What are your favorite Parks for "non-riding" Adults..

busy mom

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We only have two days to visit in early March, and are looking for suggestions for which two Parks to book.

We are an adult only group, that just want to enjoy the ambiance, good snacks and browsing through the shops. We would also consider a tour if recommended.

Any input is appreciated!
 
Definitely Epcot. Great shopping. Awesome food and drinks. Low key rides.

And then either AK or HS. There's plenty to do at AK that's not really rides and a few good snacks/treats. You can literally just wander around looking at animals all day.

HS can be good for wandering in the Galaxy's Edge area, but the rest can be meh sometimes. The ride situation is going to be more hectic. And sometimes the food is just gross. Anyone care for a square chicken nubbin? How about some sad pizza? I know, hotdogs! 🤢
 

I agree Epcot and AK, although I could make an argument for any of the parks. I don't ride that many rides and enjoy all of them.
 
EPCOT-
We only have two days to visit in early March, and are looking for suggestions for which two Parks to book.

We are an adult only group, that just want to enjoy the ambiance, good snacks and browsing through the shops. We would also consider a tour if recommended.

Any input is appreciated!
EPCOT-ambiance and snacks and shops
Animal Kingdom-safari tour
 
My picks:

Epcot - huge variety of food, huge variety of shopping, ambiance

Disney Springs - huge variety of food, shopping, FREE!

Honorable Mentions:

Hollywood Studios - ambiance (toy story land and Batu are very well done I think - if you're into that sort of thing), shopping, and food is stronger than MK. I hear Hollywood Brown Derby is yummy. There are uniquely themed places like Sci-Fi (eat in a car a la a drive-in movie theater) and Prime Time (50's themed restaurant where CMs act like overbearing relatives from the 50's).

Magic Kingdom - ambiance (espeically if you're a core disney fan and want to see the 50th theming and cavalcades), shopping. Doesn't score high for food unless ya'll love snacking around.

Wouldn't pick:

Animal Kingdom - Went on an adult trip last month to AK. Honestly we didn't enjoy ourselves. We felt it was geared more toward children. We enjoyed the merch there. However I wouldn't say it's geared toward adults unless you're really into zoos/animals. I think our issue is the value proposition. We could go to our local zoo or a drive through safari for much cheaper. The value wasn't there for us given how expensive tix can be. Don't need to pay that much to see animals we can see elsewhere. Oh and Everest was closed so that was a bummer.
 
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Epcot for sure…Studios is fun to walk around. Fond memories of drinking iced coffee from Starbucks at a shaded table and just taking it all in. The walk (or boat ride) from Epcot to/from Studios is very relaxing and beautiful. Stop and have a meal/drink at Boardwalk area.
 
Absolutely EPCOT. It's perfect for what you describe.

I love taking my time to wander the different country pavilions in World Showcase. Each one has good sit down dining options, quick service, and drinks. Not all of the street performers are back yet (after going away during the pandemic), but many have returned. There's a few worthwhile indoor shows to pop into as well in World Showcase: The American Adventure, Canada Far and Wide, Impressions de France, Reflections of China. You can spend a long time wandering around, eating and drinking. I'd say make a reservation for a fancy dinner at one of the countries at night (Le Cellier in Canada or Chefs de France in France are my reccos).

EPCOT also has a fun and relatively inexpensive tour called "Behind the Seeds." It takes you backstage in their greenhouse (the site of the Living with the Land) attraction. It's cool and interesting. If you do get in the mood to ride something, there are a few options that are gentle experiences and have very minimal waits or walk on: Living with the Land, Gran Fiesta Tour (in the Mexico pavilion), the Seas with Nemo and Friends (which exits into the Seas pavilion where you can wander among the fish in the aquarium.

I would probably choose Animal Kingdom for your second park.

This park has had a major glow up. The themeing and ambiance is incredible and definitely worth taking your time to explore. Just wandering Pandora is awe inspiring, and you'll want to do it during the day time and then come back at night to see how it changes and glows! The Africa section is also impeccably detailed. There's tons of great snacking (including a Dole Whip location in Africa). You could take in shows like Finding Nemo or Tough to be a Bug without waiting in much of a line, if at all. And you can see a lot of animals by just walking around (definitely explore Discover Island at the front of the park for some birds. And the Maharajah Jungle Trek is a great way to walk around and experience a wide variety of animal life). There are a few animal tours you can purchase too (I believe both the Gorilla and Elephant focused ones are now back in session). And for dinner, Tiffins is the best kept secret of the park. Its expensive signature dining, so you'll want to budget for that. But the food is impeccable and incredibly unique (with knowledgeable servers who will explain every meal to you if you dont know what an ingredient is). If a meal there is too pricey for you, consider hanging out in The Nomad Lounge, attached to the restaurant. Great cocktails, the inside is swanky but comfortable while the outdoor porch is great for people and bird watching.

I would only pick Hollywood Studios if you have Star Wars fans in your party. If that's the case, it will be fun to walk around Galaxy's Edge. But I don't think much of the quick service food in that park is anything to write home about.
 
We love the Epcot atmosphere-can be so much more laid back than the others. It’s easier to find a quiet spot.
 
World Showcase was pretty much designed for what you’re describing (including the option to enjoy some adult beverages). So definitely Epcot. Living with the Land and Spaceship Earth are adult friendly rides that shouldn’t have long waits.

Next choice is either Animal Kingdom or Magic Kingdom. AK has the animals of course, but also lots of stuff and theming and shops you won’t see at normal zoos. AK probably has better quick service food. MK will have the classic Disney ambiance, Main Street, the sounds and music, etc. I personally don’t feel complete without visiting MK each trip so I would go that way, but depends if you’re Disney fans or not. Note you can’t really walk around with alcoholic drinks at MK like you can at AK or Epcot in case that matters for this adults only trip (it would have when I was in my 20s!)

I wouldn’t do a private tour as the main benefit of those is to cut the lines for rides, though I believe there are much cheaper non-ride oriented tours (that are probably already sold out for March unfortunately
 
Epcot and Animal Kingdom for sure. If you have time in the evening, jump over to Disney Springs. A trip to the Coke store to sample different flavors if someone in your group likes soda/pop for their morning coffee. If you are wanting an experience you could look into either the balloon ride or a ride in the car that drives on land morphs to boat in lake.
 
Definitely Epcot although the current construction is a complete mess. The world showcase is an adult playground of food, drinks and entertainment.

I’d suggest HS. Ridiculous crowd issues aside it’s always been my favorite Disney park for adults. Most of the rides are void of the pixie dust magic kingdom stuff, there’s a lot of drink stands (if that’s your thing) throughout the park. Definitely hit up baseline tap, it’s never overly crowded and prices are reasonable for Disney.
 
AK has some really fun tours that came back, Caring for Giants and the rhino one too. But just walking around and taking in the details in that park is a relaxing activity. I could spend hours in AK and never even get on a ride (even though FoP and EE are two of my faves on property). I never get people comparing it to a zoo, and I live a 1 hr subway ride away from one of the best zoos in the world.

I honestly enjoy AK more than Epcot nowadays and it feels more like Epcot used to be in the glory days, with the fun mix of world cultures and edutainment.
 
For non-riding adults: Animal Kingdom and Epcot.
I fully agree with this. My DH is a non riding "adult" (although I question the "adult" part of that statement).
Anyways, these are his favourite parks by far. He loves the wandering and snacking in Epcot. When they had cultural representatives from each country, he loved just chatting with them about their homes.
Hopefully that returns soon. I felt the lack of cultural representation on our last trip for sure.
And AK is such a fun park to hang out in. Love the animals and the music and sounds everywhere.
We did a "tour" called Savor the Savannah. We loved it. Very personal experience. Up close with the animals and care givers. We are going to do it again for sure, so I would highly recommend it.
Friends of ours did the tour about the care of the elephants and loved that too.
 
Epcot and Animal Kingdom for most of the reasons stated above. I will add the Animation Experience at Conservation Station (Rafiki's Planet Watch) to the reasons why Animal Kingdom is a great choice for non-riders.
 
I visited last February and didn't go on any rides, I enjoyed Epcot and Animal Kingdom the most. Lots to see just walking around and they both have entertainment (like the shows around World Showcase and the performers on the stage in Africa). Animal Kingdom also has Festival of the Lion King, which looks ilke it may be coming back in it's full form in the near future! And if you can go when Epcot is having a festival, even better.
 




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