Which park first?

[glbh]

We are going to Disney World for spring break. We'll be arriving in the afternoon on Sunday and have 4 day park hopper passes. We have 3 children ages 10, 9 and 3. My dad is also traveling with us. I bought the "unofficial guide" and it suggests touring Epcot first. Is that a good idea?

Also, I really like the idea of the touring plans. But our children are so far apart in age. Our older children want to do the "scarier" rides while the 3 yr. old doesn't. Any ideas on adapting the touring plans for older and younger children?

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

Som people say to leave MK for last, but my family is just the opposite. We head right for MK and then do other parks on subsequent days. Our kids are 4 & 6, and they love MK and never have complained once about being at any of the other parks either. I just don't feel like I'm in Disney World until I stroll down Main Street and see the castle.

Can't wait to be there again soon! <a href='http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008' target='_blank'><img src='http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/10_1_20.gif' border=0></a> <a href='http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008' target='_blank'><img src='http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/15/15_1_150.gif' border=0></a>

 

[Suzflee]

I read somewhere that MK is busiest on Mondays and on Weekends. Mon. is an early entry day for AK if you are staying on-site. We're doing MGM first but aren't planning on doing a full day at Epcot.

 

[Ashleigh]

Try breaking up into groups so that everyone can go to the attraction they want to see. The older children wanting the "scarier" rides can go with one parent then meet up with the rest of the group later. Dividing up will probably save you from listening to alot of complaining and fighting about what to ride.

 

[glbh]

So any advice on how to make the touring plans work for us? Should I order a customized touring plan or is that a waste of money?

 

[Tigger&Belle]

I just returned with my 4yo. We went to AK first, then Epcot, MGM, and finally MK. That worked out well for us because Jake was ready and willing to hang around and enjoy what the first three parks had to offer without expecting constant rides. For an older child on a repeat visit it wouldn't matter because they would know that the MK was there.

This last visit I only went with Jake, but he is the youngest of 4 children (I also have 10 and 13yo sons and a 16yo daughter). We haven't been to WDW as a whole family in quite a while, but have gone to Universal recently. We use the baby swap if it's a thrill ride that both adults want to ride. If one of the adults doesn't care about the ride that adult brings our little guy to a kiddy area and then meets back up with the rest of the family a little later. We have cell phones so it's not hard to do.

How tall is your son? Jake is 42" and could do almost everything in the parks (40" is an important height at WDW). He enjoyed just about all the rides, especially Splash Mountain, Big Thunder MT, Test Track and to a lesser degree, Tower of Terror. I'll have to say that as a 3yo he wouldn't have enjoyed as many rides, at least he didn't when we went to Unversal last spring. For him the year of maturity helped, but a lot of kids are more daring at 3yo than he was.

T&B