MK with toddlers - touring help

[Sandy22]

Next trip will be the first time we do WDW with younger children. What are the popular kiddie rides that we should do first thing in the morning? I've heard Dumbo gets long lines quickly...are there any other rides like that? Which ride should be our first fast-pass ride?

Any other tips for touring with toddlers? How many rides should I reasonably expect to complete in a half day? We plan on being there first thing in the a.m and leaving after lunch.

TIA!

 

[LadyZolt]

I would fastpass Peter Pan and then get on Dumbo because both of those tend to have long lines and I would prefer to ride Dumbo first. I think most of the other rides you might want to do with a toddler shouldn't have lines that are too long. I would do It's a Small World, Cinderella's Carousel, Winnie the Pooh and, if the toddler isn't too squeamish, Snow White's Scary Adventures. With toddlers, I think the thing is not to overplan. Have a general idea of what the toddler will like, and then wing it because sometimes small ones get over-excited, or tired, or hungry, or cranky, etc. So plan generally what you'd like to do, and then see what the toddler actually wants to do in the moment. I'm sure that it'll be a wonderful and magical experience for everyone, though. It's hard to go wrong at Disney.

-Dorothy (LadyZolt)

 

[michygoomy]

We just got back from a trip with a toddler, but the toddler didn't get a lot of preference with the older kids around! However, we did plenty to entertain her.

The only things we did in Fantasyland were Pooh, Philharmagic and Small World. She liked all of them, but we had to hold the glasses on her in Philharmagic, which is a little tough! I also took her on the Haunted Mansion and she wasn't scared at all. Oh--and Carousel of Progress and Tomorrowland Transit Authority! Hall of Presidents was an ideal place to take her for a nap (we sat through TWO shows).

We made sure we got on Pooh early in the morning as the queue fills up quickly.

She also liked Buzz, and the Tiki birds.

Have they had haircuts yet? We did a first haircut at the Main Street Barber Shop, that was kind of special!

 

[rajay320]

We always get to MK right before the park opens are able to ride Dumbo, Peter
Pan, Small World, Snow White, Pooh, and the Carousel in the first 45 minutes to an hour. If you want to ride Dumbo, I'd definitely do that one first! Then we hit Philharmagic.
After that we usually hit Toontown then head over to do Haunted Mansion, Pirates, Aladdin's Magic Carpets, and the Jungle Cruise.
By then we either leave to swim or hit another park, or if we feel like staying we look for characters, or hit Tomorrowland and ride Buzz and the Indy Cars.

With a toddler or preschooler, I wouldn't make any plans too concrete. Sometimes we veer off our intended path to do something that dd wants to do instead...and that is fine too. We always have a great time either way!

 

[mrstomrice]

We took our 22 month old ds in April. You will find that your plan to get there early in the morning will save you a lot of time...great idea! We were there during spring break week and we did not need a fast pass for any ride in fantasyland...we walked on every one of them without wait...the park was open at 7 am and we were there at 7:15. We tended to eat a light snack in our room, hit the park early, do all of fantasyland (except philharmagic...we did that at night and also had no wait) and the race cars, then we would get more to eat at the main street bakery. That let us have time to get a haircut at the barber shop...also highly recommended...get there at 8:50 to be there for one of the first cuts....don't miss the gel and pixie dust!
Then we went over to adventureland and were able to go on the rides with little wait. Our ds is very laid back and none of the rides bothered him. He was fine on the haunted mansion, potc, aladdin (can be a wait due to the limited number of riders, such as dumbo) the railroad, the characters at toontown, the jungle cruise, Country Bears and all of fantasyland. We did not go on many other attractions in MK, as we also left the park to go back to the room to relax and swim. Luckily we caught the 3:00 parade b/c it ran twice a day that week...actually at 1:00 and 4:00.

Pecos Bill's was a good place to pick up a counter service meal, as well as stopping for a dole whip in adventureland...a must have!

We stayed for the fireworks, which were at 10:00...we did not see spectromagic...next time. We watched the fireworks from the Terrace restaurant area...a great view with comfortable seats! We had no problem parking a stroller and enjoying the view! Seems to be a nice little secret!

I definitely would not overbook your week...including table service meals. It was nice not having to stick to a schedule for the week.,..our son wouldn't have apprectiated the time or money spent on the meal anyway.

We also found it helpful to have our son watch some old disney dvd's that featured the classic characters so that he was familiar with them...mm clubhouse had not debuted before our trip.

Have a great time..wait until you see the look on your child's face..it is priceless...you wont' regret the trip for a moment!

 

[liamandcaili]

DD was a little older (3) than your girls when we first went, but she definitely wouldn't have liked Dumbo (she has only recently liked the sensation of swinging high) and she hated Haunted Mansion. Carousel of Progress bored her.

She liked: Peter Pan, PTOC, Small World, Pooh, Snow White, the Carousel, Jungle Cruise, the People Mover, and Toontown. She LOVED Mickey's Philharmagic.

As for a touring plan, ride Peter Pan and Pooh early. If there is a line for either, get a fast pass. Most of the other rides shouldn't have a long line early in the day. If you want to do Dumbo, do that first.

Have fun! And make sure you bring lots of snacks you know your children like. I know my toddler children were picky and did not like most of what Disney offered. It was the wrong juice, the wrong chicken nugget, the wrong hotdog, etc.

 

[katytrott]

We stayed for the fireworks, which were at 10:00...we did not see spectromagic...next time. We watched the fireworks from the Terrace restaurant area...a great view with comfortable seats! We had no problem parking a stroller and enjoying the view! Seems to be a nice little secret!

This is what we intend to do on our next trip. It will be the first time with DS2 and have no idea how to deal with staying up this late with him (will be 9pm). We would love him to be awake to see spectromagic and the fireworks. How do you manage it? We've always had strict bedtime routines so this situation has never come up.

 

[michygoomy]

This is what we intend to do on our next trip. It will be the first time with DS2 and have no idea how to deal with staying up this late with him (will be 9pm). We would love him to be awake to see spectromagic and the fireworks. How do you manage it? We've always had strict bedtime routines so this situation has never come up.

I'm not the person you are asking, but we have strict bedtimes, too, and my 17-month-old fell asleep before Spectro, slept through Wishes and woke up as we got on the bus. She was OK with the routine changes--better than I had even hoped.

She did get to see Wishes one night, though we didn't have a good view. She was pointing to them and clapping and everything. I watched her instead of the fireworks! She also did Fantasmic.

 

[wdwobsessed]

If you are staying on property I would do the morning EMH at the MK ... it is priceless and well worth getting up for.

Head straight for Dumbo like a bullseye on a target ... if you wait even a "short" line takes forever as we found out this past December.

When my son was two we did all of fantasy land with no waits ... hit buzz and a few other things ... had an early lunch at the CP and got the heck out of dodge as the crowds were swarming in!

We always skip the cars - they are too little to drive them anyway and there are too many other fun things to do.

Save IASW for later on as if that line is long I wouldn't want to be in the MK that day!

One regret I have is once we waited in line at Toontown to see Mickey. I'd much rather do a character breakfast to get all our characters in. Worth the price of the meal. LOL

WDWO

 

[katytrott]

I watched her instead of the fireworks! She also did Fantasmic.

I bet I will do exactly the same thing, which is daft because I have never seen Wishes as it started since I last been to WDW. I'm worried my son will be terrified of the bangs - he doesn't like loud, startling noises. He even shrieks at the vacuum cleaner and has just started to get over the hair dryer. I shall try the old ear plugs trip, but how do you tell a 2yo to keep them in . Does anyone know anywhere to watch them where they are quieter within MK. I would love him to see the fireworks and will probably be best to watch them near a shop I can dive into!

 

[BamaFan121s]

I would say FP Peter Pan 1st. It always has really long...well over an hour...waits. We've had great luck making a beeline there 1st.

 

[newfie]

Just wondering if you rent a stroller at one park can you go to another park and get a stroller or will you have to pay another $10 because you have now changed parks

 

[liamandcaili]

I bet I will do exactly the same thing, which is daft because I have never seen Wishes as it started since I last been to WDW. I'm worried my son will be terrified of the bangs - he doesn't like loud, startling noises. He even shrieks at the vacuum cleaner and has just started to get over the hair dryer. I shall try the old ear plugs trip, but how do you tell a 2yo to keep them in . Does anyone know anywhere to watch them where they are quieter within MK. I would love him to see the fireworks and will probably be best to watch them near a shop I can dive into!

If you go to the end of Main Street, you have a great view of the fireworks, they aren't as loud as if you are closer to the castle, and you don't have to fight the crowds to leave. There are better places to see Wishes, but with a toddler, you don't have the option of waiting an hour or more.

As for those wondering about routine, my children have always had a pretty strict routine. However, those routines completely evaporated in Disney. They napped at unusual times, they stayed up later than ever before...the only thing that remained consistent was that they wanted to eat at their regular meal/snack times. Our last trip, DD completely fell asleep right before the Christmas Parade. There was nothing we could do to wake her, so we let other children take her spot, and she slept through the whole thing. However, she woke up for Christmas Wishes, and that was very magical.

 

[BuzzPrincessMom]

Last week we went into MK on the Early magic hours and did Carousel, Dumbo (with 15 minute wait), Pooh (15 minute wait), Peter Pan (15 minute wait) all in about 1 1/2 hours. Went down main street for some pictures with my parents, then back to do Small World and Tea Cups all before lunch.

Earlier in week we were in MK and I vowed to be out of Fantasyland before lunch as it was just too crowded!