One Full Day in MK with a Three Year Old

[Lilith]

Hi! After lurking on this forum for a while now, and finding it an invaluable source of information, I've decided to join the DIS community! Thank you in advance for weighing in on my first thread!

I'm in the process of planning my family's first ever trip to WDW (any Disney park!). We will be spending six nights at POFQ this September. We are traveling from overseas, and are unlikely to visit WDW again in the next five years, so we really want to maximize our experience without being unrealistic. I will be traveling with my husband and three-and-a-half-year-old son.

We are planning on spending a full day (a Thursday - NO EMH, NO MNSSHP party) at MK. We will take afternoon breaks from the parks on the other days (Epcot, HS, Animal Kingdom), and we want to visit Kennedy Space Center on the Saturday during our trip. So one day is all we're going to do at MK, and we won't be changing our day-by-day itinerary (unless there's a hurricane!). All our FPs have been booked and I've made some ADRs. We are not on any dining plan. So far, our day at MK is planned as follows:

8am Wait for bus. Arrive at MK in time for rope drop.
9am Peter Pan FP
10am Pirates of Carribean FP
12.20pm Seven Dwarves Mine Train FP (not sure about our son riding this - he does meet the height requirement...)
2pm Festival of Fantasy Parade
3.15pm Crystal Palace ADR
7.45pm Fireworks Dessert Party with Garden View (Maybe...Haven't booked yet. Not sure about its value...)
9pm Fireworks

Obviously, we aim to do many of the other rides in the morning between our fast passes. I still need to check out a map and work out which rides will be in the vicinity/on the way to our fast pass rides. I think we'll do shows after our ADR at Crystal Palace. We will base most of our choices around what our three year old would enjoy. He loves rides, but I don't think he will enjoy meeting the characters as much (knows Winnie the Pooh well, the Peter Pan story, and the Disney Junior characters which we'll meet at HS). My husband would like to do Space Mountain and I would like to do the Haunted Mansion (not our three year old). These will hopefully be our 4th and 5th fast passes that we would like to squeeze in somewhere.

Do you think it's unrealistic to spend a full day in the park with a young child in the heat, rain, etc., or do you think we could make it work? Any suggestions are most welcome! Many thanks in advance!

 

[rstevens333]

Can't speak to your child's endurance, but I had good luck adding Space Mountain and Haunted Mansion FPs as my 4th/5ths last September. You'll probably also get offered a lot of Barnstormer- it's a pretty fun, dinky version of how Space Mountain feels. (Might as well, it's like a minute long!)

 

[Valstew]

It is definitely doable but make sure you have a comfortable carriage as even if your little guy doesn't take naps he probably will while there, haunted mansion can be good for a nap for your ds too, there is ac and it's slow moving, my ds hasn't made it all the way through in 3 trips (2 at 2 and 1 at 4). Just take it slow it's a long day.

 

[PrincessP]

September is a great time to visit! Our first several trips were in September.

I agree with previous poster regarding a stroller. It will be good to have a napping spot if you plan to be there all day. My kids are both troopers. Never did a stroller (first trip they were ages: just turned 4 and 6). But we left the park around 2pm so it was very manageable for them. Since you won't be back for several years, I know you want to fit more in than we did when ours were little. I think you should play it by ear....see how he is doing.....if you see his demeanor change to meltdown status, it won't be fun for any of you. So be willing to make a change to itinerary and head back to your resort for a break or to call it a day.

Given your fast pass times, this is what I would do...

Fantasyland
1) PP with FP
2) Winnie-the-Pooh
3) Dumbo if time permits
4) Ariel under the sea if time permits

Adventure land
5) pirates (maybe try to change FP to 11am so you have more early morning time in Fantasyland...lines are most manageable the first two hours the park is open so that is when you can get the most done....and you can't make a 4th FP until you use that 12:20 7DMT FP so it wouldn't hurt to move the pirates FP to 11am time frame.
6) magic carpets if time permits

Fantasyland
7) 7DMT with your FP
As soon as you scan your FP, you can try for 4th FP for space and then 5th FP for haunted mansion after using the space mtn fast passes. I would do them in that order as space mtn FPs are more popular. Or if your hubby is riding space alone and you have no interest you could book your individual 4th FP as haunted mansion and his 4th as space mtn.

8) Ariel under the sea if you didn't do it earlier and time permits
9) dumbo if time permits and you didn't do earlier

10) Teacups? Carrousel?

11) head to a parade viewing area.....do you know the route? You can see from various lands around the park, but it doesn't go through all the lands.

12) crystal Palace ....what a fun meal!

Tomorrowland
Your son might enjoy Buzz while in tomorrow land for space mountain.....and definitely the People Mover (aka TTA...Tomorrowland Transit Authority). Carousel of Progress is Over there....great resting spot and my kids loved it at 4 and 6....we still do it every trip for nostalgia....

Have a magical first trip...
I miss those days when mine were little! Enjoy each moment!

 

[Hisgirl]

Hi Lilith! Sounds like a very fun trip! You say you are coming from overseas....maybe the UK area? I wanted to mention two things. Of all the parks, we feel Magic Kingdom has the most for little ones and was worthy of two days, with each day covering half of the park. It's a long day, especially when there is a tot in tow (even with a stroller, and YES to the stroller 1000%). Honestly, as adults we don't even stay that long. By arriving at ropedrope, by 2-3 pm we are done, pooped, exhausted, hot and sweaty and love going back to relax by the pool.

Sometimes we then go back for time in the evening. (and we always go in April when the temps are typically way less than in September)

The reason I bring this up, and asked where you were coming from is this. September can be brutal hot, as highs in the 90s with high humidity and heat indexes over 100. We are from a southern state and are used to that kind of heat, but pushing through a whole day and night in that heat....with a toddler, could be pretty tough.

Just wanted to throw that out there. Excited for your trip! Such fun to introduce the little ones to the happiest place!

 

[pfanny37]

When we went last August our 3 year old loved Dumbo and Barnstormer, and they are very close to one another. We were able to get our 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th fp as soon as we scanned in for one of them and just went back and forth between them. He had a blast!

 

[Hootch]

We took both our kids their first time at WDW. It can be tough for a kid both being tired and overwhelmed. You can insert some less active things like Mickey's Philharmagic or Carousel of progress to slow things down. You have a light schedule planned which I think is smart.

If you ar at the bus stop at 8:00 AM, you should be able to walk on a number of things in Fantasyland. The 90 minutes or so have shorter lines. I would try Banstormer to see how your child reacts and look at Big Thunder. That's a big jump in thrill rides. My son liked it but some do not.

We just stayed at POFQ last month for our sixth time. At least you do not have to worry about multiple bus stops or long walks. They have a new water area for kids under 48 inches which looked like fun.

 

[Lilith]

Thank you all so much for your suggestions! Really helpful!

Can't speak to your child's endurance, but I had good luck adding Space Mountain and Haunted Mansion FPs as my 4th/5ths last September. You'll probably also get offered a lot of Barnstormer- it's a pretty fun, dinky version of how Space Mountain feels. (Might as well, it's like a minute long!)

Good to know about the ease of getting additional FPs to SM and HM. We were hoping to be able to clock in for more earlier in the day, but 12.20pm was the earliest slot we could get for SDMT, our third FP. Barnstormer sounds perfect - didn't know about that ride!

It is definitely doable but make sure you have a comfortable carriage as even if your little guy doesn't take naps he probably will while there, haunted mansion can be good for a nap for your ds too, there is ac and it's slow moving, my ds hasn't made it all the way through in 3 trips (2 at 2 and 1 at 4). Just take it slow it's a long day.

Although my son hasn't been in a stroller for over a year now, we will most definitely be taking a reclinable one with us!

 

[Lilith]

September is a great time to visit! Our first several trips were in September.

I agree with previous poster regarding a stroller. It will be good to have a napping spot if you plan to be there all day. My kids are both troopers. Never did a stroller (first trip they were ages: just turned 4 and 6). But we left the park around 2pm so it was very manageable for them. Since you won't be back for several years, I know you want to fit more in than we did when ours were little. I think you should play it by ear....see how he is doing.....if you see his demeanor change to meltdown status, it won't be fun for any of you. So be willing to make a change to itinerary and head back to your resort for a break or to call it a day.

Given your fast pass times, this is what I would do...

Fantasyland
1) PP with FP
2) Winnie-the-Pooh
3) Dumbo if time permits
4) Ariel under the sea if time permits

Adventure land
5) pirates (maybe try to change FP to 11am so you have more early morning time in Fantasyland...lines are most manageable the first two hours the park is open so that is when you can get the most done....and you can't make a 4th FP until you use that 12:20 7DMT FP so it wouldn't hurt to move the pirates FP to 11am time frame.
6) magic carpets if time permits

Fantasyland
7) 7DMT with your FP
As soon as you scan your FP, you can try for 4th FP for space and then 5th FP for haunted mansion after using the space mtn fast passes. I would do them in that order as space mtn FPs are more popular. Or if your hubby is riding space alone and you have no interest you could book your individual 4th FP as haunted mansion and his 4th as space mtn.

8) Ariel under the sea if you didn't do it earlier and time permits
9) dumbo if time permits and you didn't do earlier

10) Teacups? Carrousel?

11) head to a parade viewing area.....do you know the route? You can see from various lands around the park, but it doesn't go through all the lands.

12) crystal Palace ....what a fun meal!

Tomorrowland
Your son might enjoy Buzz while in tomorrow land for space mountain.....and definitely the People Mover (aka TTA...Tomorrowland Transit Authority). Carousel of Progress is Over there....great resting spot and my kids loved it at 4 and 6....we still do it every trip for nostalgia....

Have a magical first trip...
I miss those days when mine were little! Enjoy each moment!

Thank you so much for all this wonderful detail you've added to our itinerary! So, so helpful. I'm definitely going to try to adjust the PoC FP time to 11am - makes such good sense!

I don't know the parade route yet, but will check it out. Are there any premium viewing spots that you suggest?

Thank you for the good wishes! We are so excited for this trip!

 

[Lilith]

Hi Lilith! Sounds like a very fun trip! You say you are coming from overseas....maybe the UK area? I wanted to mention two things. Of all the parks, we feel Magic Kingdom has the most for little ones and was worthy of two days, with each day covering half of the park. It's a long day, especially when there is a tot in tow (even with a stroller, and YES to the stroller 1000%). Honestly, as adults we don't even stay that long. By arriving at ropedrope, by 2-3 pm we are done, pooped, exhausted, hot and sweaty and love going back to relax by the pool.

Sometimes we then go back for time in the evening. (and we always go in April when the temps are typically way less than in September)

The reason I bring this up, and asked where you were coming from is this. September can be brutal hot, as highs in the 90s with high humidity and heat indexes over 100. We are from a southern state and are used to that kind of heat, but pushing through a whole day and night in that heat....with a toddler, could be pretty tough.

Just wanted to throw that out there. Excited for your trip! Such fun to introduce the little ones to the happiest place!

Thanks for your perspective! We are from Cape Town, South Africa, where we have a very moderate climate and will be just coming out of winter. We will be spending some time in Boston before WDW, but I'm sure it won't be nearly as hot and humid there as it will be in Orlando! Realistically, we probably will take some strain in the heat and humidity. We'll just hope for the best and plan for the worst. If necessary, we'll leave the park after the parade. My initial plan was to do a CP lunch straight after our SDMT FP and head back to the resort for a break. But then I remembered the parade, and thought we had to include it as my husband is very keen on seeing it and has been showing my son YouTube vids of it. I'm also loathe to lose the CP Winnie the Pooh character dining experience. We'll definitely play it by ear, but try and put a workable Plan A in place in the meanwhile. Doing a second day at MK is not an option for us with wanting to fit in the other parks and Kennedy Space Center. Thanks for sharing our excitement with us!

 

[Lilith]

When we went last August our 3 year old loved Dumbo and Barnstormer, and they are very close to one another. We were able to get our 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th fp as soon as we scanned in for one of them and just went back and forth between them. He had a blast!

Glad to hear your three year old had a blast. We'll keep our trigger finger on the FPs for sure! I am loving the ease of the Disney App. Dumbo and Barnstormer noted!

We took both our kids their first time at WDW. It can be tough for a kid both being tired and overwhelmed. You can insert some less active things like Mickey's Philharmagic or Carousel of progress to slow things down. You have a light schedule planned which I think is smart.

If you ar at the bus stop at 8:00 AM, you should be able to walk on a number of things in Fantasyland. The 90 minutes or so have shorter lines. I would try Banstormer to see how your child reacts and look at Big Thunder. That's a big jump in thrill rides. My son liked it but some do not.

We just stayed at POFQ last month for our sixth time. At least you do not have to worry about multiple bus stops or long walks. They have a new water area for kids under 48 inches which looked like fun.

Thanks for suggesting Mickey's Philharmagic and Carousel of Progress. Noted, perhaps for later in the day.

We are excited for POFQ. Chose it for its size - can't believe how big the other resorts are in comparison! It looks really beautiful, too, along the river. I think our son will really enjoy the new water area, and the marshmallow roasting!