Is there a Best age and Best season to go?

[PMJ]

I know there is probably no such thing, as these things are based on personal preferences. But just curious about your experiences?

FWIW - DD is a fall baby and won't go to K until 2015 Fall. She'll be 6 early in the year.

ETA - Is it bad that DH has NO interest whatsoever in going to Disney? He was not raised here and just would be bored....he might be able to handle 1 day, but if we stay 4-5 days, is it worth it for him to fly there and be grumpy? He dislikes lines, crowds and all the princess/fairy stuff. LOL I know...he is such a grump!

[KLD313]

I'm interested in this, too.

I just wanted to add that my BF had ZERO interest in Disney and sounds similar to your DH. We were in Orlando when DD was 11 mo old so we decoded to skip Disney but went to Downtown Disney, he was so into and then started complaining that we didn't go to any parks. Maybe your DH will be won over by the magic of Disney?

[SnuggleBuggles]

My dh would detest more than 2 days. :). But, he enjoys going for a day. I think October gets great reviews for visiting in terms of crowds and weather.

Often when we travel, we each get to pick a day and the rest of the group isn't allowed to complain. Maybe that would be a good plan for your family. :)

[kaharris83]

Our most favorite time of the year to go is late January-early February before President's Day. The crowds are super low(like no lines low) and the weather is nice and mild.

[megs4413]

I'm a big Disney fan, so I think any age is a good age and anytime is a good time, but I will share my persona, preferences.

I think 5-7 yo is the best age for s first visit. We went the first time when DD was 5 and the second time when DD was 7 and DS 5. At that age they still buy into the "magic." I would absolutely go before child is 10 as that's Disney's adult price cutoff. I do not recommend going if you still have regular daytime naps or are potty training. Not saying I wouldn't go in those situations, but since you are only taking one child, you can be flexible. I would probably consider going before your DD starts kinder the year she is 5.

I've been to Disney in November, December, March, and June. I recommend November. Personally, I absolutely adore the Christmas decorations and the westher and crowds are so much better than sprung or summer. The offseason pricing is also better. The only downsides (to me) are shorter hours at the parks and you run the risk of not having (m)any swim days. We're not big swimming fans so that wasn't a huge issue to us, but it is to some people. Even when we went in the summer we only swam once and we were there like 8 days.

I think it would be doable to take DH and have him only do one park day and just let him relax/do his own thing with the other days. They have golfing if he's into that. I think it's equally possible to just go with your DD and no DH. It would be cheaper, too.

ETA: excuse the typos, I'm on my iPad.

[lalasmama]

Another vote for the 5-7 age range. I took DD on her 8th b-day, so she started the trip at 7yo. She was old enough to remember it (I think/hope!). but not too old to refuse to "believe" in everything. She already knew, obviously, that Mickey and Friends are people dressed up, but she was still willing to pretend that they were "real". Also, she's now nearing then end of her Princess stage, but at a young-ish/immature-ish 7/8yo, she LOVED meeting/seeing all the princesses.

I think taking younger kids is fine, obviously! I chose not to take DD any younger, though, as I wanted her to be able to remember at least parts of it. Humorously, I still remember bits and pieces about my trip when I was 6yo--I remember getting a tiny little PVC Cabbage Patch Kid from one of the shops at DL, and Main Street USA, and Pirates of the Carribbean, but not much else. Waiting that extra 18 months for DD, I believe, will help her remember a little more.. well, the waiting, and because I took 300 pictures that she loves to look back over and tell me all about. Even if she doesn't "really" remember the trip, I think she will remember the stories that go with the pictures, and "remember" from that.

As far as those non-Disney hubbies... SO was "whatever" about Disney too. And the last 3 nights, he's eagerly watched a 5-hour Disneyland documentary with me. He now says, "In July when we go, can we....?" I think he just didn't expect it to be as fun as it was. SO was able to look past the "childish" parts, and see the details and develop a respect for it based on things like that. Once he developed the respect for it, then he was able to actually step back and enjoy it.

[emily_gracesmama]

I think 5-7 is good and end of September was a great time to visit great weather and very light crowds. That being said Emily has been there almost yearly since 18 mths and we've had fun everytime. At 6 1/2 she was finally tall enough to ride the 48 inch rides which includes the rock n roller coaster which she loved, she's a big rides person!

[twowhat?]

We went in Feb the week before President's Day weekend (to Disneyland) when the girls were 4.5 so that's my vote. Old enough to be able to go all day but young enough that they still absolutely believed that everything was real. It was magical to see them view the whole park as "real". The real Minnie and Mickey, the REAL princesses, etc, Cinderella's castle, etc.

It has only been a few months since we went but they are now already questioning whether the costumed characters were real. So I'm glad we went at an age when they really believed.

eta: 4.5 at Disneyland was completely do-able for us. Not sure I would've wanted to try to tackle Disney World at this age though...Disneyland is smaller and just less overwhelming.

[hellokitty]

I'm a big Disney fan, so I think any age is a good age and anytime is a good time, but I will share my persona, preferences.

I think 5-7 yo is the best age for s first visit. We went the first time when DD was 5 and the second time when DD was 7 and DS 5. At that age they still buy into the "magic." I would absolutely go before child is 10 as that's Disney's adult price cutoff. I do not recommend going if you still have regular daytime naps or are potty training. Not saying I wouldn't go in those situations, but since you are only taking one child, you can be flexible. I would probably consider going before your DD starts kinder the year she is 5.

I've been to Disney in November, December, March, and June. I recommend November. Personally, I absolutely adore the Christmas decorations and the westher and crowds are so much better than sprung or summer. The offseason pricing is also better. The only downsides (to me) are shorter hours at the parks and you run the risk of not having (m)any swim days. We're not big swimming fans so that wasn't a huge issue to us, but it is to some people. Even when we went in the summer we only swam once and we were there like 8 days.



:yeahthat: Except we have only been there June, Nov and Dec. Nov was our favorite, but yeah, you don't have guaranteed pool time. I think we only swam once during our last trip (we were there for a wk).

[BayGirl2]

Well, our first trip to DL was when my DCs were 3.25 and almost 1 and we're going to WDW at almost 4 and 20 months, so I'm a bit biased toward younger. I think around 3-4 they still totally believe in the magic and just take it all in, and I love seeing that. But we plan to go every few years to do it at different ages, and every age will be different. (The 2nd trip is earlier than planned because I'm speaking at a conference and couldn't resist the deal.)

The YourFirstVisit guy suggests they be more like 8 or 9. http://yourfirstvisit.net/planning-your-first-family-trip/how-oldtall-your-children-should-be/ The key is he assumes you are only going on one trip ever in their lives and want them to be able to go on any ride but pay kid prices.
I can say that my parents wanted us to be "old enough to appreciate it" and waited until I was in 7th grade, so 12? I had a great time but was a bit too old, IMO, and came home kind of feeling like I had done kid things. That's partially the reason we started taking the kids at a younger age, so we don't miss out on the childhood fantasy part. Not to say that teenagers don't have a great time at Disney, but its just a different experience and the childhood magic is really special and short-lived IMO.

In terms of a DH who's not into it, neither DH or I were really Disney people before our first trip with the kids. But Disney truly has something for everyone, and you can do it with minimal lines and waiting. Just plan very well, hit rope drop, take breaks, go during non-crowded times. I really tried to find things that appealed to DH and my interests too, so we all got something out of it. (Work in trying beers at Epcot, Star Wars, nice meals, swimming, miniature or real golf, etc. whatever he likes on a vacation.) There's also something really special as a parent when you see how much your kids are enjoying it that makes it all worthwhile, I think most Dads are suckers for a happy kid. But you should plan to minimize the stress and maximize the fun stuff.

[gummibear]

I can't speak about WDW with experience - but we're taking our 4yo (will be 4.5) this summer - prob the worst season with crowds and whatnot.

For DL, I went when I was too old for the kiddie stuff and too young for the older kid stuff. So there wasn't much for me to do and not much to remember since my parents didn't drown us in pictures. I want to say I was 10 or 11.

For your DH, have you looked at Epcot? My DH hates crowds also, but gets really excited thinking about Epcot. He used to work in Florida and would go there - as a single guy, with his coworkers. Maybe your DH might like Drinking around the World? There's a post on how to train for it here (http://www.easywdw.com/adults/drink-around-the-world-at-epcot-world-showcase-disney-world/). :rotflmao:

I found this site - WDW for Grownups (http://www.wdwforgrownups.com/guide/when-go-disney-world-and-what-bring) - maybe they'll have some ideas that will spark his interest.