Skip a park

[tallen429]

DHS.

Terrible waste of Disney space. LOL!

 

[grace&philipsmom]

DHS.

Terrible waste of Disney space. LOL!

I agree!

 

[Nancyg56]

I wouldn't skip any of the parks. If I only had 4 days (can't imagine doing it, but....) this would probably be the only situation where I would pony up the extra cash for park hoppers. I'd schedule a RD morning at AK and DHS from mid-afternoon till closing, preferably when DHS has late EMH. I know that would mean a crowded park at DHS, but you could hit the highlights at the very minimum in both parks. And still ride TSM late in the evening while Fantasmic is playing.

This is what I would do if possible.

If I had to skip a park it would be DAK. When we had a short trip, no hoppers and it was August DAK was the one to go.

I don't think that there are "bad" Disney parks. I do think that not everyone is as enthralled by every park just as not everyone will eat sushi. Sushi is not bad but I would skip it for a steak if I had to choose.

 

[Nomad70]

We will be spending most of our time in DHS and Epcot. With some time in MK (we are doing the DNSSHP), but as for AK, we like one or two rides there and that's it. We aren't big fans of the park in general. Maybe because I grew up in San Diego with The SD Zoo and Wild Animal Park it just can't compare? lol So, in answer to the OP question, if we had to skip one, it would be AK.

 

[DanniDeer]

I don't believe any true animal lovers would prefer a local zoo to DAK. Sorry, but when people say that I just don't believe it.

We would skip HS. We don't like Muppets or the lame/outdated "Great" Movie Ride. I enjoy ToT, TSMM, RnRC but if I have to skip a park this is the one. The overall theming and atmosphere do not stack up to the other parks.

how can the Great Movie Ride be outdated, if it's based on classic movies?

But if I had to pick a park, for just myself, to skip, I'd say Epcot. I love Epcot, but I feel like I would be the least upset missing the "headliners" there, than at the other parks. This, of course, if it's at a regular time of the year. The flower and garden festival is gorgeous, and the food and wine festival is delicious. If it was during those times, I'd have a heck of a time choosing...

 

[kevdo]

how can the Great Movie Ride be outdated, if it's based on classic movies?

Most recent film scene in the ride is Raiders of the Lost Ark - 30 years old (not counting the montage at the end).

Most kids have no idea who James Cagney, John Wayne, Gene Kelly, Johnny Weismuller, etc. are.

Animatronics are in poor shape in many cases. Other than Wicked Witch are not very animated (e.g. Tarzan).

I get that the ride is about classic movies. And a few scenes of sixty or seventy year old films is okay. But the ride has not been updated to include any newer classic that could better resonate with kids.

 

[Pills]

I'm going to go with the herd (ha!) and say AK.

When we went down last August, we were originally going for 6 days, and still skipping AK. Now that my little one is over 40", and we can do things like Star Tours, Soarin', Test Track, etc., we find a lot more to do in the other three parks. We only went to AK because we ended up having two extra days (thanks, Irene!).

Also, depending on the time of year, AK's lack of indoor A/C can really get to you.

 

[TavieP]

We usually can't get away for more than 3-4 days. If we're on a 4-day trip and time is too type, we skip AK. On a REALLY cramped trip (say, 3-day weekend) we'll skip HS too. Sadly, though - very sadly.

 

[DW2010]

We are skipping DHS since we went there in 2010 and skipped AK. DHS was okay but we only stayed 1/2 day and TSM wasn't all it's hyped up to be (in my husband's opinion since I didn't ride it). And neither of them enjoyed TOT . DD will still be too short to ride RnRC.

My DD is 5 and has never been to AK. I'm thinking she'll love EE.

 

[BlovesC]

Most recent film scene in the ride is Raiders of the Lost Ark - 30 years old (not counting the montage at the end).

Most kids have no idea who James Cagney, John Wayne, Gene Kelly, Johnny Weismuller, etc. are.

Animatronics are in poor shape in many cases. Other than Wicked Witch are not very animated (e.g. Tarzan).

I get that the ride is about classic movies. And a few scenes of sixty or seventy year old films is okay. But the ride has not been updated to include any newer classic that could better resonate with kids.

Perfectly said. This ride is the epitome of dullsville to me.

 

[Dizneefamily+4]

We always skip DHS. Dh and I last went to it when it was still MGM and it just didn't do it for us. So, in the many trips we've taken since, we've just skipped it. Our kids are now finally at an age where they'd meet the height restrictions for ToT and RnRc, so we MAY try it this trip (both kids are thrill-seeking adrenaline junkies when it comes to rides, and I know they want to do both ToT and RnRc.) We usually wind up doing MK and AK twice and Epcot once. If we extend our trip, we'll probably add DHS in there. We don't do hoppers, so splitting a day in the parks doesn't work for us.

 

[GadgetRick]

Animal Kingdom without question.

 

[mxfourlife262]

AK.......it's a zoo, there are a lot of them. EE is just an OK rollercoaster, without the queue it's a complete miss. The safari is cool once. Dinosaur is probably the best ride there, I like kali too but don't like being in the park wet half the day. Best attraction there as far as I'm concerned is Festival of the Lion King, Nemo is ok too.

 

[Colleen27]

It depends on the time of year. When it is hot out we skip AK on short trips. The heat feels so much more brutal there with all that lovely landscaping killing any wisp of breeze that might provide a bit of cooling, and the animals are less active which takes away from our enjoyment of the parks.

Conversely, on short winter trips we usually skip Studios. It is our least favorite park all around because my youngest is still too small for most of the rides, and in cooler weather it is iffy as to whether or not we'll want to sit still outdoors long enough to see the shows.

 

[Cloudless Nights]

HS no question. I like both TOT and RNRC, as well as TSM, but that's really it. In contrast, we LOVE AK and could spend 2+ days there easily.

 

[ZoZo]

If I had to skip one park, it would definitely be DHS. It's a half-day park for me, at best. I go on the following: TSM, ToT, Muppets -- and that's pretty much it. I do love RnR, but have mild vertigo and can no longer go on that ride (bummer!). Not a big fan of Fantasmic. Could take or leave the shows and parades.

But lots of folks love DHS, and can't imagine skipping it! That's what makes WDW so cool - everyone likes different things. I'm sure lots of folks will recommend skipping AK -- and it's my second-favorite park! I always spend two whole days there. To each his/her own, I guess!

 

[bcrook]

On our last trip we spent 10 days in the parks and didn't have a plan. We just went to whatever park we felt like taking advantage of late stays, catching shows, and eating out. We stayed on property at AKL for one week and Boardwalk for the other. And we hopped between parks.

Our breakdown:

DHS - 5 visits (we were totally wrapped in beating each other in TSMM)
Epcot - 4 visits (spent 2 full days here and hopped twice)
DAK - 3 visits (love the 3pm to close time period)
MK - 3 visits (all three to take advantage of EMH late stays)

 

[Cyrano]

As EPCOT closely followed by Animal Kingdom are family favourites we could not imagine not visiting either of these parks.

That leaves Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Sudios. Whilst we like Tower, Star Tours and Rock n Roller Coaster I think I would have to be DHS that we dropped out as there is more for us to do at MK.

 

[Karabee]

HS for me. I haven't been there the last 5 visits to WDW...

 

[ppony]

We just faced that situation this Jaunary. My DH and I went for 5 days (4 park days) without the kids and we wanted 2 MK days. We skipped AK because w/o the kids, we just don't have any interest in anything there but EE. If we were brining the kids? We might have chosen not to do Epcot. Not sure tho. Maybe still AK.