Epcot with 5 and 2 1/2 girls

[lcvb]

We will be visiting WDW for the first time in Feb. We have 7 full days to visit the parks. For kids age 5 and 2 1/2 how much time do we need in Epcot, if any at all? Any thoughts on trying to do UO/IOA as well?

 

[jenb1023]

Hi and welcome!

I would recommend sticking to WDW for this trip. On our most recent trip to WDW, we had seven full park days and still didn't see or do everything that we wanted to in WDW.

Epcot has tons to do for kids that age! We spent 1 day each at Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom and the rest of the trip was split between MK and Epcot. MK is the park you will most likely spend most of your time in but Epcot is second for us. My DD was a little over 4 on our last trip and loves Epcot!

First, there are lots of rides and attractions for little ones - The Nemo ride and Turtle talk with Crush, all of the activities in Innoventions, Living with the Land, Journey into Imagination, your 5 year old should be tall enough for Soarin and Test Track.

My DD loved the Kidcot stops which are in Futureworld and World Showcase and they are free! We also bought a passport (around $11) which she got signed and stamped in each country.

Another great thing a lot of people don't realize about Epcot is that there are tons of opportunities to meet characters there and the lines are usually a bit shorter than in MK. My DD loves meeting the characters and getting their autographs - she loved this as well on our first trip at age 3 1/2. Just a few of the characters we met in Epcot are Jasmine, Aladdin and Genie, Marie from the Aristocats, Mary Poppins, Mulan and Mushu, Pooh and Tigger, Alice, etc.

Have fun planning your first trip! We loved our first family trip so much that we went again 9 months later!

 

[#1 Pocahontas]

Our last trip there my daughters were 5 and 2. We spent 2 whole days there, and that was only in the World Showcase. I'm sure you can do it in one day if you wanted to. We just let them explore all the countries and stop to color their mask at each Kidcot station. They really love Epcot! At first glance there doesn't seem to be a lot for kids to do but there really is if you are willing to go slow and explore.

 

[holly7347]

This will be our first trip. DH has talked to a few friends that have been to Disney and they all told him Epcot was LOTS of walking and he didn't really want to do it at all. But our compromise was just 1/2 a day on our last day. We are going to Epcot for the princess breakfast then will just hang out there until it is time to leave for the airport. I think we are just going to hang out in the front 1/2 and skip the back side of the park where the different countries are.

 

[Colinsmom]

We went to WDW last Dec with our 5.25yo and 22mo boys, and Epcot was their favorite! DS5 loved Mission Space, Soarin, Test Track, The Land boat ride. DS2 loved Mexico, Nemo, The Land boat ride. They both loved the Norway boat ride too. We had a day at the end of our trip to go back and visit their favorites, and they both asked to go back to Epcot!

Love the character meal at the Garden Grill too - that has been one of our favorites on our last two trips. Lots of good character interaction, and we loved the food.

I think that your kids are a little young for Universal. There are some things for them to do, but it is less kid-oriented overall than Disney. At Disney, you're never far from something to keep a preschooler busy while an older child rides a bigger kid ride!

 

[Tammysue5]

Last year was our first WDW vacation and this park was DD5s favortie. One the last day of an almost 2 week vacation, we decided to take a vote to which park we went,,,,hands down Epcot! They loved Nemo, Turtle Talk, Innovations, Soarin!

 

[squirrel]

I would skip IOA and Universal this time also. Most of the rides are for older and taller children. I have also heard that unless you stay on their property then you have long waits for the rides as they let guesses have Front of the Line Passes.

There is so much to see and do at WDW. I'm going for 14 nights this September and have been before (about 5 days each time). This time I get 10 days in the parks-2 days in each and an extra in MK and most likely EPCOT (I'm letting my niece decide).

Even our 3 days without park passes are quite full with things to do!

Have fun planning!

 

[mom2att]

with 7 full days in the parks I'd do 2 at MK, 2 at EPCOT, 1 each at Studios and AK, and then repeat your fav on the last day. That's assuming your kids like the Playhouse Disney stuff and will enjoy the Studios. If you want to do a non-Disney park, consider Sea World instead of Universal.

My kids are 12, 7, and 4. EPCOT is the favorite park for all three of them.