Epcot w preschoolers? Any ideas?

[friscodie]

We have reservations for Akershus feast w the princesses @ 7:55pm. We have 5, 3, and 1 year old daughters.

Any tips/ideas on the best attractions for their age group in Epcot? We would be getting there mid afternoon for the late dinner reservation.

Any must sees? They don't like big scary rides.

Thanks!!

 

[smscrapbooks]

I have kids of similar ages! Our must dos are the Finding Nemo ride, looking at the aquarium animals, Journey into Imagination, the Land ride, Circle of Life movie, ride at Mexico featuring the 3 Caballeros. My 5 and 7 year old LOVE Test Track and Soarin'. The baby is too young for those. They also enjoy Illuminations.

 

[friscodie]

I have kids of similar ages! Our must dos are the Finding Nemo ride, looking at the aquarium animals, Journey into Imagination, the Land ride, Circle of Life movie, ride at Mexico featuring the 3 Caballeros. My 5 and 7 year old LOVE Test Track and Soarin'. The baby is too young for those. They also enjoy Illuminations.

Thanks so much for the info... Would these suggestions take a full day or 1/2 do u think?

 

[Heidi K]

We just returned from a 10 day trip. My 2 and 5 year olds both enjoyed Living with the Land, Figment, Spaceship Earth, and Turtle Talk with Crush. They LOVED the Nemo ride and the Gran Fiesta ride in Mexico (rode both twice). 5 year old did not like Soarin but loved Club Cool (tasting the Coke products from around the world) as well as many of the activities in the Innoventions buildings. There are also many character meet & greets at Epcot and they often seemed to have shorter lines than the other parks.

I think you could easily do a full day with preschoolers, but you could probably do a lot of the above in 1/2 day.

 

[stormer]

At that age my kids always loved the Kidcot a Fun Stops. They are areas in each country where the kids could stop and color. I am not sure what they currently give the kids to color but in the past it has been masks, Duffy, and Perry the platypus.

 

[smscrapbooks]

Thanks so much for the info... Would these suggestions take a full day or 1/2 do u think?

We usually fill 3/4 of a day because we go back to our hotel for naps at around 1 and return around 5. I forgot to mention all the character greetings that take place around the "world". My kids loved this too. They also loved sampling all the Coke products at Club Cool.

At Mission Space there is a fun space themed playground inside. We plan to take the two oldest to ride the ride while my husband takes the 19 month old to play on the playground.

 

[JoeyEmmaMomma]

We go to Finding Nemo quite a few times, lol.
Then walk and eat around them world with them.
I also found there were plenty of spot they could get out of the stroller and walk/run which makes them very happy.

 

[friscodie]

Thanks so much for all of the great advice! Haven't been to Epcot since college.... Looking forward to it!

 

[Maple Det]

The Maelstrom ride is just a few steps away from Akershus, and is good for all ages and chilly during the hottest times of the day. It will be good to visit just after your character dining experience.
And hit the Food & Wine Festival in the evening - it is great!

 

[texasroni75]

On our trip last September, our youngest was just a few days short of his 2nd birthday. At Epcot, he LOVED watching the trains at Germany pavilion , the splash pad on the way into World Showcase, Finding Nemo, and Innoventions (where the Firetruck is). He loved riding the ferry across World Showcase, too. In general, though, we found he was happiest when we let him RUN - .

 

[jacknsally19]

The maze in the UK, drums in 'Africa' and the musical acts were big hits with my toddler.

 

[Marthasor]

My DS loves the Great Piggy Bank Adventure in Innoventions (the one closest to Character Spot), the Nemo ride and aquarium, Spaceship Earth, Gran Fiesta, the trains in Germany and the drums at the Outpost.

 

[minijenny]

DS3's favorite ride for the past two years is the "Donald Duck Boat Ride" which is according to him is the official name. Our trip last year was 7 days and he rode it 11 times. I definitely recommend it for toddlers because it's bright, colorful, has cartoons (which include Donald Duck of course) and fun music, and there is rarely a wait. Mostly we just walk right on. Other favorites are "the Space Earth Ball", Finding Nemo, the trains in Germany, the splash pad, and the lighted sidewalks in the evening near Innoventions and Spaceship Earth. He also loves catching the music around World Showcase, especially the drummers in Japan.

 

[CdnCarrie]

Innoventions is great for young kids! Lots of buttons to push and games to play. My kids spent hours in there!

 

[TLCdisneyfan]

My kids love the Agent P adventures in World Showcase. They go to a kiosk and get issued a smart phone (and you know how much kids love your phone!). They get sent to a world showcase country and run around following clues and searching for Dr. Doofenschmirtz. This is one of my kids' favorite things in all of WDW. And they'll do it for HOURS, because when you finish the adventure in one country, you can get assigned to another one.

I agree that there are some great character meets along world showcase.

Be very cautious if your kids are afraid of the dark. You'd be surprised how many rides get very dark, like Spaceship Earth.

 

[jessic2422]

DS3's favorite ride for the past two years is the "Donald Duck Boat Ride" which is according to him is the official name. Our trip last year was 7 days and he rode it 11 times. I definitely recommend it for toddlers because it's bright, colorful, has cartoons (which include Donald Duck of course) and fun music, and there is rarely a wait. Mostly we just walk right on. Other favorites are "the Space Earth Ball", Finding Nemo, the trains in Germany, the splash pad, and the lighted sidewalks in the evening near Innoventions and Spaceship Earth. He also loves catching the music around World Showcase, especially the drummers in Japan.

What is Donald ducks boat ride?

 

[staceyrhood]

What is Donald ducks boat ride?

It is the boat ride at Epcot in Mexico.

 

[3Gsandme]

The Maelstrom ride is just a few steps away from Akershus, and is good for all ages and chilly during the hottest times of the day. It will be good to visit just after your character dining experience.
And hit the Food & Wine Festival in the evening - it is great!

My little one (4 at the time) was really afraid during Maelstrom. Each kid is different, of course, but it's dark and some of the imagery can be scary.

 

[MandiC]

I had heard Maelstrom is closing. I thought I saw it on one of the Disney planning sites so don't quote me on that but I'd look into it if that is one you'd like. My kids liked it but I can see how some toddlers might find it scary too.

Innoventions, Club Cool, Figment, Nemo, Turtle Talk with Crush, Mexico boat ride, drums in Morocco, trains in Germany....there is all sorts for a toddler to do in Epcot Each 'country' around the World Showcase usually has a 'performance' of some kind that you can find times for in the Times Guide when you get to the parks and kids may (or may not) find those captivating. I loved the singers in America as did my kids. They also still liked doing the KidCot stations in each country, I didn't think they'd have much more interest than getting their passports signed but the cast members really interact with the kids and the neat thing about Epcot is the Cast Members in each country are from that country.