four parks, two small kids, five days

[mastrolang]

We have two kids - ages five and eight and have been to wdw once with both, twice with the oldest. We're planning another trip and we've got five days to get in four parks. I've heard you need two days to truly do EPCOT, but then I've also heard EPCOT is not the most kid-friendly park (which I'm not sure I agree with). Can we do MK in one day? Can we do HS in half a day? How to do we divvy up the five days???

 

[mesaboy2]

We have two kids - ages five and eight and have been to wdw once with both, twice with the oldest. We're planning another trip and we've got five days to get in four parks. I've heard you need two days to truly do EPCOT, but then I've also heard EPCOT is not the most kid-friendly park (which I'm not sure I agree with). Can we do MK in one day? Can we do HS in half a day? How to do we divvy up the five days???

I think a common suggestion would be 2 days MK, 1 day at each of the others.

 

[Luvchefmic]

We have two kids - ages five and eight and have been to wdw once with both, twice with the oldest. We're planning another trip and we've got five days to get in four parks. I've heard you need two days to truly do EPCOT, but then I've also heard EPCOT is not the most kid-friendly park (which I'm not sure I agree with). Can we do MK in one day? Can we do HS in half a day? How to do we divvy up the five days???

First welcome to the Dis You will get a lot of opinions and none of them will be exactly for you and your family Perfect example to me AK is a two day park, others will say 1/2 day or skip it entirely Personally I think Epcot is kid friendly all depends on what your kids like MK in one day? I guess it's possible but I would give it two See what I mean ?


Edited to say:
AND since mesaboy2 was posting at the exact same time and HE says MK two days I would definitely follow that advice ( stick around the boards long enough you find out who knows what they're talking about )

 

[GWhitten98]

Our last trip was 5 1/2 days. We did 2 full days @ MK (plus MVMCP), 1@AK, 1@HS, 1@Epcot. Mine love star wars, Pixar and Disney Jr so 1/2 day at HS would not work for us; we did a full day from park open to close and still didn't see/do it all. I think you could do 1/2 day at AK unless your kids are just animal crazy. We really didn't spend much time at Epcot.. we did an prepark TS, toured FW till aroun noon and the spent the afternoon back at the resort; returning for dinner and WS walk through and Illuminations... I think we missed a lot there too.

If you have been before and expect to go again soon I might even skip AK and 1 1/2 days each at HS and Epcot and 2 full days at MK.

 

[ksrogers]

We have the same situation and our kids are almost the same age and we have decided to do 3 days at MK and 1 day at AK and HS because my daughters like to do MG so I am assuming that will take up one of our MK days. Just my opinion!!

 

[hakepb]

Ideally your 5th day is a Wild Card day...whatever park your family liked the best, or had the most remaining "want to's"

Other than the FP+ TT and Soarin tiered conflict I'm not sure how EPCOT is more 2 day than other parks.

A dinner in EPCOT after the DAK day would be a Nice way to get more EPCOT time in. (EPCOT has a ton of dining options)

 

[mastrolang]

Our original plan was to do a second "bonus day" at MK and do the Family Magic Tour, but I'm not sure we need a full second day there - we don't need extra time for character experiences this time around, we got TONS last time.

Our kids love Star Wars and Pixar too, but since they're still little and they're kinda sensitive to even 3D movies, we think we can get HS in in half a day.

I'm always bummed about how overlooked WS is and would love to get some quality time in there. That's kinda why I thought maybe we'd give EPCOT a second day, but now I'm more confused than ever! oof....

OH! Do we NEED to do Downtown Disney?

 

[lindaprvs]

We are in a very similar boat.
Our last (and first trip with kids) Was JUST 2 days at MK. And I felt like we could have done a 3rd. Our kids loved it so much!!
We have 5 park day tickets. Or initial plan is to visit all parks 1x and leave our 5th day as a 'return' visit. . my guess is MK knowing how much my kids love it.

I have never personally been to AK so I am dying to go and my kids LOOOVE animals so we are definitely checking it out.
I'm not a big personal fan of epcot, but we are possibly gonna check it out.
We are doing HWS Because our kids looove disney jr and pixar we have dinning ressies there at hollywood and vine.

so I am interested to see everyone's responses. . . . .

 

[Simba07]

If your kids want to do lots of characters or if you are going to take breaks, you need two days at MK. We saw most of it with our DD6 in one long day, but next time, when I'm traveling with my nieces who can't do as long days, need breaks (inside or outside the park), want to see the parade, won't necessarily be at the gate before rope drop, etc., I'm actually considering 3 days at MK.

You can do all the rides in EPCOT in one day, but you won't have much time to savor. There are activities at Innoventions. There are Kidcot stations and nooks and crannies in World Showcase. There is spending extra time watching the fish in Living Seas. You'd be limited on all these and more. But there are things to slow down and savor at all the parks. Wandering around admiring the castle, browsing shops, and doing Sorcerers of MK in MK. Spending time watching the animals on the trails or doing the wilderness stamps at AK. Watching the shows at DHS.

I'm struggling with how to divide our days too. But I think it comes down to which park you want to relax in the most. For us, it would be MK b/c that is where the magic is for our family. But I think an argument can be made for any of them.

 

[ZoZo]

OH! Do we NEED to do Downtown Disney?

I would skip Downtown Disney since you're pressed for time. DTD is fun if you have a longer trip, but it's really just shopping and restaurants. Easily skippable.

I second the idea that others have had: Plan one day for each of the four main parks, then use the fifth day to repeat the park you liked the most or ran out of time seeing. You'll get tons of opinions of "one day here, two days there" that are conflicting. Only you will know which park sparks your family's interest the most, and it would be a shame to lock yourself into a plan only to wish you'd done something different. You don't need to decide now!

 

[mastrolang]

I like the idea of keeping the fifth day open but what about fast pass and dining reservations? we just fly by the seat of our pants? I'm a PLANNER! LOL!!!

 

[Dduckmom]

We went to WDW with our kids when they were 4 & 6 yrs and then again when they were 6 & 8 yrs. So, close to your kids' ages. We had 5 day passes both trips. We ended up using 2 days at MK and one day each at the other parks. My girls actually love Epcot. We went to WDW for only 2 days in November to do MVMCP. We only had one extra day in WDW and they both chose Epcot. So, you never know!!
I like the idea of leaving the 5th day open as well. It will make the kids feel like they are helping with the vacation decisions.
I understand completely about the planning. I am an uber planner. But, take that as the day you do counter service (if you end up in Epcot, they have some fabulous CS) and don't have any FP planned. I know it's scary!
No matter what you decide, you will have a great time.

 

[itchin2go]

My daughter was age 5 on our first trip.

Intending to visit all 4 parks, I followed guidebook wisdom and went to Epcot the first day. The rationale was that once kids see MK, everything else is a bit of a letdown, so build up to that.

She loved Epcot. We loved it too - so much so that we chucked our plans and went back to Epcot the next day.

Long story short, we only made it to Epcot and MK that first trip.

To this day, Epcot is our daughter's favorite park.

Every family will be different.

That said, I would recommend 2 days at MK for sure. There are just SO many rides in that park. It's difficult to do in just one day.

I also like to recommend Epcot for a first day park. Part of it is what I said before, and part of it is that it is easier to tackle - less rides, more time to "smell the roses" so to speak.

All these years later, we like DHS ok, and just don't see much appeal to AK.

Hope this helps. My best advice is to plan, plan, plan, but always be willing to play it by ear.

 

[Jfsag123]

We did 5 park days on our first trip, 2 at MK and 1 at each of the other parks. We discovered we needed more time at MK and Epcot and less at AK, so this time we are planning for 2.5 days at MK, 1.5 at Epcot, and one at HS, skipping AK entirely. However, we are also considering adding an extra day onto our tickets and going to AK for a bit on our arrival day, since we will be in by mid-afternoon. Still leaning toward using it as a resort day, though.

 

[GillianP1301]

Assuming hoppers are an option you haven't ruled out and since you seem to be struggling the most with adding the 2nd day to either MK or EP, how about 1 1/2 days at each?

As for DTD, I don't consider it a must do with my DS. He likes the Lego store and enjoyed eating at T-Rex, but if I had only 5 days (or trips are usually 7 or 8 park days), I would probably give it a pass. If you can fit it in on your arrival, that may be a good option for your first night dinner.

 

[amber_cntrygrl]

It's hard to say. Like others have said, every family is different.
We plan on 3 days at MK, 2 days at AK, 1 1/2 days at HS, and 1 1/2 days at EPCOT our next trip. Most people think AK is a half day park, but we LOVE it!!
I hate that I'm not much help! Good luck on your decision! Y'all will have a blast no matter what you decide to do!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[Hibernians]

If its in your budget, you should consider park hoppers - we have always done them and as a result, we have always gone to 1, 2 or even 3 parks in one day.

Epcot world showcase is fun at night time; not sure if they still have the face mask that the kids color and get stamped at each country, i think they called it FunCot or Kidcot. We also enjoyed having an adult beverage while catching some great music in Canada, UK and American Pavillion among others. We also found that it can be extremely uncomfortable walking around world showcase during the hot, sunny day; another reason to save it for the night.

 

[ariane37]

We have two kids - ages five and eight and have been to wdw once with both, twice with the oldest. We're planning another trip and we've got five days to get in four parks. I've heard you need two days to truly do EPCOT, but then I've also heard EPCOT is not the most kid-friendly park (which I'm not sure I agree with). Can we do MK in one day? Can we do HS in half a day? How to do we divvy up the five days???

Just my 2 cents - another vote for doing all 4 parks and saving the 5th day for whichever one you feel you need more time in. Since you aren't sure how much your kids will enjoy each one, it would be a shame to cut your day short somewhere they loved being! As for your FP's on the 5th day, you can always make them the night before when you decide where you're going........are you going at a very busy time? If not, there's a fairly decent chance something good will be left, and that goes for getting a TS reservation, too!

 

[lroger01]

Another vote for keeping the 5th day open.

As for FP+ for that day, get them for MK. Dwarfs Mine Train and Anna and Elsa are the hottest FP's in the "World" so lock those in if you want to do them twice. It will be easier to cancel those and get something useful last minute at the other parks.

As for ADR's make it a counter-service only day to keep the day as flexible as possible.