Best Strategy for kids.

[tsimmons289]

Hi all. New here. I haven't been to Disney in a little over 8 years. DH and I went when I was pregnant with our oldest. We are staying at Bonnet Creek in June of 2015 and buying 6 day park hopper passes. The original plan was to spend one day at Animal Kingdom, which is mine and dh's favorite park, and the rest at Magic Kingdom. I recently decided to add in Hollywood Studios because of all the character meet and greets(my children love their characters) and now I'm trying to decide whether or not to go ahead and do Epcot. I'm not sure my kids will enjoy Epcot much; they are 8 and 3. Our plan for each day is to be at rope drop as my kids are up every day by 630 regardless of when they go to bed. We will return for pool, rest, and naps around 1 and then head back late afternoon early evening. Is Epcot something my children will enjoy? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[LSUfan4444]

Is Epcot something my children will enjoy? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Our daughter loves it. Assuming the younger one meets the height requirement, Soarin and Test Track are great "thrill rides" for kids. Finding Nemo and the Seas are always a hit for that age too. The little ones love Figment and the World Showcase has live music, small skits and alot of character meet & greets.

 

[ArwenMarie]

You will get a million answers for this but I think Epcot is skippable especially for kids that age (esp the 3 yo)

 

[mrsincredible3]

Went with DS6 and DS1 last year and they loved epcot! So much we are going back this year and plan to do more than one day there! My six year old (boy) loved test track, figment, living with the land, maelstrom (i think thats closed now),, the fish tanks in the seas pavilion. He shopped in the japan store, they have great "boy" stuff in there (anime, pokemon, etc). We had pastries in France, had dinner at the Garden Grill with chip n' dale. He can't wait to return to the caramel shop in germany. He didn't care for soaring' because of the scent that they make in the theater (oranges), but i would think most kids would like it (it's like a glorified Imax film). We plan to spend a little more time exploring the world showcase this trip. There was plenty for my kids to do there. You could easily fill a whole day with kids those ages.

 

[PSUGuy]

I assume by 'Epcot' you mean World Showcase when questioning whether the kids will enjoy it, surely Future World has plenty for all ages. Kids can surprise you, plan on a stroll around the worlds with the thought that you can always get to FW quickly if they're bored. With 6 days to work with I certainly wouldn't skip a park and if you plan on rope drop every day consider making some FP+ ressies for the evening park a time or 2 so you'll be guaranteed getting some rides in without long waits. We're rope dropers too and we always get several rides in at that time before lines get too long.

Bill From PA

 

[EagleFlyer]

We found several options for keeping the littler ones (ages 5 and 3 at our last visit) interested in the World Showcase so we could explore a little.

1. Agent P missions in the different countries. Some of the countries have little interactive missions that the kids can go on with Agent P from Phineas and Ferb. It's a great way to get them excited to explore the different countries.

2. The kidcot stations in each country. These are little areas where the kids can color something and talk to a cast member from that country. We also purchased Epcot passports for them at the gift shop at the entrance to the WS that the kids took to each country and got stamped and had the cast member sign with some words in their native language.

3. Other things, like the Donald Duck ride in Mexico, the miniature train set (near Germany, maybe?), the characters (Snow White in Germany, Belle in France, etc), the performers, not to mention things like ice cream.

Every family is different, every kid is different, but my two little ones ranked Epcot as their 2nd favorite park.

 

[pooh4evr]

My kids always love EPCOT. We usually spend at least 2 full days there. We have been taking them for 10 years now, and each time it is different as they are different ages, but it is a very close second to MK. If you want characters - World Showcase has most of the princesses, and Pooh & Tigger, Alice, Mary Poppins, Marie, Aladdin and Genie (sometimes) Mushu, Donald, and probably a few I am missing. When DD#3 was 3 her favorite ride in all of WDW was Spaceship Earth, I think we rode it at least 5 times that trip! With 6 days I would do 2 MK, plan on 1 Epcot if you are worried, 1 HS and 1 Ak with the last day a go back and do our favorites again. But then again Ak is 1 day for us (and filling that day is pushing it).

 

[mi*vida*loca]

With 6 day tickets I would do one day at AK, HS and EP and 3 days at MK.

My DS has loved Epcot since he was young. It's his favorite park. And with PH's you could just do Future World in the morning, skip WS (if you feel the kids will be bored), do your midday break and then do MK in the evening.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

You're getting hoppers, so nothing to lose. If you get bored, hop the monorail to MK

 

[Mikie]

I asked my kids (13, 9, and 7 this trip but had also been at 9, 5 &3 and 7, 3, infant) and they said they wouldn't skip Epcot as long as they had at least 2 MK. My current 7 yo said Test track and "the epcot ball" are his favorite rides and he liked the train in Germany and snacks in Japan (it was food & wine, so many choices). 9 yo daughter liked pick-a-pearl in Japan, window shopping in every country, and meeting characters. When prompted, they admitted they found the show in America boring and they got tired from all the walking. We have always done 2MK 2Epcot and 1each DHS and AK. My kids say that split is good or they'd love 3 MK and 1 Epcot.

Basically, I'd say you may be surprised! Since you have hoppers, it's a low-risk thing to try, and if YOU like it, try spending a little time there!

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

Personally, my daughter has loved Epcot since her first visit when she was 2. She was absolutely enthralled by Spaceship Earth and Maelstrom. Like most kids, she enjoyed The Seas with Nemo and Friends and Imagination. She also really enjoyed Living with the Land. When we took her back and she was tall enough to ride Soarin's, she absolutely loves that. She also enjoyed the acts in World Showcase. But, just because my daughter enjoyed those things doesn't mean every child will. Heck, I didn't learn to enjoy Epcot until college. I hated it as a kid and wished I was at Hollywood Studios (MGM at the time) or Magic Kingdom the whole time I was there. There's really no way to know for sure.

Since there is no way to know for sure, and you are limited to only 6 days, I would definitely tell you to skip it. You and your husband love Animal Kingdom so I'd say you want at least 2 days there. Magic Kingdom is an absolute must when you visit WDW and good luck doing everything in only one day. In fact, I'd recommend that with children that age, you plan for 3 days there. That leaves you one more day and you said you want to do Hollywood Studios. There's all 6 days. And, even if you don't do 3 days at Magic Kingdom, with the size of Animal Kingdom and the fact that it is your favorite, I'm sure you could easily argue why that third day should be spent there rather than Magic Kingdom. I'd say that there is no reason at this point to spend a day doing something that is iffy on whether or not it would be enjoyed by the family. At 8 and 3 they have many more years ahead of them to visit Epcot. Take your 6 days and split them between Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios. Play it safe and you know you will have a great time. Besides, they don't know what they are missing at Epcot so even if they would have had a great time, they don't know it so they won't miss it, right?

 

[CarolynFH]

Here's another vote for Epcot! In addition to the attractions already mentioned, Turtle Talk With Crush (in the Living Seas Pavilion) is a must-do.

 

[wishing4PA]

Well, when we let our then 4 y.o. "pick the park" on the last day of a week long trip (her first), she chose EPCOT.

Highlights at the time: Turtle Talk, the lights in the sidewalk, the fish, Soarin' I think (my memory is getting fuzzy as to her height at the time but I think so), Club Cool, Living with the Land , the ducks, Innoventions, characters (Mary Poppins and Mickey etc.), SE (the building, not the ride so much), KidCot and letting folks sign her "passport."

 

[Angel Ariel]

Hi all. New here. I haven't been to Disney in a little over 8 years. DH and I went when I was pregnant with our oldest. We are staying at Bonnet Creek in June of 2015 and buying 6 day park hopper passes. The original plan was to spend one day at Animal Kingdom, which is mine and dh's favorite park, and the rest at Magic Kingdom. I recently decided to add in Hollywood Studios because of all the character meet and greets(my children love their characters) and now I'm trying to decide whether or not to go ahead and do Epcot. I'm not sure my kids will enjoy Epcot much; they are 8 and 3. Our plan for each day is to be at rope drop as my kids are up every day by 630 regardless of when they go to bed. We will return for pool, rest, and naps around 1 and then head back late afternoon early evening. Is Epcot something my children will enjoy? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

My nephews' first trip to WDW was when they were 6 and 3. They LOVED Epcot. I spent more time in the Living Seas on that trip than I ever have on my own! They were both enthralled by all the sea life, and spent so much time asking questions of the CMs stationed around the pavilion.

Actually, thinking about it, we spent more time in the future world pavilions as a whole than ever before. My nephews really enjoyed The Seas, the interactive elements in the Imagination Pavilion and after exiting Spaceship Earth, as well as the interactive exhibits in Innoventions. We easily spent a full day in Epcot, and we spent very little time in World Showcase. (ETA: They would have *loved* Agent P's Adventure, but we didn't have time for it). They were both tall enough to ride Soarin', and they both loved it as well. I would absolutely at least introduce them to Epcot! I will say, though, one thing we did that I think was good (at least for them) was that we went to Epcot before any other park. They had no idea what the rest of Disney was like (and little other amusement park experience), so nothing to compare Epcot to. I think they may have gotten bored a little more easily if they'd done MK and then Epcot.

As for the naps/rest time - that's where I might want to be flexible. My nephews are similar - always up early, regardless of when they go to bed. Some kids do very well with breaks in the middle of the day, some don't. My younger nephew really needed that break, but my older nephew didn't. For us, the older nephew stayed with DH and I and 1 parent, while the other went back to the hotel with the younger nephew. DD was only 8 months old at the time, and she napped in her stroller very well, so we stayed in the parks.

I'd be willing to wait and see what your kids are like at the park and see if you really need to go back to the hotel for a break, or if maybe taking some time to do some more "chill" attractions (like Hall of Presidents, maybe a boat ride around Rivers of America, or Ellen's Energy Adventure, etc) - something relaxing, but w/o the time required to leave the parks.

 

[chelseabun76]

I regret not spending more time at Epcot our last visit, my dd was having a really bad day and we ended up heading back to the room for a long rest and then hit MK for fireworks. This trip coming up, we're doing one morning (8-12) and then the next day we'll be doing the afternoon/evening (1-9). I would rather schedule too much time and then you always have your hopper to fall back on to hit up another park for the late afternoon/evening.

 

[staceyrhood]

Epcot has always been my sons favorite park. He is now 7. It is also my daughters favorite, she is 2.

 

[Marthasor]

My DS7 loves EP and has loved it since his first visit when he was 1. He could spend the entire day in Innoventions and exploring the aquarium in The Seas. EP has more interactive adventures than any other park, which is completely up my DS's alley. He likes rides, but would much rather play the shark game in The Seas or the Piggy Bank Adventure in Innoventions. In fact, EP is the only park, so far, that my DS has done an entire day from RD to park close in. All the others, he gets a little bored of just riding rides. There really is a ton of stuff for kids to do, especially for your 8-year old.

 

[JamieH]

We love Epcot, especially my 9 year old! He went at 5 and 7 years old and loved Aogent P's and the kid cot stations. He also loves test track. Askers his lunch has always been a must bc of the princesses for my daughter. We've done that one twice and cinderellas 1 and I prefer akershus

 

[Hopefully]

I definitely say go to Epcot!!! You said your kids love their characters. There are lots and lots of character meets and greets in the countries of World Showcase.
Check out www.wdwent.com to see the current schedule. Then you can check closer to your dates as well.
Have Fun

 

[Frozen2014]

We had originally dismissed Epcot (and also Animal Kingdom). But after posting here, we decided to add Epcot. We went in Oct when our kids were 9 and 5...and they loved it! We did skip World Showcase, but did the following:

• Test Track (so much fun!)
• Soarin
• Finding Nemo ride (perfect for little ones)
• Turtle talk (perfect for little ones, but our 9 year old loved it too)
• Figment (perfect for little ones)
• Spaceship Earth
• Character Greet (Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy, I think)
• Illuminations (cool fireworks!)
• Akershus breakfast (princess meal)

We ended up spending two half days....one we got there at about 5pm, had Test Track FP plus a couple others and stayed for Illuminations. The other we rode Test Track on arrival on stand by, had Soarin, Spaceship earth FP and Akershus breakfast. Left around 3pm.

I wouldn't dismiss it at all. And especially with park hoppers, you can leave if you've seen enough.