I know this is insane...

is 18 months too young for DL?

  • No way!

    Votes: 53 86.9%
  • Yes!

    Votes: 8 13.1%

  • Total voters
    61

Purerockfury1

Mouseketeer
Joined
Aug 18, 2017
but I am DYING to go back. I’m pregnant and we won’t be back for a while even though we’re only in Nor Cal!

So naturally I’m already planning my next trip. With a baby coming and my working less once it’s here money will be a little more tight so I told my husband we better start saving now!

I want to go Oct 2020 when the baby is 18 months. Is that way too young? I’m hoping to do 5 days like we did in April but I’m not sure if that’s too long for a toddler.

I know it really depends on the kid but knowing I possibly have a trip to look forward to makes me happy lol.
 
I personally would not do it. But others would.

Hard to say for sure until you actually have the baby. I would wait to book until way closer to the time. A lot can change in two years.
 
I personally would not do it. But others would.

Hard to say for sure until you actually have the baby. I would wait to book until way closer to the time. A lot can change in two years.


Oh yeah definitely not booking for a LONG time! Lol. I’m just desperate to go back
 


Having taken my now 3 year old when he was 16 months and almost 3. I'd recommend going either before your baby is walking for yourself to enjoy the trip or after 2 if you want your baby to enjoy it. 1 year olds are hard imo, he just wanted to explore stairs/walkways when we went at 16 months. He had very little interest in characters, rides, and hated standing in line. He also still needed very long afternoon naps and got over stimulated a lot. Now, by almost 3 he LOVED it and still talks about it 5 months later.
 
I've taken my kids down to 2 months old before, but with older preschool-age kids. if this is your first baby, 18 months is kind of young - I mean that young, my kids were still taking 2 3-hour naps a day. Whether it's fun or a hassle for you will be depending on his/her personality, probably. A cranky baby makes for a long day! That said, my kids all just slept all the time, but that's also kind of boring b/c then you have to take turns on every ride.
 
We took our daughter to Disneyworld when she was 9 months, Disneyland at 11 months, 17 months, cruise at 2 and a half, Disneyland for 3rd birthday etc. When she was a baby was some of my most favorite, so many fun and beautiful pictures and videos that she gets to enjoy with us now, and I love it. The only time it got a little difficult was during potty training, but I don’t regret it in the least. Be ready for anything and go with an open mind. I cherish those times so much.
 


It totally depends on the baby and on you! As others have said, your whole world can change (and it will!) in a short space of time; so dream your dreams and make your tentative plans. But wait to see what kind of baby yours turns out to be (any health issues? a great traveler? a true homebody? something else??) and how you and your husband do with the whole new parenting thing. Don't put any pressure on yourself or on your baby -- you are what you are, the baby will be who s/he will be -- and everything will turn out fine. Our oldest was high maintenance, but actually a pretty good traveler overall. Disney trips started early and weren't too big of a deal. Youngest? Whole different story. First trip wasn't the easiest or the best for anyone. And we decided that the next one wouldn't be planned until it would be really, truly fun for everyone involved. That took several years (longer than I would have wanted, but that's fine) -- and the payoff was that youngest's earliest memories of the parks are super positive. Whatever works out best for you, your baby, and your family will be great and the right answer for all of you! (Then, when things have calmed down enough, come on back here to post about it!)
 
Oh yeah definitely not booking for a LONG time! Lol. I’m just desperate to go back

You are due in March/April? Absolutely no chance of squeezing in a weekend get-away/babymoon before the baby arrives? You can't do the thrill rides but even without those, there is plenty you can do. :)
 
If it makes you happy do it! I’m honestly not a big Disney person, I’d never go without the kids and my DH would rather we never went, but I had a great time at DL when my kids were little. My DH has work that brings him to LA every year or few years and I’ve tagged along with him and taken the kids while he’s working. DD’s first trip was less than a year old. Her second trip was at about 18 months. The second trip was a lot of fun because I have adorable photos of her. She was very anti-fuzzy characters but adored princesses. She was super snugly and fun to hold on rides and during shows. She slept on me all over the park. I’m not a thrill rider so I didn’t feel like I was missing anything but that could be an issue if you like the height restricted rides. DD loves seeing the pictures of that trip and knows the stories from it. We never stopped talking about it so she still “remembers” it. We had a great low key time where we took everything in and were never in a hurry. Plus she was free!! I think if you are a Disney person and want to go you would have a great time. If a non-Disney Park person can have a great time while juggling a baby and a toddler solo than I think you will have lots of fun.
 
We went in May with my DD and my sister's DS who were 19 months- they loved it!
 
It sounds like the worst of all worlds to me -- you and your spouse won't be a able to go on any of the "big" rides without rider swap, which would be lonely and a time suck and, as others have said, at 18 months your little one is going to be want be down and running around, not waiting in lines. I would wait until closer to 3, that's when I took my daughter for the first time and she still remembers that trip fondly (at 10), helped by her photo book. It's a lot of money to spend to wander the parks (but we're big ride people, so that probably colors my perspective).
 
We took our little guy when he was 11 months. He's pretty chill and was totally content to hang out in his stroller while we took big siblings on rides. I think it depends on the infant's personality. Mine is laid back and he also wasn't mobile yet and was happy to nap in his stroller. We just took him again at age 2 and he was less content in the stroller and wanted to walk everywhere and needed to go back to the hotel for naps. But it was still amazing. We also did 5 days and it was perfect. We weren't rushed and had plenty of time to do what we wanted.
 
If you go, i would recommend bringing someone else with you. That way at least 2 adults can go on bigger rides while someone stays with the little one. We first took our kids when they were 2 1/2 and 5 1/2. Best trip ever! They loved the characters and princesses. So much magic in their eyes! My younger daughter was/is very social, adventurous, and was content the whole time there. We also had my sister and mom with us. It was great having everyone there to help and do rider swap with. My husband and I even had some time in the park alone one night.

The next trip we did was when my 3rd child was 5. Huge gap between going! My sister and mom came again but my sister had a 2 1/2 year old as well. He is very different then my daughter was at that age. He was scared of characters but wanted to look from afar. He was not as content in the stroller and just wanted to play in toon town at the houses. Needless to say we had to split up since my kids were all into the big rides and didn’t care about characters. So I think it really does depend on the kid and their personality.
 
We have taken all of our kids at 18 months and younger and loved it.
Some of my favourite memories are of character playing peek a boo or them dancing to the parades.

If it was going to be your only trip with them, I would wait u til they were 3-5, if you will do more then go for it
 
I should add that we went with my sister and her DH and their DS who was also 19 months, and my DD13 and my mom- this allowed for good breaking up of groups for rides/rider swaps/naps etc
 
I love my kids but I looooooove Disneyland :love:, I want to enjoy it my way yes selfish but when my oldest was 4 I was glad I waited. He was my lil trooper he loved every minute of it and I never had to change my way of touring. My youngest had to wait longer (his first trip is in NOV) due to our move across the country and other things but I finally get to show him what his brother and I love so much. I have added nap times with kids so we are up to 4 days. I would never use park time to nap prior to kids. It just depends on what you are willing to compromise/adjust, either way its DISNEYLAND you'll find a way to soak up all the magic!!
 

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