Should we go to MGM?

[pperfectmom]

Well, after planning and replanning, I thought I had every detail down for our Sept. trip. We will be there for 7 days and have MYW tix for 5 and MNSSHP for 1. One day we are relaxing and the day of MNSSHP we will just hang out also until party time. Our original plan was 2 days Epcot, 1 at AK and 2 at the Magic Kingdom. Now that we are doing MNSSHP, we are thinking maybe we should skip one of the MK days and go to MGM. For the record we will have me, DH, DD(3) and DS(1) . DH and I were at WDW in 1998 and went to MGM and I wasn't really impressed. I don't remember there being a lot for kids to do either(of course I wasn't looking at that time). Should we go there on one of our MK days? I really want the kids to get as much MK time as possible so I'm still willing to do 2 whole days there AND the MNSSHP. If we do go to MGM could it be a short day?

 

[mama4]

We have only been to MGM once but I think a short day would be best if you only have young ones. My sons were 15, 4 and 2. 15 yo loved the thrill rides of course but the little ones only had a few things they wanted and were willing to do. 4 yo son LOVED the stunt shows, 2 yo was ok w/ them. They both enjoyed the Honey I Shrunk the kids playground. But the reason they both want to go back is the Sci Fi restaurant. All three boys LOVED this. We also will probably return for Fantasmic- have never seen it and ds-4 wants to. If your dkids would not like these attractions, what about Playhouse Disney and characters? My kids just do not like characters (I think they are afraid of them ) and Playhouse Disney was for us. Ds 4 doesn't want to do it again and ds 2 slept through it. I know most kids LOVE characters though and there are TONS of character meet and greets. Also maybe Beauty and the Beast and Little Mermaid shows. Haven't been to these but they may appeal to a little girl. If any of these attractions would truly appeal to your kids, I would go in the morning, do a few attractions (shows) and leave right before or after lunch or arrive later and stay for Fantasmic if that's what they want to see. I don't think you need a full day there with little ones though.

 

[melomouse]

Our family is weird, I know, but MGM has always been our favorite park after MK. With such young kidlets, why 2 days at Epcot? I'd give up the extra day there before giving up an MK day.

Sci-Fi, Muppets, HISTK Playground, Star Tours, LCA show if you can time it right.. and time to cool off in Great Movie Ride, plus characters sometimes hard to find - can you tell we LOVE MGM?? ooooh and, of course, Fantasmic.....

 

[gems_smiling]

We dont like MGM either. The only things we do there are go on backlot tour and see Stunt show then look round shops. Coss we dont go on the big rides their aint much to do.

 

[jmcdonnell04]

MGM is our favorite park after MK. I have DD(10) and DD(6) -- my wife and I loved the park for the thrill rides and our daughters loved the shows -- Beauty & the Beast,
The Little Mermaid, Hunchback of Notre Dame (not there anymore). Now they are tall enough to go on the rides with us so we have the best of both worlds. FANTASMIC is our most favorite show. You can probably go to AK before MNSSHP.

 

[Minnie824]

I would skip MGM. DH & I weren't too fond of it, but we took our DDs (ages 4 and 1.5) this past nov. We saw a couple characters, went on the movie ride, went to playhouse disney, then left. Its difficult for kids that age....well, at least mine...who don't really want to sit thru shows. You need to wait in line, wait for the show, sit thru the show. They were more interested in doing stuff and going on rides. They liked the show and seeing the characters, but I don't think they would have missed it. We spent way more time in Magic Kingdom than we thought, but it was what worked best for the kids.

 

[budbeerlady]

Go to MGM for a morning so your kids can meet the characters. They can go to playhouse disney and it has a great parade. I wasnt to excited to go here but DD loved it. She met the power rangers, had to see the stunt show, met the guys from Monsters Inc. Saw the beauty and the beast show, etc. It is worthwhile to check out and watching her walk hand in hand with Donald Duck down the street was priceless. (We were there at the rope drop and there wasnt many people around.) He signed her book, took her hand and started walking around. She still laughs about that "Silly Donald Duck!"

 

[cjnix29]

Why two days at Epcot? That is actually the park we were thinking of skipping when we go in September. My DS3 LOVES MGM. The parade he liked because we saw characters there we didn't see anywhere else. Also he loved the little mermaid and Playhouse Disney. We didn't get to do the stunt shows or Indy last time, but I am sure he will love it this time. He even liked the Great Movie Ride! After MK, MGM is our favorite.

 

[druiser]

I agree with the post above that say "go for it". My whole family loves MGM, and spent almost an entire day there our last trip ... plus part of another evening.

All of us (me, DW, DS5, DS3) love music, and enjoyed the shows (Little Mermaid, B&B especially), kids LOVED meeting all the characters and the HISTK playground, DS5 was tall enough to do all the thrill rides with me, both kids LOVE Star Wars, too, so Star Tours and the jedi training were HUGE hits. There's a lot more to do there than some are giving credit for.

And I agree with the poster who urged you to rethink 2 days at Epcot. Future World for kids is good, but World Showcase is a huge bore for them (at least my hyperactive kids). I love Epcot, and could spend days there ... but when we went for the kids, we geared it to their liking (plus they let it be known when we'd spent too long someplace).

 

[smep013]

I would do MGM for a half-day if possible. We had nice access to characters because it was less crowded and there ARE some cool things to see. I second 2 days at MK, but EPCOT? I am not sure! Once we breeze through Future World, we're off to the countries. That can be accomplished in 1 day.

 

[mama4]

Just my opinion but ...I like the idea of two days at Epcot. Especially with young kids. To me, it is the most relaxing park. There are lots of things for kids to do and not as much waiting in line. I agree, kids that are maybe 5 and up would probably get bored with Epcot for two days but my kids were 3 and 1 last time we took them there and they had a wonderful, slow, exploring kind of day with lots of downtime. We could have easily done two days because we didn't feel the need to rush through the whole park. We like to take our time anyways and my kids always end up getting grouchy when we rush them from ride to ride. My 15 yo does love rides but even he found a lot to do at Epcot. Not sure he'd appreciate 2 days as much but I know my little ones would be fine with it.

 

[TikiGoddess]

MGM is my second favorite park right after MK. I was looking at the age of your kids and think they would really enjoy it. It's a good park to do on a down tempo day b/c you can really see everything in one day. Your kids would enjoy Playhouse Disney at their age and The Voyage of the Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast would appeal to them also. My kids love Muppets 3D and we found a hidden gem in the animation show. It features Mushu and my kids thought he was hilarious. The other great thing about MGM is that it has some of the best character interactions (in my opinion). We found with a 2 & 4 yr. old that Epcot actually appealed to them less. HTH!

 

[pperfectmom]

I guess the consensus is to skip one day at Epcot but I REALLY want 2 days there for me and DH. One day we have ADR's for Le Cellier and the other is the second day of Food and Wine. Unfortunately, we don't have the park hopper option or we could AK in morning and MGM in evening on one day. The only thing that sounds appealing to me at MGM (except for the thrill rides which the little ones are too small for) is the Fantasmic show and the Little Mermaid. Also, my kids would not recognize any of the new characters. We are an old-fashioned Mickey loving family.

 

[jann1033]

i'd skip mgm and stick with your plans...1 especially and even maybe 3 might be little to sit through many attractions( like indiana, sounds, millionaire, not sure what they are doing in the animation now, all the thrill rides) and maybe even muppets b& b and little mermaid for the 1 yr old ( short attention span i am thinking). so basically that leaves playhouse and maybe the other 3...not worth a day's pass to me( and imo fantasmic isn't that great,,,i'd do it if i were there but not go there to do it)...i'd go in a yr or 2 and do mgm...

 

[MisunderstoodLilo]

Do you have park hopping privledges on your tickets? If so, the Animal Kingdom is only open til 5, sometimes 6PM. Why not hit up MGM after AK?

If you don't, and you're already unimpressed with MGM, then I'd skip it. Spend your time in the places you know you love!

Have fun!

 

[LBKMAMA]

My husband and I love Epcot, but it's a lot of walking for kids and I don't think you need two days there. My boys 6 &5 and dtr. 2 did not do all that well there this past year. They loved MGM though...they will sit thru shows and the characters are great. This year we plan on doing breakfast with JO Jo for my dtr. and then rides, take a break miday and then head back for dinner/Fantasmic and a few more rides. Definately keep your two and 1/2 days at MK that is definately the best for kids. Mine never get tired of it.

 

[vellamint]

Truthfully you should go - at least for a half day since your kids have never been.

Some of us LOVE MGM....sadly I am not one of them as their attractions do not have enough "replay" value. I can only see Indiana Jones and the Great Movie ride so many times and for some reason Millionaire (although a nice place for a break) makes me antsy to get going....like I should be DOING something.......

The one thing I LOVE though is the Streetmosphere (sp?) characters...they are THE BEST.....if you see a strange looking character or characters walking down the street be sure to follow them as a hyserical street "show" is about to start!! I happily follow my family to MGM just to watch some of these shows....plus it is very relaxing after show-ride-show-ride.

 

[byoung]

Yes go to MGM you might love it there.