For those who have taken kids under age 5 to DLP...

[M&C'sMom]

My sister and bil moved to Zurich this summer and are planning a weekend at DLP (bil has business there) They are staying at Hotel New York, I think. They have 3 kids ages 4 1/2, just 3, and just 1. What do you think are their "must do" attractions/shows? It doesn't seem there is much for little ones at the Studios, is that true? Also, what character meal would you suggest? I think they're planning for 2-3 days. How busy will the first weekend in Nov be? I realize it's the end of the Tous-saints holiday.

Thank you so much for any help/insight you can offer!

 

[MinnieYC]

If they have park-hopper tickets, it might be worth it to stop at the Studios for an afternoon. It's not worth a full day visit, IMO. The kids would like Aladdin's Flying Carpets (like the ones at the MK in Florida), the 3 and 4 1/2 year-old (and their parents!) would love Animagique (adorable show), and there is an afternoon parade they'd probably like. They may also like the Art of Disney Animation (like the one at MGM). Plus, since the park is generally less crowded, and it has a good number of characters, there might be shorter lines for pictures and autographs.

 

[Dead-metal]

We just got back from DLP, with our DD whoi s 4 1/2.

She loved all the rides in Fantasy Land, apart from Pinocchio and Snow White, which she was OK with, but not keen to do again. Her absolute favourite ride was It's a Small World (which we did 7 times in 4 days!!)

Don't forget Casey Junior's Circus Train, and ther Fairytale Boats. A lot of people seem to overlook these, but they're fantastic for littlies.

For most of the other rides, we did the baby swap (which meant our DS 7 got to ride twice in a row), as she didn't like anything dark or with drops!

As for the Studios, she enjoyed the Flying Carpets and absolutely adored Animagique. She also liked the parade. The part after the animation tour where the children can draw their own pictures was good fun too.

Hope this helps.

 

[Bexx]

My daughter loved Pirates of the Carribean or the Yo Ho ride as she called it!! She was only 2 1/2, but nothing fazes her, so it might not be to the liking of all young children - just don't rule it out.

She also loved the teacups, Peter Pan and all the other rides MinnieYC and Dead-metal mentioned, though we didn't do Snow White or Pinnochio, because we don't like them much ourselves!!!

Not sure about character meals - never done any. Cafe Mickey in the Disney village is supposed to do quite a good one. Check out the Ultimate DLP Food Guide for reviews.

 

[Cochise]

We visited last March.

We booked a character breakfast at Cafe Mickeys as you enter the village. The breakfast was basically all you wanted from self service, sausages, bacon, scrambled eggs, pastries etc. The characters were great and ensured that each table had their time and photo opp.

My 5 year old love Pirates of the Caribbean, the tea cups, dumbos' flight, magic carpet ride and aerosmith rockin roller coaster.. only joking Think we hit 7 times in 4 days for Its a Small World which was their fave.
My youngest (3) basically likes everything that her sister likes (She totally dotes on her)

I agree that the studios doesnt ocupy much more than half a day but the Cinemagique and Animagique were superb, obviously the Anima is great for the kids but the cine is more for the oldies.
The best part of the studios is when the characters visit there is not the same sort of mad rush to get hold of them. We almost had Mickey to ourselves for 5 minutes with no more than 5 others coming over.
See from my signature

 

[RoyalCanadian]

I can only echo the replies from other posters -- there is so much at DLP for the young ones to enjoy. We visited Paris in mid-September and enjoyed a day at DLP as a vacation from our vacation. Aside from doing the baby-swap on Indiana Jones and Space Mountain, DD (also 4.5) enjoyed everything. FYI -- we went on a Wednesday, every ride was a walk-on save for the 5 minute wait at Casey Junior and about 6 minutes at Dumbo. There was nobody in line at Pirates!!!

Phantom Mansion -- she loved it. We did this one twice.
Big Thunder Mtn. -- nice introduction to roller coasters for the little one. Used a Fast-Pass here after enjoying Phantom Mansion.
Tarzan -- great show and participation for the youngsters. Try to sit in the front rows and the child might be brought forward for the Breaking up the Camp music.
Pirates of the Caribbean -- nothing to be scared of here. Good pirate fun and a great sing-along-song. The pricing at the adjoining restaurant isn't out of line with the food prices one might pay in the city of Paris.
Casey Jr. -- another great roller coaster introduction with great theming.
Fairy Tale Boats -- try and remember all the fairy tales you thought you forgot. Spot Belle reading by the fountain -- take this before you take Casey Jr. and you'll soon realize why Cinderella's castle is up so high.
Small World -- this one puts to shame IASW at WDW. I hope the WDW refurb uses this one as a minimum standard to attain.
Peter Pan -- what can one say about soaring over London in a Pirate's ship? So much fun.
Snow White -- DD thought it somewhat scarey, but the movie is too.
Pinnochio -- same thoughts as Snow White, but every Disney classic has its dark side.
Space Mountain -- as I mentioned before, we baby-swapped on this one. Do the swap -- once again, this far outstrips Space Mtn at WDW. The Jules Verne theming is wonderful.
Nautilus -- it's a walk through, disappointing if the child (or the parents, for that matter) are expecting a ride.
Space Tours -- great for children, although peculiar to hear C3P0 talking French with a British accent. The ride commentary itself is in English and is exactly the same as ST at WDW, from what I could tell.
Lion King -- get your tickets early, we didn't know there were tickets needed for this show and had to stand and watch from the eating section. Still, the characters come right up into the audience (including as far as the restaurant section) and interact with the audience. DD enjoyed this.
Dumbo -- it's Dumbo, enuf said.
Carousel -- see Dumbo.
Alice in Wonderland Maze -- DD enjoyed this as she was in an "Alice in Wonderland" figure skating show in the early spring.

If the crowds are low DLP Magic Kingdom is the perfect park for a day at leisure.

 

[Mickey2005]

We went in November 03 (Kids 3 year old & a 7 months old, March 04, may 04, August 04 and have booked for halloween and xmas this year before braving florida in feb.

My 3 3/4 year old has been on all the rides except Star Tours, BTM, Space Mountain, Indy ride, R&R C, Armegheddon.

He loves pirates of the caribean and haunted mansion - The only rides he is not too fond of suprisingly is snow white and pinnochios ride.

The baby has been on much of the same (Although he slept for large parts of the first few trips). His favourites are the shows - Indoor as said above animagique is by far the best and has my one year old dancing away. Also recommended are the winnie the pooh and tarzan shows if on when you are away as well as peter pan to the rescue. Not sure if it just my child but any disney music / musical show parades sets him off into dance mode.

On the food side for young children I can only echo what has been said above Cafe Mickey is by the far the best place to keep your kids entertained. That said my near four year old is a pirate fanatic and loves the blue lagoon

In short