Which park to omit?

[kimluvswdw]

I would vote for skipping MGM.

 

[jenseib]

After reading all of your great replies and talking it over with dh some more, we've decided to pretty much just stick to our original plan. The last Sat of our trip we'll do the EMH and morning at MGM take a break and then head over to AK for the afternoon/early evening. If we get everything done early enough at MGM we'll hit AK sooner rather than later. If our plan goes well, we'll get to experience every park at a nice leisurely pace. We'll see if it really happens but fingers are crossed! (and we're flexible--we'd rather have happy kids on a happy trip rather than just jam in all in just to say we did it) Thanks!!!

That is the perfect attitude!

 

[D&DDisney]

Skip AK.

 

[Tallent]

I would skip AK (we are doing half day). MGM has tons of stuff for kids that afe. Playhouse Disney, Voyage of the Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Honey I Shrunk the Kids Playground, High School Musical Pep Rally, Lights, Camera, Action Stunt Show, Indiana Jones Stunt Show, Muppet Vision 3-D, plus Fantasmic and Osbourne Family Specticle of Lights when you will be there. They will love it. You could also do a half day of AK and half day of MGM, and hit what would be your highpoints at each.

That's our current plan!

 

[meowzer]

If you are going in Nov./Dec. I would save AK to last due to the amount of decorations. If at all possible use your park hoppers to get to AK for the Lion King Show. We found Mickey and Minnie in their holiday attire signing books outside of the theatre when we were there last year. The ages of my kids in 2006 were dd(7) and ds(2.5). I was surprised how much my daughter enjoyed the technology aspect of Epcot. The only countries we went to were Japan (to eat). Morocco (to eat) and US.

We made it to AK for one day but it was a lot of walking and few places to eat. We ended up at the Polynesian to eat lunch as that was the closest table service rest. that sort of fit the theme.

I would suggest determining what you want to see at another park and AK and maybe splitting the day in half.

 

[hourfromdisney]

I would skip MGM excpet/unless it is the Osborn Spectacle of lights. That was truly one of the most magical things I have ever seen. I plan on buying a video camera this year just so I can tape it and watch it throughout the year. And it for me is truly spectacular beyond words.

 

[Torgue]

I would also say skip AK. We did 3 days at MK , 1 at Epcot , 1 at MGM and 1 at AK. I would suggest doing AK on evening magic if you want to do it . We went right after lunch and were able to do everything in the park. After 5:00 we rode EE and Khali 5 times each with no wait. The shows were great for my DD5 but on our next trip we will not schedule a day at AK . I think it's really difficult to do MGM in 1/2 day because of all the character greetings and my DD loves to meet characters. So if your not doing characters then do both parks on the same day.

 

[PrincessBelle39]

I haven't been yet. (first trip is in about 3 weeks). But apart from the MK, the park my kids are looking forward to the most is MGM. This is because of the playhouse Disney attractions and character greetings and the Voyage of the little Mermaid.

 

[poeticdiabetic]

If you have park hoppers, you really can go to all parks. Or, just do one park per day. Especially if you go to one park per day, you can relax and really take in all of what the parks can offer.

 

[jake&samsmom]

My kids are 6 (turned 7 last week at WDW) and 4. We got up early every am, and were one of the last people to leave every park. We saw all 4 parks commando style and had the best time of our lives (see my trip report). IMHO, I think we don't give kids enough credit for their resilience and boundless energy, especially when immersed in the WDW experience. We did not need noon naps at the hotel, but did our breaks sitting on benches in the parks and people watching/snacking. Not to say we weren't tired when we got home, but a good tired it was

 

[mikamah]

My son turned 5 when we were there last year, and absolutely loved mgm and met a ton of characters there. The parades at both mgm and ak are awesome, and I think are both in the later afternoons. Sounds like you have a good plan to do both. Have fun.

 

[Magpie]

After reading all of your great replies and talking it over with dh some more, we've decided to pretty much just stick to our original plan. The last Sat of our trip we'll do the EMH and morning at MGM take a break and then head over to AK for the afternoon/early evening. If we get everything done early enough at MGM we'll hit AK sooner rather than later. If our plan goes well, we'll get to experience every park at a nice leisurely pace. We'll see if it really happens but fingers are crossed! (and we're flexible--we'd rather have happy kids on a happy trip rather than just jam in all in just to say we did it) Thanks!!!

Check to see when AK closes on your dates! It usually closes a lot earlier than other parks, so you might want to reverse your plan and go to AK in the morning and MGM in the afternoon/evening.

We love AK, BTW! It's our favorite park after EPCOT. And yeah, we *have* visited lots of zoos - AK is just different.

 

[beattyfamily]

We have been to Disney 11 times and have skipped AK at least 3 trips so far. It's the only one we'd skip. Although now that they have EE, I do make an early AM trip there just for that.

My kids love MGM for all the shows, rides and the parade.

Good luck deciding and planning!

 

[JJ&JSMOM]

If you have to skip a park I would definitely skip MGM. We spent 1/2 a day there and there wasn't really much of interest for our kids (8,5&2). All we did was the Little Mermaid, the Power Rangers Meet & Greet, & eat at SCI FI. Kids were too young or didn't care about ToT or RRC, the characters at Playhouse Disney didn't interest the 5 yr old & our 2 yr old is scared of the bear in Bear in the Big Blue HOuse so that was a definite no go. The muppets didn't interest my kids. Maybe next time - it is a nice park to walk around and see all the funny actors & their skits but not worth it going to just for that.

We went to AK 2 times and the kids just loved it. We were going to skip Epcot but then we decided to just go for half a day to Future World. It was worth it - the kids got to go on some rides & see the "big golf ball". They loved Mousegears - great store!

 

[Mecha Figment]

If it was my choice I would skip The Disney MGM studios. it's undergoing a lot of changes right now. I would skip it untill all the new construction and plans going into effect and it's name changes to Hollywood.