Waiting to go to Disney? Don't!!!
I often find myself in conversations about our Disney vacations with friends, family, co-workers, and even sometimes complete strangers. I’m not sure what it is about me that says “let me ask this guy about a Disney vacation”. Perhaps I just seem like a real approachable guy. (Or maybe it’s my Disney Golf shirts???) But regardless the reason of the conversation one thing I often here about someone thinking of taking their first Disney family vacation is that they are probably going to wait until their child/children get older. Now I am not trying to be that guy. Everyone knows one. They are the resident Disney Expert that you have somewhere in your inner circle. That can give you power point presentations on everything you should do at Disney because they have done it all and have conquered Disney. This is the same person who will tell without a doubt that their way to Disney is the only way to Disney and if you listen to anyone else you are a fool. I’m not him. If you want to not get the meal plan or stay off property then do it. It’s your vacation and your money so by all means do it your way. Because what happens a lot of times is that you will miss out on some really nice things because they didn’t fall into someone else’s thought pattern. The same is true with waiting to go. Sure there are plenty of reasons to wait and they are all valid. After all this is potentially a lot of money to spend on a vacation to feel limited by age restraints. But your kids age doesn’t have to be a restraint. We brought our 4 month old this past November and we didn’t miss a beat. Granted this may be the most easy going kid in the world(BLESSED!!!), but regardless it can work and I wouldn’t give a second thought to going again tomorrow with him. But my advise on Disney is the same as it is with voting. Do it early and do it often. I missed out on my kids first trip because of my work schedule. My daughter was two and my son four. We debated the trip because of their age but couldn’t pass up the opportunity. The trip was completely magical for them and my daughter (now 5) still talks about it. Now yes as she gets older that may fade but not the memories we made as a family. I would have given anything to see their faces. That is why we went back the following year, so I could see it for myself. As parents our primary job is to put ourselves last for our kids. In this case I urge you to try something a little different. For once, be a little selfish. Some of my greatest family memories have been watching the magic unfold on my kids faces as they get to meet Mickey, Cinderella, Goofy, or whoever. Those memories are priceless and maybe that’s why she still remembers them. I won’t let her forget. We often go back through old pictures and talk about the fun we have which just sparks the excitement for the next trip. Our kids are growing up so fast. I dread the day that Disney doesn’t mean as much to them because they are getting older and are just to cool to let themselves get excited over a mouse or a princess wearing glass slippers. If we had waited until my daughter was four to go my son would have been six thus shrinking his window to truly get lost in this, and shrinking our window to get lost in them. We never once felt like we were missing out on something because of their ages. For the most part we have always gotten to do whatever it is we wanted to do. Including the big rides. My son is a little thrill seeker and has had to wait do do a few of the big rides but that has never limited his or our fun. My wife is a ride junkie. The faster and scarier the better for her and she has always gotten to do them. With small children who are too small to ride the big rides you get to utilize the switch pass system in which the entire family gets to ride while one adult sits out with the smaller children. Once the ride is over the adults get to switch off and the entire family minus one a different adult get to go straight to the front of the line and ride again. This has always worked out great for my family. My son loves this because he always gets to ride everything back to back. This is almost worth continuing to have children. It really cuts down on your wait time if you use it with the fast pass system. When entering the attraction just ask the attending cast member for a switch pass. They may ask to see the adult who is waiting out with the child. A simple wave will suffice and you are off. Once the fun is over simply switch off and the entire family gets to have fun all over again. My daughter was always fine with having to sit out because it meant she got to eat snacks and I got to sit down. It was a win-win for the both of us and became some really good quality time for us on each trip. Even now that she is older and still not quite tall enough for a few of the big rides, she views it as a good time to go shopping(after she eats her snack of course). When she was two (and talked much less) we didn’t feel like it was that big of deal her always having to sit out because she was free (children two and under are free to get into the park). We worried that it would change as she got older but it didn’t. Disney offers enough to do that their should never be idle time unless you want it. We usually choose to go out and have our own adventure during this time but that’s us. As is all that I am telling you. After all you know your family way better than I do and know what will work for you. My big thing and advise to anyone who is thinking about a Disney trip is to never to not do something because someone else’s bad experience. I want everyone to have the same magical time that we have every time we go. We absolutely have a blast in Disney world and have zero regrets about any trip other than wishing we could stay longer. So see what works for you and yours and become your own Disney expert.
Nick Poche’
Avid Disney fan, husband to Tiffany, father of three, Brock, Bailey, and Brennan. Lover of travel and blogger for the We Dream of Disney and Beyond Blog.