Epcot or Animal Kingdom

[EllenMurphy]

Hi,

We are planning a November trip which is more than just DIsney but our plan for Disney is four days. We wont be purchasing park hoppers as this is our first trip so want to keep it as straight forward as possible. So far we have two days MK planned and one day HS. Our boys will be 7 and 4.

I am not sure you can purchase a park hopper for just ONE day? If not, we are not sure if we would do Epcot or Animal Kingdom?? I don't have thoughts on either one since HS and MK has been our big focus.

Thanks!

 

[bababear_50]

Hi Hon
what type of tickets are you buying?
Have you looked at
u n d ercover tourist ?
They sell 1 day park hoppers.
Hugs
Mel

 

[hdrolfe]

Animal Kingdom over Epcot for kids that age. My son was 5 the first time we went and we only did AK, he loved it. We still love it. The safari is awesome and different every time you do it. Dinosaur and Everest may be too scary, depends on your kids. I am not sure if Boneyard is open? It was a big hit. I sat waiting for him to come down the slides for like an hour, I didn't know it was connected over a walkway to a sand area where you dig for dinosaurs. Any way, at 5 he thought that was pretty cool. And it's enclosed, your kid can run around but there is no escape but the one entrance/exit.

Epcot is nice, but I find it more for adults.

If you are buying 4 day passes you can't just add the hopper to one day, it's all or nothing.

 

[bababear_50]

I agree with hdrolfe
if I had to choose between AK and Epcot with a 4 & 7 year old it would definitely be AK.
*Kali* girl here.

New Live stage show
Finding Nemo The Big Blue & Beyond is opening in 2022,
Dive into a spectacular stage show—filled with puppets, singers and other performers—set in the underwater world of Disney and Pixar’s Finding Nemo.
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/entertainment/animal-kingdom/finding-nemo-big-blue-and-beyond/Hugs
Mel

 

[EllenMurphy]

Animal Kingdom over Epcot for kids that age. My son was 5 the first time we went and we only did AK, he loved it. We still love it. The safari is awesome and different every time you do it. Dinosaur and Everest may be too scary, depends on your kids. I am not sure if Boneyard is open? It was a big hit. I sat waiting for him to come down the slides for like an hour, I didn't know it was connected over a walkway to a sand area where you dig for dinosaurs. Any way, at 5 he thought that was pretty cool. And it's enclosed, your kid can run around but there is no escape but the one entrance/exit.

Epcot is nice, but I find it more for adults.

If you are buying 4 day passes you can't just add the hopper to one day, it's all or nothing.

I believe boneyard is still open? I am pretty sure a friend who went this past fall took her son there. OK, thanks for your input!

 

[EllenMurphy]

Hi Hon
what type of tickets are you buying?
Have you looked at
u n d ercover tourist ?
They sell 1 day park hoppers.
Hugs
Mel

We are buying four day tickets. I dont want park hoppers.

 

[damo]

I believe boneyard is still open? I am pretty sure a friend who went this past fall took her son there. OK, thanks for your input!

Boneyard is open. My 4 year old GD could spend hours in there! She loves both sides equally. The sand pit with the aquarium style sand is a lot of fun to dig through.

 

[isabellea]

Definitely Animal Kingdom at that age.

 

[Sue M]

AK is my fav park! I think it has amazing theming. Take your time to enjoy it. Since its your first time I recommend you do some research and have a plan. My bible when I first went to wdw was The Unofficial Guide. Wait less and do more!

 

[youngdeb12]

I would suggest AK over Epcot as well. So much to see and you can kill a lot of time just looking at the animals. Much more kid friendly entertainment compared to Epcot considering how limited it is compared to other parks attractions-wise.

 

[mamaofsix]

My question is when in November are you going? If it's late November, I'd choose Epcot. It's incredible at Christmas and each country has a story-teller that our kids love...

 

[deedubb]

Although my kids loved EPCOT when they were young, I would have to say AK. No way to squeeze in another day and do both? It would be a shame for your first trip not to see all 4 parks.

 

[DeeBee3]

I guess I'll be the outlier here. My kids are basically that age (8 and 4) and we have always loved Epcot. Of course, they enjoy AK, but I felt there was much more for them to do at Epcot given height restrictions for rides. There are plenty of experiences at AK, but I thought there was more at Epcot. This past August we did the Remy Scavenger Hunt around World Showcase and they got a cute prize at the end. Every season they have different themed scavenger hunts.

We all love walking through the World Showcase and just checking out the scenery and musicians, etc.

As for rides, they love the Nemo area and of course Frozen. I would think the Moana thing *may* be farther along by November. We haven't been there since Remy opened. Going this spring and hope to be able to check that out.

Anyway - we love Epcot so I'm extremely biased.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Another big thumbs-up for AK with kids. Especially if you're there towards the end of Food & Wine at EPCOT, which can get very full and less kid-friendly at times.

 

[mort1331]

My vote is for AK even as an adult. But I have been to the real savanna,,,and Disney has done a great job recreating as best they could.We ride the safari twice a day,,one in the am and one pm, animals move and change with the weather. Also Tusker House is one of our favorite restaurants with some unique food. The shows, Nemo and Festival of the Lion King are great as well.

 

[TammyLynn33]

Ok totally biased because our family is animal lovers and we have zoo memberships and whatnot.
I find AK has much more to do of interest for littles the shows are amazing there with Lion King and the bird show.
Lots of character interactions my kids love Kevin from Up specifically. Lol
And the food there is child friendly. Love flame tree bbq and restauransaurus. And if you have any Dino fans lots of Dino stuff.

 

[SleeplessInTO]

I vote for AK. But if your sole reason for not getting park hoppers is to keep the trip “straight forward” then you should get park hoppers. You can do both AK and Epcot, and if you or the family want, you can hop to MK to see the fireworks again each night. Or have dinner wherever you want without worrying you’re booking the wrong park for the wrong day.
Just my two cents. Park hoppers make the trip more straightforward and easier to go with the flow. That was the biggest takeaway for me. When doing Disney with kids, go with the flow.

 

[EllenMurphy]

Although my kids loved EPCOT when they were young, I would have to say AK. No way to squeeze in another day and do both? It would be a shame for your first trip not to see all 4 parks.

Not really for budget or time. I am sure we will be back! We have other plans in Orlando

 

[Sabine W.]

Just want to echo all the votes for AK. My kids were 3 and 5 on our first Disney trip. Truthfully my younger boy was too small and timid to enjoy most Disney rides. But they both LOVED AK. The Safari is very appealing to young kids (and adults). The trails are also beautiful and engaging. The kids could have spent an entire day at the Boneyard. A lot of Disney doesn't have the "hands-on" experiences that younger children crave, but AK does. The conservation area is worth a visit too, and is relatively low-crowd. Enjoy!

 

[wdwmom3]

I vote for AK. Lots to do for kids that aren’t rides. We love walking the trails and seeing the animals.