Are My Kids Too Young for Disney?

The short answer is NO. No, they are not too young.

I don't even have to know who you are or how old your kids are to tell you definitely that your children are not too young for Walt Disney World. 

I mean, come on, it was made for them.

​My Disney History

The parades and street shows are excellent for the young travelers. In this photo, Rea (age 1) is having a blast watching a show at Cinderella's castle.

I have lived almost my entire life within a 2-hour drive of Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. It is truly a magical place. I consider myself to be a Disney Pro. My first sunburn happened on my first trip to WDW when I was just 2 weeks old. My sister Jackie and I were there so often growing up we actually thought our family owned it. For the record, we do not. 

​My adult life is really no different. Disney has always been special to my immediate family. And as my sisters and I grew up and scattered for college and beyond, Orlando was a great central location for us to get together. And if I am going to Orlando, I will be at Disney thank you very much. In my opinion, there is no place else to stay. 

So it should have been no surprise to my husband that our kids would spend an inordinate amount of time there. I would guess that my munchkins have been on Disney property at least 40 times in their short lives. And I have easily been 150+ times. We don't always go into a Park, sometimes we are content to hang out at the Resorts. 

It bugs me to hear people say "my kids aren't old enough for Disney."  Yes, they are. A person cannot be too old or too young for the Happiest Place on 

Rea, age 1, on the Monorail. It was fun when Disney allowed passengers to sit in the front with the driver.

Earth. My daughter was about 6 weeks old when she went for the first time. And my son was one month. Obviously a newborn who can barely see past his own nose isn't being visually stimulated. But still, I think there are excellent reasons to take your munchkins early.

MommaStu's Top 5 Reasons to Take Them Young

1. Get the kiddos used to traveling. I had my daughter on the move pretty much immediately. She learned to nap when she needed to, and it did not need to be quiet for her to sleep. I never understood how Mommies got anything done when they had to be home from this time to that, or if the house needed to be museum silent for Baby to nap. That would have driven me bonkers. This also came in handy whenever we were at a Theme Park, and she needed to rest. If she needed a nap, she would. There was no rushing back to the hotel room, or worse, struggling with an exhausted, screaming child in the middle of the Magic Kingdom. 

This was Rea's first Disney trip. She conked out while we were waiting for the boat at our Resort.

One minute she was awake watching the Electric Light Parade, the next she is passed out in the stroller.

2. Raise genius babies. You know from my last point that I couldn't stand to be in the "baby bubble" for long. There is plenty of research out there that says exposing your tiny one to many sights and sounds helps aid brain development. Your baby's brain makes sound connections first, and there is music playing all over the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando. 

3. Travel babies are better suited to stay the night away from home. It's not really rocket science that if you never sleep anywhere other than your own bed for the first 10 years, it's going to be a big deal to stay in a hotel - I see one of two things happening: [1] your child is bouncing off the walls with excitement or [2] your child is terrified of the new space, sounds and smells -- either one would be a nightmare to deal with after spending a day in the hot Florida sun at a busy Theme Park. 

4. Kids under 3 are FREE! Disney is expensive. There are ways to budget yourself and make your trip "more cost effective." This is one of those ways. So why not take advantage of the opportunity to get at least one member of your party into the Park for free? 

5. Disney is a magical place, but when you are tiny, it is AMAZING! Everything is exciting... just being on the Property is thrilling to a young child. And there is no corner of the Walt Disney World in Orlando that has not been touched by Mickey Magic! My husband always tolerated going before we had kids. But seeing his kids' faces light up at every turn (yes, even after almost 50 trips), his heart smiles. And he almost becomes a giddy child himself.