Hollywood studios or animal kingdom?

[Runninggirl524]

We have a 4 year old and one year old. Which park is better for that age group, Hollywood Studios or Animal Kingdom ? Mostly focused on the 4 year old (44 inches tall). Thanks!

 

[MSSANDRA]

I think it is a real toss up. One of mine preferred AK and one HS when they were really little. At HS you have play house disney, several good shows, and TSM. There are other things they may or may not like. Mine would not do TOT at that age and we are not big fans of the car stunt show. We do love fantasmic. AK has two FANTASTIC shows, the safari, and lots of more open ended activities like the trails and boneyard. My little ones would not do EE and Dinosaur (in my opinion) is too scary for little ones. They are both good for little ones but I really like AK.

 

[Jeff_G]

My vote would be Animal Kingdom, I just love the theming there. At that age group I think they would love seeing all the different animals plus the shows.

 

[DopeyDame]

For my son, it was Animal Kingdom hands down. He loved AK. So much to do, we easily could have spent two days there. There aren't as many "rides" but as a PP said, many more open ended/exploratory activites that are great for the littles.
We spend about 3 hours in HS and left. It was a miserable failure. We walked out of Disney Junior, walked out of Muppets, couldn't get a reasonable fast pass for TSMM. He did like lights motor action, but that was about it. We'll go back on this upcoming trip for Star Tours and TSMM, but then leave for another park for most of the day.

ETA: My son is shorter than yours, so he couldn't ride ToT. I don't think that makes a big difference though

 

[MandiC]

I agree, just depends on the little one. If they are big Disney Jr. fans, probably Hollywood Studios. There's really only one *ride* though at HS that he'd be able to ride. Pretty sure, Tower of Terror and Rockin Rollercoaster were 48 if I remember right. Othrewise it's a lot of shows. There are more rides at Animal Kingdom, and more to look at just walking around IMO. I enjoyed both, but probably enjoyed AK more than HS. It was really hard to time out and plan HS with all the show times.

 

[whositsandwhatsits]

I agree with all the pps. Animal Kingdom has so much to do for the children. They can earn their wilderness explorer badges and go to conservation station. I LOVE the Lion King show. While there are not many rides per se, the animals alone can keep them busy for hours. We find that HS is a bit more tough and we spend a lot of time hurry up and waiting. I just don't feel like there is enough to keep the little guys entertained and as a pp said, trying to time the shows, etc can be difficult; esp around naps.

Now, having said that, if you are staying on property, there is a Disney Junior dance party during the evening EMHs. We usually go to HS on that day for the party and then book lunch at Hollywood and Vine so that the kids get their fill of Disney Junior.

 

[Feberin]

My kids are also 1 and 4. For them it was definitely Hollywood Studios. My son loved Toy Mania and meeting Buzz and Woody together was definitely a highlight of our trip. The Disney Jr show was his favorite show and I think he would have loved to see it multiple times if we'd had the time. Also meeting the Cars characters was another favorite for both my children. Both kids LOVED the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground, which I found a better level overall for my daughter then the boneyard playground. We also were there for Star Wars weekend so we had did some things connected with that event.
At Animal Kingdom we enjoyed the Safari and the boneyard playground. My son refused to ride the Triceratops Spin and while we did enjoy meeting Donald and Daisy that could have happened at other parks. We were there for half a day and actually left earlier then we'd planned. Of course we did skip the Planet Watch because my son is terrified of petting zoos (bad experience with a goat) and we didn't do the trails because it was hot and the idea of walking around for awhile with my daughter strapped to my back wasn't appealing. We also skipped Dinosaur because I thought my son would be too scared and my husband and I enjoyed Everest but my kids were too short. I also heard that the It's Tough to be a Bug show is frightening for some children.

 

[disnerella]

Having done both multiple times, I guess I would vote for Animal Kingdom. Even though our young kids love HS (especially Star Wars and all the Disney Junior characters) they are, at this point, still more enamored with Animal Kingdom because of the animals.

 

[Kristina4109]

Tough choice.

If he/she loves Disney Jr., the Pixar characters, the Little Mermaid, and Beauty and the Beast = Studios.

If he/she loves animals of all kinds = AK.