Magic Kingdom & which other park for DD 8 ?

[luckey-lasvegas]

We will be going in October before our cruise and have some old park hopper tickets which each have 2 days on them. We know that we will be going to MK, but which other park should we go to for a DD who is 8 almost 9.
DH and I have already been to all the parks except AK.

 

[Amyality]

Day 1 MK, diner at EPCOT, do a ride or two on the way in.

Day 2 AK, Dinner and Fantasmic show at MGM.

Animal Kingdom is a nice park but, we really just need one day to do it. You MUST take your daughter on Its Tough to Be a Bug and Dinosaur - they are the BEST. Flights of Wonder and The Lion King are great shows.

At MGM, she will LOVE Fantasmic. It is a truely amazing show. I can not express enough how cool it is. If you do the Fantasmic Package, which I highly reccomend, you will have reserved seats at the show. The package fills up quickly so call pronto. You may try to hit the tower of terror and rockin rollercoaster while everyone is at the late afternoon parade, single rider lines.

EPCOT is a great place to go for dinner and you get to see Illuminations after dinner. You could catch a ride or two while you are there if you are lucky. They keep the big golf ball ride open so you can catch that on the way out.

At Mk use the Fastpass system. Research it so you can utilize it to your maximum benefit.

Get any priority seatings a soon as possible. If you are staing on site you should have time to get a shower and a change between am and pm activities.

 

[luckey-lasvegas]

Thanks for the tip ! She's seen Fantasmic at Disneyland , but I like the idea of doing illusions and having dinner at Epcot. Any suggestions as of which resturant to try and PS for?

 

[Amyality]

Thanks for the tip ! She's seen Fantasmic at Disneyland , but I like the idea of doing illusions and having dinner at Epcot. Any suggestions as of which resturant to try and PS for?

Hmm... Depends on your likes and priorities.

Great atmosphere for kids - Beirgarten (extensive German buffet, very yummy, best kept secret in Epcot) and San Angel (standard Mexican fare but, awesome atmosphere, my kids have to eat here every time)

Best Food - LeCellier, hands down. Its a Canadian steak house. Chef De France (good all around).

Hopefully, others can chime in.

 

[briarberry]

My DD8 almost 9 and I just got home last week from WDW. She absolutely loved Epcot! I was surprised at this! Soarin' was fabulous and we rode it 4 times. She also enjoyed getting her passport (which we bought at World Showcase) stamped and signed at the Kidcot Stations.The young people at the stations signed her passport in their native language and she thought that was cool. They were also very friendly and talked with her for a few minutes. She thought the masks were for little kids so didn't want to do them. I guess it depends on the sort of child your daughter is but Epcot was a hit with us!
I agree with the other poster, go see Fantasmic if you haven't already been. I was awestruck and my daughter loved it too. Have a great holiday.

 

[eeyore45]

My dd8 is an animal lover, every opportunity to study, and research animals, she's there. We've been to the Chicago Museums, zoos, aquariums, and we wouldnt think of doing Disney without spending 2 days at AK!! Last year we thought we could do it in a day - nope!!

She loved the Safari, did it twice in one day... loved Kaili River Rapids, I hated getting soaked!! She loved Lion King, Flights of Wonder, and Pocohantas show... we werent thrilled with the Rafiki train ride, will skip it... we didnt do Dinosaur - we were too busy on the trails and soaking in the atmosphere - etc...

Epcot I think she "Tolerated" it, knowing how much I* Love it!! She got a passport at the gift shop, we ate at LeCellier, best food!! Soaring wasnt there, but they have the Living Seas, which she loved, 3 hours worth!!

MGM we'd skip, except for Fantasmic, didnt like any of the food there, esp the counter service food... altho I do love Muppets 3D, The Great Movie Ride, and the place where they used to make movies, like Mulan, they had a movie, and then we waited and a cartoonist "taught" us to make Goofy!!

 

[marathonmommy]

My DD (5-with very mature ride tastes - a bit of a thrill junkie) LOVED EPCOT and MGM. But I would go with EPCOT because I think there is just more to do. She could ride Spaceship Earth, Soarin', and Test Track all day if I let her. She also enjoyed spending a significant amount of time in Innoventions. There she got to be part of a "human video game", play with computers, run around, etc. She also didn't mind the Figment ride (although it gets bashed on the boards a lot). We ate at Coral Reef and she loved the big tanks. It's great to do Future World in the late afternoon when everyone goes over to World Showcase. Warning: aside from the biggies (Soarin, Test Track, Mission Space, and Spaceship Earth) a lot of Future World closes early.

You could do MGM and just get Tower of Terror and some of the biggies done and then head over to EPCOT, too.

 

[marathonmommy]

Hmm... Depends on your likes and priorities.

Great atmosphere for kids - Beirgarten (extensive German buffet, very yummy, best kept secret in Epcot) and San Angel (standard Mexican fare but, awesome atmosphere, my kids have to eat here every time)

Best Food - LeCellier, hands down. Its a Canadian steak house. Chef De France (good all around).

Hopefully, others can chime in.

IMHO, San Angel was anything but standard Mexican fare - except for maybe the kids menu. Don't go expecting tacos, burritos, enchiladas, or quesadillas. I love Mexican food (at least what gets served in the good ol' USA), and I didn't find this on the menu. It used to be one of my top 3, but I think I remembered it that way because of the atmosphere. My latest trip there, a couple of weeks ago, was less than stellar. The service sucked and the tables were so crowded. We had a river table - that was nice.

I did like LeCellier, but it did not live up to the hype that it gets on these boards during my trip. The service was very good though.

We had a good meal at Coral Reef, but we had better there in the past. Can't beat the big tanks. A bit pricy though.

I think next time I go, I will try Italy and France again. Maybe Japan, too (hard to mess up hibachi and entertaining for kids!)

 

[newtowdw1]

We just got back with a DD8. I agree with the Epcot nod. DD loved Soarin', Figment, the Living Seas, the countries. She was really positive and happy. We didn't make it into Innoventions, but she could do all the cool computer morphing stuff in the Imagination Pavilion without help. I was watching her brother play with the music stuff, so didn't really notice what she was doing!

She really liked the shows in WS, and bought a pink silk parasol ($38 ) with her own money!

She liked MGM too. Esp Star Tours and Muppets, Great Movie Ride. AK was a big hit....just do them all. Spend more time. About 30-40 days should do it!

 

[jencav5]

I think it depends on what interests your DD most. My 8 year old DD will tell me where she wants to go, no problem! Go online and show her the parks and let her decide what she thinks she wants to do the most. IMO I would stay with 1 main park a day, and then see how you feel at the end of the day about traveling to a different park for dinner, show, etc... No matter which park you choose, you will have a great time-they are all filled with Disney magic!

 

[justKim]

We just got back with a DD8. I agree with the Epcot nod. DD loved Soarin', Figment, the Living Seas, the countries.

I'm pretty sure that Living Seas is closed for a rehab, you can check the Disney website on this.

If you don't have a kid friendly WDW guidebook, grab one at a library or store and she might like to help make some plans. My DS 6 loves looking at the books and websites with me.

Great thing about the hopper pass, don't like this park - find another!

Have a great trip.

 

[lmhall2000]

I would do all four!

My daughters are 6 & 7 and I have a son 10...but just thinking of my 7 year old this would be my plan...

Breakfast at Cindy's (if you can get it, to get in early to MK) spend all morning until about 1pm there...head over to MGM and do all the events and make ressie's at Sci-Fi for dinner or Mama Melrose's to get the Fantasmic....I liked Fantasmic...but my daughter is all about the rides...so actually I wouldn't mind skipping it.

Next morning hit AK early early at Donald's Breakfastsaurus..gets you into the park earlier and race over to the safari for first ride...animals are so active in the morning. Do Kali River Rapids last (you'll get wet) dry off while eating lunch at Pizzafari..then head over to Epcot for the afternoon and evening and top it off watching Illuminations...An easy 2 day trip packed with all the fun!

Tara