Ideas for three-year-old's first time?

[angey77]

I'm so excited to have my three-year-old niece with me in May. This will be her first time to WDW and my sister's (her mother) first time since 1986!!!!

So, I'm looking for ideas to make the trip special for both of them, but mostly for my niece.
This is what I have so far, I'm clueless when it comes to kids:
I bought two t-shirts (Tink and Nemo), a Buzz light-up personal fan and a Buzz sucker from Disney Store to leave for her as gifts "from Mickey" every morning. The last morning, her gift will be something she truly threw a fit over in the parks.
PSed CP for lunch and CM for breakfast (CM our last morning).
Oh, and for my sister, I have a PS for Ohana during Wishes.

What are some other good ideas, park and resort-wise? We will have one day in each park. My niece is still to short to ride any big rides (under 40"), and there is a group of eight of us going, so I'm also looking for ways to keep her occupied while we take shifts. Oh, and her favorites are Buzz and Nemo.

 

[SamanthaL]

Well one way we entertained my DD in Epcot when she was 3 1/2 was to make those masks at the Kidcot areas. We got to visit the World Showcase and sample some different foods and she was thrilled to jump from country to country to decorate the mask.
You could have a goodie basket delivered to the room and tell her it is from Mickey himself. That's special.
Let her play in the water in Down Town Disney while the big people do shopping. Of course don't leave her alone.
Just some of things off the top of my head. My DD loved the whole trip so she was easy to please. I really didn't need to distract her at all. Hope you guys have fun.

 

[angey77]

Great ideas I never thought of SamanthaL. Thanks!

 

[DisneyAddict_M]

Those are some good ideas. I wasn't going to make PS's, but maybe I should....

 

[AimeeM]

We stumbled upon Story Time With Belle at the MK on our first trip when our DD's were 3 & 4. They absolutely loved it. They got to be on stage with Belle and my youngest got to be Luminere, and my oldest was Mrs. Pots. Its in a quiet, shaded little spot. Perfect while some adults do a few big rides!! Have someone stand in line at Ariel's Grotto for an autograph and a picture. Some times the water is turned on and the kids have a blast while waiting. The line can be long sometimes, but it would be another good time for more adults to ride. You can take her to Toon Town. SHe can ride the Barnstormer there ( my 2 year old DS did in January), tour Mickey & Minnie's house, Play in the water at Donalds boat ( if its on) THere is the Judges Tent with character greetings too. Take her for a train ride around the park. ANother chance for adults to ride bigger rides.

IN Epoct, my kids got to make chocolate chip cookies down in the food court where Garden Grill is ( the land?) that took about a half an hour or so. They got chef hats, all took turns adding ingredients, and presto, chocolate chip cookies to eat in just a few minutes ( the magic oven cooked them in just a minute ) The girls loved that!

Dont forget to take her to AL's TOY BARN in MGM. Thats where you will find Buzz and his gang. Ive also seen Jesse, Bullseye and the Green Army Men by the big hat!! Buzz and gang are in the parade at MGM too. TOns of characters!!

 

[angey77]

Originally posted by AimeeM
IN Epoct, my kids got to make chocolate chip cookies down in the food court where Garden Grill is ( the land?) that took about a half an hour or so. They got chef hats, all took turns adding ingredients, and presto, chocolate chip cookies to eat in just a few minutes ( the magic oven cooked them in just a minute ) The girls loved that!

This sounds interesting. Is this something that is always there, that you can just walk up to, or what?

 

[AimeeM]

angey77-
We were eating in the Food court ( Sunshine Season Food Fair) down stairs from Garden Grill and they were getting ready to start another baking session. THey were walking around asking kids if they wanted to help make cookies. It was free, and only for kids. They each got a paper chef hat, and everyone got a turn. I assume its always there, and yes, you can see what time it starts and just walk up and participate. I believe its sponsered by Nestle. They dont actually bake the cookies the kids make.. but they give each kid 2 cookies in a bag and they THINK its the ones they made! The girls liked it and want to go back and do it again.

 

[sadiebug]

I know you are looking for things to do with your niece, but this is also something to consider....

We took my DD (almost 3) back in May, 2002, and then she got to go again this past July. The one thing I can say is make sure to keep her hydrated (water, not soda), and make time during the day to go back to your room for a break.
DD did really well in May because we had plenty of time to go back to the room to rest, and because it wasn't that hot out. When we went back this past July we only had 2 days and stayed offsite, so we did not go back to the room for a break. She ended up throwing up both days we were there (it was hot, I don't think she was hydrated enough, and she was tired). She had fun, but probably not as much fun as she could have!! By the 2nd day she was pooped and grumpy. I will never do that again!!

 

[kweaver]

I remember taking my DD for the first time when she was 3...what magic!

She definitely *needs* one of the light up spinning toys for nighttime. Don't forget to bring her swimsuit to the parks so she can do the water play areas (and be able to change into dry clothes when she's done). My kids could have stayed at those for hours!

Some character meals will be fun at her age...maybe the Ice Cream Social at Garden Grill? We liked Crystal Palace for the Pooh Characters too. Any of the kiddie shows at MGM will be a hit!

 

[oogieboogie]

If she's willing, get her hair colored and pixie dusted at the MK Barber Shop. Well worth it.

My 3 yr old absolutely loved the Indy Speedway. Where else can a kid actually drive a car? And of course the Buzz ride. Gotta do that.

Don't forget autograph book and the fat pen. She'll love getting Buzz's autograph. Stars and Motorcars parade is also a good way to see Buzz at MGM.

Mickey Bars. Mickey Bars. Mickey Bars.

Try to get a PS for one of the princess breakfasts if you could. She'd probably like that.

What about Whispering Canyon Cafe? They do stick pony races for the kids.

At DTD, if you go to Once Upon a Toy, she can design her own Mr. Potato Head on the computer then print it out. Cost: Free!
Also the Lego play area at DTD. That's always a big hit.

 

[anotherboardnposter]

The Streetmosphere characters at Disney-MGM work great with all sorts of people. Your niece may like it.

Also, don't take her to Pleasure Island until she's 18. Personal thing...

Sincerely,

John "anotherboardnposter" Kilduff

 

[littleprincessmom]

I have 2 dds (4 1/2 and almost 2) and oldest has been to WDW 3 times already. Your niece will have a BLAST! Here were dd's favorites on last two trips (at 2 1/2 and 3 1/2):

MK

Golden Carousel
Dumbo Ride
Many Adv. of Winnie the Pooh
Tea cups
Car ride (know that is not the name but I'm tired ditto comments above)
Mickey's House and all of Toontown
Goofy's Barnstormer (if she's tall enough - maybe 35"?)
Railroad
Country Bear Jamboree
Jungle Cruise
Buzz Lightyear (of course)
Magic Carpets
Storytime with Belle (behind Castle at certain times)
Small World
Peter Pan

MGM

Playhouse Disney - A MUST!
Beauty & the Beast
Voyage of Little Mermaid (is DARK so check with her mom on this one - my dd is scaredy cat but has always done ok with this)
Al's Toy Barn

AK

Kil. Safaris
Forest Trail (I can't think of name - here I go again ) and petting zoo
Lion King
little dinosaur ride (like Dumbo)
(If anyone in your party rides Kali River Rapids, she can stand on bridge and "shoot" them with water gun!)


My dd was really into the characters and it she will love the character meals you've planned. You are going to have a blast! Don't forget to ask to ride "up front" on the monorail - she'll get her own certificate saying that she drove. Wishing you a magical time!

 

[Teaching in NV]

My DD went to WDW for the first time when she was three. Her hands down favorite ride was the monorail (go figure)

I recently found out that if you get to MK right when it opens and manage to get to Tinkerbelle's Store (near the castle), the first child there gets to wake up Tinkerbelle for the day. He or she receives a certificate and a magic wand. I have not seen this myself, but it sounds wonderful!

 

[Spartan]

We made the mistake of getting to ride up front in the monorail on our first day - everything after that was a letdown to my 3 yo son To him, that was definately the best "ride".

Other things he really seemed to like were the playground areas - like the Honey I shrunk.. and The Boneyard ones. He also liked the fountains in DTD and the "jumping water" ones in Epcot where it shoots those streams from one to the next. His favorite non-monorail or steam train ride was Goofy's Barnstormer, followed by TTA and Spaceship Earth. His favorite shows were Fantasmic (he was scared of it when he was 2, but loved it at 3), and Philharmagic. He really wanted to ride BTM, but was half an inch too short - that will probably happen this year. He also loved the train displays in Germany (can you tell he likes trains?).

Surprisingly, he didn't go out of his way to meet the characters after the first couple of days - probably because he got tired of getting his picture taken with them. We did talk him into some autographs, but for the most part it was like, "There's Mickey Mouse!", and he was "ok - but what can I ride on?"

 

[Angela Bricker]

We went when my younger DD was 2.5 and her hands-down favorite was the POR "ool" (there was a kiddie pool where she would happily spend the day). She was fine at all the parks (actually, really liked getting wet in all the fountains around - there's a great one in Epcot that's a blast!), loved MK (*which we saved for the last day, thank goodness!), but we left the parks every day after lunch and had pool time to make her happy. Napping was totally out for her! But I think our alternate relaxation plan worked great, everyone in the family was a lot less grumpy than when our older DD was 5 and we took her the first time - we tried napping (totally out) and then went to the forced-march approach, which killed everyone.

Bottom line: make sure you do resting things too, despite the temptation. You'll enjoy yourselves a lot more! And too, definitely take or rent a stroller.

Have a ball!

 

[angey77]

I want to thank you all for these great ideas. There have been so many activities mentioned I would have never thought of because as a single person with no children, I overlook a lot of the "little people" activities.
This is wonderful, and I'm sure my sister will appreciate all of your tips too. Keep 'em coming!

 

[frannn]

I've heard it can get expensive, though. Our DD1 was thrilled at the character meals, and gets excited still when she sees Mickey (stuffed, on tv, or mentioned by name). She loved the princesses & they loved her, as she was dressed as Cinderella herself! Maybe you could surprise her with a princess meal and a beautiful costume to wear to it (could prebuy and pack in your luggage)? DD1 had the best time in MK. I wanted to take her to the free campfire movie (with Chip and Dale-at Ft Wilderness), but there was never a movie playing we wanted to sit thru. Maybe next time. I heard there is a very small petting zoo there also.

 

[angey77]

bump!

 

[Chica650]

Y'know something that's FREE (my favorite word ) and LOTS of fun for kids. At epcot they have these waters that jump from hole to hole. Every time we've gone my kids have spent at least 30 minutes playing in those. They get soaking wet, but it's so hot they'll dry in about the same time and it's a nice welcome time for the adults to sit down and rest the "barkin' dogs"

And your idea about the gifts being delivered by "mickey" every morning is pure genius. I'm getting on e-bay right now to see what I can round up

My 4 year old will think it's magical and my 9 year old will roll his eyes, but secretly think that's cool