Taking Your Too Short/Young Kids Anyway, &*#$@!!

OVERVIEW

This site recommends waiting to go until your kids are at least 48 inches tall and in the third grade or older. If you do, all of the best of Disney World is open to them.

Of course, as noted several times before, kids of all ages can have a great time at Disney World. So you may be ignoring this instruction…

The problem with younger kids is that

• Younger kids enjoy attractions that older ones and their parents would view as skippable
• Older kids and their parents enjoy things that younger kids can’t or shouldn’t ride
• Moreover, little kids also slow everyone else down, as they can’t keep up at the same pace as the rest of the family

The result is that it is very hard to keep everyone happy on a single Disney World trip, and the family overall does not have the best possible trip.

TYPES OF PEOPLE WHO WON’T FOLLOW SUGGESTIONS

The best—not great, but still best—answer depends on your family circumstances. Two variables are critical:

• First, are all your kids too young or short, or do you have a mix of some the right age/height and others not?
• Second, could you afford to return?

Suggestions are grouped below based on these two variables; you can also see them organized a little more simply by clicking on the thumbnail to the right.

YOU CAN AFFORD TO RETURN, AND ALL YOUR KIDS ARE TOO SHORT/YOUNG

Go now for a shorter, simpler trip, focused on what little kids like, and return later when they are older for a full scale version of one of this site’s itneraries. 

YOU CAN AFFORD TO RETURN, AND ONLY SOME OF YOUR KIDS ARE TOO SHORT/YOUNG

• Leave your youngest kids behind (grandma, police, kennel) and go on a regular trip with your properly aged kids; return later for a regular trip when your youngest kids are old and tall enough, or
• Go now with everyone for a regular trip, but split up often and use babysitters often (see below); return later for a regular trip when your youngest kids are old and tall enough

YOU CAN’T AFFORD TO RETURN, AND ALL YOUR KIDS ARE TOO SHORT/YOUNG

• Wait until they are (you knew you were going to hear that again), or,
• Go now for a shorter, simpler trip, banking the money saved compared to the regular trip for a short return later when they are old and tall enough, focused on what you missed this time around

YOU CAN’T AFFORD TO RETURN, AND ONLY SOME OF YOUR KIDS ARE TOO SHORT/YOUNG

• Wait until they are (you knew you were going to hear that again), or,
• Go now with everyone for a regular trip, but split up often and use babysitters often (see below); if you possibly can, return later for a regular trip when your youngest kids are old and tall enough

MANAGING A TRIP WITH KIDS OF WILDLY DIFFERENT AGES

OTHER RESOURCES

Bob Sehlinger with Len Testa’s The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2009, in its chapter on kids, has additional wonderful ideas. Skip the instructions on how to parent (!) and move straight to the concepts and ideas.

LINKS FOR HOW OLD/TALL YOUR KIDS SHOULD BE

• How Old/Tall Your Children Should Be 
• What if They’re Too Short/Young?
• Taking Your Too Short/Young Kids Anyway,&*#$@!!
• The Comprehensive Guide to Rides
• Rides That Might be Skipped

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