Need help!!

[josh0208]

DH and I are taking our 2 sons to Florida in 4/06. They will be 4 and 6. We will be there 7 days. I need suggestions on what parks they would get the most out of and what type of tickets we should buy. I would also like to fit in Univeral Studios/IOA in our trip. Please help. Thanks.

 

[lovinmgm]

Unless they are animal lovers, they will like MK the best. Hit Fantasyland and Tomorrowland for sure (skip Stitch unless they love him).

MGM is for an older crowd, certainly older than 4 & 6, thou if you get there they will enjoy Mermaid, Muppets and some of the shows (you can decide which of the 4 are best by the titles).

Epcot rides are more severe, but they'll enjoy Test Track and the hands on displays in the pavilions around Future World. World Showcase is basically shopping and eating.

Animal Kingdom is great if you kids like animals. We like it, but many find it a bore.

As for Universal, stay on property to get the unlimited priority ride pass - how nice it is to walk onto EVERY ride with NO wait - and to be able to walk to the parks in 10-15 minutes max ! No need for buses or ferries or monorails. So convenient. Visit Islands of Adventure first. They will LOVE that. Water rides, very cool Spiderman ride, roller coasters, Olive's boat to play in, kid's sections with smaller rides. Very fun park. Universal Studios is fun, too, but more for your age boys in IOA.

With a 7 day visit, I'd get a 2-3 day MK park hopper and plan on MK the majority of the time and the other parks for partial days, allow for 1-2 days of rest interspersed with your MK days, get a 2-3 day Universal park hopper. Universal is easier to traverse and just as much fun without as much exhaustion in travel time. The Universal Royal Pacific Resort has a great pool which includes a play ship with squirt guns, etc. They might really enjoy that. Hark Rock has a water slide, but not sure if it is better suited for young boys.

Have fun planning!

 

[umaangel00]

I also would spend the majority of your time at MK. It's the best for little kids. I wouldn't waste 2-3 days at Universal though. DH and I were just there in March and we both didn't like it. I think it's more for adults though. You can easily do it in one or maybe 2 days. Animal Kingdom was great. I love animals though. Epcot is more for adults as well. MGM was also a lot of fun.

 

[matndrew]

Universal and IOA may be too big for your children. My boys went at those ages and were not really tall enough to enjoy the really cool rides. It's a lot of $$ to spend for them not to be able to do most of the parks!!

 

[matt&jakesmom]

I have to agree with the above post on Universal. We went there for the day last year. My DS's were 5&7. We were in line for Twister and once they saw the monitors about tornados, they so no way. My DH stayed in line for that. My DH thought the Terminator was to graphic for them so that was a no. We tried the Horror Makeup Show and they had their hands covered on their faces almost the whole time. We tried to go on other rides but wait times were nearly an hour. Basically we stayed in the NicK area, saw Shrek 4D which is a must. That was worth the 50 minutes wait. Went on ET ride and the kids rode the Woody Woodpecker roller coaster. My DH and I both said that we would try this again when they are in their teens.

I think you would enjoy and get more out of MK or even MGM in my opinion.

 

[Mickey & Minnie Mom]

I agree with the other posters that US/IOA is not going to be as kid friendly as any of the WDW parks. They are geared more to older kids/adults in intensity. At WDW, as long as the kids are tall enough, the shows/ride will be more friendly.

Definitely plan on most time at MK. At this age, the kids will find rides they like & want to do them again. It isn't really, done it once, move on with things like Goofy's Barnstormer rollercoaster, Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh or Buzz Lightyear. There also are so many opportunities to interact with a variety of characters this can take a lot of time. Kids loved the parades. At least 2 days in MK.

My kids (3 & 5) really enjoy Epcot. They enjoy the World Showcase pavillions & getting mask to decorate & stamped at the KidCot stations in each country. My son also bought a "passport" to have a message & stamps. There are also characters to meet here. In Future World, the Living Seas & Land are their favorites, as well as Spaceship Earth. They actually ask to go here a couple of days each trip. Maybe 2 daysat Epcot or 1.5 split with MK (monorail inbetween the 2 parks).

At MGM, the kids really like just about everything. The kids shows are good (Little Mermaid, Playhouse Disney, Beauty & Beast), they also like Indy Jones & the new stunt show. Even enjoyed pushing the buttons during Millionaire. Lots of characters to meet & greet, especially liked the Incredibles. Fantasmic at night is a must see. 1 day at MGM.

AK is probably the least time consuming to see. Kids enjoy, but doesn't offer as much & closes by about 5 pm. If skipping any park, this would be the one. Althought Kali River Rapids is now high on their list of thrills! Less than 1 full day or 0 if time doesn't allow.

 

[matndrew]

I forgot to add that both my boys love any kind of ride you put them on. They really are not scared of anything!! They enjoyed Jaws, The Unicorn, ET, The Make-up show and Dr. Seuss Land. But my younger one could not ride Spiderman (tears were shed), Jurassic Park (more tears here) or Men in Black (complete meltdown by now!!). The biggest disappointment was the height restrictions for most of the rides. It is very hard to justify bringing small children to an expensive theme park where they can't ride most of everything. We will not be back to IOA/Universal until my youngest son is at least 8 years old...then we will probably become regulars!

Have you considered Sea World in addition to Disney?? We really enjoyed this park. Very nice, not too big and the animals are always intresting!

Good Luck!

 

[lovinmgm]

After reading comments from the others, I agree that with the age of your kids you'd be better off to wait a few years before heading to Universal. I do think Universal has a better setup in terms of access to the parks and express passes, but I still love WDW , too. And with the age of your boys, the others are right , Disney has more to offer.

So, my new recommendation is to get a 4 day hopper pass (or 5 day if you feel you can splurge). Give yourself at least 2 totally 'out of park' days to sleep in, watch TV, use the pool, shop, explore your own resort as well as the others. Basically, use these days just to recoup from the active park days.

If your boys enjoy dolphins and other sea life, I also suggest Sea World for a nice diversion from WDW. Hard to imagine, but some say Sea World was the best day of their vacation.

I'm sure you will enjoy your trip with whatever you ultimately choose!

 

[littlebigdog]

My children ages 3 and 10 enjoy MK the most then MGM then Epcot and then AK. I would recommend the park hopper tickets. Haven't been to Universal, we always spend all our time at Disney.

 

[KIRSTIN'S MOMMY]

We have AP's to both WDW and US/IOA and our dd has been going to both since she was a year old. That being said, she is almost 6, and is just now asking to go back to Universal. We went last year and she wasn't tall enough for anything, and the things she could do were long lines (we were at a Disney resort so didn't have front of the line access at US). We may return to US/IOA in Sept., since she's grown a little and may be tall enough to do more things.
She really likes MK, MGM and Epcot. None of our family really cares for AK much. Also, we were there for 8 days last year and couldn't find enough time to fit all of WDW in on that trip, I don't think I could have done US too. Have you thought about the water parks? That took up one of our days, and my dd really enjoyed it. They have kid's areas, and she was tall enough for almost everything there.