Must Do's for Magical Moments with 1.5 & 5 year old?

DisWishes720

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jun 18, 2008
Messages
275
It's been 4 years since we've taken a "first time" little one to the parks. We've also always gone with a large group of adults and our trips have been very "adult centered". This trip we are hoping to really focus on things the kids do, and especially awesome first time "must do's" for our little toddler.

What are your must do's or great experiences at the parks or otherwise in Disney for little ones? Any must see attractions, character meals, hidden treasures that we can't miss? We have 2 little boys. :)

TIA!!!
 
My son is 2, and here are a few of our favorite "firsts" with him:

-First Mickey ears hat (you can get them at the Chapeau on Main Street in the MK)
-First time meeting Mickey. You can't beat meeting him at Town Square at the MK, where he talks.
-Frist character meal. While Chef Mickeys has the Fab 5, the food gets so-so reviews. We've had great experiences at Tusker House in Animal Kingdom and Garden Grill at Epcot. Garden Grill has Mickey, Pluto and Chip and Dale, but the food is served family style, brought to the table, so you don't have to deal with juggling plates and kids at a buffet.

Also, here are his favorite things to do at each park (we are passholders and only live a couple hours away, so we go semi-frequently... and he's very vocal about his must-dos).

MK - Jungle Cruise, Magic Carpets, Small World, Dumbo, Speedway (have to be 32" to ride). Also, don't miss the Festival of Fantasy parade at 3 p.m. We usually are able to grab a front-row spot in Frontierland about half an hour before and pass the time with a Mickey ice cream bar/Dole whip break. Your older son also might like exploring Tom Sawyer's Island if there's time.

Epcot - Living with the Land, the Seas with Nemo, Journey into Imagination. Imagination was a great interactive play area immediately after for that age. My son also likes to sit in all the display cars and "drive" while we child swap on Test Track. UK also has a hedge maze for them to get some energy out.

Hollywood Studios - This is the hardest park with a toddler right now. There's a Disney Jr. Live show, as well as some Disney Jr. character meets. Our son was also fascinated trading with the Jawas and loves to meet Chewbacca. Your boys might like Sci Fi because you get to eat in cars, but it would work a lot better if your toddler can sit in a booster seat instead of a high chair.

Animal Kingdom - We did a day trip to Disney yesterday, and this was the park he picked. There's Kilimanjaro Safaris, Lion King and Nemo shows, Triceratop Spin (a dinosaur version of Dumbo). Don't miss the Boneyard, which is an awesome playground, and has some smaller slides for your toddler immediately to the right when you enter. If you go up the stairs and across the walkway, there's the dig site, where they can dig up fossils. It's almost like a small pebbly sand, instead of fine sand, so it's easy to brush off. Also, with kids those ages, don't miss taking the Wildlife Express Train to Rafiki's Planet Watch. First, it involves a train. Second, there's a great, clean, petting zoo where they can brush goats (with hand washing stations at the exit). The number one thing he wanted to do yesterday: "Go brush the goats!"
 
What a great thread, I'm following along!
... we will also go for the first time with these exact same ages, but two girls!

I'm thankful for any replies, too!
 
My son is 2, and here are a few of our favorite "firsts" with him:

-First Mickey ears hat (you can get them at the Chapeau on Main Street in the MK)
-First time meeting Mickey. You can't beat meeting him at Town Square at the MK, where he talks.
-Frist character meal. While Chef Mickeys has the Fab 5, the food gets so-so reviews. We've had great experiences at Tusker House in Animal Kingdom and Garden Grill at Epcot. Garden Grill has Mickey, Pluto and Chip and Dale, but the food is served family style, brought to the table, so you don't have to deal with juggling plates and kids at a buffet.

Also, here are his favorite things to do at each park (we are passholders and only live a couple hours away, so we go semi-frequently... and he's very vocal about his must-dos).

MK - Jungle Cruise, Magic Carpets, Small World, Dumbo, Speedway (have to be 32" to ride). Also, don't miss the Festival of Fantasy parade at 3 p.m. We usually are able to grab a front-row spot in Frontierland about half an hour before and pass the time with a Mickey ice cream bar/Dole whip break. Your older son also might like exploring Tom Sawyer's Island if there's time.

Epcot - Living with the Land, the Seas with Nemo, Journey into Imagination. Imagination was a great interactive play area immediately after for that age. My son also likes to sit in all the display cars and "drive" while we child swap on Test Track. UK also has a hedge maze for them to get some energy out.

Hollywood Studios - This is the hardest park with a toddler right now. There's a Disney Jr. Live show, as well as some Disney Jr. character meets. Our son was also fascinated trading with the Jawas and loves to meet Chewbacca. Your boys might like Sci Fi because you get to eat in cars, but it would work a lot better if your toddler can sit in a booster seat instead of a high chair.

Animal Kingdom - We did a day trip to Disney yesterday, and this was the park he picked. There's Kilimanjaro Safaris, Lion King and Nemo shows, Triceratop Spin (a dinosaur version of Dumbo). Don't miss the Boneyard, which is an awesome playground, and has some smaller slides for your toddler immediately to the right when you enter. If you go up the stairs and across the walkway, there's the dig site, where they can dig up fossils. It's almost like a small pebbly sand, instead of fine sand, so it's easy to brush off. Also, with kids those ages, don't miss taking the Wildlife Express Train to Rafiki's Planet Watch. First, it involves a train. Second, there's a great, clean, petting zoo where they can brush goats (with hand washing stations at the exit). The number one thing he wanted to do yesterday: "Go brush the goats!"

This is amazing! Thank you so much for this. I love the idea of the parade (which we've never done) and spending more time at Animal Kingdom. My 5 year old is OBSESSED with Star Wars so we'll be sure to take some time with that as well. Thanks so much!
 












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