If You Could Skip 1 Park...

[herb102211]

I know you said you’re going to DHS, but honestly, that would be the park I’d skip. I think the kids would really enjoy seeing all of the animals at AK. Epcot is our favorite park so I couldn’t imagine skipping that, especially during the fall because I think you would enjoy the F&WF as well.

 

[rteetz]

Going to WDW this fall with 4 kids (9, 7, 6, and 4). Planning on 3 days in MK and 1 day at DHS (for the Disney Jr characters). We have a 5th-day ticket, but obviously can't do both Epcot and AK in one day. Of the two, which would be best to skip this trip?

in all honesty I think AK has more for the young kids than DHS. Yes there are Disney junior characters but AK has the animals, Dino land dig zone, and safaris and more. I think AK is underestimated as a park. There truly is a lot to do there.

 

[married2mm]

I like your plan so far...
I would go to mk everyday if I could-but our tickets are hoppers.

We do indeed have 3 days planned at mk at the beginning of our vacation also.

Ak is my third option-it's great.
Epcot is easily my last choice.

 

[GWhitten98]

If park hopping is not an option and you are not willing to go down to 2 days at MK, I would probably skip AK only b/c DH and I enjoyed Epcot more and I think they are a toss up in terms of what the kids liked. We really liked Soaring and spending time in the world expo, plus the princess breakfast was awesome!

We would never skip HS. My kids loved HS, with disney junior, star wars, little mermaid and Beauty and the beast, plus we did lots of character meet and greets there. Also Fantasmic was DD favorite end of night show all week.

 

[eliz603]

See my kids' ages below. We'd skip AK for sure. My kids actually don't care for the safari, although DH and I do. The only draw there for all of us is EE. We don't care for shows. I don't like Dinosaur. I'd hate to miss EE, but I would.

Conversely, my kids adore Epcot. It's tied for 2nd favorite with DHS. They love doing the Agent P game in World Showcase. They actually like the redesigned TT and designing a car. Even my six year old says she's excited to go back to Spaceship Earth.

 

[Karbase8]

I don't understand the hate for DHS. I was last there August 2013. I felt MK, my favorite park, seemed a bit run down. On the other hand, I always enjoy DHS. I went at night for the first time and it was great fun! There is a lot to do and it's a compact park. The Great Movie Ride, TSM, some of your kids may enjoy one of the two thrill rides. Indiana Jones, Beauty and the Beast, the Little Mermaid Show, drawing a character at Animation Studios is a must, One Man's Dream, Backlot Studios if it's opened. Disney Jr and the other Meet and Greets are great. Like another poster stated, you can go on youtube and look at the different parks and decide from there.

 

[married2mm]

I don't understand the hate for DHS. I was last there August 2013. I felt MK, my favorite park, seemed a bit run down. On the other hand, I always enjoy DHS. I went at night for the first time and it was great fun! There is a lot to do and it's a compact park. The Great Movie Ride, TSM, some of your kids may enjoy one of the two thrill rides. Indiana Jones, Beauty and the Beast, the Little Mermaid Show, drawing a character at Animation Studios is a must, One Man's Dream, Backlot Studios if it's opened. Disney Jr and the other Meet and Greets are great. Like another poster stated, you can go on youtube and look at the different parks and decide from there.

We loved dhs at night-it was a different perspective altogether.
It was fab-everyone obviously has different likes and dislikes-
However,the question was posed-so clearly there will be a varied response.

 

[cheerful chickadee]

With the ages you list and the desire to see Disney Jr. characters (at DHS), I would choose to skip Epcot.

My DD (6) was very bored at Epcot, the Innoventions areas seemed like a museum that we have close to our house so we flew through them. There are only a handful or rides in future world and she was out of her mind bored through the world showcase. She loved seeing all the animals at AK, loved HS for Toy Story Mania, Pizza Planet, The Little Mermaid show and Fantasmic. MK is a must do for us, it's where we spend most of our park days.

 

[tina.tina]

I haven't read through the entire thread- but why not 2 days at MK and 1 at each of the other parks?

 

[rteetz]

I haven't read through the entire thread- but why not 2 days at MK and 1 at each of the other parks?

I agree if you could do that, that would be the best choice.

 

[athumann]

Normally I would say Epcot which has always been my kids least favorite park but considering the fact that there is nighttime entertainment at Epcot, HS and MK I would maybe think about cutting out Animal Kingdom. Seems like a waste of a park day when it usually closes early.

With that being said, I love Animal Kingdom and the atmosphere! The foliage, drummers and smells totally transport me to another world. It's much more than a zoo and there are so many areas to explore.

It's a tough choice, I guess it depends on your interests and how much bang you want to get out of your park day. It's a shame to cut out any parks though because they all have something unique to offer.

 

[staceyrhood]

I haven't read through the entire thread- but why not 2 days at MK and 1 at each of the other parks?

Good idea, then you can go to all the parks. Magic kingdom can be done in 2 days easily.
If I would skip one, it would be Hollywood Studios, but that's just me. My son, 6, loves Epcot, it has been his favorite park since he can remember.

 

[MrsDuck]

I'd skip AK.

But you should also consider doing EPCOT in the AM and then do DHS in the evening!

 

[ssleblanc]

EPCOT and AK are higher in my priority list than DHS. My boys liked DHS ok (ok, the addition of RnR and TSM bumped it up a bit), and the kids actually loved Walt One Man's Dream which many find boring. But overall, EPCOT and AK both take higher priority.

When I had 5 days for a trip we did:

2 days MK
2 days EPCOT
1 day AK

That was great for us (boys were 6/7)

Last year we had planned:

2-1/2 days MK (1/2 day on departure to catch anything we wanted but missed)
2-days EPCOT
1 day AK
1 day DHS
1 day Universal (had free passes)

(that was with 14 yr old, & 12 yr old boys, and 3 yr old girl)

My oldest got sick and missed 1 day at AK and 1 day at EPCOT - we spent 1/2 of that EPCOT day at the urgent care. What we found was that really REALLY needed those full 2 days at EPCOT. My kids love spending time in the Innoventions, the exit areas at Spaceship Earth and Mission Space, and in each of the countries. Because our time was cut short, we missed a lot of our 'must do's' at EPCOT. The 3rd planned day at MK was used on a return to AK (so the oldest could get some time in there).

Our trip this coming year will include a day at DHS, because of my daughter and Disney Jr (she loves Sophia, Doc McStuffins, etc). And there are things I like at DHS, but it is still my least favorite park of the 4 of them. If I was short on time, I would give up a day there to get my 2 days at EPCOT or a day at AK.

But everyone has different preferences. My kids are very interested in science/nature so both EPCOT and AK carry a strong appeal.

 

[Kimi313]

My vote would have to go to skipping Epcot. I think the older children would enjoy it more than the 4 year old but I think they would all love AK. There is so much to see there and we are always amazed how fast the times goes and we don't get everything done. Have a great time!

 

[ValpoCory]

Not positive about Disney Jr at other places but you could check kenny the pirate possibly?

I just feel that Hollywood Studio is not "kiddish" at the other parks. I feel HWS is more for a teenager who is going to like the thrill rides although they do have Toy Story Mania.

MK - Must go
AK - Its really cool for kids to do the "Safari"/Rafiki Watch/Dinoland, heck were both late 20's and loved the Dinoland area
Epcot - Getting the cultural experience of World Showcase would be way to much for us to pass up if we had kids, they can see all these college age students from around the world are like them - also you have the sea area with Nemo and Crush and what not

I concur with seth. Last time we were there for 8 days and went to DHS for 4 hours, and it was the worst 4 hours of the trip. We love the other parks.

Going to DHS for EMH is nice for adults/teens who want to ride Aerosmith and ToT multiple times, and to check out TSM and ST. But that's about it, in my opinion.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

I don't understand the hate for DHS. I was last there August 2013. I felt MK, my favorite park, seemed a bit run down. On the other hand, I always enjoy DHS. I went at night for the first time and it was great fun! There is a lot to do and it's a compact park. The Great Movie Ride, TSM, some of your kids may enjoy one of the two thrill rides. Indiana Jones, Beauty and the Beast, the Little Mermaid Show, drawing a character at Animation Studios is a must, One Man's Dream, Backlot Studios if it's opened. Disney Jr and the other Meet and Greets are great. Like another poster stated, you can go on youtube and look at the different parks and decide from there.

It's just personal preference. Some like Coke, some like Pepsi.