Best Magic Kingdom route for 3 year-old?

[gravel72]

What’s your best foot path for Magic Kingdom?

I am sure we all agree there is a time to shop and eat on Main Street, but 8 or 9am is not that that time. I know they say “stop and smell the roses”, but there will be time for that after the first crucial few hours is over.

So once you fly through Main Street, then where do you go? Is it a bee-line to Space Mountain? That use to be my plan, but now things have changed ...

I am taking a toddler with me this time, so my plan is to head straight for Fantasyland and Mickey’s Toontown Fair. Since Space Mountain and other thrill rides are out of the question.

I see us focusing most of our time there.

Any advice?

-gravel72

 

[ksc37]

I would head right for Dumbo. Almost every 3 year old wants to ride it, and if you catch it right at opening, chances are you'll get on with a 10 minute or less wait. After that, the waits just get longer and longer.

After Dumbo, we usually get a FP for Peter Pan, then get on Philharmagic and/or Winnie the Pooh in the non-FP lane. FYI, my 3 year old loved Philharmagic! With efficient use of FP vs. stand-by lanes, we can have Fantasyland done in about 1 1/2 hours (assuming you arrive at park opening). Also, we skip Snow White due to the scariness factor.

Then, you can head to Toontown, or in our case, Buzz Lightyear (a favorite of our boys). After that, we slow down the pace quite a bit, and take some time in the Toontown playground & Donald's boat. Then it's lunch, maybe one or two more rides and back to the hotel for our break.

That's just us, and it seems to work.

Have fun. Watching a three year old enjoy Disney World is truly magical!

 

[Jenn Lynn]

We are taking our 3 year old for the first time also. My plan is to ride Pooh first since it is her favorite character. Get FP for Mickey's Philharmagic. Then ride Dumbo, Peter Pan, Mad Tea Party, etc.

 

[gravel72]

Thanks Karen,

She’ll be just under 3. Just enough to get in free . ( Yes, We did plan it that way)

That sounds like a great plan, that’s exactly what I was looking for.
Small World will be closed so that’s out. But everything else sounds great. How did you 3 year old like Peter Pan and Winnie the Pooh?

We are staying on property(of course), so we will be at the Magic Kingdom gates when it opens. That’ll give us at least 2 good hours before it gets to busy.

Of course, we will not know until we get there what will scare her and what will not.


But normally, she's not scared of much.

 

[ksc37]

He really enjoyed Winnie the Pooh, because it incorporates a lot of music & scenes from 'The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh' (with which he is very familiar!). If she likes Winnie the Pooh, she should really like this ride.

Honestly, he wasn't quite as excited about Peter Pan (prior to our last visit he had not seen the movie and I think the scenes on the ride go by pretty fast). I do expect him to enjoy it more next time because he has seen the movie 2 or 3 times since our last visit, and he's into the pirate thing right now.

Like I said, our son also likes Mickey's Philharmagic & Buzz Lightyear. He also liked the Magic Carpets of Aladdin & the Teacups (which are really nothing special to we adults).

We didn't go on Pirates or the Haunted Mansion because he was a little intimidated by them (during our last visit he was going through a bit of a sensitive stage, but next time I think we'll try Pirates again).

If you can catch SpectroMagic, you should.

 

[ksc37]

One more comment...

Both of my boys (one being only 18 months) really enjoyed the character meals. We did Crystal Palace at lunch and Chef Mickey's another day at dinner (I thought the Crystal Palace was a little better in terms of food and character interaction).

And, as a bonus, children under 3 are free!

 

[Amirah95]

I agree...do Fantasyland and Toon Town!

 

[Mainebound]

We have taken our boys, now 2 and 4, twice in the last 18 months. We go to MK on Wed or Fri only, b/c we do not do EE. We arrive early at MK with tickets in hand. We head straight to Fantasyland -- we do not stop for anything, even though lots of characters are out in force early at the entrance. We do all of fantasyland except Snow White which is too scary. Both LOVED Philharmagic even though they were scared of any other 3D movie in WDW. At 10:00 Toon Town Fair opens and we do that immediately. Then take the train to Frontierland and have lunch at LTT ot CP. A sit down lunch at 11:30 or 12:00 is PERFECT. Then after lunch we explore the Frontierland/ Adventurland side of the park. Get a curbside seat for the 3:00 parade. Leave after the parade for a swim and rest at the hotel.

On our second day, we start off with Buzz in Tomorrowland which they love. Also we do the TTA and the tomorrowland Speedway. Then do whatever we haven't the first day. Lunch at CP or LTT. Etc.

This has worked out perfectly the last two years. Last year we returned to MK on late afternoon, did some rides, ate a character dinner at LTT, then walked outside to see Spectro and Wishes.

 

[poohkinandpiglet]

Last week, I followed the touring with kids plan from The Passporter and it tells you to go to Fantasyland first. Dumbo, Peter Pan, Fastpass for Philharmagic, etc...

It worked out great with my 3 and 4 year old. We got to do them a couple of times before the lines started to get long.

 

[JaxCon]

poohkinandpiglet - what is the Passporter?

Margaret

 

[castlegazer]

Its a guide book. I second everything everyone else has said and do it exactly as they have stated and you will get Fantasyland done.

I wanted to remind everyone about getting over to Adventureland and to the tiki birds - they are great for a wee one (and Mommy too as I love them) and then to the Jungle Cruise. You can also get another dose of Dumbo-like experience on the Magic Carpets.

Then make sure you hit the 3pm parade. All while taking naps, eating lunch and taking breaks and whatnot. Mainebound has a good plan in place.

 

[gravel72]

Okay, The time has finally come. (Look at my timer below)

This will be the first time I have ever gone with a toddler (2 1/2).

Any last minute hints for our toddler before we hit the road?

-gravel72

 

[mamalle]

our route last week was-

buzz lightyear

fantasyland:
teacups
pooh
dumbo
snow white
peter pan

all done before the show started at 9:40am :earboy:

we did get in at 8:30 since it was early admission day. we usually try and do the grand prix after buzz but the line was getting too long and I wanted to make sure the kids would get to ride the rides in fantasyland. after the show we headed to see Ariel in her grotto that opens at 10am. she usually is late ( the last two times for us) and we saw her around 10:20. Toontown opens at 10am and than we head over there than rode the train to mainstreet to see a few characters and have lunch at 11:45 at the CP.

 

[gravel72]

From everything I am reading, it sounds like get to FantasyLand ASAP. Then do as much as you can squeeze in. Then start making your way around, starting at ToonTown

 

[mello]

My only experience is DisneyLand, but I think it's close enough to MK to be able to answer. Our favorite thing to do is get there at opening, so it's not hugely crowded, walk leisurely up main street, allowing time to stop if characters are around (but we don't stop to shop then), go straight through the castle and in to Fantasyland. The first time we took the boys we thought Fantasyland would be a nice gentle introduction to the rides, and it was; now it's our tradition to do it this way!

Next we go to Toontown to see where the characters live, and then we're ready to tackle the "big stuff", so we go to Tomorrowland. By mid-day we're around to Main Street and it's getting hot, so it's a nice time for an indoor break to see Mr. Lincoln, or the old black & white Mickey Mouse movies, etc., you know - the tamer, overlooked things that are cool, dark, and practically empty. Then we head over (this won't work in MK I know, sorry) to the Blue Bayou for a nice peaceful late lunch. (We're going to do lunch at CRT instead at MK this Sept).

Then, with little ones, this is a good time to go back to the hotel for a nap and a swim. Browsing the stores on the way out in midafternoon is nice too; they aren't very crowded. Then we can come back either in the evening or the next day and do the left half of the park. That way it's nice and leisurely.

An added benefit to this route is that Fantasyland gets so crowded about mid-day, when everyone who turned right into Tomorrowland in the morning, and everyone who turned left into Adventureland all meet halfway through their loop around, and you can't even walk through it - but we're usually on Main Street by then, which is very uncrowded. It helps us follow that adage to zig when everyone else zags. Except that so many people are zigging and zagging now, it's not as foolproof as it once was lol!