Double up on Magic Kingdom or Go to Hollywood Studios?

[Bonnie G]

Hi all,

We're organizing a family trip to DisneyWorld at the end of August. We'll spend 4 days at the parks and 1 day at Universal while renting a house off site.

We will have a 9, 7, 6, and 3 year old with us and 6 adults. I'm thinking 2 days at Magic Kingdom, 1 day at Animal Kingdom, and 1 day at Epcot and not going to Hollywood Studios would be more enjoyable. Others in the family would like to do one day at each park. I think splitting Magic Kingdom over 2 days will be more fun for the kiddos who love all things Disney (the 3 year old buy isn't interested much in Princesses though). Our kids do like Star Wars and my husband loves Star Wars which might swing me in favor of Hollywood studios.

Any thoughts?

 

[lorenni]

We are skipping HS altogether this trip. Since they removed the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground we don't see much point in going until DS is old enough for the roller coaster/thrill rides. For us it's a waste of time to just do Toy Story and a series of shows (Disney Jr, Frozen, Etc). We did them once, and now we'd rather go to the other three parks, all of which have shows AND rides for our DS (who is 5, for reference).

 

[CJN]

Do you have parkhoppers? If so, that would give you the flexibility to spend at least half a day in DHS and a day and a half in MK.

 

[Elsaalltheway]

They really only have 12 rides in the whole park. Two are thrill rides. You could just skip sunset strip because kids will be too small for that, or while your enjoying the Frozen sing along the adults can go on those two trips. I would suggest not even getting there till afternoon. If your family is Star Wars fans the fireworks are great and you would want to stay for that, but it would be a lot of doing the same thing over and over since the limited amount of attractions.

 

[pbb322]

We faced this same issue on a family trip. My husband and son (9) are huge SW fans and would never skip HS, plus ToT and TSM are 2 of DS's favorite rides. However, my BIL and SIL and their 2 girls were not SW fans. So we split the day, we went to HS, they went to MK with the in-laws, and we met up later for an early dinner at MK. It just really depends on your kids wishes, but I will also say that by that day, which was our last day, the family had enjoyed a LOT of "togetherness" and we and the kids were happen to have some time to ourselves to do exactly what we wanted and not worry about making a big group happy. Just a thought!

 

[Minsc]

There is really no one strategy. It depends on what your family likes. We feel like MK is always a 2-day plan, but we can't skip HS because the kids love Star Wars, and the park has four of their favorites (RnRC, ToT, ST, and TSMM). AK only has EE that appeals to them. Sometimes they want to do Dinosaur or Safari. Honestly, if not for Test Track, the kids would vote we skip EPCOT, but my wife and I rule that out because we like the World Showcase too much.

On 5 or 7 day tips, our usual plan is 2-day at MK, 1 ECPOT, 1 HS, 1/2 AK with a park hop back to either MK or HS, and a resort day. On 3 day long weekend trips with kids, we do 1 MK, 1 HS, and 1/2 AK - 1/2 EP. That works best for us. If you like different things, then something else would work better for you.

 

[CAS239]

Due to the age of the kids going, I'd skip HS and do 2 days at MK. HS does have some stuff for little ones, but it's mainly more a teen/adult park. Unless you guys are doing park hoppers, then I'd double up on MK.

Or skip Epcot as there's not much for young kids there. I'd go HS over Epcot for the age of kids you're going with

 

[tlmadden73]

I think MK (if you have the time) is at least a 2-day park on any trip of 4+ days.

The question is which of the "half-day" parks you skip. MK almost has as many attractions as any two of the other parks combined. (if not more).

I personally go between skipping Epcot and AK on my trips.
Epcot I find is just boring for young kids .. long distances to walk .. a "boring" World Showcase that's like being dragged through the mall with your parents and while Test Track and Soaring are great, just not much else there besides some aging attractions that don't have any direct ties to the Disney movies young kids like that probably know and love. (Besides the Nemo "add-on" to The Seas)

If the kids are big Star Wars Fans or just "Disney character" fans .. go to DHS and skip Epcot.
Besides RnR and Tower of Terror, DHS actually has a lot for elementary age and toddlers. It's just that DHS just doesn't have many RIDES. If your family enjoys shows, then DHS has more than enough to fill a day.

My opinion: I'd suggest skipping Epcot, because I just think the elementary age kids will enjoy shows like Disney Junior, Little Mermaid, Frozen, Beauty and the Beast and Muppets moreso than what Epcot has to offer (besides maybe the Frozen ride).

Plus Toy Story Midway Mania is the coolest kids (and adult) ride in today's video game world.

 

[Ariel on Land]

DHS is a must do for us, even if just a half day. We're big Star Wars folks, and love RnR, TSM, and our little one actually really loved the frozen show. I also can't imagine skipping the Star Wars fireworks show. It just gives me chills! Lol! Honestly our last 2 trips have had 2 MK days, and we skipped AK.

 

[loves to dive]

Have you ever been to WDW before or do you plan on ever going again? Makes a difference. I don't think any of the parks should be skipped the first time around because they all really do have something to offer everyone. If, however, you plan on going back at some point, it sounds like HS might appeal to more of your family members than AK. MK has always been a 3/4 day park for us, even when my son was a toddler, he enjoyed the rides but was absolutely fascinated with everything in Epcot. He had/has a strong sense of history and enjoyed/enjoys travel so WS with people with different cultures and ways of speaking was one of his favorites. After HS and AK opened, both offered something for him and me to enjoy. It really depends on your family's interests and likes. You could always play it by ear (gasp) and leave a day open and decide on the fly whether to go back to MK or do the park you missed. If you do MK the first day and just feel like you didn't get it all done, go back. Just for the record, no matter how many times we go, after over 30 years of going, we still feel like we haven't done it all.

 

[Tomh]

I skipped Hollywood Studios last summer, and plan to do the same again this year. Once some of the construction is done there it may be worth it for me to visit again, but as it stands right now, there just isn't that much left there that we enjoy. None of us will ride ToT. I'm not able to ride RnRC at the moment. That leaves us with TsMM, Star Tours, and the Great Movie Ride, plus a couple of shows. Just not a big draw for my family right now. I say spend the extra day in MK, that is what we do.

 

[Klayfish]

Have you ever been to WDW before or do you plan on ever going again? Makes a difference. I don't think any of the parks should be skipped the first time around because they all really do have something to offer everyone. If, however, you plan on going back at some point, it sounds like HS might appeal to more of your family members than AK. MK has always been a 3/4 day park for us, even when my son was a toddler, he enjoyed the rides but was absolutely fascinated with everything in Epcot. He had/has a strong sense of history and enjoyed/enjoys travel so WS with people with different cultures and ways of speaking was one of his favorites. After HS and AK opened, both offered something for him and me to enjoy. It really depends on your family's interests and likes. You could always play it by ear (gasp) and leave a day open and decide on the fly whether to go back to MK or do the park you missed. If you do MK the first day and just feel like you didn't get it all done, go back. Just for the record, no matter how many times we go, after over 30 years of going, we still feel like we haven't done it all.

I 100% agree with this. Have you been before? Will you go back? That makes a big difference. I agree none of the parks should be skipped, if at all possible.

 

[mickeyfanachey1999]

We would skip Epcot, and start and finish at MK with DHS and AK in between. DS14 loves RnRC, TOT is my favorite ride, I love the Frozen show and can't wait to take them, DS6 loves TOT, TSMM and Star Tours and Star wars in general. Lastly, my newest must do every time may be Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular. I had chills watching that show...of course it was in the 30s that night but still...great show!

 

[snowybelle]

If your husband and kids like Star Wars, I think Hollywood Studios is worth a visit. The Star Wars fireworks are great, the Chewbacca meet and greet is GREAT and gives me the warm fuzzies, and March of the First Order is cool and worth seeing. Are your kids into Frozen? Frozen sing-a-long is super fun and funny.

Are you doing the parks on consecutive days? If yes, Hollywood Studios might be a good "sleep in" day. Get there after lunch, FP+ Toy Story, etc, see some shows and some storm troopers, and catch the very excellent Star Wars Gallactic Spectacular. OR ... get to the park early and get your kids into Jedi Training?

However, if you already have built "rest days" into your trip, maybe 2 Magic Kingdom days is best. I LOVE MK, but it exhausts me, so if I didn't have any downtime I think 5 theme park days back-to-back with kids and very little rest would be brutal.

 

[Owl X]

One thing to consider is that Hollywood Studios has several shows.
Shows allow you to take a break from walking and/or standing in attraction lines.
Plus the Fantasmic night show is in an amphitheater (compared to standing for the Magic Kingdom and Epcot night shows).

Hollywood Studios Shows (sit down):

• Fantasmic (25 min)
• Muppet Vision 3D (15 min)
• Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular (25 min)
• For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration (30 min)
• Beauty and the Beast - Live on Stage (25 min)
• Voyage of the Little Mermaid (17 min)
• Star Wars: Path of the Jedi (10 min)
• Disney Junior - Live on Stage (20 min)

 

[TwoMisfits]

Can I say "other"- I'd do 2 days of MK (or just 1 if cost is an issue) and I'd get Seasonal Passes for Universal and spend the rest of your time there...
Current cost of Seasonal Passes is $288 - you could do a double trip next year for free if you are committed to August time frames...just go a week earlier next year...$288+$100ish for the MK day is $388 for everything and would be a big savings on what you're looking at for your party size - I'd probably get 1 Universal pass with free parking and dining discounts for the group...I mean 4 day park passes are now almost $400 for Disney and then you'd have $150 or so for 1 day of Universal Park-to-Park...10 people at $150+ more is $1500...and 10 people who could do Universal again next year free is priceless...

Wait for Star Wars til 2020 - what's there now isn't gonna be that exciting and the park isn't worth $100/person in its current state...

 

[scrapquitler]

Skip Universal, take the money you would spend on that and add another day plus park hoppers to your Disney tickets (and still come out ahead money wise).

 

[Elsaalltheway]

Skip Universal, take the money you would spend on that and add another day plus park hoppers to your Disney tickets (and still come out ahead money wise).

Or just add the park hopper and enjoy the hotel for the last day. I know the singular days from Universal can be a bit costly.

 

[mel2014]

Maybe my kids (6 and 8) are an anomaly, but on our last two trips to Disneyland (they were 5 and 7 for a 2-day trip last summer and 4 and 6 for a 5-day trip in 2014) they were very "meh" about all of the Fantasyland attractions, but would ride Star Tours literally all day if I let them (we went on it 3 times in a single crowded summer day and would have been 4 but for a Fastpass mishap). Likewise, my 8-year old rode California Screamin' 5 times in a single day. They're all about the thrill rides and my 6-year old is super excited that he'll be able to ride RnRC on our upcoming trip since he's finally 48". They also both love TSMM. And they are obsessed with all things Star Wars. So we're actually planning 3 partial days at HS (in an 8-day trip).

 

[Mysteryincorp]

I think we are a bit of an anolmaly as well. We were done with Magic Kingdom after one day.....we go to Disneyland frequently and found one day was more than enough. We loved Hollywood Studios and we actually rescheduled our second day at MK to do another day at AK. For the OP I would do one day at each park