This post is my first in a new category “Vacation Destinations”. Since we all have children around the same age, it is feasible to think that we will be traveling to at least some of the same places.

A couple of weeks ago we spent 2 days in Magic Kingdom. We did go to any of the other parks, so this post will just on things to do in this park. First of all let me say there is a MOUNTAIN of internet sites that have touring plans and tips about traveling to Disney with toddlers. Here, I will just tell you what rides they liked and why. Maybe it will help with your touring plan.

My kids are short, they come by it honestly.  So I don’t have any information on big thunder mountain, splash mountain, space mountain or the 7 dwarfs mine train. We also didn’t ride Adventures with Winnie the Pooh since it was shut down for repairs during most of our visit. We skipped Haunted Mansion as well.

This trip was the inspiration for my guest blog for Carolina Parent,What makes a playground great?

• Ariel’s grotto. Here is a chance to meet Ariel, in her mermaid tail. Since it is a character greet I hear the lines can move pretty slow, but we went here first so we had minimal wait times. It is indoors and a little dark.
• Astro orbiter. I rode this ride with my 3 year old daughter and she was pretty excited to be riding “a rocket”. Basically this ride is Dumbo except you take an elevator up and start off pretty high in the air. Except you sit tandem, which made my little girl feel safe. You can make your ride go up/down, like Dumbo. My daughter did not want to go any higher than we already were, but she had a great time.
• Barnstormer. 35 inch height requirement, my 3 year old barely made the cut off. This ride does not go very high, but it is an actual roller coaster. It was a little scary to my daughter and she did not want to ride it again.
• Buzz Light Year. I was a little disappointed in this ride, or at least I expected my kids to like it more. But my 1.5 year old did NOT like it. He didn’t cry but he did bury his head in my shoulder, especially when the ride gets very dark. It is kind of loud and like sitting in the middle of an arcade game. I think older children would have a blast, but it was just a little too much for my kiddos.
• Dumbo. This ride is such a Disney classic and we rode it a couple of times, both kids loved it. They now have 2 Dumbo rides and a playground you can visit instead of waiting in line. We rode it early in the morning though so we didn’t see the playground portion.
• Enchanted tales with Belle. This was a really fun experience and probably one of my favorites. I think older/less shy kids would like it even more, mine stayed in the background and just observed mostly. But my daughter did like meeting Belle
• Festival of Fantasy Parade. Occurs at 3:00 pm, which is a nice time sit with a snack and take a break. It’s a really good parade, although the fire breathing dragon is a little bit scary for the youngest viewers. I was pretty disappointed that Frozen only had Anna and Elsa on half a float. I mean, that movie has been HUGE forever. There were huge floats dedicated to movies I had never seen. Especially a Frozen sequel to be rumored to be in the works, Disney really could have done better with this.
• #IncrediblesSuperDanceParty. This event is in Tomorrowland and not very popular, or at least not on the day we went. I have no idea why not, it is really a lot of fun. And you have a TON of character interaction with Mr. and Mrs. Incredible and Frozone. There is a DJ, dancing and fun, definitely worth checking out
• It’s a Small World. My little boy LOVED this ride. We rode it twice, since it was one of the few things he really seemed to like. It’s a nice calm boat ride with tons of things for the little ones to watch. No scary parts, no dark areas. Perfect ride for everyone.
• Jungle cruise. Another nice ride with no real scary parts… except maybe a fake snake. Our tour guide was full of silly jokes that the kids didn’t follow, but they did like seeing all the animals.
• Laugh floor, Monster’s Inc. I think this is definitely worth doing, because it is air conditioned, minimal wait times and you can sit down. It’s an interactive show where they put different people from the audience on the screen. They pick the cutest girl to play Boo. Of course that was my little girl 😀
• Mad tea party. This is fun if you like spinning. I rode it twice with my daughter while my youngest napped in the stroller. She had a blast.
• Magic Carpet Ride. Pretty much a dumbo style ride with magic carpets instead. One nice thing about this ride is that one carpet seats 4, so our whole family could ride together.
• Magic kingdom welcome/rope drop. We made it for rope drop both days we were there. The kids get to see Mickey and some other characters say hello before riding off on a train. It’s fun, worth going to and you are one of the first people in the park.
• Main Street Philharmagic. Loved this. Like laugh floor it is a short wait, has a/c and you get to sit down. It’s a short 3d movie…seeing my daughter’s reaction to 3d was hysterical. My son wouldn’t put on the glasses, but had a great time pulling mine off. At the end there is a spotlight shining on Donald duck who is behind you, stuck in the wall. That single moment was my daughter’s favorite magic kingdom memory. She still gets the giggles thinking about it 🙂
• People mover. This is a simple ride throughout tomorrow land. Low wait times if any, so it is a nice one to do during peak crowds. It does go in the space mountain building and gets pretty dark for a short section.
• Pete’s silly side show. Here you get to meet either Minnie and Daisy or Goofy and Donald. NOT both. Unless you want to stand in 2 lines…which kind of irked me but my daughter was only interested in meeting Minnie and my son was terrified of all of them. So, really it was a non-issue.
• Peter Pan’s magic flight. Worth a fast pass if you are gonna ride it because the lines are LONG. It’s kinda nostalgic for those of us who grew up with Peter Pan. However, I really didn’t think my kids would think much of it. To my surprise my daughter begged to ride “flying boats” again. Sorry kid. No more fast passes and I am NOT waiting 90 minutes.
• Pirates of the Caribbean. OK… another ride that is really DARK. Also has a pitch black tunnel where you do down a small hill. It’s not Splash mountain or anything, but kinda startling to the kids in the dark. This was not a favorite ride but they really liked the gift shop at the end of it. In fact we ended up buying a ball and chain toy to avoid a meltdown.
• Princess Fairy tale hall we skipped… 1 hour+ lines. We didn’t stay on Disney property so we were not able to get fast passes. So no meeting Anna and Elsa, which is another reason I was bummed at their less than spectacular parade presence.
• Railroad. We did this a couple of times to avoid a long walk and because both the kids love trains. You have to fold up your stroller and put it in the seat with you.
• Regal Carousel. Wait times for this were less that 10 minutes at any given time. I think we rode it 5 times. Kids loved it even though we can ride this at home.
• Swiss family tree house. Basically you just walk up a bunch of steps and then come back down. My kids love it because they have a fascination with steps, maybe not so much impressed by the tree house aspect of it.
• Tom Sawyer Island. This experience was nice because it was not terribly crowded and it gave the kids a chance to just wander and explore. You ride a small raft to and from the island and can’t take your stroller with you… just FYI because their is a good chance you will end up carrying your toddler.Just a side note here, you will end up carrying your toddler a lot, even if you do bring a stroller. So if you are planning a trip start lifting the weights!!
• Town Square Mickey. My daughter and I did this… a meet and greet with Mickey mouse. She loved it. Mickey talks to you  and I think that Minnie not talking was a little too weird for her. Mickey is so excited to see you, gave her a big hug and spends a good bit of time with the child. Definitely worth meeting the star of Disney.
• Under the Sea. You ride in a clam shell and get the reader’s digest version of The Little Mermaid. Lots of fun music from the movie. Ursula scene may be a bit scary for some little ones.