1st Disney World Trip - Skipping Epcot ok?

[Jonestown000]

My family will be headed to Disney World Dec 4th - 10th. We are staying at the Polynesian and are trying to finalize which parks we want to visit to so we can make our dining reservations. We have two kids, and at the time of the trip our son will be 5 and our daughter will be 1.

We definitely going to do 2 days at MK, 1 day at HS, and 1 day at AK. We have one other day to plan, and we are considering skipping Epcot altogether, most likely in favor of a 3rd day at MK.

Is this a good move? It doesn't seem like there's all that much at Epcot that would really appeal to us given the kids' ages. We don't have park hoppers, so it's just one park per day for us.

Appreciate any advice.

 

[lynch34]

If you don't have park hoppers - definitely ok to skip. There's things to do there but the first time we went, we just had a 4-year-old and it was tough after the first couple of hours.

Your son can probably ride Test Track and Soarin' and maybe Frozen but those don't take that long if you get there early. Things like Spaceship Earth, Figment, etc. just aren't that must see.

 

[Indio]

I wouldn't skip it. It's actually a really cool park. In December they'll have the storytellers at each pavilion and all the different Christmas decorations for each country. Also, lots of good restaurants. My kids have always loved Epcot - even when they were little. We love Spaceship Earth and the Seas Pavilion has Turtle Talk with Crush that most small kids love - and the Nemo ride and lots of fish!

I would also keep in mind that in December, the Magic Kingdom will be closing early a lot of nights for the Christmas party so you may want another park that isn't closing at 7.

 

[subtchr]

I disagree, since you already have 2 days at MK. There are some great character meets at Epcot, and my kids loved getting their passports stamped and visiting the Kidcot stations in World Showcase. Wonderful food, and music.

 

[krmixon1117]

I wouldn't miss it either. On top of all of those things, Soarin is worth doing as well as some of the shops.

 

[isabellea]

I personally find that 2 days at MK is enough to do everything and even re-do favourites multiple times (but we don't spend a ton of time at M&G since we do a lot of character meals). If you had gone 3 days I would have said yeah skip it (we did last spring break with our 3 park days before our DCL cruise) but with 5 days in the parks, I would go.

 

[Darcy03231]

I wouldn't skip it. I took my niece when she was 4, almost 5, and Epcot was her favorite park after MK.

 

[Kimberly9701]

I'd say do a half day at Epcot, a few of the rides, see the storytellers, then head back to Poly for marshmallows on the beach and then watch the EWP and Wishes from there later.

My son loved Epcot at age 5. But we didn't stay for illuminations, we were back at Poly by 6:30pm.

 

[Spork24]

We just got back, and my 18MO enjoyed Epcot more than HS. Now the 5 year old would probably love HS. It's your call. MK is awesome as well, so you really can't lose!

 

[Angel Ariel]

My family will be headed to Disney World Dec 4th - 10th. We are staying at the Polynesian and are trying to finalize which parks we want to visit to so we can make our dining reservations. We have two kids, and at the time of the trip our son will be 5 and our daughter will be 1.

We definitely going to do 2 days at MK, 1 day at HS, and 1 day at AK. We have one other day to plan, and we are considering skipping Epcot altogether, most likely in favor of a 3rd day at MK.

Is this a good move? It doesn't seem like there's all that much at Epcot that would really appeal to us given the kids' ages. We don't have park hoppers, so it's just one park per day for us.

Appreciate any advice.

I think it very much depends on the kids. We went with my nephews when they were 6 years old and 3 years old (our DD was 8 months old at the time), and we took them to Epcot as their first park. The boys *loved* it. I swear we spent about 1.5-2 hrs in The Seas pavilion. They have always been fascinated by aquatic animals, and they loved everything about the pavilion. They were asking the CMs stationed around about all kinds of different things, we watched the Manatees get fed, did Turtle Talk and the Nemo ride, and spent time looking at each exhibit. As an adult, I've never spent so much time in there - but they were absolutely enthralled with it all. At 8 months, DD wasn't a fan of Turtle Talk, so I took her out so as not to disturb the other guests, but everything else was fine.

We spent pretty much the whole day in Future World, and the boys loved the interactive parts at every place we went. We spent a good bit of time in the interactive area outside Spaceship Earth as well, and also riding Figment and then in the area after Figment. Even in World Showcase - there's performances throughout the day that they enjoyed, and that any 1 year old would enjoy as well. There's also the Agent P scavenger hunt type game around World Showcase that would be a lot of fun for the 5 year old.

I think a lot of us(myself included before my trip with the boys) are quick to think there's not much for young kids in Epcot, but given the opportunity they can surprise us with what they're interested in. I think the key for our trip was going to Epcot first. They'd rarely been to amusement parks on the whole, and had no idea what WDW was like. By taking them to Epcot first, we avoided the inevitable comparisons to MK. It was one of the best days of the trip, TBH.

 

[Jonestown000]

I wouldn't skip it. It's actually a really cool park. In December they'll have the storytellers at each pavilion and all the different Christmas decorations for each country. Also, lots of good restaurants. My kids have always loved Epcot - even when they were little. We love Spaceship Earth and the Seas Pavilion has Turtle Talk with Crush that most small kids love - and the Nemo ride and lots of fish!

I would also keep in mind that in December, the Magic Kingdom will be closing early a lot of nights for the Christmas party so you may want another park that isn't closing at 7.

I thought that the storyteller thing was a big event at night. I"m not sure with our 1 year old (who will have just turned 1 a week before our trip) that we will be able to have late nights in any of the parks. Since we're staying at the Poly we were just planning on seeing the MK fireworks from the resort, and having my wife or me in the room with the youngest (if she needs to sleep) while the other is out for the fireworks.

We are planning to do the Fantasmic fireworks the day we go to HS, but I'm not sure we'll do another late night, especially if it's something like storytelling where a crying baby may not be appreciated

 

[Kimberly9701]

My family will be headed to Disney World Dec 4th - 10th. We are staying at the Polynesian and are trying to finalize which parks we want to visit to so we can make our dining reservations. We have two kids, and at the time of the trip our son will be 5 and our daughter will be 1.

We definitely going to do 2 days at MK, 1 day at HS, and 1 day at AK. We have one other day to plan, and we are considering skipping Epcot altogether, most likely in favor of a 3rd day at MK.

Is this a good move? It doesn't seem like there's all that much at Epcot that would really appeal to us given the kids' ages. We don't have park hoppers, so it's just one park per day for us.

Appreciate any advice.

There's a 1st week of December thread where a bunch of us are staying similar dates and child ages as you. We're all planning our park days if you want to check it out. I've been given some wonderful advice over there

 

[merrick]

i agree with the majority here and would say 2 days at MK would be fine... i wouldn't want to miss epcot. turtle talk with crush was unexpectedly awesome (ds asked a totally out there question... and the cartoon responded - how do they do that??) and we nemo several times. you could do an ADR at any of the great places in the international area or the coral reef to enjoy more of the giant aquarium thingy.

 

[JimmyV]

Epcot has an entirely different vibe. And it was always meant to. It is not "a day at an amusement park" the way the MK and DHS are. It was designed to be more like "a day at the World's Fair". We really enjoy it, but I have to admit, it took a bit of getting used to, and some significant changes along the way to win us over. (I remember going in 1982 when it opened wondering if I would ever go back.) But if you are in the mindset of only wanting days at amusement parks, then by all means skip Epcot. As I said, it is an entirely different kind of day, if you don't want that kind of day this time around, then there is no reason to force the issue. Is it possible for a family with kids age 5 and 1 to have a great day at Epcot? Sure. Do all such families enjoy Epcot? No. Will your family enjoy it? No one here can predict that.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I thought that the storyteller thing was a big event at night. I"m not sure with our 1 year old (who will have just turned 1 a week before our trip) that we will be able to have late nights in any of the parks. Since we're staying at the Poly we were just planning on seeing the MK fireworks from the resort, and having my wife or me in the room with the youngest (if she needs to sleep) while the other is out for the fireworks.

We are planning to do the Fantasmic fireworks the day we go to HS, but I'm not sure we'll do another late night, especially if it's something like storytelling where a crying baby may not be appreciated

There is Candlelight Processional, which is what you're thinking of - a nighttime performance. There are, additionally, storytellers in each country that tell the story of their particular country's Christmas traditions. The storytellers in each country are there throughout the day, and have performance times listed on the Times Guide.

 

[Eastern]

I think it's fine. We've been skipping DHS and AK for years.

Worst case, 2 days in, you switch a park to Epcot and have to change an ADR. If you are not sure about that 3rd MK day, make an ADR somewhere outside of a park.

 

[NJlauren]

I say book the Epcot day when you make ADRs and FP when the time comes make it somewhere towards the end of the trip. Then after your two MK days if you feel you need another MK day switch things around. You can cancel your ADR and change your FP then. I don't think you can really predict what your kids are going to like. In theory I say visit all the parks (Epcot is my fav!) but if your kids are loving MK and want to go back do it!

Is it bad to skip Epcot not at all, but you may end up wanting to visit it too.

 

[Skywise]

I believe that's against state law?

I'd do half a day at HS then MK and then spend one day at Epcot. Unless you were going to go on Rock n' Roller Coaster or Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, you should be able to ride the other rides and see Indiana Jones pretty quickly and that's about it for the park these days.

On the other hand, Epcot is kind of a big park to all do in one day. It's broken into two sections the World Pavilion and Future World with Future World being sort of a museum type are with many different interactive areas to explore and learn things and the World Pavilion being different areas of the world. Both could easily take one day each

 

[Angel Ariel]

I believe that's against state law?

I'd do half a day at HS then MK and then spend one day at Epcot. Unless you were going to go on Rock n' Roller Coaster or Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, you should be able to ride the other rides and see Indiana Jones pretty quickly and that's about it for the park these days.

On the other hand, Epcot is kind of a big park to all do in one day. It's broken into two sections the World Pavilion and Future World with Future World being sort of a museum type are with many different interactive areas to explore and learn things and the World Pavilion being different areas of the world. Both could easily take one day each

They don't have park hoppers..

 

[GillianP1301]

I would put EP in your plans. If you only had 1 MK day, then I would definitely agree with skipping EP in favour of a 2nd MK day, but with 2 days there already, You should be able to cover everything you want at MK.

There is a lot at EP that young kids can enjoy, my son really loves it there and always has (first trip he was 4, he's now 8). He's not into WS that much, but he loves FW. He can spend a couple of hours just in the Living Seas looking at all the aquariums, he also loves The Living Land ride, Soarin', Spaceship Earth, Mission Space. For WS, we usually do a pretty casual and quick walkthrough, but a highlight for us both is the Pick a Pearl in Japan. Plus, we always enjoy an ADR at one of the WS restaurants.

So I would definitely recommend you consider EP. It's not a "bad" thing if you decide to skip it, but it's also okay to consider it.