Best/Worst rides for toddlers?

[bethnburke]

We are going to WDW for 6 days in January with my son (almost 3 - Its an early birthday present for him) and my daughter (10 months). We are tring to figure out what are the best rides / attractions for him and what not to waste our time on. He loves Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Lion King, and Beauty and the Beast.

We took him when he was 1 and he loved the characters and parades but hated the rides. And we found out the hard way that the bug show at AK is not for little kids.

We are also thinking about skipping Epcot since Im not sure if there is much for him there. We have 4 day park hopper plus passes and dont want to waste the day there if he would have more fun somewhere else.

Thanks for your help!
Beth

 

[FreeTime]

My kids are 2 & 3 and we have been about 8 times with them. They loved all of the rides that they are able to ride. At MKPeter Pan, Small World, Snow White (some kids find scary), the Haunted Mansion (my 3 yo now sees it on TV and says she is scared of it now), Tomorrowland Transit Authority, Teacups (you may not want to spin them), Aladdin, Dumbo, Carousel, Tom Sawyers Island, and Buzz Lightyear. At Epcot the like Journey Into your Imagination, the ride in Mexico, Spaceship Earth (it makes them fall asleep too!), Universe of Energy and Food Rocks. MGM, you will want to see Playhouse Disney for sure. They were bored in the Beauty and the Beast show and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. They liked the Great Movie Ride and that was it for MGM. At Animal Kingdom they liked the kiddie Dino ride (like dumbo), Kilima safaris and the boneyard. I think that they can have lots of fun in all of the parks!

 

[tjmw2727]

I would say anything without a height restriction at MK and many great things at AK, MGM and even Epcot.

If you think he would be leary of the rides at MK start with dumbo or the carosel as he can see what he is going to experience before you ride. If you want to try some of the fantasyland classic try pooh or small world first. I can't imagine any 2/3yo not loving the pooh ride although there are heffalumps. If you haven't rented or read "The Many Adventures of WTP" you may - its a great read/watch and the ride follows it pretty well. Then try Peter Pan but play it by ear with Snow White or the Haunted Mansion. MY kids loved them but we talked alot about "fun scared" and "Mickey scared". I always recommend the video sing along "Disneyland Fun" gives kids a good idea of the rides, I think there is also one for AK with Flick and one with the water parks (Beach Party?).

We like to tour MK and AK in the mornings and then MGM and Epcot in the evening. This may work for you - our motto is wake-up intil say 5ish is kiddo/family time and then after 5, while still including the kids its mom/dad time. Meaning only that after our pool break we usually go to Epcot or MGM to do some things we choose. That said my girls have always loved World Showcase esp the live entertainment.

 

[MinnieGi]

Don't forget all the great shows at WDW!!! We just returned from WDW with 3yo DD and she probably loves all the shows more than the rides. Our DD loves the characters but does not like anything with even a hint of scariness. Here's her favs:


MK
IASW
Dumbo
Carousel
Winnie-the-Pooh
Mickey's Philharmagic
Tea Cups
Magic Carpets
Tommorroland TransitAuthority
Mickey and Minnie's House in Toontown
Train
Parades
Cinderella's show at the Castle
Country Bear Jamboree

AK
Festival of the Lion King
Pocahantas and her Forest Friends
Flights of Wonder
Tarzan show
TriCeratops Spin
Boneyard playground
Asian Jungle Trek with animals
African Trek with animals
Character Landing
Camp Minni-Mickey characters

MGM
Playhouse Disney show
Beauty and the Beast show
Muppets 3-D
Characters by Mickey's Hat

Epcot
Journey into Imagination
The Land boat ride
Jr. Chef program in the Land pavillion
The Living Seas
Mexico boat ride
Kidcot Stops

She also considered the monorails, boats, buses, and trams that take you everywhere rides too and loved them!

Have a great time!

 

[EthansMom]

My 2 year-old LOVES "It's a Small World". Also, "Dumbo", "The Teacups", "Jungle Cruise", "The Carousel", and "Winnie the Pooh" were faves. Of all the shows, Ethan couldn't stop raving about "Philharmagic" which is the only 3-D show with no scary parts -- it's animated with lots of music and Donald Duck as a main character.

We did take him on just about anything that didn't have a height restriction, but many shows and rides have some scary parts. He was mildly aprehensive in "Haunted House", the snake in "Honey I Shrunk the Audience" made him cry, mildly frightened by some of the bugs in "Bug's Life", and scared out of his wits by the animated character in "Muppet Vision 3-D" (go figure).

He also loved "Fantasmic" and enjoyed "Illuminations". His favorite day at the park was actually the day we took as a break and just went to Typhoon Lagoon.

Also, Ethan loved riding the monorail, train, and any boat. The monorail was really great for naptime -- roll the stroller on and he'd be asleep in no time. You can actually just ride the monorail around and around without getting off -- a great mid-afternoon break for mom and a little one.

I hope this helps!

EthansMom

 

[frannn]

Last month we took her for a first birthday trip, and she mostly loved the character meals. She was ok on all of the rides we went on (we don't do thrill rides- like TOT). In fact, she slept on most of the rides the first and second time we went on. None of the rides bothered her in the least- even HM and SW. The one ride she seemed to enjoy the most was Small World. She also loved the parades. If you are not doing a bunch of character meals, the character bus in Epcot is great! That's where DD met Mickey 1st!

 

[TammyC]

I've enjoyed reading these posts, and hope I don't choose anything that will not be compatible with my DS (2 1/2). I would like to try Universe of Energy, since I have never been, but read that it was long and there wouldn't be any way to make an early exit, if necessary. Oh no.. someone scared by Muppetvision. That was on our "to do" list. Do you think it is extremely loud? I don't remember, but we didn't have children last time, and didn't pay attention to things like that. Thanks all.

 

[shelleyz]

TammyC we did Muppetvision with DS2 and DS4 2 weeks ago and they didn't have a problem with it at all. Actually my 2 year old fell asleep.

bethnburke my kids were bored at Epcot. We stayed for a few hours and did only Future World. Maybe next time we will venture into World showcase with them as this is something DH and I would like to see.

 

[shmoogrrrl]

when we went, we had a 10 month old and our friends had a 16 month old. The girls loved all the rides that they were able to go on, especially the Pooh Ride. The 16 month old was terrified of the Snow White ride though, so be careful there.

Kathy

 

[llane]

We like Universe of Energy, my 3 yo did not. The dinosaurs were too realistic - and it's a long ride if they don't like it.

We did fine with muppet vision. If you need to the little ones can take the 3d glasses off. This will make the movie less intense. There is a big "shot" when they fire a cannon but it is a cute show.

 

[castlegazer]

We made the choice due to lines to hit IASM immediately upon entering the park. My DS (1) did not like it at all - believe it or not. I totally screwed this up because if we had just done a little less intense (I know, I know, whats less intense than small world?) of a ride first he may have warmed to it. Pooh was closed for rehab so we basically didn't do any more rides with him - only shows. All kids are different and all ages are different because our friends DD (2) loved going on rides.

You know, its funny what you say about Epcot because I was feeling the same way but the mother of the DD 2 loves Epcot so it made it on the list. That turned out to be one of our best days. There are great character interaction points here - my son got lots of time with Pooh and loved seeing the character bus and then getting everyone's autograph when they stopped. He also wouldn't leave Living Seas. The fountains are a total blast and the shows are wonderful. We spent a half hour just watching the carnival characters in Italy and having them play with my DS. My son loves to eat so the food was great too - he got to try different things and snack on the run. AND to top it all of, your hard work of going around the countries with wee ones can be rewarded by an amazing margarita to be sipped peacfully while they run and scamper on the Viking ship (go down and get it and then come back - its well worth it).

 

[Kuffam]

My DD (then 1 1/2) didn't care for the glasses at Muppets 3D Yet she Charged up with SpectroMagic
Try to find a thin spot on a parade route with little or no kids, most of the CM will stop and play. My DD really enjoied ... Dreams at Epcot because of this.

 

[bethnburke]

We will definately go with a lot of the rides you suggested. I think we will start slow and let my son lead. I think we are going to go to Epcot - at least for a morning. I think the Living Seas will be fun for him and DH wants to go on Mission Space.

 

[Kuffam]

The Living Sea is alright, but SW is better. Food Rocks is fun the kids like the concert and the adults like to music (A good mix of oldies with a twist [sung by most of the orginal artists.]).