What parks...

[Bon1423]

Do Most people usually hit all four parks on every trip? We are going in September with our 7 and 5 yo boys and our 2 yo daughter. A pool day is an absolute must, a whole day at AK believe it or not is a must and We think with all the added princess things this trip for my daughter, we have to do 2 days in MK.

We have never been to HS, and Epcot looks like it will be a struggle for my two youngest to be entertained at all and my Oldest would love it if it weren't being compared to his favorite roller coasters, otherwise I think he'll be whiny.

We are only going for 5 days and really considering doing neither of those parks but part of me feels like we should at least give HS a try. But with all the closings, it seems like a bad time to try it. I feel weird just doing two parks, but swimming time and dining time is something of a priority for us. Anyone else tour this way?

 

[SnackCredit]

On regular family trips, we always hit up every park.

The only trip I took where I skipped a park was on a high school orchestra trip to the Disney Honors music festival. We skipped DHS and had little time to explore the parks as it was because of rehearsals, performances, and master classes.

 

[Travis B]

I always hit up all the parks, but it's only two adults I have to worry about. However, there's no rule that you have to do so. If you'll have park hoppers you could combine Epcot and HS into one day. You could hit Frozen and whatever else your kids would like at Epcot, then go to HS and do Muppets, Indiana Jones, Star Tours, Frozen Sing-Along, TSMM, Great Movie Ride if it's not too scary in parts for the kids, maybe watch Fantasmic. I'm assuming TOT and RNRC are probably not doable for the kids but those are there too. A lot of closed but there's still a decent amount of stuff to do. Honestly, your kids might like HS better than they like Epcot.

 

[AFwifelife]

PHs are a must for us with little kids (also driving to AK and HS) but we always hit up all 4 parks.

Last time we went, the kids were 2 years old and 4 months old. We would already be up early so we would do RD at whatever park we were planning that day, hit all the must-dos, and leave right before lunch or right after our lunch ADR at that park. Back to the hotel to relax/nap, swim, and whatever else we can do there that the kids were up to. Then depending on how the kids were, we would go back to the parks (many times to a different one to hit different things) or back to the original park to redo the things my 2 year old enjoyed or try to get to things we didn't accomplish in the morning.

 

[mrzrich]

DHS for kids

Toy Story Mania
Little Mermaid show
Muppets 3D movie
Star Tours
Disney Jr Live on stage
Beauty and the Beast show

Great Movie ride has a few parts that 2 yo might find scary. I would suggest watching on YouTube and deciding for your self

Your kids might enjoy the Indiana Jones show and Star Wars Launch Bay. (depends on the kids)

Fantasmic is an incredible show, but again some little ones get scared, so you would have to gauge your child.

DHS also has great character meet opportunities and a spectacular new fireworks show

 

[tstidm1]

If I would choose one of the other parks that you haven't mentioned, I would choose Epcot because there are things that would be exciting for the girl especially with Frozen being open then. There are also rides that could get the Boys engaged. DHS would work better if they boys were older. I typically do all four parks, but you have limited time in the parks and respect that.

 

[mrzrich]

Epcot for kids

Test Track
Mission Space Green
Nemo ride
Turtle Talk
Journey into the Imagination
Pixar 3D movie
Gran Fiesta Tour
Agent P Missions
Soaring reopens in Summer
Revamped Norway ride featuring Frozen opens in the spring.


These rides seem boring on the surface, but kids love them!
Living with the land
Spaceship Earth

Illuminations Reflections of Earth is a lovely nighttime show as well

 

[AngiTN]

Yes, every time. We never miss a park. Going to WDW and not doing all 4 parks does not compute to my brain.

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

We have been 4 times, and have only done HS the last visit. And even then, we were only there from opening until mid-afternoon. Kids ages at the time were 4 and 7. The kids love Epcot. When we had an open day the final day of the trip that is where they both voted to return.

 

[Paigesmom2013]

I would say pick one other park and not do park hoppers. We went in September 2013 and had park hoppers (hubby's work only sold them that way.) We were going to leave DHS around 3 and hop to Epcot. Well, it down poured and we didn't go. We went back to resort and it cleared a little and we swam. I just feel like park hopping is hard with little kids.

 

[starjazz]

We don't always do all four. If we skip its usually Animal Kingdom, just because we're not as interested in the zoo animals since we have zoos around us. Not that that's all Animal Kingdom is, but its the easiest for us to justify skipping. Our kids (now 7 & 5) love Epcot, and their first time they were 2 & 4. They also love HS now that they're a bit older and can do ToT and RRC.

We also just can't justify pool days because we can swim anywhere, so we might do a couple hours one late afternoon or morning or something, but never a whole day in the pool. Just us, though.

 

[VillainFavs]

I would definitely do all four parks. Instead of a whole pool day, maybe plan shorter days at Epcot and HS if you don't think you'll last a whole day there and spend the rest of the day at the pool. But you may find more there than you thought. With five days, I'd definitely do one day each park and a second day at MK.

 

[DSLRuser]

every day is a pool day. The parks are actually separate for us. But yes, we ALWAYS hit all 6 parks. (boardwalk and Disney Village) are how i get to 6

Morning at a park. At a pool by 1:00pm Back to the park around 6:00pm

 

[DSLRuser]

We don't always do all four. If we skip its usually Animal Kingdom, just because we're not as interested in the zoo animals since we have zoos around us. Not that that's all Animal Kingdom is, but its the easiest for us to justify skipping. .

Remeber....AK is "NAHT-A-ZOO" in Swahili

 

[brockash]

Do Most people usually hit all four parks on every trip? We are going in September with our 7 and 5 yo boys and our 2 yo daughter. A pool day is an absolute must, a whole day at AK believe it or not is a must and We think with all the added princess things this trip for my daughter, we have to do 2 days in MK.

We have never been to HS, and Epcot looks like it will be a struggle for my two youngest to be entertained at all and my Oldest would love it if it weren't being compared to his favorite roller coasters, otherwise I think he'll be whiny.

We are only going for 5 days and really considering doing neither of those parks but part of me feels like we should at least give HS a try. But with all the closings, it seems like a bad time to try it. I feel weird just doing two parks, but swimming time and dining time is something of a priority for us. Anyone else tour this way?

Do whatever works best for your family. For us, we used to always do the 4 main parks (3 days at MK and a day at AK, DHS, and Epcot). Then we found the water parks, so now we've been skipping AK every other year and only do 2 days at MK, so we can fit 2 water park days in. This year though, we're going to do a day at each main park and 1 at each water park. It'll be weird only doing 1 MK day, but the kids really wanted to do the water parks again, so that's our plan. -I'd also be a vote against park hoppers. To us, they're just a lot of work with kids.

 

[FindMeAFishingSpot]

We've been skipping HS lately. And this time around, we're hitting WDW for one day and just going to Epcot. DS is 7 and his two favorite rides at all of Disney are Test Track and Mission Space.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

We used to hit all four Disney parks (on most trips , but recently we've been spending the majority of our time at Universal or elsewhere. We go where we feel we get the most value. In years past, we'd spend 6 days at WDW.

For now, Universal and offsite locations just offer a much better value. We've been having a great deal of fun vacationing beyond the Orlando area.

Florida's National and State parks are practically free! (less $ than parking at MK)

But the real kicker is that we feel much better when we can eat healthier foods, at times we are actually hungry, for half the price.

 

[MrKnight]

Epcot for kids

Test Track
Mission Space Green
Nemo ride
Turtle Talk
Journey into the Imagination
Pixar 3D movie
Gran Fiesta Tour
Agent P Missions
Soaring reopens in Summer
Revamped Norway ride featuring Frozen opens in the spring.


These rides seem boring on the surface, but kids love them!
Living with the land
Spaceship Earth

Illuminations Reflections of Earth is a lovely nighttime show as well

In addition to these attractions, Epcot also has several Character locations that are popular among small children:

Princess Storybook at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall (Character Dining)
Garden Grill Restaurant (Character Dining)
Epcot Character Spot (Meet and Greet)
Character Meet and Greets throughout World Showcase

And once the new Frozen attraction opens in Norway later this year there will be an entire new area with kid-friendly activities.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Anyone else tour this way?

If by this you mean doing what feels best for your family, yes! We've always done that! (at least in some sense)

One our most recent visit, we spent day one at the resorts, and day two at MK. Prior to that, we stayed one night at BC- and did one day at our hotel, and one in Epcot. (truth be told...adding Epcot was a last minute addition)

WDW vacations are always a balance of doing what makes sense vs. doing what you feel like doing. I might not feel like getting up and out at 6am, but I value the benefit of arriving to low crowds.

Every trip we evaluate our priorities and adjust our touring to fit.

 

[msmama]

If I have at least 4 days, then yes, I hit all four parks.

I think you might be selling HS and EPCOT short. I have a 7 year old and those two have ALWAYS been his favorites (and he would probably pick those over MK). Especially if you've never done them, then I think they're worth trying.

That said, obviously do whatever works best for your family.