Epcot With a 4 year old what to do?

[nannye]

Thanks everyone, I think we have narrowed it down to Test Track and Nemo. The crowd prediction for that day is like .08 so hopefully that helps for lines. We'll aim to do those two as I think she will enjoy those the most. I think we will do China or whatever country Mulan is in (I've never seen the movie) as I think she is the only princess not found at MK. If that is too far away we'll just do a country or two based on if there is enough time and closest to where we are. My 4 year old has a pretty short attention span so she will want to keep moving and not stop for too long at anything.

 

[nannye]

Skip the Norway ride (not fun and DD 4 found it too scary)
Maybe skip the countries if only 2 hours.

Nemo and Crush are awesome, as is the aquarium...

Good luck
(and my DD was not tall enough for Soarin')

V is TALL! 44 inches. I was 7 years old when i was 44 inches!! She is not even 4.5! it's hard to dress her lol

 

[nannye]

There is so much for a 4yo in Epcot. I would try to plan at least one full day there. We usually do 2 or 3!

I think it will be less important for your DD to be a BBB'd up to meet the princesses than you think. If she catches a glimpse of Snow White, she's going to want to meet her, whether she has on a princess dress of her own or not. There is also Mulan, Belle, Beast, etc.

Thanks I wasnt worried that she wasn't dressed up as a princess, but more so will seeing princesses and Mickey at epcot on sun make her not as excited when she sees them at CRT. Probably not. but we may not make an effort to really seek out any princesses. Are there any characters really unique to epcot that arent found anywhere wlse that we should be sure to see?

 

[ktlm]

First time at Disney. I have a 4 year old and we will be spending only a few hours at Epcot. I have th option of going so I would like to go and check it out.
I have a 4 year old. Most of it seems boring for her so I am jsut making a short list of the must do and then we will be on our way.


Erin

As far as boring, let me put it to you this way-- when DD was 2, we allocated one full day of Epcot open to close. It was not enough for her. She absolutely loved Epcot. After 2 hours at AK, on another day, she begged us to leave AK to go back to either Epcot or MK. We have been back to WDW twice when she was 3, and once when she was 4, and each time we have spent 2 days pretty much open to close at Epcot. AK is a half day park for her. Not enough Princesses. We have a really good zoo at home, and as much as I personally like AK, she wants to ride Safari, see the Lion King Show, meet some characters and get out. She has no intention of spending her Disney time looking at animals when she can do that at the zoo at home. She wants Princesses. Plus, where Epcot and MK have a lot of rides for that age group, AK really doesn't. There is Safari, and there is Triceratops spin (which is really just a lesser version of Dumbo or Aladdin's Magic Carpets in DD's opinion).

DD can spend an entire afternoon in World Showcase at Epcot just going from Princess to Princess and stopping to watch the entertainment. She would ride the boat ride in Mexico around in circles all day if we let her. That is one of her favorite rides on all of WDW.

She also really likes Soarin because it is "flying". Nemo and Living with the Land are big hits as well. She isn't crazy about Test Track- too jerky and she hates the "hot room". She will ride it, but she has to be bribed onto it.

As far as spending just 2 hours there, you are right that you don't understand the size. Walking from one end of World Showcase to the other end (half the park), is about a mile.

To give you an idea, we get to Epcot usually right at 9:00 a.m. opening, or at the lastest by about 9:10. I run with the tickets to get Soarin FPs, while DD and DH go get in line to meet Mickey and the Gang at the Character connection- (usually stopping to see Daisy and Stitch who are out in the mornings at the front of the park). After that, we ride Nemo and wander the Aquarium after it, then DD usually wants to see Turtle Talk with Crush. We then go and ride Living with the Land (a 20 minute ride). By then, it is usually time to use our Soarin Fast Passes. By the time we have finished Soarin, we are usually booking it at a fast pace to try to make it to our 12:30 or 12:45 ADR at Biergarten (One of DD's absolute favorite restaurants at WDW due to the German band and dance floor). So, after 3 hours at Epcot, we have barely scratched the surface.

If you really only have a limited time, for a 4 year old girl, I would say you definitely want to do the boat in Mexico, Living with the Land, and Nemo. If you could get FPs, I would say Soarin, but it is probably doubtful that you can get FPs, in the time period. Test Track mid-afternoon, it is doubtful that you can get FPs that will kick in, within the 2 hours you want to spend at the park, and the line could eat up most of your Epcot time. If you asked my DD and told her she could only have a few hours, she would think the most important things in an afternoon at Epcot would be to ride the boat in Mexico and walk around World Showcase meeting the Princesses and other characters.

 

[ktlm]

Thanks I wasnt worried that she wasn't dressed up as a princess, but more so will seeing princesses and Mickey at epcot on sun make her not as excited when she sees them at CRT. Probably not. but we may not make an effort to really seek out any princesses. Are there any characters really unique to epcot that arent found anywhere wlse that we should be sure to see?

If she is anything like my DD, it doesn't matter how many times she sees the Princesses, she is thrilled. At Epcot, it is not an effort. When you walk through World Showcase in the afternoons, the Princesses are clearly visible, and if she is anything like my DD, she will be begging to see them. In World Showcase, in addition to Snow White, Mulan, Belle, Jasmine and Sleeping Beauty, you will also find Caballero Donald, Beast is sometimes out with Belle, Aladdin is sometimes out with Jasmine (he can often be found with her at MK too), Marie from Aristocats is there, Alice in Wonderland (sometimes out at MK by the teacups, but in our experience can be harder to find), Mary Poppins (sometimes out in the mornings or at the carousel at MK); Pooh and Tigger (if you are eating at CP at MK you will see them there). The characters in WS in Epcot generally have shorter lines than they do at MK

 

[Diegosmom]

I am curious. You have 2 full days at MK. 1 full day at AK but only a morning at DHS and 2 hours at Epcot...If it were me I would do 1 full day MK 1 full day epcot 1 full day DHS and then AK on partial day (possibly even both partial days to see more). Seems like you have focus on 2 parks and epcot and DHS are just a side note. If you 4 year old is anything like mine he cant wait to see the playhouse disney show. And toy story mania and then voyage of the little mermaid show and beauty and the beast show...not to mention fantasmic (sadely we will miss cause it isnt showing in Jan ) and the muppets 3D show...not sure when you leave on the last day so maybe you are able to get this all in. Just thinking that AK might be a better short day park as most people say you can easily do it in 5 hours. You probably wont be doing Primeval Whir (height requirements) or Dinosaur (too scary) or Everest (height and scary) and will you be doing Kali...this one is a toss up for us...not sure how DS will react if he is the one that gets soaked...and we are going in Jan so might be too cold...you might want to do it. But when you cut out a bunch of the big rides it is clearly a 1/2 day park...

Just offering some suggestions...

 

[nannye]

As far as boring, let me put it to you this way-- when DD was 2, we allocated one full day of Epcot open to close. It was not enough for her. She absolutely loved Epcot. After 2 hours at AK, on another day, she begged us to leave AK to go back to either Epcot or MK. We have been back to WDW twice when she was 3, and once when she was 4, and each time we have spent 2 days pretty much open to close at Epcot. AK is a half day park for her. Not enough Princesses. We have a really good zoo at home, and as much as I personally like AK, she wants to ride Safari, see the Lion King Show, meet some characters and get out. She has no intention of spending her Disney time looking at animals when she can do that at the zoo at home. She wants Princesses. Plus, where Epcot and MK have a lot of rides for that age group, AK really doesn't. There is Safari, and there is Triceratops spin (which is really just a lesser version of Dumbo or Aladdin's Magic Carpets in DD's opinion).

DD can spend an entire afternoon in World Showcase at Epcot just going from Princess to Princess and stopping to watch the entertainment. She would ride the boat ride in Mexico around in circles all day if we let her. That is one of her favorite rides on all of WDW.

She also really likes Soarin because it is "flying". Nemo and Living with the Land are big hits as well. She isn't crazy about Test Track- too jerky and she hates the "hot room". She will ride it, but she has to be bribed onto it.

As far as spending just 2 hours there, you are right that you don't understand the size. Walking from one end of World Showcase to the other end (half the park), is about a mile.

To give you an idea, we get to Epcot usually right at 9:00 a.m. opening, or at the lastest by about 9:10. I run with the tickets to get Soarin FPs, while DD and DH go get in line to meet Mickey and the Gang at the Character connection- (usually stopping to see Daisy and Stitch who are out in the mornings at the front of the park). After that, we ride Nemo and wander the Aquarium after it, then DD usually wants to see Turtle Talk with Crush. We then go and ride Living with the Land (a 20 minute ride). By then, it is usually time to use our Soarin Fast Passes. By the time we have finished Soarin, we are usually booking it at a fast pace to try to make it to our 12:30 or 12:45 ADR at Biergarten (One of DD's absolute favorite restaurants at WDW due to the German band and dance floor). So, after 3 hours at Epcot, we have barely scratched the surface.

If you really only have a limited time, for a 4 year old girl, I would say you definitely want to do the boat in Mexico, Living with the Land, and Nemo. If you could get FPs, I would say Soarin, but it is probably doubtful that you can get FPs, in the time period. Test Track mid-afternoon, it is doubtful that you can get FPs that will kick in, within the 2 hours you want to spend at the park, and the line could eat up most of your Epcot time. If you asked my DD and told her she could only have a few hours, she would think the most important things in an afternoon at Epcot would be to ride the boat in Mexico and walk around World Showcase meeting the Princesses and other characters.

Thanks for your suggestions. V is really looking forward to Animal Kingdom and with the way our dining reservations are set out I just cant change days so it is either the sun afternoon, I'm pushing for 3 hours now at Epcot if I can swing it. (we arent in control at all of when we are getting there. hence the limited time. We are driving from Sarasota leaving mid morning and it is a two hour drive to the hotel and then once getting settled then hopefully getting dropped off at epcot a few hours there We may just stay there for dinner too and skip DTD all together then back to the hotel and bed. I just dont want her to be out late. I was looking forward to just checking out down town disney, but we may just have to decide on the day and see how it is going.

I really appreciate everyones advice and suggestions in trying to figure out how to maximize the limited time we have there.

 

[nannye]

I am curious. You have 2 full days at MK. 1 full day at AK but only a morning at DHS and 2 hours at Epcot...If it were me I would do 1 full day MK 1 full day epcot 1 full day DHS and then AK on partial day (possibly even both partial days to see more). Seems like you have focus on 2 parks and epcot and DHS are just a side note. If you 4 year old is anything like mine he cant wait to see the playhouse disney show. And toy story mania and then voyage of the little mermaid show and beauty and the beast show...not to mention fantasmic (sadely we will miss cause it isnt showing in Jan ) and the muppets 3D show...not sure when you leave on the last day so maybe you are able to get this all in. Just thinking that AK might be a better short day park as most people say you can easily do it in 5 hours. You probably wont be doing Primeval Whir (height requirements) or Dinosaur (too scary) or Everest (height and scary) and will you be doing Kali...this one is a toss up for us...not sure how DS will react if he is the one that gets soaked...and we are going in Jan so might be too cold...you might want to do it. But when you cut out a bunch of the big rides it is clearly a 1/2 day park...

Just offering some suggestions...

We don't have Park Hoppers so we can't switch parks during our stay.
We have two days at MK becuase that is the one with the most stuff to do and plan to take longer breaks on those two days to be up late for the parade etc.. Those are also the days we have reservations for CRT and Crystal Palace.

Hollywood studios, we chose as a morning only becuase the only reservation we could get for Hollywood and Vine was our last day at 2 pm so that makes Hollywood Studios on that day from open until 2 pm. We won't see fantasmic as i watched clips on You Tube and it will scare V. She likes princesses but gets scared of the movies so we don't watch them. She had nightmares after Beauty and the beast.

On the Sunday that we plan to do a bit of epcot, Animal Kingdom is only open until 5 so I don't think going there from say 3-53 when we cant go in the am and she wants to see the animals. On the tuesday we do go to Animal kingdom it is open 9-5 we won't be spending the whole day there, we want to spend some time in the pool that day. we have dinner at chef mickeys that day too.

unfortunately we didn't book till later as we didn't decide to go until may so our choices were more limited in terms of reservation and I am not in control of days or times for our trip, my boss is or we'd be staying longer and getting to the hotel to drop off our luggage by 10 am lol

 

[Diegosmom]

I got you know...ADRs made your schedule. You had said morning for DHS so wasnt sure how long you would stay but rope drop till 2pm should be good. Also since AK closes at 5pm I would do DTD that day and make Epcot a little longer.

 

[nannye]

I got you know...ADRs made your schedule. You had said morning for DHS so wasnt sure how long you would stay but rope drop till 2pm should be good. Also since AK closes at 5pm I would do DTD that day and make Epcot a little longer.

Yes I think that is the plan, I did talk to my boss a bit about us going in the morning so we can at least get to the hotel and leave our luggage about 12 ish. and then we'll just get them to drop us off at Epcot. I think that is a go.
We shall see. I am just a person who likes and has to know every single possible option and plan for it lol

But really thank you everyone for all your advice and suggestions. if we do get there earlier I'll add two more things to our must do first and then after that we will just browse.

 

[nannye]

My DD will turn 4 in 3 weeks, right before our trip. I measured her last week and she was 38.5". The height requirement for Soarin and Test Track is 40". Just FYI--hopefully your 4 year old will make it.

Yes she is, she is super tall. 44 inches now just after she turned 4

 

[MissMouseInTheHouse]

Congrats on going to WDW! Ya'll will love it! I think everything on your list right now is great, I recommend not to miss Soarin' (it's fantastic! ), but a Fast Pass is a must with that one. As for the countries, I think that Japan is a great choice because they have a part of the gift shop that is called Pick-a-Pearl (which costs about 15 dollars, but it might have changed since I've been). You can pick an oyster out of a tank, and the people there open it and search for the pearl inside. Once they find it, they measure the size of it, clean it, and play the drum in a little celebration! You can get it in a jewelry setting like a neclace, ring, or earrings which costs extra, though. It's really fun! I've done it every time I've been! I hope that you have a great time on your trip, and good luck!

 

[AimeeMichele]

oh we hopefully won't skip Epcot, but we are only at disney for 3.5 days really. Sunday late aft for a couple hours at epcot. Monday is MK, tues AK, wed MK and Thurs am HS then home. We will only skip epcot if we don't get to the resort in enough time.

Skip AK and go to Epcot!!!!!

 

[nannye]

Suggestions of where to Eat. We are doing Quick Service for dinner. I am thinking Liberty Inn seems like it may be the way to go just based on the short descriptions, Seems like for sure V will eat there, but I wanted to ask about other places you like at Epcot. Also What is a frozen coke? is it just a slushee basically?

 

[Geomom]

Quick Service places we like to eat:
--Mexico--La Cantina de San Angel--my DD got a kids cheese empanada and loved it, and you can get something spicier from the adult menu if you like Mexican.
--France--Boulangerie Patisserie--We love the pastry shop! In addition to pastries they have a cheese plate, ham and cheese croissant, and quiches. If you're on the dining plan, you can get one of the savory dishes as your entree and a pastry for your dessert.
--Future world--The Land pavillion--Sunshine Seasons Food Court--lots of healthy choices here--we got pre-made snacks of things like fresh hummus and tabbouleh here, but they have a lot of freshly made hot things too.

 

[TheAceOfAces]

Skip AK and go to Epcot!!!!!

I was really hoping I wouldn't be the only one with this thought! When you have very limited time, Epcot is so much more worthwhile than AK.

 

[Sorsha]

I was really hoping I wouldn't be the only one with this thought! When you have very limited time, Epcot is so much more worthwhile than AK.

NO no NO! She has already said her daughter very much wants to see AK and the animals! Animal Kingdom is a wonderful park and there is no reason to skip it.

However, it DOES close early, and it would be QUITE feasable to go back to Epcot after it closed and spend the evening at Epcot, IF they had Park Hoppers, which they don't. This is why we always have Hoppers.

Given their particular situation, I would drop Hollywood Studios, myself. There is really SO little in that park for a 4 year old to do. We give it a pass, or spend only half a day in it ourselves. Kind of a waste of a day, IMHO.

 

[nannye]

lol V is a disney Junior freak so we are hoping to get to see oso and handy manny for sure. Skipping HS isn't going to happen I'm afraid. I think we are good tho, just have to write up the schedule and determine what is most important to her in the other parks.
Thanks!

 

[libcon]

My DD loves innoventions! We have taken her for the past several years and she talks about it for months after - then starts asking if we can visit there again on our next trip. Try it, I bet she'll like it!