I have to start all over with planning. Help!!

[TheMom]

We (Me, DH, DD9, DS7 and DD4) have a trip planned in January. It was going to be a very calm, not get to see everything trip. we were going to MK on Tuesday, Epcot on Wednesday, spend Thursday visiting the other resorts and riding the monorail and Friday back at MK.

Now we have hoppers, so we can do a lot more. I DO NOT want to get into the commando mode, but I'm afraid that is where I'm headed. If we couldn't go to MGM, we wouldn't know what we were missing. But now I'm afraid we'll see it and want to do EVERYTHING. All the shows, all the rides. At all the parks. And I know that cannot happen in 3 park days. Can we reasonably go to all 4 parks, see some fun stuff and not lose a lot of time traveling? Should we just skip a park totally?

This is not fun anymore. Well, maybe a little fun. How should I split up the days? What specifically should we not miss?

 

[froggy33]

This is just my opinion, but I wouldn't spend much time at Animal Kingdom. I think you can do the "big" things there in just a mornings time. Some people really like it though.
At MGM, the two major thrill rides are ToT and RnR. (I don't know if the little ones would like these). I could spend all day there, but a lot of the stuff is sitting still and watching things, so I don't know if young kids would like these. Although, Beauty and the Beast and Muppet 3-D are good.
I would of course do one day of MK, one of Epcot and maybe park hop between MK and MGM or AK and MGM.
Good luck.

 

[magicaldisney]

This is completely just my personal opinion!!

If you are going to leave out any park, because of the age of your children I would leave out Epcot. It is still a great place to see, but if you have to leave out one..... I also would not waste a day visiting other resorts if you want to see all of the parks. However, depending on where you are staying, you might be able to see a few that are close to you.

Example:
Boardwalk, Beach Club, Yacht Club and the Swan and Dolphin are all within walking distance.
Port Orleans Riverside and Port Orleans French Quarter are within walking distance.
Contemporary, Ploynesian and Grand Floridian are all on the monorail.

To save time, make the monorail ride your way of getting somewhere, not just a ride around in a circle. Boats are also a big transportation.

The last thing I would suggest is to use the EMH. That will give you more time in the parks (if your staying at a Disney resort).

This will probably not be a relaxing vacation if you want to fit a lot in. But, if you go into it knowing that you will be ok. Our trips have extended to 11 day trips and we always say this time we will relax more, but we never do.

 

[Tigger2252]

As previous posters have stated, this is only my personal opinion. Considering the ages of your kids, if I had to skip a park it would be Epcot. It is interesting for older kids, but I don't think that young children would be as entertained (this opinion is based solely on my girls' personalities at that age). Animal Kingdom has some interesting places for children in your kids' age range. As noted by a previous post, you can concentrate on what attractions/rides are "must see", get in and get out by late morning. Same goes for MGM (although I may be slightly prejudice as this is my favorite park). There are some great things for young kids to see, and there are a number of characters there as well (if they want pictures/autographs). The characters from Chicken Little can only be found there I believe. No matter what you choose to do, have a wonderful time and enjoy!!