Hi, were taking a trip to Disney World next month in January. It was kind of spontaneous so we were only able to schedule it for 4 days/3 nights (due to work) The 4th day however, will probably not be a park day since we ll be taking a mid-day flight back home. So that leaves us with 3 days to visit the parks. It will be my husband, myself and our 3 year old daughter. Obviously Magic Kingdom warrants an entire day. But as for the other 2 days, what is they best way to spend it? What parks are a must? Ive been looking at reviews on TripAdvisor and geez, those people are nothing but picky whiny cry babies. If i was going based on their reviews, i wouldnt visit ANY of the parks. So if any true disney fans out there (or anyone with half a heart or who isnt a grouch) could give me some advice on the other 3 parks and what to visit, id greatly appreciate it!
I totally agree with going to MAGIC KINGDOM for a full day. I m 29 and have been to Disney World 17x and it is still my favorite park and the first one we visit when we get there.Top of my to-do list: Splash Mountain, Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Monster s IncBottom of my list: Tiki House and Country Bear Jamboree My next choice would be EPCOT. This park is also a full-day park if you really take your time wandering through the countries in the World Showcase. Not all of the countries have a ride, in fact only Mexico and Norway do. But there are acrobats called Dragon Legend Acrobats in China. Very entertaining! If you skim past those it won t take up the whole day, but there are lots of neat little things to do at Epcot besides the Future World rides. For example, Club Cool. It features Coca-Cola products from around the world. It doesn t cost anything to get in and the drink samples are free. I have to say that Coke tastes very very different in other parts of the world. Top of my to-do list: Spaceship Earth, Test Track and Maelstrom (Norway s attraction)Bottom of my list: Innoventions (we don t have kids so we find the hands on stuff a little lame) Now here s where I have to ask if you plan on the park hopper option. Although for 3 days I wouldn t necessarily recommend it, especially if you are planning a whole day at MK and a whole day at E. My husband and I can not stand Animal Kingdom, but Hollywood Studios is only a half-day park for us. We use our hopper to go to AK ride Expedition Everest, Dinosaur and It s Tough to be a Bug and then we go back to the campground. We head to Hollywood Studios then in the afternoon and evening and do all of the attractions there.ANIMAL KINGDOM is a lot of walking for a limited number of rides. The park is also not extremely easy to wander around so you have to sort of have a game plan. There are walking trails to look at wild animals... kind of like a zoo. There is a short train ride to Rafiki s Conservation area where you learn about wildlife conservation... kind of like at the local nature center. The rides are geared more for teens/adults unless you head to Camp Minnie Mickey which is for the younger ones. Even It s Tough to be a Bug has a sign that if kids (or adults) are leery of insects they should skip it. I, personally, suggest taking the family to the zoo vs. spending the money at Animal Kingdom.HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS is a relatively small park compared to the others, but it does feature a number of rides and attractions. I definitely suggest going to Hollywood Studios, and there are quite a few stage shows/sit down attractions that you can do that will rest your legs and increase the amount of time you spend there. Top of my to-do list: Beauty and the Beast Show, Lights! Motors! Action!, Tower of Terror, and Rock n Rollercoaster. Very bottom of my list: Drew Carrey - Sounds Dangerous
My wife and I go every three years and we have a blast. Our favorite is the Magic Kingdom, then Hollywood Studio, Epcot and Animal Kingdom. There is so much to see and do. Christmas is the best time to go. We went last year for Christmas. Here are some links for Christmas at Disney.
Skip Epcot center it isn t worth it. At 3 she can go on the finding Nemo ride and that imagination ride. Play in the testing lab area and that is about it. The international houses are nice, but not much to do there. Based on my now 6 year old who I have taken to WDW twice. Magic Kingdom, Hollywood studios and Animal Kingdom. We have actually done Animal and Hollywood in the same day.
I suggest that you get the Park Hopper Option added to your Disney ticket; then you could visit two parks on one of the days. I think it would be fairly easy to visit Animal Kingdom in the morning, and then Hollywood Studios mid to late afternoon and evening. Then you could spend all day at the Magic Kingdom and another full day at Epcot.
My two personal favorites are Magic Kingdom Animal Kingdom. If I were you my thought would be to do MK one day, then AK, then back to MK for the third day. Here s why I think that: The first day at MK you will be overwhelmed and truthfully with a little one, you just won t be able to see everything you want to. I suggest starting out early in the morning and heading to Fantasy land. Get in line to ride Dumbo right away, then take advantage of the Fastpass for Peter Pan��s flight or get on it right away if the line is short. Then do all the other rides in that land, since they are geared towards more little kids. Then move to the other lands you want to see. Maybe then get lunch then head back to your hotel so your daughter can have a nap. Then head back to MK and finish up what you want to see. Then next day go to AK to see the animals, taking advantage of the Fastpasses when you can. Consider spending all day in this park w/out a nap, since it usually closes around 5 or 6pm. Maybe then head back to your hotel for dinner a late nap. I would consider adding on a park hopper option onto your ticket. Because if you do, once AK closes and you have dinner nap, you can then head back to another park. I would maybe suggest EPCOT or MGM because I don��t know if those parks can hold the attention of a 3 yr old all day. So go check that out for a few hours in the evening. Then on the third day I would actually head back to MK to finish up what you didn��t get to see. Sadly you spend so much time waiting around in the parks, that I don��t think one day is enough. It nice to keep track of what you didn��t see the first time and make it a plan to check out on your 3rd day. I hope this itinerary gave you some planning ideas. Have fun!
magic kingdom just b/c its so magical its a dry park no alcohol which sucks for my hubby,but i dont drink so i dont care,then epcot i love the atmoshere of education and travel in one park most teens and bigger kids dont care too much for it,then hollywood studios for the shows and rides def rockin rollercoaster and tower of terror which i like to look at mbut not ride im a whimp lol,then animal kingdom just b.c i love the safari feel have fun either way just plan to have fun,walk,and wait its a magical place can;t wait to go back got back 5 months ago and im having withdrawls lol
I highly recommend Epcot, there is lots do there for all ages including your 3 year old daughter and they have one of the best firework shows. Depending on her interests, I would recommend the following attractions for her:- The Seas with Nemo and Friends (be sure to see the aquarium upstairs after the ride)- Turtle Talk with Crush- Soarin (beautiful show as long as she is not afraid of heights)- Character Spot (meet and greet with nearly all the Disney characters)- Spaceship Earth (classic ride inside the iconic ball)- Honey I Shrunk the Audience- Journey into the Imagination with Figment!- Gran Fiesta Tour (Boat ride with Donald Duck inside Mexico)If anyone in your party is interested in thrill rides, Epcot has Test Track and Mission Space which are both great rides. Epcot also has one of the best firework shows; Illuminations: Reflections of Earth, make sure you gather around early for Illuminations and get a good spot right up against the railing around the lake, the best areas to see the show are near Mexico and Word Showcase Plaza between Mexico and Canada. However you can see it from anywhere around the lake. Make sure you stay until the very end of the show as its divided into three parts. If your daughter likes princesses or your interested in character dining there a two character dining restaurants at Epcot. Akershus Royal Banquet Hall were you can dine with princesses, and The Garden Grill Restaurant were you can dine with Mickey Mouse and friends. Call early for reservations as both locations are popular. The number is 407-WDW-DINESee the Disney website as it has lots of helpful info:http://www.disneyworld.comHave Fun!
As you can see, every Disney fan enjoys a different experience!! One answer suggests going to the Magic Kingdom first, but I personally would recommend saving it for last. Since it s the park that everyone thinks of when they think of Disney, going there first could make the rest of the parks a bit of a let down.For the basis of this answer, I m going to assume you will be focusing your trip mostly around what your three-year-old will enjoy, rather than the extreme roller coaster type rides. I would probably suggest Animal Kingdom including conservation station. I don t usually recommend conservation station, but kids 3 - 6 really seem to enjoy it. If you go first thing you can watch some animals get their medical check-ups. Kind of fascinating. Be warned - Animal Kingdom is very large and spread out, which requires extra walking. Might want to do it on your first day when you re still full of energy.Epcot is not necessarily something little, little kids like except for The Seas. The last time we had all different age ranges in our group and we ALL got a little hypnotized by the seas and wound up spending about four hours just walking slowly around. Not real productive in seeing Disney terms, but we all still comment about how much we enjoyed taking that time to really SEE the place without worrying about being in a rush - something we had never done before. If your daughter is really into the princesses, they have the princess breakfast in Epcot. I enjoyed it as much as the kid!If I were going to skip one park (with a three-year-old in tow) it would probably be the studios. The concept of the park is a little mature for wee ones. You might want to consider the miniature golf on the last day if your family is into that. The course has lots of fun characters to interact with, and it s a good way to prolong the Disney magic if you can t go to a park. There is also a campfire/sing-along/movie every night in the campground, and there is no charge to attend. A fun restaurant to go to with little ones is Whispiring Canyon Cafe in the Wilderness Lodge. Have a great visit!
You might like to check out this website: http://www.allearsnet.comIt has EVERYTHING. It is my favorite Disney website, and the people on it are actual fans of Disney.Ordinarily, if I were picking 3 parks I would say skip Animal Kingdom. However, with a 3-year-old, she might really enjoy seeing the animals. It has a lot less to do and a lot of the fun of it is the zoo experience. So if you are going for a rides vacation, it might be disappointing. But the little ones can really enjoy it. Also, you might consider getting a park-hopper pass. In my opinion, even with a little one, you can cover Animal Kingdom in a few hours. So you might start here one day, and then go back to Magic Kingdom for the rest of the day. Magic Kingdom warrants at least 1 day, probably 2.Another great recommendation is Hollywood Studios. They have some great thrill rides that you and your husband might enjoy, and there are some good rides and shows for your daughter. Also, if you aren t aware of it, Disney offers the baby-swap system. If you and your husband want to ride something that your daughter is too small for, one of you can wait with her while the other one rides. Then when the rider comes back, the other person can go ride without waiting in line! It s really great. Just be sure to tell the very first cast member you come to that you want to do the baby-swap, and they will instruct you. Every ride is a little different.
Disney is my obsession...if you only have 3 days and your going to Magic kingdom for 1 of them, you should definately go to Animal Kingdom, there are a ton of fun rides for adults and kids. And in Magic Kingdom, i would go to the Spectacular show. For the last day i went to Florida and Disney World i went to the Ocean...it was soooo nice. If you re not only interested in Disney World, i would also suggest going to Sea World. I went there too, you can pet dolphins and Sting rays and you can feed them too. There aren t a lot of rides, but its like an aquatic zoo...lots of fun!Hope i helped!
Of course Magic kingdom will take a full day and maybe a wee bit more as it is fantastic. As for the other parks, i really enjoyed animal kingdom, its great for smaller children and yourselves. Its not as big as the other parks but theres lots to look at and rides to go on. I would say you could probably do animal kingdom and hollywood studios in 1 day if your up and at the parks early. As for your last day why not try the water parks at disney they are great and lots to do for your daughter. Epcot i personally fond to be a tad boring but theres lots to look at and educational stuff there, still worth a visit.
We ve been to WDW 13 times. I can give you my opinions, but when it comes down to it, it s a matter of personal choice. Of the 4 parks, of course the Magic Kingdom is the best; what WDW is all about. It also has something for everyone. A fun place to eat here, with great food, is the Crystal Palace). The next place your daughter will probably enjoy is Disney s Hollywood Studios. The Beauty the Beast Show is spectacular (check schedule; it s not on every day). Fantasmic is great (that s not on every day either), but you d need to make sure that your daughter gets a nap during the day, in order to stay up for this, I don t know if she likes things with fireworks. Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set Adventure, Muppet*Vision 3-D, Voyage of the Little Mermaid, Playhouse Disney Live on Stage! are great for her age. They also have a fun breakfast at Hollywood Vine (Playhouse Disney s Play n Dine). We first started going to WDW when our daughter was 4. At that time she wasn t too thrilled with Epcot, because there wasn t as much for her to do there. A few years later, she really started to enjoy it. If you go to Epcot, I suggest you take a stroller (we got a cheap umbrella stroller from a garage sale). There is a lot of walking. Stop at the Kidcot stations in the World Showcase. Check out the Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure; it s really fun to do. Innoventions East West has places where your daughter could run around have some fun too. There is also Ellen s Energy Adventure, Honey I Shrunk the Audience, Journey into Imagination with Figment (just watch out for the big blast of air towards the end-that can be scary, if you re not prepared). The Seas with Nemo Friends is cute too. In Epcot you can dine with the princesses at Askerhus (in Norway). The Animal Kingdom is our least favorite of all the parks. It s so open, with few places to go into for air conditioning, so we always feel hot drained by the time we leave. There are 2 fabulous shows: The Festival of the Lion King Finding Nemo-the Musical. The Kilimanjaro Safaris, Affection Section (petting zoo) are nice, but are all the way at the end of the park. When traveling with a child under the age of 6, it s important to have snacks, keep her hydrated. If you are staying on-site they have a mug you can buy that can be refilled throughout your stay. We bring our own water bottles fill up before going to the parks. They also have toasters microwaves, so we bring Pop-Tarts, mini muffins, english muffins for breakfast. I m sure you will have an exciting trip, with memories to last a lifetime. Our daughter is 17 now. I remember on our first trip one of her favorite rides was It s a Small World in the Magic Kingdom. Her eyes were so wide. She kept turning her head, to see everything, pointing. She kept saying, OOH look at that over over. We have it on video tape, so we can treasure it. She loved meeting the princesses too. It s nice to get their autographs put the pictures of your daughter when she met them in the autograph book. Have Fun!