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Original poster

Best age for Disney Florida?

12 replies

PDR · 12/02/2011 19:08

Just wondering what age is best for taking the DC to Disney in Florida? Our almost 3yr old loves "mouse" and DH wants us to go for our main holiday in 2012 (DS1 will be 4 then) but I am sceptical as we also have DS2 due any day so he'd only be 1 1/2 ish and I am thinking he might be bored / not able to do much.

Are we best to leave it a few years until they are say 4 and 7 or 5 and 8 something like that? Of course by that time we will be tied to school holidays so it will be ridiculously expensive!

A compromise might be a few days at DLP and have our main holiday somewhere both boys would enjoy.

OP posts:

Aimsmum · 12/02/2011 19:22

Personally I would wait until your youngest was older, 4 and 7 or older would be ideal. There is so much to do in Florida and you would miss out on a lot of it or have to take it in turns with a baby/toddler. I went last year with friends and kids age 5, 7, 9, 10 and 10 and all the kids really enjoyed it and got a lot of of it, but there was a still a lot the littlest couldn't do and she felt quite left out at times.

DLP would be a good compromise until they are a little older I think, it costs so much to go to Florida, especially during school holidays you want to get as much out of it as possible.

strandednomore · 12/02/2011 19:42

If you can wait until the youngest is nearly 3 that is a good age to go as they (the 2-yr-old) gets in free but is old enough to enjoy it! We took dd1 (just 5) and dd2 (almost 3) in October and they both loved it. We also went in April (we were living over that side of the Altantic so it was cheap to get there!) and dd2 was probably a little too young. She LOVED meeting the characters though, especially the princesses....

hmc · 22/02/2011 16:37

We did Disneyland Paris when the dc were younger and left Disneyworld until they were older (we went a couple of weeks ago with ds 6 and dd 8). I am glad we waited - was good not to have to faff around with pushchairs and tired little ones. At 6 and 8 the dc had more stamina but were still young enough not to be cynical...and quite frankly you need stamina for this kind of holiday

hmc · 22/02/2011 16:37

Also too young and they might not meet the minimum height requirements for some of the rides

hmc · 22/02/2011 16:38

Incidentally PDR we took a week off to go in January during term time so weren't tied to school holidays

brimfull · 22/02/2011 16:40

4 def too young imo

you want to go when you know they'll remember it ..so you don't have to go back ever again

Pinkx3 · 22/02/2011 16:48

I first took my DD to Florida when she was nearly 2 1/2 (only went at that age because of a friend's wedding) and she absolutely loved it!! We have since been back when DD1 was 5 and DD2 was 7 months. They both had a ball and it is surprising how much there is to do at Disney with a 7 month old!! There are many (gentle) rides that the whole family can go on. I must admit IMO 18 months ish may be a problem because he will just have started walking and may not be happy to sit in a buggy all the time but would be too young to get out and walk much IYSWIM

hmc · 22/02/2011 19:47

Glad you enjoyed it - but believe me it is easier with a 6 year old than a 2.5 year old

PowderMum · 23/02/2011 19:43

DD1 was 18 months the first time she went and loved every minute. She is now a Disney Addict and has been to the different parks all over the world.
Went again when DD2 was around 2 and DD1 5 and had a great time again.

mummytime · 25/02/2011 12:08

I would say the older the better!
I have taken a 4 year old, and she loved it, but she will enjoy it more when we return and she is 12.

niceday · 25/02/2011 12:20

60 snd above is a good age for Florida

suebfg · 14/03/2011 00:20

I have just returned from a 2-week holiday in Orlando with my 3.5 year old son. Completely disagree that this is too young for Disney. Disney has something for every age and if you wait until your child can go on all the rides, your child will miss out on the magic of seeing their favourite characters in the flesh and believing that they are real. Your youngest will not get as much out of the experience but if you balance out the holiday with access to the waterparks/access to a nice pool, we find that's all that young children want at that age. I can recommend a fantastic aparthotel with self catering facilities if you are interested.

Major advantage of course is that you avoid school holidays/peak season (and high prices). We went end Feb/first two weeks of March and crowd levels were low/moderate. Can easily see that crowd levels would be intolerable in school holiday period.

Our son loved Disney and so did we. He could go on lots of rides and some that he met the height requirement for were not age-appropriate anyway.

We accepted that our son would have a different experience at 3.5 years old than he would have at 8 or 9 years old so it is an excuse to take him again when he is older.

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