Your five year old's favorite things to do at Magic Kingdom

[DisneyOma]

Splash and BTMRR, and going over to Tom Sawyer's Island.

 

[saraheliz]

Just took a 6 year old. We did 3 MK days. By the end of the third, he loved everything except Haunted Mansion (too creepy, he said, after going on it once) and had no interest in doing Splash Mountain again (by comparison, his older sister adored Splash Mountain at just shy of 5).
Space, Big Thunder, 7DMT, Pirates all took some getting used to. He did 7DMT and Pirates our first day there and initially didn't want to go back on but then did on our other days and loved them. We were there for 11 nights and he was significantly braver by the end of the trip! Day one he was all about Peter Pan and Small World, days 10 and 11 he was begging to go back on Guardians and Space Mountain!
Given the choice, he didn't want to do the 3D shows again. He would if we wanted to but something about things coming out at him that weren't really there just freaked him out. So, we only did Mickey's Philharmagic once.
It really is a fun age. Old enough to enjoy a lot but young enough to still get excited about everything. The flying carpets are just as exciting as Big Thunder to a kid that age!

 

[tguz]

My Daughter had a serious illness as a young child and I promised her a trip to Disney World when she was passed her illness. It took over two years but we finally made the trip back in 2003 when she just under 5. She wanted to watch a DW promotional VHS (lol) over and over because it featured the Dumbo Ride. When we got there and she finally saw the Dumbo Ride, she completely froze in her tracks and said "Dumbo Ride". To this day, I go visit Dumbo every trip I make to Disney World.

 

[IndyToThere]

Another thing to add, my son really enjoyed the 'scavenger hunt'-type offerings they had around the parks a few years ago. When they still had the Sorcerer's of Magic card game in MK or Epcot's Agent P missions (Perry from Phineas and Ferb), he just wanted to do that all day. Unfortunately, those aren't around anymore, but they still have the Wildnerness Explorers club in AK which is kind of neat.

 

[Anna131517]

Fantasyland rides (all do them!), Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse, Tom Sawyers Island, Jungle Cruise, the Tiki Room, and Festival of Fantasy parade. My kids are not huge fans of Haunted Mansion.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Space Mountain
Splash Mountain
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Very surprised that many of the answers are talking about 5 year olds like they're toddlers. My kids have all been 40 inches since they were 3 and 44 inches by 4.

 

[Anna131517]

Space Mountain
Splash Mountain
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Very surprised that many of the answers are talking about 5 year olds like they're toddlers. My kids have all been 40 inches since they were 3 and 44 inches by 4.

Space Mountain
Splash Mountain
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Very surprised that many of the answers are talking about 5 year olds like they're toddlers. My kids have all been 40 inches since they were 3 and 44 inches by 4.

We went this winter and my five year old was not tall enough for Space Mountain (44” height requirement). It was the first year my 7 year old could ride it and she found it too scary. Our 9 year old loved it. While our 5 year old could ride Big Thunder, and did, it wasn’t a favorite.

We went this winter and my five year old was not tall enough for Space Mountain (44” height requirement). It was the first year my 7 year old could ride it and she found it too scary. Our 9 year old loved it. While our 5 year old could ride Big Thunder, and did, it wasn’t a favorite.

 

[danceintherain]

Space Mountain
Splash Mountain
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Very surprised that many of the answers are talking about 5 year olds like they're toddlers. My kids have all been 40 inches since they were 3 and 44 inches by 4.

5 year olds are easy to spook. At least mine have been.... I made the mistake of diverting to Mission:SPACE, when TT was down at park opening when my DD was almost 5. She wouldn't even let me buckle her in. Then she full out refused to even get in line for anything that looked even remotely thrilling, until the very last day of our trip. We were walking through Animal Kingdom and she said, "I want to ride that mountain." She was pointing to Expedition Everest. She rode it, and enjoyed it.
My oldest hated 7DMT, when he was 5, and said he "might" be willing to try it again during our trip in March. He's ridden much more intense attractions now, but he remembers he didn't like it, and is clinging to that memory.
My current 5 year old could go either way, but he tends to be the most "scared" of my children, so I'm anticipating a "no rollercoaster" reaction from him.

 

[AnnabelleTheTalkingTree]

Ummmm......everything? LOL. All kids are different, but we were there a few months back with our 5 year old and I don't think there was one particular thing that stood out as the favorite, because kiddo just enjoyed it all. Loved Pirates, loved BTM, loved Buzz. Loved meeting the princesses and Mickey, loved the carousel and Small World. Splash Mountain may have been the top pick though now that I think about it. I think she was super proud of herself for actually going through with it!

 

[flowergleam1211]

Answering my own question! My kids loved Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, Mad Tea Party, Dumbo, Aladdin, Under the Sea Journey of the Little Mermaid, Peter Pan, and the People Mover. I'm not sure if they loved It's a Small World, but they were definitely interested. I'm sure they would have loved Astro Orbiter but I'm nervous about other people's experiences with motion sickness.

I showed videos of other rides that they can do, but they expressed not feeling ready for "scary" rides or rollercoasters. (And they are indeed, more sensitive than the average thrill seeking five year old.). When I'm in Orlando in September, and the kids are just as excited about resort pool time, I didn't feel like pushing anyone beyond their perceived limits.

Thanks, everyone, for your input!

 

[LifeTheDisneyWay14]

My ds is 2 and loves the Dumbo play area also. We usually go for early entry though and the play area doesn’t seem to open until later

My dd will be 2 when we go in February! Do you have any tips/other things your 2 year old loves at Disney?

 

[Haley R]

My dd will be 2 when we go in February! Do you have any tips/other things your 2 year old loves at Disney?

Bring lots of snacks lol. We live an hour away so it’s easy for us to pack our own lunches and snacks. Use the early entry as much as you can. Our son won’t nap in a stroller so we always take an afternoon break/nap even if he decides not to nap that day. Our afternoons are usually spent swimming because he LOVES swimming but February is iffy on weather.

These are his favorite things at each park:

MK-barnstormer, tea cups, Astro orbiter, buzz, dumbo play area inside, little mermaid, watching the fireworks (we’ve only watched them from the poly but we’ll be hopefully watching the Halloween fireworks in the park on Sunday)

Epcot-FIGMENT (he’s obsessed with this ride), frozen, Nemo, meeting Mickey by the figment ride (always a pretty short wait, much shorter than in MK)

AK-The train to the petting zoo, triceratops spin, playing the carnival games

We’ve never done HS with him so I can’t help there.

 

[joeyrufmc]

My daughter absolutely hated that ride. Basically at 5, she liked all the things she hated when she was 20 months old (she tried to climb out of Dumbo she hated it so much at 20 months). So maybe when she's 8 or 9, she'll like coasters....

Hello! My twin children turn six years old in December and I am tentatively planning a trip in the fall. For those of you who have taken your child at age 5 to Magic Kingdom, what were their favorite things to do?

Buzz Lightyear was always our boy's favorite at that age.

The Wrights

 

[Shellyred8]

We went with some friends and their 6yo son. This was his first trip to WDW. Turns out he was a bit of a ride-junkie (the big rides)!! Great for him, not so much for his parents! LOL!!!

Seven Dwarfs roller coaster is a good one to start first-timers with, as it's a pretty smooth ride and relatively short.

 

[BelleChick]

My 4 year old refuses to ride Dumbo, or any ride that operates in a similar fashion; however, he rode Rise of the Resistance and was fine I don’t know if there is any logic to figuring this question out, but if anyone does I would love to know I used to plan my day and rides before touring months before. I’ve given that up now because I really have no idea what he is going to want to ride any given day.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

My 4 year old refuses to ride Dumbo, or any ride that operates in a similar fashion; however, he rode Rise of the Resistance and was fine I don’t know if there is any logic to figuring this question out, but if anyone does I would love to know I used to plan my day and rides before touring months before. I’ve given that up now because I really have no idea what he is going to want to ride any given day.

welcome to the world of young kids. one day they love a ride next day wont get near it. there is no answer to why just go with the flow of the day

 

[DeeBee3]

My 4 year old refuses to ride Dumbo, or any ride that operates in a similar fashion; however, he rode Rise of the Resistance and was fine I don’t know if there is any logic to figuring this question out, but if anyone does I would love to know I used to plan my day and rides before touring months before. I’ve given that up now because I really have no idea what he is going to want to ride any given day.

perhaps it's the being up in the air vs. being on the ground in the dark? Who knows!

 

[DisSpoofy]

My kid at 5 loved astro orbiter, the barnstormer, big thunder (screamed in excitement the whole ride), mad tea party, magic carpets of aladdin, peter pan's flight, under the sea, and meet and greets (monster's inc and princesses).

 

[Jacq7414]

We went in April when my daughter was 5, almost 6.

She loved Space Mountain, Mine Train, Big Thunder Mountain, and pirates. She was not a fan of it’s a small world. She liked the tea cups, Peter Pan, Ariel, and Pooh. She also really loved meeting the characters. She wanted to meet Mickey over doing space mountain again.

She also loved meeting Tigger. We went to Crystal palace our previous stay and she asked to go again next trip (it didn’t have the characters in April)

 

[Jacq7414]

Space Mountain
Splash Mountain
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Very surprised that many of the answers are talking about 5 year olds like they're toddlers. My kids have all been 40 inches since they were 3 and 44 inches by 4.

Same. But some kids may spook.

My daughter loved all of those rides too.