Which park and attractions for preschoolers?

thor369

Mouseketeer
Joined
May 9, 2019
I am trying to plan our first Disney trip and will be going with two boys 5 and 2. Either in the next few weeks or beginning of October.

1. Which parks should we focus on based on their age.
2. Which rides would be most find given their age.
3. They are into dinosaurs, cars and toy story.
 
Depends on how many days you are planning. I'd do as many days as you can afford. Personally I'd do somewhere between 5-7 park days, with a rest day or a short day in the middle. I'd do all 4 parks, Magic kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood, and Animal kingdom at least once and Magic kingdom a second time if you are there long enough. They can go on any ride without a height requirements. Depending on how tall your oldest is, he should be able to do a few more rides.

In Magic kingdom, Peter pan, pooh, buzz, people mover, tomorrowland speedway if open, small world, little mermaid, enchanted tales with belle, branstormer if tall enough and 7 dwarfs.

Animal kingdom, navi river, safari, kali river rapids, lion king show, finding nemo show

Hollywood studios, I'd do all of the toy story rides, slinky dog has the highest height requirement, plus muppets, disney junior show,

Epcot, nemo ride and aquarium, living with the land, soarin if tall enough and test track. Frozen ride.

It really depends on height and how many days.
 
MK has the most to offer for small children, but you can find stuff to do with them in every park. HS has Toy Story Land and Lightning McQueen’s racing academy, and AK has Dinoland USA.
 
Is it just the three of you or will you have another adult? Given their ages, they won't generally be permitted to ride anything without an adult (technically someone 14 or older) sitting directly beside them and not all rides fit 3 across. This would also mean the 5 year old couldn't ride anything that the youngest was too short for unless there was someone else to take him through the queue and ride with him.

MK definitely has the most rides without a height requirement. All parks have their fun aspects for young boys though. Dinoland and all of the animals would probably interest them in AK, HS has Toy Story Land, and Epcot has the aquarium and Cars and Soarin might especially interest the 5 yo if he is tall enough.
 
I am trying to plan our first Disney trip and will be going with two boys 5 and 2. Either in the next few weeks or beginning of October.

1. Which parks should we focus on based on their age.
2. Which rides would be most find given their age.
3. They are into dinosaurs, cars and toy story.
Magic Kingdom is most generally kiddy with the least height requirements, Animal Kingdom has DinoLand that's great for kids as well as other kid-friendly attractions, Epcot has a few rides but I don't think that Epcot sounds like a good fit for your party, and Hollywood Studios has toy story land (slinky dog dash has the highest height requirement but is super fun)
 
Yeah I'm struggling with what I'm going to do with an almost-3 year old at Epcot. There's Frozen and Turtle Talk and Nemo and not much else. When my older daughter was that age, we skipped Epcot that trip and I don't want to this time...
 
Yeah I'm struggling with what I'm going to do with an almost-3 year old at Epcot. There's Frozen and Turtle Talk and Nemo and not much else. When my older daughter was that age, we skipped Epcot that trip and I don't want to this time...

Epcot was my 20 month old daughter's favorite place (honestly) as she hated most rides. So living with the land, frozen, nemo and turtle talk were just fine. There is an abundance of characters at Epcot, especially in the world show case. The pathways are nice and wide, so she could walk around out of the stroller....
 


I agree that MK has the most to offer by far, however there is plenty to do at the other parks.

MK - Peter Pan, It's a Small World, Barnstormer, Buzz Lightyear, Peoplemover, Pirates, Haunted Mansion (if they aren't scared), Winnie the Pooh, Little Mermaid, Dumbo...and the list goes on.
AK - Na'vi (although it can be a long line for a short ride), Dino area, there is even a playground area but the name is escaping me at the moment, Bugs Life, Safari, Lion King, etc.
EP - Living Seas, Turtle Talk, Spaceship Earth, Figment, The Land, Frozen Ever After, Three Caballeros, plus Kidcot in World Showcase.
HS - Toy Storyland, Indiana Jones Shows, Disney Junior, Fantasmic, Lightning McQueen's Racing Academy, Jedi Training

Depending on how many days, you might considering 2 days of MK.
 
Epcot was my 20 month old daughter's favorite place (honestly) as she hated most rides. So living with the land, frozen, nemo and turtle talk were just fine. There is an abundance of characters at Epcot, especially in the world show case. The pathways are nice and wide, so she could walk around out of the stroller....

That's encouraging. My older daughter was not very adventurous (still isn't at age 9...) but I think my younger one may be more into rides. I was thinking of having her meet Mickey, etc. at Epcot instead of taking up MK time with that.
 
Yeah I'm struggling with what I'm going to do with an almost-3 year old at Epcot. There's Frozen and Turtle Talk and Nemo and not much else. When my older daughter was that age, we skipped Epcot that trip and I don't want to this time...

Can do the Three Caballeros boat ride in Mexico
 
Just from my experience when OS was two:

MK - Dumbo, Peter Pan's Flight, Cinderella Carousel, Little Mermaid, Buzz Lightyear, Winnie the Pooh, all safe bets. If your littles are on the braver side (she says, eyeing OS whining that his birthday isn't on Halloween so he can't have a haunted house party), add Pirates and Haunted Mansion to that list. Small World can be fun for littles, but mine at least spent the entire time looking bothered and then remarked, as we disembarked, "That was WEIRD."

Epcot - All of Living Seas, Spaceship Earth, Imagination (whatever it's called nowadays), Frozen Ever After (but only if you have big Frozen fans; otherwise, I found it kind of underwhelming and OS gave it a solid "meh"), Gran Fiesta Tour. Your older one might enjoy Soarin as well, but the two-year-old will be too little (but they have a nice open play space at the end of the ride for when you're doing rider swap).

HS - Toy Story Mania (really, all of Toy Story Land), Disney Junior, Fantasmic, Indiana Jones if they're feeling adventurous

AK - Kilimanjaro Safaris, all of the walking trails, DinoLand USA (especially the bone yard--I think that may have been OS' favorite part of the trip).
 
my son loved HS junior is over there he met Jake, princess Sophia the Minnie from the Disney junior and a few others.
the toy story stuff was just added bonus.
 
The only park that I would not spend much time in, maybe just a half day, is HS. My kids loved all of the other parks. All of it is new to young kids and they see wonder and excitement in almost anything. Heck, they can be entertained for hours just by watching the ducks. Parents now tend to overthink things when it comes to their kids. Just go and do what you think will be fun for everyone(which is most things), skip the rides that they are too small for, and just have fun.
 
For preschoolers for sure anywhere in MK, AK's Dinoland as well as the area near the safari ride (not sure it it's Africa or Asia) and the Maharajah's Trail could be fun. At Epcot the Future Worlds have possibilities especially with all those fountains, interactive or not. Feel like visiting the World Showcase? Remember that the lake has 2 boats to take you from one side to the other. HS' new ToyLand is swarming with small children. Whenever you need a sit down w/ air conditioning rest there are shows at all the parks.
 
My kids are 4&2, and my 4 y/o doesn’t like rides at all, but we just spent a whole day at Epcot. We got a fast pass to meet the Disney pals- Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy. You can also meet Anna and Elsa in Norway. Each country has a Kidcot station where you can collect cards to color on (great for a quick break in the shade or AC) and a sticker to put in their “suitcase” baggie supplied by cast members. It’s also a god excuse to try new drinks and snacks while you go around the world.
 
I think those three parks MK, AK and HS is what we will focus on. Also found out about T. rex restaurant at Disney springs and a Dino store so will check that out as well. Now the hardest part is when to go. One of the kids birthday is on October and wee thinking of going then but it might be too crowded with SW. not sure about November crowds. If not then we will have to go in feb 2020 or something which feel too far out.
 
I think those three parks MK, AK and HS is what we will focus on. Also found out about T. rex restaurant at Disney springs and a Dino store so will check that out as well. Now the hardest part is when to go. One of the kids birthday is on October and wee thinking of going then but it might be too crowded with SW. not sure about November crowds. If not then we will have to go in feb 2020 or something which feel too far out.

Eh I've been planning my July 2020 trip since July 2018, no such thing as too far out.
 
Yeah I'm struggling with what I'm going to do with an almost-3 year old at Epcot. There's Frozen and Turtle Talk and Nemo and not much else. When my older daughter was that age, we skipped Epcot that trip and I don't want to this time...

Interesting...my son liked Epcot. He’s been on 2 trips - 18 months and the week before he turned 3. He likes the Nemo ride and Turtle Talk, and he was fine with Living with the Land. In addition, he enjoyed Spaceship Earth and really loved the Gran Fiesta Tour. He didn’t like the Frozen ride though, go figure.

On the 18 month trip, we did lunch at Garden Grille and had a blast. On the almost 3 trip, we met Mickey & Friends at the Character spot, in addition to Belle, Anna, and Elsa in world showcase. He was quite taken with the train set in Germany.

On the almost 3 trip, we were there during Food & Wine, so it was a great opportunity to do a lot of his favorite activity - eating. He was excited to try a lot of the foods from around the world!
 
The only park that I would not spend much time in, maybe just a half day, is HS. My kids loved all of the other parks. All of it is new to young kids and they see wonder and excitement in almost anything. Heck, they can be entertained for hours just by watching the ducks. Parents now tend to overthink things when it comes to their kids. Just go and do what you think will be fun for everyone(which is most things), skip the rides that they are too small for, and just have fun.

I have to say I disagree on this one. We did the Early Morning Magic event with our almost 3 year old and still didn’t leave the park until 5 PM! And there were still things we didn’t do! It was the first day of our trip and really set the tone for a great vacation.
 
Interesting...my son liked Epcot. He’s been on 2 trips - 18 months and the week before he turned 3. He likes the Nemo ride and Turtle Talk, and he was fine with Living with the Land. In addition, he enjoyed Spaceship Earth and really loved the Gran Fiesta Tour. He didn’t like the Frozen ride though, go figure.

On the 18 month trip, we did lunch at Garden Grille and had a blast. On the almost 3 trip, we met Mickey & Friends at the Character spot, in addition to Belle, Anna, and Elsa in world showcase. He was quite taken with the train set in Germany.

On the almost 3 trip, we were there during Food & Wine, so it was a great opportunity to do a lot of his favorite activity - eating. He was excited to try a lot of the foods from around the world!

My kids loved Epcot too. I remember one trip, we were going back and forth between The Land pavilion, the Seas, and Journey. My husband got so sick of all of those rides and said we had to move on to another part of the park. LOL We do Epcot as much as MK on our trips.
 

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