little kid. Personally I chose 4 as an age ( this is my favorite age in general)
 
took my oldest when she was 8, took my 2 younger daughters in 2016. my youngest was just a month away from her 3rd birthday so she was free. She was able to ride 7DMT, ToT, most everything except RnR coaster and Space mountain. She still remembers everything and her 5 year old sister had a blast! 2017 only ride my youngest couldn't ride at 4 was RnR. I think any age over 2 is good. it's Disney!
 
5 - out of diapers, naps, (most) meltdowns, tall enough to ride many of the rides, can make it mostly without a stroller, better stamina, knows all the characters, will likely remember the trip as they get older, easier to travel with ... in a nut shell: young enough that everything is magical and they still "believe" but mature enough to make everyone's time more enjoyable.

I think the 4-6 range really is the "sweet spot" for Disney. And any age after that is gravy. 1-3 is probably the hardest time. And an infant of less than a year is likely much easier than a 1-3 year old.

Our youngest is a little over 2 and we are waiting another year before we go back. We brought her at 1 and it was a lot of fun but completely exhausting.
 
I chose 5 and yes, I brought my children for their 5th birthdays. I planned it as a once in a lifetime trip although they are 16 now and we have gone back one more time.

My personal criteria that made 5 the key was.....

1) I didn't want to have to worry about a stroller, I wanted them to be able to walk. They did and it was great. We went on Disney training walks a couple of month leading up to the trip which I think was a huge help. I had them learn how to stay within my reach so we didn't always have to hold hands (that can get super tiring for a little one with their arm up in the air for a week) and also got their legs used to walking. Neither one complained ever during the 8 day trip.

2) I didn't want to have to worry about naps. By then they had outgrown them and were able to go all day without a tired meltdown.

3) I wanted to go during school time (at the time October was a not crowded time and their bday is in October) without worrying about them missing real school. My duo were in preschool and missed 4 days but we were all fine with that. I wouldn't have wanted them to miss 4 days of school as they got older. I also loved October at this age was because the fireworks weren't quite soo late because it got dark earlier. My duo had no trouble staying up for 8pm Fantasmic! and I didn't feel bad bringing them to it.

Gosh, I feel like there were other reasons I chose 5 but now I can't put my finger on them. I went into the trip knowing full well I was going to let them control the trip because happy kids means happy mom. I was going to go at their pace and do their key things even if that meant watching the bunny eat the french fry that was on the ground (yes, this happened) because whatever they considered magical was the key for me (even if I didn't find it quite so magical ;)!).
 


Personally, I think ANY age is the right age for a first trip to WDW.

We took our son for the first time when he was 8 months old and he has been at least twice a year since then. When he was a baby and toddler, every single trip was totally different as he came to enjoy new experiences. His first trip he was FASCINATED by the sights and sounds. It was the first time EVER he had a real belly laugh. He fell in love with the characters during meet and greets. Yes, he understood some things - he was mesmerized by Tigger at The Crystal Palace, craned his neck to watch Tigger as he went from table to table. Then later that day we were in The Emporium and he spotted a stuffed Tigger - actually SQUEALED in delight and reached out his arms to try to get it. He held fast to that stuffed Tigger for the entire trip and it was his very favorite stuffed animal when we got home. He was also fascinated by the WDW balloons in that trip. We got him a Mickey balloon and tied it around his ankle when we got back to the resort. He spend hours laying on his back on the bed, kicking his feet to make the balloon move and just laughed and laughed. I am so happy we have those memories and photos/videos of that first, and many other early trips.

There is no way I could pick the "best" age because they were all different.
 
We took DS for a week-long trip at 4. We felt it was a great for him(every kid is different) First short trip with DD she was 20 mths. One day at MK and Cape May Breakfast the following day.

For me, her not being potty trained yet was a not fun so I couldn't imagine a full week of that.
 
There is a chapter in the Unofficial Guide called 'Taking Kids to WDW' or something similar. When I first saw this, I thought: What!!?!!? Isn't that the whole point? Why would this need a separate chapter? Isn't that what the whole book is about?

But it is about the whole psychology of taking kids. All the money being spent, the expectation of the parents, etc., the possibility of meltdowns, and the fact that surveys show that kids under a certain age find the hotel pool to be the best part of the vacation, something you could find much cheaper elsewhere. For some families, the combination of major expense and stressful situations (like waiting on lines in the heat) make it a potentially disastrous vacation. it is a very thorough chapter.

The UG recommends 7 years old, an age where kids could possibly enjoy all that WDW has to offer. I tend to agree.
 
My point was that the idea of pushing a stroller round MK on a busy day (see: summer, march break) seems like it could be daunting. Ive been smashed in the foot more than once at MK. Please don't read anything more into what i've said.
I totally agree that using a stroller at WDW is a daunting task, but that wasn't really my point. Generally speaking, the age of the members of my touring group just isn't a high priority when deciding to go or not go.

I wasn't reading into your post; just questioning the many assumptions many folks in this thread have made. Your post just happened to contain multiple signicant assumptions about the future.

None of us knows if our future selves will be able to go to WDW at some ideal time. Just for a start, it is wrong to assume WDW will always exist. When I was young, there were many amusement parks near where I lived. They are all long gone.

IMO, there's no ideal age for a trip to WDW. The age of the members of my group is generally a very low priority when deciding to go or not go, unless we're talking about an extremely young infant with no immunity.
 
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"Go before the magic wears off..."

I read this advice a lot, but it always makes me pause a bit. I was in my 30's the first time I went to WDW, and it was incredibly magical. I still remember that very first day, walking into the Magic Kingdom and seeing the castle, then turning right and walking over the bridge to Tomorrowland. I'd never even imagined a "theme park" could look so amazing! It was far better than I'd even dreamed.

And maybe it was all the more magical, because I'd waited so long. Would I take it more for granted, if I'd been visiting since I was four?

Now, I'm not saying that you shouldn't take your kids to Disney until they're adults! :laughing: But I do think there's something to the idea that there's no "best" age for a first visit.

My son was seven when we first took him to Walt Disney World. But that wasn't actually my favourite visit with him. He had a terrific time, but he was often tired and cranky and he has dietary issues that we hadn't diagnosed yet.

Nine was better, but he'd been sick a lot leading up to that visit. And we were still learning to accommodate his health issues.

Eleven he went with friends, so I wasn't along for that trip.

Nope, the BEST trip, from my perspective, was shortly after he'd turned 13. We got him a birthday button, and I made notes on all his ADRs. I was a bit worried heading into this, because my young man was now taller than me and had developed a cynical attitude toward most things. He was the very essence of adolescent cool, struggling with a lot of heavy stuff, and it's been a long time since I'd seen him laugh and smile in a genuine kind of way.

He resisted that birthday button for all of half a day, before the magic snuck in under his defenses. By the second day, he'd added a Winnie the Pooh button to the the front of his shirt. On the third day, he'd bought himself a Captain Eo tee and was high fiving performers in the parades. More buttons followed. Castmembers sang happy birthday to him, more times than I can count, and each time he grinned wider. He played Pat-a-cake with Pooh Bear!

For one whole wonderful week, Disney gave me back my little boy. It was magic!

So if I could only have taken my son to Disney once in his life, I'd want it to be the year he was 13. :cloud9:

(Still haven't figured out which was my daughter's best visit - she's so easy-going, I think you could take her at any age and she'd be right into the magic, no matter what!)
 
The first time we took my son he was 4, but only about 2 months away from being 5, and I thought at the time that was an ideal age.
 
Just got back from a trip for my son's 3rd birthday. He loved it, but I definitely feel that he will have an even better time in 1-2 years. As others have said, dumping the stroller and not dealing with naps will be awesome for me. Him being more aware of the experience will be better for him. He couldn't tell the difference between the 3 parks we visited, it was either 'hotel room' or 'Disney World'.

I voted 4, but think 5 may be the best answer. I'm debating whether we will return right after he turns 4 or just before he turns 5. Because I'm impatient and waiting 2 years is hard, we will probably go back sooner, but I still believe he would enjoy the trip most at 5.

Waiting until they are 40" is understandable, because there are many rides they can't do until then. I wouldn't worry about the few with higher height requirements, as many kids would not be mentally ready for those rides even if they are physically tall enough.
 
Not 15 months lol. That's when we took my son for the first time and he was kind of a disaster the entire trip, I never would have taken him that young if he didn't have an older sister. My daughter was 4.5 and had a really good time, so I picked 4 but I think 2 or 3 would be fine too depending on the kid.
 
I voted for five. The first time I went to WDW I was five, one month before turning six. I remember that trip quite well. I loved WDW then, and I still love it now. There are several attractions that were there that first time that are still there. One in particular makes me feel like that five year old again. Obviously a stroller was not even a consideration then, and I have experienced just how much of a pain that can be.
 
For a first, as in there will be more, I'd say any age. I would say as someone who goes every year since my kids were infants, the most "magical" years have always been 3-5. They're just so in awe of everything, still believe it's all true, are generally tall enough for most rides etc. My oldest is now 16 next month and youngest is 3, and it's held true for each of them.
 
I totally agree that using a stroller at WDW is a daunting task, but that wasn't really my point. Generally speaking, the age of the members of my touring group just isn't a high priority when deciding to go or not go.

I wasn't reading into your post; just questioning the many assumptions many folks in this thread have made. Your post just happened to contain multiple signicant assumptions about the future.

None of us knows if our future selves will be able to go to WDW at some ideal time. Just for a start, it is wrong to assume WDW will always exist. When I was young, there were many amusement parks near where I lived. They are all long gone.

IMO, there's no ideal age for a trip to WDW. The age of the members of my group is generally a very low priority when deciding to go or not go, unless we're talking about an extremely young infant with no immunity.


That was the only comment I made in my original post that was different from anybody else posting their opinion of what age they think is ideal. 1,2,3,4 yrs old etc.
Then you post that you hope I'm not saying that disabled children don't belong at WDW. Never said anything of the sort. So why start throwing things around saying you hope I'm not saying this & that?
So the age of the members of your touring group isn't a high priority. That's fine. For other people, it may be more of a priority. Both are valid. I posted my thought as an answer to this thread that 3 yrs was a good age, also noting a disclaimer that I didn't have kids yet.
 
Disney is great at any age but if I had to pick an age I think 4 is such a magical age for Disney! On our first two trips we had four year olds and I remember it being a combination of awe, imagination, being past diapers and naps, and having that optimal 40” inch height that made that particular age the “magical age” for Disney. Our most recent trip was this past March and our three year old princess asks to go back to Disney everyday and loves watching video footage of the parks so I know the trip we are planning for next year will be even more magical for her at 4 years old :goodvibes.
 

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