Best Parks for Toddlers!?

[CallMeAFlower]

We're planning the first WDW trip for our daughter, who will be 2.5y at the time, and were debating a second park to visit while we're there.

I'm curious how you would rank the parks for toddlers. Does Epcot beat out Animal Kingdom for second place now they've nixed the dinos, or do you think that the Hollywood Studios Chewbacca meet and greet blows everything at Magic Kingdom out of the water?

Bonus round- what's your favorite non-park thing to do?

 

[Simba's Mom]

I remember taking our 2 1/2 yo DGD, and at the time AK was by far the winner, because of the Boneyard (RIP) But since that's no longer an option, I think I'd move MK into first place. DHS would stay in last place-we even asked a CM, who agreed that there wasn't much she could do. Little Mermaid was closed, so maybe things would change. Epcot and AK would be in second and third, but I don't know in which order-she did enjoy seeing the animals at AK and some of the shows at Epcot.
Our favorite family non-park thing is riding different forms of transportation-Skyliner, monorail, boats to DS from OKW (where we stayed).

 

[mamaanna]

When we took our older daughter for the first time, she was a few months shy of 3. We did MK, AK, and EPCOT. She loved getting to pet goats at AK - BUT - she got to meet Anna and Elsa in EPCOT, so, that was I think a bigger hit for her.


On the flip side... when we asked her what her favorite part was? The pool. And the buses. (And not even the regular pool, but the ankle deep kiddie pool.)

 

[liamthompson]

I have a kid that loves things that move.

AK - mine loved the train to planet watch and looooved watching the goat having an operation for his ingrown toenail.

Epcot - loved the train pavilion in germany and enjoyed watching the manatees eat cabbage at sea base.

Greatly enjoyed the skyliner and ferry. We rode the monorail too but didn't receive any comments, not sure why.

DHS was actually his favorite day because we stopped for ice cream.

For the parents, AK was the easiest day.

He is currently in an argument with me that chewie is a person ("he just has a lot of hair") and refuses my explanation that chewie is a wookie. If your daughter has a special interest in chewbacca, my vote is DHS!

Wanted to add...because there's not as many attractions for small kids in DHS, we really slowed down that day and I think it made it more enjoyable than we expected. At one point, we were playing a running game in some empty space around animation courtyard. Alien whirling saucers was a big hit. And my kid had been looking everywhere for a specific car from the Cars franchise and couldn't find it...since it was our last day at disney, we told him he could pick out a souvenir in the pixar shop and he was the happiest kid in the world!

 

[hardcorestitch]

Resort hopping hands down is the best on non park days. I love to munch on Disney snacks at the Disney resorts.

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

HS has the frozen singalong, Disney jr live on stage, and some popular meet and greets. She might also like the beauty and the beast show or alien swirling saucers.

Honestly there’s something for everyone in all the parks.

 

[MICKIMINI]

Our son's first trip at 3 yo was MK and EPCOT. He loved both of course! As he aged (we typically went once a year, EPCOT was the standout. He really "go into" geography at 3 yo and we had to buy books with maps as he just loved studying them. All kids are different, but I would highly recommend EPCOT. There are lots of kid's geography books and it is a good opportunity to get them interested in travel. Enjoy!

 

[Peaseblossom36]

We went at 2.5 and spent the majority at MK and AK., also the resort pool . She enjoyed looking at the animal trails, doing the Safari and really enjoyed Na'vi River. We actually never made it over to dinoland. We did the Wilderness Explorer book (some of it she could do herself, we helped quite a bit too) and she loved collecting the stickers. Magic Kingdom was definitely number 1 for us since there were so many rides she could do.

I will say that Epcot was mostly walls when we went, so between that, the heat that day and a parent with a migraine we did our 2 lightning lanes and then scrapped it for a rest day. I think she probably would have enjoyed it given the chance to do more.

 

[Hubalorian]

We took our son right before he turned three, we did all four parks and each one he enjoyed very much! I would ask, what is your daughter into? That might make the decision between AK and Epcot or HS easier.

Rainforest Cafe or T-Rex Cafe is a really cool experience in Disney springs. If your family enjoys BBQ - Polite Pig is to good! Resort hopping is also fun.

 

[sponica]

I think we've always enjoyed Epcot, but honestly when they're free, go where you want. Seriously, kids have fun doing things you don't plan for. So just pick the park you want to do.

My oldest HATED rides at 20 months old (seriously tried to climb out of Dumbo mid-air) by the time we were able to go again when she was 5, she could do the "toddler" rides.

 

[CallMeAFlower]

Thanks for all the replies! I mostly started the thread thought this would be a fun topic for everyone to reminisce on trips with their kiddos!

It's pretty obvious that we're going to Magic Kingdom for her first park- a first trip mandates doing the classics like a picture with Mickey and riding dumbo. We're even waiting for her first haircut to be at Disney

Personally we're trying to decide between Animal Kingdom and Epcot. We're staying at the Poly so it would be easy to get to Epcot, but I was worried that there wasn't really a lot for a toddler to do there besides the play space in The Seas and the new Moana water feature. Animal Kingdom would be great because she's really into music and animals, so wandering the nature trails would be perfect, but RIP the Boneyard. Above all other activities, she loves to play in the dirt and that would have been the highlight of the trip if it was still open.

 

[sponica]

Thanks for all the replies! I mostly started the thread thought this would be a fun topic for everyone to reminisce on trips with their kiddos!

It's pretty obvious that we're going to Magic Kingdom for her first park- a first trip mandates doing the classics like a picture with Mickey and riding dumbo. We're even waiting for her first haircut to be at Disney

Personally we're trying to decide between Animal Kingdom and Epcot. We're staying at the Poly so it would be easy to get to Epcot, but I was worried that there wasn't really a lot for a toddler to do there besides the play space in The Seas and the new Moana water feature. Animal Kingdom would be great because she's really into music and animals, so wandering the nature trails would be perfect, but RIP the Boneyard. Above all other activities, she loves to play in the dirt and that would have been the highlight of the trip if it was still open.

My kids are epcot kids. My 9 year old NEEDS her pretzel in Germany. Even when they were super little, I would put it at a tie between Animal Kingdom and Epcot for them (most of our trips have been during Flower and Garden and there's usually an awesome playground installed for that festival).

 

[Sparrow'sLady]

Depends on what the kid would find as "eye candy". For many years I would have said MK, but I believe today I would recommend AK. The animals are fun and there are quite a few to look at, the walkways are wide for strollers, Affection Section is interactive, other than Kilimanjaro, the lines for anything she can do are not long and there are not any lines to see most of the animals.

 

[Disturbia]

Epcot has 8 (at last count) rides/attractions without height restrictions, the food and wine festival (until 11/22; then festival of the holidays with different Santas around the world; a play area. I think Epcot wins over AK. You can book Boma or Sanna and look at the animals on a non park day. AK doesn’t have fireworks or a parade (yes there used to be a parade). DD loves the Moana interactive water area. Remy is her favorite ride second to Frozen. There’s living with the land, spaceship earth, Nemo, Gran Fiesta, Turtle talk, fireworks. Plus at the end of the day you can visit the cake bake shop on the boardwalk!

what time are you going? And what resort? Are you going with family so you don’t have to be the one to constantly monitor the kids on the balcony all the time. We like the 2 bathrooms and 1 bedroom setup with 3 separate queen beds at AOA suites and the Skyliner (switched from Poly deluxe).

 

[CallMeAFlower]

Epcot has 8 (at last count) rides/attractions without height restrictions, the food and wine festival (until 11/22; then festival of the holidays with different Santas around the world; a play area. I think Epcot wins over AK. You can book Boma or Sanna and look at the animals on a non park day. AK doesn’t have fireworks or a parade (yes there used to be a parade). DD loves the Moana interactive water area. Remy is her favorite ride second to Frozen. There’s living with the land, spaceship earth, Nemo, Gran Fiesta, Turtle talk, fireworks. Plus at the end of the day you can visit the cake bake shop on the boardwalk!

what time are you going? And what resort? Are you going with family so you don’t have to be the one to constantly monitor the kids on the balcony all the time. We like the 2 bathrooms and 1 bedroom setup with 3 separate queen beds at AOA suites and the Skyliner (switched from Poly deluxe).

Wow, that's much more than I remember, but to be honest before we became parents my husband and I were usually solely focused on the festival stuff at Epcot rather than the play areas!

We're staying at the Poly in a studio, just us three. No other family, but thankfully at least it's two of us adults to wrangle one toddler! We'll be going late September/early October.

Great tip about going to the Animal Kingdom Lodge on a non-park day!

 

[CallMeAFlower]

We took our son right before he turned three, we did all four parks and each one he enjoyed very much! I would ask, what is your daughter into? That might make the decision between AK and Epcot or HS easier.

Rainforest Cafe or T-Rex Cafe is a really cool experience in Disney springs. If your family enjoys BBQ - Polite Pig is to good! Resort hopping is also fun.

I forgot all about those themed restaurants in Disney Springs! In your opinion, is it worth spending a day there besides just going to a restaurant? From our last trip, I just remember it being a lot of shopping.

 

[Disturbia]

Wow, that's much more than I remember, but to be honest before we became parents my husband and I were usually solely focused on the festival stuff at Epcot rather than the play areas!

We're staying at the Poly in a studio, just us three. No other family, but thankfully at least it's two of us adults to wrangle one toddler! We'll be going late September/early October.

Great tip about going to the Animal Kingdom Lodge on a non-park day!

Then the ride back on the monorail without folding strollers is a plus.

Also the lobby gives out free cookies and POG juice Christmas Eve (around 1 pm) and the CM said Thanksgiving as well.

 

[Hubalorian]

I forgot all about those themed restaurants in Disney Springs! In your opinion, is it worth spending a day there besides just going to a restaurant? From our last trip, I just remember it being a lot of shopping.

That’s mainly all that is there, is shopping and food. There is a super awesome Lego store though! So if your daughter enjoys legos, there are some epic displays!