Best Park Options for 3 Year Old and 9 Month Old?

[Tracey Montoya]

We are coming to Disney in January with our 3 year old daughter and 9 month old daughter. We live in Florida and have been to Magic Kingdom several times so we want to try some of the other parks besides MK for our visit. We have 2 days to spend. Which 2 of the 3 parks would you recommend between Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom? My daughter loves Doc McStuffins, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, etc. but it seems like there is so much else to do at Epcot and Animal Kingdom. Any other general tips you have for visiting with our family? Best character dining? Thank you!

 

[kohlby]

Epcot was the favorite park of all of my kids at 3 years old. So, I'd spend two days there. And though they like Hollywood studios quite a bit now, it was a half-day park when they were 3. AK, for some reason, was a flop at that age with all of my kids! I've heard some kids love it though so it really depends on your child. If it were me, I'd do two days at Epcot. As for the 9 month old, we always had a 3 year old with us when we took a baby under a year. (Which we did three times - two different kids though). We found it was easiest to focus on what worked best for the 3 year old of the moment. Babies are much more portable than 3 year olds. (And baby's tantrums don't seem nearly as hard as 3 year old's either!).

 

[jacknsally19]

I think with the construction at HS, I would definitely skip that park. It is the only place to meet Doc so I appreciate wanting to check it out. But I really do not think there is enough for small children to enjoy there right now.

My almost 4 yr old has enjoyed Epcot as much as Magic Kingdom so I agree that you could easily spend 2 days there. We go annually (at least) and I have always spent 2 days there. Our most recent visit, we only visited Epcot and MK. My dd likes Animal Kingdom - in particular the shows - but she was frustrated that there weren't more rides for her.

I would suggest scheduling a day at Epcot and then AK. If you feel like you could do another day at Epcot after the first one, I would cancel AK and go back to Epcot. Epcot has lots of princess meet and greets so I know my dd loved it. Her favorite rides are in Epcot too - we rode figment 5 times on our last trip.

 

[MNDisneyMommy]

I just visited with my 3 year old (almost 4) and 1 year old. We stayed for a week and went to each park. Things they liked:

Animal Kingdom - I thought this one would be a big hit since we all love animals and our local zoo, but they were bored (baby even fell asleep) on the Safari and the shows weren't much better. The Boneyard was the highlight of their morning sadly. Tusker House breakfast was okay - food was great, characters very rushed.

DHS - The Disney Junior show was a BIG hit - both kids have watched the Clubhouse and the shows and they love, love, loved this one. Right outside were characters and my older kid was all over them. The Muppet Vision 3D was actually a big hit with both too (the baby wore the 3d glasses for almost the entire show, 3 year old giggled at all the right places). The fountain outside Muppet Vision - also a big hit. The Frozen sing a long was actually pretty fun, too. Toy Story was fun for both (3 yr old to ride, baby to see). I was really surprised at how good of a time the kids had here. We didn't make it to Hollywood and Vine but that is a stellar character meal. We ate at 50s Prime Time and the kids had fun.

Epcot - Nemo ride was fun, but Turtle Talk was a big disappointment. Spaceship Earth was mildly interesting to the 3 yr old. They weren't really into the aquariums like I thought they would be either. Lines were bad so we missed things like Figment. Good character meets though. We didn't even make it to the World Showcase before naptime hit.

I'd vote HS first and Epcot second. I love AK but the kids really did not.

 

[jacknsally19]

By the way, we have done Tusker House (AK), Cape May Cafe (near Epcot), and Akerhaus (Epcot) for character dining. Depending on where you decide to spend your day, these are all great dining options. Our most recent trip we did Cape May Cafe and I really liked the food there plus the characters (Minnie, Goofy, & Donald) are wearing beach gear so that was very cute. Akerhaus was great for princess interaction but the food was a bit mediocre. However, I don't think the character meals are about the food.

Another great option for meals with little ones is Biergarten at Epcot. They have a polka band (?) and they invite the kids to get up and dance. My DD loved it. It's always easy to get a reservation here so something to consider if character dining doesn't work out.

 

[Misha72683]

My kids (4 and 2.5) loved AK. The safari was their favorite part of the whole trip. My 2 Yo still goes "Raff, Mama. Me see Raff!" They also loved the Lion King show, the walking tour, the Bugs' Life show. We spent a full day there adn didn't get to see and do everything.

 

[kwdw]

At that age - just pick where you want to go. Really. Then figure out how to mix up during the day the 3 yo friendly events vs. more for the adults events.

 

[tmh43]

I like giving the 3yo the option. It's what we tend to do and DS tends to know what he wants. We just got back and while I have always loved HS, Epcot and MK were definitely the winners this trip. AK and HS do have awesome playgrounds, and DS loved the Festival of the Lion King at AK and the Frozen and Little Mermaid shows at HS, but if I only had 3 days to spend I would either get Park Hoppers and just hit the highlights from each park or just do MK and Epcot. (For the record I was totally a HS and MK supporter before going on this trip with my 3yo.)

 

[tmh43]

I'll also add that Spaceship Earth was one of my 3yos favorite rides so what do I know!

 

[kohlby]

I'll also add that Spaceship Earth was one of my 3yos favorite rides so what do I know!

It was one of my youngest's favorite rides at 3 too. That and Living with the land, which gets far more boring for the adult the third time in a row than spaceship earth. When my other two kids were 3, their favorite ride was test track. It is a 40" ride though. All three kids love the innoventions building too - one had a lot more kid stuff in it than the other but both were worth checking out. If you do decide to do AK, learn about Bugs Life before doing it. I had to carry out a screaming 3 year old. He's not my super sensitive kid either but something about it was too scary for him. His reaction is not uncommon from what I've read.

 

[tmh43]

Yes Bugs Life was by far the scariest 3D for my 3yo. We took off his glasses though and he just snuggled in- he's sensitive but not a screamer luckily lol