Is this too much?

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

I have been to Blizzard Beach but not Typhoon Lagoon, before I get called out as a nay-sayer who hasn't been to the water parks.

I wouldn't take 2 year olds to the water parks at all, but if you want to go, I wouldn't go for 2.5 days. I think you will want more MK time with kids that age. I would plan a day midweek to sleep in and hang out by the pool, then hit MK in the evening with a couple of well chosen FPs and plans to watch Wishes.

It also depends where you are staying. If you are staying at a Disney resort with a nice pool and slide and some pool games, movies, activities, the kids probably won't miss the water parks. If you are in a house with a small private pool, they might want something more interesting. Where you are staying will also determine the feasibility of midday breaks - it is still very hot in September, and without a break, you might be leaving the parks earlier than you planned.

 

[GrumpyDad1974]

Less water parks more parks... or at least break up the water parks more.

 

[brooke789]

I think I would alternate parks and water parks. 3 straight days at water parks seems like asking for sunburn which would impact enjoyment of the parks. If you really want to do waterparks 3 days in a nine day trip I would do
Day 1 - Arrival
Day 2- Waterpark
Day 3 - Park
Day 4 Park
Day 5 Waterpark
Day 6 Park
Day 7 Park
Day 8 Waterpark
Day 9 DTD, Disneyquest, etc.

JMHO

I like this! Water parks don't open until 10am, so it can be your 'sleep in' days and you can also plan late nights in the parks before the water park days.

We just went and did 3 water park days. We only ever did half days at the water park and did other things on those days too...like mini golf and DQ. So, if you're using WP&M you may be able to mix things or save a day for hanging at your resort/pool.

 

[mshanson3121]

Day 1 arrive pm.
Day 2 water park
Day 3 am water park. Pm AK
Day 4 water park
Day 5 DHS
DAY 6 MK
DAY 7 MK
DAY 8 EPCOT
DAY 9 DEPART 9 PM FLIGHT. DTD, DISNEY QUEST IF OPEN.
2 FAMILYS OF EACH WITH 2 KIDS, 2, 2, 7, 8 YRS OLD TRIP FROM 9/2-9/10
Is it too much to do we currently have 5 day wp&m should we drop wp&m and just hang out around pool

I haven't read all the comments so I'm probably repeating some stuff, but IMO... too much time spent at the water parks and not enough in the actual parks. Also, traveling with two two year olds, you're likely going to want a bit of down time in there somewhere, especially since it's going to be hot and humid. Likely plan on doing rope drop, take an afternoon break during nap/shower time, then go back for the evening. Or, go in the morning from say 9-1, then take the rest of the day off.

Myself I would do 3 days at MK, 1 HS, 1 AK, 1 EP and then 1 WP, or 2 MK, 2 EP, 1 HS, 1 AK, 1 WP. For those ages, MK is still going to be the main park for the entertainment and rides. You could even split one day between the main park and a water park. Probably something more like this:


Day 2: MK
Day 3: EP/WP
Day 4: HS
Day 5: MK/rest
Day 6: AK
Day 7: EP/WP
Day 8: MK

EP would be a good park to do half days at since the World Showcase in the afternoon is like a concrete oven - very little shade, and very hot for children so young. Go at RD, stay till 12 or so, then head over to a water park for a couple/few hours to cool off. You could go back in the evening to walk around the world showcase once it's cooled off.

 

[mshanson3121]

So....what everyone on this website says (maybe not EVERYONE....but almost everyone) is that EPCOT, AK, and HS just don't have enough stuff right now. And everybody says MK is their favorite (again, not everyone but 99.9%).

And you are saying you're going to wait 6 days until you visit MK? And you're saying you're doing more waterpark days than MK days? That's a pretty unique touring plan.

I'd move MK up to day 2 and I"d do at least 3 MK days.

Count me in as one of the ones who does NOT think HS and AK are half day parks. In fact, it's physically impossible for them to be half day, if you actually do all the activities. Most of the people saying they are half day parks are multi-time visitors who are only doing the main attractions.

For the OP's, stuff available at these three parks for your age range:

AK:

- All the animal trails
- Safari
- DinoLand
- Conservation Station
- Festival of the Lion King
- Finding Nemo
- Wilderness Explorers
- Kali
- Flights of Wonder
- Meet & Greets
- possibly ITTBAB and Dinosaur (for the older kids)


HS:

- Beauty & The Beast
- Disney Jr.
- Muppet 3D
- Jedi Training Academy
- Star Tours
- lots of Meet & Greets
- Star Wars Launch Bay
- Fantasmic
- Fireworks
- Frozen Sing a Long
- Voyage of the Little Mermaid
- Indiana Jones
- TSMM


EP:
- Living with the Land
- Soarin'
- Test Track (granted these two are more for the older kids)
- lots of Meet & greets
- Frozen Ever After
- Journey into Imagination with ImageWorks
- Spaceship Earth with Project Tomorrow
- Advanced Training Lab
- Gran Fiesta Tour
- The Seas with Nemo and the aquarium
- Turtle Talk
- then in the World Showcase there's the Agent P and Kidcot stations

 

[jessg]

Ok so apparently nobody else in our group agrees with removing wp&m so I am thinking doibg this instead.
Day 1 arrive
Day 2 water park
Day 3 rope drop animal kingdom stay till noonish leave and come back around 4-5pm till close
Day 4 (labor day) water park
Day 5 rope drop DHS stay till around 4
Day 6 rope drop magic kingdom leave around noon return 4-5 pm till close
Day 7 MK rope drop stay till 7 since there is mnnshp in the evening (not going)
Day 8 rope drop Epcot stay till probably 4-5 or do midday rest and return around 4-5 not sure yet.
Day 9 departure day thinking about doing the which ever water park everyone enjoyed more till around 2 then go to dtd and then to airport for 9pm flight

 

[Klayfish]

To me, that sounds like a good plan. Don't let anyone else tell you what to do with your own 2 year olds. You probably won't be able to see every last thing in the 4 major parks, so just focus on the things that are important to you and your group. I think you'll have a lot of fun. Will you have park hop ability, and are you limited in the number of days in the 4 parks (sorry, I don't recall if you said what ticket you bought). If you aren't limited by the number of days in the major parks, you may find that you want/need to go to a park on day 2 and/or 4. As much as I love the water parks, we normally don't spend the entire day there. We get there at 9 or 10am, depending on which one it is. By 2 or 3pm, our kids are ready to go, or the weather makes that decision for us. That's a good time to go home, grab a shower, and go to a park that night if you're not to tired from the water parks. But if you decide to stay at the water park all day, have at it, they're fun.

 

[jessg]

To me, that sounds like a good plan. Don't let anyone else tell you what to do with your own 2 year olds. You probably won't be able to see every last thing in the 4 major parks, so just focus on the things that are important to you and your group. I think you'll have a lot of fun. Will you have park hop ability, and are you limited in the number of days in the 4 parks (sorry, I don't recall if you said what ticket you bought). If you aren't limited by the number of days in the major parks, you may find that you want/need to go to a park on day 2 and/or 4. As much as I love the water parks, we normally don't spend the entire day there. We get there at 9 or 10am, depending on which one it is. By 2 or 3pm, our kids are ready to go, or the weather makes that decision for us. That's a good time to go home, grab a shower, and go to a park that night if you're not to tired from the water parks. But if you decide to stay at the water park all day, have at it, they're fun.

No park hoppers the people we are going with have a pretty relaxed mentality the arent really go go go all day long types and neither are we really we are staying value so no exotic pools lol and they dont want more park days they want at least a day or 2 in the water parks so it is more economical to get the wp&m option for us as to pay for 2 days in the water parks. And if I only go 2 times it is also a waste which is why we want to get in at least 3 times

 

[KittyKitty]

Can you talk your group into changing MK with AK day? If this is everyone's 1st time, you may find after visiting MK, that you want to do back another day. EDIT: I just noticed, you have 2 days already planned. (I've got to read slower...)

As you can see by all the responses, you will not see it all on this trip. I am still working on that, after 25 trips!

 

[mshanson3121]

No park hoppers the people we are going with have a pretty relaxed mentality the arent really go go go all day long types and neither are we really we are staying value so no exotic pools lol and they dont want more park days they want at least a day or 2 in the water parks so it is more economical to get the wp&m option for us as to pay for 2 days in the water parks. And if I only go 2 times it is also a waste which is why we want to get in at least 3 times

Actually, going only one time to the water parks, pays for the Water Park extension on your ticket. So you only need to go once, to financially get your money's worth.

 

[AJA]

With the ages of the kiddo's you need a full day at AK.

If you really want to experience the water parks then yes I'd do 2 days but not the 3rd. Traveling with little ones, each park needs a full day, especially AK!

 

[scrapquitler]

Seems like too much waterpark for my family, but if you like the water parks a lot, it's probably great. That said, I'd suggest alternating park days with water park days. You might get really tired out from the consecutive park days at the end of your plan.

 

[scrapquitler]

Ok so apparently nobody else in our group agrees with removing wp&m so I am thinking doibg this instead.
Day 1 arrive
Day 2 water park
Day 3 rope drop animal kingdom stay till noonish leave and come back around 4-5pm till close
Day 4 (labor day) water park
Day 5 rope drop DHS stay till around 4
Day 6 rope drop magic kingdom leave around noon return 4-5 pm till close
Day 7 MK rope drop stay till 7 since there is mnnshp in the evening (not going)
Day 8 rope drop Epcot stay till probably 4-5 or do midday rest and return around 4-5 not sure yet.
Day 9 departure day thinking about doing the which ever water park everyone enjoyed more till around 2 then go to dtd and then to airport for 9pm flight

This seems like a much better plan. Those mid-day breaks will be vital with the young children in your party.

 

[Julylady]

You asked for comments! I would spend 2 full days at Magic Kingdom, 1 full day at EPCOT (maybe spread across two different days), a full day at Hollywood Studios (maybe two), and a full day at Animal Kingdom. I would spend no more than 1 day at a waterpark (and yes, we visit one on almost every trip). If we really LOVED waterparks, I might go to another one a second morning and then head over to EPCOT at night for Illuminations.

In our experience, we prefer spending time at our own resort pool over going to waterparks on multiple days. We also found that we spent much more time at Hollywood Studios our last trip even with so much of it closed down. My girls are new Star Wars fans and spent a lot of time at the Star Wars meet and greets plus looking at all the memorabilia. We had to go back a second full day.

Last, consider spending some down time at Fort Wilderness. Many of the activities like the camp fire sing along are fun and free. The boat ride to get there is pleasant and there are pony rides for the little ones!

 

[VillainFavs]

With 2-year-olds, I really, really can't imagine spending more time at water parks than at MK. Kids that little are probably not going to any more impressed with a water park than they would be with a hotel pool--even a value resort. They'd probably have just as much fun in the splash area in Fantasyland!

But it sounds like you're group has made up their minds. But is there a reason you're saving MK until the end of your trip? If nothing else, move it up closer to the beginning so that if you do change your minds and want to spend more time there, you have an opportunity to do so.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I agree with OP that Epcot isn't all that great. But 3 days in a water park is too many, IMHO.

 

[GPC0321]

I'd still move MK up to the first day, but that's just me. I can't imagine waiting until the 6th day of a 9 day trip to see MK. But you know your group's preferences.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I'm not one to automatically hit MK on the FIRST day, but we usually do it EARLIER in the trip than what you have planned. Your second plan sounds better than the first, here's my WHY:

1. The WDW water parks are nice parks (or at least TL, we've never been to BB), but water slides are relatively easy to find (locally). I go to WDW more for Space Mtn.

2. As others have said, the WDW hotel pools all have water slides, so that's mostly where we satisfy our water slide whims. It isn't about cost for us, as much as it is about time management. Traveling to/from the water parks takes quite a bit of TIME. Going to the pool at your hotel is much easier to accomplish. It is especially nice to visit the room after swimming for changing, primping, snacking, and relaxing. (though we often do very little of the last!) In September in particular, your hotel can be a nice place to dodge afternoon storms. Even if you are off-WDW property, the hotel pools are often super.

3. MOST important- for us - walking barefoot I the water parks does a NUMBER on our FEET!!!! Fourteen hours of walking around the theme parks is also no picnic, but at least when we are n the theme parks we are wearing quality footwear! SO....if it was my trip, I'd put the water parks more on the TAIL end of the trip. Still spread them out, intersperse with theme parks, but front load your trip with theme parks.

4. EXCEPT- I always try to avoid MK on a Saturday. ALSO, by all means, if there is some other event happening during your visit that you specifically want to experience, then keep that part. (like following or avoiding EMH)

 

[Klayfish]

One other suggestion I'd have is to have a back up plan for the water parks in case of rain. What will you do then?

We brought our twins to the water parks when they were just turning one year old. No, they didn't understand much, but then again they didn't understand much in the parks either.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I didn't do water parks when my kids were that little (2 years old). Even with the 7 and 8 year olds, if they aren't tall enough there isn't too much they can do. Way too much hassle and such a waste. We just did pool days. I got to semi-relax and they got to play in the kiddie pools. We did TL when my son was 3 1/2 and we stayed in the wave pool for 75% of the time.