The first time we took our two older children to Epcot, they were both under five.  Get there early when the park opens and since World Showcase opens later than Future World, you’ll start there!   The first thing you’ll see on entering the park is Spaceship Earth (it resembles a giant golf ball)!  This is a very slow moving pleasant attraction that is fine for toddlers.  If your child is afraid of the dark, though, it may be best to avoid this one.  

The Universe of Energy pavilion has one of our favorite attractions at Epcot, “Ellen’s Energy Adventure”.   Your children may enjoy this, or they may be very frightened of the life-like dinosaurs that move and roar.   Use your judgment on this one! 

Not to be missed in Future World with pre-schoolers are The Living Seas pavilion and The Land Pavilion.  They will particularly love “The Seas with Nemo and Friends” as well as “Living with the Land”.   My children particularly enjoyed this and wanted to go back on the boat ride again and again!   They were quite enthralled with the trip through the Disney greenhouses where they saw unique new-age growing methods in practice plus a number of unusual fruits and vegetables.

Before leaving Future World, you’ll want to take in one more attraction, “Journey into Imagination with Figment” at the Imagination! Pavilion.   My kids really enjoyed this ride led by a very lovable purple dragon named Figment.   Let me warn you, though, that you won’t be able to get that song out of your head!

This is a good time to go back to the villa for a nap!  You can return late afternoon or early evening to take in the World Showcase.  When you return, depending on the age of your children, stop in to one of the gift shops and consider purchasing a Passport for them.  This will keep them busy as you tour the country pavilions.  You can read more about this item here:

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Before you enter the World Showcase, check out the times for the various live performances.  There will be a variety of acts outside the different pavilions and some of these may appeal to your children.  So, plan on taking a few of these in as you stroll through the countries.  Most of the main attractions in this area of the park will not be suitable for young children.  The Maelstrom seems tame enough but there is a fast drop and a frightening troll that really disturbed my children so I don’t recommend it!  There are beautiful films in China, France and Canada but the short attention span of your young children will more than likely only allow you to attend one of these.  If that’s the case, we found “Reflections of China” to be a great choice.  The one main attraction that will be suitable and most enjoyable for little ones will be  “El Rio Del Tempo” in the Mexico pavilion.  This is a very pleasant and beautiful boat ride through a very colorful and festive world!

If you managed to get a nap break in at some point during the day, you’ll want to stay and see “Illuminations: Reflections of Earth”!  All of Epcot comes to “light” with this most spectacular grand finale laser light show.  Your children will be in awe – so will you!!

You’d be hard-pressed to find a small child who is not a big fan of going to the zoo.  Animal Kingdom is like no other animal park your child has ever seen and amidst the animal exhibits are the wonderful attractions characteristic only of Disney. 

Animal Kingdom is the smallest of the Disney parks and allows families with small children ample time to cover  the park at a toddler’s pace.  Your children will enjoy seeing some unusual animals that they may have never seen before like Komodo dragons, anteaters, and the Flying Fox (the largest bat in the world with a wing-span of 6 feet)!

The attractions that you will need to avoid with your small children are Kali River Rapids, Expedition Everest, Dinosaur, It’s Tough to be a Bug and Primevil Whirl.

The rest of the park is totally suitable for all ages including Kilimanjaro Safaris which is a pleasant ride in an open-air safari jeep across the “African Savannah” where riders can view giraffes, zebras, lions and more in their natural habitat.

Your small children will enjoy the Wildlife Express Train or a ride on the TriceraTop Spin which is similar to Dumbo in Magic Kingdom (and always a family favorite) as well as playing in the Boneyard which is a play maze built around dinosaur fossils but don’t miss the fabulous performances.  Our favorite is The Festival of the Lion King.  The colorful costumes, incredible imagery including giant floats with all your favorite Lion King characters, stilt walkers, acrobats, trapeze artists, and talented singers rival the Broadway performance of The Lion King we saw a few years back in New York City!  

Finding Nemo – the Musical is not to be missed by little Nemo fans!  This colorful live performance with actors and puppetry is a shortened  re-telling of the movie only with original music numbers added in.

Flights of Wonder is an interesting program but may not be interesting enough for young children.  And if your children have a fear of birds, then this may a good one to avoid as some of the birds will be flying over the audience.

But, let’s start at the beginning!  First I should clue you in to avoid 3-D movies (my kids were always terrified of these!) and also the flight simulators are too intense though your toddlers will be too small to be allowed on anyway!  If the adults choose to do the intense rides in the park, you can take advantage of the baby-swap that Disney offers for families with small children.  You will avoid having to split up and wait in line twice.  When one of you disembarks, you swap the children and the other can get right on! 

Upon entering the park, you will come to “Hollywood Boulevard” where you will encounter “The Great Movie Ride”.   There are scenes that could be disturbing to young children, so it is my recommendation to avoid this one.  

Next you will come to “Echo Lake”.  Avoid “Sounds Dangerous” as parts of this show are in complete darkness with special effects that will surely upset young children.  The only attraction in this area that you may want to consider is the “Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular” which is full of live action and adventure.  Sit as far back as possible since  there are fires and explosions causing some of the scenes to be a bit frightening for  youngsters.  If you sit far back enough, this will decrease the intensity. Use your judgment here as well as consider their attention span as this show is 30 minutes in duration.   “Hollywood and Vine” is in this area and this is an excellent choice for lunch or dinner as they serve a very family-friendly buffet.  For an extra special meal with the Playhouse Disney characters, I would recommend calling ahead to book “Play ‘N Dine at Hollywood and Vine”.

In “Streets of America”, if you have a little guy who loves fast cars, then make sure you see “Lights, Motors, Action!”  It may be a lot of stimulation for some children, but this one should hold their attention!  Afterwards, let them expend some energy at the “Honey I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set Adventure”.   It’s a larger than life playground that the kids are sure to enjoy!

Don’t miss “Voyage of the Little Mermaid” and “Playhouse Disney – Live on Stage” in “Animation Courtyard”.   These performances are geared to the younger set.

“Beauty and the Beast – Live on Stage” on “Sunset Boulevard” is a 30-minute live musical performance that the whole family should really enjoy.  Again, take into consideration your child’s attention span.  

The grand finale at MGM is “Fantasmic” which is one of my all time favorite Walt Disney performances.   Most of this program is delightful for all age groups.  Unfortunately, though, there are some larger than life encounters with the Disney villains that will probably terrify youngsters, so I’m sorry to say that this is best left to when the children are a bit older!