Epcot with toddlers

[BuzzinDownToDisney]

And go! My little guy is only 37.5 inches so that knocks out the headliners. My wife is convinced we won't be able to keep him entertained for more than 2 hours there (he's 3.5yo when we arrive). I have lunch at Coral Reef at 1 and dinner at Garden Grill at 5:45, and she's convinced he'll be done way before dinner. Turtle Talk and the Seas will be a hit and hopefully Figment, beyond that I'm struggling to make an argument against her thinking. Need a little help here, Dis!

 

[mom2AidanAndEli]

Nemo, Turtle Talk, and all the aquariums around them
Living with the Land might be okay
Figment
Dancing fountains
Three Cabelleros ride in Mexico
Some of the sections inside Innoventions
Spaceship Earth
Kidcot stations around the countries
Agent P's adventure

 

[Bean786]

Does your child do meet and greets? There's a bunch in the world show case. In Mexico there's the boat ride. Nemo has a little play area and kind of an aquarium. He can color at the coloring stations in each country.

 

[flyersfan1129]

Our son loved the Seas at this age, and would spend HOURS there. If you are in the aquarium for feeding time and/or the dolphin shows, they are big hits as well. My son actually preferred the real thing to Turtle Talk with Crush, but that was just my guy. The Innoventions area has a bunch of kid friendly interactive stuff as well, and as a plus, it is well air conditioned. There is also a ton of live entertainment in the World Showcase...at any given time there can be jugglers, acrobats, and there are always the Kidcot stops. While it isn't the razzle-dazzle Princess and Pirates of MK, EPCOT has plenty to keep a toddle amused, especially an inquisitive little boy.

 

[kwaziismom]

There's also the dinosaurs in the Universe of Energy exhibit, the Mexico ride, Spaceship Earth and lots of Meet and Greets if he's into that

 

[timestwo]

Did this last year w/ two toddlers. Spent less time in epcot than the others, of course, but my son liked the boat. We also put them in their stroller, they fell asleep midday, and the parents enjoyed a nice adult beverage and some quiet time overlooking the lake.

 

[ptlohmysoul]

And go! My little guy is only 37.5 inches so that knocks out the headliners. My wife is convinced we won't be able to keep him entertained for more than 2 hours there (he's 3.5yo when we arrive). I have lunch at Coral Reef at 1 and dinner at Garden Grill at 5:45, and she's convinced he'll be done way before dinner. Turtle Talk and the Seas will be a hit and hopefully Figment, beyond that I'm struggling to make an argument against her thinking. Need a little help here, Dis!

Put him in the stroller at nap time, strolling around. And don't wake him up until he's done his nap. There is so much to take in at Epcot, he will be fine. Just make sure he gets his nap and food when he's hungry, so no fussiness and Mom will be ok . We do tend to go quickly through World Showcase with little ones (except for the 2 rides there), but that might be a good place to walk through during nap time.

 

[Kae]

I think you will be surprised when my kids were that age they liked Epcot, coloring in the countries, the passport around the world showcase getting stamped in each country, lots of things to look at, they were great eaters back then so we snacked around the WS, meeting Pooh & Tigger in England, the trains in Germany, watch the Monorail go around Spaceship Earth. I think at that age Epcot is a little more mellow than the other parks and kids kinda liked that after moving at little faster at the other parks.

Kae

 

[sayheyrenee]

I'll tell you what we did last year May 2013) when my daughter was almost 3 and what we have scheduled this August when she's four.

We arrived and got pictures in front of the Globe with props and then did Akershus breakfast. After that we went to Living with the Seas (Nemo), crush the turtle and Living with the Land. We then did the character spot (Disney Visa one). There is a fire truck and exhibit there she liked. We did the Phigment ride too. There was a light up floor music game near there too. The ride in the globe ....she liked the large climb and turning in there. We also did a few shuffle board games that had light up floors that interested her. I wish I knew what these places were called. We were there during the garden show so we viewed/got pics with all the bushes ( monsters inc, P & F, hook, return to is etc). Obviously that's was time specific. We went to Mexico where she tried on hats, colored the Duffy bear sign and got a stamp/flag on the back. It is a coloring bear on a stick. We got her pressed penny and took the boat ride. Then we walked around to England and had some fun pictures with the phone booths. She got her Duffy stick bear signed and got her pressed penny. She got a kick out of them. We headed out after that and went to swim/nap and back out to DTD for the night.

This year our plans are breakfast at Ohana in the morning so late mid morning arrival. We are doing most of the same things as last year. This time we are going back for late afternoon nap and back to Epcot for Akershus dinner and their boat ride (fp+) and see some countries we missed. We are also staying to see Illuminations which we missed last year.

I really suggest bringing quarters and pennies and make it a game to collect them from all the countries. They sell a book and he could place them in there. He can do the Duffy bear too. This way your wife and you can enjoy some adult strolling time and sample some drinks or treats at a few.

 

[Baptist]

Coloring the Duffy bear on a stick was a big hit with my little ones. I think your 3.5 year old will like the rides and attractions already mentioned. Easily a day's worth of fun.

 

[BuzzinDownToDisney]

Great tips folks, keep em coming!

 

[MrInfinity]

And go! My little guy is only 37.5 inches so that knocks out the headliners. My wife is convinced we won't be able to keep him entertained for more than 2 hours there (he's 3.5yo when we arrive). I have lunch at Coral Reef at 1 and dinner at Garden Grill at 5:45, and she's convinced he'll be done way before dinner. Turtle Talk and the Seas will be a hit and hopefully Figment, beyond that I'm struggling to make an argument against her thinking. Need a little help here, Dis!

With a 4-year-old do EC in shorter stretches. Last time we went, we ended up leaving once around 2 and the other time after dinner. Don't force yourself to go the distance. Shops can be boring to kids. Unless you're buying stuff, there isn't much fun in looking. Take it slow, get lots of slushies and food. Fed toddlers are happier toddlers. Ditch one of the two TS meals. I would keep the lunch drop the dinner. Eat snacks around the Showcase instead of the 2nd big meal.

Spaceship Earth is great for a 4-. As is Mission Space (green side). And Maelstrom.

 

[celina14]

We spent an entire day at Epcot with our 2 year old. We did all the aquarium and Nemo stuff in the morning. Had a sit down lunch at Via Napoli. Walked around the countries. The M&G with Snow White was one of her highlights of the trip and there are a lot of other characters to meet there too. She liked the toy store and candy store in Germany. She fell asleep in her stroller which allowed for DH and I to enjoy some relaxing time with some adult beverages There's also the boat rides in Mexico and Norway and the Living with the Land one. There's also little shows going on in each of the countries for some entertainment. And then we also did a sit down dinner. I guess it just depends on the child but it was kind of nice to have a more relaxed pace after being at MK the day before.

 

[DopeyDame]

Epcot is awesome for little ones! I was shocked the first time we took my son - it was probably his favorite park.
- The whole Living Seas pavilion can easily take all the time you have between lunch and dinner
- DS loved Spaceship Earth and we spent probably half an hour with all the little activities at the exit
- The mission control game at Mission:Space was awesome
- All sorts of fun things for littles in Innoventions
- Boat ride at Mexico
- Maelstrom
- Watching the trains in Germany
- Figment and the play area at the end of figment
- Splash pad on the way to mission space
- Mist care near test Track
- Car display near Test Track (3 year old boy heaven!)
- Jumping fountains near Figment
- Boat ride across world showcase

And that doesn't even include gallato, pastry, rice pudding, etc. to be had as bribes

Have a great time!

 

[quakechicago]

And go! My little guy is only 37.5 inches so that knocks out the headliners. My wife is convinced we won't be able to keep him entertained for more than 2 hours there (he's 3.5yo when we arrive). I have lunch at Coral Reef at 1 and dinner at Garden Grill at 5:45, and she's convinced he'll be done way before dinner. Turtle Talk and the Seas will be a hit and hopefully Figment, beyond that I'm struggling to make an argument against her thinking. Need a little help here, Dis!

We surprisingly ended up spending a TON of time in Epcot with my then 2 yo (a month from 3) so don't sell it short. It's pretty awesome. We only went on maelstrom (there was no line and she really wanted to but I doubt she'd do it again).

What she LOVED was the countries and the characters (she did in AK too and reminder to myself, I have to remember to plan more time there this trip because it was a blast right down to the drumming and Indian dancing). I bought an art of animation encyclopedia for character signatures (the CMs seem to love the books) and she's always been very curious about Daddy's globes (he has a bunch of vintage ones that she likes to take down and talk about).

We didn't even make it to the front of the park despite fastpasses because we spent so much time around the world. She loved Akershus (good for boys too btw), and seeing the other characters. She had a blast with Pooh and Tigger (I should do a trip report, there wasn't a dry eye there!), and we will get a passport next time, but this time she LOVED picking out something small in a few shops (a plastic owl in Japan, a cat in China, etc). We spent a lot of time in Japan and she made us go back our last day to see more there. We played with puppets in China, saw shows in Italy, etc.

The CMs were awesome too and gave her lots of little gifts and since so many were from the country they were working on, they all had great stories. My kiddo likes to ask people to tell her a story from when they were a child. Often adults ignore her, but not at Disney.

She still has an origami paper crane with her name in Kanji on it in her treasure box that Maiumi made for her.

And she also got the bubble gun. I highly recommend it. Best $12 EVER!

So we're planning on extra time there this longer trip and will do the passport and pins this time. And I bought 2 autograph encyclopedia books this trip as well. Really, it is worth slowing down, being less ride focused, and taking the time to explore because there's a lot there.

Have fun!

 

[Gillyrose779]

We went with my 3 and 4 year old boys and they loved Epcot. The loved the "big ball" as they call it. Never a long long and a nice ride if you are tired and hot- we rode this at least 4 times- oh and don't forget all the games after the ride - my 4 year old didn't want to leave!

Does your toddler like cars? Even though he can't do test track go check out all the cool cars at the end of the ride- you can get there through the gift shop. My 3 yo couldn't do test track but LOVED riding in all the new cars- pretending he was driving the the store, zoo, to see Mickey, etc...

The dancing fountains are great- fun to get wet.

My 4 your old LOVED innovations west- i think that is the name- he played on the firetruck and the PIGGY GAME!! He still asks to do this game. You get a piggy bank and play these little games trying to save money. I didn't think much of it be he loved it.

So many hidden gems in Epcot- I think it is a great place for toddlers. They can get overwhelmed in MK so Epcot is a really nice change.

Heck- if all else fails take the back entrance out and take a boat ride or walk around the boardwalk.

 

[MOpGrad2013]

DS3 is taller than your son (41"). He rode Spaceship Earth with DH. Didn't understand the ride, but he loved going in the Big Ball. Soarin', Living with the Land (he was entranced by the pineapples and banana). He is a big Donald Duck fan and has seen the Three Caballeros--that ride was his favorite. And he also met Donald. He rode Nemo and we went in the aquarium for a bit. He loves fish, but it was too crowded for his liking. We searched for Nemo in the tank and left.

Eating French food left its mark on him. We bought sandwiches, bleu salad, creme brulee and a baguette from the bakery. He ate the ham and cheese croissant. Then started reaching for the salad. DS does NOT like lettuce. But he took one of the slices of blue cheese out and munched it. Then he began dipping the baguette in the dressing. Now, when we go to the store we "Need Mickey fancy bread and blue cheese."

Oh! Almost forgot. He really enjoyed the Friendship boats. I think we did Morocco to Canada.

We didn't visit Test Track nor most of the countries before he fell asleep in his stroller. But, that's what the next visit is for; right?

 

[MadToad]

There are some great suggestions listed previously and I agree with many of them. One thing not mentioned is the music. My son loved (and still loves - he's 5) the live bands that play. Some of the best video we got was him dancing to the British Invasion, Off Kilter, and the band inside the German Restaurant.

I think you'll find yourself running out of time instead of running out of things to do.

Enjoy!

 

[ktlm]

On my DD's first WDW trip when she was 2, we spent 1 day at EPCOT from open to close and did not feel like we had enough time there. We did WDW twice when she was 3, and both times we spent 2 days there. She is 8 now and EPCOT has always been her favorite park other than MK.

Of course, we do spend a lot of time meeting and greeting Princesses in WS, which may not be the same with a boy. She loves stopping and watching all the acts in WS and exploring around there too.

Some people seem to assume that the Living with the Land ride won't appeal to toddlers. DD LOVED that one when she was 2 and 3. She loved the greenhouses and seeing the fruit and vegetables actually growing etc. All my friends who have taking kids under 5 have had the same experience with their kids. We went with some friends who have a daughter DD's age when their son was 3, and after we got off it, he kept asking to ride it again and mentioned going back to it several times during the day.

 

[smraynor]

One tip that worked for our toddlers in Epcot.

We always stopped at the Baby Center at the old Odyssey restaurant. It's always uncrowded and cool and there are sofas and play areas.

It always gave us a bit of a boost as we made our way to World Showcase.