Matt and Elena's

Walt Disney World Guide

Activities For Children

Disney World is full of activities for all age groups.  Sometimes it can seem a bit difficult to keep children interested at some of the parks, especially when they are hot and tired.  Here are some tips to keep your children interested and happy!

• Pin trading -- children can really get into and enjoy pin trading.  It is a neat way to interact with cast members and allows them to build their own little collection.  For more information on pin trading go here.  Make sure you watch for green lanyards!
  
• Character meets -- There are characters available for pictures and autographs in every park.  Some are positioned in specific buildings or areas, others kind of roam around.  All character appearances are carefully scripted.  There is a specific schedule and placement for every character.  Your park map points out where characters will be but it doesn't give you the schedule.  Ask any cast member where and when your favorite character will be and they can tell you.  If you want, bring and autograph book and pen.
  
• Character meals -- You can make reservations for specific character meals where you will get to see specific characters while you eat.  They are pricey but you are guaranteed to meet and take pictures with the chacaters advertised for that meal.  Check Disney World's web site for more details.
  
• Kidcot -- Epcot has a unique remedy for bored children called Epcot.  They know Epcot is not that appealing to children.  Kidcot is a free program where a child draw or decroate a paper mask on a stick.  They visit each country in world showcase and get a stamp on the stick and can draw on their mask.  After getting the last stamp they get a free prize!  The prize isn't that great but it sure helped make my children excited to go to each new country.
  
• VMK Quests -- Virtual Magic Kingdom is an online phenomenon with teens and pre-teens.  At the real Magic Kingdom and online you can pick-up VMK quests.  A quest is a kind of information scavenger hunt.  The quests have questions related to certain features, rides, posters, scenery, etc.  When you complete a quest, you get VMK codes to use in the online game.
• Playgrounds -- All of the parks have playgrounds or play areas where children get just run, slide, swing, and jump.  Here are a few we know of:
• Magic Kingdom
• Pooh's Playful spot (in Fantasyland)
  
• Splash Mountain exit area (under the bridge)
  
• Jungle Cruise area where tikis periodically squirt water
• Epcot
• Indoor playground inside Mission Space exit
• Water play areas between Mission Space and Innoventions
• Water play area between future world and world showcase (under the monorail beam)
• Norway viking boat
• MGM Studios
• Honey I Shrunk The Kids Movie Set Adventure
• Animal Kingdom
• The Boneyard (in Dinoland USA)
  

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Last updated: 9 August 2006