Disney with a three year old

Hi. I will be accompanying my husband to a conference in mid-November which will afford us the opportunity to spend two days at Disney. I will have a three and a half year old. I was wondering if we should spend BOTH days at the Magic Kingdom or if we should do one at the Magic Kingdom and one at Animal Kingdom. My daughter is REALLY into Disney princesses. Are there enough ';Disney-ish'; things for her at Animal Kingdom (she scares pretty easily) and on the flip-side, is there enough to do for her for two days at Magic Kingdom? Is there any kind of price break to go to Magic Kingdom for two days versus one?

Thanks for your help!

baijes

Disney with a three year old

Hello baijes,

That%26#39;s a tough call, I would see how it goes on your first day to Magic Kingdom. If the crowds are thick you may need two day at Magic Kingdom, however if your able to fit in all the attractions you want your daughter to experience then by all means go to Animal Kingdom also!

Here is a list of must do attractions for your little one:

Magic Kingdom: Peter Pan%26#39;s Flight, Dumbo, The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh, go to the Judge%26#39;s Tent for a picture with Mickey! Mickey%26#39;s Philharmagic is great for all ages. There%26#39;s Toon Park and Pooh%26#39;s Play area.

For a character meal choices where your guaranteed to get great pictures book The Crystal Palace for breakfast or Cinderellas Royal Table.

At Animal Kingdom It%26#39;s Tough To Be A Bug, Kilimanjaro Safaris, The Boneyard where little ones dig for fossils in a huge sandbox in a playground with dinosaur footprints that if they step on them they hear a dinosaur roar. Festival of The Lion King is a not to be missed show also!!!

Yes two day tickets do give you a break. The more days you buy the less expensive it is. Purchase the two day base ticket which I believe for children 3-9 is $96.00 and adults $125.00. Children under 3 is free.

Disney with a three year old

For a three year old, I would recommend two days at Magic Kingdom. There is more there than you can actually do in one day and it is more accessible to a little one. That also gives you the opportunity to do a princess breakfast or lunch at Cinderella%26#39;s Royal Table - which is the restaurant at the castle in MK. Which princess does she prefer?

Cinderellabration is ending in September but there is storytime with Belle at MK. There are princess meet %26amp; greets at the park and there are lots of kid friendly rides that you can both enjoy. Snow White%26#39;s Scary Adventure is a little scary for one that small.

I don%26#39;t recommend Animal Kingdom because it generally closes earlier than the other parks which is fine if you are there for several days but is kind of expensive if you are buying a two day ticket - especially when she cannot ride Expedition Everest and Kali River Rapids and might find ';It%26#39;s Tough to Be A Bug'; a little scary. That doesn%26#39;t leave a lot. I would recommend Disney-MGM Studios instead, if you really want to try a second park. They have the Beauty %26amp; The Beast Live show, the Voyage of the Little Mermaid, and Playhouse Disney live. Just be aware that the Great Movie Ride is scary for little ones - the ride vehicle is taken over by gangsters and the Alien scene is creepy.

A Princess fan might enjoy the Princess room %26amp; the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique at Downtown Disney%26#39;s World of Disney store - here is information:

buildabettermousetrip.com/activity-bbb.html

Have your husband check with the meeting planner to see if the special convention Disney tickets will be available for purchase. They are cheaper than the tickets offered to the general public. They include half day tickets, which could come in handy if he has meetings in the morning and an afternoon free, as well as two and three day tickets.

Mid November won%26#39;t be super busy, so you may be able to get through the Magic Kingdom in a day. However, you may also decide that it%26#39;s nice to take a nap break back at the hotel in the afternoon, so having the second day would make your trip through the park much more relaxing. Although all the Disney parks are kid friendly, the MK is the most ';princess'; oriented. There is also a section of Disney%26#39;s website that breaks down the attractions and shows by age group, so you can find out which parks have the most kid friendly offerings.

Have you looked into character meals? They do a ';princess'; themed character meal in Norway at Epcot. You also might want to check out the new Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique at the World of Disney, at Downtown Disney, with their princess themed activities and merchandise.

Thanks, that is helpful. I actually just assumed that MGM was too mature for a three year old and I did not even investigate what is there. My daughter LOVES Ariel and has seen The LIttle Mermaid a million times. She also likes CInderella a lot too. I cannot believe how expensive it is for a three year old...yikes! We will actually spending a week in Tampa (this is where my husband%26#39;s conference will be), so I heard there is a good zoo there. If I take here there, we will skip Animal Kingdom, but I need to investigate more (about the parks as well as what there is to do in Tampa with her!!)

baijes

baijes,

I wouldn%26#39;t even consider MGM on this trip save it for when she gets older.

Hey Baijes:

I have 4 kids and can tell you, this trip is not for your daughter it is for you!!

Not one of my kids remembers going to Disney at age 3. We have been there at least 15 times. Part of the fun is watching your daughter%26#39;s delight when she sees things that she is familiar with from TV and movies. But most of the fun is just enjoying it for yourself because she isn%26#39;t going to remember it! You even said it is expensive for a 3 year old, the adult rate is expensive too, so why not do things that you enjoy??

Of course you are not going to go on the scary rides and the rollercoasters together. But there is so much more that just the princess stuff - especially to share as a family.

First off, where are you staying? Are you driving over from Tampa every day, or ar you spening a night at Disney?

November is a great time to go, no crowds.

I have 2 princess crazy daughters. I would recommend Magic Kingdom one day, and possibly MGM or even Epcot the next. If you are hunting for autographs, try Epcot. Epcot is just beautiful and we all enjoy walking around the beautiful countries. MGM has terrific shows that you can all enjoy togther. Little Mermaid is a little scary however. Animal Kingdom is delightful, but most of the rides are geared to older kids.

There is a great web site with lots of DIsney information called mousesavers.com. There you can find information about booking the princess breakfast. It is difficult to get a reservation. The price information for tickets can be found there too.

I would also recommend Crystal Palace for lunch, a nice character breakfast with Pooh and Company.

Make sure to hit the Disney Store in Downtown Disney. It is HUGE and will have everything you can think of with a pincess on it!

Have a great time!

Thanks for the info! I know that she will not remember it when she is older...sadly :) But we could not pass it up since he has the conference (we would not be taking her at this young age if not for this opportunity.) We will spend the week in Tampa (any suggestions for what to do there?) and then tack on two exta days to his trip to stay in Orlando and go to Disney. I was looking at staying at a Windsor Hills condo, actually, because they seem cost effective and because we can go in a different room after our daughter goes to sleep. Plus the playground there looks awesome!

We will definitely have to hit downtown Disney as well, according to what many of you have said! We will actually get to Orlando on a Thursday late afternoon and have all day Friday and Saturday and then leave for the airport on Sunday. I was thinking that parks would be more crowded on Saturday than Friday, so we might want to do Magic Kingdom on Friday (it is actually a week before Thanksgiving, but I hear the crowds don%26#39;t come until Thanksgiving week!) I am definitely open to suggestions! Thanks to all of you!

--baijes

If it were me, I would go to Magic Kingdom and Epcot. Skip Animal Kingdom as there really isn%26#39;t much there for a 3 yo. At Epcot she can enjoy the fish in the aquarium, participate in some of the things at innovations and enjoy World Showcase where she could meet up with some of her princesses. Even MGM would be good as you could enjoy the Muppet 3D movie, the Honey I shrunk the kids playground, the Little Mermaid show as well as the Beauty and the Beast show and Playhouse Disney.

When you get to the park, head over to Disney%26#39;s Toon Town. You can walk or take the train. You can meet all the characters in their own houses, have tons of photo ops, and they have play area%26#39;s, small child rides, etc.

I agree with a previous poster who listed the rides such as Peter Pan, Pooh Bear, etc. They will have fun, you will have fun, and you will have pictures that you can treasure.

Animal Kingdom-If she scares easy, skip it. I still can%26#39;t get my five year old on the Bug ride, etc.

MGM-The only really great thing for little ones is the play areas and Bear in the Big blue house.

If you spend two days at Disney, you will be able to have a very relaxing time. It is not crowded in mid November. You will be able to see the sites, shows, rides, and take it at a slower pace.

The parks close early in the winter months, so if you chose a Character Breakfast or something, you would not have the same hours as the summer months. People line up early for parades, etc, so that eats into your park time as well.

Hi Baijes,

Looks like we%26#39;ll be there at the same time! I can%26#39;t help with your question, since we haven%26#39;t been to WDW yet. But when we took our oldest to DL when she was 3 1/2, she loved it. We took the video camera, and did a lot of filming. She says she remembers it. Maybe not, maybe she just ';remembers'; what she sees on the tape, but who cares? It%26#39;s great to look back at it. I took video of the parade, then video of her face watching the parade. That was the best part. I still get teary eyed when I watch it. Hold on to those memories, the incredible pre-school years are over so fast!

Have fun,

Mel