Must do's for a two old boy in Magic Kingdom?

[pmanko]

Taking my active 2 1/2 yr old son to WDW this December, week before Christmas. Staying at the AKL - Kidani village. Plan is two days at MK and one day at AK.
What are the must do's at MK?

Any suggustions for our "off" days - we have two planned inbetween park days not counting travel days......... and thinking the pool thing may not work due to cooler December weather...

Thanks!

p.s: he loves the pirate stuff - but, waiting in line not so much...

 

[sherylcin]

If you're doing any character meals, I'd say don't miss Crystal Palace with all the Pooh characters. We've been going regularly on big family vacations (with kids and grandkids) for 10 years now with the grandkids ranging from infants to 10 years. All of them really loved (and recognized) the Pooh characters. The buffet there is very good too!

 

[Disneychix]

My DS loved anything with water. The fountain right next to Crystal Palace by the Baby Changing room, he lvoed that!
*He spent quite a bit of time playing in the Poohs playground next to Dumbo. They have a matted floor and water squirters, as well as slides and tunnels. It was a good place for him to blow off steam from waiting in lines and being in the stroller.
*He loved Dumbo and Aladdin's Carpets.
*He liked riding the train.
*Teacups were a hit
*Tommorrowland Speedway was fun for him and daddy! He didn't want to get off!
*Cindy's Carroussel was another hit!

Any reason why you're taking 2 non-park days? If you're already getting 3 day tickets the extra days above that are only like $7 more per day. Even if you go for a couple hours it's worth the money IMO. I'm only suggesting this as it might be too cold to swim like you said.

 

[em6668]

The train is a must. Little boys that age love trains to begin with and it also is a great way to sit down and rest while still enjoying the park.

One note of caution...you mentioned going to Animal Kingdom. Please think long and hard before taking your son into It's Tough to Be a Bug (inside the tree) I have seen grown men freak out in this show. This particular 3D adventure is terrifying for young ones.

Have a great trip. December is a great time to go. I would not totally rule out swimming. I have experienced some warm days in December and the Disney pools are kept very warm.

Another option for an "off day" is to head over to Fort Wilderness. There is plenty to explore over there. Your son may enjoy seeing all of the animals housed over there including the Main Street horses.

 

[MSSANDRA]

Any reason why you're taking 2 non-park days? If you're already getting 3 day tickets the extra days above that are only like $7 more per day. Even if you go for a couple hours it's worth the money IMO. I'm only suggesting this as it might be too cold to swim like you said.

I agree. There is so much that a toddler will love at Epcot as well and if you have hoppers it's a great place to go at night.

We have done December and it was too cold for a toddler to swim though my teen did, but been in January and it was ok so you can never tell!!

In MK, pretty much everything he is tall enough for would be fine. Might want to avoid Snow White as that does frighten some children.

 

[Kcat1971]

My son loved the playland back in Toon Town. He loved meeting characters we just watched for no line opportunities and saw a bunch. There is another playland back by Thunder Mountain Railroad that was fun while we were waiting for the big kids to finish rides. There is also a play area across from the Winnie the pooh Ride.

The Trains are a definitely a big hit. Also Astro Orbitor, Dumbo, the tomorrowland transit train, the Buzz Lightyear ride.

There is tons to do with little ones.

At AK, the dinosaur dig was a big hit with my boys. There is a playland there too.

It sounds like we spent lots of time in the playlands but really we just made quick stops to burn off energy. We mostly did the Disney things.


Max says this is banana guy.

 

[ktlm]

We took our very active then 2 yr 10 month old for her 1st trip last December. If I had tried to get by with a day without going to the parks it would have been ugly. In fact, it was ugly when we tried to get her to leave the park for an afternoon break- all we got back at the resort was an angry kid who absolutely refused to nap. We learned real fast that naps in the stroller were the way to go with her. She had a great time, other than the afternoon break meltdown, she was better at WDW than at home. I would take your 2 off days and go to Epcot and DHS too. My DD absolutely loved Epcot. You might be surprised about the line waiting. DD is terrible about that at home, but she figured out really quickly that there was always something good at the end of the line at WDW, so she was a perfect angel in line.

 

[PrinceCharmingsMom]

My son has been going to Disney since he was 5 months and he LOVES It's a Small world, but his favorites are Pirates of the Carribean because of the boats and water and his very favorite is The Haunted Mansion. This last trip we did Aladdin carpet ride and Dumbo...he was about 15 months...he liked the going around but not so sure about the up and down of it...He loves Character interaction anywhere but doesn't like the Characters that are real people like Tinkerbell, Peter Pan, etc. If you can see the face forget it...he doesn't scream...just not a fan.

The train is a must both at Magick Kingdom and Animal Kingdom especially since that one leads to bugs and animals....

Have a blast..that's a great age to enjoy them there!

 

[pmanko]

My DS loved anything with water. The fountain right next to Crystal Palace by the Baby Changing room, he lvoed that!
*He spent quite a bit of time playing in the Poohs playground next to Dumbo. They have a matted floor and water squirters, as well as slides and tunnels. It was a good place for him to blow off steam from waiting in lines and being in the stroller.
*He loved Dumbo and Aladdin's Carpets.
*He liked riding the train.
*Teacups were a hit
*Tommorrowland Speedway was fun for him and daddy! He didn't want to get off!
*Cindy's Carroussel was another hit!

Any reason why you're taking 2 non-park days? If you're already getting 3 day tickets the extra days above that are only like $7 more per day. Even if you go for a couple hours it's worth the money IMO. I'm only suggesting this as it might be too cold to swim like you said.

WELL - DUH!? THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR CLUEING ME IN ON THE TICKET THING?! WOW! I have been so busy with all the other details, i.e. lodging, airfare, magic express, grocery delivery, etc that I never contemplated the price difference really - other than comparing the hopper and no expiration tickets to the base - I don't think I ever really looked at the price difference between the 3 and 5 day ticket!! It's a no-brainer!! I think it is like $5 extra to get the 5 day base ticket! Who whould have thought?! Obviously, not me! But, for sure we get the 5 day and on our scheduled "down - nonpark" days we can at least shoot to Epcot for a few hours or one of the other parks to check out stuff we may have missed....

THANK YOU FOR ALL THE GREAT TIPS! I AM UPDATING MY "NOTES" TO INCLULDE THEM!

 

[pmanko]

THANKS TO ALL FOR THE GREAT IDEAS AND TIPS! I AM EXCITED AND I KNOW WE'LL HAVE A GREAT TIME!

 

[esk]

When DS was 2, we took him twice and he loved, loved, loved that playground at AK (the Boneyard) and the petting zoo at Rafiki's something or other, after the train ride. He also really got into the Playhouse Disney show at DHS, meeting Lightening McQueen there, and also the Honey I shrunk the Kids playground.

He rode the carousel probably 10 times in a row. Seriously. He liked Tomorrowland Transit Authority, and loved the Epcot Ball (brain dump, what is it again?). We did not do Snow White, too scary, but he did like Pooh (Heffalumps and Woozles can be scary) and Peter Pan. The show in Frontierland with the big dancing bears, he liked that, and the riverboat cruise.

Epcot, we basically only went there for dinner, so DH and I could eat at Germany or Canada. DS got nothing out of Epcot except the big white ball.