If you had only three days to spend at Disney World

[mommytutu]

and you were there with two little ones ages 4 and 2, what would you do? What are the must sees and dos and what can be left out? Post your three day strategy, itiernary, tips and tricks.

 

[Baloo]

Here's a link we have on the DIS to touring the MK with small children: http://www.wdwinfo.com/Just_for_kids/touringMK_kids.htm

 

[tazdeb]

First of all ,I would ask what you want out of this vacation? I believe at that age children dont get alot out of the rides (and wont remember them much) but will get alot out of the expierience-magic of the world. I know my little girls did. If what you want is to see the wonder and surprise on their faces I suggest you dont be to ride speciffic. Instead concentrate on parades, shows and character greets. Take it slow and lead your children to places you think they may want to see, but if they see something and want to stop dont be so ridged that youll be upset. The first time we brought our 2 two year olds to DW everytime they saw a fountain they had to spend a half hour splashing(all the parks have great splash fountains). At first the wife and I were a little upset thinking what we were missing, then we realized that this is what vacations are all about, the kids enjoying themselves and us holding hands smilling. That said, I would go to Animal Kingdom on the first day, this will ease you into the theme parks and the kids will love it. Make sure you go on the safari, camp mini/mickey,afternoon parade, Lion king, and the boneyard. Day 2 go to the MK and spend all day as long as the kids will last. Make sure you go to Belles magic storytime on the right side of the castle. Belle is there and tells the Beauty and the Beast story while using the kids in the audience to play the other parts. No lines, great pictures, priceless memories. The last day I would go to World showcase in EPCOT. Every land has a kidcot playstation, there are shows in front of each land, plus there are country speciffic characters. We saw Jasmine in Moroco, Peter Pan in England, Snow White in Germany etc....all with small lines (much less than in Mickeys Toon Town). One last thing if the kids get tired and cranky (and they will) try not to yell. Every time we go we hear some parent yelling at their kids about how much this is costing them, and they must run over to space mountain, then to HM, then to IASW. Rush, rush, rush,lines,lines ,lines. No wonder the kids get cranky.....Just stop,sit down in a courtyard or some other area and let them play /explore. You will have a wonderfull trip....TAZ

 

[cruise-o-matic]

For little ones, I would skip Epcot, unless you wanted to do the Princess Storybook Breakfast or the Ice Cream Social.

I would probably spend 1/2 day (morning) at Animal Kingdom. Must sees are the Lion King show and Kilamanjaro Safari. They would probalby like Pocahonatas and her Friends show, meeting the characters at Camp Minnie Mickey and Rafiki's Planet Watch. It's Tough to be a Bug may freak them out.

I would spend one or two 1/2 days at MGM. They would love Playhouse Disney, The Little Mermaid and Muppets 3-D shows. At night, you definitely want to see Fantasmic. For a sit down meal, go with either Sci-Fi or 50's Prime Time Cafe.

I would spend the majority of the time at the Magic Kingdom. I would suggest hitting Fantasy Land (Dumbo, etc.) first thing in the morning. The only rides that may be too intense are the "Mountains", Space Mtn, Splash Mtn and Big Thunder Mtn RR, and Haunted Mansion. Take your time at the MK and enjoy it. They'll love the parades, fireworks, shows in front of the Castle and the character greetings. For a sit down meal, I would highly recommend Crystal Palace b/c they have the Pooh characters. Liberty Tree Tavern and Cinderella's Round Table also has characters, but the food is better at CP.

For some non-Park activities, they have pony rides at Ft. Wilderness and maybe take a stroll along the Boardwalk or Downtown Disney.

I would also do some character breakfast, like Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary. (I recommend breakfast for character meals in case they tire during the day. The exception would be dinner at Crystal Palace.)

Hope this helps.

 

[cruise-o-matic]

Oh, and another thing, get a stroller. You can rent doubles at the parks. If you bring your own, it's just one more item to lug around. They get tired, they can take a nap while you eat, etc., in case you don't want to go back to your hotel/resort. Plus, it beats carrying them and keeps them from tiring as quickly.

 

[cruise-o-matic]

One more last tip. Up to 4 people can ride in the front of the monorail. Ask the CM at the monorail station about riding up front. It's really cool to do this b/n Epcot and MK.

 

[ErinInCT]

You don't say when you are going but if it is a busy time of year I personally would spend my time at MK & MGM for your 1st trip. You also don't mention if you are staying on site. You also don't mention the genders of the kids!! Sorry, but I need details!! Here is my recommendation, especially if you are staying on site or close enough to take a break:

1st day - am: MK Fantasyland & Toontown. Your kids can do everything in Fantasyland. They may be a bit scared at Philharmagic (my 4yo did not like the 3D at all so she watched w/o the glasses! My 4yo was also a bit scared at Snow White but managed to go on it 2 times!! Definately see the shows (Sword in the Stone, Cindercellebration & Belle's Story Time) & see the characters in Toontown. Donalds Boat & Ariels Grotto have some fun water stuff (plan accordingly). I would then take a break & go back to the hotel for naps (for the 2yo) & swimming (for the 4yo).
1st day - pm: MK Tomorrowland. You will be fine on Buzz, Astro Orbitor, Indy Cars & TTA (when you need a relaxing break). You can either eat in Tomorrowland or I too recommend CP for a nice Pooh character meal - the kids are the perfect ages & the food is good. Stay for Spectro (if it is showing ) & Wishes if possible!

2nd day - am: Sleep in a bit since you will have been out late the night b4 (well, late to your kids!!). Or if you really want to do a lot you can go to AK in the am. I would see Safari, FotLK, Pocohonotas, Dinoland (Tarzan show is too loud imho). Then back to the hotel for a rest/swim.
2nd day - pm: Get to MGM in time for the S&MC parade! Then watch VotLM & Playhouse Disney. Then depending on your children's preferences (boys or girls), you can see either Indy or the new stunt car show, Star Tours or B&tB. If they did not mind the 3d in MK, you can go to the Muppet Show too. Little ones really seem to enjoy watching the shows! There is a fun playground HISTK if they want to blow off steam. 50's prime time is fun as is Sci Fi dine-in! Stay for Fantasmic at night.

3rd day - am: MK Liberty Square & Frontierland. My kids were ok at HM (my 1yo was clueless & 4yo cuddled next to dad the whole time) & you may want to relax on the Riverboat. My 4yo loved BTMRR. Your kids may want to blow off steam at Tom Sawyers Island playground. If Country Bear Jamboree is still going on that might be fun too. Pecos Bill is good for lunch - great fixin's bar! Back to hotel for nap/swim.
3rd day - pm: MK Adventureland. Take the RR to Frontierland in time for the afternoon parade. Watch the parade & then hit Aladdin, PotC & Jungle Cruise (My 4yo's favorite!). Don't forget to get a Dole Whip! If you want you can hit the Tiki Birds. You may want to go to LTT for dinner for a nice character meal with Mickey & friends. If you didn't see Spectro or Wishes, be sure to see it tonight!

This is a pretty leisurely way to take your time in MK (2 full days). I hope this helps you plan your trip! Have a great time & be sure to post your trip report! Here are a few tips for kids of that age: Bring glow sticks from home. My 4yo dd wore hers even during the day which helped her on the "dark" rides and she loved them glowing at night (couldn't lose her either!!), bring some plastic soda lids - slip the stick of a Mickey bar into the straw holder to catch drips, if you do get drips, bring Shout wipes! My kids (well, the 4yo) loved getting autographs & pin trading. Bring bubbles in case you are stuck in line or while waiting for shows to start, my kids (as well as all the kids around us) loved popping the bubbles. Remeber to go at the kids' pace! Have fun!

 

[franw]

I would plan your trip according to the days of the week you will be there to make sure you don't do MK on one of its busiest days. I'd start out with MK if it works for you and the second day do some AK early in the day and MGM after nap. Last day do MK again as the kids will love it more than anything else.

 

[BostonRob]

My wife and I are planning a 3 day trip at the end of April with our 2 year old. I always said that people were crazy to waste their vacation dollars bringing very young children to WDW, but when we started thinking about kid-friendly vacations, it just made sense. Anyway, here's our plan:

We fly in Tuesday AM and fly out Friday PM. We're only planning on doing the parks Wednesday and Thursday - this will allow us to have a semi-relaxing vacation. We hope.

Wednesday the MK opens at 9:00AM, so we've got a priority seating for the Character breakfast at Chrystal Palace for 8:10. After that, we plan on spending the morning doing kid-friendly rides like Dumbo and Pooh, then hitting Mickey's Toontown Fair. Hopefully we'll be able to get back to the hotel for a nap either before or after the parade. Then we plan on spending our evening at the MK, but we're going to be totally flexible as to what we do there.

Thursday we plan on hitting MGM in the AM. They've got some stuff there, like playhouse Disney that our daughter should love. If possible, we'd like to hit Epcot in the evening for a meal at Mexico and if we have extra time, we may take turns on Mission Space and Soarin if it's open.

Tuesday afternoon and Friday morning we'll just lounge around at the pool if the weather is nice - maybe rent a boat.

These are our plans - but we will be flexible. We know this trip won't be centered around us - we're prepared to miss favorites like Space Mountain and Haunted Mansion if necessary. But we also know that our daughter may not appreciate any of the kid rides either - she'll be 2 years, 3 months, so who knows.

 

[MagicKingdom05]

I would say spend most of your time at MK and AK. Epcot and MGM can get done on the same day. However this is comming for someone who travels to WDW solo so that might make a difference.