Magic Kingdom with Toddlers

[SailorJeri]

Hello Everyone!
We're going to Magic Kingdom Aug 28. This will be our first time trying to navigate the park with toddlers (2 and 4). I've made a list of rides/attractions that I think would be great for the kids. Am I being overambitious with the following list? Is it possible to actually do all of these in one day? If not, what would you skip and what would you absolutely not miss?

- Meet Mickey at Town Square Theater
- Swiss Family Treehouse
- Magic Carpets of Aladdin
- Jungle Cruise
- Enchanted Tiki Room
- Country Bear Jamboree
- Tom Sawyer Island
- Haunted Mansion
- It's a Small World
- Peter Pan's Flight
- Prince Charming Carrousel
- PhilharMagic
- Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
- Mad Tea Party
- Dumbo
- Pete's Silly Sideshow
- Casey Jr Splash N Soak (I think this one will be unavoidable once the kids see it.)
- Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin
- Astro Orbiter
- Monsters Inc Laugh Floor.

Thanks in advance for your input!

 

[TheDailyMoo]

In one day?!?

Not sure I could do that all in one day as an adult with G+. I would for sure try to break that up over multiple days if you can. If you're only there one day then I'd have to think you try to hit a Peter Pan as your big ride for sure and then can figure it out based on wait times or G+ if using that. Been the last few years with a toddler in tow and it's much slower moving in general and I love to pack in as much as possible. Take it easy I say and enjoy just taking your time and watching the wonder in your kids' faces. And be prepared for many breakdowns/rests/pit stops. But sounds like a great list and hope you hit as many as possible!

 

[SailorJeri]

In one day?!?

I knew I was being over ambitious. I think I'm just excited and can't decide what to take off the list! It's also my first time going to MK and not doing the "big kid rides" so I wasn't sure if I could squeeze more in by avoiding them.

 

[TheDailyMoo]

I knew I was being over ambitious. I think I'm just excited and can't decide what to take off the list! It's also my first time going to MK and not doing the "big kid rides" so I wasn't sure if I could squeeze more in by avoiding them.

I just added more above but yeah please by all means it's a WHOLE different trip with a toddler much less two that age! We did Disney plenty before kids and that was one thing we had to change when we went back with a toddler is knowing it was going to be a very different kind of Disney than the one we used to do! Still great...even better I'd say because of how wonderful it is to watch your kids enjoy...but very different!

 

[Betty Rohrer]

Hello Everyone!
We're going to Magic Kingdom Aug 28. This will be our first time trying to navigate the park with toddlers (2 and 4). I've made a list of rides/attractions that I think would be great for the kids. Am I being overambitious with the following list? Is it possible to actually do all of these in one day? If not, what would you skip and what would you absolutely not miss?

- Meet Mickey at Town Square Theater
- Swiss Family Treehouse
- Magic Carpets of Aladdin
- Jungle Cruise
- Enchanted Tiki Room
- Country Bear Jamboree
- Tom Sawyer Island
- Haunted Mansion
- It's a Small World
- Peter Pan's Flight
- Prince Charming Carrousel
- PhilharMagic
- Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
- Mad Tea Party
- Dumbo
- Pete's Silly Sideshow
- Casey Jr Splash N Soak (I think this one will be unavoidable once the kids see it.)
- Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin
- Astro Orbiter
- Monsters Inc Laugh Floor.

Thanks in advance for your input!

unless you figure out a way to carry 2 year old up and down the steps on Swiss Family Treehouse I would skip that one. not sure about Tiki Room either as they will just be sitting unless you use as get out of heat.

 

[ttintagel]

Even if your plan is perfect, one of the most important things to remember about traveling with children that age is that you need to be prepared to change your plans on the fly. I've seen (and also personally known) so many families with little children having a miserable time at the parks because they were so focused on checking off every item on their itinerary. Don't get me wrong; I'm a stereotypical Virgo who loves a good plan and gets stressed out at the idea of completely winging it. But little kids can get overwhelmed and need a certain amount of flexibility.

 

[loves to dive]

As others have said, that might be a bit ambitious. You might need to do rider swap on some and skip some. Not sure the 4 year old is going to like HM, the 2 year old won't know the difference. Swiss Family is going to be hard with the 2 year old. I think Dumbo and Magic Carpet have a height limit (not sure) and if they do, again the 2 year old might not be able to ride. Some little ones have issues meeting the characters. My grand daughter would have nothing to do with them when she was 18 months old, cried the whole time. Buzz might not appeal to either and again, not sure if Orbiter has a height requirement. They may or may not like the shows, just depends on the kid and their mood.

As others have pointed out, it is a total different ball game with little ones. I started taking my son when he was just shy of 3 (he is now 43) and there were days when we might ride 3 rides and days when we rode more. I was a single mom so no rider swap. I learned early on if he wanted to run around the hub for half a hour, we ran around the hub. If he was getting too cranky for words, we went back to the resort for a break. Even when we took my then 8 month old grand daughter (she has already been twice and will go again before she is 3) we didn't ride as many rides and she slept in the stroller a lot and we could do rider swap. You tend to start later and leave earlier and lots of breaks are important.

 

[slo]

I’ve taken my girls at almost every age starting at 13 months.
My answers below are in red (this is what we would do)

If your kids scare easily then some things you’ll want to avoid
Have Fun

Hello Everyone!
We're going to Magic Kingdom Aug 28. This will be our first time trying to navigate the park with toddlers (2 and 4). I've made a list of rides/attractions that I think would be great for the kids. Am I being overambitious with the following list? Is it possible to actually do all of these in one day? If not, what would you skip and what would you absolutely not miss?

- Meet Mickey at Town Square Theater - yes, never a long wait
- Swiss Family Treehouse - skip (do Pirates instead)
- Magic Carpets of Aladdin - yes
- Jungle Cruise - yes
- Enchanted Tiki Room - yes
- Country Bear Jamboree - maybe
- Tom Sawyer Island - skip
- Haunted Mansion - depends on if your kids will get scared
- It's a Small World - yes
- Peter Pan's Flight - yes
- Prince Charming Carrousel - yes
- PhilharMagic - yes
- Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh - yes
- Mad Tea Party - maybe if time permitted
- Dumbo - yes
- Pete's Silly Sideshow - never been so I don’t know
- Casey Jr Splash N Soak (I think this one will be unavoidable once the kids see it.)
- Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin - yes
- Astro Orbiter - skip (do the Tomorrowland Speedway instead)
- Monsters Inc Laugh Floor. - skip (do the People Mover instead)

Thanks in advance for your input!

 

[sponica]

My kids are odd and hated pirates and jungle cruise, it was just a bunch of crying on pirates. My 20 month old wouldn't sit still on jungle cruise and it became a loooooooooong boat ride of me trying to keep her on my lap.

I also divide MK into 2 parts so it's more manageable.

 

[clm10308]

Hello Everyone!
We're going to Magic Kingdom Aug 28. This will be our first time trying to navigate the park with toddlers (2 and 4). I've made a list of rides/attractions that I think would be great for the kids. Am I being overambitious with the following list? Is it possible to actually do all of these in one day? If not, what would you skip and what would you absolutely not miss?

- Meet Mickey at Town Square Theater - may have long line. Also, my kid did not like costumed characters until he was about 6.
- Swiss Family Treehouse -no, has lots and lots of stairs. You will probably end up having to carry both kids.
- Magic Carpets of Aladdin - yes
- Jungle Cruise- would not have taken my 2yr old on this because he couldn’t sit still at all
- Enchanted Tiki Room - maybe, but the show might be too long for a 2yr old
- Country Bear Jamboree - yes
- Tom Sawyer Island - yes
- Haunted Mansion - might be too dark and scary
- It's a Small World- yes except that it can be along ride for a toddler who cannot sit still
- Peter Pan's Flight - the ride is fine, but this one can have a very long wait
- Prince Charming Carrousel - yes
- PhilharMagic - Will the kids wear the 3D glasses?
- Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh - yes
- Mad Tea Party - yes
- Dumbo- yes
- Pete's Silly Sideshow
- Casey Jr Splash N Soak (I think this one will be unavoidable once the kids see it.) Yes
- Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin - yes
- Astro Orbiter - maybe
- Monsters Inc Laugh Floor. - maybe

Thanks in advance for your input!

I would add the train and the Tomorrowland Speedway.