Advice needed for 3 days at Disney :)

[_Laurie_D]

We will be staying at Wilderness Lodge for 3 nights the first weekend of December- Saturday, Sunday and Monday with our 5 year old grandson. We have tickets for MVMCP for Sunday and will not be going to any other parks that day. We also have a 2 day ticket. We know for sure we want to do Animal Kingdom for one of the days but are undecided on the other day. Trying to decide between Epcot, Hollywood Studios or spending another full day at Magic Kingdom. We will not have park hoppers. Looking for opinions on what would be the better choice with a 5 year old? Also any advice on what day animal kingdom would have the lesser crowds? On a Saturday or Monday? Appreciate all replies

 

[pitpat]

I vote for another MK day. That plus the party would be great.

 

[Ensusieasm]

Another vote for another MK day!

 

[Euby]

Definitely Magic Kingdom!

 

[OB1]

Agree. You are really choosing between EPCOT and MK, and for a 5 yr old, it is an easy choice. Another vote for MK

 

[_Laurie_D]

Agree. You are really choosing between EPCOT and MK, and for a 5 yr old, it is an easy choice. Another vote for MK

Just curious? Why did you leave Hollywood Studios out of the equation?

 

[pitpat]

Just curious? Why did you leave Hollywood Studios out of the equation?

It is just no comparison to the Magic Kingdom, especially for a 5 year old. The only great ride for him at HS would be Toy Story Mania, which can be cancelled out by Buzz Lightyear at MK. Then you add everything else.

For getting value out of a ticket, it's an easy choice. I'm sure there will be trips in the future to check out Epcot and a better HS.

 

[KenHutch]

Check out with your grandson on what he likes. Is he a Star Wars fan? If he is you could easily do a day at HS between Star Wars and the many shows. Epcot at Christmas can be magical but he may not be old enough to enjoy Christmas around the world and as many above me have posted you can easily do 2 days in the MK. We do 3 in MK each trip.

 

[Cameron1515]

We will be staying at Wilderness Lodge for 3 nights the first weekend of December- Saturday, Sunday and Monday with our 5 year old grandson. We have tickets for MVMCP for Sunday and will not be going to any other parks that day. We also have a 2 day ticket. We know for sure we want to do Animal Kingdom for one of the days but are undecided on the other day. Trying to decide between Epcot, Hollywood Studios or spending another full day at Magic Kingdom. We will not have park hoppers. Looking for opinions on what would be the better choice with a 5 year old? Also any advice on what day animal kingdom would have the lesser crowds? On a Saturday or Monday? Appreciate all replies

Sounds like an awesome little trip.

My first tip would be to avoid Hollywood Studios at the present, unless your grandson is in love with Star Wars. The construction to such things as Toy Story Land, Stars Wars Land etc. are making this park extremely small and limiting. Use the first two days as a gauge as to what your grandson likes, if he has a larger interest in Magic Kingdom go back there on the final day. Epcot is really not the 'most' ideal park to visit for younger children. There are some rides that would be appropriate for example Frozen Ever After, Turtle Talk with Crush, Journey into Imagination with Figment. However World Showcase, which essentially features a number of different countries stretching around the lake may be boring and uninteresting for him.

In relation to Animal Kingdom and smaller crowds, it is extremely hard to predict. However I believe Monday would be the best day. Avatar Land in Animal Kingdom has undoubtedly increased the crowd levels. My best advice for Avatar Land, is if you wish to ride the various rides in the land it is important to arrive at the park at least 30min or more before park opening. You still may however be up for 1,2 or even 3 hour waits. However if the waits are too long other sections of Animal Kingdom will definitely be of interest to your grandson like the Kilimanjaro Safari's and Its Tough to be Bug.

 

[lynzi2004]

From a 5 year old's perspective this past April...

We were walking around Animal Kingdom one evening after a morning visit to Epcot. Our DD (age 5) and DS (age 4) finally looked at us and asked, "When can we go back to Disney World?" My DH and I looked at each other confused and said we are at Disney World! And they immediately piped up, "No Disney World is the park with the CASTLE!" So from a kid's perspective, it would be another MK day hands down!!

 

[NH-to-FL]

I agree that another day at the Magic Kingdom would be best. As to which day for AK I might suggest Monday, AK might have a few more local attendees over the weekend.

 

[Mome Rath]

I adore EPCOT, but in your situation, I'd vote for another MK day as well.

 

[TinkSassy]

With a 5 year old - MK hands down!

 

[CynBeth]

I would say Epcot because of the storytellers.

 

[JessicaW1234]

I also think another MK day would be a great choice. Monday would be a better day for lower crowds in AK.

 

[Haley R]

We are going in March and have a similar situation. We have tickets for DAH and a 2-day ticket. We are doing a day at AK and a second day at MK. We will have our 9 yo niece with us and I still chose to do 2 days at MK. I think there is so much to do there that we can easily last 2 days!

 

[nighttowll]

Magic Kingdom- You need a good 2 days or more to really experience this park, and with a party ticket, you don't even have 1 full day. On top of that, you can easily get caught up in the special party attractions (shows, parades, and dance parties) going on and not get around to experiencing many of the day to day attractions.

Magic Kingdom has so much to do, especially for small children. They also have quite a bit that would appeal to boys. You still won't see it all, even with 2 days. And if you get tired of rides, there are more parades, shows, and even scavenger hunts to experience that will all be different from what is offered during the party.