Only 3 Days! Which Parks?

[tjkrk]

We only will have three days in Disney. I am not sure what parks to do. We will not have the park hopper pass. I have a 5 yr. boy, 3 yr. boy, and 21 month old girl. We have one of the top zoos in the Nation and are members. My kids do love it, but they also LOVE our local amusement park. They like the Disney Jr. characters. I am torn. I am mainly thinking about Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom. Some people have told me to do Magic Kingdom two days... Should I do that one day or two? If we do two days at Magic Kingdom what other park should we do?

The other thing is we are going with extended family. They are spending each day at a different park. I don't care if we do one day different than them if that's what's better for my kids ages.

Any advice? I haven't been to WDW in years- since I was a kid. Thank you!

Do we try to go back and nap or just hope that the little one naps in a stroller? The 5 yr. old and 3 yr. old have given up naps.

 

[Kimosabe]

I would suggest skipping at least Epcot, given the ages of your kids. The question then becomes whether Disney Junior characters are enough to get you to Hollywood Studios. Good show and good opportunity for a character meal with them, but beyond that, you'd have Toy Story Mania, Muppets 3D, Beauty & the Beast show and the Little Mermaid show. They might enjoy the stunt shows and possibly Star Tours (not a coaster, but could be a little bumpy for young ones). Your older one might even be old enough for Jedi Training Academy if there is any interest in fighting Darth Vader with a light saber. There are also other fun dining experiences there in Sci-Fi and 50's Prime Time, so you could pretty easily fill a decent portion of a day, but not sure you could justify a full day. (Some would argue the same, regardless of ages, but I love that park and can easily fill a day there, especially if going to Fantasmic at the end of the day....but might be a little too intense for the young kids.)

I would say MK for sure, and even AK, too. We have come to appreciate AK at a whole new level after really studying the map and the things to do there. Even the walking trails (Pangani and Maharajeh) that we once avoided like the plague (for no particular reason, in retrospect) have some really cool animals like the gorillas and tigers, respectively. A new baby gorilla was born in August, so that's a feature by itself that could make the trip into AK worth it. Kids at that age could also enjoy the safari, Flights of Wonder bird show, Festival of the Lion King show, Finding Nemo show (also a good place for a nap for them if they aren't into the show itself), Rafiki's Planet Watch, Triceratop Spin, character breakfast at Tusker House, and various other character greetings around that park.

And if you're able to make it work with child-swap or some other approach, some of our favorite grown-up rides are at these two parks like Rock 'n Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, Expedition Everest and Dinosaur (if five-year old is into dinosaurs, that might be an option if not easily freaked out!).

Maybe look at the park hours in advance and plan to hit MK on the longest possible day so that you are able to take advantage of as much in that park as possible. Even if you're out late in MK, you could just get a later start the next morning in HS or AK and still hit most of the good stuff. MK has a handful of good places to let one or more of the kiddos grab a power nap (Carousel of Progress, Peoplemover, Mickey's Philharmagic, Country Bears Jamboree, WDW Railroad, etc.), so if you need to take a break or two during the day, it is fairly easily done without necessarily feeling like you have to leave the park altogether. Definitely wouldn't count out naps for the 3 and 5 year olds....getting around the parks can make for a long, tiring day! First time we took our kids, our 3 year old zonked out soon after dinner, but our 5 year old could have stayed up until midnight...she was absolutely mesmerized by the whole experience. However, she did at one point put her head on my lap and grab a quick nap on the train at one point, but that gave her what she needed to go late into the night!

 

[staceyrhood]

I would pick MK, Epcot, and animal kingdom. or 2 days MK and 1 Epcot. My kids LOVE Epcot, it has been my sons favorite park since he was really little, now it is my daughters too (son 7, daughter 20 months). As pp said, there relly is not much at hs, we very rarely go there. Have a great trip!

 

[ericstac]

I would pick MK, Epcot, and animal kingdom. or 2 days MK and 1 Epcot. My kids LOVE Epcot, it has been my sons favorite park since he was really little, now it is my daughters too (son 7, daughter 20 months). As pp said, there relly is not much at hs, we very rarely go there. Have a great trip!

I agree.. 2 MK's, 1 EPCOT..

HS and AK are half days at best for us..

 

[momneedscoffee13]

We are doing 3 days next weekend and doing Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios. We do have park hoppers though, and are having dinner a couple of evenings at Epcot and will do a few of the rides there. There are a few good Animal Kingdom threads in the theme park attractions forum. If you're kids love the zoo, then Animal Kingdom can definitely be a full (or at least 3/4) day based on what others have said. I would agree with the first response and not choose a full day at Epcot. As a kid myself, Epcot was very boring to me (of course, now as an adult I can fully appreciate it), but looking over the attractions, there's only a handful at future world that the young children would enjoy, IMO. I have a 4 yr old and a 16 month old.

As for Hollywood Studios, it's a lot of shows which take up a lot of time, there's a lot of Pixar characters and the toy story ride, as well as the Disney Jr character meal at Hollywood & Vine.

When I enter everything we want to do in touring plans for both AK and HS, it's definitely a full day's worth of fun at both parks! The only reason we chose not to do MK for 2 days is that none of the adults have any desire to ride the "big" rides, we are only there for my 4 year old. When I played with our days in touring plans, we would basically be repeating the same rides and doing the same things on day 2, so it made more sense for us to spend the time in other parks doing different things.

 

[worm761]

At those ages I would do 2 days at MK and 1 at the other parks. In my family that would be AK. It is our second favorite park. Epcot would be a third though DD4 was rather unimpressed with it this past summer. DHS is our least favorite park. Though we did dedicate a whole day here last summer but we doing Frozen stuff with DD and that was our only goal for that park. And dinner at 50's Prime Time.

 

[jacknsally19]

I would definitely do two days at Magic Kingdom with that age group. If you want to do a late night & see the parade and fireworks, I recommend taking a nap/rest outside of the park. The remaining day is the wild card. Personally, I would choose Epcot bc that's my favorite and as the mom I would make that call. But I also go at least once a year and I know my child wouldn't be 'missing out'. So here is my suggestion on how to best decide

Hollywood Studio: choose this option if your kids are really big (fanatical)Disney Jr fans, Star Wars and/or Frozen fans. Disney Jr & Star Wars are only here. Personally, I think the offerings are weak here for little ones & the only reason I am including it on our next trip is that my DD loves DocMcStuffins and Jake more than any other movie or character (or me at least some days)

AK: If your kids are into dinosaurs or animals, this park is great with kids. Far more focused on interactive experiences than some of the other parks so less line time and more exploring. I find that to be great with really young kids. The shows at this park are the best (IMO) of the parks. Also, this can be an early night

Epcot: This is a good park if you are trying to see lots of Princesses, enjoy musical acts, and ant to experience more classic Disney. This park also feels like it was designed for parents to enjoy as well as kids so if that's important to you.

If you are going during the holiday season, I think Hollywood Studios or Epcot would be my recommendation. Another option is checking out the recommended parks for each day and base your decision on that. I like easywdw's crowd calendar.

 

[msmama]

If *I* only had 2 days at WDW I'd do MK, Epcot and HS.

While AK is more than just a zoo, I can't make it past a half day there. There are lots of shows, which, while cool, are not things we do over and over and may not be best for kids of your ages.

I would encourage you not to discount Epcot. It's been my son's favorite since he was a baby. We like walking around all the countries in WS. Kids can decorate a paper duffy bear (or perry the platypus) and get it stamped in all the countries. There's also the Seas and the Land pavilion which we love. I often times find that Epcot has some of the best character interaction, also. (Still, may not be for you, just don't discount it out of hand).

HS isn't usually a full day park for us, but again, I could see it being so if you watched all the shows.

As for naps and breaks, you know your kids best. Personally, they never worked for us. We tend to hit the parks at rope drop, and then stay until dinner time. It means we miss nighttime entertainment, but it keeps everyone happy.

 

[MrsHuffy09]

Maybe look at the park hours in advance and plan to hit MK on the longest possible day so that you are able to take advantage of as much in that park as possible. Even if you're out late in MK, you could just get a later start the next morning in HS or AK and still hit most of the good stuff. MK has a handful of good places to let one or more of the kiddos grab a power nap (Carousel of Progress, Peoplemover, Mickey's Philharmagic, Country Bears Jamboree, WDW Railroad, etc.), so if you need to take a break or two during the day, it is fairly easily done without necessarily feeling like you have to leave the park altogether. Definitely wouldn't count out naps for the 3 and 5 year olds....getting around the parks can make for a long, tiring day! First time we took our kids, our 3 year old zonked out soon after dinner, but our 5 year old could have stayed up until midnight...she was absolutely mesmerized by the whole experience. However, she did at one point put her head on my lap and grab a quick nap on the train at one point, but that gave her what she needed to go late into the night!

If this is your "once in a lifetime trip" this is exactly what I would do. I wouldn't want to do 2 days in MK if I knew this would be our only time vacationing here. With out park hoppers and doing 3 days my personal preference would be MK, Epcot and AK. (With park hoppers I would probably do an AK/HS split because those can be half day parks). With the ages I agree with everyone else, HS just isn't ideal for LO (at least mine anyway). We have a 17 month old we're taking in January and the only thing I have planned at HS is Disney Jr Live on Stage and playing at the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground. We're going for 4 days and we do have MK planned for 2 of those, just so we can be super leisurely and don't feel like we have to cram it all in. We've also been tons of times and know we'll be back.

As far as naps, I'm a big proponent of going back to the resort to rest (because let's face, I probably need the rest too, LOL) even if it's for a small break and no one sleeps. WDW can be overwhelming (even for adults!) and this gives everyone a chance to regroup and be ready for whatever night activities you may have planned.

Have fun!!

 

[MSSANDRA]

Without taking the extended family into consideration, I would pick two days and MK and one at Epcot. HOWEVER, my boys loved every park as preschoolers and if family is people you really do not to see much or your kids will really want to be with, I would go with whatever parks they want to do. The kids will love all the parks ! You can not do it all in 3 days, so just try to go with that thought and plan accordingly. My boys had different favorites on different trips but MK and Epcot were consistently tops picks most trips.

 

[mcjaco]

We skipped Animal Kingdom last year, and we're going to again this year. 2 Days at MK, one at EPCOT, and one at DHS.

The kids loved DHS and all the shows.

 

[momneedscoffee13]

As for naps and breaks, you know your kids best. Personally, they never worked for us. We tend to hit the parks at rope drop, and then stay until dinner time. It means we miss nighttime entertainment, but it keeps everyone happy.

This is what we will do as well. I know my kids would be way to excited to calm down and nap if we went back to the resort. And without naps there's no way they would make it up late for nighttime entertainment. When they get older we will obviously change things around, but with a preschooler and a toddler, making the most of daytime activities is most important. We will have a double stroller, I'm hoping at least the toddler will get a couple decent naps in that way.

 

[MandiC]

I personally would do 2 MK, 1 Epcot. We loved epcot and it does have lots of stuff for kids. Honestly IMO it has more than HS for kids. Hollywood Studios has one ride that kids can go on. There are a lot of shows and yes they are the only park with Disney Jr. characters so if that is a must than it is a must but it was not a full day park for us either and we went before they seemed to have closed half the park down. We really liked Animal Kingdom but it also was not a full day park for us.

 

[isabellea]

August 5th we only had 1 day at WDW and did everything we wanted at MK with our almost 5yo and 2 yo using a total of 5 FP+ and skipping the big mountains. Therefore, for me 2 MK days would be too much and I would prefer to see different things. Personally I would do MK, Epcot and AK.