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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To ask if you would take an 18 month old to Disneyworld?

135 replies

PurpleFlower1983 · 09/06/2019 09:39

Posting here for traffic.

We’re thinking about booking to go to Florida next year, our little girl will be 18 months old at that time. We would be going in August so it will be hot.

For context, we always said we would wait until our little one was 5 or 6 until taking her (both me and my husband have been to Orlando several times when we were younger but the last time was around 9 years ago). I know she won’t remember it but the reason we are considering next year is that my parents would desperately like to go to Florida again, especially with our little girl. My mum is physically disabled and has several chronic conditions, her health has deteriorated significantly over the last 8 years and continues to do so. We would be looking at flights with a stop to make it more manageable for her but it is something she really wants to do.

Has anyone been with a child this young? I know it is completely set up for children but I’m just wondering if anyone had any real life experience/tips. Would you go in our situation?

OP posts:

Sld1518 · 09/06/2019 18:16

I got back from wdw 3 weeks ago and took my daughter who is 2 for her first trip. I've been there several times with my dad since i was 11. We've just booked to go back march next year. I know she wont remember it but the memories made will last for a lifetime! I would definitely taken your daughter, considering your family situation. I would advise to avoid august if you can due to the heat in the height of summer is not ideal! We went beginning of may for 2 weeks and the weather wasn't too bad! I think i enjoyed this trip even more as i saw it through my daughters eyes. It truly was magical! Im a massive Disney geek, even share a birthday with mickey mouse haha my girl is Disney mad too haha! We would go to the parks early morning the head back to the hotel around 2/3 chill by pool or get showered and head to Disney springs for early dinner and a walk around or head back to a park in the evening. Yes she had a few tantrums her and Here but they do at that age! The look on her face when she met mickey and Minnie for the first time i will never forget! You will have the most amazing memories with your family! Just got to remember to go at your daughters pace and make sure you have plenty of snacks with you and water and keep cool with a fan etc. All the cast members were amazing and made such a fuss! There is so much for them to do! My little girl is quite small for her age so she couldn't go on any ones with height restrictions so me and my dad just did rider swap and it worked out great! Hoping next year she's a little bit taller haha If you want any other advice let me know 😃 xxxx

Shufflebumnessie · 09/06/2019 18:22

I haven't read all the replies so apologies if someone has already said this!
I would recommend joining the forum on The Dibb. It's a great source of information and advice in all things Disney. If you post in the forum people will give you some fantastic tips on the best way to make it work for your situation.

ReganSomerset · 09/06/2019 18:31

I don't know about the Dibb, but beware if it's a public forum and you say when you are going you may open yourself up to burglary if you've got enough clues about where you live on your fb profile.

Hahaha88 · 09/06/2019 18:34

Don't know if this has been said as I've rtft but it would have been a nightmare taking my lo at 18 months. Lo was (and currently still is) petrified of anyone in costume.

LadyRannaldini · 09/06/2019 18:41

We were there on February and saw some very tiny babies, one was only about a month old!
It must be a bit limiting for the parents going on the rides! Summer temperatures can be brutal, can you not go at a different time of the year?

iknowenoughthankyouygritte · 09/06/2019 18:43

We have. She likes it but doesn't remember.
It isn't about her memories though is it? It's about you having them of your mum with her.

MagicKingdom · 09/06/2019 18:49

Yes! Took our then 18 month old son. He absolutely loved it. Now 3 and can't remember a thing but loves to look at the pictures. We do however visit a lot so we knew this wasn't going to be his only trip. He was splendid on the flight, napped in his pushchair in the parks and had a absolutely wonderful time on rides and meeting characters. Universal studios wasn't as good as there are hardly any rides for him but he still enjoyed various playgrounds and characters. Sea world he loved. Do it!! Plus he was free entry, free dining plan, free room just the flight taxes.

MagicKingdom · 09/06/2019 18:50

We also went in September and he was fine with the heat.

themental · 09/06/2019 19:34

Yes my mum definitely qualifies for the pass, we did that in Paris and it was great.

Are you sure about this? My grandmother always qualifies in Paris but she didn't in the US. The passes in the US are pretty much only for people with non-physical disabilities. If it's a physical disability (as was my relative) they expect you to have a wheelchair or a mobility scooter and you queue in the normal lines for everything with your wheelchair.

IMO it depends how much support you have and how much support your mum needs. I went in September with a 4 & 8yo, and my disabled relative... that was supposed to be a quiet time and I still found it absolutely crowded to the point of being a health hazard. I've been before four times, but never with someone with mobility issues and someone who (for the most part) needs to be in a buggy.

The heat is staggering. The queues for even just water are insane. People walk right in front of the wheelchair constantly so progress is slower than a snail. We tried a manual wheelchair but I was exhausted after a couple of hours so went with an electric scooter and my gran really struggled to manoeuvre it around, not just the crowds but the turns in the queues can be quite tricky (she manages fine with one here).

It took us an just over an hour to exit Magic Kingdom one night as no one leaves spaces big enough for wheelchairs to make it through the crowds, and the cordons are not enforced by cast members. Honestly I just found the whole thing really frustrating and wouldn't do it again. Maybe if there was a big group of us it would have been more bearable? So I do think it comes down to what support you have.

And to add (because I realise the post is so negative) I actually love Disney, especially Florida, and that was my fifth visit. I will of course return and maybe we just got really unlucky with how busy it was... who knows.

People were posting on "It's Orlando Time" forum and saying that September was so busy it felt like a July/Aug, also there was a heatwave at the time and it was just as hot as then so take from that what you will.

themental · 09/06/2019 19:39

Just to add, I realise the point in your post was about your child, but I just want to stress that you consider fully the needs of your parents because I know I severely underestimated that part!

And we'd been to Spain, Turkey etc before without a problem (managed fine with just a walking stick and we walked lots!), so I thought it would be fine.

MrsZola · 09/06/2019 20:09

We went at Christmas when DS1 was 5 and DS2 was 10 months old. It was fine, DW did baby swaps so we could both go on rides without having to queue again. and DS1 got to have 2 turns right after the other.
The biggest problem tbh was no buggies in queues - although I did insist in one, asking if the staff were going to hold my baby for me? They just whipped the buggy away at an appropriate moment.
This was about 22 years ago by the way.
As far as end of August is concerned - just check what day Florida schools go back - when wecwere there in August, the day they went back was so quiet in comparison - short queues, less crowded parks.

NCforthis2019 · 09/06/2019 20:22

No - not that young unfortunately. If you must go for your mum then I would go, but don’t expect your daughter to understand/remember anything.

Quartz2208 · 09/06/2019 20:28

Remember no
Understand yes as much as anyone can really understand Disney

SherlockSays · 09/06/2019 20:47

Well I took DD at 4 months old and I'll be taking her again in April at 19 months old. I don't go because she'll remember it - I go because WE want to go, that's where we choose to go on holiday.

Of course DD remembers nothing from being there but I have hundreds of photos of her and we had the best holiday, I'm even more excited to do it all over again with her walking and being interested in things and going on small rides.

If you want to do it then just do it. It's your money and your memories, no one else's.

Polyjuice · 09/06/2019 20:49

I’ve done it because I have older children. The little one gets nothing out of it. Depends if your mum wants to see your child enjoy the magic - she will be disappointed. If she wants to visit as a family then I guess you can drag your DD among but genuinely unless your child is tall it’s not much fun until 4+

SherlockSays · 09/06/2019 20:50

@themental that's completely untrue - Disneyworld offer the DAS pass for a huge number of disabilities, lots of invisible ones such as ASD etc. They don't require proof as it's not legal for them to ask for it.

cookiemonster3 · 09/06/2019 21:07

We did last year but with our older 2. It was pretty much lost on the little one but he had a blast at the water parks and he could do a few rides.

Original poster

PurpleFlower1983 · 09/06/2019 22:22

themental I have been to Orlando with my mum previously (she is in a wheelchair) and it was brilliant, so well catered for.

OP posts:

Original poster

PurpleFlower1983 · 09/06/2019 22:23

I don’t expect my little girl to remember it but I do hope she will get something out of it. We will take her again when she’s 5 or 6.

OP posts:

Jowak1 · 09/06/2019 22:30

We went to Florida when my little girl was just 2 and she loved it! We also stayed in a villa with friends who had young children. I would definitely recommend a direct flight. I have done both direct and 2 stops . The multi stop ( not by choice airline cancelled our flights) was an absolute nightmare.For one of the flights we had 5 minutes to get off one plane and run to the other side of the huge airport to make the connecting flight!- think Home Alone that was us! Never again would I go multi- stop direct all the way

butterry · 09/06/2019 22:40

We have been twice, first time our daughter was 13 months old, second time at 4 years old. She was generally much happier and easy going the first time round and absolutely loved it all. She loved the atmosphere and all the characters although she didn't know any of them before the trip. At 4 years old it was all about queuing up to see every princess etc and she was affected more by the long days, being so crowded etc. We still used the buggy at 4 as we heard it would be useful with the heat and long distances but I think it was the sheer overwhelming exciting nature of the parks that tired her out and made the buggy useful. We have also done holidays in Asia where we walk 30,000 steps in 40 degrees tropical heat and she has been fine but Disney is a different matter! Go and have a wonderful time!!

themental · 09/06/2019 23:14

@SherlockSays

I think we are saying the same thing? Well at least, that's what I was trying to say. Physical disabilities (such as being in a wheelchair or mobility issues) are not generally given a DAS pass as all the queues are now fully wheelchair accessible. It's mostly invisible ones such as ASD, ADHD etc that they cater for with a DAS pass.

If you read my post again I think I said pretty much that?

Bimble88 · 09/06/2019 23:17

We returned last month with a 22 month old and a 7 year old. Spent two weeks in a Disney resort with a QS dining plan which could also be used in the parks so didn't have to cart food around. I was so worried because other poeple had told me we'd struggle with small one. Load of rubbish. It hit 41 degrees one day and through sweat and lollipops, that little boy loved every second. While hubs and 7YO went off, me and LO did all the character meets, collected signatures, did smaller rides without the bugger ones. We all did the shows, main characters, family rides. I'm not a rollercoaster person so I was grateful to not have a small person! Saying that, parent swap on the big rides was fabulous and the fast pass system was great. Transport was easy with Disney Transport and we ubered the rest.

Saying all the above, we went in term time (both UK and US schools), and the waiting times were minimal before the Labour Day weekend. If wed have been waiting an hour plus for rides we might have felt differently! It's all about planning.

themental · 09/06/2019 23:18

@PurpleFlower1983 ah that's good then, I'm glad you had a positive experience. Hope you have a great time should you decide to go for it.

And now I have the Florida bug 😂

Doubletrouble99 · 09/06/2019 23:59

Do you have to go in the summer, couldn't you go at a cooler time of the year?

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