What parks with a 7 year old daughter??

[Shelly Pierce]

Hi! I'd love to hear suggestions about what parks to see with our 7 year old daughter. Our trip is mid November. We'll get there on a Th afternoon and hopefully the weather will allow us to relax at Stormalong Bay and ge settled in.
We'll have FR, SAT., and SUN. to tour parks. Some guide books say to leave Magic Kingdom for last so that children don't expect all of Disney to be like it is. But then I also hear that Magic Kingdom is most crowded on the weekends. (Maybe that's not an issue in Nov. though).

Epcot sounds wonderful and we're in walking distance.

?Between Animal Kingdom and MGM? I know everyone's different, but would love to hear what those of you with 6-8 year olds liike to do!

Should we get a 3 day park hopper pass or just 3 single day passes? I was thinking the "hopper", just in case of a "change of mind" or a 2nd quick trip into Epcot, since we'll be so close (BCV).

Don't need a water park.....we'll have a great pool at BCV.

I'd love all your ideas. I don't need to schedule every minute, but would like to have a "game plan" in mind!!

 

[Memaw2Wm]

Things my 7 y.o granddaughter likes:

Animal Kingdom:
The Boneyard -- loves to run around and dig in the "sand"
Safari Ride -- she loves animals
Flights of Wonder -- bird show
Pohantas show -- more animals
Kali River Raft Ride

MGM:
Little Mermaid show
Honey I Shrunk the Kids Playground
Muppets 3D
Great Movie Ride
Indiana Jones
Star Tours

She's too short to ride the Rock'n Roller Coaster but would if she could, but the Tower of Terror scared her to death.


EPCOT:
Misson Space
Test Track
Journey into the Imagination
Honey I Shrunk the Audience
Toll House Cookie Baking (in the Land)
Ride inside Mexico
Malstrom (Norway)

We haven't completely "explored" Epcot so there may be more things she'd enjoy. My nieces (4 & 6) enjoyed making masks in World Showcase.

Magic Kingdom:
Everything
Favs are Space Mtn, Big Thunder Mtn & Haunted Mansion

I'd get hopper passes as we usually hit one park in the morning, take a break and hit a second park in the late afternoon.

I also usually schedule one PS ressie per day ... since you are there 3 days I'd do one breakfast, one lunch and one dinner.

Maybe Chef Mickey's @ the Contemporary for breakfast (Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Minnie, Chip and Dale), Crystal Palace (Magic Kingdom) for lunch (Pooh, Tigger, Piglet and Eeyore) and dinner at 1900 Park Fare @ Grand Floridian (Cinderella, Prince Charming, Fairy Godmother and the mice, Suzy and Perla).

Both my g'daughter and g'son (8) enjoy making pressed pennies, so fill an empty M&M minis tube with quarters and pennies (2 quarter, penny, repeat). The small tubes hold 20 "sets" the giant (6") tubes hold 60 sets. Pressed penny books are available in the gift shops for about $6 and hold 36 pressed pennies ($0.51 each) and 6 pressed guarters ($1.25 each).

I think Friday is suppose to be the least crowded day for Magic Kingdom, so I'd do MK Friday, Epcot/MGM on Saturday and Animal Kingdom/MGM on Sunday.

HTH

 

[Shells9]

DD will be 7 in just a few days. She actually prefers Animal Kingdom over Magic Kingdom (is she really my child???? ).

She likes AK because she loves Lion King, so Festival of the Lion King is a MUST. She also likes characters, so the Meet and Greets, which we have always found pretty assessible in AK are also a must. She says the safari ride makes her feel like the Crocodile Hunter , and she loves water rides, so Kali is also on our list. She is also a big Rain Forrest Cafe fan (I can eaily leave it), and for some reason she really likes Pizzafari, too. She just loves AK.

I'm sure your DD will enjoy anything you do! Have a great trip!

 

[Shelly Pierce]

Thanks! This is SO helpful...keep the ideas coming!!

 

[HopperFan]

Mine always want to do the Magic Kingdom first. It is where the magic begins for them. We tried to save till later once, but there was anxiety everyday about when we would get there. Also if she really likes it and you can hop.... Maybe on another day if she has her fill of a park, you can sneak back over for a couple hours. We have done that too !

Don't miss Spectromagic, the best parade ! The MK daytime parade is not their best, and I would spend my time on rides while the crowds are at the parade.

I would say Animal Kingdom is a good one. She can do everything there and it is a beautiful park, peaceful, characters, animals and shows. Parade is supposed to be very good !

You may want to check on MGM as there is a great deal of "construction" going on. I heard, not sure, the playground is closed. My daughter hated Star Tours at that age and Indiana Jones is full of explosions (and you feel the heat) so that may not be something she'll like.

We kept saving EPCOT and once we went (my daughter was 8) they LOVED IT. At the first country she sat down with students from Canada where they started her on a mask. At each country she added something (ie: origama from Japan). They signed her autograph book, stamped the country, wrote her a note in their language and she was just fascinated by each country's culture. Was hard to get her to move on to the next country. The front was fun too for everyone. Illuminations is beautiful.

I would vote MK on Friday, then AK and EPCOT on weekend. Save MGM for another trip. We are skipping this year.

 

[Shelly Pierce]

Thank You!! This sounds like a very good plan! I think you're right about starting "the magic" with MK! Some great tips for us!!! I've heard others say that Epcot was fantastic for this age and ended up being one of their favortie days. And since my daughter isn't "into" a lot of those movies, MGM might be skipped this trip.

 

[tjmw2727]

My girls are 7 and 9 and I don't think my kids could wait to see MK - it has to be the first for us!

Personally I would do the Park Hoppers and hit the MK first thing in the morning before the crowds get to bad and then move to another park.

You can do all of fantasyland in the first hour if you get to the park at opening! We generally hit the MK in the morning and do one land each day and then hit another land for a while until it gets to crowded. Our other morning park is Ak again at opeing and pick a few must do attractions and stay until we are done or its to crowded or hot. Our afternoon and evenings are usually MGM or Epcot, they tend to stay open later and IMHO handle the crowds better.

I just can't recommend any particular attractions as we love them all!! If you have never been just enjoy what you are doing and don't worry about missing anything!

I would get the WDW for Kids By Kids guide book and have your dd help pick a few "must do's" at every park.

Again, take your time and soak up the atmosphere, stop to watch the performances and try not to get caught up in the must do it all dilemma!

TJ

 

[Shelly Pierce]

Thanks....good advice! I wasn't looking for actual ride or attractiona advice anyway....more just what parks seemed to be best for a 7 year old and what to do first, etc.