Taking a 1 1/2 year old to Disney World, whcih parks would you skip

[dolly25]

We are going to Disney World with a 19 month old grandchild in Jan., 2019. We are renting points adn are staying at The Villas of The Grand Floridian. 7 nights..that really makes 6 days. So we need at least 2 off days. Planning to visit Magic Kingdom for 2 days...so 2 more parks and I can't decide which park to skip. We haven't been

 

[JackOfHearts]

Animal Kindgdom. My kids were 3 and 6 and had no real interest in anything there.

 

[heidijanesmith]

I would skip EPCOT for a 19mo old. We love EPCOT as adults, when the kids were young they thought it was boring.

 

[annemce118]

I agree with skipping Epcot and Animal Kingdom.

 

[DizneyLizzy]

Animal kingdom.

There was actually a lot for my 18 month at Epcot - the seas and the after area was a big hit, as was imagination and that play area. She did the frozen and Mexico boat rides, as well as the Anna and Elsa meet and greet. Finally, we did the character spot and the visa meet and greet. We had lunch in Mexico which was entertaining as well. We actually went to Epcot twice - once in the morning and once in the early evening.

 

[Klayfish]

No way would I skip AK. If anything, Epcot. But you're only there 6 days, do you really need 2 full days off? I'd recommend going to each park.

 

[Coreyjohnson2007]

6 days... I’d do MK, Hs, MK, OFF, EP, MK.

But I’d skip AK first, then EP

 

[meagarunt22]

Animal Kindgdom. My kids were 3 and 6 and had no real interest in anything there.

Same here. They REALLY love the playground and the area where you can see the fish underwater, but that was it. It was a lot of walking and not many things for kids.

 

[meagarunt22]

My kids fave parks are EPCOT and MK, and that was starting them really young. They loved running around in Japan, China, and Canada at the waterfall. They really love pretty much everything. And it's a plus because it's so fun for adults too.

 

[dakotix]

Depends on your child. At that age they are pretty much just along for the ride. My guess would be to skip Epcot. AK has the animals which young kids love .. everything is new.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

Another vote for not skipping any parks. They each have something to offer for little ones, even if you don't stay for a full day. You could do just a half day at AK or Epcot and still get some rest in.

 

[NickC]

It's difficult to give advise, because we all vacation differently. However, I can tell you what I would do.
I wouldn't take 2 full days off. While I agree that it is good to have some down time, you might be able to manage to get enough rest by either taking midday breaks or by doing half days at the parks. You can get a lot done in Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom in a half day. You could leave the parks and have a late lunch/early dinner and rest up for the next day.

Since you are staying at the Grand Floridian, you can take the monorail back from the MK and spend some time at the pool in the afternoon (or nap).

I do think it is a good idea to have one full day off though.

 

[katyjeka]

Four kids and Epcot remains their favorite park!!!! That's a hard question as our girls love them all. I would do what is best for the adults as a child that young will enjoy any.

 

[disneyfantotheend]

Not Animal Kingdom in my opinion. Little kids usually LOVE animals and the shows are great and colorful and active. Sure there are things there you won't want to do, but I would not skip it.

This would be a very hard choice for me, which is why we always planned enough days for at least 1 at each park. But I would definitely choose either Epcot or DHS to skip.

 

[pixiegoose]

I agree with others that there’s really no need for 2 full off days. Half days at parks or going back in the middle of the day for nap/pool time should be more than enough down time (we never do off days, even with kids), especially during January. And I wouldn’t skip any parks unless the adults really want to skip a park. Toddlers can be entertained by any and everything, so don’t plan around what she’d “like”.

 

[KMarston]

We're taking our just turned 3 year old grandson in January too! (Again!) I took he, his mom, and my 80 year old MIL (her first trip) when GS was 18 months. We skipped DHS. Really didn't have too much for our group. My purpose was to treat GS and MIL and cater to their interests! He loved EPCOT! Enjoyed it thoroughly! He loved AK as well! That was a half day for us! We did two days at MK. Took him back last year with just his Grumps and I at 2 1/2 years old and he loved the same things! Now though, DHS has Toy Story Land, so that changes things. We added another day! Enjoy your trip, I thought nothing could be better than taking your kids to WDW but what did I know! Even Grumps who isn't a big fan is so excited to go again with GS!

 

[KrazeeK120]

I wouldn’t skip any of them. We skipped the Studios when our son was 18 months, but I wouldn’t skip it now that Toy Story Land will be open (and the Disney Jr show is being revamped). He loved the other 3 parks.

We are returning in a few months when he will be almost 3 and will visit all the parks.

 

[YesterDark]

AK was great for my 2 year old. I would definitely do that. My 2 yo son loved the Storm troopers and kylo Ren in Hollywood.

 

[sapphirerose915]

Does your grandchild have any favorite Disney characters or movies? We are bringing our 2 year old son in December and not skipping any parks.. he is a huge fan of Mickey, Lion King, Toy Story, and Winnie the Pooh... my husband is 110% about eating/drinking around world showcase and a Star Wars fan... and I am just happy to be in Disney.. it is my favorite place!!!
So we are doing half days.. we have a 6 night trip and it looks a little like this:
Sat (Check in date) -open plans
Sun- Brunch in disney springs/ epcot in evening
Mon- early lunch at Sanaa/ MK in evening
Tues- 1st haircut and breakfast @ Crystal Palace (Pooh Bear) in the morning/ HS in evening for Toy Story & Star Wars
Wed-AK (lion king) in morning/ open evening
Thurs- MK morning/ Ohana in evening
Fri- check out

You can 100% squeeze in a break day in between and still hit all of the parks!

So no break days.. but lots of downtime with relaxing in afternoons and no plans or meals scheduled around the parks! Hope that helps!!

 

[Chrislovesdisney]

We are going to Disney World with a 19 month old grandchild in Jan., 2019. We are renting points adn are staying at The Villas of The Grand Floridian. 7 nights..that really makes 6 days. So we need at least 2 off days. Planning to visit Magic Kingdom for 2 days...so 2 more parks and I can't decide which park to skip. We haven't been

We will be skipping AK with our 3 and 6 year olds, with the understanding we will be coming back in the future. It’s one of our favorite parks, but they are really into princesses, frozen, and Disney jr characters so at this point we are maximizing our time in the other parks for this reason. We will only have 3 days. Otherwise I’d be squeezing in at least a morning visit. The animals really are that incredible.