Epcot vs MGM with small kids

[tanyaandallie]

I had originally planned on skipping Epcot with my 3 year old and 18 mos old. I just remember the last time I went thinking it would not be fun for a small kid. However, now I am second guessing myself b/c I know there are some fun things for kids there and I have read some reports about kids loving Epcot.

I chose MGM over Epcot b/c of Playhouse Disney and a few others. Now I'm not sure!! Do I spend the morning at MGM and drop into Epcot that night or spend the morning at epcot and head over to MGM at night. Or do I stick wiht my original plan and skip Epcot altogether.

I would love any and all opinions.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

Our kids have always liked Epcot -even when they were preschoolers. The Imagination Pavilion, the Seas (Turtle Talk and new Nemo ride) are two things that come to mind that most any kid would enjoy. If your child is like mine, she/he will be bored to tears by the films in the World Showcase. Other than that there is lots to enjoy and explore there. Be aware that the Universe of Energy ride can be kind of loud and scary for the youngest kids, even though they are tall enough to ride. Don't skip Epcot; it's fun for all IMO.

 

[cleo]

Our boys have always loved Epcot, too. Whenever we ask which Disney park they want to visit first, they say Epcot.

If I were forced to choose, I would do MGM in the morning when everyone is fresh, then hop to Epcot later in the day. This obviously means you might not get a FastPass for Soarin' or Test Track, but if your 3 year old can't or doesn't want to do them anyway, you could use Single Rider at TT. Epcot is lovely at night, much more so than MGM.

I wouldn't skip it, but that's just me. If I had to choose just one of the two, it would be Epcot.

 

[HMHunters]

MGM in the morning; Epcot later. WS at Epcot doesn't open until later in the morning. When my kids were smaller we spent more time in FW because of all the walking at WS. However, you can do the kidcot stations, which keep kids going from one country to the next. But don't skip Epcot; it's special.

 

[hbehrman]

I had originally planned on skipping Epcot with my 3 year old and 18 mos old. I just remember the last time I went thinking it would not be fun for a small kid. However, now I am second guessing myself b/c I know there are some fun things for kids there and I have read some reports about kids loving Epcot.

I chose MGM over Epcot b/c of Playhouse Disney and a few others. Now I'm not sure!! Do I spend the morning at MGM and drop into Epcot that night or spend the morning at epcot and head over to MGM at night. Or do I stick wiht my original plan and skip Epcot altogether.

I would love any and all opinions.

We have twin DD4 and they loved MGM, but we also wanted to do Epcot for them. So we just did on one day (9/27) MK magical Beginnings 8-10am, (launch to GF and Bus to MGM) then MGM 10:30am- 3pm (had to see Beauty and the Beast again and Dan Zane was there), then ended the day at Epcot (4:30pm to 7pm) eating dinner @ San Angel (close to FW) and doing Future World. We saw mostly stuff in Future world for their age: Journey into Imagination with Figment, Imageworks, The Living Seas, Turtle talk with Crush, and Spaceship Earth on our way out. We would have liked to do the Land (but we were afraid they would have been bored, and it was this or Crush); or Innoventions East or West (not enough time). Everthing else they were still to young for.

I think the plan to do MGM and Epcot FW would work very well as long as you plan well for the shows at MGM that you want to see (get advanced show listings for the week if possible) as they tend to be the most challenging to plan. Two half days at MGM should be considered in order to see all the shows just because at lot of them overlap.

 

[tripplanner]

I would probably choose MGM first because of the playhouse Disney, Little Mermaid, Muppet Show, Honey I shrunk Playground. Since your kids are so young, I would probably spend part of the day at MGM, head back to the room and take a nap, and then head over to Epcot in the evening. I was shocked on my kids first trip to Disney when they were toddlers that they loved Epcot like they did. Spaceship earth was a hit with them. They also got a lot of good character interactions in Epcot.

 

[Teresa Pitman]

It does depend a bit on your child. My grandchildren were 4 and 1 when we went last year, and they weren't all that keen on the shows at MGM. But they LOVED Epcot. We spent hours in Innoventions and they made paper, made robots, "fought fires," etc. There were many activities for them to participate in, rather than just sitting and watching a show, and that was what they loved. In fact, one of the things the older child always mentions when we talk about going back is that he's going to make another robot.

Teresa

 

[mickeymom629]

Don't forget the entertainment in WS in EPCOT. I think kids would enjoy watching the Chinese acrobats and the chair balancer in France, not to mention the other live entertainers you can watch. In my opinion, I would go to EPCOT because there is so much to see and do for all ages. When my 3 year old neice was in MGM, the Little Mermaid show scared her (it was the first thing we did). She did enjoy Playhouse Disney and the HISTK playground, but I think that was all there was that she enjoyed. We waited in line to see the Disney Channel characters and then cried and ran away when it was her turn to have a picture with them. She got freaked out by Muppets 3D, probably because Little Mermaid scared her (the lightning and Ursula) and that shook her up for the day. Of course the GMR was traumatic, but her parents (my sis and her husband) and older brother wanted to see it. I don't think they stayed for the parade because they decided to head over to AK for the rest of the day.

 

[Daydreamer]

I would agree with starting at MGM and then moving on to Epcot. Our kids typically enjoy both very much but it varies from trip to trip which they prefer. I think MGM has a bit more structure as you have to make certain showtimes while Epcot has more of a leisurely pace to it. By doing Epcot in the evening you aren't restricted to a showtime schedule and you can do as much or as little as the little guys want. Worst case you can spend the evening cruising through the WS just relaxing and taking in the sights.

 

[Sleeping Becca]

MGM has Playhouse Disney, Muppets, HISTKMSA, Beauty and the Beast, Mermaid, and Fantasmic.

Epcot has Turtle Talk, Character Connection, and Fantastic Plastic (Innoventions where you can make and keep a plastic robot) which IMO the only things guaranteed to be interesting for kids and not scare the crud out of them. There are many other things in Epcot that your kids may like but these I feel are a guarantee.

MGM has the edge in entertainment specifically geared for preschoolers. If you do one, do MGM. If you can do both go to Epcot in the morning and MGM in the evening so you can catch Fantasmic.

My DD's first trip to the world she was 3. This was before Turtle Talk. She was not really interested in anything at Epcot, she like MGM much better.

 

[minniemousememories]

MGM then Epcot.
Epcot is a nice winding down place. My last time there was when my kids were in the stroller sleeping and DH and I walked around sampling the beer . You can't really plan on doing that and THEN go to MGM...

 

[Sleeping Becca]

I think Fantasmic should not be missed!

 

[ChairborneRangr]

It is a tough choice. My cousin's 3 year old daughter LOVED MGM - they spent days there...I can't imagine how, but they did.

I think Epcot is WONDERFUL for kids. They will be too short for Mission Space, Soarin’ and Test Track. If they're tall enough, Soarin' is probably fine. Honey I Shrunk the Audience 3-D and Maelstrom might be a little scary for some but many do just fine. Spaceship Earth, The Universe of Energy (Dinosaurs & 45 blessed minutes of air conditioning), and Journey into Your Imagination with Figment are all visually interesting for kids. One of the Innovention pavilions has a lot of things geared for little ones. The Living Seas is great for kids – marine life & “Turtle Talk with Crush” are fantastic. “The Land” has a character meal and there are Princess meals at the Norway Pavillion. There are Character Meet & Greets all through Epcot. There is some great entertainment too – the Jammitors are a “Stomp” like percussion group.

There are “Kidcot” stations throughout the World Showcase. Kids can make a cardboard mask (free) at which ever station they stop at first. Then they can add a decoration at each additional station. The boat ride at the Mexico pavilion is similar to “It’s A Small World”. The kids may or may not enjoy the American Adventure or the Circle Vision movies in China & Canada. If I was going to choose one, I’d go with the China movie. There is a little hedge maze in the UK pavilion that is too short for adults to find challenging but I saw a bunch of kids gleefully running through. I also saw kids intrigued by the model train at the Germany pavilion. My kids loved wandering through the Morocco pavilion. There are Koi fish in the pond in Japan. Norway has a Viking boat play area. There is some fantastic entertainment that kids will enjoy: The “Serveur Amusant” (France) is a comedic balancing act. Japan has three great things for kids – “Matsuriza” is a traditional drum act; “Miyuki” is a very neat candy artist, and there is a Japanese Storyteller “Honobono Minwa” on Wed, Thurs, & Fri. Sergio (Italy) is a juggler. “OrisiRisi”, he drum circle and African Storytellers (Mon- Fri) in the Outpost get good reviews. Kids always love the Dragon Legend Acrobats (China) because they are children too. Some kids will enjoy “Off Kilter” (Canada) – bagpipe rock and “MoRockin” (Morocco) – Middle Eastern pop sounding band. IllumiNations is the evening fireworks show and it is excellent.