If had to skip a park, would it be AK or MGM?

[Simba's Mom]

For me, I'd definitely skip MGM. I love just walking around AK. However, for young kids, I think there's probably much more for them at MGM. Might they like "Muppet 3D", "Voyage of the Little Mermaid", "Beauty and the Beast", "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" playground (although come to think of it, I would think the playground at AK, in Dinoland, looks much more fun), "Indiana Jones Stunt Show"?

 

[JenniferW]

I vote to skip MGM.

Jenn

 

[nowellsl]

I would and do skip MGM. I love Animal Kingdom!

 

[pkb24824]

I think if I were you I would skip MGM since your children are 6 and 4. They would enjoy AK much better. Enjoy your trip!

 

[Jamie77]

I'd skip AK in a quick minute as I've so many times before. Like LongIslandCouple said, AK seems to add an additonal 10º to the weather and that ain't no lie. Going there in the winter feels like -275ºF. I went to AK at 8am for EMH and had a PS/ADR for 11am for lunch at Rainforest Cafe. I left at 9am it was so cold, and you know I wasn't coming back for lunch!

 

[justcantwait]

We went last year with DS5 and DD2. They had a blast at AK, didn't want to leave, but were in and out of MGM in half a day. If they were older, I think MGM would be more to their liking, with the rides like ToT and RnR. For the younguns, the animals are more interesting, as well as the parade (very colorful, catchy music) and the Lion King Show. Also, if they're into characters, the ones at AK are more geared towards small children. HTH

Kathy

 

[the kabuki]

With the ages of your kids' I'd skip MGM.

Why not get hopper passes and do both in one day? AK closes early, then head over to MGM.

 

[ricktib]

if it were us - we would skip MGM....

Ditto.

 

[shoney]

I went to both last year when my sons were 2 1/2 and 4. I would skip mgm. My boys weren't thrilled with it.
I loved the atmosphere at ak. I would take the temperature into consideration. We were there in January so it was cool.

 

[afcgirl]

Thanks for all of the advice. My kids are boys and my youngest is afraid of many rides. We are going in mid-July so the heat will be fierce. This will be a tough decision, there does not seem to be a clear-cut winner.

We are going for five days so I could probably fit all the parks in, but I wanted to fit in a pool day and didn't want to rush so much. I will have to ponder this a little longer....

 

[mousemom218]

Skip AK!
We usually go for short trips and rarely go to AK. It's not as magical as the other parks. Your kids are young and might enjoy the animals, but not in July! The animals are sluggish in the hot weather, like us all! You'll roast in AK! At least MGM has lots of indoor stuff to do.
Have a great time whatever you decide!

 

[swilphil]

Another vote to skip AK. My boys are 3 and 5 and love MGM for the characters, Beauty and Beast show, Playhouse Disney, Muppetvision and the new Stunt Car show (that's a must see in itself). We can get animals at our local zoon, and most of the other rides are either too big for my kids (Dino, Kali) or similar to rides at other parks (Triceritops Spin is really just Alladin's Magic Carpets).

 

[shoney]

We are going back in August. We are skipping mgm this time. I am thinking of going to ak first thing in the morning, having lunch at rainforest cafe and heading back to the hotel for late afternoon pool fun! My sons will be 4 and 5 1/2 by then.
You could split the day as others have said. My kids weren't thrilled with the fantasmic (?) show at mgm. By that time of night they were pretty wiped out. To be perfectly honest, I wasn't quite impressed either! I am not sure if that is really worth it.
Always make time for the pool. I know my boys love it and some of their best vacation memories are swimming in the pools. Sometimes the simple things are the best!
Have fun

 

[Bobb G]

Without a doubt, skip AK.

 

[vettechick99]

Can you park hop? AK is great early in the day, then hotel for nap and pool time and then hit MGM for Fantasmic. There are a few other things you can do like Indiana Jones or the Muppet 3-D, but I personally can't find much there for my liking except the thrill rides.

It sure is a tough call!

 

[monica31671]

I have a seven year old son and we LOVE MGM. We were at Animal Kingdom for about three hours and he was done. We went to MGM three times, so it gets my vote.

 

[Blythep]

I would think with children your age, I would skip MGM. But as someone else said you could always opt for a park hopper and spend half a day at each park.

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Due to the ages of your children- I'd have to say skip MGM. I have 3 children of varying ages and in my experience with them- they always seem to enjoy AK more than MGM at the younger ages (not counting MK ofcourse! This is between AK and MGM LOL).

They seem to like MGM better when they are older and A) able to ride RnR and B) aren't too scared to ride rides like ToT, The great movie ride, etc. Even some of the movies scare my little ones when they are little (including my youngest who is 5 now). The shows like Voyage of the Mermaid scare the little ones (in my experience with mine ofcourse) and also at that age they don't seem to really "enjoy" sitting through other shows either on the ground or on a bench. They tire of that really quickly after the first few moments- even if it's a favorite character or princess show. KWIM? They definitely didn't like sitting 30min+ for those shows much less for ones with loud noises, etc. (the new motor show did keep their interest a little more than usual though- I will say that)

Also when we were there- AK had the dino dig (or whatever it's called) play area open late... at MGM they closed down the children's play areas (honey I shrunk the kids/etc.) early at 7pm (when they were open until 10 that night, plus EMH till 1am!). That whole back area in MGM is closed down early- they said because there isn't any lighting back there. Well A) get some lighting back there then! What are we supposed to do with little kids that want some play time from 7-10pm or 7pm-1am? geesh) and B) it didn't get dark until after 9pm that night. So they closed it well before the natural light was gone.

 

[cheerdancer11]

Skip AK. I think little kids would love seeing rides/shows, like little mermaid, beauty and the beast, the playhouse disney, muppets 3d show, honey i shrunk the kids movie playset, and more. I think there is more for them to do in MGM.

 

[kbkids]

AK can easily be done in half a day, but we routinely skip this park on our trips. Our kids are 7 and 4, and we've been going frequently since the oldest was 3. They honestly don't really enjoy AK. We go occasionally, just because Mommy likes Festival of the Lion King, and they enjoy Kali River Rapids, but then they are ready to go. The park is SOOOO hot! And we don't even go during the summer, so I can't imagine what it would be like then.

On the other hand, MGM is their 2nd favorite park - MK, of course, is first. This is their favorite place to see the characters, and they really do enjoy the rides. My oldest is a daredevil kid so she loves Tower of Terror, but even the youngest enjoys everything else at the park. Playhouse Disney has always been one of his favorite shows. Fantasmic is all of ours favorite light show. It's just one of those "can't miss" parks for us.

It really all depends on your kids. My kids don't really enjoy zoos. Yes, I agree, AK is way more than that. But it is still quite a bit of just looking at animals too, and my kids just don't go for that. If your children love watching animals, then definitely go to AK. If that's not their thing, I think they would enjoy MGM better.