When Should I Take My Kids to Disney?

Having the opportunity to work with many different families often provides me a glimpse into some of the most common questions people have regarding trips to Disney World.  In fact, I've noticed that there are a handful of questions folks are consistently curious about, and I've decided to do my best to answer some of them in blog form over the next few weeks.

One of the initial things I'm often asked is: "What's the best age for children to visit the parks?"  Now, I'll be honest: I think the answer to that question depends on the flexibility of the child & family, the vacation goals of the family, and the willingness of the family to plan around the child's needs throughout the trip.  It's actually a pretty subjective answer, but it's one that I'm more than willing to talk through with families seriously attempting to make a decision.  And I've got lots of experience: I've taken kiddos as young as six weeks and as old as ten years, and even made multiple trips with no kids at all! All of have been very different, but all have been tons of fun!

From a financial aspect, however, I think there are definitely a few "concrete" pieces of information that are helpful in planning:

First and foremost, children under the age of three (so between the ages of 0-2) can visit the parks for free.  Yep, FREE.  They don't need a ticket, it costs nothing for them to stay in a resort room, and they can even share meals on the dining plan for no fee whatsoever.  As long as they are under three on the day a family checks-in to a resort, they are free for the duration of the trip.

Additionally, children between the ages of 3-9 can enter the parks with a "child's ticket" and are also able to purchase a "child's dining plan," which is quite a significant savings from the adult plan. Once a kiddo turns ten, however, adult prices will apply to both tickets and dining plans.  The same rules apply with check-in dates here...as long as child is under 10 on the day of check-in, the child's rates apply for the duration of the trip.

Based on this information, I often recommend that families consider traveling before their children "age out" of these two groups.  The older the kids are, the more expensive the trip becomes.

Another thing to consider is height requirements.  The vast majority of attractions (especially at Magic Kingdom) have no height requirement at all!  Disney World is one of those places that was definitely built with the entire family in mind.  There are a few popular attractions, however, that do have height requirements, and it's important to keep this in mind when setting expectations for a trip.

While smaller children are permitted to ride almost everything, there are about 7-8 of the more "thrilling" rides that become options once kiddos are forty inches tall.  These include (but aren't limited to) Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Tower of Terror, Star Tours, Soarin', and Test Track.   Some of the most thrilling roller coasters, such as Space Mountain and Rock n'Roller Coaster, require that children be 44 or 48 inches, respectively, but hitting that 40 inch mark really opens up just about every other attraction on property.

Defining the "right age" for a Disney trip will be different for every family, but I definitely think cost and height are two of the major factors that play into this decision!

Feel free to message me if you'd like to discuss this--or any aspect of planning a Disney trip--further. I'd love to help any way I can!