Epcot or Hollywood Studios for 8 and 5 y.o?

[bigjwood]

Trying to figure out which of these two to visit one day on our first trip next month. We have 2 days for MK, one for AK, need to decide on one or the other for a day.

 

[Bellabully]

I think your kids would enjoy EPCOT. I have an 9 year old DD and she loves EPCOT. The seas has Nemo ride, turtle talk with crush and loads of aquatic life. The world showcase has a Phineus and Ferb adventure with fun phones and kids stops at each country for crafts and stamps. Bonus, she seems more agreeable to trying new foods here as well. Also, Duffy and other characters are available throughout the world showcase. We always do pick a pearl in Japan each time too, which is a wonderful experience and souvenir.

That being said, she enjoys rocknroll roller coaster at DHS, we cannot skip that EVER!!

Hope you have a magical trip!

 

[karly05]

I vote DHS. Toy Story Mania, Star Tours, plus Tower of Terror and RockNRoller Coaster if they're tall (and brave) enough, Muppets 3D movie, Beauty & the Beast show, Disney Jr show if they're still into that, draw a Disney Character at Animation Academy, meet Phineas & Ferb, meet Woody & Buzz, meet Wreck-it-Ralph and Vanellope (if R&V are still there by the time you go). As an adult, I wouldn't want to skip Epcot, but I'll admit my favorite part of Epcot is eating my way around the World Showcase. Honestly, I think DHS has a lot more "fun stuff" that would appeal to kids.

 

[Bullseye]

Me and DD10 have always liked Epcot the best! Lots to see and do! Lots of good things to eat and drink!

 

[wdw71]

Our kids (now 6 and 8) like both but I just asked them and EPCOT is what they say they would pick if they had to choose. They enjoy the kidcot fun stops, Perry the Platypus Adventure (it was Kim Possible on out last trip) visiting the shops in WS and then you have FW with Soarin and Test Track, Nemo and Imagination. Over all EPCOT will have a little something for everyone and give you a full day of things to do

 

[CapnJacksGirl]

Another vote for Epcot here. My DSs (now 7 and 5) have been on 5 trips to WDW since they were 3 and 1 and Epcot has always been their favorite. So much fun stuff for them to do. We usually do two full days there, one at FW and one at WS. If you have one full day to work with, I'd choose Epcot.....many times, my kids are done with DHS by late afternoon. A day at Epcot will keep you busy from rope drop to close!

 

[LVSWL]

Another Epcot vote here. Epcot was the first park we took our boys to (they were 5 and 9) then AK then DS and finally MK. MK is so FUN, but we wanted them to love the other parks for all they had to offer. Today they are 18 and 22 and Epcot is still their favorite park. On our first trip we did a different park each day and then repeated hitting all the highlights that they loved. I met another mom who had been at WDW as long as we had who by day 3 hadn't been able to get her kids out of MK. Have a great trip!

 

[MJMcBride]

I have an 8 year old and an 11 year old and both would hands down pick Epcot. Depends on your kids thou. Mine are not going on ToT or Rock and Roller Coaster. They are not that big on Toy Story. However, my 11 year loves Star Tours, the store and Jedi Training. He would still pick Epcot with Test Track, Soarin, Mission Space, and the Perry game

 

[GrtWtNorth]

How familiar are your kids with Pixar and Disney Junior characters? If your kids rarely watch TV or movies, then Epcot will be more fascinating. But if your kids are like mine and practically pull your arm off whenever they see Woody or Toodles, DHS would be a more exciting choice.

 

[Ds4angels]

My 8 & 5 yo liked both, but the 8yo loved DHS, TSM, Star Tours, both liked the Indiana Jones stunt show. Plus Epcot we felt like we really needed 2 days (only had 1) to do it justice.
I'd do DHS if I had to choose between the 2

 

[msminnieears]

If you can only choose one park, IMO go to HS. So much for the kids to enjoy for all ages and lots of characters to meet! Great time for all!

 

[KingofSwing3000]

I was 8 and the first Park I ever went to was Epcot. 23 years later of going to DW and those memories are the most vivid and ingrained in me to this day. And while I love each Park for different reasons and while my "favorite" Park has changed throughout the year (AK currently holds the top spot), Epcot is still the one Park me and my family visit the most.

 

[Serrina89]

I would choose Disney Hollywood studios. One of the best shows at wdw is Fantasmic! A night time spectacular that brings Disney's The sorcerer's Apprentice to life with live action singing and dancing, fireworks, projections on water screens, and a heartwarming ending. Please look at this on youtube or another site, it is not worth missing. At hollywood studios there are alot more kid friendly things to do. I love Epcot but it wasn't until I was an adult that I started to appreciate the park. Epcot is divided into two lands if you will. FutureWorld and World Showcase. Future World has all the rides that the previous post mentioned, however world showcase has only 2 non-thrilling rides. World Showcase is beautiful. You can learn about different countries. However at Epcot there are no parades, minimal disney characters theme-ing (when compared to HS), and the night time show Illuminations fails in comparison to Fantasmic!

Only you know what your family will enjoy the most, so I encourage you to go to the disney website and see what each park has to offer. I leave with these points

EPCOT: 2x size of HS, Guaranteed meet will the core 6 ( Mickey and Pals), Awesome food, Great Learning Experience, BUT minimal ("rides"), and Disney theme-ing other than finding nemo, and Agent P (phineas and ferb)

Hollywood Studios: More child friendly, FANTASMIC!, Parades and random interactions with "stars", PIZZA PLANET, and more sit down broadway type shows BUT not as big as EPCOT.

 

[DisNikki]

I know you said one or the other but I'd like to vote for BOTH! Of course this assumes park hoppers but I think shorter trips need hoppers to maximize the time. Just my opinion, I'd say go to HS in the morning and do the big stuff like TSMM, RnR, ToT, anything else you can and then head to Epcot at 2 or 3. You could hopefully still get a FP for Soarin or Test Track (though it may be a late evening time), standby the other one if necessary, do the lesser wait time rides like Spaceship Earth, LwtL, Turtle Talk, etc and a few Agent P missions to get you into World Showcase.

The other alternative, if you're willing to do park hoppers, is to add in some Epcot time after AK. AK closes earlier than the other parks and you might be able to do all you want by early afternoon if you get there at RD. Then you could head over to Epcot and enjoy some time there, maybe even dinner at Garden Grill which kids love (the restaurant rotates and it's a character meal!).

If you can't justify the expense for park hoppers then my vote is for Epcot.

 

[69RoadRunner]

Epcot for character sightings. I think they intentionally have more characters there because there's less other stuff geared toward young kids.

Hollywood Studios for fun rides.

 

[rainynight]

Epcot. Hollywood Studios is a park worth skipping.

 

[cosmicdaisy]

I love both. My daughter loves both. They are so different imo they are hard to compare and choose between. But if I had to choose between the two, it would come down to my tour plan, and I might would let the rating for "best park" for that day decide.

 

[AshleeH]

My kids would choose HS over anything else except MK. We make it a two-day park. They like Epcot, but if given the choice, it would always be HS between the two.

 

[fbarker]

Me and DD10 have always liked Epcot the best! Lots to see and do! Lots of good things to eat and drink!

First....Blackhawks 14 -0 - 3 they are so much fun to watch!! Second in my opinon its hard to choose between the two. I so love both parks and both have so much to offer.

 

[MichelleBBB]

How old are your kids? My kids (9 and 7) love Epcot. I always feel HS is a half day park even though they do enjoy it there...by 2pm we seem done. Epcot you can go 9-9 and not run out of stuff.

Actually if it were me I would only go to MK for 1 day and go to BOTH Epcot and HS.