Which parks best for toddlers?

[charlie2969]

This will be my daughters' first trip to Disney. They are 2 and 4. This first year, we don't want to overwhelm them, so we are only going to spend two days at the parks. I know that I want to spend an entire day at Magic Kingdom. What other park(s) would you recommend? We'll have two-day hopper passes, so we could hit two parks that second day. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[josierac]

I would say either AK or MGM

AK has camp minnie, mickey/ Lion King show/ Tarzan Show/ Pocahantas show/ diggin site/ petting zoo.

MGM has Playhouse Disney/ Little Mermaid/ Muppets 3D/ Buzz and Woody characters/ Beauty and the Beast show/ Hunchback Show and Fantasmic/ Honey I shrunk the kids playground/

 

[DisPadre]

It depends on what days of the week you plan on spending at the parks. Remember that other than Saturday (9-8pm) MK is only open from 9am - 6pm. Also Saturdays are busier than most. We have a 1 yr old DD and a 3 yr old DS. We went last week Friday and Saturday to MK. We were there from 9-5 on Friday with no nap break for the 3 yr old and a 1 hr nap for the 1 yr old. We saw the Dreams parade at 3 pm over in Frontierland. Saturday we were there from 9-7:30 again with no nap breaks. We saw the Spectromagic parade at 6:20 again in Frontierland (Grabbed a table by the street at Peco Bill's at 5:30 to eat dinner and had a front row seat for the parade), then we saw the fireworks at 7:00pm. It couldn't have worked out better. Bottom line is there's plenty to do at MK for two days. We only had a couple repeat rides. IMHO there just isn't as much for the real young ones at the other three parks. We did however go to Seaworld for a day. The kids loved the shows, Shamu, dolphins and especially Pets Ahoy (dog and cat onstage play)!!

 

[DisPadre]

Also, if you decide to spend both days at MK, skip the hopper passes. By a single-day ticket and upgrade to the second day and save $5 per ticket.

 

[catwho]

It is very easy to spend 2 days at MK without getting bored. However, if you aren't wanting to overwhelm you kids, consider a day at AK. It has a slower, laid back pace that helps ease that "Disney Frenzy" that people tend to get in. We use it as either our middle day or our last day.

Whichever park you decide, your kids will love. We made the mistake of thinking that our kids wouldn't get anything out of Epcot or MGM. Boy was that wrong! There is something at every park for every age!


52 more days!

 

[sgtpet]

EPCOT!!!

 

[Dream]

I too would vote to spend both days at the MK if you only have 2 days with little girls this young. My dd is 11 and still gets carried away with the MK "magic". But if you want a little change of scenery, my vote would be MGM. With little girls, head straight to the little Mermaid. Muppett 3-D is a do not miss with kids this age as well as the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground (if it has re-opened). Didn't it close recently for refurbishment? Not positive about this one. This playground is awesome and really breaks up the craziness of the day for the kids. You will have to watch your 2 year old though...lots of bigger kids and you know how kids get on a playground...esp THIS one! Have fun!!! What a magical age this is!

 

[Chess]

We took our DD's in Feb. 2001 when they were 2 (almost 3) and 4 and are taking them again this February. What I found was that our daughter's enjoyed different things in different parks. My 4 year old loved ToN (Epcot) so much that we had to go back the next night so that her DS and Pop-pop could see it. MGM they did not like. Of course this could have been because we had done MK the day before and MGM does not have real "rides" as my DD's put it. My thought this February is to do MGM before we do MK so the kids don't have MK to compare it to as I really feel there are things they would like there such as Little Mermaid, Sesame Street 3D, Disney Playhouse, Beauty and the Beast show and Fantasmic. Looking over what I just wrote, IMHO I would probably just do MK for 2 days if you are only going to go to the parks for 2 days. I would try to make it a day when they have Spectromagic and Fireworks even if this means taking a break during the middle of the day. If you can, I would make an early breakfast reservation for Cinderella's Castle or the Winnie the Pooh breakfast. This allows the kids the chance to see some characters up close before the day begins. My 2 year old was afraid of the costumed characters until the end of the week so I was glad we sarted with Cindy's -- good interaction , good pictures, and decent food.

 

[charlie2969]

Thanks so much for all of the suggestions. I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet. I'll keep reading the boards. We don't leave until March 10. I'm definitely going to try to make reservations for Cinderella's breakfast at the castle. Thanks again. Can't wait.

 

[sgtpet]

MGM has the playhouse Disney stuff and I don't know how you bring a child to WDW and not go to the Magic Kingdom. My DS was 12 months old and loved the MK as well as MGM. Good luck getting breakfast at the castle.

 

[antkim]

I just have a question-Where do you get a 2 day hopper pass?

 

[charlie2969]

I'm attending a conference on Disney World property, and attendees can purchase 2-, 3-, 4-, or 5-day hopper passes. However, they expire 10 days after the end of the conference.

 

[antkim]

Thanks for the reply!Iwish I could get my hands on a pass like that.We are going to WDW next Saturday-Friday but we only intend on seeing MK,AK and MVMCP since we will be traveling with a nearly 3 year old.We don't want to over do it with him-not worth making him miserable with exhaustion!We also have tickets to Sea World so we are doing our share of touring but I would love to see even a little bit of everything.Finacially it is not really worth buying the hopper passes unless we can spend a whole lot of time in each park!
Have a great trip!
Kim

 

[momx2]

I don't think WDW sells 2 day park hoppers. I would do Magic Kingdon both days and get a single ticket and buy your 2nd day ticket before you leave and you'll save $5 per ticket. I took my 3 1/2 DD this past Sept. and we went to all the parks, but made several visits to MK. IMHO AK is a 1/2 day thing (we like a regular zoo better for young kids), Epcot, she enjoyed, but wasn't overwhelmed and MGM she liked the least, but she doesn't like sitting still for shows. Your kids may be different. Have a great trip!

 

[gymnuts]

I too have young children 2, 5&6. I have always felt obligated to visit all the parks. Last two trips were 5&7night trips. We will be going on a 9 night trip this time and my only real plans are to spend at least 3 days at MK and 1 at AK. Maybe MGM. Epcot doesn't thrill me at all. My kids found it very boring. If I was going for 2 days I would probably spend the entire 1st day at MK. Then 1/2 day at AK then head for MK to ride all the great rides the kids really enjoy!

 

[Crow]

AK and MK!! My son loved AK at 4, and while he wasn't as interested in MK...I think it would have been better if we had planned it a bit better. We went in the afternoon, and he didn't get a nap...a bit cranky, and way too many people...

something else to consider though, the bulk of the celebration is at MGM this year...

 

[ChiTownZee]

If I could only do 2 days with my daughter (who is now 4 and has been going to disney since she was 1) I would do MK and MGM. MGM is my fav, and my daughter has ALWAYS loved Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid, she has always watched these shows with such amazement. At 2 months shy of being 2, she was laughing hysterically at the muppets 3D show (she loved that little bird guy) She has know ridden Star Wars and Tower of Terror (a little green after that one, but she wanted to go again!) She LOVES Fantasmic, has gotten picked to dance in front of Bear in the Big Blue House, and don't even get my started about Buzz and Woody. Magic Kingdom is a must, but in our family MGM is too!