Walt Disney World is a wonderful vacation destination, but though it is my favorite place in the world, my husband and I are waiting until our daughter is older before going.
I love Walt Disney World so much. When my husband asked me if I’d rather go to Disney or Vegas for our honeymoon, it took me about a second to shout out, “Disney!!!”.
We took our honeymoon a year after our wedding and we spent our first anniversary in Epcot. It was a very magical trip!
About three months after our honeymoon, we found out I was pregnant with our little girl. Even before she was born, I started dreaming about the first time she would be able to go to “The World.”
Despite my huge desire to go back, my husband and I decided soon after our daughter was born that we were going to wait to take her until she is 6 or 7.
For one, we don’t want to deal with the stroller issue, being that we don’t want to worry about navigating a stroller through the parks and parking the stroller while on rides.
Plus, Disney World can be overwhelming for an adult, so I can’t imagine how overwhelming it would be for a child. I was 9 when I went to Disney World the first time, and I still remember that trip. I want to wait until my daughter is old enough to be able to remember it.
I know there are people who bring small babies and toddlers to Disney World, and have a good time. I just know that isn’t a viable option for us. But since I’m such a Disney geek, we are already planning a trip for the fall of 2014!
My daughter loves her Disney movies and I’ve already started to ask her if she wants to visit the castle that is on the beginning of every Disney movie, to which she always yells, “Yes!”.
My husband and I made similar choices. We have been presented with incredible military ticket deals to Disney World every year since 9/11. In 2009, when both my husband & I could go for FREE, we couldn’t wait any longer…my youngest son was just about 5, my oldest was 7.
They were at the PERFECT ages for Disneyworld — old enough to ride all but 2 rides (Rockin’ Roller Coaster @ Hollywood Studios and one other Dinosaur-related ride @ Animal Kingdom), and still young enough for them to experience joy and delight at meeting all their favorite Disney characters.
No strollers! Whoo hoo! But…my husband and I did have to take turns holding our almost-5-year-old towards the end of each day…he was clearly exhausted and understandably so. We didn’t mind.
Tears well up in my eyes just remembering their first hugs with Mickey Mouse…it was pretty emotional for me.
I think you’re making a very wise choice — it’ll be so great!
(We’re headed down in 3 weeks, but since we live in Florida, it isn’t the same big vacation experience as it was in 2009 when we flew in from Nebraska).
Thanks Patricia! Her birthday is in October so we want to take her to Disney the year she’ll be 6 either for Halloween / her birthday or in early December.
Of course, that year is WrestleMania 30 in NYC, and my husband is wanting to push back Disney to go to that. I’m really on the fence *L*
I myself still haven’t been to Disney. It’s strange too because I’m such a Disney fan. But now it’s neat that I’ve never gone, because my first time will also be my daughter’s first time.
And we’re also probably waiting until 6 or 7 for this.
Good plan Dolli! I do think that someday we should take the girls for a girls only trip š
I’m also waiting for the no stroller stage. Unfortunately, since I’m pregnant with #4, I worry that #1 will be pretty old by the time we get there. Oh well, we’re still waiting!
Good idea. We did Disney World when my daughter was almost 2. The stroller issue wasn’t too bad (it at least gave us a place to hold sweaters and snacks) but she definitely didn’t have the stamina to take full advantage of the parks. We decided to do it then because we were only going to be living on the east coast for a few more months and weren’t sure if we’d ever get a chance. Now we are in CA and have been to Disneyland a handful of times. The best trip by far was the most recent when the kids were 6 and 3.5. We were stroller-free, though the smaller one had to be carried a bit at the end of the day. And its great that they both still remember it! I think our next trip (maybe next year when they are 8 and 5?) will be even better.
Completely with you on this — we celebrated our (then) 4 year-old’s birthday at Disney and didn’t go back for 5 years…with the youngest now 9 we were able to enjoy the parks so much more…plus, the youngest is old enough to remember it!
We agree, and my parents agree SO much that they still insist on TELLING me that I need to wait until the kids are older over and over, even though I never gave any indication of doing otherwise.
I celebrated my 8th birthday in Disney World (and my toddler sister had to stay home with the grandparents!). I ended up coming down with a horrible ear infection, threw up in a fancy restaurant on Main Street USA, and couldn’t eat anything the rest of the trip. And I still had a totally awesome time!