Need Advice

[kennyssenorita]

We Are Planning A Trip May 6-13 With Our Two Sons, Ages 3,5. I Need Help In Deciding Which 3 Parks To Visit On Our Trip. Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Mgm, Or Universal Studios? Which 3 Would You Choose And Why? Please Help!!!

 

[mmeb144]

I would do Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and EPCOT. Less moving around. You can book a disney hotel and stay on property.

Marie

 

[disneymama73]

Why only 3 parks? Sorry, I'm a parkhopperaholic and can't imagine doing only 3 parks in one week.

Where are you staying?

If I had to choose, it would be MK, Epcot and MGM.

 

[liveforthemagic]

Hmmm. Of course, Magic Kingdom. I would then say also do

AK. Its a "short" park--so you can spend just the morning and do pretty much all you want. Then you can head back to your hotel for a nap, or a swim. the boys will love the FOTLK show and when we were there the crowds were not bad at all.

Then I would do MGM. They have the Muppets there I believe, and some other pre-school type attractions. I know they're boys, but the Belle show is great for little ones if they like shows at all. And there was alot of "Boy" stuff in the show--you know, the typical sword fight to save Belle and all. Plus all boys have to love the new car stunt show (the name escapes me). I think they may be a little young for the Indiana Jones show. The action comes in spurts and it might be too slow for them. I'm sure they'd love the Sci Fi for lunch--how cool is it to eat and watch cartoons in a car! If they can make it, I think they'd like Fantasmic too--I know the grown ups would.

My kids were 7 and 9 when we last went and we did all 4. They really didn't find much that they liked at Epcot except Test Track and Soarin. They had just started their summer vacation and were not into anything educational, so alot of the great attractions were lost on them. And the World Showcase (which DH and I really wanted to walk through) just didn't interest them yet. Maybe next time!

Good luck deciding--as long as you go to MK at least one day, you can't go wrong IMHO!

 

[theflowerladee]

I have three boys and on is age 4, i would go to mk, ak and mgm. i do not
think there is enough for children that young to do at universal studios.
in islands of adventure there is really only the dr. seuss section and in the older part of universal i can't think of anything except woody woodpecker,
which most kids don't know who he is. also would save you on having to rent a car if you stayed on disney property.

 

[kennyssenorita]

Thanks everyone for your advice. My husband doesn't even want to go to Disney, but I said we are taking our boy's at least once. I just don't want to overdue it, so I decided only 3 days at the parks. They dont like to do too much walking, especially in the heat. They love to hang out at the pool and stuff. I now know we are doing MK and AK!!! The third one I just don't know between MGM and Universal Studios.

 

[BuzzAndWoodyBoy]

I was just there with DS5 and DS3. We stayed for a week and saw all the Disney parks. For my children, if I was going for 3 days I would go to Magic Kingdom twice and either Epcot or Animal Kingdom once depending on what your kids like.

MGM was fun and had good shows but if you ask my kids what they liked best it was the torrential downpour that we were caught out in! They loved playing in the rain. They did not want to go back to this park.

Animal Kingdom was good. It had a couple of kiddie rides. There weren't many animals out when we went on the safari. The Boneyard was fun. If your kids love animals/dinosaurs I would choose this.

Epcot they really enjoyed the Kidcot stations. They went from country to country and got their tokens. They loved Soarin' and the GM test track. If your kids like exciting rides and doing hands on stuff, I would choose this. Also if you want to eat a good meal on property Epcot would be my choice.

My kids loved the Magic Kingdom. We went back 3 times (one for MNSSHP) and they still wanted more! This is the park with mostly kids in mind. There are more rides for them, good character interaction, and cool things to see. I would definately do this 2 times. Save the other parks for when they are a little older.

After all this, if you are like me, you'll say "but I want 3 different parks" so I would go with Epcot, Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom.

 

[kennyssenorita]

I was just there with DS5 and DS3. We stayed for a week and saw all the Disney parks. For my children, if I was going for 3 days I would go to Magic Kingdom twice and either Epcot or Animal Kingdom once depending on what your kids like.

MGM was fun and had good shows but if you ask my kids what they liked best it was the torrential downpour that we were caught out in! They loved playing in the rain. They did not want to go back to this park.

Animal Kingdom was good. It had a couple of kiddie rides. There weren't many animals out when we went on the safari. The Boneyard was fun. If your kids love animals/dinosaurs I would choose this.

Epcot they really enjoyed the Kidcot stations. They went from country to country and got their tokens. They loved Soarin' and the GM test track. If your kids like exciting rides and doing hands on stuff, I would choose this. Also if you want to eat a good meal on property Epcot would be my choice.

My kids loved the Magic Kingdom. We went back 3 times (one for MNSSHP) and they still wanted more! This is the park with mostly kids in mind. There are more rides for them, good character interaction, and cool things to see. I would definately do this 2 times. Save the other parks for when they are a little older.

After all this, if you are like me, you'll say "but I want 3 different parks" so I would go with Epcot, Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom.

That was going to be my next question for people, should we spend 2 days at MK? I was thinking yes because it looks so big and so many things to do. I didn't think we could fit it in to 1 day without rushing around. I want to be able to take our time and see everything they want to see and do!!!

 

[liveforthemagic]

You know, the first time we went when DD was 4 and DS was almost 7, we did MK two days, and didn't even do any other parks. Now, my DD 7 only wants to do MK the next time we go. Its so great for the ages that your boys are, I almost think that is what I would do. It will be slower when you go, so you don't have to worry about crowds. Then, if tehy find a ride they love, or a show, they can go back and do it again the next day. Of all the four parks, I really think it has the most for little ones to love. (And I must admit, its my favorite park too....)

 

[jeannief]

I went last year with 2 boys, 4 and 5. AK, MK and MGM get my vote. 2 days at MK is great, but I would not do it twice and skip a park. DH didn't really get the whole park thing when we booked, now we can't wait to go back and do 7 days!
Best advice I have for you is to arrive early, be prepared for all kinds of weather so that you don't have to leave (we left MK early since it was too cold!), and RENT/BRING A STROLLER!
If you do a character breakfast I would do the one at AK, we did Chef Mickeys and didn't enjoy it, but my boys LOVED AK. MGM had lots there too and they loved Fantasmic at night.

 

[kennyssenorita]

Thank you all for all of the advice!!!! It really helps to hear from people who have been there before and knows what the kids like.