One or 2 days at WDW???

[LKMang]

Yippee, my first post! I have loved reading this message board and am in need of some advice.

First I have to preface this by saying we are Universal people. We love roller coasters and have been down to Universal/IOA 3 times in the past 7 years (including our honeymoon). My DH’s favorite place on earth is IOA. Last time we went down, I wanted to try out a day at Disney, so we set ourselves up for a bad day by doing 3 parks (MK, Epcot & DHS) in one day . Of course a big mistake and we were exhausted by the end and couldn’t even stay for fireworks.

Now we are planning on going back down in December, but this time we will have my son along (he will be turning 1 year old while we are down there). We are still planning on doing a lot of Universal (and staying on site there), plus Sea World, but I would also like to spend some time at Disney for my son.

I know we want at least one day at the Magic Kingdom. There aren’t that many “must go on” rides for us, but there seem to be quite a few that our son would be able to try, so while our rides list is long, we wouldn’t be crushed if we missed anything. We are trying to decide if we want to do a second day and where we would do it at.

If we do add on a second day, which park do you recommend? I’m ruling out Epcot since they don’t seem to have as much for the little one plus we rode almost everything there a couple years ago. Maybe Animal Kingdom? That might take some convincing for DH who isn’t thrilled with animals, but DS might like it (and they do have Expedition Everest for DH). I’m guessing that would be our best choice, although I’m not sure we could spend a whole day there. I wish the park hopper wasn’t so expensive, because I think it would be great to be able to do a second park in the morning, go back to the hotel, then go to Magic Kingdom at night to see the fireworks. But the prices for WDW seem a lot to me (compared to Universal, which will include our tickets for staying at their resort), especially since we really don’t know if DS will enjoy going on rides.

Any recommendations? TIA!

 

[Elmo888]

Welcome!

Honestly, if you aren't into animals. I'd do something for the adults and go to Epcot for your second day. There are still some things to do with a 1 yo (The Seas with Nemo), but there are also some thrill rides for adults (do you know about the baby swap pass? Here's some info...http://allears.net/pl/infant.htm#toosmall). Also, there are a lot of street performers in the World Showcase, and they would easily entertain a 1 yo (the fountains in France entertained my 2 yo!). And you could stay and see the Illuminations.

Have a great trip!

 

[micheleq]

I'd splurge, get the hopper, and split the second day between HS and AK. That way you and your DH can ride Expedition Everest as well as the Rock N' Roller Coaster!

 

[adventure_woman]

I would say do a 2nd day at MK or Epcot. DHS is similar to Universal and AK, if you aren't that into animals and it doesn't take a full day.

My DD2 loves Epcot:
1. Kidcot stations are fun.
2. The Seas with Nemo
3. Living with the Land
4. The Lion King movie in The Land
5. **Interactive water fountains** This is her absolute favorite!! (May or may not be warm enough in December).
6. At night, they have the lighted pavement which she loves
7. Illuminations (she hasn't seen that, but that is a plus nighttime show).
8. Yummy restaurants there (Teppen Edo is fun, and she enjoyed the show)
9. Figment
10. The new Kim Possible thing (I haven't done this yet).

 

[dizneechic]

I agree with the pp and would do Magic Kingdom one day and then HS/AK on day 2. Then you would only need a hopper for one of the days. Heck I would probably even buy a non hopper on day 2 and see how it goes, then upgrade and venture to the 2nd park if your "done" with the 1st.

 

[LKMang]

Thank you so much for your replies!!

DH found out he can get a (small) discount on WDW tickets if we buy them in advance. I’m thinking our options are:

1. 2 days/no park hopper – spend one day at MK (get there early, take a mid-afternoon break, and go back in time to see the fireworks), then second day at AK.

2. 2 days/park hopper – spend morning/afternoon at MK, then the next day go to AK or DHS, back to MK at night.

I’m hoping to convince DH that we need the park hopper. It seems to give much more flexibility, which I think we will need with a 1 year old. I would like to go back to Epcot, but since we already did it a couple years ago, I think I’d rather see something new. Even though DH isn’t into the animals, DS will probably love them (we are taking him to the zoo this summer so we will see then!). And I really want to ride Everest I also like the park hopper option because maybe we could to go to DHS (we didn’t get to do TOT last time & I would like to see if we could get on Toy Story), but not “waste” a day of our tickets to ride a couple things.

Thanks again for your help! These boards are awesome!