Disney with a three year old

[Guest]

Hi everyone,

We've just booked to go next year with our brother and sister in law and nephew, flying into Tampa with three nights in St Petes and 13 in Orlando, probably an apartment in LBV.

It's just been me and my husband before, and I was wondering if anyone could shed some light on things to be aware of with a three year old?

We've discounted Universal as I don't think there will be much there for him, but we're going to do Disney. I think Busch Gardens was a no too. Is there anything good for young children in Orlando or Clearwater/St Petes I might not be aware of?

[Buzz n' Piglet]

Just be aware you cant go at the same pace as you normally would, and be prepared to spend a lot of time doing things you maybe wouldnt do as an adult couple.

[dippiedawnie]

We took our DS at 18months and 3. Main thing for us was to keep his routine as much as possible. Always allow time every day for him just to enjoy what he wanted to do.That meant more pool time than we would usually do, more time just sitting watching him play in kids areas etc to give a break from being in a buggy, waiting in lines etc. There were 4 adults so we took it in turns to look after small person while the others went to do some of the bigger rides. I know he was ours but actually seeing Disney through the eyes of a child is quite magical and is just a different experience. We were just more relaxed about what we did as kids have the knack of derailing meticulously laid plans I'm afraid.

[Robblps]

Everything takes ages !

We went last year with my two nieces, 5 hours in Magic Kingdom and we had pretty much done nothing. One was 6 and the other was 3, they loved it, but everything takes ages. As soon as you get off any ride they want to go back on 😂😂😂 The 3 year old loved the characters too, so it was wicked.

[dippiedawnie]

Originally Posted by Robblps

Everything takes ages !

We went last year with my two nieces, 5 hours in Magic Kingdom and we had pretty much done nothing. One was 6 and the other was 3, they loved it, but everything takes ages. As soon as you get off any ride they want to go back on 😂😂😂 The 3 year old loved the characters too, so it was wicked.

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We had to do Tower of Terror 6 times in a row when we went with our 3 year old. Luckily it was quiet in the park so no Q otherwise it would have been hell.😳

[jenskii]

Definitely expect to go a little slower than normal, plenty of snacks, keep them hydrated and allow them to sleep when they need to. I’d absolutely recommend Seaworld if it’s within your budget. I went with my 3 year old (plus 2 nieces aged 3 & 5) in 2017 and they all loved Seaworld so much we went several times! Lots to see and do for little kiddies.
Also recommend Legoland (although it’s a bit of a drive) but again, was a massive big hit with the kids

[vampiress88]

I think it depends on the 3 year old to be honest. My kids were 3.5 and just under 5 when we went in June this year. The first day we did loads. Unfortunately missed the parade and outdoor shows but I think we did 12 or more attractions in magic kingdom in 9hours. My kids are probably a little different as they way I did it was I told them that we had a list of rides and to make sure we went on the best ones we were going to follow it. They didn’t complain. We had one tantrum that day and that was cos my three year old jumped in a puddle,I asked her not to and she repeated so that meant she would have to go to the sweet store another day and she didn’t like that answer so screamed while we were undercover with other.
I think you have to be prepared that they will have a tantrum. I was as prepared as I could be but I couldn’t stop them. I could have possibly let her to what she wanted but we have rules at home and I was going to stick to having rules on holiday too.
Meal times take longer with kids. I definitely notice that.
Also be prepared for the fact that the pool will be better than Mickey Mouse or Disney. All that money and mine just wanted the pool.

Apart from the rides with height restrictions we did almost everything so you don’t alway have to go off into separate groups.

They definitely do want to repeat rides.
My eldest loves loves loves everest. She went on it 3x on the first day at animal kingdom and whilst she was on her last ride I went on triceratop spin and as there was a short cue my smallest wanted to repeat that. But we repeated these as we had time and the queues were short. We wouldn’t have if we had to be somewhere.

My kids liked the beach but they thought Clearwater was too salty and moaned about the taste, no amount of me saying well don’t open your mouth helped on that front.

The pace may need to be slower or you may need a buggy. We didn’t take one and my two were brilliant, they are good at walking so found it was ok for them even when it was a good few miles a day.

Worst thing was they fell asleep after fireworks. We had to carry them back. That was not fun and the only time I wish I had a pram. They are heavy little things when they are sock on.

[Bolto6]

Originally Posted by dippiedawnie

We had to do Tower of Terror 6 times in a row when we went with our 3 year old. Luckily it was quiet in the park so no Q otherwise it would have been hell.😳

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😱 my 3 (now 4 year old,) is too small for Tower of Terror!

My DD loved the rides she could go on. I think we covered everything that pretty much didn’t have a height restriction. We didn’t go on some rides because she couldn’t go on them, but for our ‘not to be missed rides’ we used FP and child swap, (we didn’t get on Slinky, SDMT or FOP as I couldn’t get Fastpasses.) We did, however, do a lot more meet and greets than we used to when it was just to 2 of us... literally did ALL the princesses! We also quite enjoyed the Dino Bash at AK, I’ve got some great photo’s of my DD dancing with Chip and Dale, and meeting Donald and Daisy in the same area.

I would say if he has any favourite characters you must do the meet and greets, I’ve got some fabulous photo’s of my DD meeting her ‘idols’ her face is an absolute picture in all of them! The beauty of having Memory Maker included in the tickets, I wouldn’t have these shots otherwise.

Be prepared if he’s a little scared of the characters, DD cried at Mickey Mouse, we did the meet at AK with Minnie, our first one of the trip, but Mickey was great he stepped away while Minnie and myself calmed her down and then he stepped back in for the photo (it was one of our better family photo’s from the trip.)

[Shazzabelle]

My DD was 3 the first time she went and my advice would be to be prepared to get emotional, especially if you are close to the children. My DD spent 2 weeks in awe... I still fill up thinking about her being mesmerised watching the Princesses on the stage, or bouncing to Tigger to get his autograph

[WDWfangirl]

Take a spare pair of clothes to MK and Epcot as they both have splash areas for children to play in.

Take lots of snacks.

Plan to watch shows when it will be hot so you can take advantage of the air con.

Take glow sticks with you for evenings in the park so you won't be tempted to spend extortionate amounts of money on the Disney light up things.

Don't hire pushchairs from Disney - so expensive!