Best two parks for a 2-year old

[lemondog]

DH and I are taking our 2 year old for a long weekend this September....it will be her first trip to WDW. We are planning to stay at Contemporary so we can walk back and forth to MK. We may want to do one other park as well...which do you think would be better for an older 2-year old (she will be 3 in November) - DHS or AK?

 

[smitch425]

DH and I are taking our 2 year old for a long weekend this September....it will be her first trip to WDW. We are planning to stay at Contemporary so we can walk back and forth to MK. We may want to do one other park as well...which do you think would be better for an older 2-year old (she will be 3 in November) - DHS or AK?

Definitely DHS. There are great meet and greets there, and Disney Junior Live and the LM and Belle shows are great.

 

[Ariel on Land]

Agreed. Definitely DHS over AK.

 

[MSSANDRA]

I think both of my boys would have chosen Epcot. They did both like the other two but they loved Epcot from an early age. Loved, space ship earth, innovations, living with the land ride, the WS boat rides and enjoyed all the acts going on around WS. HS became a favorite by around 5 when they could do star tours.

 

[iheartdisney123]

DHS.... Not a whole lot to do there but they have the Disney Jr. Live on stage and Disney jr. Meet and greets!

 

[hgeisler]

I think both of my boys would have chosen Epcot. They did both like the other two but they loved Epcot from an early age. Loved, space ship earth, innovations, living with the land ride, the WS boat rides and enjoyed all the acts going on around WS. HS became a favorite by around 5 when they could do star tours.

This! My 18 month old loved Imagination, Nemo,Turtle Talk, the boat ride in Mexico, and the Land. He had a great time there.

 

[nfggirl5454]

My nephew turns 3 next month, and I think DHS is his second favorite park. There's Toy Story Mania, of course, and he likes the Great American Movie Ride. There are plenty of shows -- he likes the Beauty and the Beast show, Disney Jr. Live on Stage, and he seemed to enjoy both the Indiana Jones stunt show and the Lights, Motor, Action stunt show a few weeks ago (he was really into watching the car stunts). There's the Hollywood and Vine character breakfast/lunch, and he liked Fantasmic so much that he's still talking about it, even though he hasn't seen it in about 4 months.

AK is fun as well. I don't think you can go wrong with either one

 

[ArwenMarie]

I actually think Epcot is a good one too. The aquarium, Turtle Talk with Crush, the Nemo ride, the Mexico ride, Living with the Land, riding the Friendship Boats, the meet and greets especially Duffy

 

[rteetz]

DHS has Disney junior which most little kids love to go to. They also have some shows you could go to like little mermaid or beauty and the beast but that's about it for the little ones.

AK has Dino land which has some carnival games, triceratop spin, the Dino dig zone and the jungle gym area. AK also has finding nemo the musical, as well as some jungle treks that kids love. Kilimanjaro safaris is a great time as well because the kids can see all the animals up close in some cases.

 

[smitch425]

I assumed OP had already ruled out EPCOT since she specifically asked about DHS and AK. If not, OP, you may want to research EPCOT, as well. Muppets and the HISTK playground are great at DHS, too.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

I'm going to go against the grain and say AK. I don't see more than a couple hours worth of entertainment for little ones at DHS.

I also agree with the Epcot suggestion as a good one. I would choose that over DHS for toddlers.

 

[ktlm]

My DD's favorite other than MK when she was 2 (and still today at age 7) was by far EPCOT. She loved the Nemo Ride, Turtle Talk with Crush, Living with the Land the Aquariums, the boat ride in the Mexico Pavillion (one of her absolute favorites at that age), all the Princesses and other characters, Innovations, Spaceship Earth, the bands and street entertainers in WS, the Kidcot stations in WS, Journey into Imagination and the play area after it, and I'm sure there is more.

At age 2, she did not care for AK at all, and begged to go back to MK or EPCOT after a couple of hours. (We have a great zoo at home though- and she didn't want any part of looking at animals when she could be riding rides and seeing Princeses and characters). She did like DHS, but that was because she has always been a "show" kid. At age 2, she had the attention span of a gnat for most things, but would sit through the 3 hour movie the Music Man or the 2 1/2 hour movie Mary Poppins without moving. DHS is very show heavy. Really the only ride for a really little one there is Toy Story Mania, and the line is so long (most times an hour or more) that you be able to do many repeats of it. Other than that it is show after show, Disney Jr., Beauty and the Beast, Little Mermaid, Muppets 3-d. That park was a half day park for us until DD was about 4 or 5. It is actually decent for a slower day with a little one If you have a kid that will sit through shows, but might not be the best if that is not something that interests your child.

 

[cheesemouse]

I'd probably just spend all of my time at MK if it were us and we were only there for a weekend.

 

[Jimbeaux28]

I'd probably just spend all of my time at MK if it were us and we were only there for a weekend.

This^

Since you are on the monorail track while staying at the Contemporary, Epcot will be the easiest second park to attend.

Enjoy your magic!

 

[ucfknight]

For a 2 year old I would rank them:

1. Epcot (by far)
2. Animal Kingdom
3. Disney Hollywood Studios

 

[Julie711]

I'd either spend more time in MK or my second choice would defiantly be HS!!

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Our boys loved AK at that age. They loved the Safari ride, and could spend all day in the Dino Dig area. But Epcot would probably have been their favorite. There is so much for them to do there. Honestly, DHS would be at the bottom of the list for them at that age. They did like the "Honey I Shrunk" playground area and Muppets, but most of the rest bored them.

 

[twinsouvenirs]

Our girls are only 17 mo but we are doing MK & AK

 

[Lisa0806]

For a 2 year old I would rank them:

1. Epcot (by far)
2. Animal Kingdom
3. Disney Hollywood Studios

I 100% agree with this ranking. We just got back and my two year old def. enjoyed all of the disney theme parks but I agree that after MK, Epcot was the next best. Which was kind of weird because I remember so many people saying Epcot not for kids, But my son absolutely loved the Nemo ride, the aquarium, turtle talk with crush, boat rides, you can meet mickey, minnie, goofy, many princesses, good food, etc. I ended up wishing we had more time at Epcot. For kids, HS really is mostly shows and then Toy Story Mania which honestly my two year old couldnt really do anyway and didnt even seem to care about it. Also, like others mentioned if your staying on the monorail Epcot will be easier to get to anyway.