Need some planning help.

[Darcy03231]

I'm looking into taking my niece to WDW some time during the next year (she's 4.5 now). Its been a long time since I've been with small children. I know that there will be a lot for her to do in MK, but, as I recall there wasn't a lot for little ones at Epcot. I really don't remember spending much time there when the kids were that age, but did as they got older. Right now I'm thinking we could spend a full day at MK and then another two days hopping between Epcot, MGM and AK. Is my memory right or will we need a full day for each of the parks?

 

[Desnik]

My DS is 4.5 and his favorite park is Epcot! Especially because of the ride Soarin! There is a lot to do there for kids IMHO. There are the kidcot stations, Nemo ride, and so much more! There have been so many threads on Epcot for kids you can do a search to find them. I would say you can do a half a day at AK and MGM. I would do 2 days at MK and at least one day at Epcot. For us we go to Epcot 2 days and go in to see Illuminations at Epcot at least 3 times during our trip. It's our favorite fireworks show.

 

[JodyLynC]

My girls were 2.5 when we went before. This trip they will just be 5. We all love Epcot!!

Nemo and Soarin are new this time, but here is what we did before and what they loved.

Living Seas - The girls loved the fish in the aquariums
The Land - We rode the boat. They were fascinated by the "neat plants!"
Journey to Imagination the ride. (We are staying away from Honey, I shrunk the audience. Too scary IMHO.)
Spaceship Earth
World Showcase:
- Kidcot Stations
- Sampling foods from every land (Fish & Chips in England, Pastry in France, etc.)
- The shows (we saw acrobats, dancers, musicians, mimes, all were great!)
- Gift shops in each land. (Have a scavenger hunt in each country. Look for a chocolate, a savory snack, and a postcard)
- Pics around the world - Pick a location in each country to pose in front of. When you get home, put these pics in an album and call it "My trip around the world."
- Maelstrom and Rio del Tiempo - Fun Rides!

We are planning a day and a half at Epcot this trip!! We can't wait!

Also, we are going to learn how to say Hello, Good-bye, and Thank You in each language before we go. (Momma will be making cheat sheets, of course.)

 

[DVCisME]

Epcot has changed alot in the last few years. There are a great deal more activities for the kids to do know (many mentioned in prior poasts). But you probably do not need a whole day at AK. It seems to be a lot of walking for the little ones and the rides are rather spread out. Dinoland, It's a bug life, and the safari about sum it up with little ones IMO.
You might spend more time at MGM do to the Playhouse Disney, muppets, little mermaid, and the live shows.

 

[irene_dsc]

Epcot has changed alot in the last few years. There are a great deal more activities for the kids to do know (many mentioned in prior poasts). But you probably do not need a whole day at AK. It seems to be a lot of walking for the little ones and the rides are rather spread out. Dinoland, It's a bug life, and the safari about sum it up with little ones IMO.
You might spend more time at MGM do to the Playhouse Disney, muppets, little mermaid, and the live shows.

Well, with dd3.5 & ds6, we were at AK from about 9:30-almost 5, so a pretty full day. We could've spent more time there, but had ADR's at Boma, tho I suppose we were also running out of steam by then, too. I think it depends a lot on whether your kids like animals or not - my ds especially was sooo excited whenever he saw any! (We also lucked out with cool weather, so lots of animals were out.) We did one of the treks while waiting for our safari FP's, Kali River Rapids (ds & dh rode it 3x!), the bird show, then Dinoland stuff. We purposefully skipped It's a Bug's Life, since the kids are scared of most real bugs already. It may have helped that we went to Epcot 1st, then AK, before MK, so they weren't focused on simply going from ride to ride.

MGM/DHS seems like a half-day park, but can be hard if you have certain shows you want to catch that are only on at certain times.

And we easily spent an entire day at Epcot...

 

[Darcy03231]

Thanks everyone. It looks like I'm just going to add another day to the trip. I really don't want to feel rushed through the trip as this will most likely be the only time she goes. I'm planning on going in late October 2008 so hopefully the crowds won't be too bad.

 

[ajcolorado]

Have you seen this article on Epcot with young kids?

http://www.buildabettermousetrip.com/article-epcot-with-young-children.html

 

[TheDizMom]

The only park my kids aren't hugely fond of is Disney Studios. They love AK and Epcot. There is so much to do for young ones at both places. I guess it will depend on how many days you go. I am a 1 day per park advocate and if at all possible 2 for MK.

 

[Darcy03231]

Well, I decided to extend the trip to 5 days and cut out the hopping and water park options. Price stayed about the same by doing that. This way we'll have a day for each park and 2 days at MK. I figured with a 4 y.o. we'd be lucky to get through a park each day, never mind hopping around.