MK Ride recommendation for toddlers (2yr old)

[Beachmom0317]

Hi everyone- DH, myself and my mom are going to WDW the first week of Dec this year with our then 2 year old DS and 5 month old DD. We're only doing 2 park days, def MK once and undecided about 2nd day. What rides do you recommend as a must do or most toddler friendly for a 2 year old at MK?

 

[AJ1983]

How tall is your two year old?

 

[epsmith921]

MK is awesome for young children and almost everything is pretty exciting to them there. You only have a few height restricted attractions and not a whole lot of "scary".

My then 2 year old loved dumbo, aladdin's carpets, small world, Peter Pan, little mermaid, the carousel, Winnie the Pooh, the tomorrowland speedway, and monsters laugh floor. We did make sure to try ride type things before we went (carousel at our local zoo) just so it wasn't a completely foreign concept to her.

I could easily spend multiple days at MK with a toddler/preschooler.

We did some Epcot, but oddly fared pretty well at Hollywood studios. My daughter refused to go see nemo or crush at Epcot last time, but now she's almost 5 and pretty excited about those. Then she loved the Disney junior show at studios at 2. I think that was all we did, but she now is going to love the frozen show, TSMM, and potentially beauty and the beast if we have time.

Particularly if your child likes characters, there's something to do in each park that can be unique as well.

 

[caflygrl]

I haven't been in a couple years but we are bringing our 2 and 4 yr old this summer. I'm pretty much operating under the guise that there is absolutely no need to take risks on ride that might be scary. My kids insisted once they wanted to go on a ride where you get wet and despite our telling them they would get wet, we took them on it and listened to them cry the whole time. Yeah....

We have on our list all the FantasyLand rides except for the Tea Cups, Barnstormer and 7DMT (which your 2 yr old might be too short for anyway).

In Tomorrowland, we have Speedway, Buzz, Monsters Inc Laugh Floor (I think it would help of your child has seen Monsters Inc, mine have!) and even the PeopleMover.

Also Jungle Cruise and Aladdin.

If you have 1 day at MK, then I think that is plenty along with a few character meets!

 

[scrapquitler]

Hi everyone- DH, myself and my mom are going to WDW the first week of Dec this year with our then 2 year old DS and 5 month old DD. We're only doing 2 park days, def MK once and undecided about 2nd day. What rides do you recommend as a must do or most toddler friendly for a 2 year old at MK?

Everything that they are tall enough to ride. The vast majority of rides do NOT have a height restriction, so both of your children will be able to enjoy them with you.

There are 7 attractions at Magic Kingdom with height requirements:

Height Requirements at Magic Kingdom
ATTRACTION HEIGHT REQUIREMENT
Tomorrowland Speedway 32"
The Barnstormer 35"
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train 38"
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad 40"
Splash Mountain 40"
Stitch's Great Escape! 40"
Space Mountain 44"

 

[ktlm]

At age 2, my DD was obsessed with Peter Pan and Small World. She refused to get on Dumbo ("I don't want to ride him!") , but she loved Aladdin's Magic Carpets-- no clue what the difference was to her there, but she is 10 now and we have discovered that she has a fear of heights. We found that her absolutely favorite thing at that age was the character meets. She was totally amazed that the characters from her books were alive and she could not get enough of them. Some 2 year olds are scared of the characters though. She also really liked Jungle Cruise, Winnie the Pooh, and the tea cups. People mover and Buzz Lightyear are other good ones. You will find plenty for a 2 year old to do!

 

[Tigerlily125]

I know you asked about rides but at that age my daughter was most thrilled to meet all of the characters so you might want to factor that in when making your FP reservations her favorite ride was the little mermaid In MK and finding nemo in Epcot. Enjoy

 

[Beachmom0317]

Thanks for all of the replies! I definitely want to do some character meet and greets. We're staying at Fort Wilderness so I'm planning on doing Mickeys BBQ so he can dance with the characters! I haven't measured my son since his 18 month appt and I believe he was around 31 inches or so then (he's 20 mo now). I think I will take the strategy of avoiding any rides that seem scary for him

 

[Beachmom0317]

MK is awesome for young children and almost everything is pretty exciting to them there. You only have a few height restricted attractions and not a whole lot of "scary".

My then 2 year old loved dumbo, aladdin's carpets, small world, Peter Pan, little mermaid, the carousel, Winnie the Pooh, the tomorrowland speedway, and monsters laugh floor. We did make sure to try ride type things before we went (carousel at our local zoo) just so it wasn't a completely foreign concept to her.

I could easily spend multiple days at MK with a toddler/preschooler.

We did some Epcot, but oddly fared pretty well at Hollywood studios. My daughter refused to go see nemo or crush at Epcot last time, but now she's almost 5 and pretty excited about those. Then she loved the Disney junior show at studios at 2. I think that was all we did, but she now is going to love the frozen show, TSMM, and potentially beauty and the beast if we have time.

Particularly if your child likes characters, there's something to do in each park that can be unique as well.

Ooh thanks for the idea! There is a carousel at our local mall and at a nearby park, I'll try to start adding more ride type activities to our life over the next few months!

 

[cjparker0110]

I'll try to start adding more ride type activities to our life over the next few months!

That is the best way to gauge how they might do. The carousel is a nice little ride to try. Also take a look at your local state or county fair attractions. A lot of the rides are a little on the thrill side, but they usually have a couple of toddler friendly ones as well. This will help with getting them used to rides as well as the crowds that they might encounter at WDW.

 

[pooh4evr]

Take them on everything without the height requirement. 2 yr olds don't know to be scared of things like the Haunted Mansion, or Pirates. We always told our girls when they were very little to look for fun things- Scare the ghosts, find the dog with the keys,- silly things to keep their minds away from the idea that something is scary. My oldest is the only 1 scared of any ride- Tower of Terror- because when we were in line and in the pre show room, a group of teenage girls started screaming and going nuts, which scared her (she was 4). If you don't act like something is going to be frightning, they won't either.

 

[epsmith921]

Take them on everything without the height requirement. 2 yr olds don't know to be scared of things like the Haunted Mansion, or Pirates. We always told our girls when they were very little to look for fun things- Scare the ghosts, find the dog with the keys,- silly things to keep their minds away from the idea that something is scary. My oldest is the only 1 scared of any ride- Tower of Terror- because when we were in line and in the pre show room, a group of teenage girls started screaming and going nuts, which scared her (she was 4). If you don't act like something is going to be frightning, they won't either.

Haha we told our 2 year old that the howling in the line for haunted mansion was doggies saying hello!! She didn't hate the ride and we had fun singing the songs. Turns out pirates made a lasting impression though and she is still scared of that one. I'm working on her in that one.

This time we will have our 18 month old with us and are so happy there's so much we can all do together.

Oh and I forgot! My daughter (was 2 on our last trip) loved mickey's philharmagic! The 3D was so awesome to her and I had an absolute blast watching her face during the show

 

[kboo]

When ODD was 2, we spent an inordinate amount of time on the carousel. Like, over and over and over. Characters were iffy for her, she also loved Small World and Pooh and Little Mermaid but didn't like Peter Pan because of the dark (go figure).

Also - don't forget the shows and parades and the entertainment on Main St. Often overlooked, our DD liked to watch and dance along.

 

[kellyjeanie]

My 2-year-old loved Barnstormer! We closed the park riding it over and over on our last day.

 

[Mickeycrocs]

Hello! I brought my son last May and he was 18 months at the time. He was able to get on almost every ride. (Obviously not thunder/splash mountain or seven dwarves mine train, space mountain etc.) Otherwise, he loved everything. His favorite was probably Winnie the Pooh, he loved playing in Winnie's house while we waited in line as well, and cried to go back on. He really enjoyed himself on everything he went on, and to see his face light up at the characters was priceless, hope you have an awesome trip.

 

[Beachmom0317]

Thanks for all the tips! I forgot to add in he loves Mickey Mouse, so we definitely have to factor in a M&G with him!

 

[MinMou]

When we went to DL, our 2 year old LOVED Dumbo, the carousel, and Winnie the Pooh. He also enjoyed Its a Small World and the auto test track with Daddy, but I think he had the most fun at the attractions that weren't moving! There's a playground under Splash Mountain that I think is the equivalent to what we did.

 

[mcjaco]

....but oddly fared pretty well at Hollywood studios.

Same here. I thought for sure that park would bore them, but Little Mermaid, Disney Jr., the Animation Building, and the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground kept them busy for hours (sad it's gone).

Our kids loved Pooh, Pirates, Aladdin, Dumbo, The Peoplemover, the Carousel, Country Bears, Small World, and Little Mermaid. One of my boys wanted to try Barnstormer, and screamed bloody murder through the whole thing, and was crying. We pulled into the station, and he looks up at me and says, "Again!"

 

[LSUlakes]

Recently took my DD2 and she could not get enough of its a small world.

 

[DopeyDame]

Thanks for all of the replies! I definitely want to do some character meet and greets. We're staying at Fort Wilderness so I'm planning on doing Mickeys BBQ so he can dance with the characters! I haven't measured my son since his 18 month appt and I believe he was around 31 inches or so then (he's 20 mo now). I think I will take the strategy of avoiding any rides that seem scary for him

Oh you will love Mickeys BBQ with a toddler! It is, to this day, one of my favorite memories of DS (now 7). He loved everything about it and it's large enough and casual enough that you don't need to worry about behaving or sitting still. They can eat a little, run around a little, dance a little, watch the show a little. It's fantastic.