The things we like are the things we do.

Oct 20

While I am a firm believer that Disney destinations can be enjoyed by people of all ages and walks of life, today’s post is for parents, and specifically those parents who are wondering when is the right time to take their children to a Disney park. It’s a question I hear a lot, and one that’s usually tinged with the expectation that “if we don’t time this just right, it will be a disaster.”

As a mom of four children (8, 7, 5, and 3 at the time of this writing), I have a good amount of experience traveling with little ones as young as three months old. At the risk of sounding trite, this is what I’ve learned: take the trip.

Here is my one caveat: a Disney vacation can be expensive. If this is likely to be a once in a lifetime experience for your family, I would recommend that you wait until everyone in your party is at least 48 inches tall, so that you can experience all of the attractions in all four theme parks at Walt Disney World. This gives you the opportunity to enjoy everything the parks have to offer, and it’s likely that your children will remember it in the long term as well.

If your budget is such that you’ll be able to return to a Disney destination more than once, then I would resist the notion that there’s a “perfect” time for you to take your children. This isn’t something to stress over. The right time is when you’re ready; whatever that means to your family. There has been something uniquely wonderful about each one of our vacations based on the ages of our children, and those are gifts I’m happy we received and can look back on so fondly. I am so pleased that we have memories of trips in the baby days, wondering if our child would take their first steps in the Magic Kingdom (they never did, but it was sure fun to practice there), and watching them wave excitedly to all the small world animatronics. Right now we have one foot in toddlerhood and one foot in “big kid” territory, which affords us separate time with different pairings of our kids (if this is you, ask me about Rider Swap), and it’s so fun to experience those different group dynamics. Still, I’m looking forward to a time when all of our kids are big enough that we can ride everything together. I’m grateful for each phase of vacation that our kids’ growth has offered, just like I cherish each phase at home. There isn’t one phase I’ve necessarily enjoyed more than the others, or a time in our kids’ lives when vacationing is something I regret. Truly, it has all been so good.

I know full well that we have taken vacations that our kids will not specifically remember into adulthood, even if they have some memory of them right now. I’m okay with that, because I will treasure those memories that they were too little to hold onto, and because those experiences have shaped my children’s impression of their childhood, whether or not they can recall the details. They know that we try new things together, that Mom and Dad can be trusted to keep them safe, and that we have fun wherever we go. They expect a range of delights from travel, and that is exactly what I want for them.

Our family aspires to travel the world together — we are curious and excited about the opportunities afforded by travel abroad when that feels safe (and when our budget will allow it). While our kids are little, Walt Disney World has been the perfect fit for all of us. Disney does not charge theme park admission for Guests under age 3, so that factor alone has allowed us to take quite a few vacations with our kids. Of course, there are some practical hurdles to traveling with small children, so if you’re curious about what we’ve done I’m more than happy to help and to answer any questions you have.

Our oldest child will be nine next month, and so far we have taken him to Walt Disney World nine times (and his grandparents have taken him twice without us). Those trips have ranged anywhere from three to eight nights, and have taken us to six different resorts. On trip number five of those nine, our oldest was two (almost three — sneaking in one last free visit!), our second child was one, and I was pregnant with number three. My husband was in graduate school at the time, and since we were vacationing right around mid-term he had some school work to turn in.

One night, when he took the baby back to the hotel so she could sleep and he could do his work, I stayed out with our son until the Magic Kingdom closed. While it was just the two of us, I let him call the shots. He could name a ride and I would wheel his stroller there as fast as I could waddle. Yes, we criss-crossed the park from Adventureland to Tomorrowland a few times, and in a very inefficient manner, but my heart was so full from watching his little brain work, and from his pure delight that I even remember what I was wearing that day. The park was pretty empty that night, and I don’t remember how many times we visited each attraction, but I know we did Space Ranger Spin more than once, we rode the People Mover, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh a few times, it’s a small world, and Pirates of the Caribbean to name a few. From Adventureland, we crossed over into Frontierland and caught the end of The Main Street Electrical Parade from the deck outside the Frontier Trading Post. Just as the parade was ending, we caught the first showing of The Country Bear Jamboree, which is the source of today’s quotes. I remember that there were only two other people with us in the theater, and we sang the words to every song. Thinking about my little buddy singing “I got a woman, she’s got me” still tickles me.

I love being in the parks at night when everything is beautifully lit, and the music sets just the right tone to underscore your enjoyment. From the Country Bear Theater, we made our way back to Tomorrowland again (are your feet tired yet just from reading this?), to Space Ranger Spin, and at the end of the ride I bought little guy his first “Bucket O Soldiers” to help round out his collection of Toy Story characters. The bucket has since cracked under the growing pressure of being a step stool/speech podium, but the soldiers are still around, and his memory of getting them is still crystal clear. As the park was preparing to close, we slowly made our way back to Main Street, and stopped off in the Confectionery. The wafting scent of the sweetest candy with a hint of vanilla, carried by the warm nighttime breeze was pregnant lady kryptonite. I wanted to savor every last minute of that night with my boy. Little man picked out a cake pop for himself, a royal blue cupcake the size of baby sister’s head (since she didn’t get to enjoy the rides with us), and I selected some chocolate covered strawberries. From there, we made our way down to the Wilderness Lodge boat dock, folded the stroller, and on the boat ride back to the Lodge we ate our treats and watched the Electrical Water Pageant. It couldn’t have been more perfect. As I wheeled his stroller up the “carpet mountains” (his name for the ramps leading up to the Wilderness Lodge lobby), across the bridge that spans the quietly bubbling hot spring, over the gently creaking floor boards of the lobby, and down the boardwalk lit with flickering lanterns that led to our room, I thought he might drift off to sleep, but I think he was too excited to tell his Dad all about our adventure. And also, he had to be awake to do the important job of pressing the elevator buttons.

Whether it’s the cackles our children emit when they’re giving us whiplash on the Tomorrowland Speedway, or their uniformly petrified looks in the ride photo from Frozen Ever After (which they insist they loved), every one of our vacations has been characterized by moments that I will cherish forever, and memories that help me to mentally capture what our children were like at certain ages. I can’t wait to go back again.

We hope that you’ll be coming back again.

That you’ll drop in and see us now and then.

We’ve done our very best to please

With just the “bear” necessities.

We hope that you’ll be coming back again.