Your opinion on young toddlers and activities

[mickerbaby]

In November my sil and I are taking our children (13 months and 17 months in Nov) to WDW and staying for 5 nights at the All Star Movies hotel (our husbands will not be with us). I have two one day passes to MK from years ago and sil has two one day passes to Universal left over from two years ago. We thought we would spend the other days by the pool or taking the kids to downtown Disney, Boardwalk et... free stuff since we figured they would be too young to really enjoy the parks and it wouldn't be worth the money (is this an ok plan?). I don't think we would get more than 1/2 a day out of them anyway at the parks.
My questions are: is there anyway to pay for a 1/2 day pass? I've never heard of this, so I assume no.
If we were to choose one other park (assuming our one day at the MK goes well) which park would be the best to visit for kids this young? I love Epcot but I just don't think this would be entertaining enough for them?
Thanks for all the input, this will be our first trip away with the kids and we're a bit nervous!!


Crissy

 

[Disneyolic]

You may want to try going to MK for ½ day and then going back to rest a couple hours and then returning. It may give them some more energy. The parks usually close earlier that time of year so you may be able to spend the whole day there if you take things easy and rest - have a sit down lunch. I would probably bring the kids to either MGM or AK. MGM has Playhouse Disney that I hear all the young-uns love. I know my kids watch it on tv all the time. I haven't been to AK yet so I'm not sure what it really has to offer toddlers. We'll be going next year with a 4 and 2½ year old. We plan on taking breaks in the day and probably just going to the parks every other day. But, we are willing to change our plans based on our boys.

 

[melk]

I think I would go with MGM for the other park you visit. They have the Honey I shrunk the kids playground, The Little Mermaid show and the Muppet 3D movie(not sure if your kids may be a little young for that one). You may also want to consider taking a day just to "explore." You could take a boat over to Fort Wilderness and check out the petting zoo (it's free) or just take the monorail around to the hotels. Just pace yourselves and definitely try and get them to nap in the afternoons, we've always found that to be a lifesaver. Have fun!

 

[Dana_Buckley]

I would try to schedule a character meal also. We took our son when he was only 10 months & he loved it then. I haven't been to MGM, yet, but I have a day planned there for my 2yo to see all the shows. I think you will have a great time, just limit your expectations & plan for plenty of rest!

 

[ahutton]

We were surprised at how well our DD's handled long days in the parks - as long as they got stroller naps and time to run around. There are lots of play areas to take adantage of and also toys and air conditioning in the baby centers. They also have really nice changing facilities in the centers!

 

[Jordan's MOM]

I would do the other park Epcot. I think at that young of age the babies will get as much out of people watching and looking at things as they will the rides. That will give the adults some time to enjoy epcot. There are also a lot of boat and slow movement type rides such as space ship earth and living with the land that they will like. Babies enjoy everything. Enjoy what you want for one more year.

jordan's mom

 

[crisi]

My vote would be either a 2nd day in the MK (its really the little kids park) or AK. My kids were 2 and 3 when we went. MGM didn't have much at all for them - the Honey I Shrunk Playground was OK for the 3 year old, too much for the 2 year old, and near impossible for adults (although we trailed our two) - so they have to be pretty independant. Beware, some people call it Honey I Lost the Kids for good reason. The Playhouse Disney show was good, but the line was long and not everyone got in, so you might be waiting in line for an hour - and I think it would be hard for your little ones to follow.

On the other hand, the zoo portion of AK is great. Little kids can lap ride through the safari - and generally pick up on animals pretty well by 13 months. (My kids are great zoo lovers, my sons first trip to the zoo was at 11 months, and he caught on pretty well by the end - take your kids to the local zoo first, so they "get" what they are supposed to be looking at). Lots of bright birds and fish there. And the Lion King show is fantastic - and has far more movement and color than the Playhouse Disney show.

 

[cinjam]

We just returned from 9 days at WDW with our 14 month old son. He loved the character meals! AK wasn't too much fun for him - he didn't really care for the animals, but to be fair it was unusually hot that day so it put a damper on things. Epcot wasn't a big thrill either, but we did did do some attractions there (loved the character Lunch at the Garden Grille). At Epcot he had more fun feeding the ducks that waddled up to us when we were having lunch.

We had our best luck at MGM & of course MK. At MGM, which was our favorite & less crowded than MK, we did:

*Muppets 3D - he really enjoyed this (although he wouldn't keep the glasses on)
*Little Mermaid
*Disney Playhouse (Bear in the Big Blue House, Rolie Poli Olie & others) - he loved this too (got up & "danced"
*Great American Movie Ride
*We stayed for the Stars & Cars parade
*Beauty & the Beast (although he fell asleep here)
*character meal at Hollywood & Vine

At MK some of the more popular things we did were:
*Winnie the Pooh ride
*Pirates of the Carribbean
*mutiple train rides
*Boat Ride
*character meal at Crystal Palace
*LOVED the Spectro light parade (8:30pm - then we left)

 

[robinb]

Only 2 days in the Disney parks? I don't think that's nearly enough, even with children that young. I would recommend that you purchase the 2 day 2 park passes after visiting the MK for the first time. There are so many things for toddlers to do there you'll want to go back! For your second park, I would also suggest MGM. The shows are great and your toddlers will love Bear in the Big Blue House. Be aware that Fantasmic, Muppets and Little Mermaid
may be too intense for very young children.

As for a day at Universal ... you might want to check over on the Universal Board, but it's my feeling that there is really nothing for toddlers to do there. You'd be better off going to back to the MK, even though you already have tickets.

 

[jmkst58]

Last time I went to universal ~5 yrs. ago, I was childless, so I can't really speak about its friendliness to toddlers. (My guess-NOTHING ESPECIALLY FOR THEM).

Disney, however, I can speak about, and I feel that it is a completely different story. We took my 22 mo. old in April.

She loved MK (so much for her), Epcot IS great for youngsters (World Showcase (rides & scenery), and living seas-bright fish, the land, and hands-on exhibits in innoventions). She loved playing with the screens and such. MGM was a hit with all of the shows, and AK was great for the animals.

Here's my feelings......

For this age group of children to have a REALLY GREAT time, you will have to SLOW WAY DOWN and hit only the major things that are geared towards them (all parks have them...especially MK though).

If you speed up a little the kids may not have time to enjoy the simple things, but YOU will get to have some fun for yourself ALONG with them finding a few higlights for themself.

It's a matter of priorities. You will miss a lot, but you will also have wonderfully magic moments with your babies. They won't love everything, but they will have things that just tickle them to death (so precious). You won't go wrong with any Disney park that you pick.

P.S. If you do decide to intermingle some fun for yourself too......remember that there is always "baby swap," so that you can ride some of the really fun thrill rides (even if it is by yourself).

 

[It'sMe]

Where can I get the 2 day/2 park passes mentioned in the thread above?

 

[beattyfamily]

Having gone to WDW with my young DD's (first time older DD was 27 months old; second time DD's were 14 months and 4; third time they were 22 months and 5) I can tell you that your toddlers will have a blast! They are not too young to enjoy it! There are MANY rides and characters at MK and parades are great too!

I agree with those who said you might need another day at MK. If not, then my second choice would be MGM like others have said. Because of the shows and the parade.

I believe it's very hard to fully enjoy WDW in less than 3 or 4 days, but if you want a nice short trip, it can be done.

If you want to go to Universal, I'd choose IOA because of Suess Landing. Our DD's could spend all day over there, but even Universal has a Curious George area and it has the Barney show!

The 2-day, 2-park pass can be purchased through Universal's website and it can be purchased through AAA as well. There are many special offers going on like AAA has 3rd day FREE offer which is what I did. They also have an Annual Pass for $99!

Good luck!

 

[R4racing]

I think I would see how your day at MK goes and that might change which park you go to the second day. My DD has gone at 15mo and 2 1/2 years and really did not like to sit through the shows either time, she tolerated some this past trip, but we had to leave the Muppet Vision on her first visit. With my daughter I think I would have done either AK or Epcot the second day. She liked the parade and the playground at MGM, but other than that nothing really thrilled her. She seemed ok with the Playhouse Disney, at first didn't want to see it, but watched it.