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For us Disney World is far away so it will be our big vacation of the year. Our plan now is to wait till the second one is between 2 and 3. That way s/he is old enough to enjoy/remember some of it and get in for free!

We went to Disney when I was 7 and my sister was 5. My youngest sister, who was only 1 at the time, feels like she missed out because she doesn't remember anything.

I want to wait until DS is old enough to know who the characters are and enjoy it. I'm guessing around 4+? I went for the first time when I was 7 and my brother was 2 and he slept in the stroller almost the entire time, and was scared of the characters. I can only do Disney so often (too often and I get bored/frustrated with it), so I want to get the most out of when we do go.

I went when I was 6 and my sister was almost three. From what I remember and pictures, she seemed to really like it and definitely understood the characters and had favourite rides. We brought an auntie with us so the adults were able to switch off and not have to ride alone on the bigger rides.

The second time we went we were 12 and 8.5. That was pretty fun too, although we were kind of past the point that things were "magical" and actually believing things were real but I'm guessing longer than you'd want to wait!

My parents just went with extended family whose kids were almost 7 and almost 4. They thought that was pretty perfect.

For our own daughter we'll probably do Disney when she's two or three. Her cousin is 4 now, so we'll probably go together with them at 3/7.

We went when I was 13, my brother was 9 and my sister was 5. I think those were good ages!

So much depends on the child. My sister has been taking her kids and I have friends that take their kids with no problem starting at 2. However, I know my kid and my boss' kid would flip out if they went prior to 5 or 6 because the characters scare them.

We're going to wait until the baby is 2 or 3 so she can get something out of it as well. The kids will be 3 and 5/6. I think that will be fun.

Were going before she turns 3 because she's free but in all reality, we're going for us, not necessarily for her. I loove Disney World!

I do think when you take then that young that yes, they will have a great time, but they probably won't remember it for long! I agree with @Mrs. Lemon-Lime: that it's magical at any age, but also with @pelikila: that it depends on your kid!

I think the best age is when they are a little older, but there is really something for everyone there. My youngest was 9 months the first time we went to Disneyland, obviously he didn't really get much out of that. But we went again a year later and he really enjoyed places like Toon Town, etc.

As many PPs have said, it really depends on the child, and it's tough to predict. My SIL and BIL just got back from a trip with my nephew who is about to turn 3. He's generally a pretty fearless kid, but the indoor dark rides terrified him! Disney does things over the top, and it can be a bit too much for some kids - they went on Peter Pan and he was afraid of falling and of the crocodile (cartoony-looking, but I guess not to him), Finding Nemo has a pretty realistic-looking angler fish that lights up and startles, Little Mermaid had Ursula, etc. I think if I was going to take a younger child maybe I'd show them some youtube videos beforehand or something like that to prepare them.

If you're going to be in Orlando anyways I think it would be fun to go for a day, just remember to move along at her pace, which will be a slow one, and take lots of breaks! I worked there for a semester, and you could always tell the difference between the kids of parents who did that, and the ones who felt like they had to do everything and pushed the kids way past their normal limits and schedule.

Personally, I'm not planning on taking my kids until the youngest is 5 or 6, because when we go it's a big week-long event, and I just don't want to spend all that money when they won't remember it or be able to ride many things outside of Fantasyland. But I can't wait to take them when they are ready, it's my favorite place and I'm so excited to share it with LO someday!

I agree that Disney is magical at any age.

We took LO to Disneyland this summer, at 14 months. She won't remember it, but she had so much fun!! Plus, she was free (minus, of course, all the stuff we bought her haha).

Her favorite thing was the musical parade - she absolutely loved it. She waved at all the characters and danced along with the music.

I'm not sure which rides are only at Disneyland and not Disneyworld - but the rides we went on with her were:

The Disney train/monorail around the park - this she loved. She likes trains and dinosaurs, so she enjoyed this.

It's a Small World (she LOVED it; again was dancing and waving at the puppets on the ride)

The Jungle Cruise (she LOVED it)

Haunted Mansion (didn't dislike it, didn't love it)

Pirates of the Caribbean (she fell asleep on the ride, and was too young to get the "menacing" nature of the ride anyhow, so she was fine)

Winnie the Pooh (she HATED it, cried the entire time, but I don't blame her, it isn't calm classic Pooh, it's neon colored, too bright and too loud for little kids, IMO).

I am hoping to avoid having to take my kid to DW. We'll see if I manage to pull that off. If he reeeeeally wants to go at some point, I'd probably try to plan a family trip to Cali and just sacrifice one day for Disney. The thought of spending perfectly good vacation time to hang out at Orlando theme parks makes me cringe. Maybe I will feel differently if my kid was dying to go. Or perhaps I can foist that trip off on his grandparents.

we live about an hour from disneyland, so i imagine we'll go sometime between 1-2 (unless we do a trip this fall, but unlikely). if it were a bigger trip, like DW for us, then i would wait until we were done with kiddos and go at age 4/5 for the youngest.

We live super close to Disney, so most people I know have gone there at least once before their LOs are 2 (and free). A bunch of moms in my mommy group already have season passes and take their babies as infants! IDK that's ideal, but I know my BFF's daughter really started to enjoy and understand all the characters by 1.5. K is only 6 months but already recognizes the characters she has stuffed animals of! She will crack up and smile if she sees them anywhere. It's crazy how Disney gets them so young!

I think around 3 is a good age. But we also live far away, if we lived closer I would definitely take LO earlier.