HS or AK with toddler?

[parkbr]

Hi,

I need an advice please.
We are going WDW in December - our 14 day trip with DD who will be almost 3 by the time she visits.
It really gives us 12 days in WDW as first and last day is mainly traveling.
We have purchased 8 day park passes with WPFAM (because of free dining, we had to get it).
We have allocated - 3 days in MK, 2 days in Epcot, 1 day HS, 1 day AK and 1 day HS or AK.
Should we do HS or AK or get 7 day pass instead?
(EDIT: or 4 MK?)

Thanks!

 

[tinkerbella16]

We just got back a few weeks ago and we had my 1.5 year old niece with us. We were so glad that we did DHS. We weren't sure if she'd enjoy DHS, but we were wrong. We actually went back to DHS one night when we only planned 1 day there. There was more for her to do than we thought - Toy Story Mania, Disney Jr Live, Frozen Singalong (which was awesome btw), Disney Jr character meet and greets, Olaf and Muppets 3D. She had so much fun.

AK was a little iffy, mainly because there isn't much - our main thing to take her to was Festival of the Lion King. We were happy if we just did that. AK was a half day for us. We arrived when it got cooler around 4:30 and stayed until 8pm. The park was empty when we went, so it wouldn't have been a full day there for us regardless.

 

[2009CAN]

HS because there is a lot of Disney Jr. stuff there.

 

[HeatherL1985]

Get the 7 day ticket. You can add the extra day when you're down there at Guest Services (just don't wait until all of your days are used up). To add the extra day you will just pay the difference between 7 and 8 days. I am not sure if you will be able to make fast passes for your 7 day ticket or 14 day reservation - so just keep in mind you may lose the ability to book the 8th day in advance.

 

[caliope]

At 16 months, there wasn't much for our DS at either HS or AK. Second trip at 2.5, he really enjoyed Muppets and meeting Mickey at HS but that's pretty much it (he wasn't big enough for TSMM and we don't have cable so he didn't know the Disney Jr characters). Third trip at 3.5, he had such a great time at HS that we went two days. Star Tours, TSMM, Frozen Singalong, and Great Movie Ride were all big hits at that age. We haven't been back to AK since that first trip with DS but we might add it into our plans for the upcoming trip.

 

[kwdw]

I'd play it by ear, you could probably change up FP+ selections a day or two in advance. My niece liked both of those parks at 3.5 yo. Pick one for now, but see how the first day goes. For all you know, you could decide on a third day at EPCOT!

 

[TreeFalls]

We were just there, and my 3-yr old preferred HS to AK. But she is also tall enough for Star Tours and did it a bunch of times. She did love the Safari and Boneyard at AK.

Whatever you decide, be open to changing your plans. We scrapped our plans for the final day and did something different. Had to get different fastpasses, but it was fine. Have fun!

 

[Mickeycrocs]

Just got back from Disney with my 2.5 year old. He was not a fan of animal kingdom he got very bored very quick, there wasn't much to do there for him. I wouldn't do more than one day animal kingdom. As for Hollywood studios, his favorite ride was toy story mania. We went on it three times he loved it. But really other than that there's the Disney junior and if your toddler will sit through little mermaid and beauty and the beast I would consider that a win. Do 7 day tickets.

 

[Gracie09]

7 day ticket. Have a rest day at the pool/disney springs

 

[parkbr]

We just got back a few weeks ago and we had my 1.5 year old niece with us. We were so glad that we did DHS. We weren't sure if she'd enjoy DHS, but we were wrong. We actually went back to DHS one night when we only planned 1 day there. There was more for her to do than we thought - Toy Story Mania, Disney Jr Live, Frozen Singalong (which was awesome btw), Disney Jr character meet and greets, Olaf and Muppets 3D. She had so much fun.

AK was a little iffy, mainly because there isn't much - our main thing to take her to was Festival of the Lion King. We were happy if we just did that. AK was a half day for us. We arrived when it got cooler around 4:30 and stayed until 8pm. The park was empty when we went, so it wouldn't have been a full day there for us regardless.

Thank you! I think you're right!

 

[parkbr]

HS because there is a lot of Disney Jr. stuff there.

Thank you.
My DD does not yet have screen time, so doesn't know Disney Jr. stuff, but definitely knows Arieal, Belle, etc - we read to her a lot.

 

[parkbr]

Get the 7 day ticket. You can add the extra day when you're down there at Guest Services (just don't wait until all of your days are used up). To add the extra day you will just pay the difference between 7 and 8 days. I am not sure if you will be able to make fast passes for your 7 day ticket or 14 day reservation - so just keep in mind you may lose the ability to book the 8th day in advance.

Yea, I am worried about not being able to get FP+, if we change our mine.

 

[parkbr]

At 16 months, there wasn't much for our DS at either HS or AK. Second trip at 2.5, he really enjoyed Muppets and meeting Mickey at HS but that's pretty much it (he wasn't big enough for TSMM and we don't have cable so he didn't know the Disney Jr characters). Third trip at 3.5, he had such a great time at HS that we went two days. Star Tours, TSMM, Frozen Singalong, and Great Movie Ride were all big hits at that age. We haven't been back to AK since that first trip with DS but we might add it into our plans for the upcoming trip.

My DD doesn't watch anything, so all she knows are Mickey & Minnie, and Princesses (we read to her a lot). She is in love with Frozen and the Beauty and the Beast (books)
She's in the short side, so she won't get to ride anything other than the Toy Story.
Should we go do extra HS or MK 4 times, instead? Or just do 7 days?

 

[parkbr]

I'd play it by ear, you could probably change up FP+ selections a day or two in advance. My niece liked both of those parks at 3.5 yo. Pick one for now, but see how the first day goes. For all you know, you could decide on a third day at EPCOT!

Haha. Or 4th day in MK!

Yeah. Since we're there for 14 days, we can at least easily tell whether she liked HS or not. (HS is the first day)

 

[parkbr]

We were just there, and my 3-yr old preferred HS to AK. But she is also tall enough for Star Tours and did it a bunch of times. She did love the Safari and Boneyard at AK.

Whatever you decide, be open to changing your plans. We scrapped our plans for the final day and did something different. Had to get different fastpasses, but it was fine. Have fun!

Oh wow! Mine is rather short, so she can be easily mistaken for just over 2.
I know my DD would LOVE Safari. But we currently have the annual zoo membership, so other than Safari - you ride bus and see the animals - I am not sure if it is very exciting for her.

Do you mind sharing me how your plan changed? That might be also helpful! Thank you.

 

[Thing 1]

I would keep it at 8 days at least and add the last day at AK BUT I would also add a hopper pass to your tickets. If you plan all three of your original FP During the morning, you are free to change parks as interest and FP permit. You can start the day at your planned park but have the freedom to return to a different park that evening, trying for a FP as soon as you use your third. When my boys were little, we liked to do a couple of hours a night at WS. Better done in small doses and it is a great activity when they were tired and willing to sit in the stroller.

 

[parkbr]

Just got back from Disney with my 2.5 year old. He was not a fan of animal kingdom he got very bored very quick, there wasn't much to do there for him. I wouldn't do more than one day animal kingdom. As for Hollywood studios, his favorite ride was toy story mania. We went on it three times he loved it. But really other than that there's the Disney junior and if your toddler will sit through little mermaid and beauty and the beast I would consider that a win. Do 7 day tickets.

Wow! I heard Toy Story Mania gets crowded like crazy! When we went, we had old FP system, so we were on it 4 or 5 times during Christmas and boy, the line was soooo long! This time, we're aiming for RD.

This morning, I am debating whether 4th MK would make more sense then 2 DHS, if we were still doing 8 days. It's only $21 dollars extra for us (2 adults - $10 each)

 

[parkbr]

7 day ticket. Have a rest day at the pool/disney springs

We're going in December, so not sure if pool will work very well due to the weather.
If it wasn't for that, we'd prob have done just 6 days and hit Water Parks!!

Thank you. This morning, I woke up with.. should I do 4 MK days??

 

[parkbr]

I would keep it at 8 days at least and add the last day at AK BUT I would also add a hopper pass to your tickets. If you plan all three of your original FP During the morning, you are free to change parks as interest and FP permit. You can start the day at your planned park but have the freedom to return to a different park that evening, trying for a FP as soon as you use your third. When my boys were little, we liked to do a couple of hours a night at WS. Better done in small doses and it is a great activity when they were tired and willing to sit in the stroller.

What is WS?
We actually don't wanted to do PH, because we dislike the moving from here to there. Since we stay in CBR, going back to the resort might be not too convenient for nap (and my DD is such a trooper) so we might just call it a day earlier or so.

Oh, I thought about it for a minute or two... PH will give us more flexibility if my DD doesn't show too much of interest, we can always go to MK..

 

[Mickeycrocs]

Wow! I heard Toy Story Mania gets crowded like crazy! When we went, we had old FP system, so we were on it 4 or 5 times during Christmas and boy, the line was soooo long! This time, we're aiming for RD.

This morning, I am debating whether 4th MK would make more sense then 2 DHS, if we were still doing 8 days. It's only $21 dollars extra for us (2 adults - $10 each)

I would just plan a day at Disney springs or something I think it's a bit overkill. Kiddies are going to be tired.