Which Park For a Three-Year-Old?

[DisneyPiPhi]

We are planning a Disney trip in April, when my daughter will be 3.5 years old. We definitely plan to do a Magic Kingdom day and a Hollywood Studios day. (We did not go to HS last year, and she will enjoy the Frozen stage show and the Disney Junior show.)

I am trying to decide between buying three-day tickets and going to Animal Kingdom, or buying the water parks option and going to Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard Beach.

For some background information, my kiddo loves both swimming and animals, which is what makes this a tough decision! If it matters, we are also staying off-site at a friend's condo that was offered to us.

Any advice on Animal Kingdom versus a water park?

 

[Maggie'sMom]

I'd go with Animal Kingdom. A Disney waterpark won't provide a much different experience for a 3yo versus any other waterpark you might go to near your home. Animal Kingdom has the safari, the Festival of the Lion King show, the Finding Nemo show, the Affection Section, character greetings, and plenty more to keep a 3yo entertained.

 

[Hudson Hornet]

My two year old loved Animal Kingdom. The safari, it's tough to be a bug, the festival of the lion king, finding nemo, and the character meal at tusker house made for a great family park day. She also enjoyed the play area while I took big brother on some of the thrill rides.

I always find AK to be a good place to spend a day at a leisure pace, yet it also has enough to keep you really busy if you prefer that kind of park visit. But after spending a day at MK, a nice laid back visit to AK is just the ticket for me.

 

[Hootch]

I will triple DAK. There are a number of things that are age apprpriate for your daughter. I will add Flights of Wonder, the exploerer badge stops based on Up and looking for the anomal carvings on the Tree of Life as things she might enjoy.

 

[cakebaker]

I'm with everyone else so far- I'd do AK over a water park anytime, but especially with a 3 yr old.

 

[lustergirl]

AK and MK

 

[Ava]

Adding to the votes for AK. Or, you may find you'd rather spend a second day at MK. There are a lot of rides & characters there, and almost all of them are 3-year-old friendly. If you have a 3-day park ticket, you can flex that 3rd day and decide the night before what you'd like to do.

 

[minnie mum]

Definitely AK. There's more than enough there to entertain a 3 year old. I think she might be a bit young to take advantage of what the water parks have to offer.

 

[LBlovesM&WDW]

I would absolutely choose AK over the water parks, but the previous post about a second day at MK is a very good thought. On your first day, you'll likely miss certain attractions/characters or you may want to repeat those wonderful experiences.

 

[WIcruizer]

Depends how much of a "trooper" she is. I would do one day at MK, and then the other two days you can cover AK/HS/MK using park hopper.

 

[eastendlights]

Another vote for AK. You can swim anywhere. There is no where else that you will find a setting to equal AK, IMO. Nemo and FOTLK shows are enchanting, the Tree of Life is amazing, just walking the trails, taking in the atmosphere and seeing the animals is an extremely enjoyable way to spend time. When my son was a toddler, AK was his favorite park, we had to basically drag him away from The Boneyard-LOL and he also adored the shows and animal trails . There is so much to see and do there I never understand why some people consider it a half day park.

 

[ktlm]

When DD was 3, her favorite parks were MK and EPCOT. If your DD likes Princesses, Epcot has a ton of Princess meet and greets. DD much preferred EPCOT to AK, but we have a really good zoo at home. If we did not have a good zoo at home, she might have been more interested in AK at that age. Since we did, she wanted Disney characters and rides or shows that involved some sort of Princess. She did not want to see the same type animals that she could see at home. She wanted to see some characters and see the Lion King show and then she was done with AK at that age. She was a Princess nut, and AK does not have a Princess presence at all, so she begged to go back to MK or EPCOT after about 2 hours there.

 

[MischaOz]

I would do a second day at MK. For your daughter's age that is the place to be, and it easily takes more than two days to enjoy, especially going at a 3-year-old's pace. Have fun!

 

[mshanson3121]

Yup, definitely AK!