Please share your toddler touring plans with me!

So we're taking our 2.5yo DS and 5-month-old DD to WDW for the first time over the next few months. We live nearby so we'll be taking day trips to MK next month and Epcot in January. I've found a bunch of articles about traveling with toddlers but the amount of info is pretty overwhelming. For anyone who went to MK or Epcot with a 2 or 3yo, would you be willing to share your plan--i.e. when you arrived, what rides/experiences/etc. you did, etc. and anything to avoid? I want to make a realistic plan for the day and avoid tantrums as much as possible. DS is not good at waiting in line but he insists he wants to do it to meet princesses as he is obsessed with them, but I'm not sure how well that's going to work in real life. We will be doing the Akershus princess breakfast in January but eating counter service otherwise to minimize costs. Thanks!

So I strongly suggest arriving very early - you can accomplish so much in the early hours before the park gets too crowded. Generally speaking, we tend to spend the early hours in Fantasyland and then move to the other lands.

The things my dd loves the most are Small world, Peter Pan, Carousel, Dumbo, Ariel ride, Monsters Laugh Floor and Country Bears. She also had a lot of fun exploring Tom Sawyers Island.

My DD also likes Cosmic rays for counter service.... She likes to dance while we eat. definitely try to go at on off peak time.

If your kid is big Mickey fan, talking Mickey is completely amazing.

Hi, what is talking Mickey and where is he?

Ross J 82 said:

Hi, what is talking Mickey and where is he?

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It's the Mickey meet and greet in Town square. Basically Mickey will interact with you and your family. - he asked my daughter to do the hot dog dance with him. It's pretty amazing if you have kids

i would agree with the rides suggested earlier. Use fast pass as much as you can. Be there early and go back to the hotel for the afternoon. Bring a stroller.

I would also agree with getting there early, you can get more accomplished in the morning hours than the rest of the day. I have kids from 8 years old to 8 months old and my biggest tip would be try to relax I have been over planned and gun ho about doing everything in the parks but the best times I have is when we plan a little and are flexible to changes. my little ones love the mermaid ride in fantasyland and the main street electrical parade at night is awesome if you can swing it. My kids are always so tickled when the characters wave at them it's one of my favorite parts of the day. Sometimes when we go for the day we will take the kids on the monorail or the train around the park for a little break. As for Epcot the nemo ride is great, avoid the figment ride if your little ones don't like loud music there is also a blast at the end. I like living with the land where you take a boat ride through some indoor garden but it can be slow for little ones. There is also kidcot that has stops in each country where they can color a cardboard Duffy bear. let me know if you need anymore information I love planning for Disney World

I didn't realize that you mentioned Epcot.... I feel like this is a really easy park to do with minimal planning with little ones. If there are any M&Gs that you want to do - those should be your priority and do them as close to world showcase opening as possible. the jasmine and Aladdin is a very good one!

the entire Nemo pavilion is a huge hit with my dd. she loves the aquarium, the Nemo ride and Turtle Talk with Crush. she loves the Figment ride - we went on it 4x during our last visit. coloring Duffy is a pretty big hit too.... I would also check out the small maze in the UK and the train set in Germany. None of these things seem to have serious lines so no need to worry about timing the right way.

The shows we have liked in WS were the flags in Italy and the acrobats in China

This is so helpful! I was trying to figure out which rides to request FP for and what kinds of things to try to visit. DS loves Mulan so that is a priority for the meet & greet for sure (do Mushu or Li Shang ever come? He loves everything about that movie!), and he does also love Jasmine and Aladdin. Those two movies are probably his favorites. Talking Mickey sounds awesome too. I hadn't even thought of the maze in the UK and the train set in Germany or the Duffy coloring--they are things I just don't pay as much attention to as an adult since they aren't rides, but I can see DS really enjoying them. I think I will try to plan a little but be pretty open. We do live nearby, like I said, so it's not like I need to make sure they see every single thing the parks have to offer all in one day--we will be back multiple times a year after this. So we can just do a little and take it easy. DD is so little that she's just going to chill in her carrier in all likelihood, so these trips will be all about DS for at least a little while.

If your son is still napping- work that into your day. And overtired kiddo is a recipe for a meltdown for sure.

Take some time to play in the dumbo waiting area as well. The little ones need to burn off steam. I just returned from the world with my 28 month old

Oh make sure you sit in the first car on Winnie the pooh. If someone big or tall sits in front of you and you're in the 2nd car, your little one won't see anything.

You probably are already planning this but bring a carrier for the 5 month old. Much easier to hold them in line and to watch parades, etc.

Good suggestions above. Rope drop, do a couple rides and a meet-n-greet. Then hit Dumbo play area before 10 am, and it should be pretty empty. Then grab an early lunch - most quick service places open at 10:30 am, and lines start to build by 11 am in MK.

Toddlers and babies generally love the spinners - Astro Orbiter, Dumbo, and Magic Carpets, and the shooter - Buzz Lightyear. Of the indoor rides, Under the Sea and Winnie the Pooh were big hits with our kids, for both the queues and the rides themselves. They were not impressed by Peter Pan, Pirates of the Caribbean, or Spaceship Earth - all too dark, I think.

Gran Fiesta Tour in Epcot hardly ever has a line, and our toddlers liked that better than Small World (which, in these days of FP+, now usually has a line).

Build in time for snacks, even if you just bring them from home.

As babies/toddlers, our kids' enjoyment of any attraction hinged on their mood at the time. Enchanted Tales (with FP) right before lunch, which was to be followed by naptime, was a disaster, because the kids were hungry and starting to get tired.

Take advantage of rider swap if the adults want to ride while the kids play/snack/get their diaper changed.

Lines often bother kids less than they bother their parents -- but when your kid is done waiting in line, they will let EVERYONE know.

Have fun!

I always plan a rest day on travel days. You never know how much sleep a toddler will actually get during the day of travel.
Once you are at the resort you can re-evaluate and maybe head to a park. like Epcot. I find that the moroccan restaurant is good and almost never requires ADR to be seated. Your toddler may nap the whole way in the stroller, which could be a nice thing for you and your DH.
I second the advice on the grand fiesta tour, my DS loved it, we rode it 5 times in a row with 0 line on our last trip.

In terms of crowd levels, parks with EMH are never recommended, but early morning is always the least crowded time for rides, specially for toddler friendly rides. So If you are planning to be done by 11 am or so, the crowd levels projected will not have been reached yet.

I wouldn't switch the MK day, BOG lunch is a hard ADR to get. I have always been able to have almost no wait with good FP planning at rope drop in MK with crowd levels higher than what is shown for October. Last April DS (then 4) rode dumbo and barnstormer 2 times each before there was even a line, plus Winnie the pooh and Peter Pan with FP. The only line we did that morning was 7DMT and that was 25 minutes (which was almost too much for a 4 yo), and that was right at opening with no FP. All between 9-11 am, plus a break for a snack.

And I think at 2.5 HS is not really worth it. We skipped it at 2.5 and went at 4, and even then DS had limited rides he could do (he wasn't quite 40 inches yet
have a great trip!