Only 4 Days With a 19 Month Old .. How Many Days for Each Park?

[becka]

Well since we have decided to go ahead with a trip early next year I am back to planning. We did decided to cut back on the length of the trip so instead of 8 days we will now only have 4 days. We will be getting 4 day hoppers and I would imagine that unless there is some problem we will be hitting the parks each day.

DS will be almost 20 months for this trip and this will be our first trip with kids. I figure that MK is probably where we should spend most of our time but I don't entirely want to short change or even eliminate the other parks. We do want to take it easy and I would imagine that we will probably need to go back to the room for a nap everyday from Noonish to 3ish (We may try to see if he will nap in his stroller one afternoon but don't want to do that everyday). Since we are going in the off season (Feb 7-12) the parks will close early and we won't have too many park hours to work with and we are going to have to prioritize.

Would you suggest leaving out one of the parks? Those of you who have travelled with young toddlers - how long did you spend in each park? My current thinking was 2 days in MK, 1 day at AK and 1/2 day each in MGM and Epcot but I just don't know if that sounds right?

Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[DisOrBust]

Our first trip to WDW was when DD#@2 was 17months. Anyone who says not to do WDW when they won't remember it never saw the sheer joy on her face as she discovered the parks! She was in heaven EVERYWHERE! I would not rule out one park versus the other because of the age. Emily loved The Lands ride as much as Peter Pan. Everything was a hit. We avoided the "scary" dark rides ie Honey I schrunk, HM, ETC.

As far as returning to the room for naps we tried and she never napped. Usually she fell asleep in the stroller on our way back to the parks. All in all she had the most fun of everyone and was much better behaved then my 5yo!!

 

[tjkraz]

Our son was 18 mos (see photo below) when we first took him to WDW. If you're planning to make your son's experiences the focus of your trip, here is what I would recommend:

1 Day MK
1 Day split AK / Epcot
1 Day MGM

Then keep the last day open to go back and catch anything that you may have missed, or just make it your second day at MK.

IMO, it's easy to split a day between AK and Epcot because AK will likely close at 4-5pm while Epcot remains open through the Illuminations fireworks at 9pm. Some may disagree with this comment, but I don't believe there will be much of interest to your son at Epcot. Some of the attractions may catch his eye, but they will be few and far between.

Some people refer to MGM as a half-day park, and sometimes that's true. But if you want to see Fantasmic in the evening, just plan on spending your entire day there (less nap time).

If you're going to try for a nap in the stroller on one day, I'd suggest your AK day. The parade will run just before closing, and many consider it the best parade currently at WDW. If you are at your resort for nap time until 3pm, it just isn't worth your time to get all the way back to AK for the parade and maybe one attraction.

 

[Planogirl]

You never know about kids. Our son really liked Epcot when he was small and actually learned to appreciate MK more when he was older like around 3. He loved Food Rocks, Figment, El Rio del Tiempo, the maraccas for sale in Mexico, "the big ball" both inside and outside, Cranium Command and running around in the Wonders of Life, the Living Seas (but no ride part now!), the sparkles in the sidewalk and Horizons (RIP). We all really enjoyed Epcot, the only problem being that DS was terrified of Illuminations at that age. Conversely, he adored Spectromagic and the fireworks. Animal Kingdom wasn't open yet and the Disney Studios were OK but had less for him to do.

We handled each day by getting to a park when it opened since DS was an early riser anyway. We would play all morning, eat lunch and DS and I would both nap in our room while DH relaxed or walked somewhere. Then we always headed out just before dinner and played until the park closed. We also made it out to Downtown Disney one evening which was another big hit for DS.

 

[swilphil]

I think 2 days at MK is perfect. I agree that Epcot is a great place for young kids, mainly because it's so unlike the other parks. My kids loved World Showcase. They were able to get out of the stroller a bit more and it was a nice change of pace. I wouldn't go to it on your first day, but it's great for the middle or end of the trip. I wish we would have skipped AK and gone to Epcot for a whole day. AK had very little for my 3 yo and 1 yo to ride. I also agree that MGM takes a full day. Your son will enjoy the shows. Make sure you visit the play areas at each park: MK's Toontown, Epcot's Norway Viking Ship and MGM's Honey I Shrunk the Kids Playground.

If your son is pretty content in his stroller, he will probably be happy no matter where you go. There is so much to look at in all the parks. We did take breaks although naps were a little difficult to come by, but they eventually did sleep. We liked going to two parks in one day, but we were there in the summer. I have read about some people who get on the monorail and just ride around while their kids sleep. That's not for me, but an idea.

 

[kalamazoo]

Looks like you're going to get a certain number of conflicting opinions, except that everyone seems to agree that MK is the place to be.

As for the other parks, I would definitely allocate more time to Epcot. Aside from the rides, there are lots of performers throughout the park - lots of music, acrobatics, etc. Best of all, they are all outside so if your child gets restless you can simply move on instead of trying to deal with a squirmy toddler in an auditorium.

Which brings me to MGM which IMO does not have much for the very young. Even the playground, which is really neat, is not designed for toddlers because it is easy to lose sight of them (there are lots of in's and out's). Furthermore because of this set up it's pretty easy for the little kids to get knocked into by the older kids. As far as shows are concerned, there are a few that might attract a toddler, but they still might get restless sitting through the whole thing. The only show which saves me from recommending skipping MGM altogether is Playhouse Disney. I would recommend going to Playhouse Disney for this show and basically spend the rest of the day at another park otherwise just skip it altogether.

AK is a good park if your child likes animals. You wouldn't take a toddler on Dinosaur, Kali Rapids and Primaeval Whirl or see It's Tough to be a Bug, but other than that you could do anything else. You will probably spend a lot of time in the Boneyard. Generally I agree that a full day is needed to fully appreciate AK, but you can see a lot in half a day too. Plan a full day if you can and see how it goes.

Don't forget to leave time for swimming at your hotel.

 

[Spartan]

On our last trip, our son was about 20 months. We spent most days at MK, and most nights at Epcot. MK had the most rides he liked, as well as the charactes, but Epcot seemed to give him to most freedom to run around. Epcot has a lot of the little things that seemed to thrill him. He could stand around all day looking at fountains, and all the lights and torches around WS at night seemed to "awe" him. We thought he'd like AK because of the animals, but he ended up falling asleep as we walked the trails, wouldn't sit through the Lion King show, and was only mildly impressed with the Safari. I think we were only there for about 4 hours. At MGM he loved the playground (he got soaked on the wall where the water comes down), but other than that, there wasn't much for him to do. The only time he was scared the entire trip was during Fantasmic, so that didn't work out too well. We thought he'd like the shows, but seemed to get bored with all of them. I think each kid is different, and each trip as well. We're going again this year after Thanksgiving, and he'll be over 3 for this trip. He's so much different now, but who knows how he'll react to things once we're there.

 

[mommyflower]

My ds first trip was in Aug 2002 and he was 18 months. He had a wonderful time. Are you staying on property? If so you could take advantage of the extra magic hour at some of the parks if your ds is an early riser. My ds is but they didn't have the extra magic hour when we there, but we will be there in dec 2003 and plan to take advantage of it. If your ds likes animals definitely do the AK safari. My ds liked the lion king show, the tarzan show, and camp minnie-mickey. In Epcot he liked the Living Seas, Imagination, and some of the music presentations in the countries. IMO spliting a day between AK and Epcot works well. But it all depends on what you think your ds will enjoy. We looked at maps of each park and picked out the must do's and went from there. My ds ended up loving the characters so we did a lot of meet and greets. I would say majority of your time will be in MK. Also in MGM playhouse disney was great. DS also liked lt. mermaid, fantasmic, the meet & greets, and the parade. We also had mid day breaks for naps. The difficult part about that is getting to see the parades. If you think your ds would sleep in the stroller comfortably you may want to consider using that time to walk around and enjoy the sights of WDW. Also we tried to go to DTD during nap time one day, unfortunately my ds is a light sleeper and woke up, but he ended up having a great time playing in the fountains with my DH.
Sorry this is so long. I would say look at the maps and pick out what you would like to do then make up a schedule. But remember to be flexible, after your first day you may find your ds likes somethings more or doesn't like somethings at all. I know it is hard to plan this way, but in the end it works out well. We went thinking my ds would not like the characters but that ended up being his favorite part!

 

[MickeyMamma]

We took my son to WDW this past January at 19 months. He had a ball there.

To put it simply, I would suggest

Day 1 - MK
Day 2 - EPCOT
Day 3 - AK (AM) and MGM (PM)
Day 4 - MK

My son's favorite was MK because he loved getting to see all the characters. He did well at EPCOT too. The rides were calm enough and he loved walking around World Showcase and looking at all the different buildings (there are also alot of characters in and around the countries).

AK is nice because he love animals, but with the amazing Zoo near where we live, it only has about 1/2 a day of stuff for him to do. MGM has lots of thrill rides and not as much to do either so it is also a good 1/2 day. BTW I have been warned that Fantasmic can be scary for toddlers, but I have not seen the show yet myself to have an opinion on this.

MK was definately his favorite. My best advice to you is to make just a general plan, but be ready to change things and go with it according to your child's temperment and the weather.

Remember to take time to relax and enjoy yourselves too.

 

[Mouse Ears]

I have 3 daughters and have been to Disney with the first 2 at about 18 months and will take my youngest in December at about the same age.

I agree that flexibility is the key. Even if you have a good daytime routine/schedule at home, they will have so much sensory overload at WDW that it will not be a routine day no matter how hard you try.

I would recommend early morning at MK or AK. By getting an early start, you will be able to do a lot very quickly. After covering Fantasyland at MK, head over to Toontown for its opening time (a little early even). That is a great time for one-on-one with the characters and exploring Mickey and Minnie's houses.

Then spend afternoon and evenings at Epcot or MGM (or more MK). Don't avoid any park entirely if you can help it. There are some great attractions for this age group in every park. Epcot is a great park for just strolling around, taking in the sites, getting a snack, etc. as others have said.

Have fun!!! It is a great age to take. They may not remember much, but you will!

 

[CamColt]

I think it depends what he likes. Does he like to sit still and watch shows at MGM (DS at age 20 mos never lasted for a full show, LOL), or would he rather play with the interactive stuff at Epcot.
What I would use as a basic plan is I would split the 4 days all in half taking a midday break, so you would have 8 park visits in all...

1 AK(1 morning, w/EE)
3 MK(2 mornings(1 w/EE), 1 evening)
2 Epcot(2 evenings)
2 MGM(1 morning, 1 evening)

Working with those I would take into account what DS would prefer and adjust it from there. And of course, once the hours are out you can decide if you want to do Fantasmic, fireworks & spectro if available, etc...and adjust again.
Good luck, and have fun planning!