Realistic expectations for 6&4yo

[knlasv]

My mom is taking my brother, SIL, nephew (6) and niece (4) to WDW this December. The latter 3 have never been and my brother hasn't been in 20+ years. I'm helping plan the trip for them. My SIL does not want to go "open to close" which is fine, but what is a realistic plan? I was going to 3-day park hoppers with an "off" day in between each park day so they can do shopping, swimming, visit resorts, etc.
Assuming they hop each day, what parks would you do? Afternoon break or just go home early?
What rides did your kids love at that age? My mom's favorites are the "boring" attractions like Country Bears, Tiki Room, Carousel of Progress. Will the kids like these? My nephew said he will not go on IASW because it is for girls (mom said there was dolls).
Any other tips for a 4&6 yo are welcome!!

 

[Bon1423]

I took my 4&6 year olds for their first trip and we didn’t hop, we did three parks from 10 or noon or so until maybe 8-9pm. We skipped HS because there was no Star Wars or toy story so nothing interested any of us there.

My 6 yo loved everything, space mountain and Everest were his favorites. They loved the safari and buzz and splash mountain. Peter Pan was fine, teacups and aladdins carpet were fun as well. ITTBAB was hilarious with them.

My kids at that age would’ve hated COP, and I’ve personally never done tiki or bears so I can’t say.

Last time we were there prepandemic I had another 6yo and 4yo and the 6yo again loved the more exciting rides like Everest and space. 4yo loved splash mountain, we did early morning magic or whatever those were called and rode Slinky dog over and over. Had a lot of fun on aliens. Frozen and Soarin were big hits.

Maybe my kids are adrenaline junkies lol but they want to ride the most exciting things they can for their height. I don’t think they’re that brave though because we did Universal in May and at now 12, 10, 7 and 6 none of them would consider any of those big coasters they have.

 

[MarkS2112]

MK will be your main park. Skip Epcot as not much for small kids the. You could go AK and HS as 1/2 day hopping options. Kids probably won’t like you mom’s favorites. Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise, Buzz, monsters Laugh Floor, possible Splash and Big Thunder for the 6 year old. Peter Pan, People Mover, TTA, Barnstorme, pirates,Astro Orbiter are all good also. Animal Kingdom has Pandora,Safari, animal trails, Lion King,Nemo, KRR..
HS has Star Wars and Toy Story lands, SDD, MRR,Beauty and the Beast.

my kids at 6 were taking on space mountain and that’s their all time favorite.

let kids decide what they want versus mom’s favorite as they probably won’t like some of those and will miss allot of fun rides.

going open to close is tough at that age. Either start early and end earlier, start late and go to end with morning pool time or do mid day break.

Have fun.

 

[mrsclark]

I would say keep an open mind about what they might like or not. On our last family trip our niece was 11, one nephew was 5-1/2 and the other nephew was almost 4. We were in Tomorrowland and they all wanted to know what was CoP all about? I told them I planned to skip it because I thought they would find it boring, but I explained the story and everyone said they wanted to go. So we went and they all loved it. My niece said she enjoyed it because it was about family. At Thanksgiving (which was about six weeks after the trip) the 4 year old was watching a video of CoP on YouTube! On the other hand both boys were extremely big for their age and tall enough for Everest so their parents decided to take them - that almost ruined a lot of rides for them because they were so scared!

 

[Marthasor]

My mom is taking my brother, SIL, nephew (6) and niece (4) to WDW this December. The latter 3 have never been and my brother hasn't been in 20+ years. I'm helping plan the trip for them. My SIL does not want to go "open to close" which is fine, but what is a realistic plan? I was going to 3-day park hoppers with an "off" day in between each park day so they can do shopping, swimming, visit resorts, etc.
Assuming they hop each day, what parks would you do? Afternoon break or just go home early?
What rides did your kids love at that age? My mom's favorites are the "boring" attractions like Country Bears, Tiki Room, Carousel of Progress. Will the kids like these? My nephew said he will not go on IASW because it is for girls (mom said there was dolls).
Any other tips for a 4&6 yo are welcome!!

I don't think I would do hoppers for a first trip. They can always add them during the trip if they find they would like to hop. I would plan on one park, per day, with a rest day, perhaps, every two days. Try for rope drop, plan a sit-down lunch and an afternoon break and then go back to the park in the evening to do some more rides/attractions, see fireworks, etc. I found when DS was that age, he would really fade by 2 pm and always needed a break to refresh for any evening activities. I just wouldn't invest the money in park hoppers if they find the kids can't handle hours on end in the parks on a daily basis.

 

[Disney Fool]

I don't know where the idea began that Epcot is not for children; it's too bad, because its a great park for children to explore. I've taken lots of young children to Epcot and they love it.. How can you pass up Turtle Talk with Crush? or Soarin' ? Or denying them the Frozen ride? there are things to discover everywhere, exposure to different cultures, foods, music. there's the butterfly play area during the flower and garden festival, the dancing fountains, the upside down waterfall, and the aquarium. This subject has been debated to death, but I just wanted you to know that there is merit to Epcot, I would include it in your itinerary

 

[sdk1231]

That's a tough question. Every kid is different. I just got back from a trip with a 6 year old boy and a 10 year old girl (my niece's children). We went to MK three times. Twice as single-park days and once as a DHS/MK hopper day. Each time we took afternoon pool breaks and went back for dinner/fireworks and a couple of rides. On the Hopper day, we went to DHS at park open and did Toy Story Land - Slinky Dog, Toy Story (twice), Alien Swirling Saucers (twice), then did Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway, ROTR and went to Oga's Cantina. We left DHS at about 1:30. The kids were exhausted and HOT and were begging to go to the hotel pool (obviously December will not be so hot, but it will be much more crowded). We did a pool break and later that evening went into the MK for dinner/fireworks and a couple of rides. As far as the kids were concerned, we could have skipped that last night at the MK and stayed at the resort pool and watched the Movie Under the Stars.

The 6 year old boy's favorite rides:

DHS
Rise of the Resistance (this surprised me, but the kids loved it)
Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway
Toy Story Land - loved all

Magic Kingdom
Peter Pan
Pooh
Dumbo
Barnstormer
Tomorrowland Speedway
Under The Sea (little mermaid)
it's a small world
Magic Carpets of Aladdin
Pirates of the Caribbean
(The 10 year old girl loved all of the above plus the Mountains and 7 Dwarfs Mine Train)

6 year old boy HATED
Splash Mountain - he was petrified and spent the entire rest of the trip saying "we're not going on Splash Mountain, right?" I was surprised, but there you have it.
Big Thunder Mountain - again, he was petrified and hated it.

6 year old boy DISLIKED
7 Dwarfs Mine train - he said it was scary but okay (probably because it's super short).

At MK night 3, when asked to choose their favorite ride for a repeat, they chose Peter Pan and Pirates

Best of luck and hope that helps a little.

 

[knlasv]

I don't know where the idea began that Epcot is not for children; it's too bad, because its a great park for children to explore. I've taken lots of young children to Epcot and they love it.. How can you pass up Turtle Talk with Crush? or Soarin' ? Or denying them the Frozen ride? there are things to discover everywhere, exposure to different cultures, foods, music. there's the butterfly play area during the flower and garden festival, the dancing fountains, the upside down waterfall, and the aquarium. This subject has been debated to death, but I just wanted you to know that there is merit to Epcot, I would include it in your itinerary

I love EPCOT and so does my mom. They are definitely going there! My nephew wants to ride Test Track so bad but he gets carsick so we aren't sure if his parents will allow it for fear of ruining the whole day!

 

[knlasv]

That's a tough question. Every kid is different. I just got back from a trip with a 6 year old boy and a 10 year old girl (my niece's children). We went to MK three times. Twice as single-park days and once as a DHS/MK hopper day. Each time we took afternoon pool breaks and went back for dinner/fireworks and a couple of rides. On the Hopper day, we went to DHS at park open and did Toy Story Land - Slinky Dog, Toy Story (twice), Alien Swirling Saucers (twice), then did Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway, ROTR and went to Oga's Cantina. We left DHS at about 1:30. The kids were exhausted and HOT and were begging to go to the hotel pool (obviously December will not be so hot, but it will be much more crowded). We did a pool break and later that evening went into the MK for dinner/fireworks and a couple of rides. As far as the kids were concerned, we could have skipped that last night at the MK and stayed at the resort pool and watched the Movie Under the Stars.

The 6 year old boy's favorite rides:

DHS
Rise of the Resistance (this surprised me, but the kids loved it)
Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway
Toy Story Land - loved all

Magic Kingdom
Peter Pan
Pooh
Dumbo
Barnstormer
Tomorrowland Speedway
Under The Sea (little mermaid)
it's a small world
Magic Carpets of Aladdin
Pirates of the Caribbean
(The 10 year old girl loved all of the above plus the Mountains and 7 Dwarfs Mine Train)

6 year old boy HATED
Splash Mountain - he was petrified and spent the entire rest of the trip saying "we're not going on Splash Mountain, right?" I was surprised, but there you have it.
Big Thunder Mountain - again, he was petrified and hated it.

6 year old boy DISLIKED
7 Dwarfs Mine train - he said it was scary but okay (probably because it's super short).

At MK night 3, when asked to choose their favorite ride for a repeat, they chose Peter Pan and Pirates

Best of luck and hope that helps a little.

Thank you so much! Right now I have them going to MK 3 times as well, with half days at the other 3 parks. What order did you do DHS rides? At park open my mom wants to go to Toy Story Mania several times but I said they should probably do new Mickey ride first.
My mom REALLY wants to take the kids on Splash Mountain before it closes but the kids say they don't want to get wet! Hopefully they get to do it.
My nephew wants to go on some thrill rides, but gets carsick so not sure how they will handle that!
I'm trying to convince my mom to go back to the hotel for an afternoon break a little after lunch and going back after dinner but she doesn't think they need to. She hasn't taken kids this young before. (I was 8 my first trip). She thinks CoP or Country Bears or a sit down meal will be an adequate break.

 

[GoingSince1990]

My kids’ favorite Epcot attraction by far at that age was the fountains with the jumping water near Imagination. Unique, lots of fun, and no line!

 

[gharter]

Don't try and do too much.
Down time back at the resort and pool are very helpful.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

They've never been and your brother hasn't been in 20 years, I would bring extra snacks, an iPad for when they are tired of it, and make the most of the parks. They have their whole lives to go to pools at other hotels, make this a trip to remember.

 

[ShannyMcB]

Just got back from a trip that included a 6 and 3 yo. Animal kingdom was everyone's favorite, including the 9 yo...but they also adore animals and loved the dis+ show so that may be a factor. 6yo is a bit timid so the most intense ride he did was SDD, he loved TSMM and Star Tours. All three kids liked tomorrowland, particularly space ranger spin and monsters inc. They enjoyed some of the more "boring" attractions but we skipped quite a few of those. 6yo was fascinated by COP and has been singing great big beautiful tomorrow at least once a day since we got home.
We hit the ground running, inadvertently rope dropped HS. Took a break every day around lunch. Break varied between just cooling off in the room, pool time and naps. After the midday break (1 to 2 hours) they were ready to go until at least 9 each night. We hopped each day, three parks on a couple occasions. Didn't bother with non-park days but agreed if we had had one day where we chilled and didnt start until lunch time it would have been a good idea.
It really all depends on the kids. Will they be willing to have pool time for more than an hour or so knowing their proximity to the parks?
Depending on where you are staying I would recommend trying to catch fireworks from your hotel at least once. We did that on our last night and it was great, they were able to see them (10pm presentation) and then right to bed without fighting the crowds.