theme parks with teenagers? help please

[honeybun]

Hpe to go to orlando first time in june with 2 teenagers. What are the best days to go to them? Not mad theme park people so thought we would go for Universal Then a 3 day base pass cos that seems the best value way to do this) for MGM Epcot and animal kingdom - would you out there agree they are the best ones ie not too miss?. Is one day enough for each - especially universal? Are there any other things i should include (kids being 13 &15). Have been recommended......
MGM rock& roller coaster, tower of terror stunt show
Epcot -future world, world showcase, Universal - Islands of adventure, revenge of the mummies, men in black jurassic park, treminator , beetlejuice AK-safari and dinosaur ride or jungle trek and rapids. Is this as good as it sounds?
where/when are the best fireworks?
Is it expensive to get cirque du soleil tktson the day?
Any help appreciated.

 

[blueberry22]

The wat disney tickets are structured the longer you stay/play the cheaper the per day cost is. Universal also has multiday passes that make staying longer a better deal. Thus in terms of cost effectiveness doing one or the other usually makes the most sense.

It is possible to do one park per day depending on when you are going and recognizing that you will be only able to hit the highlights of each- with the exception of AK where you can do most if not all of it in a day. However you are talking about commando touring with little time for lingering or relaxing. It is surprisingly joyful to slow down at WDW and literally smell the roses- there are so many wonderful details.

I was ther in March with 4 teens. (18-19). @ nights, 3 days. It was not very crowded and the weather was horrendus- rained and was cool which meant we practically had the place to ourselves at times. We started early each day- opening- took naps each afternoon and then went back for late nights at both AK on Tuesday and MK on Weds. BY Thursday we were exhausted and discussed not going back for a third day. We did but arrived about 10 at MGH. It is a relatively small park and has lots of sit down shows and rides. It was teeming rain all day. My kids had a blast - did TOT and the Aerosmith ride several times. We were able to wwalk into Fantasmic at the last moment and closed the place down shopping. The kids all feel asleep on the ride back to Grandma's house.

SO we did do 3 parks in 3 days. BUT it was relatively quiet March (just prior to most spring breaks) and bad weather. I don't think we would have lasted if it were hot or the crowds were bad. June cna be very hot and muggy and, by mid month very crowded.

 

[hegs65]

We went to Universal in January with our 3 kids 9, 13 & 16. I would definately recommend buying the ticket that allows you to go to the front of the line. I am not sure what it is called but it is definately worth the extra money!!! (I think it was $20 a ticket) We went over the Martin Luther King holiday which is probably less busy than June will be. We would have left if it weren't for this pass-every ride was at least 45 minutes long! It entitled us to go to the front of the line once for each attraction. It was wonderful!!! We went to the Shrek ride and there were about 400 people in line- we just went to the head of the line, showed our pass and walked right in! Amazing!
We were actually able to do all the attractions at both Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios in one day. You didn't mention where you were staying but if you stay at a Universal Hotel then you get a free pass to the front of the line just for staying on their property. I do think that it will be very hard to take in both parks in one day without paying for the extra pass.

As far as Disney, My oldest son (16) hates roller coasters and spinning rides so he liked animal kingdoms slow paced way. We only went on the Safari and did the walking trail-both were fabulous. On the other hand, my 13 yr old son hated it!!! I don't think you will need a full day there. Keep in mind that AK is the hottest park weather wise to be in the summer! It is huge (sooooo much walking!) and it just seems to hold the heat. Most attractions are outside so plan on being HOT!!

Also, I noticed that you haven't planned any time at the Magic Kingdom! I was afraid that it was going to be too babyish for my kids but we ended up spending 12 hours there! There is space mountain, big thunder mountain, splash mountain, haunted mansion, mickeys philharmagic (in my opinion, the absolute best show) and lots of others that are for all ages not just little kids. Plus, magic kingdom has a great fireworks show called Wishes. They also have wonderful shows and parades that are for all ages. For me it wouldn't be Disney without the Magic Kingdom.

You might want to consider doing something like thisarrange your schedule so that you maximize your time-use extra magic hours if you are staying on property)

full day at epcot definately stay for Illuminations-breathtaking!
1/2 day at AK - other 1/2 day at MGM- maybe take in fantasmic which is fabulous (both parks don't require full days to view everything)
full day at magic kingdom definately try to take in the shows, wishes fireworks and spectro parade-they are all excellent

Of course this is just a suggestion, you know your family's taste. I would sit down and determine park by park what rides you think the kids would like and then determine where to spend the most time. Good luck and have a great time! Any other questions, just ask--Patty

 

[kjs1976]

Have gone to WDW with two middle school groups, been there as a teen myself, and poll students from my classes when they go to WDW - Magic Kingdom and MGM are your best bets for them enjoying the parks. So much to do and see at both for teens. Never heard of disappointments there. If your kids like to do more explorative things and also like to walk through different countries to see the attractions and experience the food, then they'd love EPCOT as well. Have heard mixed things on EPCOT depending on the kid...some find that once they get through the major attractions in future world and then do the Maelstorm and Rio Del Tempo in Mexico, they theink the rest is borning....I never did as a teen...loved all of it and so did my friends.

I personally think AK is a waste of time if you are on a budget and have to choose between parks and don't have little kids. If you are not animal crazy, you can see what you want and be out of there in an hour. Unless you have ample time/days to park hop, I would save it for another trip.

 

[honeybun]

Thank you so much for all your sugggestions. - and taking the time to type them! They have really helped and are very much appreciated.
Thanks a million.
honeybun

 

[tar heel]

I've been to WDW several times with two teens, and no way would they choose AK over MK. My oldest son (21 now, but he went when he was 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19) likes the parks in this order: Epcot, MK, MGM, AK. My middle son, who was 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 at WDW prefers this order: MGM, MK, Epcot, AK.

If you have hopper passes, I would spend 1/2 day at AK. Otherwise, I would choose the other three parks. That is at least partly b/c AK is much hotter (many tropical plants, narrow paths, almost no A/C) than the others and doesn't lend itself well to staying all day.

One note about MK. My sons no longer do Fantasyland unless I drag them there. Perhaps you were thinking of MK as being those kinds of attractions. They like Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder and Buzz Lightyear best but are okay with Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise, Tomorrowland Transit Authority, and the evening parade. If your kids haven't been before, I would try to do the Fantasyland dark rides (Peter Pan, Pooh, etc.), but wouldn't waste a lot of precious touring time waiting in line.