Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just go to Disneyland. You can walk to and from the parks from the hotels and take breaks and there are only 2 parks instead of 4. Then you can take them when they are little and it's much more manageable.

+1. Disneyland would be great for these ages, and you can go to WDW for a later trip.

+2. Disneyland is so much easier. I would still wait until the youngest is 3 or 4 though. We went when my youngest was almost 3 and he remembers nothing. And couldn't ride a lot of rides. Your older one may not still be in the magic stage but the older they get, the more they are willing to ride the better rides. The rides for little kids are kind of...terrible.

Anonymous wrote:Just go to Disneyland. You can walk to and from the parks from the hotels and take breaks and there are only 2 parks instead of 4. Then you can take them when they are little and it's much more manageable.

+1. Disneyland would be great for these ages, and you can go to WDW for a later trip.

We took our kids when youngest was 1.5 and went back almost every year (we have family in Florida so this was easier to do for us than most). I would highly recommend going when they are younger. The sense of magic and joy is beautiful, and sadly does go away when they get older (we last went when they were 11 and 13 and it was a completely different vibe). We would get up early and be at the gate before it opened (or, protip-get a reservation for breakfast at a place in Magic Kingdom before opening hours - talk about special!). Then spend the morning in Fantasy Land, return to your hotel midday for naps/pool time, return to park in late afternoon for more rides and hang out for the fireworks. It’s actually a great day!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:C. Age 4 is the best starter age and they remember it all.

My kids remember no vacations before age 9-10.

I remember lots of family vacations before 9-10. My kids remember vacations too, this isn't a universal thing.

NP but as long as you aren't obsessed with your kids remembering everything in a few years (which it doesn't sound like OP is) then I wouldn't worry about this. It's a tradeoff because yeah, the oldest sibling is likely to remember more but there is something fun and magical about he experience for younger kids. Just not too young- I wouldn't go before 4-5yo just for logistics/sanity.

D

Since you plan to go again, any way to leave the youngest back with grandparents or something? Having a toddler is rather limiting due to naps, diaper changes, etc. It would essentially be one of you minding the toddler while the other takes the older two kids around.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:C. Age 4 is the best starter age and they remember it all.

My kids remember no vacations before age 9-10.

I remember lots of family vacations before 9-10. My kids remember vacations too, this isn't a universal thing.

Anonymous wrote:C. Age 4 is the best starter age and they remember it all.

My kids remember no vacations before age 9-10.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I'm surprised folks went so late! I was kinda thinking B or C.

I think what spurred this was looking at my 6 and 4 year olds and thinking they would LOVE a trip to Disney right now, and they're just at such a great age for the "magic" part of it.

But you couldn't pay me to take my one year old. Ha.

I worry about missing the "magic" age with my oldest - even 8 feels on the old side for that. Which is why I was leaning B.

Three was definitely when I noticed both my older kids got easier on the road!

I don't think there is a right or wrong answer here, but I would definitely not want to take a 1yo either lol. My kids were 4 and 7- I honestly thought the 4yo was a bit young but we were going with DH's family and that was when everyone could go. On one side she was too small for a lot of the rides and that put her out but she lovvved the characters, we went to the winnie the pooh lunch and she couldn't get enough of it! Long days and a lots of walking- I ended up renting a park stroller for most days.

C. Age 4 is the best starter age and they remember it all.

Will you have 2 parents and be willing to split up?
We went for the first time when kids were 4 and 6 and my 4yo was deeeep into the magic of it all. When we went again a few years later she still had fun, but she wasn’t into princesses anymore and was more into big rides. Both were fun trips, but there was a sweet magic to the first one.

If you are willing to split up- have one person go back to the hotel and hang w the youngest to get some nap/quiet time, going at younger ages might be ok

My answer also changes if you don’t know how your kids will handle amusement parks in general (will they get overstimulated? Do they like rides?). I would recommend a trip to Dutch Wonderland as a test to see how it goes. It’s like a JV version of Disney

2030 or later.

The older the better, OP, so they remember it. Before 10 years old they're not going to remember much. I still remember my first Disney trip when I was 10. I don't remember much about the wonderful vacations my parents took me on when I was younger, even though I've seen the pictures.

would also consider height. If my kid was 1/2 and inch short for some fun rides, I would wait a year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:C or D - you want everyone to be somewhat independent and able to tolerate long days.

You’ll have more fun if you DON’T “tolerate long days.” Go to parks in the morning, swim and rest in the hot afternoon and then enjoy the early evening in the parks, with one late night for fireworks.

It's a lot of additional walking to get to and from the parks using whatever transportation method. None of it is door to door. We prefer a long day because after a midday break, nap, swim, we probably wouldn't make it all the way back.

Fun at all ages, and the resort is set up for travel with kids. The only time that was a bit of a pain was breastfeeding. Otherwise, go when you want. Just make sure to pace your trip to the kids and don’t be a parent who forces their kids to go from morning to night just because the tickets are expensive.