I know, just know, that I’m going to forget all kinds of details, but my hope is to share with our favorite rides and things to do at each park. We went to the four main Disney theme parks over the course of five days: Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. I’m just going to touch on the hits and misses of each park or else I could go on forever.

Magic Kingdom

Not surprisingly, we spent the most time at the Magic Kingdom and still didn’t do everything. It is simply enormous and there’s tons to do. From our standpoint of traveling with little ones, the Magic Kingdom had the most age appropriate activities and keep them interested.

The afternoon parade – Celebrate a Dream Come True - was so fun. It was well worth the delayed afternoon nap as it included every princess and character you can imagine.

Our favorite rides were Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin (we rode it twice), it’s a small world and Peter Pan’s Flight. Although Toddler Boy was a bit spooked at Peter Pan he talked about how much he enjoyed it for the rest of the day. He also really enjoyed “driving” on the Tomorrowland Speedway.
Another must visit area is Toontown. It has Mickey and Minnie’s Country Houses and and the kids hit Donald’s Boat for some much needed water play. We also went to see the princesses at the Hall of Fame Judges’ Tent. It was literally a 5 minute wait for serious one on one time with Cinderella, Belle and Sleeping Beauty. (The line is split between princesses and fairies and the fairy line was much longer. I’m not sure who’s in there other than Tinkerbell.)

Epcot

Epcot is definitely the least toddler and baby friendly of all the parks, but we still had a great time. The Seas with Nemo and Friends was a huge hit with Toddler Boy – all things Nemo were, in fact. It’s a cute ride and there’s lots to see in the attached aquarium including a short and sweet dolphin presentation.

Toddler Boy did NOT enjoy “Honey, I Shrunk the Audience” and was definitely spooked. Like many attractions, this warned of a potential to scare younger kids but this was the only thing that did actually scare him to the point where he cried. Oops.

One neat thing we didn’t discover until well into our day at Epcot was the Kidcot Fun Stops. They’re cute little stops for young ones to do arts and crafts in a park that isn’t exactly geared towards them. Toddler Boy made a cute mask while my husband watched some boring Norway movie.

Hollywood Studios

This park is small but Disney’s Hollywood Studios packs a punch with wee ones. We all LOVED Toy Story Mania! This ride was the longest wait of any we saw at all the parks so I definitely recommend getting a fastpass or riding first thing in the morning.

Playhouse Disney – Live on Stage was another hit with Toddler Boy. Seriously, the look on his face as he danced around to familiar songs and saw his “friends” from TV was priceless. He was in heaven. His other favorite activity of the day was visiting Luigi’s Garage for photos with Lightning McQueen and Mater. He was so excited and reported both cars were “happy” to see him. It’s kind of back in the corner and out of the way but it was worth the hike.

Voyage of the Little Mermaid was blah. We actually left a little early because Toddler Boy was bored and the adults were, too. If he knew the story it might have interested him more, but as it was the show wasn’t enough to entertain him.

Animal Kingdom

Animal Kingdom was my second favorite park, behind the Magic Kingdom. The park is much smaller so it feels more crowded, but other than that it was awesome.

As I write, Toddler Boy is still referring to himself as “Nemo” and me as “Mr. Ray.” I blame this on the completely fabulous Finding Nemo – the Musical. I had heard this was awesome, but wasn’t sure how it would go over. Oh my gosh, it was fabulous! We all loved it. Even Baby Girl watched with wide eyes and bopped along to the music. (Toddler Boy is still singing “Big Bluuuueee Wooorrrrrlllll” over and over again.)

The Kilamanjaro Safaris were really, really cool. You ride along as if you’re really on a safari and see all kinds of animals. We were so close to some giraffes that I seriously thought they were fake. Until I saw them eating. This is not geared towards little ones, but Toddler Boy loved it.

As I’m going through the rides for kids at Animal Kingdom I realize we missed a lot! I will take the blame for that one – my husband and I rode some adult rides while my mom entertained the kiddos. Speaking of, Expedition Everest was an awesome and really unique roller coaster. The cool thing about Animal Kingdom, though, is that there’s tons to see even when you’re not riding rides. While we were galavanting on roller coasters, the kids watched monkeys and gorillas jump around.

Our Best Tips – and they’re probably not all that good. Ha.

• Use the Fastpass to your advantage. It worked great and allowed us to plan our day around rides we definitely wanted to ride but couldn’t wait in line for. It’s just not realistic to wait in line for 45 minutes with a 10 month old and 2.75 year old.
• Know your child’s height before you go. The theme park maps are really informative and include height restrictions. If you know your child is 32 inches before you get there, you know not to wait in line for (or even tease your child by going near) a ride with a 40″ height requirement.
• Do some quick research on Disney.com. Disney has an entire page geared towards traveling with little ones and, in fact, pages targeted to everyone. On the site you can also find age appropriate rides and print a relevant park map before you go.