Which one to skip in July: Epcot, DHS or a water park?

[Eddie512]

First post ever! Have been enjoying reading up and learning from the experts here!

Our vacation in Early July will include 2 days at Universal, then 4 at WDW (originally planned 1 day at each park). Kids will be 14, 10 and 8. Last trip went to all 4 parks but did not get to the World Showcase in Epcot (did all the rides/attractions in Future World) and we missed Jedi Training and Fanasmic! @ DHS (there wasn't a Frozen sing a long at the time).

So what to do? Stick to the plan? Go to a water park one day? I know we could do 1/2 day park and 1/2 day water park but it would cost an extra $300+, yikes! I am tempted by the water parks (JULY HEAT) even Though I live near a Schlitterbahn (it's not Disney!!) but I am not sure about prioritizing that over a theme park.

I would love to hear opinions so fire away!!

 

[ArwenMarie]

I would never do a waterpark at Disney because we have plenty of those here. My kids disagree so we do them.

 

[EagleG17]

Skip the water park. Have a few drinks in the world showcase

 

[Tomh]

Of the 3, I would skip the water park. We spent half of a non park day at Typhoon Lagoon once. It was fun, but not worth sacrificing a park day.

That having been said, DHS . . .. well, it's lacking some. If you REALLY want to do it all, you could schedule FP+ for the afternoon in DHS, hit the water park in the morning, and then spend the evening at DHS, and probably manage to see / do everything you are interested in, because there really isn't THAT much left to do there lol.

 

[disneyfan0031]

Probably DHS, even though it may seem like there's not a lot, you will be able to do the things you missed and also not have to pay the extra $$.

 

[Sevey13]

I don't know your family's full schedule, but here's another option you might consider: A 3-day ticket with the Waterpark & More Fun option. That would give you three days in the parks and then three times to visit non-park attractions including the two water parks and the mini-golf courses. It wouldn't cost hundreds more. They don't have to be used concurrent with the parks, just within 14 days of the first use of your overall tickets.

This would really depend on what else your family is up to and how your transportation is facilitated. A limitation is that the mini-golf has to be before 4:00. Here's how it might work:

Day 1: Arrive in Orlando and head to Fantasia Golf before 4:00. Enjoy a leisurely round and get a taste of the Disney magic.
Day 2: Park
Day 3: Park
Day 4: Park
Day 6: UO
Day 7: UO
Day 8: Waterpark and Winter Summerland Mini-golf

Or you could switch things around and get in an early round of mini-golf the day you leave if you have a slightly later departure time. Hit the 'links' when they open at 10:00 and squeeze a little more magic out of your stay before hitting the road or the airport.

 

[lroger01]

I'd skip DHS and do a water park. 6 straight days of walking on concrete in July heat, doing essentially the same thing would drive me nuts. A day "off" in the middle to enjoy a waterpark could be just the ticket to avoid burnout and "hitting the wall". With your kids ages, this means you can choose to relax in a lounge chair or float a lazy river while the kids ride slides if you wish.

As for which one, I'd probably choose Typhoon Lagoon just for the abundance of shade. You also have the wave pool and a well shaded lazy river to occupy you when lines get long. You could pair this day with some time at Disney Springs, a show at Cirque Du Soleil, or Hoop Dee Do Revue, or a movie. Or just chill at the resort and turn in early.

Oh, and I'd skip DHS because AK has late-night hours now and some new stuff to experience

 

[agavegirl1]

Welcome! I, personally would skip the waterpark because of the ages of your kids. While DHS is partly behind construction walls, waterparks are abundant across the US and you likely have a pool at your resort/hotel for cooling off. You could schedule FP+ for some hard to get attractions, head to DHS in the morning and have a pool afternoon.

 

[lilkitty819]

I would skip the waterparks most resorts now have slides and play areas.. Only the values are lacking slides!

 

[Eddie512]

Appreciate all the advice!! For those who've visited the water parks: are they "Disney"?? Meaning lots of theming, magic, etc?

Toying with the idea of WP &M... Just bite the pricey bullet and do a morning at WP and an evening at Epcot or DHS... I know it's so hard for others to answer the "worth it" question because it's so subjective. But is it worth it???

 

[olliesmom]

We actually LOVE the water parks and I don't think we would do a Disney trip without them. We find them to be super relaxing and a nice change of pace from the parks. Typically, the way we work them into our schedule is to get to the water park close to opening and spend our time there until just after lunch. Then we go back to our resort, shower, change (and nap if we need it!) then go to a park for a dinner and fireworks. This past year we combined Typhoon Lagoon with dinner in the World Showcase + Illuminations and it was perfect!

We love the wave pool at Typhoon lagoon, the lazy river, snorkeling, Crush-n-Gusher and just relaxing in the lounge chairs with our toes in the sand!

 

[SirMickey]

Water parks aren't my favorites, so I say skip it!

 

[pa. dad]

I say skip the DHS as too many things closed there.

 

[dledger]

I absolutely love Epcot so I wouldn't recommend skipping that, personally. Between DHS and the waterpark however, I'd be inclined to say DHS. But, with kids those ages? You might be best off asking them what they'd prefer because Frozen and Star Wars aren't deal breakers to me, but may be to them!

 

[ahalper0227]

I would skip the waterpark. The resort pools do more than enough for us. Can't skip EPCOT. Also, being that some things are closed in DHS it forced us to do some things we wouldn't normally do and we really enjoyed them!

 

[Kathryn777]

Water parks are my kids' favorite (oldest is 9) and there's no way I'd skip it in July! So hot! I'd need a day off from the heat

 

[Kimberly9701]

I vote to skip the waterpark!!

If you're hot and need a water break..spend some time in your resort pool
One of our favorite things in September was going down the volcano slide at our resort..we took mid day pool breaks, and a resort day for mini golf, swimming, and renting a small watercraft.

(And I'm a HUGE fan of water parks..just not while at WDW)

 

[Kimberly9701]

I say skip the DHS as too many things closed there.

But what's closed that a kid would really care about?
More importantly-- Star Wars is open!!!!

 

[kwdw]

I'd ask your kids - they are old enough to have a say - skip DHS or skip waterpark. (Don't give them lots of choices - that will create confusion!) At their ages - both my brother and I probably would have said waterpark over another park. Part of going on vacation for us was having lots of time to play in water - we expected it and its what we loved.

 

[Shellyb84]

Skip the water park! We went and regretted wasting the time and money. We only managed to stay half the day, it was soooo hot and long lines for everything. All DD wanted to do was the lazy river and the kiddie slides anyway, both of which we had at our resort pool at the BC. Not sure where you are staying, but all the resort pools are great.

There is plenty of stuff at DHS for kids, and you definitely need to check out WS if you haven't yet!