5 park days - Which parks?

[douglasap8]

We will be coming in May and will have 5 full park days. It will be DH, DS4 & DS2. We were last at Disney in September 2012. We usually come for a full week, so we go to all parks. However, with a slightly shorter visit, I'm debating trying to make it to all parks. Here are my thoughts:

One day at AK, one at Epcot, 3 at MK

OR

One at AK, one at HS, one at Epcot & 2 at MK

I would probably skip Epcot because of the age of my kids, but I really want to experience the Flower & Garden as I've never been in the spring. I left out HS in my first option, because the park kind of drives me insane, however RNR is one of my favorites, and I do think it has some pluses for young kids. But I'm nervous 2 days at MK would not be enough.

Appreciate the feedback...here I am over thinking things again!

 

[katt789]

I would personally get park hopper tickets, and then do:
-2 full days at MK
-1/2 day at AK, hop over to MK after to finish things up that you might feel like you're missing
-1 day at DHS
-1/2 day at Epcot, check out the Seas stuff, and some Flower and Garden, if that's all you want to do, park hop somewhere else to finish off the day!

 

[sixxmum]

We always do five park days on our trips.

We get park hoppers, but honestly don't hop that much. Usually it's 1 full day at MK, 1 full day at Epcot, 1 full day at HS. Then we do 2/3 day AK and 1/3 day at HS or something else. And our last day is always 1/2 day MK and 1/2 day Epcot (or the reverse).

 

[supergoofy]

My daughter was 5 when we did Epcot and loved it especially all the meet and greets which were done with less wait then at MK/AK/HS.

At that time(a decade ago) there was a passport system where she got a paper mask and went country to country and they gave her things to put on her mask.


Like said the living seas is pretty neat also.

 

[douglasap8]

Oh man...now you're really making me think! We didn't hop last time because the kids were so young (3 & 8 months)...it was just easier to stay where we were than pack them up (or we did afternoon breaks). They're still pretty young, so I'm not sure the best option.

I would totally hop from MK in the morning to Epcot for the afternoon, but with FP+, I'd be giving up either Soarin or Test Track since I can only get one.

Hmm...so much to consider!

 

[sixxmum]

douglasap8,

Maybe reverse it?

If you get 1 mid morning FP+ for Test Track at Epcot and then get 2 late day FP+ for things you want to do in MK, it will work.

Head to Soarin when Epcot first opens and ride that. Do whatever else you want to do in Epcot that day and catch your Test Track ride when the FP+ time arrives.

Then, in the early evening, head over to MK where you can do your other 2 FP+ and catch the other rides that have reasonable wait times. If there is something there you really want to do that you don't have FP for, wait until during the parade and catch it then

 

[douglasap8]

That would be a good idea, but I didn't think you could do FP+ at more than one park in a day?

 

[ajasmom]

douglasap8,

Maybe reverse it?

If you get 1 mid morning FP+ for Test Track at Epcot and then get 2 late day FP+ for things you want to do in MK, it will work.

Head to Soarin when Epcot first opens and ride that. Do whatever else you want to do in Epcot that day and catch your Test Track ride when the FP+ time arrives.

Then, in the early evening, head over to MK where you can do your other 2 FP+ and catch the other rides that have reasonable wait times. If there is something there you really want to do that you don't have FP for, wait until during the parade and catch it then

As far as I can tell FP+ only allows 3 FP at ONE park. they cant be split. I would do rope drop standby and schedule FP+ for afternoon/evening and second park

 

[vdoucet78]

We will be coming in May and will have 5 full park days. It will be DH, DS4 & DS2. We were last at Disney in September 2012. We usually come for a full week, so we go to all parks. However, with a slightly shorter visit, I'm debating trying to make it to all parks. Here are my thoughts: One day at AK, one at Epcot, 3 at MK OR One at AK, one at HS, one at Epcot & 2 at MK I would probably skip Epcot because of the age of my kids, but I really want to experience the Flower & Garden as I've never been in the spring. I left out HS in my first option, because the park kind of drives me insane, however RNR is one of my favorites, and I do think it has some pluses for young kids. But I'm nervous 2 days at MK would not be enough. Appreciate the feedback...here I am over thinking things again!

It depends on what rides/shows are important to you, but I'd either do 2 days at MK and 1 day in the other 3 parks or get park hoppers and plan 2 full days at Magic Kingdom plus a half day then use your other half day for AK or HS whichever would work best with your family and 1 full day at the other 2. Park hopper would be a big expense to only use it once though, but you'd always have the option to hop back to MK or elsewhere if you finish all you want to do at another Park earlier than expected. You could do rope drop at the half day parks in the mornings and save your FP+ for MK later in the day.

 

[sixxmum]

Ah! I'm still wrapping my head around FP+ since I don't have it due to being offsite. If you can split, then I would do either TT or Soarin, then the other, and then the rest of what you want in Epcot and then use your FP+ in MK later in the day.

 

[carriemd]

Haven't read the other replies, so forgive any redundancies.
I'd get hoppers and do 1 full day at Epcot, one full day at AK (which closes early so you can hit MK after), and a full day at HS. I know a lot of people don't like HS especially with little kids, but there is plenty for them to do in my opinion. My 4 year old LOVED ToT, and there is Fantasmic, TSMWM, the shows, the great movie ride (I love this one, but again, I may be in the minority), Star Wars, Hollywood and Vine for characters if they're into Playhouse Disney....and so on.
That leaves you with two and a half days at MK. Depending on crowds, that extra half MK day makes all the difference. We had 4 day hoppers last summer and got rained out at about 3 on our AK day. THe price bump in the hoppers was more than worth it when we could go to MK and spend 6 hours with near-empty crowds after waiting out the storm. We basically had a private showing of the electric parade. :

 

[summermac]

With only 5 days I'd get hoppers. You never know what park your kids might like/want to go back to.

Of course, we always get hoppers - I just prefer them.

 

[rf53]

We will be coming in May and will have 5 full park days. It will be DH, DS4 & DS2. We were last at Disney in September 2012. We usually come for a full week, so we go to all parks. However, with a slightly shorter visit, I'm debating trying to make it to all parks. Here are my thoughts:

One day at AK, one at Epcot, 3 at MK

OR

One at AK, one at HS, one at Epcot & 2 at MK

I would probably skip Epcot because of the age of my kids, but I really want to experience the Flower & Garden as I've never been in the spring. I left out HS in my first option, because the park kind of drives me insane, however RNR is one of my favorites, and I do think it has some pluses for young kids. But I'm nervous 2 days at MK would not be enough.

Appreciate the feedback...here I am over thinking things again!

Are you staying at one of the resorts? The reason I ask is two-fold. First, if you are, they now have the Magic Band system where you can link your trip reservations, tickets and other things together into the band by using My Disney Experience on-line or by using the MDE smart phone app. The band is your room key, holds your tickets, and can be a debit card for all purchases. Also, by using this system you can advance reserve fast passes for up to 3 rides per day, per park before you even arrive in Orlando and store them in the bands. This can make the flow of your trip to the parks much more pleasant and faster paced if you fast pass the most popular rides with the longest wait times.

Second, staying at the resorts also allows you to do a morning and evening session at each park (if necessary) by using the internal transportation. This extends your visit hours without killing yourself and lets you accomplish more in less time. Just a thought.

As for which parks? May is not exactly off season, but the kids in most states are still in school ( Florida summer vacation begins in mid-June). On weekdays in May you should have smaller crowds to deal with. Nevertheless, with the expanded Magic Kingdom now fully operational two days at MK would not be a bad idea. With advanced fast passes (especially for Toy Story Mania) you should be able to do Studios in one day with no problem ( I have never gone beyond that). The same goes for Animal Kingdom which tends to close earlier than the other parks. That leaves one day for Epcot. Remember, Epcot has fewer rides, and some are not appropriate for little kids (Mission Space, Test Track). Additionally, the World Showcase is is walk-around experience and some of the movies at the pavilions (Canada, China, France) will bore little kids.

Good luck!

 

[tlh0726]

2 days MK and 1 day at each of the other parks

 

[margaret07013]

I have 2 kids who will be same age as yours during our May 2014 trip: DS4 and DD2. We went on our first trip in 2013. We arrived on Sunday and left on Saturday. Same scenario in 2014.

I would not recommend park hopping with 2 small kids. You will be tired as well as they will be tired. They will need some sleep and you will need a midday break too.

My 5 days:

Sunday - arrival by noon, Downtown Disney in the afternoon.
Monday - MK
Tuesday - Epcot
Wed - AK
Thursday - MK
Friday - HS
Saturday - departure

I am debating on going to Epcot on Sunday afternoon and having Tuesday as water park day.

AK - its 1/2 day with small kids. we will go early and leave around 2-3pm.
HS - its 1/2 day - but we will arrive late and stay for the laser show at 9pm
EP - its 1/2 day - but we will arrive late and stay for the firework show at 9pm

If its 1/2 day - first half a day at the resort and planning to take advantage of the pools.

Since we are staying at Poly - we are planning on taking midday naps and coming back to the resort for 1-2 hrs on MK days. just so kids can get a break from the heat and we get some rest too.

these are our 2014 plans based on our 2013 trip.

 

[wen8jr]

Your going during a slower season again; in September? If so, I think 2 days at MK would do it.

We would personally do 2 at Epcot instead of MK as it is our favorite - but I vote for 2 at MK with kids at that age. And we always like to go to all 4 parks - even if one or two of them are just for a 1/2 day. We've often done AK for 1/2 day and gone to Downtown Disney in the evening for dinner as well.

Day 1 - MK (we always like to do MK first as for us it kicks off the trip with the castle)
Day 2 - AK
Day 3 - Epcot (1/2 day at future world - some cool things for kids)
Day 4 - HS
Day 5 - MK (make sure to take in fireworks for great ending for trip!)

 

[DRDISNEYMD]

We will be coming in May and will have 5 full park days. It will be DH, DS4 & DS2. We were last at Disney in September 2012. We usually come for a full week, so we go to all parks. However, with a slightly shorter visit, I'm debating trying to make it to all parks. Here are my thoughts:

One day at AK, one at Epcot, 3 at MK

OR

One at AK, one at HS, one at Epcot & 2 at MK

I would probably skip Epcot because of the age of my kids, but I really want to experience the Flower & Garden as I've never been in the spring. I left out HS in my first option, because the park kind of drives me insane, however RNR is one of my favorites, and I do think it has some pluses for young kids. But I'm nervous 2 days at MK would not be enough.

Appreciate the feedback...here I am over thinking things again!

~I like the second choice. I would not skip a park with five full park days available! I would love to see the Flower & Garden show, it looks so beautiful!!! Have fun!