Hi-
I was wondering if anyone has gone to Disney with a three year old that no longer rides in a stroller? We are thinking of going, but not sure if he is old enough to really enjoy it yet and if all the walking would be too much. Would he be old enough/ tall enough to go on rides? He is about 40 inches tall. Any feedback would be great it has been a long time since I have been there.
This weekend, we just watched our "daddy movies" (family movies) of when we took our 4 1/2 year old daughter and 1 1/2 year old son to DisneyWorld. Very fun! We have been there about a dozen times and my kids are now, 13 1/2 and 10 1/2 years old. We all have made wonderful memories there! You just have to know your son and his endurance level. At that age, you can rent a stroller at the park if you get in a bind and your child needs to ride in a stroller. We usually brougt an umbrella stroller, not for the reason of our child riding in it all day, but to cart some of our stuff around (i.e. cooler, rain gear, jackets depending on season and how long we were staying at the park, light snacks, water bottles, etc...) You can buy this stuff there, however, it just can get costly. At night, one of the kids usually rode in the stroller - we have spend up to 15 hours and 20 minutes at the parks, in one day. Sometimes they rode on Dad's shoulders; other times we went to shows and they took a little catnap. Yes, we had some melt downs but our rule has been, on a 10-day trip, we would try to go to the park for a full day - every other day or do some 1/2 day parks so that no one would get burnt out.
Just curious what time of the year you were considering??? There are lots of small rides to go on. However, my daughter at 3 1/2 years, went on the Tower of Terror and loved it (she STILL is crazy about wild rides!) My son is a bit more conservative. Depends on your child's thrill factor and what they will tolerate. He will not meet the height requirements for some of the larger rides but you can do a "parent-swap" feature of the rides, which means that one parent will stay in an area with him, closer to the front of the line, while your partner rides, then make a quick swap after the ride so that you both get to enjoy the ride and not have to wait in a long line again. Probably for the park that has the most rides for his height, I would go to Magic Kingdom. However, don't rule out EPCOT! My kids love it there. When you visit the countries, he'll be able to make a mask and add new embellishments by visiting each country. Each country has different shows and attractions that you can take advantage of - not to mention good food!
Nothing beats a 3 year old in a monorail, approaching Cinderella's castle,happily in awe, screaming, "Oh.... Mommy... Oh... Daddy... I see it! It's just like the pictures! It's a dream come true - I'm going to meet Cinderella and Mickey!" Yep, been there!!! Truly, it's a great age to bring a little one. My son's first trip there was 5 months old. It's a very physical trip - the type of trip that you may need a relaxing vacation AFTER your vacation but it definitely is worth it if you do a lot of advance planning and your expectations are (semi) realistic! If you are looking for specific advise, just Personal Message me.
Have fun!
Best thing we ever did. Call ahead and book a Princess breakfast or meal, too. My daughter didn't use a stroller, but we rented one at the park...if you have as much fun as we did, you'll be there til closing time! Now that she is 11, it is a totally different thing (like Christmas when they believe vs not) and I would rather do it younger than older. Have fun!
My three yr old was just tall enough to go on a bunch of "more than kiddie rides," which he "wanted" to do, but ended up being terrified every time, my advice is stick to the kiddie rides, nothing like paying hundreds of dollars to scare the crap out of your kid! Also I would at least get one of those $10 umbrella strollers, it is a long day of walking and a A LOT of ground to cover, you will be doing a lot of carrying, of course you can rent one of the park's strollers, but my guess is it is quite pricey...have fun!
Teresa, I would suggest that you go the first day without a stroller and then see if you need to rent one. We always did. Not just for the little one but to put all our stuff in. (totebag, camera bag, water bottles, coats (snowed in december once when we were there just flurries but we got pictures it was like a snow globe) etc... Is your little one old enough for the rides. he will love everything in the magic kingdom. a lot of the disney rides are shows also so should be fine for that to. you will have to judge whether he is old enough for some of the others. My middle son hated any rides that were like rollercoasters. had meltdowns at the gate. so he would walk with us to the gate and a disney person would take him to the end for us so the rest of us got to go on the rides. have a wonderful time
sherry
You can do it with a three year old, but four or five is more fun, or at least it was for our family. You know your child best, can he identify many disney characters? can he walk for long periods of time. Even with a stroller, you have to park it outside of the lines, and depending on when you go, the lines can be over an hour long. Does he get whinny waiting in a long line at the grocery store? if so you might be wiser to wait until you get the value out of the visit. It can be very expensive. Umbrella stroller, good suggestion, juice boxes and snacks, great suggestion. If you purchase any item in the park and don't want to carry it around all day, they have a service where they will deliver it to a holding check room near the entrance and you pick up all your stuff at the end of the day. (at least at Magic Kingdom they have that).
I think that your child will love it! I would start out without a stroller, but I am sure that you will need one. I often wished for my very own stroller! it is a ton of walking and you do get tired. You will also really enjoy sea world.
Totally old enough and you can rent strollers there when he/she gets tired. They're big and plastic and easy to push, you'll want one to put her purse and bags on anyway. m
I would say rent the stroller cart thing at the parks. It is way to much walking for a 3 year old. We went in 2007 with our then 3 1/2 year old and almost 6 year old boys. We got the double stroller thing and were very glad we did. That was too much walking for even our almost 6 year old. HTH
Shannon
We took my daughter at 3 and a half and even though the stroller days may be over after a while he will take a ride. By the way you can rent one there. The best part of the vacation was seeing her see it all for the first time and some rides will be fine but truthfully none of it matters because if you go to the parts for little kids then there is nothing they can't do. The other part of the vacation was boarding the bus to go back to the hotel when the park closes and kids tend to fall asleep and they sleep all night. "Maybe that was the best part of my vacation with my 3 year old." The memories you bring home will be more than the things you couldn't do with your son. Have a great time.
Anna
Hi Teresa,
We were just at Disney over New Year's and my daughter is turning 3 this week. There is a whole little kids area to the Magic Kingdom that she loved. She was perfectly old enough to ride the rides, such as Dumbo and Snow White's Adventure. We also took her on the Haunted House, but that proved to be a little too scary for her. Still, she was able to go on the ride - her age and height were not a restriction. There are many of other things to do as well, like the Tiki Room show, boat ride through the jungle, etc. And of course, meeting Mickey & Minnie (which, by the way, you have to now wait in line for.) You will not lack for things to do! We also went to Epcot and she really enjoyed the Nemo ride there.
As for the walking, you can rent strollers there for about $12.50 per day. We did this and by the end of the day, my daughter was ready to use it. I would also recommend choosing a hotel on the property - these include the Contemporary, the Polynesian, Wilderness Lodge, and Grand Floridian. The monorail stops right in the lobby of these hotels - makes it SUPER easy to come and go for naps, which will be a must (maybe even for you too!)
Hope this helps! :)
Hi Teresa,
I just went to Disney in Dec with my 2 1/2 year old and 5 year old. Even though your 3 1/2 year doesn't use a stroller much, I would definitely bring one with you. Disney is a big place and she will definitely get tired. Disney also has strollers available to rent if you do not want to bring one with you. I brought one for my 2 1/2 year and even brought one for my 5 year old.
Have fun! Let me know if you have any additonal questions.
Anne ([email protected])
We went when my daughter was around 18th months. We all had a great time! I was worried she might be too young but we purposely went in with the attitude of no plans. We went at her pace and when she got tired we went back to the hotel and took a nap. Even at 3 try not to plan too much. Be sure to leave a lot of time for whatever LOOKS fun. Have a GREAT time.
I think 3 is a good age for a child to enjoy Disney. I took my son to Disneyland when he was 3 and Disneyworld when he was 5. He had a ball both times. However, I would not suggest you leaving your stroller behind. it's a large place and you'll do better if you have one and there is a place for stroller to be laft at most rides. Enjoy!
My advice is either bring an umbrella type stroller or rent one when in the Parks. There is so much walking that eventually you will end up carrying around your 3 year old. We went when my daughters were 13 months and 4 years old. The 4 year old did need to sit in the stroller once in a while - it saved us! Also, my 4 year old loved Disney! She was the best behaved child - was completely awe struck the whole time.
It's been a couple years since I've been to Disney, but there are 3 parks total and even if you do it in stages there is alot of walking/standing. I would suggest bringing an umbrella type stroller (light weight, doesn't take alot of room, etc.) He will definatly get enough walking even with the stroller. We had fun at disney, but my daughter (who was younger than 3.. about 20 mos I think) had more fun at Sea World. She loved the dolfin and whale shows. Anyway... have fun!
P.S. don't forget the sunscreen! sun is alot more intense down there than here in the midwest.
buy a wagon or a trycicle that you can push from behind. Both worked well and they have more fun. Good luck
Whether you rent or bring your own, make sure your child is wearing lots of sunscreen and has a sun hat/baseball cap of some kind to shade his head. Also, child's sunglasses. The sun is very intense, especially while standing in lines. That was the worst part of the trip for us and if you're prepared, it will be better. I loved going early in the morning and going back to the hotel for lunch/nap, then heading back to the park for dinner and the evening, especially if you're staying in a hotel on-site. Have a great time!!
We lived in Southern CA and went to Disneyland all the time with the kids (from 8 weeks on). It is definitely a lot of walking and a stroller came in handy in between rides and during nap time. Disneyland is also more compact, so if you are going to Disneyworld you would definitely be doing a lot more walking. There are so many rides even for the little ones, but 40 inches is the cutoff height for some of the roller coaster type rides. We are going to Disneyworld in March - our first Disney trip since leaving CA last year, so we are so excited. I hope you enjoy the park!
Hi,
I took my then almost three year to Disney. Frankly, she really didn't like it. The rides were too scary even though we only did the tame ones. The shows were too loud. There's a lot of stimulation and it just got to her. She was great in a lot of situations but that wasn't one of them. It took 4 days for her to relax enough to actually like it. We left on the 5th day.
As far as she was concerned, swimming in the pool was the best thing. I could have saved a ton of money by going to a hotel around here.
I haven't taken my youngest yet and she's 5.5. She doesn't even like the little kid rides at Kiddieland so Disney would be a waste of time and money. From talking to friends, it seems like 5-6 is when they really enjoy it. My oldest went back at age 6 and had a total blast!
There's a ton of walking. But they rent strollers all over the parks so that shouldn't be a problem. At 40" he can ride most of the rides.
Sue