Anyone else's kid not care about the MK?

[susy]

Our DS is 7 and the MK is his least favorite park. Two years ago we rode the Land ride at Epcot and he declared this to be his favorite ride !!!!! Now, this was a child who had been to all four parks many times and had ridden practically everything. His favorite parks are the AK (loves animals) and Epcot-this last trip we were able to leave him coloring at the Kid-cot table and look around the shop. This trip we went to the Mk and he had a great time, but doesn't want to do Fantasyland anymore. The funny part is that even when he was younger (4-5), he was always happy at whatever park we were at and never said he was bored or wanted to go to the the MK. My best friend recently took her kids (they are 11 and 8) to Epcot and they asked her to NEVER take them there again!

Is my kid the only "weird" one?

 

[Leota]

DS never disliked MK - but Epcot was always tied with MK for him for favorite Park. Now that he's 16, Epcot is his favorite & given the choice, he would pick Epcot everyday. I was shocked on our last trip when I suggested going back to MK again to do some more attractions that he opted for Epcot instead.

 

[26555]

Sounds like a neat kid, probably smart. My 6 year old has boycotted most of fantasyland. When you get to go a lot, its easy to outgrow dumbo and small world once you have been on test track and soarin'.

 

[js]

Thank you for posting. I really thought I was the only one with “strange” kids LOL
As you can see, I’ve been on these boards for a while and rarely, if ever, see any parents say that their kids (especially young) enjoy EPCOT over MK (So I’ve kept my peace LOL)
My dd is 11 and my ds is 7 and they have been going to WDW since they were babies. Their favorite park has always been EPCOT. Like the poster above, my children do not dislike MK but just prefer EPCOT.
I have noticed though that as my son has gotten older, that the FL rides at MK now take a back seat and BTMR, SM, POTC and Buzz are on the top “to do” list when we arrive at MK. No more rushing to Pooh, IASM and PP (although we hit these too). Dumbo, thank goodness, has never been an attraction that either of my kids cared to ride. Thanks for starting this thread, it makes me feel so not alone

 

[addicted_to_WDW]

I always chuckle when newbies come on the board and say, "I just know we'll be spending all of our time at the MK because that's what kids like!"

I assumed DS would like MK the best, but that's never been true. Epcot has been his favorite park since our first trip (he was 4, now he's 11), and for a long time MGM was #2 because of Tower of Terror. These days I think MK may have snuck into the 2nd spot, but for him he'll always prefer Epcot.

 

[susy]

A lot may have to do with how we approach things with him, too. When we got on the Land ride there was one other family with two kids. The kids asked what the ride was and the mom answered, "It's just a little boat ride"-with NO enthusiasm whatsoever-just trying to stop their whining. This was Thanksgiving morning at opening and the lines for TT and MS were...well...long. This side of the park was empty, though. Her kids did not seem happy to be there. When my son asked me what it was about, I explained that we were going to see how plants grow in diffrent climates, etc. When the ride was over, he said very loudly, "I love this ride!!!!!" the other family must have thought that he was crazy (or that he'd never been to WDW before).

 

[Goofy's Muse]

Actually after our first family trip last summer, my DS10 named AK as his favorite park (with AKL being his "dream resort" after having had dinner at Boma). He did love the BC (and SAB, of course) but as he stepped into the AKL lobby his first words were... ('Now, THIS is a FANCY hotel!"). He also loved Epcot (his second fave) and believe it or not favors World Showcase slightly over Future World. Does not surprise me really... he is fascinated by different cultures, languages, archeology, artifacts. MK was his third choice and then MGM.

I also have two teenaged DDs. As a family I think we all enjoy MK to some extent, but on a quick return trip in December we spent two full days at Epcot as compared to one evening at MVMCP. There was just so much to do and see at Epcot that we can't seem to get enough time there. Tour plans just seem to go out the window with my crew... they get so absorbed by the self-paced, interactive attractions like the Imagination "What if" labs, the trails at AK, Disney Animation Studio (MGM), Disney Quest, etc, that these are the places they're drawn to...

I think it's great that Disney offers such a variety... there's literally something for everyone!

 

[Leota]

Susy - I agree that it has alot to do with how parents approach things with the kids. My DS grew up going to museums, galleries, planetariums & science centers. Since it was always something we enjoyed, he was exposed early & with enthusiasm. Don't get me wrong, we aren't "intellectuals" we love play & fantasy as well...it's just that science & culture were never looked at as a boring burden, rather with the thrill of discovery.

 

[ksjayhawkfan]

My kids love museums and the such but they hated Epcot and the WS. The only thing they liked was the Wheres the Fire game at Innoventions and Turtle Talk. My 8 yr olds exact words were "Mom, I just got out of school, Im on vacation. I dont want to learn today." We are hoping that next time they will enjoy it more.

 

[sue1013]

My kids are now grown (baby is 18) but they enjoyed each park. I also thought my kids were "strange" when reading the numerous posts saying "with kids we will spend most of our time at MK". Susy the story about your DS on Living with the Land reminded me of my DS. His first trip he was 4, he loved that ride asked the guide many questions said it was his favorite (at least for that day). If they had only wanted to do MK, I'm sure we wouldn't have gone as often as we did.

 

[lbgraves]

Well, our first trip to MK was 11/03 and we just spent a day there. The next year we again spent one day. On our trip last week we hit MGM for the first time and DD liked it but at first she wanted to go to MK for the rides. Our day in MK was great. I'm sure once the kids lose some of the Magic...as far as the characters being real...they may be more interested in other parks. We are holding off on Epcot until my DD is at least 6 so that she will be as interested as my DS.

 

[minnie61650]

Our DS is 7 and the MK is his least favorite park.
The funny part is that even when he was younger (4-5), he was always happy at whatever park we were at and never said he was bored or wanted to go to the the MK. My best friend recently took her kids (they are 11 and 8) to Epcot and they asked her to NEVER take them there again!

Is my kid the only "weird" one?

Susy,
Your child is not weird.
My son was 5 years old when we took him to Disney for his time in 1986.
Epcot has always been his favorite park and that was before TT and MS. They still had Horizons and World of Motion. (I still miss those pavilions.)
He is 24 now and he was just telling me how much he always enjoyed Epcot especially the Universe of Energy. He loved the Dinosaurs and that sulfa smell
when first entering that part of the ride made it seem so real to him.
He loved all of future world even Captain EO which I thought was a bit scary at the time. (I enjoy HISTA much better.) We always took the approach that discovering and learning different things is fun. I think it's wonderful Disney has 4 parks to explore. Since children do enjoy different hobbies, sports, books, foods, etc.,the chances are some will enjoy different parks more. Diversity and learning about all kinds of things is what makes the world so much fun.
Linda
109 more days

 

[js]

I’ve already responded up top but in all the years we have been going to EPCOT, we never did the WS during the day and Epcot was still my kids favorite park. This past Dec. trip, we spent a good part of our day, in WS, during the day and it was wonderful. The kids had a great time at the Kid Cot stations and loved walking around looking at the different things in each country in daylight as opposed to the evening. My kids, though, do enjoy going to Broadway shows and museums in NYC and learning about different cultures, maybe this has something to do with it.
As another poster said regarding The Land, although my kids don’t LOVE the ride, they do enjoy it. They wonder how veggies can grow in sand and on strings and really seem interested while they are on the ride. You are correct, though, that if the first time we were going on the ride and I casually said it just some small boat, maybe it wouldn’t have that much appeal.
Anyway, I am going to make it a point again next 10/06 to do the countries during the day, they really enjoyed them so much more. Again, great thread for all us parents to come to whose children don’t favor MK LOL

 

[Becky2005]

This is an interesting thread! I had to chuckle because we haven't been yet and I have NO IDEA which is going to be their favorite parks! I have a *hunch* that Animal Kingdom will be my DD's favorite becuase she is such an animal lover (to the extent she has taken her own money to join the Koala Foundation, volunteered at the local animal shelter, etc... and she's only 11!).

It's my 8 year old that should be interesting as he has *always* liked things you wouldn't expect from kids his age. When he was 3, we took him to see SUE at the Field Museum (personally, I find the field museum as a "been there done that" and really don't have much desire to go back anytime) but he LOVED Dinosaurs, DD didn't want to go but I bribed her with "hey look, they have a Gemstone collection" LOL! She was about 5. I honestly thought, we would go there, see SUE & the dinosaur exhibit; then go see the Gemstone exhibit and leave. WRONG!!!! DS was dragging me all over that museum totally entrhalled and thought it was the best thing ever! He dragged me down this nature walk thing that DD refused to even go near because they had kind of scary to her sounds (just critters sounds but...) and I had to read every single fact about everything there. It was *I* dragging him out of the museum telling him they were closing and we HAD to leave!

So, I could easily see him enjoying EPCOT more than MK but you just never know with him, which way he is going to go.

We are going on the Mickey's Magical Milestone Tour and I know it's recommended for ages 10 & up but because of his personality, I am having him come too (any age can go but from finding some info on it, I could easily see why they have the upper age limit my 5 year old would be bored to tears! LOL!)...he will be fascinated because he is always wanting to know more than the average kid about something.

 

[mommykds]

My kids (9,6,4) have always liked EPCOT over MK. I think we spend more time at MK because of me not the kids! Mk is my favorite.

 

[elf]

My 7yr olds favorite is EPCOT, has been for years. She was so upset last trip with extended family, that we spent little time at EPCOT, we promised to come back and spend more time. We did last week, spent a lot of time there. She loves the Universe of energy, Land ride, Lion King movie, and now Soarin too (although really missed FOOD rocks, wished we could have both). From these boards learned about the Robots in Innoventions which we enjoyed. First time on Test track for both DD's very exciting for them. As a family we always love going on Spaceship earth. I like to have my last night at Epcot and leave through international gateway.
She still loves MK but Epcot is the favorite.

 

[Amirah95]

My DD was 8 at the time and wanted to keep going back to MGM. She she remembers about MK is Frontierland. Odd for a girl!

 

[susy]

I am the OP and DS just did a "countdown" of his favorite disney parks:

#4-MK
#3-MGM
#2-AK
#1 -Epcot