Must Dos at Disney with a Toddler

[Cheezaman]

Hi everyone!

We are taking our 4 year old son for his first trip to the parks and need advice on what activities we should try to fit in. We are planning on a week at Disney before taking a cruise. (Any cruise advice with a toddler would be great as well)

We haven't been in years and I’ve never been to the parks with a little one. For the experts out there, how would you approach planning this trip? Any rides/restaurants that stand out as must-sees for someone my son’s age? Which restaurants and ride would you recommend? Would park hopping be to ambitious?

Thanks for all your help!

 

[Schneewittchen37]

I started taking DS to Disney when he was 15 months, DD when she was 2.

My kids are a bit older now, but when they were little, here were our must-dos:

MK - dinner at Crystal Palace with Winnie (this is very important), Dumbo, Aladdin, Little Mermaid, PeopleMover, Carousel of Progress (nap time), Tiki Room, iasm, Peter Pan, Carousel, Tea Party, Winnie ride, Belle's Tales, Country Bears, Tom Sawyer Island, Riverboat, Railroad, Speedway, Swiss Family Robinson, and my kids were very brave, so Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion, Buzz Lightyear, Pirates! Obviously, it's easy to entertain the toddler here.

Epcot - dinner at Biergarten (little kids love to dance), Figment, Nemo, Living with the Land, the manatees, Crush, 3 Caballeros, and again braveness, Spaceship Earth, Frozen. Let them run around in World Showcase/explore. My kids seemed to enjoy the street performance aspects if/when those are around. And I suppose little kids would like Ratatouille too.

AK - Tusker House is gross, but Mickey. Rafiki petting zoo, Train, Safari, Nemo musical, Maharajah jungle trek and Gorilla Falls, boneyard playground (you will be there for at least an hour, so put a kindle book on your phone), triceratop spin, and braveness, probably Navi river ride. Kids like zoos.

HS - This is harder, could be boring for the adults. Dinner at Hollywood and Vine with Mickey & Minnie. Alien saucers, dance party, Frozen singalong, Indiana Jones, Lightning McQueen, Beauty and the Beast show, Runaway Railway, Muppet Vision, Toy Story Mania.

 

[Cheezaman]

I started taking DS to Disney when he was 15 months, DD when she was 2.

My kids are a bit older now, but when they were little, here were our must-dos:

MK - dinner at Crystal Palace with Winnie (this is very important), Dumbo, Aladdin, Little Mermaid, PeopleMover, Carousel of Progress (nap time), Tiki Room, iasm, Peter Pan, Carousel, Tea Party, Winnie ride, Belle's Tales, Country Bears, Tom Sawyer Island, Riverboat, Railroad, Speedway, Swiss Family Robinson, and my kids were very brave, so Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion, Buzz Lightyear, Pirates! Obviously, it's easy to entertain the toddler here.

Epcot - dinner at Biergarten (little kids love to dance), Figment, Nemo, Living with the Land, the manatees, Crush, 3 Caballeros, and again braveness, Spaceship Earth, Frozen. Let them run around in World Showcase/explore. My kids seemed to enjoy the street performance aspects if/when those are around. And I suppose little kids would like Ratatouille too.

AK - Tusker House is gross, but Mickey. Rafiki petting zoo, Train, Safari, Nemo musical, Maharajah jungle trek and Gorilla Falls, boneyard playground (you will be there for at least an hour, so put a kindle book on your phone), triceratop spin, and braveness, probably Navi river ride. Kids like zoos.

HS - This is harder, could be boring for the adults. Dinner at Hollywood and Vine with Mickey & Minnie. Alien saucers, dance party, Frozen singalong, Indiana Jones, Lightning McQueen, Beauty and the Beast show, Runaway Railway, Muppet Vision, Toy Story Mania.

With all that MK offers it seems like it’s the park to spend the most time at.

 

[sponica]

With all that MK offers it seems like it’s the park to spend the most time at.

I know this is sacrilege, but it's my least favorite park....or one I have a love/hate relationship with. It can get VERY overstimulating so you need to know your kid's needs when you're there. Before I had kids, I only went to MK in the early morning or late night because I found the park overstimulating.

When we took my then 20 month old (who literally tried to claw her way out of Dumbo) I gave up on rides and we spent most of our time in Epcot and a good chunk of the day at Animal Kingdom. We're going back at the end of next month and she'll be 5.5 and we'll see how it goes (her sister will be 20 months though and is crazy so she'll probably be miffed about not going on the big rides)

 

[accm]

It really depends on the kid. What is your 4 year old into? Also, do you want to pay for Genie+? I bet most 4 year olds will not want to wait in line for very long.

I would recommend looking at some maps with him, and either watching videos, or even just talking about the rides. Then when you get there, forget any plans you might've made, and follow their lead. It's hard to do, but try to forget how much money you spent on the trip, and remember *why* you booked it in the first place. We just got back from a trip with out 2 and 4 year olds, and by most people's account, we didn't accomplish much, but we LOVED the trip, and my 4 year old keeps asking when we can go back.

I'll also add, if your son is into space, and you can afford it, do whatever you can to get an ADR at Space220. It was an amazing experience for both my boys.

 

[julie-o]

The 4yos I have traveled with LOVED the characters. Absolute highlight for all of them. Tom Sawyer Island is a great respite from MK. All the parks had a lot for toddlers except HS. Not much for them there. Also, a lot of parents bring a stroller for 4/5 yo kids even if they never use one at home anymore. Up to you.

 

[pigletgirl]

Last time we took littles, the highlight of MK was Casey's Splash zone. We spent a good few hours there. They did enjoy IASW, Pooh, the Carousel, etc. Basically everything in Fantasyland. My biggest advice is to keep your expectations LOW. Disney is so different from what they are used to back home.

Another highlight for us was having a fun afternoon at the resort pool after naps.

 

[DisneyRNMama]

The 4yos I have traveled with LOVED the characters. Absolute highlight for all of them. Tom Sawyer Island is a great respite from MK. All the parks had a lot for toddlers except HS. Not much for them there. Also, a lot of parents bring a stroller for 4/5 yo kids even if they never use one at home anymore. Up to you.

I 2nd the advice about the stroller. We don't use one at home anymore but I ended up renting one at MK when my 4 year old was tired from walking. She promptly took a nap.

 

[Cheezaman]

It really depends on the kid. What is your 4 year old into? Also, do you want to pay for Genie+? I bet most 4 year olds will not want to wait in line for very long.

I would recommend looking at some maps with him, and either watching videos, or even just talking about the rides. Then when you get there, forget any plans you might've made, and follow their lead. It's hard to do, but try to forget how much money you spent on the trip, and remember *why* you booked it in the first place. We just got back from a trip with out 2 and 4 year olds, and by most people's account, we didn't accomplish much, but we LOVED the trip, and my 4 year old keeps asking when we can go back.

I'll also add, if your son is into space, and you can afford it, do whatever you can to get an ADR at Space220. It was an amazing experience for both my boys.

Definitely going to try to snag a Space220 reservation. I think he will love it. Also thank you for the idea of videos! We’ve been doing that and it’s shocked me what he’s been into vs what I would have picked! Looking forward to enjoying ourselves as a family.

 

[Cheezaman]

The 4yos I have traveled with LOVED the characters. Absolute highlight for all of them. Tom Sawyer Island is a great respite from MK. All the parks had a lot for toddlers except HS. Not much for them there. Also, a lot of parents bring a stroller for 4/5 yo kids even if they never use one at home anymore. Up to you.

Oh definitely taking the stroller. We take it with us if we go anywhere with lots of walking/people. Getting him in there to maneuver crowds is a life saver.

 

[Cheezaman]

I know this is sacrilege, but it's my least favorite park....or one I have a love/hate relationship with. It can get VERY overstimulating so you need to know your kid's needs when you're there. Before I had kids, I only went to MK in the early morning or late night because I found the park overstimulating.

When we took my then 20 month old (who literally tried to claw her way out of Dumbo) I gave up on rides and we spent most of our time in Epcot and a good chunk of the day at Animal Kingdom. We're going back at the end of next month and she'll be 5.5 and we'll see how it goes (her sister will be 20 months though and is crazy so she'll probably be miffed about not going on the big rides)

We are hoping to split MK into two days and hopefully that will help with being overwhelmed. I’m really looking forward to our Animal Kingdom day too! We have 2 nights at Animal Kingdom lodge to go along with it.

 

[sponica]

We are hoping to split MK into two days and hopefully that will help with being overwhelmed. I’m really looking forward to our Animal Kingdom day too! We have 2 nights at Animal Kingdom lodge to go along with it.

I think splitting MK is a good idea if you have the time. I like doing tomorrowland and fantasy land one day, adventure land and frontierland another day. Liberty square I fit in on whatever day I have the most time.

 

[Pookasaurus]

Overlooked and probably not a big hit on most peoples radar - but the little play area under the bridge by splash mountain - we’d always hang out there doing rider swap for splash and I have so many cute pictures and memories from my kids playing there when they were little. Also the interactive portion of the line for winne the Pooh. Dumbo also has a fun play area for the kids while waiting (unless any of this has changed - my kids are a bit older now).