Young Kids @ Epcot

[LeeAnn]

Planning ahead for our time in Epcot w/ DD 2-1/2yr and DS 16mo.

Are these attractions good for young kids?


EHM - Mon (In 2 Weeks) 8:00A

• Leave a Legacy
• Spaceship Earth
• Innov. East (Make a Plastic Robot)
• The Land - Soarin' (For adults w/ FP & Baby Swap)
• The Land - Living With the Land (Is this good for kids-Keep them interested?)
• The Land - Making Cookies
• Imagination - Honey I Shrunk The Audience
  
  [*]Imagination - Journey Into Your Imagination With Figment (Good for Kids?)
  [*]Imagination - The Image Works
  [*]Depending on time, Character on Holiday @ Showcase Plaza
  

• ADR 12:10 PSB Lunch
• Character on Holiday if missed eariler.
• Innov. West for "Meet & Greet Character" sometime after 1:30P

LEAVE for Mid-Day Break - Nap 2:30/3:00P
Return at 6:00P for World Showcase.

Do I have enough time for...
Attractions @ Mexico & Norway, Kidcot at all countries, and eat the different foods from IF&W Festival... and get an OK spot for Illum.


Good plan or too crazy?

We are missing the thrill ride... will miss them but happier w/ the kids having fun. Skipping Ellen's Energy Adventure - thought it may be too long and not keep kids attention.

What do you think? Thanks for the help.

 

[SammieG]

Planning ahead for our time in Epcot w/ DD 2-1/2yr and DS 16mo.

Are these attractions good for young kids?

EHM - Mon (In 2 Weeks) 8:00A

• Leave a Legacy
• Spaceship Earth
• Innov. East (Make a Plastic Robot)
• The Land - Soarin' (For adults w/ FP & Baby Swap)
• The Land - Living With the Land
  [*]The Land - Making Cookies
  [*]Imagination - Honey I Shrunk The Audience
  
  [*]Imagination - Journey Into Your Imagination With Figment (Good for Kids?)
  [*]Imagination - The Image Works
  [*]Depending on time, Character on Holiday @ Showcase Plaza
  

• ADR 12:10 PSB Lunch
• Character on Holiday if missed eariler.
• Innov. West for "Meet & Greet Character" sometime after 1:30P

LEAVE for Mid-Day Break - Nap 2:30/3:00P
Return at 6:00P for World Showcase.

Do I have enough time for...
Attractions @ Mexico & Norway, Kidcot at all countries, and eat the different foods from IF&W Festival... and get an OK spot for Illum.


Good plan or too crazy?

We are missing the thrill ride... will miss them but happier w/ the kids having fun. Skipping Ellen's Energy Adventure - thought it may be too long and not keep kids attention.

What do you think? Thanks for the help.

Ok.. in terms of your attractions..

Leave a legacy... well unless youre looking for your own tile, I suspect that will not entertain a child for long! BUT, you never know!!

Spaceship Earth.. This has been a favorite of my DS since he was 1 year old.. so thats probably a good move (we use it for sleeping time.. but he still loves it!)

The plastic robot making is great fun.. BUT it wont be an interesting activity for the family. You have to go through a whole energetic computer game before you can make the robot and you or your husband will be doing that as the kids are too small! Its also quite lengthy... about 20 minutes maybe...
Im not sure that as a family you will all be entertained. Its a great activity for 5 years and above I would say. The computer game involves a lot of running and jumping on the spot!!! MY son (now 5) thinks this is a really cool game... but before you play the game you have to design your robot and practice running etc.. so its not something that a 16 month old or a 2 year old are going to be that intersted in....

Having said that, there are some GREAT things in innoventions these days, so it is most definitely worth a look! There is a great toon town computer game that they might enjoy watching..

Living with the land. This is pretty ok for kids. Its quite educational.. but more interesting for the adults I should think. The kids will probably like it on a superficial level.
Cookie decorating.. that I am sure will be fine if you think they are up to that!

Honey I shrunk the audience.. This is pretty intense. I certainly wouldnt take my children on there that young. My son did it last year age 4 and he is not a timid child at all.. he didnt like all the screaming and the snake that jumps out at you..
or the lion that jumps out at you.

Figment.. This is a fun colourful ride. There are bits in complete darkness.. and there is a bit that blows air on you in a "burst" which some kids dont like... but other than that.. its a lovely ride for kids.

image works is great with young kids...

Are you planning to do ALL this on one day with the kids?
WOW... good luck if you are!
My son would absolutely NEVER EVER make a day that long without a complete meltdown even with a break in the middle. If you are starting out at 8am and then leaving about 9.30pm.. thats a long day for an adult.. let along a 16 month old - even with 3 hours back at the hotel.

No, I dont believe that if you come back at 6pm you will have enough time to eat, see the F & W stuff and do all of world showcase including all the kidcot stations... (kids can spend HOURS at these places at a time! and then stake out a good viewing spot for illuminations. If I were you I would do future world one day and a world showcase day another time.

One of my sons favorite activities is the kids play area in the mission space pavillion.. We spend many hours there every trip!!!!
Also, from a very small boy he has enjoyed playing in the fountains ...
watching some of the entertainers at the different countries
trying different foods etc. playing in the norway boat area...

Epcot IMHO is way too big to try and squeeze into one day.. we spend about 5 or 6 days there during out trips... that just about covers it!

Some of the best things happen when you stop and smell the roses...
dont rush it...

Have fun!!

 

[tjmw2727]

We love Epcot and have done it with our dd's when they were that young. If it were me I would modify it a bit and possibly do less future world, hit the resort for naps and break earler and return earlier.

Leave a legacy, you will walk through on the way in so IMHO it dosen't count unless you are making a purchase in which case I don't know how long it will take.
Spaceship Earth, definately ~
Innovations, Just see what interests the kids, unless the 2yo is into video games et all you may put this on the when they are older list.
The Land, I have yet to do Soarin but its on our must do list for October, if the land ride dosen't have a wait sure but my kids still think its boring at 8 and 10.
Making cookies - if you have ever cooked with your kids at home don't bother. They are on the young side to be picked and its kind of boring for kids who cook with mom/dad.
Honey - 3 D movie and I would base it on how well they did on Philharmagic. Its kind of scary and my kids only now will do it. Lots of cool effects but its loud and with the 3d I often jump. Personally I don't recommend this unless your kids love 3d and are not easily "spooked".
Figment - definately and then just walk your way through image works, some of the stuff is really cool but it dosen't take alot of time.
Characters on Holiday, if your kids enjoy the characters deflinate, you can also meet some here that are hard to find.

I would then leave more in the 1ish time frame for nap/pool and return to Epcot in the 3-4 range. This way you get out of the hottest sun and still get a break. When you return you can hit malestrom and the boat ride in Mexico, food and wine and the countries. My kids LOVED the live entertainment esp the acrobats in China and any live music. We would also bring along pj's and at some point I would hit the babycare center, clean them up, change them into pj's and put them back in the stroller, reclining with a sippie or bottle of milk. They would ALWAYS fall asleep leaving dh and I with an hour or two "alone" without leaving the kids behind. It was the best of both worlds as we could get a 'beverage" and catch off kilter or the beatles band while the kids were comfy and sleeping. Afterall its our vacation too. A clip on fan for breeze and white noise as well as a nice reclining stoller helps with this.

I may have forgotten a few things but I will post if I remember.

Have a great time at Epcot, our familys favorite park.
TJ

 

[disney1990]

When you get to World Showcase, I would definitely plan on taking the kids on the boat in Mexico (kind of like Small World in MK in places) and also the ride in Norway. You don't have to do all the kid stations in World Showcase for your children to enjoy them. At the first one you go to, they will get the mask and their first "dangle". You might be able to only do one or two of them and your son will be happy.

I agree that Honey I Shrunk the Audience might be too intense for one or both of the children. I took my granddaughters when they were 3 and 5, but I knew when things like the "snake" were coming, so I could easily distract them.

I had no problem spending all day at the parks with my granddaughters when they were 3 and 5. When the 3 year old got tired, she just fell asleep in the stroller.

Be sure to take the time out to have your children visit with the characters, but remember, even that can sometimes be scary to children.

Good luck and remember them important thing is just to have fun.

 

[tjmw2727]

When you get to World Showcase, I would definitely plan on taking the kids on the boat in Mexico (kind of like Small World in MK in places) and also the ride in Norway. You don't have to do all the kid stations in World Showcase for your children to enjoy them. At the first one you go to, they will get the mask and their first "dangle". You might be able to only do one or two of them and your son will be happy.

I agree that Journey into Your Imagination might be too intense for one or both of the children. I took my granddaughters when they were 3 and 5, but I knew when things like the "snake" were coming, so I could easily distract them.

I had no problem spending all day at the parks with my granddaughters when they were 3 and 5. When the 3 year old got tired, she just fell asleep in the stroller.

Be sure to take the time out to have your children visit with the characters, but remember, even that can sometimes be scary to children.

Good luck and remember them important thing is just to have fun.

Do you mean Honey I Shrunk the Audience? That is the 3d with the snakes etc, Journey Into Your Imagination is a cute ride with figment and very appropriate for kids, IMHO.

TJ

 

[disney1990]

Do you mean Honey I Shrunk the Audience? That is the 3d with the snakes etc, Journey Into Your Imagination is a cute ride with figment and very appropriate for kids, IMHO.

TJ

Yes, I sure did. I went back and changed it so I wouldn't confuse anybody else. Thank you.

 

[disney1990]

Duplicate deleted -- maybe I better just stop trying to type tonight.

 

[Huntava]

Thank you for this great information...I will be taking notes from this to help plan our Epcot day with our toddlers.

 

[mrscoobs]

Good choice on Ellens Energy Adventure, not so much for length, but for LOUDNESS! Our boy 8 loved it because of the Dinos, but niece 3 did not like the dark and loud dinosaurs (I didn't even remember it being that loud)

Honey I shrunk the audience is a no go with your kids, again very LOUD and I am not sure they would like the snake or lion, not to mention those darn mice!
The ride at Imagination though is good, as long as they are a little prepped for the air blast at the end, but by then they should love figment enough to not be afraid

Our kids when they we're young loved living with the land simply due to it being a boat (some kids don't like the thunderstorm in the beginning)

I would say earlier nap and return earlier if you would like to see more things in the world showcase as mentioned before, our kids loved the shows, like the acrobats and the drums in Japan.

Main thing, when the kids are done at that age, they are done and only you know when they reach that point. You may need to split it to a morning and then another night at Epcot just for illuminations and some world showcase if your schedule allows it, this is what we needed to do to make the whole family happy. Have a wonderful vacation

 

[NotUrsula]

We took DS on Maelstrom when he was 2 -- BIG mistake; he's 8 now and does every dark ride and coaster in the place, but he will not go near Maelstrom. He was totally traumatized by those trolls. It's a shame, b/c everyone else in the family likes the ride. Make sure your child isn't frightened of the troll story before trying this one.

On the other hand, DS adored Ellen's Energy Adventure, and still does. The big bang is loud, and it does have pitch dark parts, but we always took a tiny penlight on dark rides at that age; it reassures them that they can "look at Mom's shoes" anytime they want.

Ice Station Cool is a huge draw for small kids; they love the "snow room". It's in refurb right now, but if it is open when you go, by all means do it.

THE big thing for kids that age is actually the play fountains, bring a swimsuit and a swimmer's chamois to dry them off before they change. We used to let DS play after illuminations while the crowd thinned, then put him in his jammies for the stroller ride out of the park.

Another thing that the really little ones like tends to be the sparkling sidewalks between SE and the fountain. They just love to chase the lights around in the evening.

 

[disneymama73]

THE big thing for kids that age is actually the play fountains, bring a swimsuit and a swimmer's chamois to dry them off before they change.

I couldn't agree more. I was lucky enough to have an extra change of clothes with us this day...

DD1 at almost 2 1/2 years old