How long should be allowed for each park?

[ssatterly]

What i am asking is how long should I allow to see most if not all of each park. Like should I take 2 days for MK.... So how many days for each park... Thanks For you help!

Like:

MK 2days?
MGM 1 Day?
Epcot 1 Day?
AK 1 Day?
DTD 1day? (including DQ)
TL 1/2 day?
BB 1/2 day?

My kids want to play mini golf too and some other receration as well... I am trying to decide how long to make our trip. It is our 1st trip there and we are celebration my 2 childrens b-days while we are there. Any help will be great! Thanks...
And so on....

 

[ssatterly]

Any suggestions? Please help..... I am wanting to book resort soon and need to know about how long I sould book it for. Thanks Susie

 

[Terk-1]

I find I can do MGM in a day & Animal Kingdom in a day. 3 days for the Magic Kingdom & 3 days for EPCOT.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Well...

My honest opinion is that you can not possibly do it all unless you are planning to stay for about a year!

However, you can do the highlights in one trip, but it depends on a few factors :

When are you planning on going? There are great differences in wait times between say, March and September, or July and January.
I'd plan to go during a non peak time. Check the web site www.wdwig.com for info on when peak times are. Generally speaking, Jan - Early Feb , The week after Thanksgiving through the first 2 weeks of Dec, and late August through Sept are the least crowded. Holidays, and March are the most crowded. The rest of the time is average attendance.

What kind of budget do you have? Room rates change depending on season? Are you going for more than 9 days? If so, it may be worth it to get an Annual Pass to take advantage of annual pass room rates. You can book now and check www.mousesavers.com and the resorts board here to see when the AP rates come out. You can also sometimes get discounts with AAA. I'd say go for as long as your budget will allow.

How old are your kids? The parks will appeal in different ways to different ages.

I would say during an average time of year, MK will take 2-3 days, AK will take 1 to 1.5 days if you want to do everything, Epcot will vary depending on your kids ages, but allow at least 2 days, MGM will also vary depending on kids ages but allow 1 to 1.5 days.

DTD is comprised of shopping, nightlife and Disney Quest. I've never been to DQ but from what I hear, it again varies depending on age. I'd say at least 1/2 a day. Shopping might be another 1/2 a day. The water parks, you might want a day at each or 1/2 a day.
Do you plan to take a day at the resort to resort hop or sit out by the pool?

Again, this is if you want to hit all the major attractions and not feel rushed. There is so much atmosphere to take in. It makes me sad when I see first time visitors rushing around with maps and checklists , not taking the time to just sit and look at the castle while enjoying a Mickey bar. I've heard people say they can "do AK and MGM" in 1/2 a day and I have no idea how they do it? They must be missing a lot.

Another good tip is to always have a day when nothing is planned. This way, if rain or something ruins plans for one day, you can readjust quickly and just do those plans on the "free" day.

Remember, if you don't get to it all on this trip, you will be going back. WDW will be there for a long time to come.

 

[beattyfamily]

This is a tough one. It's really hard to do and see everything on your first triip, unless you go for at least 7 days...

This is a rough estimate of what we've done in the past:

MK - one whole day and maybe 2 or 3 halfs...it's our favorite.

MGM - one whole day and then maybe a half if we missed any of the shows or the parade...it's hard to fit in all the shows and then the rides and parade.

Epcot - at least a day and a half. One day for Future World and one for World Showcase.

AK - one day.

Then if you want to fit in other things like the water parks and DQ and mini golf you'll have to add time to your trip for that.

If you want to try and cover everything you mentioned in one trip, you need at the very least 7 days...10 would be great.

Good luck!

 

[4greatboys]

Really it varies by which parks your family enjoys. We love MK and MGM so we spend more time there--atleast 2 days for each. We like AK but only do a few things there--takes us about 3/4 day and Epcot is usually about 1/2 to 3/4 days as we only do afew things there as well. My older boys go to DQ pretty much every night and I must make 1 shopping trip to DD for about 4 hours.
When we do the water parks we are there pretty much all day.

 

[Bill From PA]

Our last 4 or 5 trips have all had 7 park days and next Jan we're doing 9 so what works for us may not be possible for a shorter trip. We stay at a WDW resort and always take advantage of EE. Usually, crowds aren't too bad until around 1 pm or so, at which time we hop to Epcot and finish the day there. We've found that we can see/do most of the top attractions in any park from early entry time 'til 1 pm. Epcot is huge and can take crowds without feeling crowded. With a 7Day Hopper + pass we get 2 cracks each at AK, MK and MGM. FastPass allows us to get in the big ticket rides at FW without getting caught up in lines. We usually do a pool day or go to IOA/Universal as a break from Disney. I don't think we've ever spent a whole dat at one park. Past a certain time, the waits just get prohibitive.

Bill From PA

 

[madalex]

In addition to points others have made, you need to decide how you plan to visit the parks. Will you get there at 9 in the morning and stay until closing, or will you spend a few hours in the morning/early afternoon, take an afternoon break and then head back out in the evening?

We always pursue the latter course, as it gives the kids some time to rest, relax and enjoy the pool before heading back out for the evening (and even then, we often only try to catch a fireworks show in the evening and don't try to do a lot more rides).

If you plan to tour the parks in this more leisurely fashion, I would say at least 2 days for MGM and AK, at least 3 days for Epcot and at least 4 days for MK (if you really want to do it all, add one day to each of those). This does not even take into account the waterparks (although those could be done during an afternoon, instead of time at a resort pool).

 

[TINK61]

I always allow one full day for each park, than a half for a water park and/or Disney Quest. If there is any time left, then you can go back and catch what you missed in each park in about a half day. If not, then you'll just have plan to see it on your next trip.

 

[Ilovestitch]

I think you could stay a month and still not see/do everything. On our trip in May, my bf and I went to the MK 8 times (not full days) and STILL didn't see everything! -Steph

 

[VALDAN]

I allow at least 2 days for each park except for Animal Kingdom.
For Epcot 2 days isn't enough. I like to try to see it all plus going to some things more than once.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

How old are your children? Is this a once in a lifetime trip or will you plan to return? Do you want time every day to hang around the hotel or will you go to the parks from opening to closing? What time of the year will you be going?

Ideally, I would want at least a day for each park, a day for a water park (or a day for each if you want to go to both), at day for DQ if you do want to go there, and a day or two minimum to return to your favorite parks. That totals 7-9 days. You could keep busy if you stayed more days, of course.

T&B

 

[my3girlstoo]

Also you need to take into account if your doing sit down meals, counter service, or character meals. These can take up a lot of your time.

 

[bigbabyblues]

This is pretty much what I have, traveling with my 3-yo and 1-yo and DH:

MK-2 full days, plus MNSSHP
Epcot-at least 1-1/2 days
AK-1 day (may be split into 2 half days)
MGM-1 day
1 day for a water park
DTD-evening or afternoon we aren't doing anything else

We will be there 8 nights, but only 8 days (leave early morning of the 9th day), so the rest of the time is for whatever we didn't get to do that we wanted to. We might return to MGM if we miss the parade, stuff like that. I also want to play mini golf.

 

[issa]

are you staying on site ..or off?

with little ones..pls try and make the parks half day trips with an afternoon break. like the morning in MK..followed by an evening in epcot.

breaks are crucial for happiness imo.

and try to smell the flowers, LOOK ..listen and even smell. there is so much mroe than just the "main attractions"

 

[DizBelle]

MK - 2 days, there will probably be attractions you want to see twice
Epcot - 2 days, the park is huge and you might enjoy just strolling in the World Showcase
MGM - 1.5 days, I can never get to all of the shows in one day. There are only so many showings and their schedules never line up right so I usually have to go back on another day to catch one more show and ride TOT again (and again).
AK - 1 day

I would allow 1 day each for BB and TL

DTD and DQ - 1 day

You might want to take two days and do a water park and DTD on those days. For example, go to BB in the morning until afternoon, go back to hotel, clean up, go to DTD later in the afternoon for a few hours at DQ and DTD fun with dinner in the evening. Then do the same thing again on another day but go to TL.

If you want a suggested itinerary:
Day 1/Arrival day: check in and go to MK (I always like to start at MK)
Day 2: Epcot
Day 3: MGM
Day 4: BB/DQ/DTD
Day 5: AK/Epcot (we usually finish with AK around 3 or 4 and Epcot is open until 9 so we go there to spend the evening)
Day 6: MK/Epcot - when we go, MK usually closes a few hours before Epcot
Day 7: TL/DQ/DTD
Day 8: MGM/other recreation (mini golf, rent boats, etc)
Departure Day/Day 9: MK (have to end at MK)


The age of your children will dictate which parks are more important and if breaks are required.

 

[ssatterly]

Ok when we go my kids will be DS 10 and DD 6 and my MOM. I was hoping to try to stay at least 10 days but maybe more if I can swing it. We all have never been and my mother is going to she will be 51 and yes we are staying on site. Hopefully at the WL. We will try to do at leat dinner each night as sit down a few if not all Charter Breakfasts and quick seve or snaks fr lunch. We are celebrating my DS B-day while there. and We plan on going the 1st week of Aug 2006 ) I need time to save a ton of money)

Sorry i should have given more detail....

Now what do you all think.. And thanks a ton for your help!

 

[jann1033]

if you have 10 days you can take your time:

Mk2, ( we only do 1 but have been there enough and no small kids)
epcot 2 ( we may add an evening here also)
mgm1 ( we do not do a whole lot of stuff here so we very easily do it in 1 day)
ak 2 ( this park needs to be done somewhat slowly imo to really get it ,commando style does not work here. we could have used more than 2 but we are kind of"nature Freaks". if you just go on rides/shows probably 1 would be almost enough but the animal exhibits are very good and the CMs very well informed about them. ask questions and you will enjoy it more imo)
redo what you like best 1
so 8 in park days which
gives you days for rest,waterpark, disney quest or something else.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

First of all, if staying for at least 10 days I would suggest staying in a couple different resorts. Maybe start with a moderate and then Wilderness Lodge. Switching resorts is not hard and it will let you experience 2 (or more) resorts.

Other than planning enought days I wouldn't have everything planned out in advance for that long of a trip. Save the last couple of days to return to your favorite parks. You really have to go with what you and your family enjoys, which is hard for anyone else to know

I would allow for 2 days for MK, 2 for Epcot, 1 for MGM, and 1 for AK, with at least 2 more to return wherever you want. Then a day for each of the water parks. If you have any energy left after the water parks you could spend time those evenings at Downtown Disney. If your mom is only 51yo then you are quite a bit younger than me and probably have more energy.

Maybe spend a day in the middle at Disney Quest so you can have a day with air conditioning.

Since you'll be there at a very hot and crowded time of the year I would suggest gettting to the parks before they open, staying until lunchtime and then returning to the room (you could even have sandwich fixings in the room if you want to save $--I'm the queen of saving $ ) . You could then spend some time hanging by the pool. In the late afteroon return to the parks. If you've gone to early entry that morning then return to a different park.

Especially in Epcot consider renting a stroller for your 6yo. There is a lot of walking around the countries. Also, bring plenty of water!

T&B