Epcot with a 3 year old

[musicmom]

My husband has to go to Orlando on business in a week so I have the opportunity to go with him & take my 3 year old daughter to Disney World. She mainly wants to see princesses, though, and I can't get a reservation at Cinderella's castle in the MK. There are plenty of openings for the princess meals at Epcot. We weren't planning to go to Epcot because she's so young but princesses are key. Can anyone tell me if I should take a 3 year old to Epcot and if so, what are some things she would like to see and do? Thanks!

[mrstomrice]

You can seed the princesses in MK in toontown. We have seen Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Belle. YOu can also find Arielle in Fantasyland. Will this be your only day for a park? If so, I would do MK. To answer your original question, your child will enjoy Nemo and Crush in The Living Seas. There are also Kidcot stations where your child can do special activities at each atraction. Off the top of my head, I can't come up with anything else..I am sure that someone else will chime in. We have 2 boys and we only do EPCOT 1 day and it is more for us (Soarin and Test Track, along with a stroll through the countries). Many people say there is plenty for the kids. My kids are never very impressed with EPCOT...just our experience

[Epcot4Me]

Like the previous poster, I think it depends on whether this is your only park day...if so, then I'd stick with MK. If not, I'd say there's enough to keep you busy in Epcot. It was my favorite park when I was 5, and that was before Kidcot which just makes it better for kids.

Besides Nemo & Crush, there is the Journey into Imagination ride and the associated play area, Spaceship Earth, Ellen's Energy Adventure, Living with the Land, the boat ride in Mexico, and several shows throughout the park. There's also several character meetings, and some of the princesses are in their home countries (for example, you can see Belle in France).

[kmk1180]

Originally Posted by musicmom

My husband has to go to Orlando on business in a week so I have the opportunity to go with him & take my 3 year old daughter to Disney World. She mainly wants to see princesses, though, and I can't get a reservation at Cinderella's castle in the MK. There are plenty of openings for the princess meals at Epcot. We weren't planning to go to Epcot because she's so young but princesses are key. Can anyone tell me if I should take a 3 year old to Epcot and if so, what are some things she would like to see and do? Thanks!

My 3 year old LOVED Nemo
And Figment.
You could also have them do KidCOT when touring World Showcase.
(collecting stamps or stickers from each country)
Have dinner with Chip and Dale at the Land.
If you have a Disney Visa, they offer a special meet and greet for card holders only.
Ice Station Cool.
Strangely my 3 year old also loved Spaceship Earth.
(wouldn't have guessed but they did)

[eksb327]

My 3 year old loved the Princess breakfast at the Askerhaus restaurant. She hardly ate a thing because her jaw was dropped the whole time!! However, the cost of the breakfast was totally worth the experience she had with each princess (Belle, Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Ariel), without waiting in line forever and getting to see all of them at one time. Princess Jasmine wasn't part of the breakfast, but we did see her later at MK right by the Magic Carpet ride.

Other highlights for her at Epcot were Test Track (she's super tall) and Soarin'. She loved the little maze over at England, the trains and miniture houses at Germany, and the performers in France. Honestly, if you have the time, it's a great experience.

[Pooh&OurHunny]

In Epcot, we saw the following characters...France Bella and the Beast, Princess Aurora and Fairy Godmother (no line at all), London Mary Poppins, inside the Tea Store (Pooh, Eeyore and Tiger), China Mulan and Mushu, Gemany Snow White and Doopey, Morocco Jasmine and Aladdin. Hope this helps.

[Halloweenqueen]

Yes, if you are only going for one day, stick to MK. You can always hop on a boat or monorail and head to the Grand Floridian and go to dinner at 1900 Park Faire. It's only Cinderella, Prince Charming, the Evil Stepmother and stepsister there though. There are always plenty of princesses in Toontown.

We think the pictures are much better outside of the character dining anyway. Of course we love character dinner experiences, but the photos usually have plates of half-eaten food, etc. The photos from Toontown are much more professional looking, with very nice backgrounds.

If you are going more than one day, Epcot is a wonderful park to discover with a three year old. Plenty to see and explore there. The Seas is a fantastic complex to roam and of course there is Turtle Talk with Crush/

Enjoy your trip!

[Anonomom]

When DD was almost 3 (2 yrs, 9 months), she really enjoyed Epcot. In addition to the stuff that's already been mentioned, she had fun at innoventions, where she got to decorate a frog made of Velcro. She still has that thing. She also talks about Maelstrom nearly every day, even though at the time it scared the stuffing out of her.

I think Epcot can be a totally worthwhile park with a kid that age. It's not as kid-friendly as MK, but it's still pretty cool.

[Mississippianna]

You should definitely do Akershus. The interaction with characters at a meal is a million times better than when you wait in line for a meet and greet. For one thing, you don't have to wait in line and they come to you! Plus, they can really kneel down and talk to your DD. Definitely do it. If it's not too crowded, she might get to talk to some of them more than once. It's a better value and better food than the Castle, too.

She will enjoy Epcot! Go to the Seas for Nemo and the Land for Living with the Land, for sure. Ride Spaceship Earth. Walk around the World Showcase, visit the Kidcot stations and you will find all kinds of little-known character spots. You can find Alice, Pooh and Tigger in the toy shop in the UK, Belle in France, Mulan in Japan. She's 3, so it's more about the experience than the rides, really. You will have fun at Epcot!

[PoohsFan1]

Originally Posted by kmk1180

My 3 year old LOVED Nemo
And Figment.
You could also have them do KidCOT when touring World Showcase.
(collecting stamps or stickers from each country)
Have dinner with Chip and Dale at the Land.
If you have a Disney Visa, they offer a special meet and greet for card holders only.
Ice Station Cool.
Strangely my 3 year old also loved Spaceship Earth.
(wouldn't have guessed but they did)

My youngest DD has been going to Epcot since she was 2 and she loved it then. In fact, Epcot is both my DDs second favorite park (with MK being the first of course). Oddly enough, my DH and I were just talking about the different Disney parks and how our kids are in the minority that they love both the FW and WS....there are so much to see and do everywhere.

As for Akershus restaurant.....I would say absolutely try it. We have only had breakfast there and my girls loved it (been twice). The princesses that come around for breakfast is Jasmine, Sleeping Beauty, Mulan, Snow White, and you get a picture taken with Belle in her golden dress before you sit down (which you get the picture included with your food). Have fun.

[ktlm]

Epcot is my 3 year old DDs favorite park after MK, which I think is due in large part to all the Princesses there. We have been there when she was 2 yrs 10 months (were there from open to close and felt it was not enough time) and again at 3. Snow White (sometimes with Dopey), Belle (sometimes with Beast), Jasmine (sometimes with Genie or Aladdin), Mulan, and Sleeping Beauty are all out in the WS for meet and greets in the afternoon and the lines are not usually that long. Mary Poppins and Pooh and Tigger can be found in WD too. DD loves exploring WS. She likes the Kidcot stations, watching the Street Entertainers, the toy store in England, and she would stand and bang the drums at the outpost for an hour if we let her. She had a great time eating at Akershus on her 1st trip and absolutely loved eating at Biergarten on her 2nd trip. In Future World she loves the Nemo and Imagination rides and could explore the areas after those for long periods of time. She also liked Spaceship Earth on our 2nd trip, but I wouldn't make that a 1st ride for a little one. I would start with Nemo. For her, Epcot is more about exploring at her own pace, and less about running from attraction to attraction like the other parks. I agree with the others though, if you only have one day, MK is the place to spend it with one that age. She will love all the Fantasyland rides. Also, in addition to the toontown princesses and Ariel's grotto (be prepared the grotto line is usually 45 minutes to an hour) that others have mentioned, Jasmine is in Adventureland every afternnoon, sometimes with Aladdin. The fairy godmother has meets on one side of the castle, and the Stepmother and Stepsisters can be found on the other side after Belle's storytime concludes and Belle leaves. My DD adored the stepsisters. If you have more than one day, Epcot would be great for a Princess crazy girl.

[dismagiclover]

I agree with the PP that if you only have one day do MK, but my kids have always loved Epcot. IMHO it has the best character meet 'n greet in all the parks. At the Character Connection you wait in one line that is inside (read air conditioned) and there are tvs in the line showing classic Disney cartoons. Then you meet all of the Fab 5 (Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Donald, and Goofy.) We went here multiple times last year because my kids loved it so much. Sometimes there are even more characters as you walk out (we met Marie here last trip.) It's the easiest way to knock out all of the Fab 5

[musicmom]

Thanks for your message. We are new to Disney. What does WS and WD mean? Thanks!

[ktlm]

WS means World Showcase. 1/2 of Epcot is called Future World, the other 1/2 is called World Showcase. WS is where all the different countries are and where you can see all the Princesses. WD means I can't type. It should be WS!

[NMK62303]

Our daughters (who were 5 at the time) LOVED the princess breakfast at Norway! The Kidcot stations at Epcot were great too (note: they were coloring with permanent markers because the stations were sponsored by Sharpie but I just brought along some crayons, thanks to a tip from a fellow DISer ). The Living Seas and Imagination ride might be fun for her, also wandering around the World Showcase and seeing the sights in the different countries.

Otherwise, you can see Ariel at her grotto, you can see princesses at ToonTown in the Magic Kingdom as well. so if you only have the 1 day you might want to do that! Also -- if she loves Cinderella you could do supper at 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian.

Have fun!