age appropriate parks

[jenfromri1987]

I already asked this under the welcome page, but I'm stressing about what parks to go to.

My husband & I have 4 kids, a son 16 and 3 girls 12, 8 and 5.

We are planning on visiting 2 parks. We felt we couldn't visit Orlando and not go to Magic Kingdom. (we have never visited as a family) Now the dilemma is should we go to EPCOT or MGM. I feel like my son won't enjoy MK as much so I kind of wanted to visit MGM. My 12 yr old daughter really wants to go to EPCOT. But from my memory there aren't many thrill rides....or teen oriented things.

We will only be there for 5 full days. Arriving at about noon on a Sunday and leaving about noon on Saturday. We didn't want to get overwhelmed by doing too many parks.

New to all this.....HELP!

 

[JulielovesDisney]

MGM has the most teen oriented rides. Epcot is more of a learning park. There are a lot of touch & learn type things there. The only thrill rides are Soarin', Test Track, and Mission: Space.

MGM has the two monster rides, Tower of Terror and Rock n Roller Coaster. Plus and awesome show, Lights Motors Action. As a 16 yr old myself, MGM is my favorite park b/c of those 3 attractions.

Magic Kingdom is stereotyped as the little kid park, but there are also some thrill rides there too. Space Mt and Splash Mt are the two big roller coasters there, and Big Thunder Mt Railroad is a more tame roller coaster.

Have fun, and I'm sure which ever park you go to, your son and daughters will enjoy it!

 

[Leota]

Epcot is my 17 yo son's favorite Park. We do Epcot every day of our trips to WDW. I certainly wouldn't hesitate to bring a 16 yo there. His favorite WDW attraction right now is Mission:Space, which is one Heck of a Thrill Ride. My DS also loves Test Track & Soarin'. Other things he loves to do is to munch his way around World Showcase. He enjoys many of the lesser attractions, but since he has been so many times, he tires of the smaller things (like Spaceship Earth) before I do. Since this is your son's first time at Epcot, I would worry about that.

MGM has Rock n Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror & Star Tours in the Thrill ride dept. Our family is hard pressed to spend an entire day at MGM. Generally, we go ride RnRC, ToT, ST & maybe Great Movie Ride & then we're out of there. I'd say it's ouor least favorite Park except for those 3 main attractions.

Personally, I don't see why you couldn't do all 4 Parks if you have 5 days in Orlando. You don't have to see everything or spend all day everyday to enjoy a Park a day.

 

[DW Goofy]

You'll have time to do at least three parks and see much with that many days. Animal Kingdom is a much slower paced park and you could use it to slow things down if you'd like. Judge what you'd like to do on whether your kids are more ride oriented or not. MK #1 for rides then MGM then Epcot & AK. My daughter who is thirty is still ride oriented and she only liked MK. So if you can figure out kids, "good luck". No matter what you do it will be fun though. Enjoy!!

 

[goofy's friends]

Wow--When I first read i thought you had to choose because of a lack of time. I agree with previous posters, you have plenty of time to enjoy all parks. They will all be enjoyed for different reasons. One thing you may not want to miss out on with teenagers is Disney Quest in DTD ---perfect for that age--look into it. You could do it the day you arrive without using up a day at the parks on your tickets.