Which park to leave out with 3 yr old??

[weeluvdisney]

We are only doing 3 parks because we want 2 leisure days. We will go to parks 4 days but probably MK twice. I am thinking of leaving out MGM because the two rides there the DS3 cant ride. Is that what you would do??

 

[marksor]

With a three-year-old I would leave out Epcot- the park most geared towards cultural attractions and education.

 

[Schmeck]

Why not park hop? At MGM the 3 yr old would enjoy The Little Mermaid attraction, Honey I Shrunk the Kids playround, and Playhouse Disney.

EPCOT has the living Seas and Turtle Talk with Crush, all the great water fountains, Figment, and the KidCot stations in World Showcase.

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

I agree with the OP...I'd leave out MGM as well.

 

[Shooby doo]

I'm assuming that you are talking about the 4 Disney parks in which case I would leave out AK:On most of our visits there we are done by about 2:00 pm in which case you could always Hop to MK & use one of your 2 days to go somewhere else. Although there are some really good things in AK there just isn't enough of them for all the walking about you have to do,obviously WDW know this hence the opening of EE but your 4 y/o won't get on that also I think Dinosaur might also be out.
SD

 

[spacemountain]

Unless he really likes animals, I would leave out Animal Kingdom. There's not as much to do there and it gets hotter than the other parks and is very spread out so there's a lot of walking.

There are a lot of shows in MGM that I'm sure he'd like, like the playhouse Disney one. And in Epcot there's Turtle Talk with Crush and the Figment ride as well as other things.

 

[jcpuppy.com]

Leave out MGM..that park is really blah, if it weren't for rockin roller coaster, it would be totally worthless(I can't comment on ToT as I was too chicken to try it)
Epcot does appear boring, but if you dig around in it they have some good kid things to do. My inlaws took our one dd the one day while the rest of us went to MGM(she is terrified of a lot of rides) and she had a good time, making crafts and learning new things at Epcot.
test track is mild enough after the first trip a scared kid would like it, not sure height restrictions there.

 

[averill94]

Last time we had a short trip we split one day- did AK in the am and MGM in the afternoon. For my family MGM was a highlight - (our kids are Playhouse fans) nothing like the childrens faces when Bear comes out on stage and now the show includes other shows- when Rolie came out I thought DS would lose his mind. Glad we had the video camera (and we are not the type to "record" everything)

Unfortunately we left EPCOT out time did not permit- cant wait to go there in Oct 06.

Have lots of fun

 

[GEM]

I'd leave out MGM. Our toddler LOVES Epcot and Animal Kingdom every bit as much as the Magic Kingodm. It always boggles my mind when people say there isn't much in those parks for little ones.

 

[tinkamom]

I wouldn't leave out MGM if your 3yo is a big playhouse disney fan. Just getting to meet JoJo and The Little Einsteins was the highlight of my almost 3yo's trip! Have you considered getting park hoppers? That way you can do one park in the am and then hop to another in the afternoon. And she LOVED coloring the mask at all the kid stops at EPCOT.

 

[Kimi313]

My vote goes to leaving out Epcot, not much for kids and to me with all that concrete it is even hotter than the other parks. Besides Playhouse Disney, Mermaid, Muppet3-D, and Beauty and the Beast, he may also enjoy the new car show if he is into cars and Fantasmic at the end of the day. He also might like to visit Pizza Planet if he is a big Toy Story Fan. Oh also he might like the afternoon parade, not as crowded at other parades and I think it is around 5:30 which is a little cooler than the 3:00 parade at MK. Hope yall have a great time.

 

[jetprincess]

I would leave out Epcot. We took our 4 year old and it was a snore for her. The Kidcot stations are cute but for older kids. My 4 year old doesn't really get the "countries" concept. She is still trying to understand her own neighborhood, KWIM?

 

[dmaz]

I agree with averill94. If you can split AK and MGM. Both have a few things that a 3 yr old would love. and There's plenty of time to go to AK in the morning get a few things done, take a break and go to MGM later in the day. Just make sure you check the schedule because at certain times of the year the MGM shows stop early for Fantasmic and you'll miss some of the toddler attractions.
We've been to Disney with our children at all ages 8mos, 1 1/2, 2, 3, 4 and 6. I can't imagine not going to one of the parks - they loved them all!

 

[mrzrich]

I'd leave out MGM too. You stated that you had a DS not a DD and for our boys 2 and 5 the Beauty and the Beast and little Mermaid shows were less than thrilling (this may be different for little girls I would imagine) DS2 could only ride TGMR half of which scarred the heck out of him.

I would not leave out AK its our children's second fave after MK. The safari, the lion king, and the train ride to rafiki are there favorites (We don't actually get off the train, its just a petting zoo)

My kids also love Epcot...living seas, the land, imagination, test track, Norway and Mexico are must do's for them

I agree that you should get hoppers do a full day at MK, a full day at Epcot, and go to AK in the AM see whatever you want to, and then hop to see any missed attractions you missed at MK, 4th day go to MGM see whatever you want and then you can hop back to MK or Epcot!

 

[DisDarling]

For a 3 year old, I would leave out Epcot. MGM has Beauty and the Beast, Playhouse Disney, Great Movie Ride, Muppets, Little Mermaid- alot more child activites here than Epcot-IMO.
D.D.

 

[SnoWhiteRabbit]

Park Hop! Are you staying on-site? If so this is what we do...get out early in the am (less heat, less crowded), enjoy a park for a few hours. Either eat lunch in the park and then head back to the hotel, or head back to the hotel, eat lunch and then take a break (nap and/or swim), then head back out around 4:00 - 4:30 to another park (or the same one as the am).

This has worked perfectly on all of our trips, and we've been travelling with little ones of all ages.

Trip 1 - DD 1 1/2
Trip 2 - DD 2 1/2, DD 8 months
Trip 3 - DD 4, DD 2, DS 10 months
Trip 4 - DD 6, DD 4, DS almost 3
Trip 5 - DD 7, DD 5, DS almost 4

I wouldn't do it any other way. We love park hopping -- and taking breaks!

Four days gives you 8 chunks of time (8 half days) for the parks. I'd do 1 half day at AK, 1 half day at Epcot (evening), 1 half day at MGM, and 4 at MK (giving you 2 days for MK), and then you'd still have 1 half day left to decide where you want to spend more time.

Hope that helps. Enjoy!

 

[SnoWhiteRabbit]

Last time we had a short trip we split one day- did AK in the am and MGM in the afternoon.

That's exactly what I was trying to explain in my suggestion -- in case it ended up not being very clear.

 

[cowtownmom]

I say park hop too! I can't imagine leaving any park out!

 

[SnoWhiteRabbit]

We've been to Disney with our children at all ages 8mos, 1 1/2, 2, 3, 4 and 6. I can't imagine not going to one of the parks - they loved them all!

Same here...it would kill me to not get to each park, if even for a half day. We all love all 4 parks!!

 

[weeluvdisney]

I probably left out some important info I should have included in that post like.......we have a DD 15 and DS11 I didn't mention that only because they are just happy we are going on vacation period and said that MK and AK were a must but left it at that. I wanted to do Epcot because the first and only other time we were at Disney was 2001 (and we only had the 2 kids at the time) and we went to Epcot at night and there was so much we missed and also Soarin wasn't there. I also wanted to go to Epcot for the F & G Festival. In 2001 we only had 3 1/2 days and we went commando, we were exhausted when we got home (I was sick on vacation also). I wanted some relaxation, strolling around the resort, and lots of swimming this time. We are not getting park hoppers (too cheap I guess) but you guys talked me into doing all 4 parks instead of MK twice (I think) at Mk, Epcot, and MGM, we will leave mid day after the day time parades to swim and relax and go back for the fireworks shows at night and then on AK day we will leave after the parade and get some rest and relaxation then (I think). These decisions are so hard.....too bad I can't win mea millions lottery and then I wouldnt have to worry about it, lol!!