Touring magic kingdom with a 3 year old

[williamscm3]

This will be our first trip to Disney world this September with DS 3 and we will have a few hours on our arrival day and 4 other full days to spend in magic kingdom. I would love to hear some recommendations on how to go about seeing all the different lands. Which ones should we plan on spending the most in? Which ones have rides open during morning emh hours? Thanks in advance!

 

[etedesco]

We tour from rope drop until lunch and nap time and can do everything we want (sans parades) with that amount of time. Rope drop is the key, and if your 3yr old is like mine you are probably up anyway.

We do Fantasy land first, then circle around to Tomorrowland, etc.

Not doing the thrill rides at MK really frees up your time. We love to stop for character interactions and ride some things twice.

I know it's a love-hate here on Dis, but ROPE DROP!

 

[pumpkinmomma]

With 4 full days in Magic Kingdom, you will have more than enough time to do and see everything. We like to spend 2 days at MK, one is mostly focused on rides, the other is mostly focused on characters and riding our favorites a second time. Our big thing is trying to avoiding crossing the park a bunch of times.

 

[rachellm]

I agree with Rope drop and afternoon naps or rest time.

We also start in Fantasyland and we're flexible and stop to see whatver catches their interest - shows, characters, flowers, the chipmunks , etc.

I would encourage you to consider the other parks as well. With 4.5 days you have plenty of time to see something other than the Magic Kingdom!

 

[TallandGoofy]

My DD was three on our last trip a couple of years ago. My son was just about to turn 3 the first time we took him.

DD was up for just about everything in the Magic Kingdom. She loved Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain - Splash was her favorite. About the only only thing I didn't take her on was Space Mountain. I think she didn't meet the height requirement for that.

For which land to stay in the most, it depends on your son's interests and which are his favorite characters. But, I found that both my kids enjoyed everything we took them on at that age. The key was to be flexible - I remember we had to stop and look at ducks at one point.

For EMH - Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. We like the morning ones. You can get alot done and it's not so hot.

Also - I REALLY like to take a mid-day break. We try to leave before noon and then go back to the room and nap/recharge. My kids are 5 (DD) and 10 (DS) now and we still plan to do that when we go in a few weeks.

Are you going to other parks or just MK?

 

[ChuckGA]

Given you are going during slow season so no real touring plan is needed, I only have two suggestions.
1. Use a stroller.
2. Let your child sleep in the stroller rather than leaving the park.

We have done both ways and sleep in the stroller was a huge winner. Our kids would just go go go until they just happened to fall asleep in the stroller going from one ride to another. We would then go to a restaurant and relax for an hour+ until they woke up on their own. This was in contrast to spending 20 minutes getting out of the park, having them fall asleep for 20 minutes on the bus ride and then waking up, never to nap again and spending a minimum of 3 hours from the time we decided to leave to the time we were back in the park. Our kids were better rested (as were we) and no one wasted any energy or time traveling.

 

[WDWNext]

Just giving you an idea, We did 3 days of MK 2 weeks ago with Child swap and we did it all with time to spare. DD6 was in riding heaven (doing each ride 2 times atleast), but DS2 had to stay back.

I would say given you have just a 3 yr old, in 3 days you will not have a single thing left to do (that you would want to do anyway)

First day - you may not want to rope drop... and even if you do.... just meander in .... take it all slowly. Save the rope drop for other days.

What is your plan for the rides that DS cannot ride ? Single rider ?
The best part of Fantasy Land is that your DS can go wherever you want to take him - meaning everything !!

We did it in sections so that we do not walk too much. We finished Tomorrow land in 3 hours one day. We did Adventure and Frontier the other spilling over to Liberty Sq. One day for Fantasy Land and then everything else fell into place on each of the days here and there. Most time consuming were the meet and greets.... if only my DD was not into it... sigh !!

Hit all the shows, they are really fun and as someone said, please please please take a mid day break and get your DS to sleep, and the break is for you also, not just for the kids. Kids are well rested and I have very nice memories of my DS running around the carousel at 10 pm.

I think you will have an awesome time.

 

[joedplumber]

Given you are going during slow season so no real touring plan is needed, I only have two suggestions.
1. Use a stroller.
2. Let your child sleep in the stroller rather than leaving the park.

We have done both ways and sleep in the stroller was a huge winner. Our kids would just go go go until they just happened to fall asleep in the stroller going from one ride to another. We would then go to a restaurant and relax for an hour+ until they woke up on their own. This was in contrast to spending 20 minutes getting out of the park, having them fall asleep for 20 minutes on the bus ride and then waking up, never to nap again and spending a minimum of 3 hours from the time we decided to leave to the time we were back in the park. Our kids were better rested (as were we) and no one wasted any energy or time traveling.

Couldn't say it better myself. Stroller naps rock!!!! We never left the parks which was sad in a way because we didn't enjoy all the fun things POFQ had to offer. But, not leaving the park was a huge time saver.

With 4.5 days at MK you will be able to see everything at a very leisurely rate.

 

[williamscm3]

My DD was three on our last trip a couple of years ago. My son was just about to turn 3 the first time we took him.

DD was up for just about everything in the Magic Kingdom. She loved Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain - Splash was her favorite. About the only only thing I didn't take her on was Space Mountain. I think she didn't meet the height requirement for that.

For which land to stay in the most, it depends on your son's interests and which are his favorite characters. But, I found that both my kids enjoyed everything we took them on at that age. The key was to be flexible - I remember we had to stop and look at ducks at one point.

For EMH - Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. We like the morning ones. You can get alot done and it's not so hot.

Also - I REALLY like to take a mid-day break. We try to leave before noon and then go back to the room and nap/recharge. My kids are 5 (DD) and 10 (DS) now and we still plan to do that when we go in a few weeks.

Are you going to other parks or just MK?

Yes we will be there for 10 days I just gave us the most time in MK

 

[wiigirl]

I agree with Rope drop and afternoon naps or rest time.

Really the best advice.

 

[williamscm3]

Just giving you an idea, We did 3 days of MK 2 weeks ago with Child swap and we did it all with time to spare. DD6 was in riding heaven (doing each ride 2 times atleast), but DS2 had to stay back.

I would say given you have just a 3 yr old, in 3 days you will not have a single thing left to do (that you would want to do anyway)

First day - you may not want to rope drop... and even if you do.... just meander in .... take it all slowly. Save the rope drop for other days.

What is your plan for the rides that DS cannot ride ? Single rider ?
The best part of Fantasy Land is that your DS can go wherever you want to take him - meaning everything !!

We did it in sections so that we do not walk too much. We finished Tomorrow land in 3 hours one day. We did Adventure and Frontier the other spilling over to Liberty Sq. One day for Fantasy Land and then everything else fell into place on each of the days here and there. Most time consuming were the meet and greets.... if only my DD was not into it... sigh !!

Hit all the shows, they are really fun and as someone said, please please please take a mid day break and get your DS to sleep, and the break is for you also, not just for the kids. Kids are well rested and I have very nice memories of my DS running around the carousel at 10 pm.

I think you will have an awesome time.

Thanks for the advice!! We will definitely be taking naps! I'm renting a stroller but were also staying at the contemporary so some naps I figured could be taken at the resort

 

[rachellm]

I think what works for every family/kid will be different.

For us, we enjoy the break from the parks for more than just a quick nap. My kids need the time away from the noise, stimulation, crowds, etc.

They also enjoy swimming in the afternoons. My kids are often equally or more excited about swimming v. being in the parks!

 

[girlb4amirror]

Wow! You will have plenty of time to see everything plus going back to do your favorites! I would start by reading about the different rides and deciding what you think your DS will like best and do that area your first day. If he loves it, you can return on other days to do it again.

Fantasyland has so many great rides. I also love Pirates of the Caribbean and the Pirate Tutorial they have in that area. Your DS will love running around on Tom Sawyers island too!

 

[bleeps]

I think the big thing with young children is really letting their pace and interests rule the day. Don't feel that time is *wasted* if your child is most delighted by the little play areas, or wants to just keep doing one thing. Trying to see it through his eyes will help you figure out what to do and how to have a magical trip!

 

[tsme]

The first time we took our DD, she was 2 1/2 yrs old. We broke MK into to a two day plan. The first day we did one half of the park and the second day we did the other half, plus whatever else we might want to revisit. We also did sit down lunches during which time she would would sleep while we ate. Then when she woke up, she would eat in her stroller. We did that because we had stayed off sight. It worked for us. Since you have more days, you could break it up even more. Have Fun!