Islands of Adventure next to Univeral is great for a 3 yr old. start off with breakfast with spiderman then go on to Seusses landing all aimed for the younger guests and this year they added the mini monorail around that part of the park. make sure you take a change of clothes for both islands of adventure and universal studios as both have areas to get wet for kids. in Universal theres barneys play area.

sea world has a kids wet play area and a sand area with toys and play houses for younger guests so i am sure you will manage to have a few days to relax in the parks while having fun.

buy your tickets before you go it is cheaper here than there. orlando-ticket-deals.co.uk is a good site.

Stay away from Haunted Mansion and Tower of Terror; he will not understand what is happening. While I as a grownup am not frightened nor impressed by the Mansion ride (it is a corny, slow, one-level trip through a building with robotic skeletons, headless characters, holographic ghosts), young children may become upset.

Other scary rides would be “Dinosaur” and “It’s Tough to Be a Bug” show at Animal Kingdom. The former is not scary to a normal grownup, but the surprise of seeing a robotic dinosaur come at you while on the ride may be too much; you decide. The ‘Bug show is very exciting and actually scary, as opposed to the Haunted Mansion. I will try not to spoil the surprise, but it’s about the ant movie and the other bugs come to attack: it gets dark and smoky, your seats have special effects that make you feel under attack, also. There is always crying when the fight is over and some children have to be taken out before the show was done. It’s actually one of the most satisfying attractions at all of Disney, but again, you have to know your child.

I don’t know how often you come to the States, but there are several parks that make up Disney World (make sure your travel agent knows the difference), and each require a full day to appreciate. Animal Kingdom is the newest and the best; your son will enjoy the safari ride. They have the sweetest parade in the afternoon; no need to clamor for a spot. There’s also the Magic Kingdom; arrive early and stay till closing. Watch the middday and nighttime parades and in-between go on rides and eat. Most of the rides are gentle (except for Haunted Mansion, in a way); “It’s a Small World” is old, corny, slow but surprisingly the most satisfying and sweet experience. I guess that’s why it’s still around. Perfect for 3yr olds and 93 yr olds.

MGM Studios and Epcot are the other major Disney park areas. Epcot can take a whole day, or split it up with Animal Kingdom in the morning (or any park that closes at 5) and go twice. Parts of Epcot may not impress your 3yr old, but you’ll like it. There are buildings representing different countries that contain items for sale and cuisine for that respective country. There are rides inside the buildings. Mexico has a very gentle cute boat ride through its history in the vein of “Small World”. The nighttime FIREWORKS at EPCOT in the middle of the lake were awe-inspiring. We did not have to clamor for a spot (disboards.com, the Disney discussion website, have ongoing debates about the best spots for all these parades and fireworks events). The music was great; the fireworks were so good and well-designed that at one point they were so intense I thought there had been an accident on the barge!

There are proper rides and attractions in Epcot before entering the individual country area. “Honey I Shrunk the Audience” is a 3D show with effects in your seats, but not as scary as “Bug” in Animal Kingdom. The Nemo attraction is at Epcot, also. I wouldn’t go on the “ride in the globe”, as someone wrote here, for that is the one that uses centripdal force and causes great motion sickness and disorientation if one looks away from the screen. A 3 yr old can’t help but look around, no matter how compelling the screen. This ride has lately been a whipping boy in the news media due to the recent deaths of a child and a woman with undiagnosed high blood pressure. For this ride, read the precautions and think before you go.

There are also water parks within Disney. Your 4 days in Florida will be completely filled with Disney. The Animal Kingdom Lodge is the best hotel; it’s not kitschy and corny, it’s subtly designed. Be sure to spend some time in the resort looking at the animals on the grounds and play in the pool, the largest of the hotels.

Use the Disney buses and trains (free) to travel between the Parks; no car is needed at Disney. Actually, if you plan on doing all 4 days there, you don’t need a car at all, since there are buses from the airport. Get the Magic Transportation deal from your travel agent (read disneyworld website for more).

Nitty Gritty: 1) Decide how many days you’ll actually be going to the Parks and get Park Hopper Passes. You’ll save money and will be able to split up your visits by going to two in one day.

2) As for avoiding lines on the popular rides, you must do the FastPass– a machine gives you a ticket for, say, Buzz Lightyear ride, telling you what time to come back to ride it. Lines can be up to 2 hours long! The strategy is to get a FastPass and then hop on another ride that has little or no line. You’ll see on the FastPass ticket that you can’t obtain another for a different ride until a certain time. This is so people don’t rush into the parks taking FastPasses for everything at once.

3) Have the Disney stores send your souvenir purchases and professional pictures to your Disney resort, the best perk for staying at Disney property. It takes about 24 hours to arrive, so be prepared to carry your last days’ purchases with you.

4) Get the meal plan. Food and snacks are much cheaper; you actually get to eat when you want and not have to worry about the a la carte prices which may make you want to skip a meal to save money. The meal plan ensures you 2 meals and a snack (Mickey-mouse shaped ice cream bar, anyone?) every day. You also don’t have to carry food and drinks with you. Also, the plan allows you credit at a Character Breakfast– where the kids eat and get to take pictures with characters walking around. Those are expensive breakfasts otherwise. Each Park and some resorts have a Character Restaurant, but you should only experience it once or twice. Ask your son who he wants to “meet” (Donald Duck? Cinderella?) and make reservations for that character meal.

5) Make meal reservations weeks/months ahead of time. The Character Breakfasts and Luncheons, especially for the Princesses, fill up quickly. Sit-down restaurants at Epcot’s countries and MK also prefer reservations. Mention your meal plan when you call (one phone number covers all the restaurants).

6) Go on disboards.com and mousesavers.com to get details and plan your visit. They have the most comprehensive information; not yahoo. With 4 days, you’re going to have to read the disneyworld website, decide which attractions you really need to see, read the reviews on disboards.com and plan, plan, plan.

Busch Gardens is a 2 hour drive and if you use mapquest or yahoo’s maps, you won’t get lost, but you have to see if you: a) want to rent a car that will sit at Animal Kingdom except for the one day you use it or b) rent a car at Disney (there’s a shuttle bus to take you to the agency) for just the one day or c) you decide to stay at Disney and not even visit other places, which means saving money on a car and taking the Disney shuttle from/to the airport.

I hear nearby is a Nickelodeon park in the Orlando area. There is also Sea World! Kennedy is an hour away, and I don’t know if your 3 yr old will get it. You’ll have to visit again!

Take your own drinks as they can prove expensive in the parks themselves, if you are going as part of a package see if you can pre book some trips with the rep to universal studios etc or failing that most hotels have free bus shuttle services you could use.

Sea World is always worth a visit – the killer whales are amazing and the Americans always know how to put on a good show.

From memory Kennedy Space Centre is a couple of hours from Orlando but well worth a visit in my opinion. If your son is into space and rockets and stuff he will love it and its just as fascinating for the grown ups too.

Me and the family are off there again this Christmas and I cant wait – we are taking my nephew who is going to be four whilst we are over there and I’m like you – just as a excited as him!!!

Hope you have a really wonderful time.