Best Attractions for Preschoolers/Toddlers?

[KendraFitz]

Hi Everyone,

I am new to the board and am going to Disney in November 2006 with my family and another family. The children in our group will be ages, 2, 3 & 4 1/2. I was wondering if anyone has suggestions for the best attractions and activities for children this age?

Thanks so much!!

 

[coltow]

There are almost too many to name. Pretty much if it doesn't have a height requirement it'll be great. Some attractions are a little dark, so if anyone's a little afraid of the dark, skip Haunted Mansion and maybe Pirates. They'lls love anything in Fantasy Land though. And don't miss Playhouse Disney at MGM. My son who's 2 also loves seeing all the animals at AK. And there's not alot ot do at EPCOT. My son's too young for the kidcot stops, he still tries to eat his crayons.

 

[erasure fan1]

we took my daughter at 1, 2 and 3 and her favorite things are:

*Dumbo
*the mermaid show in mgm
*small world
*peter pan
*aladdins magic carpets
*playhouse disney show mgm
*buzz lightyear

 

[DisneyWood]

Fountains

Hi Everyone,

I am new to the board and am going to Disney in November 2006 with my family and another family. The children in our group will be ages, 2, 3 & 4 1/2. I was wondering if anyone has suggestions for the best attractions and activities for children this age?

Thanks so much!!

There are many fountains that your children can play in at each park. My son, who was 2 during our last visit, and daughter, who was a little over 1, really enjoyed playing in the water @ Epcot (shooting fountains from the ground); the boat @ ToonTown; and I believe that there is something at Downtown Disney. Just remember to take a change of clothes for the children. We got a lot of video footage of our children playing in the water.

This may seem minor to us, but the children absolutely have a ball. We always have to stop for at least 20 to 30 minutes..

 

[simonem]

on experience

We visited last November with my 2 girls, 4 1/2 & 1 1/2.

We planned ahead, but the ones they enjoyed that I was surprised by were the Jungle Cruise, Aladdins magic carpets, Pirates (again!), the Great Movie Ride. Not surprising, the Playhouse Disney in MGM. The little one was too small to be frightened as long as I was holding her.

We went to MGM on the first day at opening time and saw Mickey and Goofy first thing, no wait, to give them a sense of the magic.

My 4 year old is pretty adventurous and she loved Splash Mountain and Thunder Mountain. She also like the virtual sports things in Epcot (Imaginations?) and doing crafts at the Kidcot, and they both loved dancing at Biergarten.

They both needed a stroller. (Everyone told me but I didn't believe them).l We're going again this November with the cousins, making a total of 2 5 year olds, 1 4 year olds, 1 2 year old and 1 9 month old.

Have a great time!

 

[agdbeanie]

Any ride that doesn't have a height requirement will be fine. Our son has been to Disney World 4 times and he just turned 2! He loves everything...especially meeting the characters.

 

[maharet97a]

A suggestion I got on here for my two year old that I've found very helpful, is to take a small pen light on the dark rides just in case. Some of the rides, even though not particularly scary as far as what the ride track is doing, can get very, very dark (especially after coming in from the bright sunlight). My daughter is not afraid of the dark normally, but the combination of her not knowing what the ride will do or not understanding that she's in no danger freaks her out as soon as it goes dark. The pen light gives her a sense of security while not disturbing other riders. It's a small security blanket during what can be an uncertain experience for little ones. The ones we have we got at a WDW gift shop. They were like $10 for a pack of four (not bad for Disney) and can attatch to a bag or lanyard. If you've got a while before your trip and you'd like to get something like this, Oriental Trading Company ( www.orientaltrading.com ) is a great place to get things like this in lots of a dozen for great prices. It's also a great place to get glow sticks and necklaces in bulk, so that your kids can have them after dark without paying park prices for the same thing. We always take a few to save money while we're in the parks.

 

[Braves323]

Fantasyland at MK is probably the best bet with Peter Pan, Small World, the carosel, Dumbo, Winnie the Pooh tide and playland. Snow White scares some children.
The Speedway and TTA in Tomorrowland.
In Adventureland there is Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride, and Jungle Cruise. Pirates and Haunted Mansion are probably too intense.
Countrybears and Tom Sawyer's Island are also good.

Dont miss Playhouse Disney at MGM and the animals at AK.

 

[DSNYKID]

Everyone, as always has given great suggestions already. When our oldest was little we always started with Small World, not too loud, not too dark, not too fast. Now that he's older, 5 and his little brother, 1 1/2, are used to the rides we start with Buzz. Don't forget that Disney's transportation also make great rides. Ride around on the monorail, take a boat ride to Wilderness Lodge and eat lunch in the Whispering Canon. Take the train ride around MK. It let's them rest at the same time as a ride. Have a great trip and maybe we'll see you we leave Nov. 11th! :wave:

 

[amykissangel]

My little cousin Brittney (age 4), who is normally not afraid of anything, was just TERRIFIED at Disney. My parents, who took me, my brother, and sister ever since I was five and they were born, didn't understand it.

Finally, we understood that she thought the characters from every attraction (ride, movie, show) could come and get her. So I told her my grey Old Navy sweatshirt was a magic sweatshirt, and no one could see her if she was wearing it - worked like a charm. Everything we went on after that was fantastic - especially with her snuggled up to me in her sweatshirt going, "Amy, pssst! Amy see! They don't even know I'm here..."

And if your kids are anything like Britt, the more things I told her she wouldn't like because they might be scary, the more she told me, "No way, I can go on THAT. I'm NOT a baby!"

I told her Fantasmic! was all about Mickey Mouse having a bad dream, with all the mean people from all the Disney movies. She asked if they could come and get her (the bad people), and I told her that since there was a whole lake between them and us, they wouldn't even be able to see her.

Needless to say, it was her FAVORITE thing of the entire 8 day trip. Couldn't stop talking about Mickey's Bad Dream to ANYONE who would listen. Bus drivers, cab drivers, airplane attendants, AND a random man sitting next to her at the Spectromagic parade, whom she stared at for ten minutes before she said, "Um, sir, 'scuse me, but why don't you have any teeth?":lol:

Anyways, as long as they know that no one can take them/come after them, I think the kids will have a great time. Good luck and have fun!

 

[GenerationX]

When we went back in 2001, my sons were 2, 4, and 6. Their favorite attractions were:
1. The playgrounds. Be sure to make use of these, as kids love the chance to run around a little. Boneyard at AK, Tom Sawyer's Island at MK, and Honey I Shrunk the Playground at DS.
2. Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin.
3. Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.
4. Muppetvision 3D - the funniest and least intense of the 3D shows.
5. Kilimanjaro Safaris.
6. WDW Railroad and the TTA.

Have fun! :wave:

 

[jcldtrek]

id say for kids/toddlers at mk would be:

winnie the pooh
the hundred acre wood play area
toon town
buzz lightyear
dumbo
alladin
carrasel
peter pan
small world
maybe country bears

 

[epcotwsmd4me]

I agree with everything said with the exception of one...

The little Mermaid attraction at MGM. It was great for my 2.5 year old (now almost 3). Up until the time when the 8 foot tall Ursula came out.

She about had a cow. "I go, I go, I go"... Once we assured her that Ursula wasn't going to get her, and only Ariel, everything was peachy once again.

Just a caution - but then again, she also loved Pirates and the Mansion.

As with everything with young ones, you just have to play it by ear. However, I still can't get "It's a Small World" out of my head - EVERY DAY - some days SEVERAL TIMES A DAY...

Wouldn't change a thing - very memorable trip. Take lots of pictures. You'll always treasure them. I think everyone will agree with me on that.

 

[KendraFitz]

I just wanted to thank everyone for all of the great suggestions!!