Need help deciding parks for 3 year old - 2 days

[AnnieLytical]

Hey all!

We booked a very impromptu trip for May 27-30. May 27 and 30 are driving days, so we have the 28th and 29th to go to the parks.

This will be my 3 year old son's first visit.

We are staying offsite.

Park hours for the 28th

MK 9a - 12a
EP 9a - 9p
HS 9a - 10p
AK 9a - 7p EMH 8a - 9a

Park hours for the 29th

MK 9a- 12a
EP 9a - 9p
HS 9a -10p EMH 8a -9a
AK 9a -7p

My original idea was just MK both days. We want to avoid the EMH hour parks since we are offsite.

But then I heard about Frozen maybe opening up in EP around that time.

And then Rivers of Light should be up and running in AK by then.

I've considered HS just because my son is a Toy Story/Disney junior nut.

But we will be going at a much slower pace and that is why I picked MK both days. I doubt at 30 days we could get FP+ for TSMM in HS anyways. AK might feel like a big zoo to him, and really he isn't the biggest Frozen fan and even told me he didn't want to wear his Olaf socks because that's for girls.

Am I over thinking other parks? Should I just stick to two MK days?

Thanks!

Oh and PS - does anyone have recommendations for specific stroller fans?

 

[pa. dad]

MK one day is easy.
You could do 2nd day at MK, AK or EP. HS has a lot of closed attractions now so personally I'd steer away from that.
How big are you on animals? That may be your big factor as to the AK or not.
EP has a lot to do and it is a big park.
I'd try a different park on day 2 - you won't know until you try it.

 

[jacknsally19]

There is no way I would suggest HS right now - it is not worth it.

My DD (4) loves Epcot but it's mostly bc of Duffy, the princess M&Gs, the aquarium, and the Figment ride.

Animal Kingdom is pretty great if you like shows - the Nemo puppet show, FOTLK, and the birds of prey are quite fun for little ones.

I would suggest planning on MK for both days.... If at the end of day one, you feel like you could spend a lot more time at MK do that. If you are done with MK - do Epcot or AK based on your kids interests. I find that the FPs aren't too difficult to get at those parks.

 

[2Gma]

I would personally would get hoppers and pick MK one day and DHS/AK the other. I didn't feel there was enough to do at Epcot when my kids were younger (4 & 2). Nemo & Turtle Talk were fun and we liked the meet & greets with princesses but they were too small for most of the other fun rides. If the Frozen ride was open and we had FPs then I'd go otherwise it will just be too crowded when it first opens in my opinion. If you DS is into Disney Junior then DHS would be fun with the show, character meet and greets opportunities and the muppets. Plus being a young boy he might like Indiana Jones show? I don't know if Lights, Motor, Action is still going on, might be closed now. Ak is a fun park for little ones with Safari, Dino play park & small Dino ride (forget name). Some fun meet and greets are there too! I would NOT do Tough to be a Bug show. Most of the kids screamed when we went, there is one kind of scary scene with Hopper & "bug spray/fog." Whatever you decide will be great, there is so much to do and see that the hardest part will be slowing down and getting rest!

 

[Tara1988]

If you want to get park hoppers, I'd do mk both days with a quick hop over to hs and ak to do the best attractions for him there. Otherwise, I'd stick to both days at mk. There's not enough at any other park at that age to justify a full day when you only have 2 days available

 

[mm1971]

Without park hoppers, I would say MK and AK. At 3, your get the magic of MK and most young kids love to see the animals. I know the dig site in AK was a huge hit and we had to dragged the kids out after an hour or so to move to other things. With the new Star Wars Launch Bay and Toy Story are, HS may be fun if you have park hoppers and can do that along with AK in one day.

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

I would do MK and EP.

 

[Cptnkirky]

I would suggest doing MK one day and AK the other day. I have a 3 y.o. and animals are much the thing right now for most this age. The safari, Lion king show, the trek and train and dig site are all well received with young ones. I would have said HS, however they are such a mess right now with renos, it isn't worth it. EC is a nice park, but not so much for kiddos, especially not the little ones. We are doing EC on our trip in May, but we are really going more for the adults and the F&G festival (and we were just at AK in Sept). If you can add park hoppers, then do a little time in EC on the second day to visit the F&G gardens and playgrounds, but that can be a lot of stuff in one day for that age. Plus AK is adding so much nighttime stuff, it should be great!

 

[Cptnkirky]

Oh, and I missed the fan question... we had one and it was terrible. Falls off and usually breaks (by fall or kid playing). I suggest the mister fans you can get at walmart or similar. The kids love to play with them and they are cheap and work well. They don't attach, but mine usually held it with her anyway (wouldn't let it go)

 

[Minniemoo15]

We just got back with our 2.5 yo. We did 2 days, MK and EP. I think she liked EP almost as much, if not more than Mk. She liked Nemo, turtle talk, spaceship earth, living with the land - and her absolute favourite, meeting Mulan. She especially loved World Showcase and all the "shows" (Voices of Liberty, Japanese Drummers, Chinese acrobats). Her #1 favourite restaurant of our entire trip was Biergarten - she loved dancing to the musicians !

I thought our Epcot day would be more for us, but she really loved it. Illuminations was earlier than Wishes so it meant that she could stay up to watch them , which she loved.

 

[squirrel]

I'd do MK the first day and AK the second. Those were my nieces favorite parks. I have found that AK is a more go with the flow park-you don't have to schedule a lot or be there at opening to still get a lot done. It would also give you a bit more of a rest after a long day at MK. AK has two great shows that I would be sure to see and then the Safari ride. All other things are also great but if I couldn't fit them in then I would still be fine.

Epcot would be a great second choice but it is so big you would feel as though you barely saw any of it.

I'm glad you are planning on bringing a stroller. If you can get him to nap at MK you will find that you can do a lot of rides in the late evening in a much shorter time. We loved doing the evening EMH at MK when it closed at 1 or 2 am. Some rides we could just stay on and not have to get off each time.

 

[AnnieLytical]

Thanks everyone for the help!

We do have park hoppers, so I have some thinking to do!

 

[DopeyDame]

Since you have park hoppers, I'd do MK one day, and then AK in the morning of the second day then Epcot in the afternoon/evening of the second day. Or maybe even MK/Epcot then AK/MK.
Avoid DHS. Even under the best of circumstances it's not great for preschoolers, and soooo much is closed and under construction right now that it would just be a huge waste of what little time you have.

 

[ajwolfe]

With hoppers I think I would do Epcot/MK one day and AK/MK the other day. There isn't enough at DHS right now to justify it with your short trip. And I think AK and Epcot both have several things your little one would enjoy at that age - Nemo, Crush, Safari, all the animals, etc.

 

[MinMou]

I would check the crowd calendar, and use that to figure out which parks will be easiest to get around.
If your son likes Toy Story and at 3, likes Disney Jr (Handy Manny, Jake, and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse), I vote for HS, and see Disney Jr Live on Stage. Our son was totally enchanted at that show.

 

[DisneyParkLover]

With hoppers I think I would do Epcot/MK one day and AK/MK the other day. There isn't enough at DHS right now to justify it with your short trip. And I think AK and Epcot both have several things your little one would enjoy at that age - Nemo, Crush, Safari, all the animals, etc.

This is what I would do. I think it is okay to skip World Showcase with a three year old. So I would hit Epcot at rope drop one of your days (check crowd calendar). I would go straight to Test Track and ride standby. Then hit up the other kid friendly rides - Spaceship Earth, Figment, Living with the Land, Nemo. Enjoy the aquarium. See Crush. Visit Duffy and/or Mickey Character Spot depending on who your child likes. Plan to switch to MK around midday. Have FPs booked in MK on the afternoon for long wait rides (maybe 7 dwarves, Peter Pan, and one other?). Then hit up as many shorter line rides or rides with a 4th FP available as you can until evening entertainment. Maybe plan a sit down lunch in the middle as this is a long day.

Normally for AK I would recommend the exact same strategy. Hit it at rope drop and then midday switch to MK with FP+. IF evening entertainment is up and running at AK by then (who knows), then I would reverse the plan to be at AK at night.

YMMV, but that is what I would do with two days with my almost 3 year old.

 

[JSDad]

Posted too early, cant find delete post

 

[JSDad]

I would do Epcot/MK day 1, fast pass for MK must-dos starting around 3pm and rope drop for front Epcot rides & walk through world showcase, and consider Akershus lunch if you can ADR & want to meet princesses or Biergarten if DS likes music & dancing. Our little ones love the outdoor train layout in Germany, the dancers in Italy, walking thru Morocco & Japan - plenty to see and do for little ones in Workd Showcase IMO...but 2 days means you want to be choosy. I would recommend a sit down lunch because this will be a long day.

Then AK/MK on day 2, early start to hit safari first thing, try for lion king and nemo shows, I feel like dig site is optional on short timeframe, then to MK for fast passes of the things you didn't get to do day 1.

Most important is to take cues from your son, go at his pace, and be sure to focus on enjoying what you can see, dont stress about hurrying based on the plan. If it gets to be too much, our little ones got re-energized by just riding a loop on the monorail .

 

[T00dles]

Mk and Epcot ftw! Our 2.5 year loved Epcot! Flower and garden was going on, she loved the playground and all the flower displays. She also liked the kidcot, where you can color a Duffy bear in any or all of the countries. We spent an hour or so in the park by ourselves doing those thing plus meeting the ugly stepsisters, she had a blast! She also fell in love with the train set in Germany. We had to go back because she couldn't stop talking about it. I didn't mind, it was a nice place to have a beer. And yah she also loved the hot dogs at Biergarten.