This is part four in our series the Tips from the Disney Diva series “Ages for rides at Walt Disney World.” If you missed the other articles on Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios scroll to the bottom of this post to get to the links. This has also be updated to include Fast Pass + Suggestions.
Because any of us traveling with children to Walt Disney World need to do some serious planning ahead of time, my husband and I have put together a printable spreadsheet of attractions including rides, shows, and character meals in Animal Kingdom and the ages that each gender might enjoy them the best.
I fully realize that EVERYTHING here is actually an individual decision based on YOUR child. and this spreadsheet is simply a tool to give you some ideas as you plan
The spreadsheet is broken into three categories:
1) MD = Must Do – These are the things that, based on age, you should seriously consider putting into your “touring plan” for the day. I tried to take height requirements into consideration. Your child’s height may or may not coordinate with the ages indicated on the spreadsheet.
2) ID = Individual Decision – One of reasons there are so few spreadsheets like this is that most of attraction selection is based on YOUR CHILD and nobody knows your child as well as you do. You may have a thrill seeker at 6years old, you may have a teenager that absolutely MUST meet Snow White or their trip is not complete. It’s really up to you! Some of the attractions are marked ID based on how dark the ride is, if there are things that might startle them (ranging from how big the costume characters are, to witches popping out, to fireworks exploding), speed of ride is also considered, and height requirements (indicated next to rides that have them). This is where you should probably ask your child directly if they’re up for it and you should NEVER MAKE a child go on anything they have indicated they are afraid of.
3) S = Skippable – This is the area that people who have been to WDW a million times are most likely to get grumpy about, because as I mentioned before, really all of this is an individual decision based on your child. However, as people are taking shorter and shorter trips to WDW they need to know what is imperative to be scheduled in and what can be saved until a second, or third trip. So if your favorite ride is marked skippable, sorry, the whole thing has been done based on personal opinion.
You will also see that some attractions are marked “Cool Down/ Dry Off”. This means that if you are sweating through your Mickey Ears, or its been pouring rain for hours, they make a nice temporary retreat. If marked “Skippable” and Cool Down/ Dry Off then that indicates you really only to need visit the attraction if you require a break from the elements, or are tired and need to sit for a little bit.
Ok, well without further ado I present to you the link to the Diva Animal Kingdom Attraction Checklist. Please do not take this and try to pass it off as your own, its just bad manners.
Click on the link to be taken to the Google Doc. You can then export it and format it according to the age of your family and print. Enjoy! (last updated 3/30/2014)
http://tinyurl.com/DivaAnimalKingdomchecklist
If you missed Magic Kingdom you can see it by clicking HERE.
You can see Epcot by clicking HERE.
You can see Hollywood Studios by clicking HERE.
Want more PRINTABLE help with planning? Check out:
Oh my goodness how could I have missed that one? I will put it on the list right now! Thanks!
Thanks! I’ve been to Disney 40 times but this is my first visit with our 20 month old daughter. I’ve never had to pay attention to height restrictions or the “scary” factor before. You have made it so much easier for me!
Is epcot, animal kingdom, or mgm better for a 3 or 4 yr old if u could only choose 1? Already doing 2 days of magic kingdom, just need to choose one more park.