Favorite areas for toddlers to explore?

[browneyedgirl1683]

My 20 month old hates rides right now. I'm assuming she will hate them when we go in August. Which is fine, as she loves exploring, people watching, looking at new scenery, and splashing in the pool. I know we will likely end up swapping off with a parent riding with our older girl and someone hanging out with the baby.

In Epcot we will try for Nemo as a test ride and if that doesn't work out we can let her play in the aquarium and make fish friends. For AK we can do the animal trails while everyone else does rides, and when all else fails get ice cream (and adorable ice cream face pics).

What about Hollywood Studios? Is there a place o can let her loose? Am I missing anything else? Can we linger at the Dumbo playground?

 

[Gary Stocker]

DIsney Jr. Dance Party if it is open by then... my youngest (3 at the time) loved it and was able to dance off some steam!

That's really the only thing I can come up with at this point in HS.

 

[ajsanford]

Totally not helpful... but I miss the honey i shrunk the kids play place. I have so many memories as a kid from that! They should make something similar to that with toy story land. Just dreaming!

 

[Gary Stocker]

Your best bet would most likely be at the resorts after the parks....after the MK roam around behind the Contemporary or the Poly beaches...Epcot or HS walk around the Boardwalk, etc. I have never been there but doesn't Art of Animation have different themed areas (Cars, Little Mermaid, etc) with large character "statues" that kids can play around?

 

[browneyedgirl1683]

Totally not helpful... but I miss the honey i shrunk the kids play place. I have so many memories as a kid from that! They should make something similar to that with toy story land. Just dreaming!

Me too! I guess TSL will have to do...

 

[sponica]

When I took my then 20 month old (who hated rides), these were her favorite activities:

MK-absolutely nothing, every ride we went on was a disaster, it's why we spent so little time there. She tolerated Jungle Cruise
Epcot- Frozen Ever After (until she got wet at the end), Finding Nemo ride, Living with the Land, the aquarium and just walking around
Hollywood Studios- Hmmm...this was back when there were character Meets, and I think that's all we pretty much did with her there. It was pre-Toy story Land.
Animal Kingdom- walking around the trails and the safari (mostly, until it moved a funny way then she started screaming)

 

[Wendysofftoneverland]

My kids love the Dumbo playground. We have lingered there lol. Epcot is great. There is the train in Germany, fountains in France, the aquarium, if they open the interactive areas at the end of Mission Space (my then-20 month old played there with dad while I went on the ride) and Spaceship Earth, and scavenger hunts during festival times. We bought my 2.5 year old a map for the Flower and Garden Festival and she just loved playing with the stickers and looking for "Buzz Buzz" in the topiaries. The characters in the field by the Figment ride are fun to watch (Pooh, Joy, or Chip and Dale). In MK, there might be areas of Tom Sawyer Island or there is the garden part of the Pooh ride queue (if that part is open now).

At HS there is the Lightning McQueen racing academy show and a Mickey and Minnie movie. We always seemed to be there at the wrong time for the Frozen sing a long or Disney Jr. dance party. My then-15 month old seemed amused by the Star Wars characters though.

Skyliner over to Art of Animation. My oldest loved seeing the Cars character statues and there is a cute Finding Nemo playground. I can't recall if the playground is good for 20 month olds or not...my kids were 2.5-3.5 when we were there.

 

[tinkerjo]

Maybe try a couple rides that aren’t really “rides” she may enjoy the train at MK (if it’s open) the people mover.
don’t forget the Dino playground at AK!!! It’s always a favorite
Epcot used to have a little splash pad near test track but that’s been a few years. It may or may not be there. We could let the kids run over by spaceship earth as long as people were not smoking there. (I am showing my age here. Pretty sure they don’t allow that anymore) nothing interactive but it was a quiet area where I could let them play some.
HS- I agree with the PP that suggested Disney Jr if open. My kids always loved that. Honestly though we tried really hard to keep them in the stroller as long as we could since it was so busy but they were either 9months or closer to 3-4. I feel the 14 mo-2yo time would be the most difficult. Good luck and have a great time

 

[Skippyboo]

Have the playgrounds and splash pads reopened yet? You can hack items in Galaxy Edge with the Disney play app like droids and spaceships to interact with them. Muppets 3D perhaps?

 

[aliceg]

Just a warning, but Nemo ride scared the crap out of my toddlers. There's a significant portion being chased by a shark. Your toddler might be different, but just wanted to point that out, just in case!

 

[browneyedgirl1683]

All these suggestions are great and noted! We were thinking Nemo just because the line usually isn't long, so we figured it's easy to test the waters.

 

[DisneyHaru]

Last time we went with my then 1 and 2 year old, their favorite thing was the Journey Into Imagination with Figment, more specifically the interactive area after the ride. Not sure if it's open yet.

 

[Caseheidi]

When we took DD at 19 months, we found that she made her own fun everywhere. We had one of those leash backpacks so we didn’t lose her in a crowd, and she just explored. (If it was a large crowd, she was in the stroller, but many times she wanted to walk). She did love the kids show at DHS, but tbh we didn’t spend a full day there. At Epcot, she loved the water features and splash pad, so bring a few extra changes of clothes (and ziplock bags to bring back wet ones). Animal Kingdom she loved just seeing the animals and walking the paths around the tree. MK she just loved looking at everything, it was so colorful. And don’t forget the water feature at the trains by Dumbo. Another need to bring clothing,

Anyway, it is probably based on your child. Mine did great in the stroller, and when she got over stimulated, liked to close the top and cover with a blanket to block things out to take a break. I even remember on day sitting with her in the middle of stroller parking just playing because it was away from crowds, and that is what she needed. I think parents just have to be flexible and go with the flow when taking a toddler. We really found it to be a great experience, and still talk about it 10 years later.

 

[Masterbetatesta]

I have a 25 month old and rented out all my points through Aug 2022. Which means she'll probably be around 4 years old by the time we go back in Feb 2023. Is it safe to say she'll be at the age she'll actually enjoy the parks? I hope so! I can't wait to go back!

 

[julie-o]

We did one day at HS in June with 20 month old. He did MMRR and enjoyed it. That was pretty much it. Not much for that age group there. Not even in Toy Story Land. There were lots of things he enjoyed in the other three parks.

 

[Rory607]

I have a 25 month old and rented out all my points through Aug 2022. Which means she'll probably be around 4 years old by the time we go back in Feb 2023. Is it safe to say she'll be at the age she'll actually enjoy the parks? I hope so! I can't wait to go back!

Absolutely! 3-5 are awesome ages for Disney because they’re old enough to do stuff, but everything is so magical for them.

 

[DisneyFave]

I think it also matters what YOU as a parent will enjoy doing with them. I really hated MK because instead of my usual fun adult rides (space mtn etc) we were stuck in Fantasyland most of the day, and I find it to be overstimulating. Plus he got SPOOKED on ANY dark (read: indoor, air conditioned!) ride. So we were HOT.

My son (then 18 mo) and I had a much better time strolling around World Showcase. I just followed his lead. We had a really sweet time.

Anywhere that you can let them out of the stroller and just roam is a win in my book, so like others have said, open areas with low crowds:

• Cars area at AoA resort
• Monorail resort beaches
• Your resort pools (I'm taking DS 4 and DS 1 to the poly in October and we will be at the Poly pools most of the time due to covid and anniversary crowds)
• Future world in the evening, when everyone is dining at world showcase
• Tri Circle D Ranch at Ft Wilderness