Generally, what is the height requirement for most rides?

We went with a 4.5 year old and an almost 2 year old and they had a wonderful time with no meltdowns.

We had leisurely mornings, meandered to the parks around 10:00 AM or so, and stayed through the fireworks (with the exception of Animal Kingdom).

You have to know your kids and whether or not they can handle these kind of things. Our youngest was one of those kids that can nap anywhere for an extended period of time. We pushed him around in the umbrella stroller and he just slept when he needed to. His favorite things were running around Toon Town and meeting the characters. He does not remember that trip. Our oldest was one of those energizer bunny kids. We had an umbrella for him when he needed it, but mostly he walked/ran from attraction to attraction. He does remember the trip and had a blast. Even the soaking they got form a huge rainstorm when they were trapped in line for a ride was fun for him.

We are kind of go with the flow types of parents. If your family is one that requires a set schedule of naps, feedings, and down time in order to function, I might consider delaying the trip until right before your oldest starts kindergarten, or even pulling him out of school for a week to go sometime in the late winter/early spring. If you overlap it with teacher conference days, he might only need to miss 2-3 days of school, and in kindergarten missing school is really no big deal.

Delay the pain as long as possible.

Too young. Wait until age six.

Anonymous wrote:We took our 5 year old to Dutch Wonderland last summer and to Disney this past Spring. Guess which one he liked better? Yep, Dutch Wonderland. Save your money and go when they are 6 or 7.

I think your child is the exception, not the rule.

We took our 5 year old to Dutch Wonderland last summer and to Disney this past Spring. Guess which one he liked better? Yep, Dutch Wonderland. Save your money and go when they are 6 or 7.

Anonymous wrote:A total waste of time and money. Focus on your marriage.

Hahahaha. You're a riot!

Anonymous wrote:I would go the year right before the oldest starts kindergarten. This way you can go in one of the less crowded times and have a pleasant trip. We went this year in very late January.

I would never want to contemplate this trip during school vacations.

Agreed! Go before the oldest goes to kindergarten!

Something to consider regardless of which park you go to -- toddlers have no understanding of why they have to stand in a long line or the patience to do it. We were at Sea World in San Diego recently and our 2yo started to melt down because he had to wait for about 5 minutes to go on a ride. Add that to the list of obvious things that never occurred to me until it was too late. I made a mental note to myself that we will wait to go to Sesame Place for at least a year because of the patience/long line issue.

I would wait to go to Disney until much later. We met my SIL and her family in Disney when her youngest was 6 or 7 and it was the perfect age. he was tall enough to go on most of the rides, he had the patience to wait and he could still enjoy the rides designed for younger children like "It's a Small World."

Go only if you have been to Disney and you love it so much that you know you will be back again soon.

We took our son when he was 5 and it worked out very well. However, he was willing to go on every ride (including Tower of Terror) and walked from 7am until 10pm with no problem. We had in laws with us as well so my husband and I had some time to ourselves (not much but we were able to do some adult rides).

I would probably wait 1-2 years though. A 2 year old can't do much and will prevent you all from making the most of the trip. We walk fast and keep to a tight schedule because we refuse to do lines. I think a young child just isn't up for the kind of physical demands that are required of a trip to Disney World.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

So 2 yr olds are free at the park?

yes-= under 3 is free. They are also free at the buffet style property restaurants.

Just to add on: If your child turns 3 on the visit (but is 2 at arrival), they are still free.

A total waste of time and money. Focus on your marriage.

Anonymous wrote:

So 2 yr olds are free at the park?

yes-= under 3 is free. They are also free at the buffet style property restaurants.

Anonymous wrote:We went last year around this time with a 2 year old and a 4 year old--2 year old was 2 and a few months and 4 year old was a few months shy of 5. We had a blast. We were there for opening every morning, left after eating lunch, napped in our room (even DH and I and the grandparents), then went back to the parks around 4:30, and left for the evening around 7:00 or 7:30 (one night we stayed for the parade). The bonus of the 2 year old of course is that he/she is free. Last week I was dealing with typical 3 year old shenanigans, which I find to be worse than 2 year old shenanigans, and thought to myself that I was glad we had done Disney at 2 rather than 3.

So 2 yr olds are free at the park?

we took our then nearly 3 year old and 10 mos old. Our 3 year old talks about the trip and asks to go back all the time- 6 months later. What he loved was meeting characters, which is more uniquely disney. We did not push it on this trip-- we basically went to the parks in the morning, and napped in the afternoon. We sometimes went back in the evening, but we frequently hung around the resort in the evening.