Ranking kids lands in Orlando
“To all that come to this happy place, welcome. Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past, and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams, and the hard facts that have created America… with hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world.,” Walt Disney.
Y’all Walt had it right. His theme parks in general don’t come with age limits. Whether you’re a child, a child at heart, or simply someone who loves theme parks, we say welcome — the more, the merrier.
My late grandmother, we called her Nanny, first visited Disney World shortly after it opened and visited many times over the course of her life, including multiple times with me. The last time, in her late 80s, we tooled around Fantasyland, riding Peter Pan’s Flight, It’s a Small World, and others. She rode The Haunted Mansion and dined at Crystal Palace with Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, and other members of the Hundred Acre Wood gang.
She loved books her whole life and growing up in the 30s, she loved the Hundred Acre Wood books so much her family called her Winnie or Pooh. A lot of my cousins – her nieces and nephews – called her Aunt Pooh even into her elder years.
She told Winnie the Pooh that story and he came around a second time for an extra visit before we left. She was thrilled – or tickled if we want to use a Nanny word.
I tell that story to say this: Every land is for everyone. Child. Adult. Senior Citizen. Walt was right. All should be welcome.
But we say that while acknowledging that some theme park lands were designed more with kids in mind than others. For example? I’m sure there are many kids that love Dark Universe in Epic Universe, but that’s not a kids’ land.
Meanwhile, Sesame Street at SeaWorld was definitely designed for kids but that didn’t stop me from singing along with Mahna Mahna when it came over the loudspeakers.
When choosing your Orlando adventure there are a myriad of factors that have to be weighed, and each family must ultimately choose their own adventure. Luckily we’re here to help. If you’re traveling with kids—let’s say ages 7 and under—you’re probably wondering which of Orlando’s theme parks offer the best destinations for young children. You’ll want places that make the most of your trip and, hopefully, don’t drive the parents insane.
IN THIS ARTICLE
Ground rules for our rankings
As we set out on this recommendation adventure, we’re going to be taking in several factors including rides, characters, food, crowds, and more. We’re also going to be fairly restrictive on what would constitute as kids’ lands. For instance, neither Super Nintendo World or the Isle of Berk would constitute a kids’ land in our definition.
Certainly, there is kid-friendly theming in each, but the nature of the lands indicate that neither was built to cater chiefly to children.
So, under those rulings, the following parks do not have a kid-specific land: Epic Universe, EPCOT, and Animal Kingdom.
Also, we considered Peppa Pig World and decided against it. It is a separately ticketed park and not a land inside a larger theme park.
Also, as much as I appreciated the quirky British-ness conveyed in Peppa Pig – our youngest insisted upon calling her swimsuit a bathing costume one summer – I fear that level of immersion would test the sanity of older guests.
A good kids’ land is welcoming to older guests and does not actively try to destroy their brain function.
Ranking the best kids lands
1. Fantasyland – Magic Kingdom
Frankly, this isn’t really a fair contest here at the start. Fantasyland is big compared to the others on this list. So much so, that I considered disqualifying it and only including Storybook Circus, but ultimately, I don’t think you can leave it out.
It’s filled with classic rides for kids that have lasted generations. Peter Pan’s Flight, It’s a Small World, Dumbo the Flying Elephants, Mad Tea Party, and the Prince Charming Regal Carousel.
There’s also a legit roller coaster in the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, and a good coaster for young riders to get acclimated to the coaster life in Goofy’s Barnstormer. We didn’t even mention the more recent Journey of the Little Mermaid or the now entering classic territory Many Adventures of Winner the Pooh.
You’ve got the two castles plus the best themed bathrooms in Orlando with Rapunzel’s Tower. There’s excellent character meet and greets with Pooh and Tigger, multiple princesses, and Donald, Daisy, Goofy, and Minnie over at Pete’s Silly Sideshow. You also have random characters that make appearances in the land.
There’s sit down dining plus some classic snacks. If you go at rope drop you can beat the crowds and then head back to the hotel for an afternoon nap when the Orlando heat rises up. You’ve even got the train to carry you around the park – when it’s not impeded by construction.
It’s pretty much the perfect destination if you have kids or octogenarians who still embrace childish wonder in your traveling party.
2. Seuss Landing – Universal Islands of Adventure
Strong characters meet and greets carry this land forward over some of the others. The rides are better in Universal Orlando’s two kids lands and at Toy Story Land in Hollywood Studios.
But there are more rides here, meaning frequently lower wait times. Low wait times are really important with our younger theme park clientele and – well with our older theme park clientele as well, I suppose.
One of our family’s best character interactions happened when Sam I Am recognized our youngest – who had visited with him earlier – when coming back on stage.
We were sitting at a small table in the shade when he came by, pulled up a chair and spent a minute or two making her giggle with glee. The Cat in the Hat ride, is a classic dark ride attraction of the kind we don’t see much any more with the added bonus of being a bit of a fever dream.
The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride! Is one of the more memorable kids rides in Orlando. The Caro-Seuss-el and One Fish, Two Fish aren’t great but give options to keep kids moving.
The dining? It’s not great. Circus McGurkus Cafe Stoo-pendous has a lot of room and air conditioning to get out of the heat.
3. Sesame Street Land – SeaWorld Orlando
The first real shocker of the list. The key to the success of Sesame Street Land – beyond being the only Muppets adjacent place in town currently – is that in our experience, the land is wide open in the mornings.
I don’t know if its because park guests like to do animal encounters before the heat gets up or that SeaWorld crowds tend to be late arriving, but each time we’ve been to Sesame Street Land our kids have been able to walk on the rides over and over again.
Now, the quality of those rides are essentially good carnival or county fair level. In my experience, your 4, 5 or 6 year old doesn’t need top of the line ride experience.
No wait times? That’s a winner for the little ones. Sesame Street’s food is like much of SeaWorld’s dining options, kind of a disaster.
But there’s a good splash pad, decent character meet and greets – though they could have more options – and a real parade filled with beloved characters and fun music. “I consider Sesame Street Land a real hidden gem.
4. The DreamWorks Land – Universal Studios Florida
There are arguments for and against each of these lands. Each needs more space, more rides, and more things to do. Each feature beloved IP for kids in the age range.
DreamWorks Land gets the nod. While it really only has the Trolls Trollercoaster – a reskinned version of the old Woody Woodpecker coaster – it has a lot of play areas, good character interactions, and some shows where you can get out of the heat.
A theme park playground doesn’t impress me. I don’t care if it’s themed. We got good playgrounds at home, and they’re free. However, it does have two splash pad play areas which are handy for cooling off.
Thanks to Donkey, the Shrek meet and greet is among the best in Orlando. The Po Live! Show – like Turtle Talk with Crush – can be legit entertaining. The dining is OK. It’s certainly an improvement over the previous version, it just suffers for the lack of rides.
5. Minion Land – Universal Studios Florida
Ranked here because – as currently constructed – this mini-Minions Land doesn’t have quite enough to do. It has one mediocre ride that skews a little older than kids 7. Then another ride – Minion Mayhem – that’s legit pretty good for all ages.
The restaurant – Minions Café – is fun and well themed. While this mini-land was kind of created on the fly, there is possibility for further expansion. It does not appear that the now torn down Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit Coaster is going to be Minion themed – Fast and Furious and Ghostbusters seem to be the front runners for that – but with more attractions, more to do, and more meet and greet type activity, this land could rocket up the charts.
6. Toy Story Land – Hollywood Studios
We started not to include this one on the list. The rides are borderline. Slinky Dog Dash is a family coaster, but it’s legit and may be too much for smaller riders. Toy Story Mania is a lot of fun but again, smaller riders who haven’t played a lot of games may not get full enjoyment. The wait times can be long.
There’s not a lot of shade or air conditioned places to beat the heat.
The dining is better here than many of the other kids lands on the list. Ultimately, this teeters on the cusp of kids land for me. Frankly, that makes a lot of sense as the Toy Story franchise has always worked on a lot of levels. It is just as much for adults and older kids as it is for the youngsters
