Epcot question, rides/activities for pre schoolers

[GoingtoDisney]

We are traveling in Disney in 2 weeks with my parents and three kids, 8, 5, 2,5. I know our 8 yr old son will enjoy some of the bigger rides, but that they won't be good for my two little girls (my youngest won't even meet the height requirement). What could my mom and I do at Epcot with the girls while the boys do the bigger rides in the morning? We do have a PS for the princess lunch. We don't want to do things that the whole group could enjoy in the afternoon. Any advice would be great!

 

[julia & nicks mom]

While the ones who are tall enough ride Soarin - there is a boat ride and movie in the land that my little ones always enjoy

There is Living with the Seas - it has Turtle Talk with Crush and other Nemo themed activities - Turtle talk with Crush is adorable - it is interactive and the kids get to ask a question -ours was pretty full and no kids had questions - so think of one before you go in adn your kids will probably get to talk with Crush - we already have ours picked out for next time - "why do turtles hide in their shell"

There is Figment - Journey into Imagination - both of mine loved it!!

we did those 3 things in a morning at Epcot and ran out of time - but you can always go and watch the fountain - my little ones love to watch the water dance! I hope this helps!!!

 

[GoofyPrincess]

Don't forget the boat rides in Mexico and Norway! (Warn the little one about the trolls!)

My kids also like to ride the "big boat" across the lake to World Showcase and love making the masks at the Kidcot stations throughout World Showcase.

 

[plutospup]

If the Wonders of Life pavilion is open check out "Cranium Command". Also, does anyone know if the "Jr. Chef" area in the Land pavilion has reopened? The children get to "bake" chocolate chip cookies. Best of all they get to sample their work!

 

[hezreck]

Have your Mom take the girls to the Kidcots in Epcot. They get a mask on a stick at the first country and at each country they get something added to it and get to color or stamp the mask too. My DD loved this when she was 3 and when she was 7.

 

[oogieboogie]

In future world, preschoolers can:

1. Make cookies at the Junior Chef attraction - The Land 12:30-4:30pm
2. Living with the Land ride - slow moving boat - The Land
3. Circle of Life movie - The Land
4. The Living Seas - anything in there is fine - they have dolphin feeding at certain times of the day - Turtle Talk with Crush is excellent
5. Mission:Space has a preschool play area with climbing tunnels - head to the exit area.
6. Journey into Imagination with Figment - after the ride, at the Kodak Works, preschoolers can play music with their hands, make picture postcards, make music with their feet.
7. Spaceship Earth - nice slow moving ride
8. Innoventions East & West - plenty of things to do here. There's computer games, opportunity city, the fire truck, make a robot, etc.
9. Bring a swimsuit or extra clothes and let the kids play in the fountains
10. Between Universe of Energy and Mission Space there is a misting spray area. Kids love getting under the misting sprays.

 

[vicb]

When my DS was 3 1/2 he loved:

The playground area in Norway
Banging on the Drums in that area of WS by Germany/China (I think)
Rio del Tiemp (Mexico)
Monorail
Fountains

 

[mommystieg]

The Flower and Garden Festival will be going on while you are there so you could take time to enjoy some of the displays. There is Minnie's Butterfly Garden and Farmer Mickey's Maze that is designed for younger kids. And don't forget shopping!! Just checking out all the different shops in each country is a lot of fun. Have a great time!!

 

[Nora94]

At the exit of Mission: Space there is a fun crawling tubes area. My Aug 02 dd spent a long time in there and didn't want to leave it.

At the pt where you either got to Mission Space or Test Trek there is a fountain on the ground that is fun to watch and play in.

At the exit of Test Trek there is a kidspot - it was coloring with markers 2 wks ago.

We didn't do much in Epcot, ran out of time...

 

[Going Broke]

Definately Journey into Imagination w/Figment. And if you're real lucky (please read this as sarcasm), your kids will beg you to go on it a gazillion times!!!

 

[Nora94]

Oh, and make sure you do the kid swap. The older kid gets to ride the ride twice in a row, so they get their fix w/o having to wait in long lines twice. You get to have 3 people go with the swapping person, when we did tower of terror, I grabbed 2 teens out of the LONG line and they were beyond thrilled to be at the front instantly.

Nora

 

[GoingtoDisney]

Thank you so much! These all sound like great ideas!

 

[leebee]

I guess you're probably looking for things to do with the younger 2 kids that the rest of the family wouldn't feel like they "missed out" if they don't get to do those things too. I'd recommend Journey into your Imagination with Figment. It's pitched to the 'younger' set...my nieces, ages 4 and 6 love it, but dd was tired of this by age 9. There is an interactive play area at the end of this. However, remember that you can walk through the ride queues with the riding members of your family, then pass through to the waiting are while the rest are riding. The waiting lines for Mission:Space and TestTrack have cute theming. At the end of M:S, where you'd wait for your riders, there is a tube-crawling area for the younger ones. At the end of TT there is a car display (yes, you can climb into the HumVee or a convertible). Attractions that ALL family members will want to see include Spaceship Earth, Living with the Land, and Maelstrom (boat ride) in Norway (but if you're at Ep in the am, WS won't be open til 11). The Living Seas is a large aquarium...not too much on the excitement scale, and definitely something you could do that the others won't feel like they've missed much.

 

[kupperman]

I took my DD3 to WDW in December and she loved listening to the live bands in WS. She also liked Living with the Land boat ride but she didn't care for the rides that were in the dark, (Spaceship Earth, Journey into Immagination). She also loved the Living Seas featuring Nemo and friends.

 

[bubba73]

I would say that you could do almost everything at EPCOT. Here is a short list of stuff that I would stay away from with a preschooer. Some of these are obvious.
1) Test Track
2) Mission Space
3) Maelstrom (maybe too intense for a young one)
4) Body Wars

Otherwise, I would say, "Have fun!!".

 

[GoingtoDisney]

I guess you're probably looking for things to do with the younger 2 kids that the rest of the family wouldn't feel like they "missed out" if they don't get to do those things too. I'd recommend Journey into your Imagination with Figment. It's pitched to the 'younger' set...my nieces, ages 4 and 6 love it, but dd was tired of this by age 9. There is an interactive play area at the end of this. However, remember that you can walk through the ride queues with the riding members of your family, then pass through to the waiting are while the rest are riding. The waiting lines for Mission:Space and TestTrack have cute theming. At the end of M:S, where you'd wait for your riders, there is a tube-crawling area for the younger ones. At the end of TT there is a car display (yes, you can climb into the HumVee or a convertible). Attractions that ALL family members will want to see include Spaceship Earth, Living with the Land, and Maelstrom (boat ride) in Norway (but if you're at Ep in the am, WS won't be open til 11). The Living Seas is a large aquarium...not too much on the excitement scale, and definitely something you could do that the others won't feel like they've missed much.

Yes!!

Thank you all so much! I am printing off all of your advice and suggestions!!

 

[Fla Gator]

My two oldest (DD12 and DS9) always liked Universe of Energy when they were younger -- you get to see dinosaurs that aren't scary. I plan on taking my DS2.5 there (plus all the other rides/activities mentioned by previous posters) on our trip next week.