How would you split 10 park days?

[diznyfanatic]

If you had 10 days with no Hopper option, how would you split days between the four parks? Traveling with 5 Adults and 1 child, age 3.

It's been 5 years since our last visit and the very first visit for the 3 year old so I'm sure a lot has changed.

If you'd divide them equally, which park(s) would get your extra 2 days?

Thanks!

 

[missypie]

We had 9 1/2 park days. We did 1 1/2 days of AK (the other half of that day we went to DTD); 2 days of MGM; 2 days of EPCOT (one concentrating on Future World and one on WS); the other 3 1/2 were at MK.

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

If I split them equally and had 2 days left over- we'd probably just use the extra 2 days for whatever parks we wanted to do again or felt we didn't get to do everything. But if I had to pick AHEAD of time which parks I'd use the extra 2 days on- I'd probably do MK and Epcot again. MK because it has the most rides the kids would want to do again and again... Epcot because there is so much to do/see there that we'd easily find more things to do/see for another day.

 

[bizeemom4]

We're going down for Thanksgiving and here's how we're burning 10 day passes.

MK tues
MGM wed
AK thanksgiving
MK friday
EP satur
EP sunday
MK mon
MK tues
MGM wed
- MVMCP -
EP fri

 

[Dale-Not-Chip]

I would make sure you follow the parks to avoid list from the unoffical Guide.

 

[diznyfanatic]

Thanks for all your responses and suggestions.

Traveling with the 3 year old, I was planning on MK getting the most visits.

I had originally planned on only spending 1 day at AK, but then thought there might be more for her to enjoy at AK than EPCOT. Like I said, it's been a long time!

I will also be picking up a copy of the current UG to try and play catch up!

 

[Pixiedust34]

Are you going into the parks all 10 days?

If so, I'd splurge for the Hopper option at $35/ticket. If you look at the cost it would be each day to have the option to switch parks, then it's not that expensive.

That said, if you're having 10 days in the parks, I'd probably do

4 days at MK (the park the child would most likely enjoy the best--with 4 days, you could easily take breaks without worrying about missing favorite attractions) These would be non-consecutive days.

2 days at Epcot

2 days at AK

2 days at MGM

***I really like AK, but some families think that one day is enough there. If 1 AK day is enough for you, then I'd save that extra day for the group's favorite park on the last day of your trip. Re-do favorites!

On one of the MK days, I'd probably take a 1/2 off and relax at the pool for a "down day" sometime during the middle of your trip.

Enjoy! No matter how you slice it, 10 days at Disney is great!!

 

[Luv4Disney]

We usually go for 11 days are here's what we do: 3 for MK, 1 for AK (it's not that big and it's our least fave, so we only for 1 day), 2 for Epcot, 2 for MGM, 1 for a waterpark, and 2 as "free days" where we just take the day as it comes. Hope that helps.

 

[diznyfanatic]

Are you going into the parks all 10 days?

If so, I'd splurge for the Hopper option at $35/ticket. If you look at the cost it would be each day to have the option to switch parks, then it's not that expensive.

That said, if you're having 10 days in the parks, I'd probably do

4 days at MK (the park the child would most likely enjoy the best--with 4 days, you could easily take breaks without worrying about missing favorite attractions) These would be non-consecutive days.

2 days at Epcot

2 days at AK

2 days at MGM

***I really like AK, but some families think that one day is enough there. If 1 AK day is enough for you, then I'd save that extra day for the group's favorite park on the last day of your trip. Re-do favorites!

On one of the MK days, I'd probably take a 1/2 off and relax at the pool for a "down day" sometime during the middle of your trip.

Enjoy! No matter how you slice it, 10 days at Disney is great!!

I had initially planned to spend one day at the "other park that shall not be named" ...because the 3 year old is a big fan of the Cat in the Hat but upon reflection, I just think trying to squeeze that in this trip is just too much for everyone. I think we all would like an opportunity to relax and not be on the go all the time.

I have debated about getting the Hopper pass, and will continue to give it some thought.

Thank you all so much for the suggestions. It really helps!

 

[DISNEYFAMILYOFFOUR]

We were just at WDW for 10 nights and did it this way: 5 MK, 1 EP, 1 AK, 1 MGM, 1 BB, 1 TL. We also went to MNSSHP on the BB day. My kids turned 6 & 7 during this trip and wanted to spend most of time at MK.

 

[cdpa4d]

I would honestly get the no expiration option and only do about 6 park days on a 10 day trip. 10 days of parks would wear me out; especially in the hotter months.

I would definately look for other things to do, i.e. mini golf, Boardwalk, DTD, spend time at my resort, swim at the pool, Disney Quest, visiting other resorts, golf, Pleasure Island, Wide World of Sports, water parks, spend an evening at a nice restaurant, take a mouse boat on 7 seas lagoon.

Phew! I'm pooped just thinking about it!

 

[DonnaDuck]

Great Thread!!

We also have 10 day hoppers for our trip in January and 2 little boys. We are going to spend 4 days at MK (our first day, our last day and 2 days in between), 2 at Epcot, 2 at AK and 2 at MGM... The great thing about having the hopper is that we can hop over to Epcot (for instance) when the other parks close early. And I am sure that we will stay late a few nights for EMH.

Looking forward to spending these 10 days at the parks, we have never stayed this long.

 

[Amy&Dan]

I had initially planned to spend one day at the "other park that shall not be named" ...because the 3 year old is a big fan of the Cat in the Hat but upon reflection, I just think trying to squeeze that in this trip is just too much for everyone. I think we all would like an opportunity to relax and not be on the go all the time.

I have debated about getting the Hopper pass, and will continue to give it some thought.

Thank you all so much for the suggestions. It really helps!

I would seriously consider the park hopping option. Even with the UG, crowds and your moods can be unpredictable! I know our last trip we went to MK on a day that was supposed to be low crowds. It was a zoo (probably too many overplanners like me paying too close attention to crowd statistics and we all got burned!). If we hadn't had the hopping option we would have been stuck. Instead we headed to MGM, had zero crowds and a great day. Good luck! One thing about it, with that many days you have a lot of flexibility whichever way you go.

 

[diznyfanatic]

I would seriously consider the park hopping option. Even with the UG, crowds and your moods can be unpredictable! I know our last trip we went to MK on a day that was supposed to be low crowds. It was a zoo (probably too many overplanners like me paying too close attention to crowd statistics and we all got burned!). If we hadn't had the hopping option we would have been stuck. Instead we headed to MGM, had zero crowds and a great day. Good luck! One thing about it, with that many days you have a lot of flexibility whichever way you go.

Excellent point and one that I completely overlooked. We will be visiting over Christmas/New Years so should I just assume all of the parks will be completely jam packed and forget the Hopper or do you think it would still help?

 

[Luv4Disney]

I had initially planned to spend one day at the "other park that shall not be named" ...because the 3 year old is a big fan of the Cat in the Hat but upon reflection, I just think trying to squeeze that in this trip is just too much for everyone. I think we all would like an opportunity to relax and not be on the go all the time.

I have debated about getting the Hopper pass, and will continue to give it some thought.

Thank you all so much for the suggestions. It really helps!

We had a 3 day pass for "the park that shall not be named" and only wound up using 1 day. We ditched the other two days and bought tickets back to Disney. LoL. I will admit that it was awfully hectic trying to get back and forth and making sure we did everything we wanted to and not get disappointed if we didn't get to something.

Oh yeah. And the Cat and the Hat ride was very...dizzying!

 

[aterriq]

The other reason to get a park hopper is the restaurants. I don't know if you are doing the Dining package. If you are, you might spend breakfast in one park and dinner in another. I can see with 5 adults having multiple dining nights at Epcot.

 

[Amy&Dan]

Excellent point and one that I completely overlooked. We will be visiting over Christmas/New Years so should I just assume all of the parks will be completely jam packed and forget the Hopper or do you think it would still help?

The parks will be jammed packed. Here's why I would do the park hopper. You go to MK on say December 31. It apparently ALWAYS reaches capacity on New Years Eve and many other days during that week. You do what you can for say 3 or 4 hours then can't take another minute of those crowds so you go back to your hotel. But you can't get back in later because its so crowded (even onsite hotel guests can get turned away if crowds get really bad) they are turning people away. But since you don't have the park hopping option, you can't go to another park that's not at capacity so you are done whether you want to be or not. I know that extra $35 a ticket seems like a lot but for that time of year I would think it woud be a value to have. Also, dining at Epcot is a lot of fun but you may not want to spend a whole day there as many times as you want to eat dinner there. Its a shame you can't add it on as you go, I know there are days we haven't hopped but more days that we have. For instance I love Fantasmic and have to see it more than once each trip, but we don't enjoy MGM as much as the other parks and could not spend more than one day at that particular park. Hopping as allowed us to spend a day at another park but then go into MGM for Fantasmic only. I hope all of this doesn't confuse you more! Good luck with what you decide!

 

[jann1033]

2 days per each would be about enough time at each imo. i'd plan the other 2 after we got there and saw what we liked the best or in case something happened one day and we didn't get to see everything someplace. i'd probably get the hopper also because the last 2 days i know i would want to hop

didn't know you were going then...definitly would get the hopper and keep it flexible.

 

[diznyfanatic]

Thanks everyone for all the excellent advice and suggestions. You've convinced me to go for the Hopper! Aside from the mindnumbing crowds, I think we need to be really flexible traveling with a three year old.

I really appreciate all of your help!