When Walt Disney built Disneyland, his idea was wild: that amusement parks didn’t just have to be for kids. They could be places where parents and their children could have fun together. That’s still true of Disney Parks today, where children of all ages can explore, wonder, and encounter their favorite Disney characters.
But while brochures will have you believe that Disney Parks vacations are easy breezy experiences, it’s not always the case! Orlando is hot, humid, and crowded, and the days can be very long for young ones So before you set off on a Disney Parks vacation, consider some of the points we’ve made below.
Once you’ve read through what we have to say, tell us in the comments about your experiences. What do you think is the best age to bring kids to Disney Parks, and what advice have you learned over the years? Were we totally off track with any of the advice that we’ve given here, or do you think we hit the nail on the head with some great things to consider before your family vacation?
1. EH HEM. Keep it Realistic
Commercials, vacation-planning DVDs, and your imagination would have you believe that your days will be blissful, enchanted, memory-making occasions of meeting characters and non-stop attractions – each of which delighting and hypnotizing your child into utter bliss.
We hate to break it to you, but Disney Parks do not have a soothing, calming effect on children, crafting them into idealized versions of their normal selves. Quite the contrary, you’re exposing your child to pure chaos in its rawest form: waiting in lines, pounding heat, unexpected ride closures, meandering through crowds, non-stop action that would make even the most hyper child’s eyes water… And that’s not even including “bathroom emergencies” at all the wrong times, temper tantrums over dinner, grumpiness, and exhaustion. To put it another way, a Disney Parks vacation will stress your child out, not turn him into an angel! And that’s okay! Just be ready for it, and don’t feel disappointed if, after enduring a temper tantrum, your family doesn’t quite feel like the perfect ones in the brochures!
Your child will have a marvelous time at DIsney Parks no matter their age, period. And your memories will likely be great ones. But remember that your child is still a child. He or she will pout, and you might suddenly wish your child could understand what a sacrifice you made to make this day happen… and he dares to pout? It’s momentarily frustrating! So for your own sanity, prepare yourself for the truth of setting a child loose in a Disney Park! Be ready for a case of a grumpy gills, even in the happiest place on Earth!
2. HMM… Is My Child The Right Age?
This is probably the most commonly asked question when planning a trip to Disney Parks. Truthfully, any age will enjoy a Disney Parks vacation, from 9 months to 99 years. There is no bad age to visit Disney Parks. However, conventional and anecdotal wisdom suggests that the best age to bring a child to Disney Parks is between five and seven. At that age, children will be old enough to understand, appreciate and remember what they see at Disney Parks, but young enough to still believe that what they’re seeing is real. They see the pretty woman with red hair who says she’s Ariel, so she is. Why wouldn’t she be? By six or seven, a child is usually old enough to ride almost everything they’d reasonably want to.
Many families take children much younger than that, and again, there’s never a bad age to introduce kids to the parks. However, there are a few things to consider when taking younger kids: it goes without saying that a two year old probably won’t remember anything about that multi-thousand-dollar trip to Disneyland. A good rule of thumb: if your only child is in a stroller, approach Disney Parks vacations differently. Of course your child will be delighted and smiling and love meeting characters, but it’s reasonable to imagine that she might have just as much fun at a local park, zoo, or science museum. It’s not that children who are 2, 3, or 4 won’t enjoy Disney Parks… It’s just that you might be better off waiting a bit before bringing them for best effect. (Note: We’re not suggesting you leave them at home and bring the older children… just that if your entire vacation is centered around an infant, Disney World might be a bit much!)
If your child is a little older and has outgrown their suspension of disbelief, don’t discount a Disney Parks trip! There’s plenty for a ten, eleven or twelve year old to do at Walt Disney World even once your child (spoiler alert) figures out that that’s not really Mickey, or that the Haunted Mansion is probably not haunted. Even teens and twenty-somethings can spend days at Disneyland riding Indiana Jones Adventure, Tower of Terror, California Screamin’, and other rides that younger kids would be petrified of.
3. ZIP. Keep it Short and Familiar
Visiting the Parks is definitely the heart of a Disney vacation, and rightly so. Especially at Walt Disney World where transportation can eat up huge chunks of time, you’re likely to try to maximize your time in the parks as long as your child looks engaged and delighted. But beware: if you string a child along through a ten-hour day, they will crash. And that crash can last for days.
It’s always a good idea to work in some down time, even if your child returns to the hotel kicking and screaming. If you want to stay to see the fireworks, don’t even head to the parks until after lunch. If you want to get to the parks early in the morning, return to the hotel for a long afternoon nap and swim before heading back for nightfall. Even amid all of the stimulation Disney Parks inspire (and perhaps because of it), kids batteries can run out quickly. And a child running on empty can be a dangerous thing.
As silly as it might sound to throw away time during a once-in-a-lifetime trip, try to keep kids aligned to their normal schedule at home – wake-up, snack, lunch, nap, etc. Though you may find yourself scrambling, it will pay off in the long run. You will not see everything anyway, so you might as well make the time you do have pleasant. Quality over quantity. A six day Park Hopper would put most adults on the ground. Your eight year old can’t do it. And neither can you if you’ve got an eight year old in tow.
4. AHHH! Remember the Scare Factor
You never know what will set a child off. The mere sight of Tower of Terror might horrify young kids. Just hearing the premise of Temple of the Forbidden Eye might keep eyes shut tight through all of Adventureland. That, though, is fairly obvious. Watch for kids who react with unease at character meet-and-greets, or who seem anxious about even simple rides like Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. Consider how much larger and darker everything seems to a child, bundled with an absolute belief that what they’re seeing is real.
It could be that your child is scared of Space Mountain because they don’t think they can hold their breath that long. Even seven year olds ask a million questions during the ride, like “Is there a scary part coming up?” “Is it going to go fast?” “Is it going to get dark?” on rides that adults find perfectly predictable, like Ariel’s Undersea Adventure. If it happens once, you’re likely to shush the child. But take it as a learning opportunity: Even though their fears are obviously unfounded, respect them. Explain to a child before each ride begins what to expect, and remind them that once the ride starts, we want to be very quiet and listen carefully. This is where reminders that everything is made of magic and not real might come in handy. But don’t force your kid. That’s not the memory any of you wants to take from a trip to the Parks.
5. PHEW! Keep it Simple
It’s tempting to overcomplicate a Disney Parks vacation. Every parent delights at the idea of surprising their children with a character meal or dazzling them with their first viewing of World of Color. But remember that everything is amplified at the parks, and you might not need all that glitz and glamour to leave an impression. Countless dinner reservations and packed itineraries won’t mesh well with maintaining schedules as described in number three, above, so keep it simple.
6. DING! Know Your Way
Disney Parks are not passive experiences. Especially with MyMagic+ at Walt Disney World, the days of meandering around a park and seeing what looks like fun are over, for better or worse. You owe it to yourself to know your way around the parks and to understand the systems at play. Most Disney Parks have intuitive layouts and towering park icons that can help you know where you’re going. While you don’t need an intimate knowledge of the nooks and crannies, save time and frustration by knowing important routes and landmarks.
Depending on which resort you visit, take advantage of Fastpass or Fastpass+ (the latter of which requires pre-booking through Disney’s My Disney Experience smart phone app or website). Even at the more laidback Disneyland Resort, learn a little about crowd patterns and where to obtain Fastpasses for the shows each morning. Knowledge is your best friend when touring Disney Parks with kids, and if you falter and lose confidence in which way you’re walking, the complaints will begin
7. SHHH! Keep it Quiet
We get it. High prices. Lots of walking. Long waits. Crowded pathways. These are not the features Disney promised in all the brochures and websites. But the second you complain out loud, you’ve thrown dry kindling into a fire that’s been trying to burn in your children all day long.
Everyone knows you’re walking a lot. At a typical day at a single Disney Park, you may walk nine miles or more. You should do everything you can to prepare yourself and your kids for that experience (walk around the zoo, the neighborhood, or a local science museum for practice) but once you’re at Disney, there’s no turning back.
Even giving your partner a simple, “Man, it’s crowded!” can start an avalanche of complaints from kids. If you dare mention “We’ve sure been walking a lot,” you’re likely to end up with children suddenly aware of how badly their feet hurt, crying loudly about it. And that’s no fun for anyone. So be ready for the crowds and prices and walking, and flip any negativity around. Play games to count the Mouse Ears you see, or look for Hidden Mickeys in line. That will inspire a much brighter attitude for all.
8. SNAP! Keep the Camera Put Away
Remember the days when everyone bought disposable cameras to bring with them to Disney Parks? In some ways, those days were better. Back then, you had 26 chances to capture important moments, and once those were gone, they were gone forever. Today, the HD camera in everyone’s pocket is a tempting tool. But consider: taking hundreds and hundreds of photos of your child every day is really not preserving your Disney vacation; it’s distracting from it.
A) Do not watch your entire vacation through the lens of a camera. If you do, you’ll miss real, three-dimensional moments in favor of capturing a blurry image on a screen that you’ll likely never look at again. It’s a waste of your time to focus more on taking photos of your child than exploring with her. Sure, capture her first time meeting Mickey, or her reaction to seeing Cinderella Castle! Capture her smiles and laughs and favorite rides. But don’t forget to leave the phone in your hotel room most days and just let the moments happen.
B) Only take pictures of people. Don’t take photos of the rides. Instead, be there. Seriously. Skilled photographers have photographed every single ride at every Disney Park infinitely. There is just no reason to bust out your camera on Pirates of the Caribbean and take photographs of it, because there are millions of photos of it already on Google that are many times better than the photographs your phone can take. If one day your child asks about Pirates, the photos online will be much better references than the ones you might take on your phone, and the light of your phone being out on a ride is distracting to your kids and riders around you. Keep the phone put away and “be there…” That is, let yourself be absorbed into the ride and enjoy the experience of it rather than trying to take pictures of it.
C) Never for any reason take a flash photograph aboard a ride or during a show. Disney rides are designed to be viewed under theatrical lighting. You should never take a photo of a ride anyway because it’s a silly thing to do when every inch of every ride has already been professionally photographed (see B, above), but taking a flash picture will only give you a hazy, washed out image that does not capture the ride experience, and the constant flash ruins the ride for everyone around you. We’ve all been on Ariel’s Undersea Adventure and seen the clamshell next to us flash every five or six seconds. Flash photographs ruin your night vision, result in hazy images, and take you, your child, and all the riders around you out of “the moment” and it’s just no fun that way.
D) Don’t bring a selfie stick.
Conclusion
There was a time when amusement parks were either for teenage thrill-seekers or very, very small children. Disney Parks changed everything – the Disney Parks were meant to be places where parents and children could have fun together. That’s still true today, and kids of all ages can build incredible memories at Disney Parks. Just be sure to consider some of things we’ve said here when planning your own trip… Despite what the brochures make it look like, a day at Disney World is long, hot, crowded, and overwhelming for kids, so make sure they (and you) are prepared!
