How much time in each park?

[HollyJoy]

Whew! I need some advice! We are making our reservations tomorrow, and also buying our tickets for our trip in December. We will have 5 days down in Disney, and now that it's getting ready to be reserved, I'm getting nervous as to which hopper pass to buy! Originally, I thought we'd get a 4 day hopper, then go to Sea World one day (I know my kids would like it). Now I'm wondering if 4 days is enough for Disney. My husband and I took a Cruise/Disney vacation on our honeymoon, and only had 3 days in Disney World and found it wasn't enough for us.. and that was before Animal Kingdom opened! I figure we'd need AT LEAST 2 days in MK, and one in the others. WEll, that adds up to the 5 days! Help! Do you think we should skip out on Sea World this trip, or do you think that we could get away with combining two of the other parks in one day? My girls will be 5 and 7 years when we go this December. Help

 

[HollyJoy]

bump

 

[EsmeraldaX]

I am in the same boat as you. My SO and I will only have 4.5 days at Disney when we go this weekend. And we don't even have any kids with us. It never seems like enough time.

For a 5 & 7 yo, I would suggest this (and this could be different depending on your girls personalities & depending on what time your flights are) :

If possible, arrive very early on your arrival day. This might be a good day to do MGM. This park with children that young can be a 1/2 day park. Many of the rides at MGM are geared towards adults. You'll want to see Beauty & the Beast, the Little Mermaid, Playhouse Disney, and the Muppets. But I can't see two little girls getting that excited about Star Wars, Tower of Terror or Rock and Roller Coaster. I also can't see them getting excited by Indiana Jones stunt show.

Animal Kingdom may be more interesting to them; esp. if they like animals. But there are not a TON of rides at AK; it is mostly walk through at your own pace & shows. Perhaps do this in the AM one day and then spend the rest of the night at the Magic Kingdom.

You will want at least a day and half at Magic Kingdom. Magic Kingdom is the park best suited to young kids, IMO. You might want to do a day at Epcot as well.

Epcot is a big park, but with kids that young, you may want to skip Test Track, Mission Space and the Maelstrom; which may be too intense for some kids. (of course, I know some kids that LOVE these rides)

Are you going in early December or during the holiday week? Early December tends to be a very slow time at WDW and I think that will help you a lot because lines will be very slow. Also utilize fast pass on the rides that you can.

If you do 4 days (or even 5 days) at Disney, you will not get to everything, but most people can't get to everything when they do 2 weeks at Disney. There is just so much to do. Hit the highlights based on what your girls like and I think you will be fine.

Missing stuff is just a great excuse to go back!

I would look closely at the rides at MGM & Epcot. Some kids are just bored by Epcot because they are not interested in the World Showcase (my neice, at age 4.5 was bored by WS. She slept through the entire thing). I really think you'll be able to do MGM & AK in 1/2 a day during that time of year.

Another time saver is to eat counter service one meal a day and save your sit down meals for dinners after the parks close. Some people really love Disney dining (I am one of them) but it can take up time that may be better spent on rides if time is short.

Also, as tempting as the gift shops in the parks are, save them till the way out; or just go to Downtown Disney after the parks close to buy souvenirs. It's very easy to end up spending hours in these shops

Seaworld is similiar to AK in that it is mostly something you walk through at your own pace. There are only 3 rides, and two of them might be too intense for the kids, depending on their tolerance of thrill rides. The Kracken is a fast, looping coaster, and Atlantis is a log flume. The other ride is a simulator that takes you over the arctic. I agree though, esp. if your girls like animals, Seaworld is a very nice park.

Whatever you end up doing, I am sure you will have a GREAT trip!!

 

[Kaycee]

Well, I can only speak for our family, but when we go to WDW we only go to WDW - we have yet to go to Sea World, and this will be our fourth trip in four years. I really do want to go to Sea World some day, but for now I'm not giving up any of my WDW time to go to another park.

Our first trip, we went for five days and got 5-day park hoppers. Of course, no matter how much time we have, we always want more, but I don't think we would've been happy with any less time than that in each park. We did 2 days in MK, 1 1/2 days in Epcot (not nearly long enough, in our opinion!) a day in MGM and 1/2 day at AK.

 

[cindy_k]

Its a hard question to answer.
You can spend 2 weeks in WDW and not see everything. It becomes a matter of personal Priorities.

I think Epcot is the 2 day park, because of its sheer size. It requires a lot of walking.
I tend to do the Park Switching thing, which means I spend a morning in one park and the evening in another.

If you just hit the highlights you can do MGM and AK in one day. If I don't walk the Gorilla and the Tiger path in AK and I can ride Safari, Dinosaur, Primeval Whirl, and Its tough to be a Bug. See Lion King and Tarzan before 1pm. Of course I had to be at the park gates before opening, and using a Early Entry day makes it much easier.

MGM can be a tougher nut to crack if you want to see the shows. They have scheduled times and you have to be there before the time. I only see Indiana Stunt Spectacular about 1 out of every 4 trips to MGM, because the show times don't mesh with what I am doing. Of course MGM has a bunch of rides too. Great Movie Ride, Rock N Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, Star Tours, Muppet Vision 3D.

You have to decide what's important... I would have everyone look at a list of the Attractions available at each park and write up a list of what they Really want to do. Use that list to make your park decisions. If the kids love the attactions in AK, and didn't seem that interested in MGM (and you ok with that) maybe you skip MGM this trip.

Just remember, anything you miss is an excellent reason to plan a trip to go back.

Have Fun!
Cindy in NY

 

[Tigger&Belle]

On our first two trips to WDW with our kids (4, 7, and 10 the first trip and 1, 7, 10, and 13 the second) we only went to WDW. We spent about 5 days there including travel days each time and the first time that was before AK. There is plenty to do there to keep you busy. Maybe allow one per park and return to your favorite the last day (with kids that age it would probably be MK).

On our next trip we also went to Universal and the next two times we only went to Universal (last April and this April). We plan to return to only WDW next January.

I think with your children I would either add a day or two to do Seaworld or I'd only go to WDW. You can save Seaworld for your next trip if you don't make it this time.

T&B

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Another possibility if you can get another day. (I'm not sure your reasons for going 5 days, school, work, cost etc?) But if hotel reservations or costs are whats keeping you from another day , and work/school can be missed one more day you can get one more day, you could do 5 days at Disney (including an early arrival day) and then stay at a cheaper hotel near Seaworld for one night to go there. You can usually find places to stay offsite near Seaworld for very little $, esp in the off season.

My SO and I ended up doing that this trip. We have a timeshare in Orlando but it was only for 7 days. So we are spending 5 days at Disney and wanted time do Universal , IOA and SW, so we rented a very cheap hotel room ($50 a night for a small suite), for two nights to geta little more time.

Of course, if its work/school or something that you can't geta nother day away from, 5 days will have to do...this time Again, the more you miss, the more reasons to return!!!

 

[HollyJoy]

Thanks for your input! We've decided to skip Sea World this trip, for I just don't think I want to waste precious time in Disney. Besides, my girls are excited about DISNEY. I know they'd enjoy Sea World, but it just gives us an excuse to go back another time! heehee!