Hollywood Studios vs. Animal Kingdom

[sthrnbelle343]

We are doing three days in parks, one resting/downtown Disney, and one day at SeaWorld. Two of the Three Days in Disney will be Magic Kingdom since there is just so much we want to do there. What would you recommend for 4 and 6 year old kiddos HS or AK? Pros and Cons please? My kids enjoy rides but their day doesn't revolve around them, they enjoy all kinds of experiences.

 

[cattywampus]

AK.

We were disappointed in HS and left after half a day. That being said, we are DLR vets, so can do Star Tours, Tower of Terror, Midway Mania and California Screaming (somewhat equal to RnR) at home. If these attractions are important to you (which they probably aren't, given the age of your kids), you may prefer HS to AK.

We were surprised we liked AK so much. The theming is great!

 

[prestonbunch]

We have only been to Disney once, so we are by no means experts. But when we went my kids were 4, 5 and 7. We had planned a whole day at each theme park and an extra day at Magic Kingdom. Well, the day we arrived, we got there just after lunch and decided to go to Hollywood Studios that afternoon. We discovered our kids weren't that interested in it. They didn't know much about Indiana Jones, Star Wars, etc. We pretty much played at Honey I Shrunk the Kids for a bit and went to the Little Mermaid and that was it. So we scrapped the plans to spend a day there and ended up spending a third day at Magic Kingdom because that's where they really wanted to be.

We spent an entire day at Animal Kingdom and my kids really enjoyed it. My oldest daughter is really into animals, though, so your results may vary. We ate at Rainforest Cafe and they thought it was awesome. They also liked visiting the conservation place that you get to by train. One of the staff there spent a good amount of time talking to my oldest daughter about being a vet at Disney.

 

[msmama]

Just wondering why you aren't considering Epcot? That's where I would go and where my 6 year are old son would choose to go (and would have since he was little).

 

[SweetMissy]

AK is the park I would choose. If your kids like animals, then do AK. HS is ok...there's TSM, Star Tours, TOT and RNR (not sure if your kids would ride). IMO, there's more for little ones at AK.

 

[jll2800]

We just came back from our first disney trip with kids (5yo and 8mo old), and we skipped HS to spend an extra half day at MK. (So we spent 1 full + 2 half days at MK, 1 half day at AK, and 1 half day at EP.) My 5 yo really liked AK. He enjoys animals and liked walking the trails there. Honestly I wish we had more time at AK, but my kids were sick on the trip and we really only did half days most days so as to give them more rest time in the hotel. We rode the handful of rides there, walked the Pangani trail, and saw Finding Nemo. I would have liked to see the other trails and some more shows, but it just wasn't in the cards this trip.

I know DS would have loved the Star Wars and Disney Jr shows at HS (he loves Jake), but that would probably have been it, and it didn't seem like a good use of our time just for those few things.

 

[sthrnbelle343]

Thanks for weighing in. A friend of mine who's son has similar interests to mine was the one to initially suggest HS over Animal Kingdom she said her 6yo was bored there but he is much more into rides and fast paced things where mine is into any kind of new experience and doesn't need constant action. My 6yo is more like a 10-12 yo and loves Star Wars and Indiana Jones so that was one of the reasons that I thought HS might be the way to go. My daughter is all about the princesses etc... at Magic Kingdom so I thought HS might be a nice day to focus on my son since she is also pretty laid back and would not be bothered by the lack of things specifically for her. Still torn, I'm sure that Animal Kingdom is visually stunning and overall a lot of fun. Other than the Safari tour, what are the must do's at Animal Kingdom?

 

[sthrnbelle343]

Oh, and as for Epcot I have been to Disney and Epcot twice and I do love it. But since the kids are rather young and we have limited days in the parks I thought it best to focus on some slightly more child oriented things. My oldest would love it and while the youngest would be happy to go along for the ride, I just feel like the other parks hold more for them at this stage. I'm sure this is the first of many trips and we'll get there eventually.

 

[old lady]

Animal kingdom since small children love animals depending on your children.

 

[720L]

Kilimanjaro Safari ride,Triceratop Spin are rides they should like for sure. Because of their ages,not sure about Dinosaur ( great ride but very intense),Primevil Whirl,Expedition Everest & Kali River all have height requirements. The shows are all great. Rafikis Planet Watch my kids always love. The walking trails are great. Animal Kingdom is more of a learning experience than thrills. We love it. My son loved the Boneyard when he was younger.

 

[delilah]

Of all the parks, Hollywood Studios is the one I am perfectly fine with skipping, and even more so with the FP+ system. On the other hand, we have DVC, and so we go frequently and usually for about 7 days. I go to AK at least two separate days, because I go one day to bring my SLR to take pictures of the animals, and a different day to ride the rides without the camera. I usually go on the safari twice, and try to ride on opposite sides of the car different times. I just love AK
At Rafiki's Planet watch, they have lots of interesting activities for kids that my son enjoyed when he was in the 5-10 range. There is a big window where you can observe surgery and exams on the animals, and there is a cast member there explaining what is going on, and to answer questions. There is a petting area, too, which is really about the same as at any other zoo with a petting area.

 

[720L]

At Epcot you can do the Kidcot fun stops in each country. They can ride Spaceship Earth,Journey into Imagination, Ellens Energy Adventure,Soarin,Nemo,the Mexico ride,Living with the Land,Mission Space,Test Track(height requirement).

 

[Feberin]

Since you mentioned your son loving Star Wars and Indiana Jones then I would definitely recommend Hollywood Studios. My kids were 4 and nearly 2 for our trip last May and they loved Hollywood Studios. My son was really into Toy Story so he loved Toy Story Mania and meeting Buzz and Woody. He also really liked the Disney Jr. show. The only show my daughter would sit through was the Indiana Jones one, which we went to more for us then them. I believe they're getting rid of that one soon.
Also your son might really enjoy doing Jedi Training. We skipped that since my son was just at the youngest age for it and he typically gets nervous if he's the center of attention. Also when are you going? If you're going during Star Wars Weekends you could do a Star Wars character meal. We did the one at Hollywood and Vine with Disney characters as Star Wars characters and the kids loved it!
My kids weren't big fans of Animal Kingdom. They're not huge animal fans and while they enjoyed the Safari enough they weren't interested in too much else. We skipped the petting zoo portion though because my son is scared of them. We spent half a day at Animal Kingdom and I think the highlight of the day for my kids was that we randomly found a meet and greet for Donald and Daisy.

 

[tink9702]

I'd choose AK over HS personally. Here is what my kids enjoyed when we were there in November. DS was about 5 1/2 and DD was almost 4 so very similar ages to your kids.

AK - Safari, Kali River Rapids, Lion King show, Finding Nemo show, animal trails, Boneyard playground, Expedition Everest (for your 6 year old, 4 year old will be too short most likely), meeting Mickey & Minnie

HS - Disney Jr. show, Star Tours, Lights Motor Action show, Meet Jake, Sofia & Monster's Inc, Indiana Jones show, Toy Story Mania

I think either way you choose your kids will be happy. it's too bad you can't fit in another day and go to both!!!!

 

[mm1971]

We are doing three days in parks, one resting/downtown Disney, and one day at SeaWorld. Two of the Three Days in Disney will be Magic Kingdom since there is just so much we want to do there. What would you recommend for 4 and 6 year old kiddos HS or AK? Pros and Cons please? My kids enjoy rides but their day doesn't revolve around them, they enjoy all kinds of experiences.

This has been a polarizing question for a while now. To be honest, we can give you our opinions all day and what it really comes down to is your specific family.

For us, it is AK. My children are not big ride kids so at HS we really only have a few option:

TSMM
Rock-n-Roller Coaster (DS only)
Muppets
Indiana Jones
Bug Play Area
Star Tours
-- As they are getting older, they do not even ask to go to HS. I know a lot of people love it, just not enough for the kids to get excited over.

For AK, there are so many more things my kids enjoyed (again, some they do not do now that they are older):

Safari
Kali River Rapids
Expedition Everest (DW and I only)
Dinosaur
Lion King Show
Dinosaur Dig play area (too old now, but would easily spend an hour or more.
Nature/Animal trails - Always do on every trip and still a favorite for us.
We have done the Nemo show and it's pretty good.

We prefer AK, and with the Avatar area in progress and plans to be open at night do not see that changing. Of course if they ever update/add at HS it could change. For now, just not enough for our family. We do park hop and hit a few of the favorites at HS if we have time though.

 

[DopeyDame]

Of those two choices, Animal Kingdom, hands down.

Things my kids love in AK:
Safari
Meandering along the trail after the safari
Playing on the drums and dancing with the harambe village performers
Lion King show
Train to Rafikis Planet Watch
Rafikis Planet Watch and affection section
All the little animal spots around the tree of life
Dino dig area - both the playground and the actual dig zone
Nemo show
Tiger trail (forget the name of it)
watching the crazy swinging monkeys
Character meal at Tusker House

Also, be sure to get the Explorer Scout handbook. It's a fantastic way to see the parks with little kids and make sure you actually appreciate some of the little things instead of just bouncing from attraction to attraction.

Things my kids like in HS:
Toy Story Mania
Star Tours
That's it.


I also wouldn't write off Epcot, though. My kids love epcot at 2 and 5 we can easily spend a whole day there and still have more they'd want to do.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

We are huge animal lovers. We have annual passes to our local zoos, stop at the Atlanta zoo to visit the pandas on our way to wdw, and generally enjoy all things animal. With that in mind, we expected to love animal kingdom. The reality fell flat.
The safari was fun, and we really enjoyed the finding Nemo and lion king shows, but beyond that nothing sticks out in my mind.

I want into Hollywood Studios expecting to be bored and leave early. We were really only there for the frozen stuff. Turns out, HS is our 2nd favorite park! All 3 of us loves the shows and the great movie ride. Fantastic was the best night time show of the trip. We were so bummed out to leave HS, since we only scheduled one HS day. We could easily spend 2 days there and not get bored.

Given the choice, we would pick HS any day!

 

[MandiC]

Would your kids enjoy sitting through shows?
We didn't really enjoy HS to be honest. If we had the choice between HS or AK we would for sure chose AK. If you added in Epcot that would definitely be our choice. My girls loved Soarin, Test Track and the aquariums in The Seas building, not to mention the kitcot stations, Mexico ride and all the princesses throughout the World Showcase. They also have a game kids can play throughout Epcot with cell phones. We didn't do it because we just didn't have time but it looks fun.