1st Disney World Trip - Skipping Epcot ok?

[DizDaD7]

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.

No..

LoL....Sorry bout that... I'd never skip a park, but that's just me...If you have 7 days or 6 even, try for a 1/2 day maybe....There is so much to do & see, even w/ a bunch of closings....The WS alone can take all day, & we've been there plenty of times.....Just a thought!

 

[Mainemama]

Noooo! Epcot is my favorite park, and also my older kids favorite! (My little has yet to express her opinion!) we have take our kids to Epcot from Poly at your exact ages, and yes, they loved it. The food is far superior to other 3 parks. I would ditch HS in place of Epcot if you want the 3rd day at MK. Traveling to Epcot from Poly is easy and fun. Travel to HS is more of a pain. We have only included HS in one of our many Poly stays, preferring to spend the majority of our time at MK and Epcot.

 

[tinkerbella16]

I know everyone is different, but I couldn't even imagine skipping any park, let alone Epcot. It is my favorite park aside from MK. We also always have park hoppers, so we can visit MK and Epcot as much as we can through out each trip. We booked Beach Club this year, because we wanted to be close to Epcot and be able to walk right over. We always do Garden Grill dinner on our arrival night, and this year we are also doing Akershus for a prepark opening breakfast. Also with the new Soarin and Frozen Ever After, we have those that we are really looking forward to.

 

[ameliahyde]

I would not skip it! EPCOT is awesome for both adults and kids! My girls love it (ages 4 and 6). We try to go on each trip, and even a few years ago when they were a little younger they still really enjoyed it.

 

[Bullseye]

Skip Epcot... no way! WS is the my favorite place in all of WDW!

 

[lubob]

I would not skip it . Walking through the country's is awesome. Plus the new frozen ride and soaring ride will be done. Any park to skip would be Hs due to all the construction going on!

 

[Planogirl]

You might want to check it out one day. If you don't care for it you can always leave early and maybe swim or go to Disney Springs or whatever.

That said, I admit that we no longer have any desire to spend time at Epcot but we've been several times. We enjoy spending a few hours at World Showcase and enjoy a couple of the rides but then we're done so it's not worth it to us.

 

[happymommy]

My first trip with both my kids they were 2 and 4 (we took our DS without DD the year before).

Their favorite park has always been Epcot!

We always get park hoppers (although DD and I have AP's right now), and I wouldn't go all the way to WDW and skip Epcot!

 

[Xennia]

They do have lots of family rides and attractions. You might be missing out.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I wouldn't skip it. Our DD was sixteen months the first time we took her and she loved Figment, everything in the Living Seas, Spaceship Earth, meeting the characters, and the CMs made a big deal over her in World Showcase, (I recommend getting one of those $10 passports for each of your kids for the CMs to sign.) She'll be three on this trip, and we have three Epcot days planned.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

it may not have entertained your kids, and there's nothing wrong with that. That statement is not true for all young kids, though.

Agreed. DD takes after me and her mama and loves to eat. So food could easily be classified as an attraction to her. And anything with music she loves because she likes to dance.

 

[RustManFan]

I would definitely do Epcot and limit MK to 2 days

 

[NYDisGuy]

Epcot will be the second best park after Soarin opens due to ride availability and "things to do". If you are going to skip one it should be AK or DHS

 

[onetoescape]

EPCOT for me is a missable park but not for a 3rd day a MK. If you are going to use a day at a park go to EPCOT or waterpark it for me would be a waste as repeating the same park for a 3rd time. MK is good and all but there is so much to experience.

 

[newestkg06]

Here's what we did, as I was also worried that our kids would not be interested in Epcot (two boys 4 &7). We went to the waterpark (Typhoon Lagoon) in the morning, had lunch there, and got fastpasses for Epcot starting at 3:30pm. (we had a car so getting there was not an issue.) We had a double stroller and figured that the boys would be tuckered out and might fall asleep so that we might enjoy some grownup time in World Showcase. They were tired and a bit cranky, so if you're hoping to have a relaxing time, I don't know that what we did worked. BUT, we went to Spaceship Earth (big hit!), Test Track (not so much), and Nemo/Turtle Talk. Then, we quickly walked around World Showcase, grabbing food for everyone to share/try (fish & chips, schwarma, sushi, etc.). Going to Epcot was not super important to me, but I'm glad we went and it didn't feel like a waste since it was more of a throwaway after our relaxing/fun day at the waterpark. I know that sounds terrible to all the Epcot lovers out there. We did get great pics with Pooh and Tigger in UK too. If you think you might want to do meet and greets, than Epcot might be worth it.

 

[acceber32]

If you are still reading thru the replies and curious, I'll throw my 2 cents in.

Do NOT skip Epcot! We've got two boys (oldest is almost 7 and youngest is 3). We've been going every year since before our oldest was born. Epcot is our oldest son's favorite park. There are so many fun, interactive things to do, both in FW and WS. FS has many areas built to let kids run around and tinker with stuff while learning. WS has so many neat things to look at, Kidcot stations, Perry the Platypus game, food! and so much more. And at Christmas, oh!!! The story telling is so neat! The decorations are so pretty. Both my boys love it.

Also, with your one year old, there are areas in FW with all the interactive stuff that she'll be able to walk or crawl around. For us, finding places to allow them to crawl/run when they were that age was hard to come by. And it's a struggle keeping them contained when they want to get down.

But the best advice I can give you is to understand you can't see/do it all. Focus on a few things at each park and then relax and take it at your own pace. This will help you not stress and enjoy it. It's so much better when you can accept this and then you can actually enjoy it rather than stress over everything.