"downtime" ideas for toddlers in parks?

[asktriplets]

hi all.
within the few short days since i have found this site, you all have gotten me hooked!

dh and i are taking our 3 almost-2 year olds to WDW in nov., along with both sets of our parents (lots of spare hands to help with 3 busy toddlers!). we're planning on staying at ft. wilderness in 3 cabins, so we'll have plenty of space to let our kids run and play (although i wonder if a villa and 2 rooms at wilderness lodge would be more enjoyable, but that's for another post on a different board!)

we're planning on a daily trip back to the cabin for lunch, afternoon nap, playtime, and early dinner, so we've got lots of "quiet" time built into our days, BUT.....

i'm hoping some of you veterans can give me some tips on places to take the kids while still inside the parks to give them some space to play/relax--places that we can let them out of their strollers to explore without being in a crowded playground or at an attraction. ...

so far, the only place i've thought of is the "leapfrogging" fountain in epcot (don't know exactly where that is, though). i've done a few searches here and have gotten some great tips on being at WDW with toddlers, but any specific advice or even specific search tips would be greatly appreciated!

by the way, i've been to WDW 6 times, but never with kids, so i'm pretty unfamiliar with the little-kid attractions!

thanks!

 

[dpuck1998]

I happened across a great location in the Magic Kingdom. Behind the Christmas store between Adventure land and Fantasyland there is a small stage and a nice wooded area. It's very quiet and plenty of space to explore.

 

[Montana Disney Fan]

We always bring a backpack with all the "stuff" in it and we also include some small toys and crayons with coloring books. We also throw in some snacks that we know they like.

There are a ton of places to camp out and relax in the shade. There is one of those random water spout areas at Epcot that toddlers love. My kids can spend over an hour there. This is probably the "Leapfrog" thing you were talking about. I love hanging out here cuz the kids just LOVE it!! It's so cute to watch them running splashing and having so much fun.

My kids also love the big Train Set at Germany. They watch that while mom and dad "wolf" a bratworst and a bier.

 

[canda]

I saw on the latest travel channel show on WDW that there are child stations at each park. they are places to rest and change diapers. they showed the family coloring and taking a break.

 

[sarahsmom73]

The snacks were a huge hit with our almost 3 year old.. DH and I switched off all the time to hit the big rides she was too little for and having juice and water and the kind of snacks she liked really worked out... DD is a huge people watcher so we grabbed some shade and took it all in! Have a wonderful time.

 

[mansionfan]

We always like to go to the Exposition Hall in the MK in the back where they have a little theater and it is normally very quiet. Our kids love to run around and play, or just sit and watch the short movies.

 

[swilphil]

I have gone with my toddlers at 1 and 3, and recently at 2 and 4. My favorite thing to let them do is run around! At Epcot, the Test Track "car wash" mister was fun and a trip to the Coke Cool Station where you taste the different drinks. They also really liked the Nemo exhibits at Living Seas, both inside and outside. At the end of the Journey to the Imagination ride, there's a lot of hands on activities, but my kids really liked running around the sound area. You stepped on a different picture and it made a sound.

World Showcase is one of my favorite places to take my kids. The kidcot stations in each country were a huge hit for them. There's a rose garden somewhere near Canada--maybe between WS and Future World. In England, there's a hedge maze around the music bandstand that my kids just loved running through. The bushes are only about 2 1/2-3 feet high, so you won't lose the kids. Look in the left corner too. Eeyore was there last month, but we didn't see him until he was going in. Inside the Toy Shoppe (if you dare!) there's a Thomas the Tank Engine train table. I also just read about a Pooh Room in there, but we were trying to avoid toy envy melt downs and didn't go through the whole toy store. The miniature train display in Germany also was a big hit. We stayed there for about 1/2 hour and the kids could have stayed even longer--running over the little bridge. The America Kidcot station is under a huge pavilion that has lots of room to just run. In Africa, they liked playing with the Drums. There's a boat to play on in Norway, but it doesn't have as much to do as the play areas in the other parks and isn't crowded like the others.

In MK, Toon Town has Donald's Boat that squirts water. I just read about a new feature called something like Kiddie Concierage in Adventureland. I'm so mad I missed it. It's an indoor area with cartoon videos and coloring. I think there's also one in another park--Epcot maybe? Another great thing to do in MK is Tom Sawyer's Island. There's some playground equipment with a slide and tunnels and caves to explore. But no strollers allowed! At the bottom of Splash Mountain under the bridge there's a little play area for kids under 40 inches with a slide and some things to climb on. Also around the castle are some nice gardens and green areas to run.

At MGM, my kids liked the area around Pizza Planet. There's all sorts of Toy Story statues.

I don't know where you are staying but many of the resorts have playground equipment. We stayed at the Swan and it has a small playground between the quiet pool and the grotto pool, and it was never crowded. Beware though it's in the sand. The Boardwalk Inn also had playground equipment that you can see from the walking path between MGM and Boardwalk.
Good luck!

 

[gigi1313]

sounds like you got some great ideas already... i would just add dinoland in ak... and in mgm there is an area that has a lot of benches in a circular formation (sorry for the sketchy info) where my kids ran and jumped and climbed (on the benches!) and released some energy while not being 'lose-able' so that was helpful (near muppet 3d i think)... the maze in epcot is good as is the indoors innoventions areas...

hope that helps... i know all about small boys with big energy being confined to a stroller for too long and needing to exercise those little legs! good luck and enjoy!

 

[Shelly D.]

We traveled with a 13 month old, and found lots of spots to let her out of the stroller and get some exercise, or just relax quietly.

The baby care centers in all of the parks were great. Even if your kids are out of diapers, it can be a cool, quiet place to escape. Many of them have child size tables for sitting and coloring, reading, etc. and also show Disney movies. My dd will be almost 2 when we return in October and I plan to take advantage of these again.

Also, it seemed like each park had a playground area. At MK, she could have spent hours at the playscape in Toontown. She also really loved the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playscape in MGM. DH and I were so ready to move onto something else, but she would not leave. So enter at your own risk!

It's amazing how many great kid-friendly areas you stumble upon that you never noticed when traveling without children.

 

[Misty89]

this doe not really apply to toddlers - well it might......
but last year we were at disney in june ( first time) and being from WI i was melting- and i am not kidding i wanted to leave - not just dinsey, but the entire state of florida and come home ( did i say i was melting ? - will still had 5 days of vacation left)
after some convincing from my MIL and DH of how long it would take us to leave the park and get back in that night...when it was cooer, i relented and we hung out in caseys corner hot dog place....for 6 hrs in A/C.
it did me good,as well as my children ( whom were also hot but not as bad as me )
it was nice, we sat at a table and people watched etc....and we made it till close that night after the weather cooled a bit.


Tina

 

[McKelly]

At the exit of Splash Mountain (under the bridge for the train?) there is a small playgournd, with log houses and such. It is kind of tucked away and there weren't too many kids there, in fact, I didn't see any using it. I remember it because I had my DS2 along at the time and he was waiting with Grandma in the hot sun and I thought to myself it would have been nice for him to play in there while he waited for his big sister and mom to ride SM.

 

[crzy4mk]

We discovered the "Splash Mountain" play area on our last trip, and it was a huge hit! We actually had to make our kids leave so we could go ride some more rides. Plus, there is a "height limit" so our little ones could play without us worrying about bigger kids running over them.

 

[pjlla]

I know you want to avoid crowded playgrounds, but there is a nice play area in ToonTown across from Mickey's house. It has a height maximum so there won't be any large kids to cause problems. HTH...............P

 

[Annette_VA]

There are also a couple of new "Kiddie Concierge" lounges in MK.


Check out this thread for more info.