3 days - picking the right park

[Mr Wu]

Our trip is in less than 2 weeks for a three day, three night stay. We are a married couple with a 4 year old daughter. Our flight is due to arrive on a Monday at 9am. I am guessing that we could be in a park on day 1 by noon since we are utilizing the Disney bus. We have ruled out Epcot and want to focus on the other three parks, MK being the main draw.

My initial plan was to do HS, then MK, then AK based on the advice of a travel agent who said we could get into AK early on our final day since we are staying on property. I then read a conflicting blog that says avoid the parks that allow early entry as they tend to be more crowded on the days people can get in earlier.

My second thought was to do AK on our shortest day, then MK, then HS. But then, I saw an opening for BOG on our last day and I know my wife really wants to go there. However, none of us want to hit MK on the last day.

So my question is this: Would you choose HS or AK for your shortest day? And, would you do MK on two days rather than trying to hit all three parks on such a short trip?

We have no intentions of trying to cram every ride into a regimented schedule, so we will just use our few FP+ when needed, and just go with the flow and hit the rides as we come across them. But I'd appreciate feedback for what you would do in my situation. Thanks.

 

[JillianMarie]

I would for sure choose DHS for the short day. For me and mine a half day is more than enough. I really love Animal Kingdom and could take or leave DHS, so if it were up to me, I might drop DHS altogether and do AK and maybe two days of MK. Especially with a 4 year old - I think she'd probably be more into MK than anything else.

 

[adc]

Look at crowd calendar like the ones at wdwprepschool.com. It will help you pick the least crowded days.

 

[MaryPoppinz]

I would definitely do 2 days at Magic Kingdom. New Fantasyland alone could take a whole day, and it would leave you time for parades and riding favorite rides more than once. If you get there at park opening on your last day, you'll be able to do a lot before it gets busy.

 

[disneyerin]

I would definitely do 2 days at Magic Kingdom. New Fantasyland alone could take a whole day, and it would leave you time for parades and riding favorite rides more than once. If you get there at park opening on your last day, you'll be able to do a lot before it gets busy.

Agreed!

 

[hammie59]

We usually take two days for MK since there's so much to do. DHS ties with EPCOT as my second favorite park with AK my least, but to each their own. With a 4yr old MK and AK are very good choices. Depending on the day, AK tends to close the earliest of the 4 parks with the average time being around 6pm. That's where EMH could come in handy even if it's predicted as a busy day. You'd get that extra hour in the am.

 

[moran66]

if you have never been there esp. for a 4 year old MK is far and away the main draw. I will suggest this if you 1 full day at MK for sure do as much as you can that is a given... as much as I like AK it only really has 2 things my 4 year old loves the safari which is awesome for adults and kids and the dino dig. So I would skip AK(also its a little farther from the other parks) since your vaca is so short already and there is no way you should waste your full day there unless your 4 year old is obsessed with animals then you can do the trails etc there. For a 4 year old there are alot of shows at HS disney jr little mermaid beauty and the best there are a few diff rides so I wouldnt skip HS. epcot also has alot too nemo figment mexico ride malestom in norway it gets pegged as the more adult park and it is but there is easily more to do for a 4 year old there then ak and in my opinion more fun if you and your wife want to tour the countries she can do the agent p missions my daughter loves that too. with that being said esp if you are relying on disney transportation you can walk from HS to EPCOT in 15 min there also is a boat there but its faster to walk the boat is the worst. and you can take the monorail from epcot to MK to save time if the MK line is closed take the boat there over its not that bad from the TTC. so I suggest

1 HS and late EPCOT
2 MK all day
3 Day EPCOT and afternoon till night at MK or if you really wanted to replace EPCOT with AK in the morning but it will likely take an hour to get from AK to MK you can alway get a cab there too they are always parked right outside I wouldnt normally suggest this but on 3 days you will be pressed for time

 

[SplashMo]

I would rope drop MK 2 days. AK one day.

On the second MK day hop to Epcot. On the AK day hop to DHS.

 

[SplashMo]

I would also not do the early admission at AK. No need. If you do an early admission day it would be the MK day that you then hop to epcot. But I usually avoid early admission.