Epcot with toddler?

[cjnix29]

Anyone just skip this park entirely? The last time we went, Nemo was closed, and likely will be this coming trip as well. He was so uninterested the last time, he's 3. Just wondered if anyone just skips it. It's just DH, me and DS3.

 

[Jrabbit910]

Alot of people I know that have children skip the park and then think, why didnt they go... I would say try and go to the park during early morning hours or late hours... Watching Illuminations is beautiful and going out for a nice dinner is always nice...

 

[Desnik]

I could never skip Epcot!! We have 2 kids DD(8) and DS(3). They both also love Epcot. Why do you think the Nemo attraction will be closed? When is your trip? Our kids love the kidcot stops, Illuminations, Spaceship Earth, touring the countries, Living Seas, Living with the Land, HISTA, the fountains and lighted pavement. There is so much to enjoy at Epcot and it never gets old for us!

 

[Ella's Mom]

There isn't a whole lot to do at Epcot with a little one. We are going to go to Epcot once with our 2 year old. I hate to miss Epcot since there are so many good places to eat there - especially if you are on the dining plan.

 

[tink1978]

My son loved Epcot when he was two...he still loves it. He liked the things in Future World and the boat rides in Mexico and Norway...

 

[#1 Pocahontas]

We like hunting for characters in the countries, and the Princess breakfast.

Other than that my DD enjoyed dancing to the music in the countries. The character caravan, and the Nemo statue with bubbles. Not much else. She was 2 at the time.

If you have a hopper pass I would suggest al least trying it.

 

[lclark0621]

Skip Epcot?!?!!?!??! NO NO NO NO!

My DS will be 3 in July. Epcot is a great park for us! His favorite ride is Journey Into Imagination, LOVES "the big ball", has fun on Universe of Energy, Living Seas, he even likes The Land!

And walking around the countries is a great time to sit in his stroller & snooze. Plus he really likes looking in all the countries, and always asks "Is this the one with the BIG TROLL???"

The Kidcot stations at all the attractions & the countries is a great way to get them interested in everything. We have a great time in Epcot every visit!

 

[MisunderstoodLilo]

Kids will "get" Epcot if the parents "get" Epcot. I hope you don't skip it. They've made it much more kid friendly over the years (even though I never thought it wasn't kid friendly...I'm a die hard Epcot fan!)

Have fun!

 

[WantToGoNow]

I don’t skip any of the parks because of my children. Yes, they probably enjoy the MK more, but it is my vacation too.

There really is no reason you can’t do most of the attractions at Epcot with a 2 y/o – Spaceship Earth, the Living Seas, Living with the Land, the environment film at the Land, you can do Universe of Energy, Imagination, and everything at the World Showcase. The 3 things I can think of that he can’t do, you can do a parent-swap - Soarin, Test Track and Mission Space. My children were 3 and 1 the last time we went and they enjoyed the park as much as we did.

 

[asktriplets]

if you go to the "disney with families" forum, there is a post on page 2 (or perhaps 3 at this point) about doing epcot with a 3.5 y. o....lots of good responses. here's a copy of my response:



"we just got back with our three 3.5 y.os...MK is, of course, our favorite, but epcot is a close second, not because of the rides, but because of the experiences...it is so great to wander epcot with one (or 3!)this age...

the living seas is wonderful (and we didn't bother with turtle talk....line was LONG)

in future world, my kids do like the "living with the land ride" and although you mentioned that this won't apply to you, my kids just made the cut off this time for soarin', and they went on it 3 times and loved it!!! pretty amazing for kids who are afraid to ride the winnie the pooh ride, huh?!? .


we like the jumping fountains back by the imagination ride, and if you are going soon, there are a number of playground areas set up for the flower festival around the walkway to world showcase...

world showcase is the real gem for kids this age (which is why we go 1 morning for a few hours, but then make WS a pretty regular after-nap destination)...

every country has SO many little experiences for kids this age, including the kidcot stations (which we used as a diversion, when necessary, but not as a motivation---my kids could color with those stupid permanent (!!!!) markers for at least 30 mins. in each country if we encouraged it. we tried to downplay/avoid those if we didn't "need" them...we all had much more fun exploring everything else!! ).

each county usually has some music/show in the afternoons/evenings which are always interesting to our kids, even if only for 10-15 mins.

we usually ended up getting one or two food items each evening in different countries, which the kids really enjoyed.

mexico has "el rio del tiempo" ride, which my kids LOVE. they also like wandering around the stalls inside, looking at the art in the front of the bldg, and we usually eat outside 1 meal...nice to grab a table overlooking the lake and people/boat watch.

you can no longer get on the viking ship in norway, but still fun to look at. we haven't tried maelstrom with the kids (see previous "afraid of pooh ride" comment)

germany has a model train set up outside between it and italy (just for flower festival?). this was a huge hit with my kids.

italy has all of those steps/bridges to climb up/over near the water.

at the outpost, my kids liked playing on the drums

at japan (and UK), we liked wandering through the gardens

EVERYTHING in morocco is fun to explore (and my kids love "mo'rockin"..the band)

well, ok, you get the idea and i'm running out of time. we just really like wandering around back there (in and out of exhibits and stores, eating all sorts of foods, looking at the different architecture, walking around the lake, dancing to music, etc) and it is rarely feels super crowded because epcot is so big.

it sounds like you have just your DD? i would imagine it to be much more difficult to entertain older children while going at a preschooler's pace and with a preschooler's interests, but if you have that luxury...ENJOY it --it really is such a fun adventure!"

a few more thoughts- a number of people have suggestion universe of energy and malestrom in norway....my kids don't like loud or dark, so these would be out either way for us, but in addition to loud and dark, they both have pretty decent "scare" potential (energy has the dinosaurs and malestrom has the troll and a pretty exciting boat ride, i think). you might want soemone in your party to preview those before you take your little one (unless he's pretty adventurous and doesn't frignten easily)...

hope you have a great time,

 

[lindakmonty]

Is DS tall enough for Soarin? My ds loved figment, honey I shrunk the audience... and everything listed above from the other posters. We love Epcot and would never skip it!!