Disney World Florida

[OnNaturesCourse]

Hello.

We are looking at booking a Disney World holiday however we are wondering what is the "best" ages to take kids?

Our kids are 3 (nearly 4) and 5 months at the moment so definitely not looking to go until probably 2023 at a minimum I think.

I know you can't usually book until the year before (is this still the case?) but we are looking to start saving towards it as hope it's going to be a holiday of a lifetime type deal for our kids.

I went when I was 5, and 9 - to be honest I have better memories from when i was 5, I think by age 9 I was sort of "over" the kid aspect of disney. I went again in my 20s and had the time of my life tho! I'm a little concerned if we wait until our youngest is 5 then our oldest will be past enjoying Disney as much, but if we go any younger then our youngest won't be able to fully enjoy it - if that makes sense.

Also, we hoped to go around Sept/Oct so the weather is slightly cooler and hoping the parks are slightly less busy - does that sound about right?

We are looking at 2 or 3 weeks as plan to visit universal and some water parks etc too. What holiday length have other done?

We are UK based if that makes any difference.

Basically looking for what others have done, and tips etc.

I went when DD was 6 and 9 they were both great ages for different reasons. 6 she did the whole princess thing more and 9 she was more tolerant of longer days/evenings.

Yes you normally book the year before. Dining plan has been suspended but might be back before you go, that’s only available if you stay on site.

I have an adult friend who always goes September/October and thinks it’s the best time, also it’s all decorated for Halloween then too.

I’d say they need to be at least 5 to cope with the heat, jet lag and walking. Assuming you’re restricted to school holidays I’d consider earlier in the year as you are still in hurricane season September and October

DS was 7 when we went for the first time and I think that was an ideal age. Old enough to go on most of the rides, young enough to be extremely excited and awestruck by the character meets and parades. He's 21 now and has been 3 times, going again next year. It's a very full on holiday so younger ones may not have the stamina.

@OnNaturesCourse I think you will have a great time with kids those ages. Your going for enough time to be able to manage walking and maybe down time where you just relax and also be "on holiday" as oppose to walking and waiting.

My sister in law has a villa very close by to Disney land, it works well to be able to come away and relax and then go back when we have revamped and ready for the mayhem.

I can send you her Facebook page if you'd like to have a look, it makes the holiday different but also gives you choices.

Thanks

I’ve never been but my friend took hers at 7 & 2. The older one had a fab time but the little one was really scared of all the characters, even her favourite ones! I think the size of them freaked her out. Plus they were limited in which rides they could enjoy.

I think if I was taking mine I’d want the youngest to be 4/5, as it’s such an expensive holiday I’d feel we were missing out if we couldn’t have the full experience, and young toddlers often throw a spanner in the works of holidays. Different if it’s a week in Spain where one parent can chill in the room and take turns lying by the pool, but if a baby/toddler is fussy at Disney world it puts a bit of stress in the holiday.

Yeh! If you could send me the link that would be brilliant.

We always said we'd take our eldest when she hit 5. Bit of a thing in our family to take the kids before they start school etc, but our littlest would only be nearly 2 at that point and I feel that's far too young. Unfortunately doing it when the eldest is 5, and then again when the youngest is 5 isn't a option as it's so expensive.

As a adult I've never stayed on site at Disney, alway international drive, or in a villa local. I do like the idea of a villa as we've got kids now so having the space and freedom would be nice especially if we do the 3 weeks however we like the idea of meal plans and being close by. That said we are looking at universal etc too so...

Disney holidays always feel like a mine field when planning them 😂

Under 3yo go free so would save money going before then.

We took our DC for the first time when they were 4 and 7. I wouldn't personally have chosen to take them at that age, but the PIL were eager to go with them while they were little, so we went, and they both had a great time. TBH, I wouldn't have taken them any younger though, because the 4-year-old would've been a nightmare on the flight before then.

We went in Oct half-term, which was perfect. Weather was warm, but not too hot, parks were relatively quiet, because American DC were in school, and it was so good we went back when the DC were 7 and 10 and that was actually even better, because they were a great age for the characters, the shows, etc. So, in short, I'd say any age over about 4 is good. I didn't go until I was 17 and I absolutely it!

Length of trip - depends on you entirely. We're not big theme park people, so 2 days in the Magic Kingdom, 1 at Hollywood Studios, 1 at Animal Kingdom and 1 in Epcot was plenty. I know people who go for 14 days though and go to the parks every day - tbh that would finish me off! So just think about what sort of people you are and how you like to roll - very organised, hit the parks with a plan, or just take it easy and go in multiple days to do everything.

We’ve been 3 times.
DC were 3 and 6 first time, we then went every 2 years.
The younger DC doesn’t remember any of it and elder DC remembers some, but thats mainly due to photos and talking about it,
They really loved it, we went for 3 weeks and stayed in villas, so we could do one day at theme park, then the next we stayed in villa by the pool and either went out to dinner or breakfast.

We took our daughter when she was four and it was a great age for all the princess stuff. She was also just 1m tall which is the required height for quite a few rides.

We went a few times and age 8 seemed the best for mine. Young enough to enjoy the Princess Disney aspect but old enough to go on all the big rides except 1 I think.

Our nearly 4 year old is already over a metre so in hoping her younger sibling goes the same way! Lol

We took DD when she was 7, it was a great age in terms of being able to get on the more exciting rides, she also did the princess makeover. October can be busy as that's when they do all the after hours Halloween party events but the party itself was great, its the only time adults can dress up in costumes and some people really go all out, they also do a themed parade and fireworks display. 2 weeks was plenty, we managed all the Disney parks except one water park and a visit to Universal, plus a couple of days shopping at the outlet malls. My advice would be to avoid Epcot at the weekends, it gets really crowded with local annual passholders going to do the "drinking around the world" challenge, it's much quieter during the week.