Animal Kingdom or Epcot??? Which would you choose...

[filafan]

My family and I are coming into Disney for our kids first trip. We will arrive late on Wednesday March 7th and leave Disney area on Sunday the 11th. We've got Friday through Sunday planned, but i'm kinda struggling making a plans for Thursday. What do you think would be more enjoyable for a 22 month old & a 4 year old? Animal Kingdom or Epcot? I originally planned on visiting AK but since we are members of the Toronto zoo, and live fairly close to it, It seems like it might be a better to visit Epcot. We are visiting MK & DHS the other days so those parks are already in the mix. Its just deciding on what is best for thursday....What do you think??

 

[Ted in Halifax]

EPCOT is always our first stop. Easier walk for the young ones, remember to do kidcot

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/parks/epcot/entertainment/kidcot-fun-stops/

 

[hooch11bear]

We absolutely love Epcot, but I'm not sure how much there is for little ones to do there. Animal Kingdom is 2nd to Epcot for us. I think with younger kids I would go to AK. There are more shows there and tons of characters to meet (I know there are characters at Epcot too). I've just heard that it tends to be a little boring for kids.

 

[wdw4rfam]

Epcot is my FAV park. Its more low key than the others in MY opinion. Walking throught the countries is nice, and there is plenty for little ones too. Plus, theres plenty of characters, and the nemo ride, crush show, etc.

 

[Sue M]

You'll be there 5 days? I'd do each park one day, and MK 2 days.
AK is a beautifully themed park. Very different from a zoo. I think it's amazing. Young kids will enjoy AK more I think.
If you want touring plan advice, it would be bettr to give more info, like how many day park tickets you have, and your current touring plan.

 

[wdwmom0f3]

Aother vote for Epcot.

 

[Thumper_Man]

You'll be there 5 days? I'd do each park one day, and MK 2 days.
AK is a beautifully themed park. Very different from a zoo. I think it's amazing. Young kids will enjoy AK more I think.
If you want touring plan advice, it would be bettr to give more info, like how many day park tickets you have, and your current touring plan.

OP stated they arrive late on the first day. So if they arrive late, there might not be time to do a park this day. Same for the last day, no telling what time they leave. If they leave early, then it only leaves 3 real days for touring.

How about doing both Epcot and AK. Buy the park hopper ticket with your ticket. AK usually closes early. Can go to AK in the morning. Go back to your room for an afternoon break. Then you can head to Epcot for the rest of the evening.

 

[dvcdisney]

If you HAVE to choose, I would go to Epcot. It's more of a relaxing park than AK in my opinion. We've been going for many years and when my children were younger, we enjoyed Epcot quite a bit.

However, if possible, I agree with another poster, that you should visit AK as well. Although it's not my favourite of the 4, it really is a great theme park and NOWHERE near like the Toronto Zoo or any zoos that we've been in.

 

[MNtwinsplus1mom]

Between the two I enthusiastically say Epcot. We have 3 sons and on both trips they enjoyed Epcot (first trip they were 4, 4, & 7), including the Kidcot stops in World Showcase. Some other favorites were the Seas with Nemo ride, Turtle Talk with Crush (so fun!), the Seas acquarium, the Imagination play area, the cool fountain near the Fountainview Cafe in WS, the 3 Caballeros ride at Mexico, the miniature train in Germany, the huge troll in a shop in Norway, and seeing the juggler in Italy. (The balancing act in France is also fun.) There's a lot to see and nice gardens to run around in a bit if they need a little play time.

We also live near a good zoo at home and many of the animals at Animal Kingdom weren't new to us. Plus, there aren't many rides for young kids. We just didn't enjoy it as much. (Also, in the summer it gets very hot.) Next time we're skipping AK. That said, if you do go to AK, I'd personally recommend going slowly through the Maharajah Jungle Trek & Pangani Forest Exploration trails and asking questions of the castmembers about the animals. They have a lot to share about them. That was what made it interesting for us.

...But for us, Epcot is so much more fun, especially if you make an effort to do the things your children would enjoy. There's lots to do.

I just found some fun ideas in this article on Epcot: http://allears.net/tp/ep/issue099.htm

Have fun wherever you go!

 

[Ted in Halifax]

Here's another thing to think about .... really, this is Day 1 after your arrival the previous day. Likelihood of Kid meltdown is high .... AK should not be missed, but Epcot offers more kid quiet areas, open space etc. Just thinking about this from a family that travels with kids ...

 

[filafan]

Hmm, interesting info...Thanks a lot!

FYI - Our flight lands at 10pm so Wednesday is a write-off. My plan is to do DHS Friday for character lunch and the Fantasmic! dinner package. Saturday and Sunday are for MK with a trip over to ESPN WWOS to catch the Jays game on Sunday afternoon. I am leaning towards AK but I wanted to make sure that we wouldn't really be missing out on EPCOT. Especially with the DW being a teacher and me not winning the lottery (lol) I'm not sure when we will be able to make it back for another vacation. Maybe I'll save EPCOT for the next trip...

Thanks again for all the great info! Its greatly appreciated...

 

[darwinsrule]

Given the ages of the kids I would go with AK. Our first trip our girls were 5y and 18 months. We stayed at AKL and it was a 5 min bus ride to AKL and as a result we spent a ton of time there and they loved it. Between Dinoland and the shows we have always found it a very kid friendly.

Best advice I can give is don't try and fit everything in. Go at your kids pace and look at things through their eyes. There is too much to do and see and you need to realize you aren't going to get it all in (unless you are going to be there for a month). That first trip we would go to the parks for a few hours and head back to the hotel for nap and pool time, then head back out later in the day for round two. Best vacation ever.

 

[Tower]

I'm going to go against the flow on this one. I would say NEITHER! The main reason I say that is that it's your vacation too! Do you want to spend all your time every day racing to a different park? How about relaxing a bit at Downtown Disney, the shops at your resort, or simply poolside? I hate paying so much for a resort, and then not actually using what I'm paying for.
We just did 7 nights at POR, but only 3 days at the parks. The rest were relaxing since DW and I were on vacation too!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

I would vote Animal Kingdom.

Based on the other responses, I am obviously in the minority, but Epcot was unanimously our least favourite park of the four. Not that we didn't have fun, but if we had to decide on a park to "cut" from an upcoming itinerary, this one would be it without hesitation.

AK, on the other hand, was the favourite of my boys. And second on the list for me (after MK).

 

[3pletprincesses]

Epcot is my 5 yo triplets favorite park. So much to see and so much to do IMO. Animal Kingdon is nice too but if they are given the choice, Epcot is always the one they want. I agree with another poster where you could do each park once except for MK twice. We go for 7 days and do each park once except for Epcot and MK where we spend 2 days each and a down day in the middle of the week to stay at the resort

 

[Sue M]

Hmm, interesting info...Thanks a lot!

FYI - Our flight lands at 10pm so Wednesday is a write-off. My plan is to do DHS Friday for character lunch and the Fantasmic! dinner package. Saturday and Sunday are for MK with a trip over to ESPN WWOS to catch the Jays game on Sunday afternoon. I am leaning towards AK but I wanted to make sure that we wouldn't really be missing out on EPCOT. Especially with the DW being a teacher and me not winning the lottery (lol) I'm not sure when we will be able to make it back for another vacation. Maybe I'll save EPCOT for the next trip...

Thanks again for all the great info! Its greatly appreciated...

We love AK. It's a beautiful park. The theming is amazing. http://allears.net/tp/ak/ak.htm
Plenty of stuff for kids, love the shows, Festival of the Lion King is a fav. The Safari, each trip is different, you never know what you'll see. Flights of wonder, 3-D movie in The Tree of Life, beautiful trails, a childrens ride and play area. I could spend 2 days here. Also the train ride to Rafikis Planet Watch. River raft ride.
On Everest (fun coaster) they have a single rider line, so you could take turns each getting a ride while the other watches the kids. The single rider line goes fast.

 

[CdnKayDee]

We say AK if the decision is based on the kids. Epcot is geared more towards older children (not that you won't fun either place). Children connect with animals and while we have never visited the Toronto zoo I can't imagine it being anything close to Animal Kingdom. We find it is a great place to go at your own pace and enjoy your surroundings. Sue M does a good job of summarizing some of the great points.

Have fun on your vacation!

 

[Achray]

We have a membership to the Toronto zoo and visit frequently. There are some animals the same but that is it. There is alot of things to due at AK. My vote is for AK. When our kids were small they enjoyed it more than Epcot.

 

[ferg3298]

epcott

 

[abdmom]

Animal Kingdom