Knowing what you know now, what do you feel is the best age for a child's first visit to WDW? ..and why?
Totally depends on the expected number of visits.
5 is definitely the "magic age" in my opinion. They still believe the characters are real, but they can also ride some of the highlighted attractions and have a decent amount of stamina. If I was only going
once, I'd wait until about 8, to try to capture some of that but also have them retain the memories, but if I could go
twice, I'd definitely go at 5! (If I could go
three times, I'd throw in a "first" trip while they were still free, then go
again when they're 5, and so on...) Something like this:
1 visit @ 8 (balanced age)
2 visits @ 5 & 10 (magic age & big ride age)
3 visits @ 2, 5, 10 (adorable age, magic age, big ride age)
4 visits @ 2, 5, 10, 16 (adorable age, magic age, big ride age, & can-let-them-go-off-exploring-a bit-age)
But I agree that anytime it works out is a good time to go! The more visits you can make, the more ages I'd throw into that list. Personally, I didn't get there until I was 27, but I loved every minute of it. (And I was pretty much 5 inside for the whole trip.
)
My DS has been at 18 mths, 5, 7, 10, 14, and 16. A couple of those were just day trips while visiting relatives, a few were long weekends, but the one at 5 is still known as "the big trip" where we stayed a week and a half.
@Magpie, I was quite literally in tears at your post about taking your son at 13. I
love that!!!
..