For WDW and DL Visitors - which WDW Park would you skip, and why?

[Miffy]

No hoppers - again, spoiled by DL where it's literally a few short hops from one park to another. I really don't fancy spending a lot of time on/waiting for/finding busses or other DW transport options. Don't plan to do Genie+ either. Unlike DL, where we are on a morning mission to get all faves done, and we do, before 10:00a.m. this trip will be more about R&R, Disney-style. Read: sleeping in! Will be getting ILL for a few things (FOP, Rise) not into coasters/drop rides in any way. Daughter will no doubt single-rider some coasters/thrill rides and ILL/VQ others though.

100% going to enjoy the rides to/from DS during our POFQ stay - it's that type of thing I'm really looking forward to! Unique to WDW.

p.s. We are staying at AKL (i.e. Deluxe) for 3 nights and, hopefully, there will be Extended Evening Hours at at least one park in that time. Maybe AK, rumours have it. So, we'll get that, maybe, plus the After Hours/Jollywood experience as well. Should get a decent number of must-do rides in with just those two things. Fingers crossed.

I was going to suggest you get hoppers. It's great to be able to hop over to another park for dinner, for example. Also, it gives you flexibility if you decide you like one park a lot and want to spend more time there. For example, you spend the day at DHS and want to have dinner at Epcot. You can walk to Epcot from DHS or take a boat or ride the Skyliner, which is fun all by itself. It's not like walking over to DCA from DL, but it is doable.

I've been to WDW many times since 2021--and even more times before then--and sleeping in, no G+, and doing things here and there has so far not worked out for me. For example--at Epcot, you might want to do Frozen Ever After, which I'm pretty sure doesn't exist at DLR. If you sleep in and don't have a G+ reserved for this, and you want to do it, odds are you're going to be standing in a 90-minute-long queue, which, except for the very end of it, is the most boring queue in all of WDW.

The popular attractions at WDW generally have long queues. As long as you're okay with that, go for it. But definitely get ILL$ for FoP. And then get in line for it again close to closing time because you'll want to do it again and again. It's amazing. FoP and RotR are the 2 best attractions, and FoP isn't also on the West Coast.

I wouldn't skip any park, but I have an AP so can always hop--and often do.

At any rate, you'll have a great time. AKL and POFQ are our two favorite resorts. Make sure to have some beignets!

 

[BrianL]

I wouldn't skip any park either, however I would likely consider HS as the park to skip. DLR already has all three Star Wars rides (Star Tours, Sumggler's Run, Rise of the Resistance), Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway, plus Toy Story Mania. Tower of Terror is also simialar to Mission Breakout for obvious reasons. Alien Swirling Saucers is functionally identical to Mater's Junkyard Jamboree. That leaves Slinky Dog Dash and Rock'n Roller Cosater as the only truly unique rides. Of course, if the shows are important to you, maybe it is worth it. Fantasmic! is running, and a bit different than the DL one, so you might consider it if you miss it a lot, but it will be coming back to DLR too so it's not unique.

Again, I wouldn't skip it, but it seems to have the most overlap, even more than MK does with DL really.

 

[irlandaise]

Brightlined, I had totally missed the OP's mention of Jollywood Nights and therefore that the group would be there during the holiday season. (I took "first WDW holiday" to mean "first WDW vacation," not thinking of the Christmas season.)

Anyway...I second your recommendations, especially visiting the monorail resorts. thenicefamily, you may already know this, but those hotels have life-size gingerbread houses, chocolate carousels, chocolate Polynesian villages, and many other amazing decorations. (AKL should have a chocolate African village as well.) Seeing the deluxe resorts is always fun, but around the holidays they're a don't-miss attraction.

 

[thenicefamily]

I'm taking everything on board, truly I am.

So, I've added that MK day on the Mickey's Party day (for less crowds, hopefully).

We're going to the Jollywood Party one evening at HS and that's going to suffice for our HS/Galaxy's Edge/Adult Party fix. Oh, definitely going to do Runaway Railway too as we haven't been to DLR since that started.

I'm sticking with 2 days at Epcot and 2 at Animal Kingdom (yes, we're even going to animal nerd-out do the Wilderness Explorers). One AK day will actually be a mostly AKL resort day as I hear late afternoons/evenings are best for AK crowds. 100% doing FOP with ILL twice and, if Standby not too bad in evening(s), will do more. Daughter will no doubt be on Everest a few times and we'll do the Kilimanjaro Safari's multiple times at different times of day I hope - to maximize wildlife viewing opportunity.

Park-hoppers, I just can't justify. At DLR, for sure, $60 is an absolute bargain and, we always, always get it. WDW is 30% MORE ($90) for, IMO, a lot less hopping. It's just not worth $270 for the potential of moving from one park to another maybe once during the trip.

Genie+ is still on the table though. Probably for MK. We'll use the $270 Hopper "savings" on ILLs - that should buy us quite a few!

Also going to be taking the time to explore and enjoy DS and the Resorts in their Christmas finery.

 

[KPeterso]

I would vote to skip MK. It is by far my least favorite park at WDW. It always seems so much more crowded than the other ones and I prefer the Disneyland versions of the rides in common. Disneyland will always be my #1 favorite park between DL and WDW.

That said, I love AK. I can't even explain how much I love it there. It is by far my favorite park in WDW. I could just ride the safari all day and be happy as can be. I know all the facts and spiels that they give about the animals. We usually ride it 2-3 times each day we visit AK. We go for a 10-12 day trip and hit AK 3 times. For my shorter 1 week trips, I hit AK twice.

I do also love Epcot --- it is my # WDW park. Especially for food. But some of my favorite rides are there too --- Test Track, Guardians, Soaring, Figment, Living with the Land. Hollywood Studios has grown on me a lot in recent years (Toy Story Land and Galaxy's Edge definitely helped). It used to be my least favorite, but is now my #3 park at WDW.

 

[Miffy]

I'm taking everything on board, truly I am.

So, I've added that MK day on the Mickey's Party day (for less crowds, hopefully).

We're going to the Jollywood Party one evening at HS and that's going to suffice for our HS/Galaxy's Edge/Adult Party fix. Oh, definitely going to do Runaway Railway too as we haven't been to DLR since that started.

I'm sticking with 2 days at Epcot and 2 at Animal Kingdom (yes, we're even going to animal nerd-out do the Wilderness Explorers). One AK day will actually be a mostly AKL resort day as I hear late afternoons/evenings are best for AK crowds. 100% doing FOP with ILL twice and, if Standby not too bad in evening(s), will do more. Daughter will no doubt be on Everest a few times and we'll do the Kilimanjaro Safari's multiple times at different times of day I hope - to maximize wildlife viewing opportunity.

Park-hoppers, I just can't justify. At DLR, for sure, $60 is an absolute bargain and, we always, always get it. WDW is 30% MORE ($90) for, IMO, a lot less hopping. It's just not worth $270 for the potential of moving from one park to another maybe once during the trip.

Genie+ is still on the table though. Probably for MK. We'll use the $270 Hopper "savings" on ILLs - that should buy us quite a few!

Also going to be taking the time to explore and enjoy DS and the Resorts in their Christmas finery.

There's so much to do and enjoy at DAK. It's my favorite park. Gorilla Trail just after the safari has wonderful viewing areas. Also the Maharajah Jungle Trek is another terrific walking tour. Not just the animals, but the architecture is beautiful. And Rafiki's Planet Watch, if you'd enjoy petting some goats and sheep--which I do! The train ride there is entertaining.

I've done the safari multiple times in a day. It's never the same and it's always wonderful. I've also done FoP a few times in a day, a combination of FP+ (now, sadly, gone) and standby. Now twice in a day is all I can muster--once with ILL$ and once at the end of the day. BTW, Na'vi River Journey in Pandora is beautiful and relaxing. It's my favorite ride to do before the park closes. Ask to sit in a front seat and say you'll be happy to wait--they will accommodate you--so you'll be spared the possible annoyance of someone in front of you taking a video of the entire ride. Pandora is lovely at night.

With some of the G+ money you'll be saving, you might want to consider one of the DAK animal tours. Caring for Giants is the elephant tour and you get to go backstage + have some closer-than-the-safari-truck views of the elephants. How good is this? I've done it twice. You have to book this 60 days in advance of your arrival, although every once in a while there are walkups available. But you're going during the holiday season, so best to book in advance if you're interested. I've also done Up Close with Rhinos. You get to pet a rhino! And see the behind-the-scenes workings at DAK.

One more DAK hint: If you're thinking of eating at Yak & Yeti, get a Landry's card. The membership costs $25--you can join online--and you get a $25 credit the first time you eat there. The advantage of this card is that you don't need a reservation at Y&Y if you have this card. You can just stroll in, show your card, and you'll get priority seating. The most we've ever waited for a seat is maybe 15 or 20 minutes, which, at Y&Y, is nothing when it's crowded and other walkups are waiting nearly an hour. Just something to consider. I used to love Tusker House, but I haven't been there post-pandemic, so I can't advise.

Oh! I forgot: Festival of the Lion King! And, btw, the shows at DHS are well worth seeing, too, especially Beauty & the Beast. Sadly, the Little Mermaid show (which someone upthread mentioned) has been closed for quite a while. The last survey I did for WDW asked about this show and I told them how much I missed it and would love for it to return. But I seriously doubt it would be back by the time you're there in December.

 

[BrianL]

Okay, long post, but I'm going to break this down academically with all WDW attractions and their DLR counterpart if they have one. It's just for fun, but if anyone finds it useful that's great. I made a few notes where things are not that clear-cut. Enjoy!

MAGIC KINGDOM:
WDW Railroad - Disneyland Railroad (though not even close to the DL Railroad)
Enchanted Tiki Room - Enchanted Tiki Room
Jungle Cruise - Jungle Cruise
Magic Carpets of Aladdin - N/A (but it's a Dumbo clone)
Pirates of the Caribbean - Pirates of the Caribbean
Swiss Family Treehouse - Adventureland Treehouse (not yet reopened)
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Country Bear Jamboree - N/A (existed long ago at DL)
Tom Sawyer's Island - Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer's Island
Hall of Presidents - Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln (actually pretty different though)
Haunted Mansion - Haunted Mansion
Liberty Belle Riverboat - Mark Twain Riverboat/Sailing Ship Columbia
Enchanted Tales with Belle - N/A
it's a small world - It's A Small World
Mad Tea Party - Mad Tea Party
Mickey's Philharmagic - Mickey's Philharmagic
Peter Pan's Flight - Peter Pan's Flight
Prince Charming's Regal Carousel - King Arthur Carousel
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train - N/A
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh - The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid - The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure
Dumbo: The Flying Elephant - Dumbo the Flying Elephant
The Barnstormer Featuring the Great Goofini - Chip n' Dale's Gadget Coaster (very similar but not identical)
Astro Orbiter - Astro Orbiter
Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin - Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters
Carousel of Progress - N/A
Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor - N/A
Space Mountain - Matterhorn Bobsleds (yes, it is significantly more similar to Matterhorn than DL's Space Mountain)
Tomorrowland Speedway - Autopa
Tomorrowland Transit Authority Peoplemover - N/A
TRON Lightcycle/Run - N/A
EPCOT
Journey into Imagination with Figment - N/A
Pixar Short Films Festival - N/A (though this may have run at DLR previously)
Spaceship Earth - N/A
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind - N/A
Mission: SPACE - N/A
Test Track - Radiator Springs Racers (but honestly no comparison!)
Awesome Planet - N/A
Journey of Water - N/A (not yet open)
Living with the Land - N/A
Soarin' Around the World - Soarin' Around the World
The Seas with Nemo and Friends - N/A (one might compare to Submarine Voyage but they are vastly different)
Turtle Talke with Crush - Turtle Talk with Crush
Canada Far & Wide in Circle-Vision 360 - N/A
Frozen Ever After - N/A
Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros - N/A
Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along - N/A
Impressions de France - N/A (they may only be running BATB in the same space now)
Remy's Ratatouille Adventure - N/A
The American Adventure - N/A (though shares some segments tiwh Mr. Lincoln)
Reflections of China - N/A

HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS
Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway - Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway
For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration - N/A
Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular - N/A
Star Tours: The Adventure Continues - Star Tours: The Adventure Continues
Muppet-Vision 3-D - N/A (used to be at DCA though)
Milennium Falcon: Smuggler's Run - Milennium Falcon: Smuggler's Run
Rise of the Resistance - Rise of the Resistance
Alien Swirling Saucers - Mater's Junkyard Jamboree
Slinky Dog Dash - N/A
Toy Story Midway Mania - Toy Story Mania
Walt Disney Presents/One Man's Dream - N/A
Rock'n Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith - N/A (probably mostly comparable to Incredicoaster though)
Lightning McQueen's Racing Academy - N/A
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror - Guardians of the Galaxy Mission Breakout (arguably different enough)
Beauty and the Beast Live - N/A

ANIMAL KINGDOM
It's Tough to be a Bug - N/A (though it used to be at DCA)
Avatar: Flight of Passage - N/A
Na'vi River Journey - N/A
Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail - N/A
Festival of the Lion King - N/A (it is not at all similar to the Tale of the Lion King show at DL)
Kilamanjaro Safaris - N/A
Wilderness Express Train/Conservation Station - N/A
Expedition Everest - N/A
Kali River Rapids - Grizzly River Run (but Kali is much shorter)
Maharaja Jungle Trek - N/A
DINOSAUR - Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye (rides are identical other than theming)
Finding Nemo: The Big Blue and Beyond - N/A
TriceraTop Spin - N/A (but it's a Dumbo clone)

So, Epcot and AK clearly come off at having the most unique and can't miss offerings for a DLR vet. I still say that MK stacks up better than HS, even if the overall theme is so simialar.

 

[brightlined]

I'm taking everything on board, truly I am.

So, I've added that MK day on the Mickey's Party day (for less crowds, hopefully).

As much as I would miss seeing MK at night (since you'll get swept out at 6pm), I like your plan there - you could always MK resort hop that night.

In a vacuum - if you're considering G+, I might consider a full MK day with G+ (with resort hopping / relaxing in the afternoon) instead. Go in the morning for Tron, use the afternoon to stack the evening (I love Jingle Cruise at night, too), and then you can get time to wander around and get pictures in front of the lit-up castle (if that's your thing at all) after the park closes.

But that all might be easier to figure out once they announce the EEH schedule.

I'll admit I'm a night person, too - pretty much all of my holiday WDW trips are designed to maximize nighttime at the parks, since that's (mostly) unique to Standard Time and the holiday decorations are even more beautiful with everything lit up. Since I usually parkhop, I finish as many nights as possible at MK, both since it's usually open later, and since you can basically hang out on Main Street for another hour after close.


If you stick with Sunday for MK, one way to "cheat" a little bit - hop in line at Jingle Cruise or Seven Dwarfs at 5:55pm. (7D would save you the ILL.) The line will be nowhere near as long as the posted wait time (since there won't be any more LLs), and you'll get to ride at night. You'll probably get swept out of the park as soon as you walk out of the ride exit, but you'll get a quick taste of the nighttime scenery.

I didn't realize that the hopper option was on a sliding scale. My last planned trip was a shorter one, and the parkhop option was closer to $60. (And it costs more in December than in September.) I don't blame you one bit.


Btw - random thought, something maybe not as obvious on the radar - at Epcot, I love The Land at night. They've taken to adding Christmas lights throughout the ride in recent years, and it's a lovely (quiet) evening favorite.

 

[Miffy]

Hall of Presidents - Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln (actually pretty different though)

They are completely different. And Mr. Lincoln is far superior.

Also, a big yes to The Land at Epcot at night. It's very cool during the holiday season. And often a very short line as well.

 

[irlandaise]

There's so much to do and enjoy at DAK. It's my favorite park. Gorilla Trail just after the safari has wonderful viewing areas. Also the Maharajah Jungle Trek is another terrific walking tour. Not just the animals, but the architecture is beautiful.

I love just walking around admiring the theming at AK. The Maharajah trail as you mentioned, with its old-India stone buildings with faded paintings. Harambe Village in the African section. And especially Serka Zong, the area around Expedition Everest. AK was designed by Joe Rohde, and you can see his artistic eye and attention to detail everywhere.

 

[BrianL]

Hall of Presidents - Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln (actually pretty different though)

They are completely different. And Mr. Lincoln is far superior.

Also, a big yes to The Land at Epcot at night. It's very cool during the holiday season. And often a very short line as well.

Yeah, but I believe much of Lincoln's speech is the same. They also use some of the Civil War parts from The American Adventure in Great Moments. All of the shows are different, but share some scenes. They are certainly similar enough to consider if one would skip them. Personally, I wouldn't, but I wouldn't skip anything either.

 

[irlandaise]

Okay, long post, but I'm going to break this down academically with all WDW attractions and their DLR counterpart if they have one. It's just for fun, but if anyone finds it useful that's great. I made a few notes where things are not that clear-cut. Enjoy!

Wow, great list, Brian! A few comments...

WDW Railroad - Disneyland Railroad (though not even close to the DL Railroad)

No dinosaurs or Grand Canyon at WDW.

Pirates of the Caribbean - Pirates of the Caribbean

Well, same in name, but the ride at DL is almost twice as long.

it's a small world - It's A Small World

I think they're the same inside, but of course DL has that amazing façade that's even more stunning during the holidays.

Test Track - Radiator Springs Racers (but honestly no comparison!)

Agreed!

DINOSAUR - Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye (rides are identical other than theming)

Are they really? They might use the same technology, but the ride tracks are very different, aren't they?

 

[brightlined]

I think they're the same inside, but of course DL has that amazing façade that's even more stunning during the holidays.

MK doesn't do the holiday overlay. That would make it entirely skippable for me at the holidays.

Are they really? They might use the same technology, but the ride tracks are very different, aren't they?

Weirdly enough, the tracks are almost the same. (There's a section that's slightly different near the mummy chamber.) It's just that the theming and movement is so different - the "overlook" section on Indy is essentially hidden on Dinosaur, for example - it makes them seem totally different.

 

[BrianL]

Wow, great list, Brian! A few comments...


No dinosaurs or Grand Canyon at WDW.


Well, same in name, but the ride at DL is almost twice as long.


I think they're the same inside, but of course DL has that amazing façade that's even more stunning during the holidays.


Agreed!


Are they really? They might use the same technology, but the ride tracks are very different, aren't they?

Well, for the railroad, that's exactly what I meant about no comparison. The DLR is much better! POTC definitely has differences which is why it could be a skip for a DLR vet. Dino and Indy are actually practically identical in track design and vehicle. The only difference is the darkness and programmed motions of the vehicle itself.

 

[thenicefamily]

Wow, Wow, Wow!!! You are all SO thoughtful in your detailed answers. I've just scanned them but will be working my way through the most recent ones in full detail later this evening. I stopped reading at 'Yak & Yeti' card, lol, realizing that all of this input is priceless and I don't want to miss cutting and pasting all the gems into my trip Note. Big hugs to everyone who's taking time with such detailed, helpful, tips and replies.

 

[NVDISFamily]

Rather than park hoppers the best way to get value for seeing just about everything at WDW is to extend your stay to 10 or so nights and then get 8 day tickets as each extra day only costs about 25 ish a day (pricing seems to drop off quick after 5 day tickets) and then it's totally okay to only go a few hours on some days and spend a good chunk of the days at the resort in the pool. We try and do 12 night trips and 8 or so days in the parks with about half of those days only a few hours. I know that's not your scenario, but something to consider....

As someone who visits Disneyland multiple times a year, I agree with the consensus of the posters that MK is by far the place I need to visit the least for WDW trips. Here would be my rank of the parks -

Animal Kingdom - must visit. Yes there is less rides, but it's a magical place and I just love walking around in it. Eat at the Yak and Yeti if you can.

Epcot - #2. Love the different vibe, the food, etc. Had a magical moment sharing the Mariachi Cobre music with my dad in the Mexico pavilion. I had hyped them up as the real deal and my dad wasn't sure. "Like for real we are going to have good Mariachi at Disney..." Reminded him of great times with his family.

HS - this is where our multiple visits to Disneyland hurt the appeal of this park, but it's still a great place. I love the vibe of the Tower ride at HS and it's great to experience it. That walk to the tower is also a great themed area. The Indiana Jones stunt show is worth the time. Toy Story land is a great place to walk through and it's also cool at night.

MK - Sadly the last choice. Disneyland and this park for sure share the same vibe but it's still worth a trip every now and then. Wilderness Lodge is our favorite resort at WDW so being close to MK, makes it worth having a few days there. The castle is impressive vs Cali. Eating in the castle with our kids was a magical treat for our daughter when she achieved a significant milestone we were working hard on. We had a magical visit with Tigger when we were getting ready for our visits to the princesses in the castle. He gave our little one a lot of love for her outfit. I have to ride the people mover and dream of it's return to CA. The fireworks show is awesome and worth it alone. One of our nights we did a quick trip only to get a snack, watch the fireworks, and then do a bunch of walk on rides with super low waits after relaxing in our resort for most of the day. It was worth it.

 

[Philsfan77]

No hoppers - again, spoiled by DL where it's literally a few short hops from one park to another. I really don't fancy spending a lot of time on/waiting for/finding busses or other DW transport options. Don't plan to do Genie+ either. Unlike DL, where we are on a morning mission to get all faves done, and we do, before 10:00a.m. this trip will be more about R&R, Disney-style. Read: sleeping in! Will be getting ILL for a few things (FOP, Rise) not into coasters/drop rides in any way. Daughter will no doubt single-rider some coasters/thrill rides and ILL/VQ others though.

100% going to enjoy the rides to/from DS during our POFQ stay - it's that type of thing I'm really looking forward to! Unique to WDW.

p.s. We are staying at AKL (i.e. Deluxe) for 3 nights and, hopefully, there will be Extended Evening Hours at at least one park in that time. Maybe AK, rumours have it. So, we'll get that, maybe, plus the After Hours/Jollywood experience as well. Should get a decent number of must-do rides in with just those two things. Fingers crossed.

Hi, This question was just asked on a WDW FB forum and it's exactly what I want to know. I've been planning our first WDW holiday. Background: My adult daughter, her friend, and I are the 'Disneyland Princesses'. We do a sort-of annual (not every year but close) trip to DL. LOVE IT! Husband has come a couple of times, pre-girly/princess group, but he's had his fill of Disney.

SO, I'm treating this upcoming 6-night DW trip as a land-based "cruise" - i.e. we can enjoy multiple "stops/resorts", just chill at our home resort (we're splitting stay between POFQ and AKL),we can take in shows/music at DS/Epcot/Resort and I can sneak in some Disney for my daughter and myself with our 5-day Park tickets. I keep changing my mind about what to skip, if anything. I'm leaning towards not doing MK - heresy I know! - because I'm pretty sure I'll just keep comparing to DL and will come up disappointed. Plan to do Epcot once, maybe twice - because I feel DH will enjoy it and happy hubby happy Disney trip. Also planning to do AK once, maybe twice - again, because completely different to DL and DH will enjoy. Going to HS Jollywood Nights - which will give me my 'Caliifornia Adventure' and Galaxy's Edge fix.

I'd really appreciate feedback from those to go to both WDW and DL. If you were going to World but planned on skipping a Park, which one would you drop? And, if you were going to visit one park multiple times, which one would you choose?

Reminder - this is an adult trip. YMMV in choice if you were doing a trip with children. I know mine would.

Question - When is your trip?

Right now it sounds like you're doing:

Epcot X2
AK X2
HS X1 and then Jollywood Nights add on ticket another night? Maybe skip Jollywood Nights and do the Magic Kingdom Christmas party in that case?

MK at Christmas time is worth it in my opinion...seeing the snow falling on main street for the Christmas party is awesome. I also feel there is enough/more variation at MK than HS. I also feel for what you are describing (relaxing disney style) MK is the better play overall...Parades, Cavalcades, Stage Shows, Country Bear Jamboree (still have it on East Coast), Hall of Presidents, Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor...People Mover, Tron is a ride that is unique to the East Coast as of right now for your Daughter to try. While a lot of the rides are similar, there is at least some variation to them to have the debate of which is better, where at HS they are mostly carbon copies, with your Guardians being superior to our TOT in my opinion.

 

[HerzerHerrick]

I go to Disney World several times a year. If it is an adult trip the park I skip is magic Kingdom(nobody hurt me please). I do love me some Tron, and Big thunder, but I feel like this is a must do with Kids, not so much with adults. If you have a lot of younger children I feel like Animal kingdom might be the one to skip( although it has some of the best theming in my opinion.) It however has Everest and Avatar as its top draws where you might run into height limit problems. I would almost argue for Hollywood studios if they aren't Star Wars fans(my kids and I are so it doesn't apply). It depends on what your family likes mostly..

 

[thenicefamily]

@Philsfan77

We're going to be at WDW for 7 nights, December 14th-22nd. 4 at POFQ + 3 at AKL.

Yes, 2x Epcot, 2x Animal Kingdom. Plus HS Jollywood Nights 4-hours - 100% good with the carbon copies because Soarin' and Rise are my favourite, ever, Disney rides. My husband's never seen Galaxy's edge nor experienced Rise so I'm really excited about Jollywood for that. And for cocktails and glam!

The reason I chose Jollywood v Mickey's Christmas was two-fold. One - I didn't see us (husband especially) being happy for a full HS day. Two - I went to DL's Merriest Nights and, well, I was just so disappointed. I know, I know, MK does it MUCH better but, well, DLs version influenced my decision, rightly or wrongly.

Based on excellent points made here, including yours, I've decided to do a short MK day on Sunday 17th because that's a Mickey Christmas Party day so I'm hoping for lower crowds. Not planning on rope-dropping / may get Genie+ and start stacking at 7:00 and will definitely get ILL (and/or VQ?) for Tron for my daughter. So, we will get some of the MK Christmas magic - albeit not the snow. Which I'm fine with as we head to Toronto after WDW and the longer I can put off dealing with snow, the better IMO .

 

[gardenrooms]

I wouldn't skip any parks but I would get a Park Hopper so you can experience the best of all the parks without being stuck in one park all day. (We very rarely stay in one park all day if for no other reason than to avoid the worst crowds.) As far as attractions go, I am 74, so nostalgia enters onto some of my preferences.

MK is probably my least favorite park (but I really love ALL the parks), but I love the queue at Peter Pan and 7 Dwarves is very fun. (Have been on Tron once, don't t need to ever go on that again - nothing special, Hagrid's at Universal is waaaay better). We also think their Big Thunder is better than ours, both the queue and the ride. Carousel of Progress also holds a special place in our hearts (although we got stuck in it during a rainstorm once and it did get a bit tired lol). And it is fun to eat in the Castle since we can't do that at DL or to eat in Beast's Castle, though both are pricey and time consuming.

In AK, I wouldn't want to miss Kilimanjaro Safaris (I try to do it once early morning, once late afternoon, to see different animals) and we all LOVE the Festival of the Lion King. Avatar is quite something to see and most people love Pandora, but I just go on it because the grandkids love it. I also enjoy Everest. I suppose I could spend less time there than in other parks if I had to.

Epcot is my favorite park. I love getting to interact with CM's from other countries (which you can also do at AKL at times). I really think Ratatouille is cute (and I love Gran Fiesta/3 Caballeros in Mexico though that will be gone soon), Frozen is fun, as is Nemo, and we really liked the new Guardians Cosmic Rewind ride - it's like Space Mountain on steroids. Plus we love the old stand-bys Spaceship Earth and Living With the Land. Journey Into the Imagination got mixed reviews from our group - it started to grow on some of us, but we loved the shorts that were showing near there - plus the new things that will be opening up look exciting. And there are a lot of fun themed places to eat in both halves of the park.

And last, Hollywood Studios - my favorite ride in all of WDW I think is Tower of Terror and I know my age has a lot to do with that, but if you are a Twilight Zone fan this is not to be missed. It is far better than ours at DLR ever was; you get to ride "through" the introduction. But here again, I think I could spend less time there if I had to. Our Mickey and Minnie's Railway is better - better queue and supposedly we have an extra scene - and while Rock 'N Roller Coaster is fun, it is not a "must do" for me. I do like the Walt Disney walk-through though and do it every couple of trips. A lot of other things there are duplications. Oh but they do have Fantasmic! and with the stadium seating it is more comfortable than ours.

And I would want to see all the parks at night with their Holiday decorations! So - I wouldn't skip any, but I wouldn't commit to a whole day in some if I had limited time. In terms of time, I would probably spend the most at Epcot, then MK (how odd - even though it's my least favorite), then AK, and last HS.

Plus I hope you have time to eat at AKL - my absolute favorite restaurant in all of WDW is Boma, and the bread service from Sanaa is fun (got it "to go" one night - people enjoy the view there during the day, but we never leave the parks to eat during the day). And they have a great bar (where I got the bread service) and a great bartender. Whatever you decide, have a wonderful time! We love AKL - I enjoy my early morning coffee with the giraffes right outside my balcony. It is a lovely place to stay. We still have not gotten to go to WDW during the holidays!

Sorry to go on and on, but I love all things Disney, so I can't help myself.