c. How Old/Tall Your Children Should Be for Walt Disney World
How Old/Tall Your Children Should Be What if They’re Too Short/Young?
“While every child is different, in general this guidance is dead on.” –David C. MD, Pediatrician
OVERVIEW
If this will be your kids’ only childhood visit, as of your arrival date at Walt Disney World, your youngest child should be 8 or 9 or older, and your shortest child should be at least 48 inches tall.
See What if They’re Too Short/Young? if you just aren’t waiting til then.
Children of any height or age can enjoy Walt Disney World. However, this site assumes that you are not sure whether or not you will ever be returning for another visit.
Because you may not be returning, your children should be old enough, 8-9 years old or older, and tall enough, 48″ tall or taller, to fully enjoy Walt Disney World on what may be their only childhood visit.
HOW OLD YOUR CHILDREN SHOULD BE FOR WALT DISNEY WORLD
Walt Disney World is not designed for children. It is designed for children and their parents. One of Walt Disney’s original visions for Disneyland–the model for Walt Disney World–was to build a place where he could have as much fun as his daughters.
As a result much of the best of Walt Disney World has a level of sophistication, and a set of physical and emotional demands, that will elude, or worse, overwhelm children younger than 8 or 9–third graders.
Third graders, on the other hand, are making the transition from primary school to higher abilities to experience and interpret the world. They typically are substantially ahead of younger children in independence, personal responsibility, physical stamina, attention, and memory.
Moreover, they typically are open to suggestion, risks, and new adventures.* Consequently, third graders are much more capable than younger children of appreciating a place that they possibly may not see again until they bring their own families.
A couple of notes:
- The real issue is physical, emotional, and cognitive development, not chronological age. Some children will be ahead of, or behind, a typical chronological developmental schedule. Evaluate your child, and since you need to make plans at least 180 days in advance, you will need to do a little forecasting, not only on the developmental side, but also on height (see below.) It is better to delay your trip a year than to bring your child too immature or too short for their only visit.
- On the other hand, there is a price break for children younger than ten at the time you check in. Children younger than 10 are about $350+ less expensive over the recommended trip than children older than 10. (See What to Budget.)
- The core issue is your child’s ability to enjoy the best Walt Disney World has to offer on what might be their only childhood visit.
HOW TALL YOUR CHILDREN SHOULD BE
This entry is continued here.
*University of Chicago Laboratory Schools
6 comments
I would highly recommend making sure your youngest child is 40 inches tall, particularly if they are adventurous with rides. We took our kids to Disneyworld for the first time last summer when they were 4, 7, and 9. We wanted to go before our daughter, age 7, outgrew her passion for princesses. What we didn’t consider was the height of our youngest. He luckily was 40 inches tall, just making the cutoff for some key rides, such as his favorites, Test Track and Thunder Mountain Railroad. This made our trip SO much easier, as there was pretty much only one ride in each park he couldn’t ride. We did the rider switch three times, and honestly, the Mission Space waiting area is SO fun that he had no idea that he didn’t go on a ride. Our trip would have had some disappointing moments, if he had to skip all of those 40 inch rides, but for us, it worked out great. It was not our “one and only” trip to WDW, just our first. And a side note… I loved how many rides accomodated odd numbered families. We truly were able to ride most rides without anyone sitting alone.
Thanks, Christine!
Help! We want to take our 17 and 14 year olds to Disney for the first time this year 2012. We have to go in August due to school holidays and as a treat after GCSEs. They are both red heads so we know that it will be hot for them. Can you let us know the best lux villas or hotels with focus on teens? We still want to do all disney parks and universal studios too. Thanks
Hi Jonathan! At Universal, Hard Rock is the most teen appropriate; at Disney, there’s nothing so clear. I think any of the deluxes or villas would do. Teens often–but not always–prefer Epcot and/or the Hollywood Studios; for these, one of the Epcot resorts is most convenient–see this: http://yourfirstvisit.net/2012/02/16/the-epcot-resorts-at-walt-disney-world/
Thanks very much!
You’re welcome! Let me know when you get back what you decided and how the red-heads liked it!
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