I m taking my 3 year old to Disney for the first time in February. I am finding that the planning is getting overwhelming. We already have our hotel and airfare...but that s it! Can you please make suggestions as to what are the must-sees/must-dos for a 3 year old? We re definitely going to do Magic Kingdom, but we re going to pass on water parks. Is Epcot appropriate for a 3 year old, or will he not really know what s going on? I need help:) Thank you!
My daughter had her first Disney visit on her third birthday (she is 21 now). All the Disney parks have something to offer for all ages. Although the Magic Kingdom is more geared for children, it can also be the most crowded of the parks. So if your child doesn t like crowds, you might want to try Animal Kingdom now and do MK when he is a couple years older. Check the Disney website to see what snacks you are allowed to bring in (no straws at AK) and check on meal plan pricing (if visiting Hollywood Studios, make a reservation for lunch or dinner). Also look on the website to see what time the parks close. They alternate which ones are open late. Some close as early as 5pm and others stay open as late as after midnight, depending on what day you visit. So if he is not overwhelmed, you can stay longer. Your local library may have Disney guidebooks and videos to look at to help with planning. There is also Downtown Disney in the area, which is mostly shopping, clubs, and restaurants, but fun to walk around and is free to park and visit. He can build with Legos there and there are large Lego sculptures in the lake .
We took a 2 and 4 year old last year. They loved MK, of course, but there were also things for them to do in Epcot. The ride through Mexico, the display in Canada (a 360 degree display that you stand in), the ride in Norway, etc. They loved the Nemo ride and of course Turtletalk with Crush. Hollywood Studios has a lot to offer as did Animal Kingdom. I would go to the WDW website and enter the Discover area and that will give you more info about each park and what there is to do. Also,check out the website allears.net It has all kinds of info that will help you.Good luck and have fun.
It s kind of hard to answer your question without more information... but here goes...Planning: You need to start thinking about your meals. If you want any sit down meals (table service) you ll need to make your reservations very shortly. Otherwise all the restaurants fill up and you ll only be able to get counter service meals (think fast food).The best resource out there I ve found is www.allears.net. They have sections to help you through every aspect of your trip.Regarding Epcot... each of the countries and the most of the main pavilions have a kid cot mask station You get a paper mask on a stick that you can color. Then at every other station there is a little something you can color that represents the country (like gingerbread man for Germany or Fleur-de-lies for France) and they can hang it from a loop on the mask. They also have some scavenger hunt type games in Epcot. Remember, you re talking about Disney here. They specialize in something for everyone. They reel them in young and then give them something to keep them coming back forever. No matter what age your child is, there is a Disney experience in every park that is appropriate for them. If they don t have something for three-year-olds, then how are they going to get the parents to come down with the whole family and spend all that money?