which to leave out: AK, MGM, EP

[sammieJ]

Going this weekend, driving, there Sat AM - Tues PM.

Will have 2.5 and 4.5 yr old boys.

Assuming I am in MK on Sun, Mon night for party and Tues, giving me saturday and monday prior to party, which of the other parks would you leave out ? They do love lion king, or it would be AK, hands down. Would love to visit epcott with my mom, who is going, or would probably nix that one easily. Not sure about MGM, but they LOVE little mermaid, and know all the songs by heart. (anyone thinking mom might be out of luck here....)

This is about the kids, so its more about what they would love best, not the crowd management planning aspect, so any feedback about what your kids loved would be greatly appreciated. Thanks !

Thanks in advance, and as I wrote in the planning section, I will come back with reviews to pay back all the help I've gotten here !

[cruiserkaren]

My vote would be Epcot. I think we may skip it next trip.

[Desnik]

We just got back and we skipped AK. We skipped it in May too. Our kids are 8 and 3, girl and boy. They love MK, MGM, and Epcot. We got to see alot of characters at all three parks. They loved getting their autographs and oictures with them. Epcot is such a great park, we couldn't skip it. We go there at least twice, MK too. If your boys like Disney Cars like my son, then MGM is a must! DS was beside himself when he got to see Lightening McQueen and Tow Mater. He was so happy to be able to go up to them and touch them!

[sammieJ]

thanks to you both !

I have never been to epcott so I really don't know anything about it. And I think AK and just think of that terribly hot and crowded waste of a day from our trip 2 years ago. I guess if I can't get the lion king bug out of my syster, I could always drag them to AK first thing for the lion king show, then head over to epcott....

or, just buy the florida resident seasonal pass and take them back on a slow weekend for the lion king !

At least the decision is really not that critical - we'll have a great time regardless I'm sure. This place can just really bring out the obsessive planner in you !!

[Northeast Rose]

My kids like both Epcot and AK. Since Mom is going, I would probably do Epcot. Just my .02. :teeth:

[sammieJ]

thanks - that's what I am asking for ! If I get enough cents, I can make a decision !

[maddi]

With the ages of your lil ones, I would vote out EPCOT. The other two have so much more for little ones to do. :)

[Nicolepa]

With the ages of your lil ones, I would vote out EPCOT. The other two have so much more for little ones to do. :)

I have to disagree. My boy is 4 and he could spend all day in innovations. He loves Epcot. If it were me I'd skip MGM. My boy (and girl for that matter) could care less. They ride TOT and Star Tours and are done.

[txaggiemomof3]

I think AK and MGM are geared more towards little ones than Epcot is. Our kids are 9, 6 and 4 and loved AK. If your kids love Little Mermaid, they will definately love Voyage of the Little Mermaid at MGM. Playhouse Disney Live is also great for younger kids. We just didn't enjoy Epcot as much as the other parks and would have spent less time there in hindsight.

HTH! Have a great trip! :sunny:

[princesspwrhr]

I'd skip MGM. For the ages of yoru boys the only thing at MGM is shows and character greetings. Downside is there are some characters at MGM you can't find elsewhere yet - like Little Einsteins. I'm guessing you don't have park hoppers.

Don't skip Epcot. It's been a favorite of my girls on every trip, especially when they were (and are) toddlers and preschoolers. There are all sorts of wonderful hands on fun things for them to see and do in Future World as well as a few rides and World Showcase has great entertainment to watch (don't miss Off Kilter or the chinese acrobats), Kid Cot stations in each country that provide something for the little ones to do while the grown ups take turns exploring countries if they they want, a few rides, a few characters and great food! Try sampling a dessert in each country.

[angelmav]

I would probably skip AKL if I had to make the choice, but all the answers your going to get are going to be colored by all our fav's so it really comes down to rides/animals on what you think your kids will enjoy more.

[pigletforever]

I would skip AK. None of us were impressed. We spend 3 hours there and were ready to leave. DS4 loved MGM - Power rangers, Muppets, Little Einsteins, It is very kid friendly. He also liked Epcot. There is great entertainment, Nemo rides, Kidcot.

[DisneyArk]

This is a difficult question and is really a personal choice. Keep reading about all the attractions at each park and make your decision based on what your family enjoys the most. I think you can't go wrong (whichever park you choose) if you plan. Keep a written list of the attractions you want to see. When you walk into the parks it can be overwhelming.

We've taken our sons 3 times and on our 2nd trip they were 3 and 5. On that trip their favorite park was AK (that surprised us). They loved walking through the jungle looking at the animals and riding the Safari ride. They loved digging for dinosaurs and playing at the playground. They loved watching the shows. We were surprised they wanted to go back a second day.

Our family doesn't love MGM. Research all the shows there and see if you think your sons will enjoy them.

On this past trip the boys were 6 and 8. DS8 LOVED EPCOT. He wanted to spend hours in Innovations. So if your sons love to see how things work and play video games then they might love this part of EPCOT. If you go to EPCOT and your sons need a break there is a good playground inside the exit from Mission Space. You don't have to ride the ride - just go in the exit and sit in the air conditioned room while they play.

Have a wonderful trip! :wizard:

[sbouncer]

This is a hard question especially at this time of the year...With your kids ages, they are reletively close to ours....I would probably skip AK....MGM has the Osborne lights that they would like, MK has MVMCP which I think you said you are going to, and Epcot has all of the santas of the world in the world showcase. If you can get your kids to understand that santa looks and dresses differently based on where in the world he is then that is a must do....at least for my sons....good luck.

[whogirl'smom]

I'd skip AK; it's not that it's not good, but the kids would miss more by skipping somewhere else.

[sammieJ]

thanks ! Ive been reading up on the parks, since the only one I really know is MK, and the personal experiences and opinions from people here are really helpful. Again, its not that huge a deal, I mean the kids get to go to disney for a four day weekend, but I would like to make the most of the time we have there.

I think the mention of power rangers might be a selling factor for MGM with the 4 year old (even though he is not supposed to be watching the show, he has somehow managed to see some episodes).

I do love hearing all the personal favorites, though, keep em coming ! please ! its fun to hear about what other families loved.

[herodrx1]

I'd skip AK. It is so much smaller than the other parks. My kids loved epcot when we went. The kidcot stations were a big hit and we parents got to look at all the grown up stuff too.

[Ariel8676]

I just have to say that my girls (well the older 2) are 5 and almost 4 and they LOVE Epcot, i really wouldn't skip it. They love visiting all the different countries and making the masks at the Kidcot staions and decorating them. You can find a lot of great characters, have a lot of fun in Innoventions, Turtle talk with crush, Nemo,Journey into Imagination..i could go on and on.....
Ak is alright, Festival of the Lion King is awesome! Could you maybe split a day between Ak and MGM (if you have hoppers)? Go early to AK see Lion King and maybe ride everest and safari, then head over to to MGM..power rangers and Cars, that may be a reason to go there..lol Beauty and the Beast on stage is good, my girls also like the Greta Movie ride there. Then ther is always Tower of Terror and Rock n rollercoaster..if you are into that.
Out of all the parks if i had to i'd skip AK...hope i helped out a bit and not confused you even more..lol

[PeachesDoesHair]

I have a three year old daughter and one year old son. This year we skipped the Animal Kingdom. My daughter loved Epcot. She really got into making her mask at the kidcot fun stops. In fact, one night we asked her if she would rather ride some rides or go finish her mask and she said she wanted to go do her mask. So off to Epcot we went. There are so many characters to meet at MGM. That was also one of the highlights of our trips.

[mamamary]

My kids (7&9) liked MK and MGM the best. They both liked AK. My son thought Epcot was ok but my 7 year old daughter did not care for Epcot. This being said everyone is different. Like the other posters have stated, do some research on the parks and I'm sure you'll get a better idea of which park you can skip. Good Luck!! :thumbsup2

[ardig123]

We just went to all 4 parks in Sept. and the least fav. among my girls DD3 and DD7 was AK. There weren't many rides and some of the walking trails/exhibits just bored them after awhile... and they were too small for some of the bigger rides. They absolutely loved Epcot and we actually spent 2 days there! The kidcot stations were so much fun for them! MGM had a lot of fun character interaction and the Little Mermaid show was a big hit!!

[winjos]

Here's why I would skip AK (my opinion):

I'm into bang for your buck and although I really like AK, there are only a few activities my kids (2 & 5) experience. They go on the safari ride (my DS fell asleep on it two different visits), play in the boneyard, visit the characters (only did that once), and go on the dinosaur twirl ride (like dumbo).

Some of the other attractions are too scary (bug's life), or they are too small to go on the attractions. We have walked the trails (nice way to see the animals), but I don't remember them ever talking about it after the fact.

I find that with only a couple attractions they like to visit, there is a lot of walking! Lots and lots of walking!

Not a lot at MGM either, but the park is more condensed.

The whole family loves EPCOT. Don't miss the lady at the Japanese pavillion who makes the candy animals. She has been there at least 5 years if not more. She always has a huge crowd watching her. The kids liked doing the masks too.

Good luck on your descision.

[kydisneyfans]

Do you really need 2 full days plus a party day at the MK? Take advantage of the early entry to the party-you should be able to do almost everything in the evening-then you do not need to skip any park during the trip.

[disney_me]

We are going in March and we are skipping Epcot. The walk around the countries is nice but DD not into that. Sorin we did last yr, nice :confused3 I can do with out. So that leave Test track. :thumbsup2 Great ride, but I'm not paying to go into Epcot for one ride.

My vote, Epcot.


Good luck with your decision!!!!! :goodvibes

[ty&brenmom]

I am going in March and was having a hard time deciding if we should skip on of the parks. It's my sons' first trip and all my 10 year old talks about is the outdoor water parks (we have none up here in Alaska, little to cold). So must take them there. I am thinking about doing what another poster suggested and that's do AK in the morning and MGM in the evening. Both of my sons have a few must does in each park.