Which park for arrival day?

[hugo]

Flight should be on the ground around 8:30 on our arrival day. So hoping to be in the park around noon. Which would you choose for a half day based on the crowd levels that are there now. Currently have park reservations for Epcot that day, but considering changing to AK. Will noon-6 be enough time to get in Everest, Pandora, the safari and some night blossoms?

 

[MomOTwins]

Flight should be on the ground around 8:30 on our arrival day. So hoping to be in the park around noon. Which would you choose for a half day based on the crowd levels that are there now. Currently have park reservations for Epcot that day, but considering changing to AK. Will noon-6 be enough time to get in Everest, Pandora, the safari and some night blossoms?

Yes. But flights can be delayed so Epcot is probably safer.

 

[Chrissy-Mickey]

I would also go to EPCOT in this scenario. With the current 11 am opening time, you're still getting in a full day and if you're delayed anywhere during your travels you're not too stressed about being an hour or two later.

 

[Dis_Millennial]

For me it would be EPCOT as well. AK is the largest park on property and if you really want to experience everything it is going to take some time walking around the park. EPCOT is much smaller and much more casual when it comes to the rides you go on. There wont be many (if any) long lines in EPCOT and you'll still be able to enjoy the park. Have a great trip!

 

[Leigh L]

I echo the Epcot! It will give you the most flexibility if your flight is delayed or if using MDE that takes longer than expected.
Also, how far out is your trip? The reason I ask is airlines (JB, SW, Frontier for sure - probably others too) are shifting, consolidating, and canceling so many flights. You might want to keep an eye out, I didn't always get an email about major changes.

So far, we've had numerous flight changes for our August trip (one was a complete cancelation with no option until November - that was Frontier) and then two or three more by JB (I've lost track lol) - each time by 12-24 hours on each leg. Our trip now looks absolutely nothing like it did just 3-4 weeks ago.

We're now arriving 3 days earlier and leaving 3 days earlier. Late-night flight instead of a morning flight. I was shifting our park days and ADRs this week.

 

[hugo]

We arrive October 8th. Flying southwest from New Orleans.

 

[03GirlsMom]

I always prefer to start out our trip with MK but given the current park hours & your arrival time, I'd also go with Epcot.

 

[Darklord77]

If arriving later in the day I would pick Epcot.

 

[Indio]

We chose Epcot. Got to resort around 12:30 and was in the park by 1:30.

 

[MaxsDad]

I agree with everyone else Epcot.

I echo the Epcot! It will give you the most flexibility if your flight is delayed or if using MDE that takes longer than expected.
Also, how far out is your trip? The reason I ask is airlines (JB, SW, Frontier for sure - probably others too) are shifting, consolidating, and canceling so many flights. You might want to keep an eye out, I didn't always get an email about major changes.

So far, we've had numerous flight changes for our August trip (one was a complete cancelation with no option until November - that was Frontier) and then two or three more by JB (I've lost track lol) - each time by 12-24 hours on each leg. Our trip now looks absolutely nothing like it did just 3-4 weeks ago.

We're now arriving 3 days earlier and leaving 3 days earlier. Late-night flight instead of a morning flight. I was shifting our park days and ADRs this week.

We had a 6:30am nonstop flight out of DC planned for our October trip on Southwest which would have gotten us in around 9 so we planned to go to Epcot first. Southwest changed the flight from a 2.5 hour flight to a 12 hour flight with two stops, one in Dallas and one in Chicago I think. That is just crazy. We got lucky so far though and ended up only having to switch our flight to leave out of Baltimore a day earlier and it looks like they just straight up cancelled our original flight because I don't even see it on their page anymore.

It is pretty frustrating, I hope they don't change our new flights. At that point I might just drive.

 

[TTA Rider Matt]

For me it depends on where you are staying and what your mode of transportation is. If you are staying at Boardwalk/Beach Club and don’t have your own car, I would do Epcot or DHS. With the Epcot monorail not currently running, if you’re at one of the monorail resorts, I would do MK. If your flight lands at 8:30, I would think you can be in a park prior to noon. I would suggest getting yourself a car service to get you to your resort, as I’ve seen Magical Express lines of up to 90 minutes.

 

[KristaZ]

We go with Epcot for the first day since they're open the latest - it gives us the most flexibility. However, I will say that a half day at Animal Kingdom is plenty of time to do everything. We got there around 8:30 the day we went and were done by 2, and at that point we had done multiple rides 2 or 3 times as well as taken in everything the park has to offer. Later in the day would be even easier to get everything done.

 

[hugo]

I should have added more information in my original post. We are staying at Pop. After reading all the replies, I think Epcot would be the best choice. Will probably Uber/Lyft to the resort then catch the skyliner over to Epcot. Thanks for all the advice!

 

[NotANewbie]

We are at AoA and in about the same boat. Half our party arrives to MCO at 9:00, the other half at 10:30. We are meeting at the resort and Skyliner-ing over to EPCOT.
Have a great trip!

 

[BarlowFamily]

I agree with the Epcot suggestions. I would also consider DHS, depending on how many park days you have planned. Making it for the second Virtual Queue drop would be great, and I think I could do everything I wanted to before closing. Have a great trip!