MGM & Epcot for little kids

[jenniferk97]

Hi everyone, I'm going to WDW in less than three weeks! I'll be staying at the Polynesian with my hubby and two kids, a son who will be six in three months, and a girl who is two and a half.

I saw a thread here recently that encouraged me to think my kids might enjoy Epcot. Now I'm looking for an actual "to do" list for both Epcot and MGM....for a family with little kids. My kids are not really all that into Disney, per se, like they won't watch the Bear in the Big Blue house even when I leave it on, and they've never seen the Little Mermaid....maybe I should rent it? Anyway, please give me any tips or advice that you have.

Thanks,
JenniferK

 

[2d_star_to_the_right]

My sons were 4, 2 last year when we did Disney. They both enjoyed MGM and EPCOT. At MGM they really enjoyed the Star Tours ride, Tower of Terror, Catastrophe Canyon, The Little Mermaid, THe Honey Playground and their all time favorite- Indiana Jones. They also enjoyed Fantasmic.

At Epcot- my older son loved Test Track (my younger is too small) and Spaceship Earth and the dinosaurs and the Imagination complex. They liked visiting all of the countries- especially the Kidcot stations. At that time you were given a mask and at each country you added something to it- like your name in chinese at China. Illuminations was really popular.

IT is definately a different atmosphere, but one my kids really loved.

 

[Planogirl]

You might want to take them to Playhouse Disney even if they don't normally watch. It's fun to see the characters in person and there are tons of other kids there.

As for favorites at MGM, my son has always loved Indiana Jones, the Muppets, the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground, Fantasmic and surprisingly, the Animation Tour! He was always an Epcot fan even when very small. He enjoyed Spaceship Earth, El Rio del Tiempo, Universe of Energy, Food Rocks, Cranium Command and the Imagination ride. He also liked to wander around World Showcase as long as we didn't dawdle too much but used to be scared by Illuminations. For little things at Epcot, there's the talking water fountain and the sparkles in the sidewalk at night.

 

[jlaspoq]

I would rent Little Mermaid and then plan to see that show at MGM- I think your DD would like seeing Ariel (unless she's scared of Ursula). Our kids love the Beauty and the Beast show and Little Mermaid. If you plan to rent some movies anyway, pick up a few classic Disney's like Beauty & the Beast (show at MGM), Peter Pan (ride at MK), Pooh (ride at MK), Cinderella (castle at MK) etc. Might tie in better for them when they are in the parks. OR instead of renting movies, get some of the Little Golden Books - they have almost all the Disney stories in an abridged version.

At Epcot, enjoy the atmosphere in the World Showcase - there are always interesting street performers, etc.

Have fun!

 

[BevS97]

Epcot: My dd at 3.5 and 4.5 enjoyed:

Spaceship Earth - at 3.5 she was a little nervous of the dark, so we got a Pooh Bear torch, and with that to keep her safe she was fine. at 4.5 it was one of her favorite rides and we did it repeatedly.

Living Seas - she was ok in here, she wasn't scared, but in the large aquarium room she started to run wild and I had to take her out as she was being disruptive. This is really the only place she did this, and I think it was because it is a big open room with things to look at all around, and no strollers are allowed in, so she had to hold my hand which she hates.

The Land:
Circle of Life - this is a film about the environment - I thought it was about Pumba and Simba, but they are only a small part of the film - its not particularly kid friendly, although ok.
The Land Ride - she really enjoyed this, and wanted to do it again - it has a long line, so get a fast pass and eat or watch
Food Rocks while you wait.
Food Rocks is just a fun music show which kids should enjoy

Journey into Imagination:
She liked the Figment Ride - I haven't taken her into the Honey I shrunk the Audience film, as I don't think she would like it.
There is also a fun play area after the Figment ride, which is worth visiting even if you don't go the ride.

Wonders of Life - there is not much for kids in here.

Mexico: El Rio del Tiempo - this is a small boat ride, similiar to Its a Small World, it's nothing thrilling but my dd loves it.

Maelstrom: This is a boat ride, which is pretty tame. it does have some trolls on it, which made my dd nervous, and there is one drop which is backwards. She was a little unsure but was happy enough afterwards.

In the rest of the countrys, we just like to explore - we get the masks, and have had the passport, so we find a CM to help us with them, look for characters, check out the street entertainers - there isn't anything specific I can tell you, it's different each time we go, which is part of the charm.

also - if it's warm, look out for the fountains in the pavement, my dd loves to play in these - there are some on the path between world showcase and future world (right down the center of the park) but I think there are others around and about as well.

Bev

 

[BethC]

My kids are older now so they seek out the thrill rides, but we always found plenty to do at both parks when they were younger.

At MGM, must do's were Muppetvision 3D, Indiana Jones, Backlot Tour/Catastrophe Canyon, Great Movie Ride, Voyage of the Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. My kids used to love the Doug Live show so much that we would see it multiple times on our trips, but alas it is no longer there. We did see the Bear in the Big Blue House show a couple of times (it's now Playhouse Disney), but it wasn't a favorite.

At Epcot, Spaceship Earth was always a must (it's not so exciting for them anymore - LOL!), and we could spend hours in Innoventions. They have that Mickey tag game that the kids still love, and all kinds of fun hands-on events. Ice Station Cool is a fun diversion and Universe of Energy was always real popular because of the dinosaurs. We still can't visit Epcot without seeing the Food Rocks show in the land - it's corny but so much fun. Making masks in the World Showcase was always one of their favorite things to do as well.

 

[NotUrsula]

That was the catalyst that started my DS's Star Wars obsession; he LOVES that ride. He was not quite 3 the first time he rode it. He did it in total silence, hands clenched on the armrests, and we were sure that he was scared, but when it ended, he yelled, "Yeah! Again!" None of the bad guys show up in that ride, BTW, but you do get a ride through a field of meteors. I see adults that complain about feeling sick on it, but little kids seem not to have that happen as much.

The very first theme park ride that DS ever went on, at age 2, was Spaceship Earth. As he later did with ST, he did the whole ride in total silence, just rapt. When we got off, he looked up at me with a really big smile and said, "That good riding!" At 6 it is still one of his favorites.

BTW, if your children just meet a height requirement on a ride at either park, but it's a very close call, they are more likely to get on if they *walk* into the ride line. If you carry them the CM's are more likely to closely question their height.

Universe of Energy has dinosaurs, but they are quite tame, unlike the ones in Dinosaur at AK; the rest of the ride is long, though, and can be hard for little guys. DS actually learned a lot on that ride, and it's one of his favorites; he always asks to do it. We hear a lot about "brainpower," LOL.

The effects in the Little Mermaid are wonderful, and little kids really believe that they are under the sea. (Among other things, it "rains" a fine mist of water onto the audience.) FastPass this show, because the waiting area gets crowded and hot. Besides, waiting toward the back of the area gives you better seats for kids; don't try to get close to the theater doors; you are entering from the side, so that would put you in the seats on the far side of the theatre. You want to aim for sitting center back.

At Epcot, be prepared for your little one to love the atmosphere of the place itself; I've seen toddlers spend hours trying to "squish" the sparkles in the sparkling sidewalks, or guess which fountain jet will spurt water next. The model trains at the German pavilion are also a favorite with the little ones, as is the viking ship playground outside Norway. Get a really good pastry from the shop in France, and take a photo of them smiling through the cream and the chocolate!

 

[jenniferk97]

WOW, thanks!!! I have really hit the jackpot with all of your replies. I am going to print this thread right before we leave in two weeks, and take this as a guide for those two parks.

I was thinking of Epcot as a place to go after a nap, as a park hop. Now I'm starting to think that after our first day at MK (a Wednesday), perhaps we should get up early and do Epcot on Thursday, which is supposedly a non-crowded day there. It's either that or probably go on Saturday after lunch (my 40th birthday and we are having an 11am breakfast at Chef Mickey's!)...and then again Sunday evening after our day at AK. Right now we are thinking Monday at MGM, before we leave Tuesay. Another way to do this would be save that last day for a full Epcot day, doing MGM as our "hop there in the evenings" park.

Any opinions on this very flexible itinerary? It's hard being a total newbie. Our next trip will be so much easier to plan.

We are sort of thinking a full day at MK on Wednesday (but napping mid-day, at our Poly room) and we'll go back to MK in a leisurely fashion on Friday, if the kids want. If we choose to do Epcot as evenings only, never a full day, we'll probably do Universal on Thursday, or maybe Friday, depending on how we did at MK Wednesday. If we "went all day", then Thursday will be a day at the volcano pool, before trying Universal on Friday. Gosh, reading this is pretty confusing. I hope it's understandable enough to get some advice, LOL.

Jennifer

 

[BevS97]

I can't make sense of all your options so I won't try and make you a plan, but here are some suggestions: I hope they help, rather than confuse the issue.

I would suggest that Epcot is good for 2 (or more) half days - it opens till quite late at night, much later than the other parks, so I would suggest getting there around 2 or 3 depending on your nap schedule and staying all evening- this works well for us.

Also Future World tends to be very quiet in the afternoons - I think most people get there early and then move into world showcase after lunch.

MK I would plan a couple of trips too - if you wake up early, then get there before opening and spend the morning there - leaving for your nap just when it starts to get really really hectic.

I'm not so sure about MGM - I think Fantasmic is usually on about 8, and if you want to see it, you need to either do a dinner package, or get to the stadium at least 1 1/2 hours early. Which means if you got to the park later on, you wouldn't get much time there.

I would visit everywhere, but plan on revisiting MK a few times - I think 3 short visits is better than one long day. We do the same with Epcot as we really enjoy it, it's more fun each time you go back because you can revist your favorite things and also find new things that you missed the first time.

It looks like you have 6 days in WDW - I would probably skip Universal unless you are really keen to go there - I would take more time at WDW, so you can relax and enjoy it, rather than feeling rushed that this is your only chance to do something.

I presume you've got this info already, but just in case

the early entry days are
Sunday -----Magic Kingdom
Monday -----Disney's Animal Kingdom
Tuesday----- Disney's MGM Studios
Wednesday --Epcot
Thursday -----Magic Kingdom
Friday ---------Disney's Animal Kingdom
Saturday------- Disney's MGM Studios

this means that you can enter these parks an hour early, but it also means that they are likely to be very busy on those days. If you are up early, then you might like to go early and then move onto another park later on when it gets busy. Personally, we try and go to the park the following day - although MK on a Monday is usually very busy, as we discovered last June - it was so bad we left and went to Epcot.

Also, you can check the park hours and fireworks/parade schedules hereDisney Park Hours

Have a great trip!

Bev

 

[CuteKatCar]

Don't forget to check out the "jumping" water outside of Honey I Shrunk the Kids in Epcot.

My girls have been to WDW starting at 2 1/2 and have been there approx. every two years since. They're 10 and 7 now.

At 2 1/2, one DD's favorite ride was Spaceship Earth. She's a trooper - isn't afraid of dark and loud. Honey I Shrunk...was the only ride she cried on that time and I had to take her out.

Tower of Terror is quite scary, IMO. It depends on whether your child is a daredevil .

We have not been to Universal. Mostly because friends tell me my kids are too young because there's a lot of stuff for older kids. But I can't comment any more than that since we haven't been there.

My girls would never, ever pass up either MGM or Epcot. They love both of them.

As far as MK, we stay on the monorail as well. I would say we go there at least 5 times during our stay. One year we went to MK 8 different times during our stay. We were there eight nights, we are commandos, we *love* MK and we do 2 parks a day. If we feel like eating at MK, we 'll go to the park, ride 1 or 2 rides, eat and leave. When you're on the monorail, you're at MK in under 10 minutes. And you have little ones, so MK is just the ultimate for them.

Enjoy their faces. It's such a treasure to watch your little ones take in the magic. Oh, and the magic - you feel that as soon as you enter Main St., USA.

Anna

 

[momof2intx]

I was 15 when I saw the Muppet Theatre show with my mom and my best friend and I loved it!!! It was by far my favorite thing that we saw in MGM that trip! (besides kissing the handprints of Billy Joel in front of the Great Movie Ride! )

I can't wait to watch it again with my kids -- it will be the first thing we do at MGM!!!

Jennifer

 

[Planogirl]

Animal Kingdom may be a half day park for you just like for us or you may like it so much, you'll want to come back. You might want to try to spend half days or so at each of the Disney parks to gauge how much time you'll want to spend at each one and then you can decide where to work in Universal. Epcot is definitely very nice late in the day but parts of Future World will likely close at 6 so you'll want to plan accordingly. Don't forget that a trip to Downtown Disney one evening is great too and there's two wonderful waterparks on site.

There's way too many choices sometimes!

 

[eakmom]

One good piece of advice I've gotten from these boards: Once your kids see the MK, other parks will probably pale in comparison! We're going in 10 days (yeah!) with our 2 1/2 yr old DD (her first trip, my 5th). We plan to do AK Monday (early entry), Seaworld (DD's choice) Tuesday, MGM Wed, Thurs MK, Fri MK (we're doing Chef Mickey's breakfast before we leave on Saturday). Since we'll have to return to Fort Wilderness for her nap time (trying to maintain her home schedule as much as possible), we'll hit Epcot probably 2 or 3 times after her nap. The toughest thing for us will be making it to the 4:00 Jungle parade in the AK - she's a power-napper and we've learned NOT to wake her up!

Also, since you're staying at the Polynesian (1) the kids will be able to see the MK from the beach so you may not be able to put it off as easily as we will, and (2) your kids will definitely want time to play in the pool so you'll have to factor that in too.

We stayed at the Polynesian 3 times in the "olden days" (30+ years ago - ouch!) when the only park was the MK. We used to go in mid summer and would spend the entire day by the beach (back then you could swim in the Seven Seas Lagoon) then go to the MK in late afternoon and stay all evening - it was cooler and the crowds were better. Although I think the newer parks are great, I kind of miss those slower days...

 

[jenniferk97]

There is a part of me that says why not do it like you say it was in the old days? Regardless, I've done a lot of research on which days are the most crowded at which parks, and I'm baseing our itinerary on escaping the big crowd-days, judging by what I've read on sites like touringplans.com. Anyway, here is our itinerary:

Wed - MK
Thurs - Epcot
Fri - MK
Saturday - no parks, my 40th birthday
Sun - AK
Mon - MGM

We also have passes to Universal, should we want to do that, but I'm starting to think we might save those for a long weekend over at Universal, later in the year.

I do get what you are saying about saving MK for last, and maybe next time around we'll do that, but we want to go there first to get the un-tired magic on tape, of our very first trip. I'm still open to going to MK even more than twice, but my kids are very non-demanding and go with the flow, sort of docile and "easy" (God blessed me after making me wait so long!)

Right now they are 5 & 2...next time they'll be 8 & 5, and that will be a whole 'nother ball game, I'm sure.

JenniferK

 

[Harambe]

Please take your little ones down Mickey Avenue in MGM. There are a slew of characters just waiting for you. In about 1/2 hour, we saw Minnie, Goofy, Donald, Meeko, Pluto, Green Army guy from Toy Story, and in the Toy Barn - Buzz, Woody, and Jesse.

Our kids were loving it!