We were planning a trip to Disney at the end of August, but I think we should put it off until the kids are a little older. They will be 8, 6, and almost 5. I think they will be able to enjoy more of the rides when the oldest is 10 (8 and almost 7). My husband doesn't agree with me. I'm looking for feedback from families that have gone and enjoyed it with younger kids, or wished they had waited until they were older. We only plan to do one big trip to Disney so this is it!
Both of my kids loved Disney at those ages. They also love it at older ages. The "magic" tends to disappear around age 10, which if you're only planning to do it once, you might want to think about it. They still have fun, but they don't see it as this big magical place. People who didn't get to go as young children also don't seem to get the "magic" of Disney as well later either.
We're doing a trip to Disneyland in June/July, and our kids are will be 7, 4 and 2. We've gone to Sea World when #1 was 3 and #2 was 6 months and it was a lot of fun (I know... it's a totally different park with far fewer rides!)
I think the great thing about any of the Disney parks is that they have something there for all ages. Yeah, sure we won't be able to ride the fast rides and my husband and I will be doing the rider swap on some rides (I HAVE to ride Indiana Jones! LOL) but there are the rides that the kids will love and we'll get to ride a lot of things as a family.
My theory is to save a Europe trip for when the kids are older... enjoy Disney while they are still interested!
I don't think they will enjoy it more when they are older. They are all old enough to enjoy most of the attrations there. We went this past august my kids are 4,6,10. If I had waited my 10 year old would not have enjoyed it as much as he did this year. The magic of Disney will be gone (especially for boys) and it will just be another theme park. I think this is a great time for you to go!
I think now is a terrific time to go. We went when we had two 4 year olds and a 5 year old and they went on pretty much everything and had a ball. At this age, the characters are so real to them and larger than life. I think if they are too old, all that "magic" is lost.
I would go now. Don't wait.
Go!!! Disney is a great place and your kids are all the right ages! My kids were spaced pretty far apart, and we took my older daughter at 10 when my younger was almost 2. They both had a great time! There is so much to do there for any age and so much to see! If you wait too much longer the 8-year-old will be too old!
Hi Michelle,
We went to Disney Orlando during the winter break with our 2 sons, 6 and 8. Thye had tons of fun and it was a blast from the get go.
We were also with our nephew who is under 2, all I can tell you is, from my opinion, don't go to Disney when your kids are under 5. First, they have a height restriction and you can't take your strollers inside any attraction. My bro-in-law and his wife parked their stroller outside the few attractions we could go in with their son and mostly they just sat around outside, eating and playing with their son. Then you have the long lines...
The only way little ones can enjoy is if you'll go to the Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom. But forget the Epcot Center, The Blizzard Beach etc. You'll just find a few things to do with little ones.
Good luck.
Leshi.
Working From Home, Helping Others!
I agree with hubby. Now is the time to go. My reason why is because once they get older, the magic will not be there.
I just took my 4 year old to Disney last august and am also going again in 2 weeks. My son has not stopped talking about it since!! My opinion is that, as soon as they can remember, It's def time for Disney!
Go now. They are the perfect age for Disney World. My daughter, age 8 1/2, and my son, age 6, have been 4 times already. Their first trip was when my daughter was 3 and my son was 4 months old. And we drove down there from Michigan. My daughter loved it. We did have grandma and grandpa with us while we were at Disney which made it a little easier.
We also went when my daughter was almost 6 and my son was 3. Again when my daughter was 7 and my son was 4 1/2. And again when my daughter was 7 1/2 and my son was 5. We flew down for these trips. And we are looking to go again sometime in the next year.
As others have said, as the kids get older, the magic starts to go away or at least change. My daughter still wants to go to Disney, but she's pretty much done with princesses. She already told me that she doesn't need to do the princess lunch anymore unless it's in the castle. In all of our previous trips, she was in awe of the princesses and couldn't wait to see them.
As far as the rides go, we never had a problem with the kids not being able to go on a ride that they wanted to go on. There are so many things to do that even if there are rides that they aren't big enough to ride, there are more than enough things to do to fill your days.
Hi Michelle,
We;ve gone twice. The first time we went, the kids were 9 and 5. They were great ages for the trip and we planned well, so we did a lot and had no meltdowns. The only things that the 5 year old did not go on which the 9 year old did were Space Mountain and Mission space at Epcot - my husband took the 9 year old on and she enjoyed those things a lot, and I didn't mind doing something else with the little guy for those two rides. My son also didn't go to MGM, my husband took my daughter one night, so she did go on tower of terror and rocking roller coaster, which of course the 5 year old didn't. He was happy to have an evening of swimming in the hotel pool instead of going to MGM, it was the only time we went in the pool while we were there.
We did go again, when they were 12 and 8,this time my son did Space Mountain - many times and loved it but I feel like the first visit was a little more "magical"
We took my 4 year old last year and loved it! I think your kids are theperfect age. We can't wait to go back.
This is a GREAT age for ur kids. It will all be super magical to them. We took our son when he was 5 & he loved it! You might want to use one of their double carts in case the younger 2 get tired from walking (we did, and it was helpful to have a place to put all our gear (snacks, handwipes, sunscreen, water, etc) rather than carry them all over.
Take them now. They will enjoy the magic of seeing the characters walking around and going into their houses. And the animation of the different rides will amaze them. When they are older they will enjoy a
6-Flags park better for the thrill rides.
Hi, I think you should go now. If you wait until your oldest is 10, they won't enjoy the characters as much. I think they are all at a perfect age right now. The younger ones will have a somewhat different experience than your 8 year old, but that's ok. When we went, our oldest was 9 and our twins were 4, and my husband took our oldest on all the older rides and she had a wonderful time, while our younger children enjoyed toon town and the little kid rides. We had a wonderful time. So, I say, go now!!! Have a great time!
Disney is mostly for younger kids. We just took our four year old in January and the joy on his face was awesome. It was so new for him. We took each of our kids on their birthdays last year. 12,9,8, and 6 and of course the 4yo. They all loved it. There are only a few rides that are specifically geared towards olders.
Perfect, perfect age is NOW!
We went in late 2008 when our kids were almost 8, almost 5 and just turned 3. The two olders one were at the perfect age for it and loved it to pieces, but it was tough doing everything with the 3-yr old.
I agree about the magical time being now. At 10, it does start to fade though the trip is still fun. :)
We took my daughter when she was 4. It was perfect. She was not big enough to ride everything, but most of those things she didn't want to do anyway. She was the perfect age for the wonder and magic of Disney. I agree w/ some others, if you wait, your kids may miss some of that. Go now, and enjoy! It really is the most magical place on earth! and you will remember it always!
I went when my girls were 4 and 5.5. They enjoyed the "magic" of it, but were scared of the characters and overwhelmed with the size and all they could do. When we got home and asked what their favorite part was, it was the pool. They are now 12.5 and 11 and there is not alot of the trip they remember and they are dying to go again. Pictures help spark their memory, but it's fading fast. My son is 5, we are hoping to go again when he is 7 or 8 pending finances.
We went to Disney World in December 2005, and our three children were 8, 6, and 5, 2 girls and a boy. The kids had a great time and they remember it. We did a princess lunch, which was awesome. Like you, we plan only to do one big Disney World trip. I'm glad we went when we did. The magic was still special. We went to FL for a week and we did Disney every other day, which was a perfect pace as it gave the kids a "down" day between a 12 hour Disney day. We did mini-golf and other local events on the "off" days. We also packed snacks and only did one meal out at the parks. It was an awesome memorable week! Good luck!