Epcot is great! Starting Black Friday is Festival of the Holidays with a cookie stroll and the Olaf hunt. Our daughter and I LOVE to do the Olaf scavenger hunt. It's $10, and you can buy the little sticker sheet with map of the countries and wander around World Showcase looking for Olaf hidden in the flower beds and on the rooftops of the various country booths. At the end they give you a little souvenir, but it keeps our kids engaged as mom and dad sip and snack around the world.
If you guys aren't big on spinny rides and stuff, I think I would prioritize these things for your group:
Animal Kingdom:
Kilimanjaro Safaris. If you can, try to rope drop it -- or go during the rain. I heard more animals come out in the rain when it's cooler, but we haven't seen that yet. It's a fun, covered jeep ride through the animal areas.
If you have time, there's a railroad in AK that takes you to Rafiki's place (forget the name.) It's like a small wild animal petting zoo-ish area, and inside the building they teach you how to do a quick sketch of a character. Last time we did Judy Hopps. It's nothing exciting, but it's a nice all-ages break to get off your feet, and every kid loves baby animals.
Lion King show. This runs almost every 30-60 minutes from morning until late afternoon. I think the last showtime is around 4 p.m.-ish. It's a GREAT show, nice break from the heat/rain, saves your feet, and is a highlight reel of Lion King on Broadway.
Tough to Be a Bug in the Tree of Life is usually scary for the kids. More screaming in terror, LOL, but now that they're older and have done it once, they like it. YMMV. The carvings IN the tree are amazing, and it's supposed to be rethemed to Zootopia, so this may be the last time you see it this version.
Dinosaur! we hate, all of us. Loud, rough, scary for kids. Others love it, just be aware of the noise/roughness.
Expedition Everest we love, but show your kids the YouTube video of the sound portion of the Yeti and going backwards. May be too intense for them. Our son cried first time on it at the Yeti sound portion.
FoP is great, but our daughter got a little panicky at the bike kind of "locking" you into position. She's now 9.5, has ridden it every year since 5.5 and is fine, she was just surprised by that.
Epcot:
Frozen Ever After at Norway. Your butts WILL get wet, so prepare accordingly. The ride is not scary or extreme, but it is Frozen, so if you have an Elsa uber fan like you say, probably a priority.
Scavenger Hunt is cool. We just love wandering around the countries with the shops and food and drinks and seeing the tumblers, drummers, etc.
Skyliner moves crowds very fast at the end of the night after fireworks. Don't be freaked out when you see the line going all the way down to Beach Club. It seriously loads everyone in -30 minutes, really more like 20 minutes most nights, and unless it rains, you're always shuffling forward.
MK: Crystal Palace covers your fireworks.
We really like the PeopleMover, LOL. Again, just a relaxing spin around the park, but a nice break for the feet and a different view for the kids.
Festival of Fantasy parade is really great, has all the princesses.
7DMT is good, but not AMAZING to warrant the 2-hour wait times. That is something we ONLY do during EEH, but since MK isn't doing it Thanksgiving week, maybe LL it?
There's an AC'd tent behind the carousel, heading towards Goofy's Barnstormer. There's playground equipment for the littles in AC away from the madness. We get cranky in MK with the crowds and only do it at night now, unless we're going in to shop at the Emporium.
Haunted Mansion and Big Thunder are our favorites, but you may want princess meet and greets, etc. BOG was expensive and nothing thrilling, IMO. We were in the dark Beast side room, and he just came in and waved and left (Covid trip though.)
Crystal Palace and Casey's Corner are the only places we usually eat. Everything else is pretty bad in there. We go over to Poly for food if we have enough time. Kona is quick, and Luau cove for a dole whip.
HS:
Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway we all really like! It's so cute, not too intense, has a catchy song, and it's a good people-eating ride. Even if the queue is outside the building, you're still likely to get on in around 40 minutes, tops. Plus, I have never seen it break down, and it's inside a building if it starts raining.
SDD is wonderful and adorable, but the lines make me nuts. I'd pay LL for that, and/or try to go at night. It's REALLY awesome at night. IDK if you are aware, but ANY ride in ANY park, so long as you're in the queue when the park "closes," they don't kick anyone out of the ride. Also, they massively inflate all the ride time estimates the last hour of park operation to discourage newbs from getting in line so they stand a chance of getting out of work early. GET IN THE LINE. You can thank me later;-)
Since you're West Coast, you probably CAN make Fantasmic at the 9 p.m. time. The show itself is only 30 minutes long, but I would line up/grab a seat maybe 20-30 minutes early? We do have the dragon, too.
RoTR is awesome, but they're running it in plan B mode, which isn't as good as the opening year(s) mode with the cannons moving and stuff. It's still good, but not AS good. The ride breaks down A LOT, so the recommendation is to rope drop that ride if you can. I'd be willing to pay LL for that and skip two hours of waiting if this is your one shot to do that park/ride. Smugglers Run, it eats a lot of people in it, and the lines aren't usually too bad. It's kind of forgotten as a ride. We like, not love it.
Pro Tip: When you enter HS, enter a mobile order for Woody's Lunchbox (not the new BBQ restaurant, the QS place) at a time you know you'll be hungry. Do it immediately! You don't hit "I'm here, prepare it now" until you ARE nearby and ready to eat, but those time slots fill up FAST and there's almost no seating/shade over there. The food is surprisingly delicious! We like the boozy lemonade drink, pulled pork grilled cheese, grilled cheese and tomato soup, loaded tater tots -- basically, everything is tasty over there, LOL. They always have a seasonal pop tart, too.
If you go to HS and enter Galaxy's Edge, as you make your way heading uphill, there's a photo op with Grogu, and that hill leads you straight to the bathrooms at Toy Story Land, and RIGHT next to Woody's Lunchbox. If you do GE in the a.m. and wait in line for ROTR, wander over to SR/shop/poke around enjoying the area, then head uphill for a photo if the line isn't too bad, or skip it and hit "I'm here" for Woody's, go to the bathrooms, and then check in with the lady with a clipboard who will let you through the roped-off area to grab your food. Skip Alien Swirling Saucers -- typical carnival ride you can do at home. SDD is great, and we do love Toy Story Mania. That's great for rainy days, too, since it's inside.
If you guys aren't big on spinny rides and stuff, I think I would prioritize these things for your group:
Animal Kingdom:
Kilimanjaro Safaris. If you can, try to rope drop it -- or go during the rain. I heard more animals come out in the rain when it's cooler, but we haven't seen that yet. It's a fun, covered jeep ride through the animal areas.
If you have time, there's a railroad in AK that takes you to Rafiki's place (forget the name.) It's like a small wild animal petting zoo-ish area, and inside the building they teach you how to do a quick sketch of a character. Last time we did Judy Hopps. It's nothing exciting, but it's a nice all-ages break to get off your feet, and every kid loves baby animals.
Lion King show. This runs almost every 30-60 minutes from morning until late afternoon. I think the last showtime is around 4 p.m.-ish. It's a GREAT show, nice break from the heat/rain, saves your feet, and is a highlight reel of Lion King on Broadway.
Tough to Be a Bug in the Tree of Life is usually scary for the kids. More screaming in terror, LOL, but now that they're older and have done it once, they like it. YMMV. The carvings IN the tree are amazing, and it's supposed to be rethemed to Zootopia, so this may be the last time you see it this version.
Dinosaur! we hate, all of us. Loud, rough, scary for kids. Others love it, just be aware of the noise/roughness.
Expedition Everest we love, but show your kids the YouTube video of the sound portion of the Yeti and going backwards. May be too intense for them. Our son cried first time on it at the Yeti sound portion.
FoP is great, but our daughter got a little panicky at the bike kind of "locking" you into position. She's now 9.5, has ridden it every year since 5.5 and is fine, she was just surprised by that.
Epcot:
Frozen Ever After at Norway. Your butts WILL get wet, so prepare accordingly. The ride is not scary or extreme, but it is Frozen, so if you have an Elsa uber fan like you say, probably a priority.
Scavenger Hunt is cool. We just love wandering around the countries with the shops and food and drinks and seeing the tumblers, drummers, etc.
Skyliner moves crowds very fast at the end of the night after fireworks. Don't be freaked out when you see the line going all the way down to Beach Club. It seriously loads everyone in -30 minutes, really more like 20 minutes most nights, and unless it rains, you're always shuffling forward.
MK: Crystal Palace covers your fireworks.
We really like the PeopleMover, LOL. Again, just a relaxing spin around the park, but a nice break for the feet and a different view for the kids.
Festival of Fantasy parade is really great, has all the princesses.
7DMT is good, but not AMAZING to warrant the 2-hour wait times. That is something we ONLY do during EEH, but since MK isn't doing it Thanksgiving week, maybe LL it?
There's an AC'd tent behind the carousel, heading towards Goofy's Barnstormer. There's playground equipment for the littles in AC away from the madness. We get cranky in MK with the crowds and only do it at night now, unless we're going in to shop at the Emporium.
Haunted Mansion and Big Thunder are our favorites, but you may want princess meet and greets, etc. BOG was expensive and nothing thrilling, IMO. We were in the dark Beast side room, and he just came in and waved and left (Covid trip though.)
Crystal Palace and Casey's Corner are the only places we usually eat. Everything else is pretty bad in there. We go over to Poly for food if we have enough time. Kona is quick, and Luau cove for a dole whip.
HS:
Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway we all really like! It's so cute, not too intense, has a catchy song, and it's a good people-eating ride. Even if the queue is outside the building, you're still likely to get on in around 40 minutes, tops. Plus, I have never seen it break down, and it's inside a building if it starts raining.
SDD is wonderful and adorable, but the lines make me nuts. I'd pay LL for that, and/or try to go at night. It's REALLY awesome at night. IDK if you are aware, but ANY ride in ANY park, so long as you're in the queue when the park "closes," they don't kick anyone out of the ride. Also, they massively inflate all the ride time estimates the last hour of park operation to discourage newbs from getting in line so they stand a chance of getting out of work early. GET IN THE LINE. You can thank me later;-)
Since you're West Coast, you probably CAN make Fantasmic at the 9 p.m. time. The show itself is only 30 minutes long, but I would line up/grab a seat maybe 20-30 minutes early? We do have the dragon, too.
RoTR is awesome, but they're running it in plan B mode, which isn't as good as the opening year(s) mode with the cannons moving and stuff. It's still good, but not AS good. The ride breaks down A LOT, so the recommendation is to rope drop that ride if you can. I'd be willing to pay LL for that and skip two hours of waiting if this is your one shot to do that park/ride. Smugglers Run, it eats a lot of people in it, and the lines aren't usually too bad. It's kind of forgotten as a ride. We like, not love it.
Pro Tip: When you enter HS, enter a mobile order for Woody's Lunchbox (not the new BBQ restaurant, the QS place) at a time you know you'll be hungry. Do it immediately! You don't hit "I'm here, prepare it now" until you ARE nearby and ready to eat, but those time slots fill up FAST and there's almost no seating/shade over there. The food is surprisingly delicious! We like the boozy lemonade drink, pulled pork grilled cheese, grilled cheese and tomato soup, loaded tater tots -- basically, everything is tasty over there, LOL. They always have a seasonal pop tart, too.
If you go to HS and enter Galaxy's Edge, as you make your way heading uphill, there's a photo op with Grogu, and that hill leads you straight to the bathrooms at Toy Story Land, and RIGHT next to Woody's Lunchbox. If you do GE in the a.m. and wait in line for ROTR, wander over to SR/shop/poke around enjoying the area, then head uphill for a photo if the line isn't too bad, or skip it and hit "I'm here" for Woody's, go to the bathrooms, and then check in with the lady with a clipboard who will let you through the roped-off area to grab your food. Skip Alien Swirling Saucers -- typical carnival ride you can do at home. SDD is great, and we do love Toy Story Mania. That's great for rainy days, too, since it's inside.
