Toddlers at Epcot and MGM?

[soccerchick]

Will be taking DH and DD(age 2) to WDW in March. It is the first trip for both. I haven't been since 1984! Is it worth it to do Epcot with a 2 year old? Is there that much for her to see and do? Also, what about MGM? I know they have Bear in the Big Blue House. Would you recommend doing extra days of MK instead? We will be there for 5 days.


Thanks to all of you who post to this board. I've learned so much!

 

[dkfogt]

We always have great luck with characters at both of these parks. My DD (then 2) found Mulan in China at EPCOT, Snow White AND the dwarves in Germany......Terk, Rafiki, and Timon in between.
MGM had all the Pooh Characters, Meg, Hunchback, Pinnochio, Belle, Esmerelda, Buzz, Woody, Jessie, Donald, Daisy............etc.

We found them much easier to get to and ALL OVER THE PLACE (Aug 2000) in MGM.

 

[susy]

We went with our DS (age 3 at the time) in November. Our plan was to do MK and AK. My advice on those two is to get there early!!! We were there for opening (arrive 40 minutes early) and got to see everything we wanted before lunch, ate an early lunch (while the rest. are still empty) and took a break around 2. You will want to go back to your room for her nap and to change and freshen up for the evening. We ended up going to Epcot (2 nights) and MGM one night. We arrived around 4:30 or 5:00 - walked on to a few rides at MGM and had the most relaxing , quiet dinner at the Brown Derby (everyone was at Fantasmic). If you want to do specific shows at MGM, find out the show times ahead . At Epcot he loved Spaceship Earth, Living Seas, Ice Station Cool, and we had the best dinner at the Garden Grill . He just LOVED the characters. He also loved Tapestry of Dreams, but we had to leave when Illum. started (he doesn't like fireworks). Even though Epcot or MGM may not have a lot for the real little ones, it was great in the evenings-just to stroll them around and tour in a "more relaxed" way... Have a great time!!!!!!!!

 

[MinnieGi]

We went in Nov with our then 14 month old and our friends had a then 2 yo and we did both EPCOT and MGM. They had a fine time at both. You might want to mix your days up though say MK in the morning and afternoon break and then EPCOT at night. As the previous poster said these two parks do offer lots of character sightings. The coutries at EPCOT are so easy to stroll around with a toddler and offer you some good browsing shopping time. We tried on hats from each country and took pictures of the kids. They came out really cute.

At MGM a don't miss is Playhouse Disney that showcases Bear in the Big Blue House that was a lot of fun. Both the kids pointed away with delight that Bear was up on stage!

 

[Planogirl]

Our DS loved Epcot when he was two. Two of the rides he liked best are gone now but there's still a lot IMO. He loved Spaceship Earth, El Rio del Tiempo, the Leapfrog Fountain (he could have stayed there all day ), the Mexican pavilion, the play areas in Norway, the sparkles in the sidewalk at night, the talking fountain and wandering through Innoventions. He got a kick out of some of the performers in the World Showcase and liked the food at the Liberty Inn. We spent most evenings at Epcot that year.

The Studios is fun too. Besides Bear, you have the Little Mermaid (a bit dark and Ursula can scare some kids), the Muppets, Indiana Jones (loud explosions), the Beauty & the Beast show, the Hunchback show and the characters seem to be everywhere!

I personally wouldn't miss any of the parks.

 

[robsmom]

We took our 2 1/2 DS in December. The MK was great for him. We spent about 1 1/2 days there. Mickey's toontown was cute but small(check out Minney's kichen) and he really liked the barnstormer rollercoaster. Even with 3 or 4 rides on that we did the whole area in about an hour each day. We didn't spend an hour waiting to see Mickey, because we had seen him other places. Most of fantasyland is fun at this age but listen when people tell you a ride is too scary. My husband insisted that we take my son on Snow White which was a VERY BAD IDEA. A friend of mine had given us a series of Disney books when my son was born. A few months prior to our trip, I went through and pulled out stories that had rides/attractions at Disney. We started reading them at night. I realized how well this worked when I saw DS's eye's light up at the site of Dumbo and at Cindererlla's castle.

The AK was also a huge hit with my son. He loved the safari.

MGM has a number of things a toddler can do. The bear in the big blue house show has been updated to include all of playhouse disney - rollie pollie ollie, stanley, the book of pooh and Bear. The honey I shrunk the kids playground was a great place to let him run off steam, but can be a bit stressful on the parents. There are times that DS would climb up to the top and there would be 3 or 4 slides he could come down, they face different directions and you can't see them all. I had my mother-in-law and husband and we still lost DS twice. Fortunately, I had posted my father-in-law at the only exit. His job was to rest (he needed to sit) and just make sure DS didn't leave.

I didn't find epcot that good for DS, but I have to confess that I personally don't like EPCOT. My husband loves it, so we did spend some time there. I found the fountains near test track that DS could play with and he liked to watch the colored fountains up front. We took him on the boat ride in Norway and terrified him. We also (biggest mistake of all) took him on energy and he was terrrified of the dinosours. Eventually, my husband admitted the errors of his ways and we to the monorail to MK.

Have fun.

 

[Synonymous]

The best thing about Epcot for little kids is the live entertainment. There are fun shows in every country of WS, as well as in FW. Lots of music, with room for kids to dance. Acrobats, drums, all kids of stuff that will delight little ones. Be sure to follow the show schedule and see as many as possible.

 

[susy]

I felt I had to post to this again and stress that we did Epcot at night, when our son was content to just ride around in his stroller (the fountain was beautiful) and look at things. Kids are different. Only you know what your child would like or not like. Had we stayed at Epcot all day , it may have turned out differently. I am planning on it in March, though. I guesswe'll see!

 

[soccerchick]

A big thank you to all who took the time to reply! I hope to be able to share information with others after my trip. You've given me some great input.