Skipping out on Epcot

[999DoomBuggies]

If you are only going for three days and you do not have a park hopper and your kids have never been prior then you could get away with doing MK every single day.

I love Epcot and my oldest daughter loves epcot so we would throw epcot in there at least one day. The beauty of epcot for kids (girls) is the simple set up of princess meet and greets. Epcot is our slow down day, if you can call it that. We do not slow down, we go, go, go because we want to maximize every second.

 

[delgrec]

With your age kids and 3 1/2 days with park hoppers, we would do it like this...

This plan is assuming your 1/2 day is an AM day on the last day.

DAY 1 AM - Magic Kingdom, PM - Epcot
DAY 2 AM - Epcot, PM - Magic Kingdom
DAY 3 AM - DHS, PM Magic Kindtom
Day 4 1/2 day - AK

This plan is assuming your 1/2 day is a PM day on the first day.

Day 1 1/2 day - Epcot
Day 2 - Magic Kindom
Day 3 - AM - Epcot, Magic Kingdom
Day 4 - AM - DHS, Animal Kingdom

 

[LisaTC]

If you only have 3.5 days and their ages, I'd skip it and do MK, AK, MK. You can always go back. Even though many kids love Epcot, all kids that age think WDW is MK. AK is great for that age, too.

 

[Anniefrances]

As with other posters, I also recommend MK, AK, MK for a trip of short duration with young children. Although I agree that there are attractions that may be of interest to your children, IMHO there are more of them at MK and AK than EP.

 

[Groovee]

Our 2 were 7 and 4 last time which was their first visit with all of us. They loved Epcot and cannot wait to return.

 

[Angel Ariel]

IMHO there are more of them at MK and AK than EP.

While I agree with that wrt MK, I don't know that I'd include AK in that statement. While our nephews loved seeing the animals on KS, the only other attractions they enjoyed were Primeval Whirl and the trails. Everest was not a hit, nor was Dinosaur. They would have enjoyed the boneyard, but would not have liked Kali. We didn't take them to the shows, but the younger of the two has a short attention span.

There were a LOT more things that they loved in Epcot than they enjoyed at AK.

 

[DisneyFive]

Oh yeah, I forgot to answer your original question. Yes, Epcot is skippable for this trip and I would probably recommend skipping it with the age of your kids but mainly due to the 3 1/2 day stay. If you could squeeze it in for 1/2 day, that would be excellent too.

Just be aware that there are two areas, well three really, that the kids that age LOVE.

Soarin (if they are tall enough), The Seas Area, the Disney Meet and Greet that usually has Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald or Daisy...

Dan

 

[Liberty Belle]

Yes, skip it.... Children that age.... I can't even get into WS, just buildings and shopping.... Long walk around just for that, can hardly keep my adult attention there....

For us and grandchildren, extra day at the MK for sure!

I love the WS! My kids do, too. We like it for the ambience and showing of different architecture and cultures, etc.

 

[Liberty Belle]

Yes, my husband and I have but the kids haven't. We will get park hopper tickets and we'll prob go back in about 5 yrs.

If you're getting park hoppers, I'd definitely spend a little time there, at least.

 

[shelby101301]

It depends on your kids.... our kids from the time they were 2 and 3 have always loved Epcot/ They love the rides, The Land, Mexico, Nemo, Maelstrom etc, they love the innovations east and west, exploring the different areas many of which are for little kids, and they love doing the kidcot stations. the recent additions of kim possible/Agent P adventure have only increased their interest.

So I understand some kids are bored, but by no means is this an automatic "no". Good luck!

 

[zanakikazz]

I would definitely say skip it and do two days at MK. All times I have been to Disney, at 12, 10, and 8 years old, while my brother was 8, 6, and 4, Epcot was our least favorite park. I'm sure every child is different, but that's what I would do. Even my parents would much rather of spent time at any of the other three parks rather than Epcot. We always hit it up to do Test Track and the last time Soarin', but then that's about it.

 

[Liberty Belle]

It always surprises me when people say they don't like the WS. We are not world travelers, though. Have never left North America, but we really want to. Maybe that's why we like it so much and maybe the people who aren't too impressed are able to travel to the "real countries."

 

[Suzanne74]

For a 3 and a 5yr old, I would skip AK (too much walking, no rides, go to a local zoo to see animals)

I would do:
Half day DHS (Parade, Disney playhouse, TSM, Ariel show, Muppets, Star Tours, HISTP, peak in Fantasmic)
Full day MK (do night parade/fireworks)
Full Day at Epcot (future in am, WS in pm, illuminations)
Full Dat at MK (mid day parade, finish up any rides during night parade with little lines)

Go home happy!

AK is a lot of walking and HOT! No big attractions for your kid's ages. Try it next time.

 

[bdcp]

We took our boys at 3.5 and 5.5 to WDW for their very first trip in 1989 and we definitely did Epcot. They enjoyed it. We spent a day and a half in Epcot. There was plenty to see and do and this was before Test Track and Soarin. DS got food poisoning and we had 4 day tickets so we never did make it to DHS our last day and AK wasn't built yet. We did 3 days and only did MK and Epcot (and an evening at DTD). There was plenty to see and do in Epcot.

 

[Bothepro24]

My grand kids started at Epcot when they were 2 and 3, to us DHS and AK were just half day parks, the other half each day was Epcot. When we visit AK in morning Epcot is afternoon, when we do DHS in morning we visit the countries in the PM

 

[Suzanne74]

My grand kids started at Epcot when they were 2 and 3, to us DHS and AK were just half day parks, the other half each day was Epcot. When we visit AK in morning Epcot is afternoon, when we do DHS in morning we visit the countries in the PM

I agree but I wouldn't pay for the $60 charge per ticket to hop for just 3 days.

 

[linze]

With your age kids and 3 1/2 days with park hoppers, we would do it like this...

This plan is assuming your 1/2 day is an AM day on the last day.

DAY 1 AM - Magic Kingdom, PM - Epcot
DAY 2 AM - Epcot, PM - Magic Kingdom
DAY 3 AM - DHS, PM Magic Kindtom
Day 4 1/2 day - AK

This plan is assuming your 1/2 day is a PM day on the first day.

Day 1 1/2 day - Epcot
Day 2 - Magic Kindom
Day 3 - AM - Epcot, Magic Kingdom
Day 4 - AM - DHS, Animal Kingdom

I love the pm plan! I think we may try doing that thank you!!!

 

[grafxgirl]

Our children love EPCOT! They are nearly 7 and 10, but we've been taking them since they were babies.

 

[starsweeper]

I would skip World Showcase. My kids didn't get much from that as 2yos and 3yos on previous trips. They only liked the funnel cakes in the USA and the boat ride in Mexico. Even the drummers and acrobats only held their attention for a couple minutes.

However, my kids did enjoy Spaceship Earth, The Seas, and The Land. If you are buying hoppers, I would do an Epcot morning and hop back to MK to repeat favorites or do rides you missed on day 1 at MK.

 

[NancyIL]

Yes, skip it.... Children that age....I can't even get into WS, just buildings and shopping.... Long walk around just for that, can hardly keep my adult attention there....

For us and grandchildren, extra day at the MK for sure!

Those "just buildings" look an awful lot like their counterparts in other parts of the world, but on a smaller scale. I guess you wouldn't be interested in traveling to Europe.

It always surprises me when people say they don't like the WS. We are not world travelers, though. Have never left North America, but we really want to. Maybe that's why we like it so much and maybe the people who aren't too impressed are able to travel to the "real countries."

I've been to some of the "real countries" - and Disney's version is very well done.

The advice in The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World is to go to Epcot first with kids, so they won't expect every park to be like the Magic Kingdom.