Which park is best to "skip" with preschoolers?

[kwitcherkicken99]

DHS... DS2.5 was only excited to see Lightning and Mater. He enjoyed Block Party Bash, but that was it.

AK has a lot more to offer. If I had to rank the parks for pre-schoolers, it would be MK, AK, EP, then DHS at the bottom.

 

[Mommy2Jameson]

I took my 2 1/2 year old last year for his first trip for 7 days. I wasn't going to go to EPCOT, but then my teen siblings ended up coming along for the week, so we decided to go. I was SO GLAD we went to EPCOT. He loved all the Nemo stuff! It was one of his favorite rides. He also loved the viking ride in Norway and the boat ride in Mexico. We are super excited to go back this year, because he'll also be tall enough for test track! We'll be spending 1 1/2 days there this next trip.

I think DHS is a MUST as well! They have all the PIXAR stuff there...I know those are my 3 1/2 year olds FAVORITE movies! He LOVE Toy Story mania and having breakfast with the Little Einstein Characters. There is the Block Party Bash Parade with all the Pixar People. And he even rode the Great Movie Ride and LOVED it! We'll also be spending 1 1/2 days here.

And Animal Kingdom is GREAT! I've got it scheduled for 2 days of our 8 day trip this year! He LOVED seeing all the animals. We couldn't hit all the animal displays in one trip w/a little one that age- I liked to let him go at his own pace- No point dragging him through super fast! LOL! He wanted to watch everything FOREVER! He liked the Bugs Life 3D show, and we plan on seeing the Nemo and Lion King shows this time as well!

The BIGGEST tip I have is make sure you have a park hopper. We would do one park in the am, go back and take a nap for about 2 hours, and then do a different park in the evening. Also, we'll be there for eight days, so I planned 4 days of touring, then a rest day on Saturday(because Saturdays are always CRAZY BUSY at all the parks) and then 3 more days of touring. As long as he napped everyday, he was a happy boy!

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

Skip DHS. Hardly any rides and the ones they have are not fun for a preschooler. In fact right now I can't even think of one. Maybe Toy Story, but even that I think is too difficult for them. I only do this park 1/2 day myself.

 

[monorailsilver]

I surprised myself & skipped AK last year.

The past few times we have gone to AK we were sweltering. I think it is the hottest park there.

So since my kids have seen animals at local zoos I knew it would be OK if we skipped it otherwise I'd have crankier kids. I only wanted to go to take my oldest (then 7) on Everest but since she screamed on Space Mountain I knew we weren't going on Everest.

I am sure if we went that they'd enjoy it though. But getting there on the bus with all 3 & the stroller is not what I enjoy (we avoid the bus as much as we can with the stroller).

I could also skip DHS too. We really only go there for one am as we do AK (when we go). My dh wouldn't go to The Little Mermaid since that is a girl thing (he was almost 5). My older 2 (the almost 5 & 7) loved TSM & wanted to go on it again & again & again (not happening with the wait). My youngest (then 2½) loved Playhouse Disney. They thought Pizza Planet was the bomb.

We mainly do MK & Epcot on all our trips.

 

[rainydayplay]

My DD5's favorite two parks are MK & EP. Last trip, we did 5 days in the park -- 2 EP, 2MK, and 1 AK. The trip before that, we did 1/2 day at HS. The only thing that DD really loveloveloved there was meeting the Power Rangers. We saw TLM, but bailed shortly after that. In the future, I'd like to go again (eventually, we're going to save up for that 10-14 day trip, right?) and really explore HS, but I'd still probably limit it to one day. I could spend 2 in AK, and 3 or more each EP & MK, and I think my DD would be thrilled. (In fact...she'd be thrilled to spend the day on Journey Into Imagination. Some one tell my why I bought the park music CD and why she only wants to listen to that song?)

 

[redrosesix]

When we visited WDW DS(5) and DD(3) were least impressed with EPCOT. There is a lot to look at, but a lot went over their heads...especially when all they wanted to do was rides. They did enjoy Nemo and Turtle Talk with Crush, TT, Soarin', and Figment.

This was the case for my DD until she was old enough and they introduced the KP missions. I'm not saying there is nothing for little kids at Epcot, just that they're few and far between and not really better than rides at the other parks.

If I had to skip one with little kids, it would be Epcot -- but your kids will love it when they're older.

 

[LWatson]

My 5 year old had much more fun at HS than AK. We are skipping AK altogether this trip. We really didn't find a lot that appealed to us that we couldn't get at the zoo.

Same here. We might just stop by once on the trip so that DH and I could ride Exp Ev. The kids didnt enjoy it at all and my oldest was crying to leave to go to "Disney" (Magic Kingdom). We did it on our 2nd day there. My kids LOVE DHS though. They liked the Playhouse Disney area, the Great Movie Ride, The Pixar Parade, the Characters, the shows, and the Sorcerer Mickey hat.

 

[stsomewhere]

WOW - surprised at the votes for EPCOT. My ds7 and dd5 have always loved EPCOT.

When they were 2 and 3, I would say they loved: Journey into Imagination with Figment, Play area in let-out area of Figmant, Nemo ride, Turtle Talk, Looking at the Aquarium in The Seas, playing in 'tunnels' in let-out area of Mission SPace, the acrobats, Maelstrom, Boat ride in Mexico, Living with the land Boat Ride, Voices of Liberty at the American Pavilion followed by the show after and the stamps at each country.

My kids love Epcot. Don't forget about the Jumping fountain, there are a a few fountains that come out of the sidewalk the kids can splash in. If you go when they open, meet the characters usually no line. Space ship earth.
My kids fav. churros from Mexico pav.

I don't know if they still do this..The kidcot spots at each pavillion.

 

[pooh4evr]

If I had that much time I wouldn't skip any, or you could probably do both AK and DHS in 1 day- go to AK in the am, do the safari, lion king, nemo, the dinsaur area, and some of the trails (tigers...) then take a break and go to DHS in the evening-
our girls were almost 2 and 4 the 1st time we took them and they loved- the playhouse disney show, the little mermaid, honey i shrunk the kids playground, beauty and the beast show, muppets - and don't forget about toy story mania (haven't done that one yet)
- Since you are going in Dec they might like to see the Osborne lights at DHS too- it is neat to see and watch the "show" (dancing lights to music with "snow"). and the weather shoulkd be nice too - not so hot that the heat will zap them either. JMO-- whatever you do have FUN!!!

 

[buckirj1]

It's probably hard to predict what children will take a shine to on any given day. Try all the parks, but let the kids be the barometer of whether or not you'll stay. If they hate a particular park, leave and go back to the resort or try another park. I hope all of you have a great vacation.

 

[bratmomma]

If I HAD to skip a park with children the age of yours, I would probably skip Epcot. My preference though, would be to hit all the parks.

I would NOT skip DHS! There are several shows (Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Playhouse Disney, etc) that are perfect for their age group. There is also A LOT of character interaction at DHS, at least there was when we were there! The parade is fantastic.

Good luck choosing.

 

[Colinsmom]

On our last two trips, our boys were 5yo and 20mo, and then 6yo and 2.5yo. They both begged for Epcot over and over again - moreso than the MK. So I would never recommend skipping Epcot.

DHS is a bust for our younger son as he hates sitting through shows. Not sure why, but he does. Our oldest likes DHS for a couple of the rides, but we can usually knock off DHS in a long half-day.

AK is usually a shorter day for us. DS6 doesn't like the thrill rides there (too scary - the stories, not the ride itself). DS3 doesn't like to sit through shows. Too bad, because the Lion King show is one of my favorites. Maybe he'll come around on our next trip.

To the OP, I agree with the advice to not skip any of the parks on a 7 day trip, but just make a couple of your days very short park days, and then take it easy the rest of the day. The price difference between a 4 day ticket and a 7 day ticket is only a few bucks.

 

[ilandrazdsw]

This was the case for my DD until she was old enough and they introduced the KP missions. I'm not saying there is nothing for little kids at Epcot, just that they're few and far between and not really better than rides at the other parks.

If I had to skip one with little kids, it would be Epcot -- but your kids will love it when they're older.

Exactly! I look forward to DS and DD being old enough to really "get" the magic of EPCOT...then maybe I can re-experience the magic too, cause it is my least favorite park (overload as a kid!)

The one down side of skipping EPCOT is missing all the yummy food options!