Our oldest daughter visited Disney for the first time when she was 9 months old. Our son made his first trip when he was 6 weeks old! The other kids have visited Disney for the first time at varying ages. This past year our youngest was almost 3 years old when we visited the Mouse.
Personally I don’t think there is any age that is too young for Disney, it was easy to take our 6 week old around the park, he just hung out in the stroller! He could not however go on many of the rides in the park. This wasn’t too important to us because we had 2 kids and 2 adults so we took turns sitting with him and taking our two year old on rides.
The benefit of taking anyone under 3 to Disney World is that admission is free. Will a 2 year old enjoy Disney, absolutely. Will they be able to ride many of the rides, yes. Will they remember it when they get older, probably not!
We had annual passes when our oldest daughter was ages 2 through 4. We went to Disney or Epcot almost once a week for those three years. I took hundreds of pictures, some of which still hang on our walls today. She has some memories of these trips, although she does not remember most of what we experienced during those years. Many of her memories are from the visits when she was three to four years old.
If you are taking children five and under I highly recommend bringing a stroller. You will walk a lot during your visit and little legs tire quickly. A stroller also provides a place for tired children to take a nap as you stroll around the park.
Disney parks also have a ride swap option for parents of young children. This program allows both parents to wait in line (with the kids) and then one parent rides while the other one waits, then when the first parent is finished they take the kids and the second parent rides. This is a great option for those wanting to ride the “bigger kid” rides that cannot accommodate small children.
If you are traveling with a little one I suggest visiting Disney’s official planning page for tips. You will find kid friendly attractions, height requirements, baby care locations, kid programs, and resort amenities for young ones. There is even a special park map with details on kid friendly attractions.
The only time I thought it was difficult to take a child to Disney was when they were potty training. There is nothing worse than standing in line for 45 minutes, being able to see the finish line and then having your young one tell you they have to go to the bathroom! (Well, there are many things worse than that, but you know what I mean, right?)
Big or small Disney is magical for kids of any age. Even my 12 year old son enjoyed the trip this year, he just made me promise not to put any pictures of him on the blog!
Our almost three year old enjoyed meeting all the characters this year and talks often about returning to Disney.
