AK and Epcot in one day

[rjrcstan]

Hi All,

I am planning on spending 4 days in the parks this upcoming November. We are taking my 5 and 7 year old boys for the first time. I was planning on two days in MK, 1 in HS and 1 in AK and Epcot. Is it possible to do the two parks in one day? Any suggestions for an itinerary for the day?

Thanks

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I think splitting Epcot and AK into one day is going to skip a lot of each, and depending on your Epcot interests keep in mind that you can only FP+ one of Soarin', Test Track, and Frozen Ever After, and your boys are too young for the Single Rider Line at TT.

 

[jvsims]

It takes us 2 days at EPCOT and 1 very long day at AK..& that was prior to the AK evening activities. Both parks are great, but if I had to pick 1 for my boys, we'd probably pick EPCOT

 

[threeboyzdad]

I would make your HS day a half day with AK and then make Epcot a full day.

 

[ArwenMarie]

It depends. You could probably do the morning at DAK and then the afternoon/evening tour FutureWorld in Epcot. I think trying to all of Epcot and DAK would be way too much, even just from a walking perspective (they are the two larger parks geographically)

 

[bryanb]

It really all depends on what you're interested in doing, and how deeply you want to do it. However you divide things up across the four major theme parks, there's enough to do that you could maximize your time either way.

This is why some people can go to WDW with 10 day park hoppers and still not feel like they "finished" all of the activities available. This also goes back to the question of whether HS is a "half-day" park. The answer depends on how completely you want to experience it. For me, AK can absolutely be a full-day experience and EP can be a multi-day experience. But that's not necessarily the right answer for everyone.

 

[Planogirl]

I think that Epcot is only a problem finishing in half a day because of the FP+ structure. There really isn't all that much to do there unless you enjoy World Showcase which seems hit or miss with young kids. But how to schedule your single tier one FP+ is a problem.

AK is another story though. We can spend way more than half a day there. It's a tough decision.

 

[MrsJamesPSullivan]

I don't think HS is a full day park. We've never spent a full day there even before they closed stuff. I'd do HS at rope drop be done by 11 or noon then go to world showcase until you're tired then start a day at Epcot in future world then hit what you didn't get to in world showcase the first time.

 

[MeganMango]

AK and HS are not full day parks. I would do:

AK for rope drop, head to the safari ride, Dinosaur, see the Lion King or Nemo show, head to Epcot at night for the World Showcase.

Then next day, do HS for rope drop until noon or so, Epcot Future World during day, and AK for the night show Jungle Book.

There's lots of ways to "reorganize" days, it's fun to plan.

Epcot I could easily spend a full day RD to close and still have things to do.

 

[MikeTaylor]

My suggestion for a Magical Day would be to start at EPCOT in the early morning, do everything in Future World (Turtle Talk, The Seas w/Nemo & Friends, Imagination, Soarin' if they're tall enough, Living with the Land, and Spaceship Earth on the way out). Then, take the Monorail to the TTC and switch to the Hotel Loop/Magic Kingdom and watch the Festival of Fantasy parade at 3PM. Start in Adventureland (Pirates is usually a shorter wait before/during/right after the parade) and slowly work your way clockwise to Fantasyland and Tomorrowland (while making your new FP+ selection). The people funnel at Rapunzel bathrooms, PPF, and IASW is usually tolerable after 6PM and you can basically walk onto the kid-friendly rides once the sun sets.

 

[A Mickeyfan]

Me, my DD's and granddaughter are going to Disney for a week. My one DD's BF can only get there for 2 full days, and only 1 is a park day for him. We are going to do AK & EPCOT in one day

 

[Snurk71]

We're doing epcot + AK in one day (today). But this is also about our 20th trip, so there's a lot of things we skip.

 

[rjrcstan]

Thank you for all of your advice! I was originally going to skip AK but my little guy loves animals so I was trying to split it with something else. For HS I have have an 8:10 H&V reservation and then a 5:00 fantastic diner. My boys are most excited about Jedi training. I wonder if I can try to get some more Epcot time on this day.

 

[SplashMo]

For EP and AK in one day....

Rope Drop EP with FP+ for SOARIN. Hit TT first then use FP+ for SOARIN. See the world showcase and have lunch... Hop over to AK about 2-3. DO the Safari.. Skip Dinosaur. But go to gift shop there. Have fun. See the evening entertainment.

It is very easy to hop from HS to Epcot and then back to HS.

 

[DizDaD7]

Hi All,

I am planning on spending 4 days in the parks this upcoming November. We are taking my 5 and 7 year old boys for the first time. I was planning on two days in MK, 1 in HS and 1 in AK and Epcot. Is it possible to do the two parks in one day? Any suggestions for an itinerary for the day?
Thanks

It is possible, but I wouldn't recommend it... Especially with only 4 days.True MK is the big draw here but I would do MK, AK, Epcot 1 full day , & then split MK w/ HS for the last day...At the moment there isn't too much going on at HS, which pains me to say...Seeing how I love that park.

It takes us 2 days at EPCOT and 1 very long day at AK..& that was prior to the AK evening activities. Both parks are great, but if I had to pick 1 for my boys, we'd probably pick EPCOT

I would make your HS day a half day with AK and then make Epcot a full day.

I'd agree partially with this, but not w/ AK...Rather the 2nd day @ MK.

AK and HS are not full day parks. I would do:

AK for rope drop, head to the safari ride, Dinosaur, see the Lion King or Nemo show, head to Epcot at night for the World Showcase.

Then next day, do HS for rope drop until noon or so, Epcot Future World during day, and AK for the night show Jungle Book.

There's lots of ways to "reorganize" days, it's fun to plan.

Epcot I could easily spend a full day RD to close and still have things to do.

AK is not a Full day park????? WoW This is the one park where going at a nice leisurely pace is required ...

Thank you for all of your advice! I was originally going to skip AK but my little guy loves animals so I was trying to split it with something else. For HS I have have an 8:10 H&V reservation and then a 5:00 fantastic diner. My boys are most excited about Jedi training. I wonder if I can try to get some more Epcot time on this day.

If your DS loves animals then there is no way IMHO to skip/fly through this park....Way more than a typical Zoo has to offer...Between the natural beauty to the hidden paths/treks to the elaborate shows, to the great food & atmosphere..& Now to throw in the nighttime beauty...No way I'm leaving early.

Originally I stated that I'd split the 2nd MK day w/ H.S. & I'd tend to stick w/ that but another possible option would be splitting HS & EPCOT. Depending which had later EMH's. & only because of its close proximity to each other...Boat ride, or walk would be nice..

 

[BudgieMama]

AK and HS are not full day parks.

I agree with the analysis of HS, but AK- no way! We need at least 2.5 days to do it justice!

I'd be tempted to share DHS with the second MK day and take a day each for AK and Epcot. Second choice would be to share DHS with Epcot, but I couldn't do less than a day at AK.

 

[Delirium]

OMG! Can people PLEASE stop saying things like AK & HS are half-day parks. That may very well be a personal preference of yours, but someone on here looking for advice have their own personal preference on what to do. And, if they don't go multiple times a year like many on here do, that is a significant factor in touring strategy as well.

The bottom line is that, with all of the shows at HS, it is virtually impossible to do everything there in a single day. As far as AK, while it may be possible to do everything in a LONG day, there are significant things you would miss if you only went for a half day.

Now, responding to the OP. If you already have hoppers, then you may look for a opportunities to jump to Epcot at night a couple of different times. If you don't have hoppers already, I would personally skip Epcot and do a full day at both HS & AK.

 

[Accident]

5 & 7 boys will love both animal kingdom and hollywood right now.. you'll need 1 day in each of those parks. MK of course you need at least 1 day in. Epcot really becomes the question mark here. they are either going to have a great time or really hate it. you might want to plan early start at epcot and then finish at magic kingdom instead of a full second day or just skip epcot all together.

and if possible, adding a 5th day of tickets isn't horribly expensive if you can swing having 1 more day on vacation with all the other costs involved.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

It is so much easier to hop from DHS to EP than AK to EP. This is what I would suggest:

2 days MK
1/2 day DHS (RD for Jedi Training), 1/2 day EP (focus on WS for the afternoon/evening)
1/2 day EP (RD for a focus on FW), 1/2 day DHS (do your Fantasmic package this day)
1 day AK (especially if your DS loves animals. It is so nice to do AK at a leisurely pace to see all of the trails). If you end AK early evening you could always hop one last time to another park or just have a leisurely evening at your resort.

If you break it up this way, you still get to do both Jedi Training and Fantasmic at DHS, but essentially get full days in both EP and AK.

 

[rjrcstan]

5 & 7 boys will love both animal kingdom and hollywood right now.. you'll need 1 day in each of those parks. MK of course you need at least 1 day in. Epcot really becomes the question mark here. they are either going to have a great time or really hate it. you might want to plan early start at epcot and then finish at magic kingdom instead of a full second day or just skip epcot all together.

and if possible, adding a 5th day of tickets isn't horribly expensive if you can swing having 1 more day on vacation with all the other costs involved.

Thank you, planning this trip is exciting but overwhelming! I kind of wanted to do World Showcase for me, i really don't think my boys will love it all that much. They are the kind of kids who like go and do all day long but then crash in the evening. I am getting to Disney Sunday evening and have a 5:00 flight out Friday. I wasn't planning on doing a park Friday because I hear that the magic express takes to the airport early and at a certain time. I figured we would have breakfast that morning, pack and explore the hotel. Do you think I would be able to get park time in on Friday and is it worth it?

Thanks again