Best rides/attractions for a 3 and 5 year old?

[klcrawford]

Hi! I'm trying to work on our touring plans for our trip in Sept. What are the must not miss rides/attractions for a 3 year old boy and a 5 year girl? Anything that we should skip due to their ages? We have a 5 day pass and are planning on visiting MK, Epcot, and HS. Thanks!!!

 

[amerikiwiroo]

Following as I'm also planning our first family trip with a 5 year old girl and 3 year old boy in September!!

The highlights on my wish list for Magic Kingdom are: Anna/Elsa meet, Enchanting Tales with Belle, Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, Jack Sparrow's Pirate tutorial, Barnstormer, Ariel's Grotto, Dumbo, Peter Pan, It's a Small World, Buzz Lightyear, and Prince Charming Regal Carrousel.

I've been warned to avoid the Stitch show (it gets dark, smelly and scary for little ones) and Space Mountain (I remember being terrified on it on my only prior trip at age 6)

 

[4under4]

Height had always been our only restriction on which rides to do, and when the youngest didn't reach the requirement we used rider swap. We did (when they were younger) have a "you must try it once" policy since every kid had moments of trepidation, but if you aren't comfortable with that, let them tell you. Get a guide book and read to them about the rides. See what are they interested in doing.

And for that age, I highly recommend animal kingdom over either HS or epcot.

 

[FargoBear]

My son really enjoyed Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain as a 3-year-old, but he was just barely hitting the height bar to ride both of them.

 

[DISGRL13]

At Magic Kingdom try the Magic Carpet Ride, and a great place to take a mid-day break is Tom Sawyer's Island. It has lots of shade, fun paths to walk, forts to climb in and caves to explore and usually it is not crowded. Our hidden gem with small ones- to get away from it all for a bit.
At Epcot make sure you ride the 3 Caballeros Ride inside the Mexican Pyramid (Back left corner of the market) and do Turtle Talk with Crush it is a must in future world. Each country has a Kidspot where there is a craft (puppet making) having to do with each country.
Enjoy!

 

[tink9702]

5 year old girl:
MK: Enchanted Tales with Belle, meeting Ariel, Cinderella&Rapunzel, meeting A&E, the carousel,
Epcot: meeting princesses in the world showcase, pick a pearl in Japan
HS: Toy Story Mania
AK: Festival of the Lion King show

3 year old boy:
MK: Train, Tom Sawyer Island
Epcot: Turtle Talk with Crush
HS: Disney Jr. show, meeting Jake, Honey I shrunk the kids playground
AK: Boneyard playground

 

[Hootch]

I would add Mickey's Philarmagic at the MK along with Big Thunder for the five year old. (The three year old maymake the height. My son did not like it. It has a lap bar and he slid around a lot.)

 

[Tattylou]

Turtle talk with Crush and the Buzz Light Year ride were big hits with my boys last year and this year (they are 5 and 6 now). Last year my younger one wasn't tall enough for Big Thunder or Splash, but he was this year and loooooved them both!!

 

[tink9702]

Oh, I'd avoid Stitch at MK & Bugs Life show at AK. both quite scary for kids that age.

 

[gsmith0113]

I'll second avoiding Bugs Life, our boys freaked out pretty bad.
If they are tall enough, our 4 year old liked Test Track, but it does get dark

 

[Hockeygirl21]

We just got back on Friday my 3 year old boy loved:
Mk: The Barnstormer, the train, Dumbo, Tomorrowland Speedway
Epcot: The Seas w/ Nemo & Friends, Spaceship Earth, Gran Fiesta Tour
HS: Toy Story Mania, Meeting Jake (from Jake & the Neverland Pirates), watching Disney jr Live
Ak: The Safari, The Nemo Show, The Lion King Show

 

[mkla2015]

Here are a few favs of DD5 and DS3-

MK- dumbo, small world, tomorrowland speedway, carpet ride, Pirates

EP- Nemo, turtle talk with crush

HS- toy story, frozen sing a long, little mermaid

AK- safari, lion king

And, of course, they loved meeting all characters- even DS3 loved meeting the princesses.

 

[jeepnjudy]

Anything in MK that is not a coaster...the rides there are soooooooooo kid friendly!

 

[WIMamatoTwo]

My 4 year old LOVED enchanted tales with Belle, Big Thunder, and 7D Mine Train in MK. She loved Test Track and Soarin' in Epcot. And she loved Toy Story Mania and Star Tours in HS. She was just 44 inches, so she just made the cut for most of the rides. We loved A Bugs Life show in AK, but you have to like the 4D experience. If you happen to make it to AK, I would highly suggest NOT taking your kids on Dinosaur. My 9 year old (who loves dinosaurs and scary things) HATED it!
My 4 year old also loved meeting all the characters, especially Anna and Elsa.

 

[pooh4evr]

A shorter list might be what to avoid- rides that they don't meet the height restriction, and if the scare easily-, Bugs Life, Stitch...- Pretty much everything else is perfect for all ages.

 

[LilPiglet]

They would enjoy Dumbo, The Aladdin Magic Carpets, The Carousel, Under The Sea, Journey of the Little Mermaid, and Monster's Inc, Laugh Floor. I would avoid at the Magi Kingdom the Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain, Carousel of Progress(they probably would be bored), and Pirates of the Caribbean.

At Epcot The Seas with Nemo and friends, Journey Into Imagination with Figment, and Turtle Talk with Crush. Stuff to avoid would be most of the shows at the Pavilions at World Showcase. They would probably get bored.

At Disney Hollywood Studios they would like Beauty and the Beast: Live on Stage, Muppet Vision 3D, Voyage of the Little Mermaid Show,and Disney Junior: Live On Stage. This I would definitely avoid are The Tower Of Terror, The Rock N Roller Coaster, and Star Tours.

 

[NashvilleMama]

We took ours at 3 and 5 and their favorites at MK were Barnstormer, Tea Cups, Under the Sea, Pirates, and Small World. Space Mountain was a huge hit with my oldest (who's tall). Barnstormer was hands down their most favorite though!

 

[quagmire0]

EVERYTHING THEY CAN GET ON! . Only issue we've encountered with our younger kids at MK would be Haunted Mansion. DS was too spooked to ride and we had to take him off just as we were getting loaded onto the ride. He was 4 at the time.