3 and 4 year old boys any tips?

[disneykeim]

We are surprising our boys with a trip in Feb. What are some fun things they would enjoy? I am looking into pirates league. Anything else?

 

[BubblyTrip]

Fantasy Land rides were (and are) great with my DS, especially Peter Pan. He also LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the Buzz Lightyear ride. Shooting that laser was big fun. Tomorrowland Speedway was also huge at that age. I pushed the gas pedal and he steered (badly but with gusto). He also actually loved eating at Cinderella's castle (I promoted it as lunch at the castle and not lunch with princesses).

My kid loves thrill rides, so he also likes BTMRR and Splash. POTC was a little scary at three. We did PL last year, and while he loved being dressed up, the bawdy cast members doing the make up and dress up were a little overwhelming for him (and he is not shy). And most of their sarcastic jokes were over his head. He would have liked it better at 7 then 5 I think.

The best thing I did was put aside some spending money for him, so he could buy some treats at the gift shops in the parks. Kept him busy in line to have a little toy to play with, and it was nice to say "yes" that he could get something.

 

[Mousemommy1]

It's Disney!!! They are going to enjoy everything!

 

[luvmy2babies]

My son has been at those ages. He loved the rides. He just got to 40 inches after turning 5 recently but he has been on everything at Disney World without a height restriction except Astro Orbiter. We never seem to be able to catch it without a huge line. He enjoyed meeting characters in regular lines and at meals. He absolutely loves Philharmagic, the parades at MK (although he hasn’t seen the new Fantasy one), Dream Along with Mickey show, seeing the animals at AK, Toy Story Mania is a big favorite even though he just sits between his sister and me watching.

Having money to spend is nice too. My son is heavily into vehicles and a car or train or something always catches his eye. My mom gave him some money to spend during our last trip and that was helpful. He did Pirate’s League at 4 and he really enjoyed the experience. He just never did the yell loud at the end. He loved his makeover though and the stuff (sash, necklace, sword, scarf) and I loved the photos.

And on a slightly different note, he loved that he could get a pack of grapes with almost every meal. The boy could eat his weight in grapes every day. He also loved the castle show and Wishes the one night we stayed out late. He has some issues with a lot of noises especially when they come from different directions and he spent a lot of time when he was 3 with his hands over his ears; so now he does wear headphones at Disney (and sporting events). But I had a lot of parents ask me where I got them because their children were constantly covering their ears. My daughter’s ears are sensitive too and she has a pair; but she only needed them for Wishes.

If I had a tip it would be going at the child's pace makes a happy Disney vacation with little people. I had some people tell me while reading my 2013 trip report touring that way would drive them nuts; but our trips have been very low on the meltdown meter. I don't have any advice about naps because my son wasn't very good about taking them at Disney by age 3. He has probably taken 3 naps in the last 2 trips which were a combined 17 days. But with the exception of the one night we are out for Wishes we go to bed early. Have a great trip.

 

[hpsalb]

DS was 3.5 on our trip last year. We didn't do anything special like Pirates League because there is already so much to do. He loved any place he could run around (Honey I Shunk the Kids, Tom Sawyer's Island, etc.). He loved the Lego Store at DTD and any of the interactive activities in the parks.

A few tips I have is to keep some snacks and distractions on hand. It's easier to avoid the hunger meltdown if you have something readily available instead of having to go find it. I had lots of little small dollar store Disney items stuck away in the stroller and those came in very handy several times (stickers, those little $1 play packs, etc.).

We alternated break days with fulls days that ended around dinner. DS didn't nap most days, but having a break or getting to bed was still important. DS doesn't care for loud noises either, but he seemed to be ok if he could retreat to the stroller.

One of the best tips I have ever read is to have your few "must-dos" and prioritize those. Anything else is bonus. Although I planned our FP, I did get his input on what he wanted to do, either before hand or once at the park.

 

[DisneyRegulars]

Never underestimate the appeal of a hotel pool to a child. Plan to spend at least some time swimming. The tomorrow land speedway is my car obsessed boy's favorite ride. The fountains at downtown Disney outside of earl of sandwich are always a huge hit with my son. Unless your kids love playing dress up and love pirates I would skip pirates league for those ages.

 

[ajwolfe]

My boys loved going at those ages! And I loved watching them take it all in. They loved the rides, the nighttime shows and the parades. Didnt' care much for wasting time watching other shows such as Beauty and The Beast and such at that age.

I think my youngest was around 4 the first year we did Pirates League and he loved it!! Way more than he did the last time we did it. In my experience as they have aged, they don't care for that as much. But we never did the dressing up as a pirate just the make up and accessories....I also think that was the year they did the Pirate cruise that leaves from POR and he really enjoyed that as well.

Have fun!! I miss the days when my boys were that small (now 11 and 7)

 

[k_hase]

My son was 3 for our last trip (last year) and LOVED the Speedway. Like, I went on it 8 or 9 times in a row. Once he figured out he wasn't actually driving the car he was annoyed. The same happened at Disney Jr--we went in, all excited to see Mickey's Clubhouse and his first words were "Mama, that's not a the real clubhouse, you can't even go inside it."

We had great success with Dumbo, Pooh (he liked it all but the thunder/lightning part), Teacups, and Peter Pan. Buzz was a too hard from him at 3 and he didn't really understand what he was doing. People Mover also thrilled him, as did the Monorail. At HS he liked the HISTKs play area, but it was stressful and hot as a parent--crowded and difficult to keep up with him in the small spaces. This time he'll be 4 and I feel less compelled to go with him, but last time he had just turned 3 and had more than once found himself stuck in a play structure, so I went with him. At Epcot the Living Seas interested him for a quite awhile as did Turtle Talk, but the biggest hit were the jumping water fountains. We were there after dinner (6ish) one night and spend 90 minutes just running under them. Sometimes alone, sometimes wiht other kids, but it was really empty and he loved it.

THe pool was probably the most requested activity though, daily. Even now he only talks about the pool.

 

[andiraye]

There is so much press about all the princess stuff that it is easy to think that there isn't anything special for boys. But the whole world is incredible for little boys. All of the rides in MK, especially Fantasyland, star tours in HS, character meals, pools and play areas at the resorts... You definitely don't need any extras like BBB to have an amazing time.

I have two boys. My 3.5yo's favorite ride was Star Tours. He still talks about it all the time. My boys also LOVED the FOF parade, Tusker House, Aladdin, Barnstormer, the Teacups, MSEP, TSMM, Buzz Lightyear, the waterslide, pool and game room at POFQ, the monorail, the refillable mugs and especially Magic bands. They spent 30 minutes a day going in and out of the hotel room! I think it's the immersion in the magic and the excitement and surprises around every corner that is so special for them.

 

[lizard1]

Aside from PL, what about the Pirates and Pals Fireworks Voyage? That is the only thing my son asked to do again for our upcoming trip. Also, DTD has the Lego store and TRex that my son enjoys. All of my kids enjoy Goofy's Candy Company too. Definitely hard to find things that are geared more for boys (when looking for things other than rides), and it gets harder as they get older!!

 

[Anesthesia Fine]

The food isn't my favorite, but my little guys loved the arcade at Pizza Planet. It was a nice break for us, and they had fun.

My four year old liked the pool and the monorail the most out of anything, ha. The monorail CMs loved him.

We found out the hard way he hated shows, but just about everything in Fantasyland was a winner. (It's A Small World was a frequently repeated ride, because "it doesn't have any scary fings.") But letting him set the pace was the best thing for everyone concerned, both for our family and for random passers-by! That meant (for him) trains, character meet and greets and character meals, and the occasional roller coaster.

 

[JessicaW1234]

On the tomorrow land speedway, if you ask at the CM desk, they have Driver's licenses they give out. My DS loved that!
Also, Winnie the Pooh ride, Dumbo, small world, astro orbiter

 

[yeheyprincex2]

on our last trip to WDW my son 3 at the time loved haunted mansion could not get enough of it. both my boys had fun at the kidcots area at EPCOTS WS.
This past September when he was 4 at DL he could not ride Star Wars or POTC enough.
My two year old always enjoys the IASW and carousel.
I wish I could do pirates league but we are going to wait until our boys are both old enough, so hopefully in the next two years.

 

[geminierin]

My son had just turned 4 last Dec when we went. He loooooved Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin and Toy Story Midway Mania! His favorite characters to meet were Mr. Incredible and Baymax and Hiro. He still talks about them! He had a blast on 7 Dwarfs Mine Train and was proud that now he was "a big boy", (finally 40 inches to ride some of the faster rides.) The best experience for him? Riding Star Tours and seeing Darth Vader at the Jedi Academy. His little jaw dropped and he was mesmerized...

 

[geminierin]

As a side note, we also took him to Pirates League and got him the full zombie pirate makeover. It was a little expensive, but he reveled in all the attention he got. Everywhere we walked everyone squealed about "how cute the little pirate is!"

 

[Kathryn777]

Haven't seen it yet but Tom Sawyer island was a huge hit with my son at that age

 

[TempleOT]

My 4 year old son loved the Lego store at DTD and racing the vehicles he built with the other kids. He regularly asks to go back there. Both my kids also really enjoyed the pirates and pals cruise--pricey but worth it. He loves trains and liked riding the steam train at magic kingdom. Turtle talk with crush was also a big hit. Have fun!

 

[mkla2015]

My 3 year old son loved everything at Disney- even meeting princesses. He was the only boy with 3 little girls in our group so we did a few things just for him- lunch at TRex cafe which he loved and spent some extra time in AK around the Dino boneyard. But, overall he enjoyed it all.

 

[ilovebassets]

It's a FANTASTIC age to bring a child. At MK, my boys really love Tom Sawyer's Island and the Tomorrowland Speedway. We actually always use a FP+ on the latter, and we're always the only ones going through the fastpass line so we jump right on. That standby line can get long and hot and it isn't interesting at all!

At DHS, the Dis Jr show has been a favorite for my boys as well as the Lights Motor Action show. My 4 yr old really enjoyed eating in the cars at Sci Fi.

At AK, my boys can spend forever at the Boneyard just running around. They also enjoy the train out to Rafiki's planet watch and Conservation Station. While overlooked by a lot of people, there's actually a considerable amount to see there, and there's usually a CM or two with exotic animals that you can touch.

At Epcot, Test Track is a favorite for my boys. Unfortunately, we've never been able to get them interested in the world showcase. However, they usually enjoy Voices of Liberty, and then inevitably one of them falls asleep at the American Adventure. So good for naptimes. We enjoy eating an early lunch at Coral Reef (though it gets some bad reviews, it's been good for us.)

Outside the parks? My kids love the Chip and Dale Campfire singalong at Fort Wilderness. They also discovered mini golf on our last trip and that has been requested to be done again many times! We don't keep score though. The numbers would be way too high!

 

[gjaninek]

Thanks for the ideas - I too will be taking two little boys (4-6) next summer and have been overwhelmed with the princess everything!