Which park to skip? Leaning toward AK…but……

[Jaymarkm]

New DVC member…trip in June was our first to WDW in a while (maybe 6 years?)

Was absolutely blown away by HS (jaw dropping Star Wars experience…I think Star Tours was all that was there last time?)…love MK and Epcot and it was so nice to be back! We did 3 parks last time with some chill days. Worked out great for us (two forty-somethings, a couple teen daughters, 11 yo son).

Which brings me to question—we want to
do the same thing next visit, 3 park days. We definitely are doing HS again, and love the other 2 like dear old friends, so something’s gotta give. Probably won’t go back for a couple of years after next visit.

Anybody think the “new” (new to us, so like last 6ish years) stuff in AK is must-see? Will it blow our minds like HS did? (Granted you don’t know us, but whaddya think?) I always thought HS was the most skippable, but wow had it changed! Is AK kind of the same deal?

(Not to mention we’ve never been to anything Universal. Topic for another day. Or year.)

 

[cjlong88]

(Not to mention we’ve never been to anything Universal. Topic for another day. Or year.)

If anyone in your family is a Harry Potter fan, you have to do Universal someday! The Wizarding World boasts some of the coolest attractions in all of Orlando. Universal really knocked it out of the park with those lands. That combined with rides like Velocicoaster...definitely worth the visit.

Anybody think the “new” (new to us, so like last 6ish years) stuff in AK is must-see? Will it blow our minds like HS did?

I'm not sure what was there on your last visit, but Pandora is amazing. The land in itself is quite a feat of engineering -- it's like eye candy! Flight of Passage is easily in my top 5 favorite attractions. The first time I rode it I actually teared up a bit. The music, the visuals, the practical effects (wind/rain). It's really beautiful and I doesn't ever seem to get old. Satu'li Canteen is a wonderful quick service stop with great food. The bioluminescence at night is really special. It really feels magical to me. Not everyone responds to the land like I do, though.

Is AK worth giving up EPCOT or MK? That's really tough to say and would be very personal for each person. As a whole, AK is one of my personal favorites next to EPCOT, but that's because it has some of my favorite attractions (Everest, Dinosaur, Safari, etc.) and some of my favorite eats. I could spend a whole day walking the trails, exploring the Tree of Live, etc. For us AK is all about taking things slow and soaking in the incredible theming that Joe Rohde imagineered. If your family isn't going to be into the parts of AK outside of the rides, maybe it isn't worth a full day.

Have you thought about getting PH tickets? You could rope drop AK, as it typically that park that opens the earliest, and then hop to a park that closes late so you can see the land.

 

[RanDIZ]

We’re DVC at AKV and always do AK due to its proximity and we love Pandora and Expedition. HS was amazing and Star Wars was like being on set. But we did skip HS last year and will do same again. It just always seems overly crowded. Like PP said, park hopping could be an option.

 

[brockash]

New DVC member…trip in June was our first to WDW in a while (maybe 6 years?)

Was absolutely blown away by HS (jaw dropping Star Wars experience…I think Star Tours was all that was there last time?)…love MK and Epcot and it was so nice to be back! We did 3 parks last time with some chill days. Worked out great for us (two forty-somethings, a couple teen daughters, 11 yo son).

Which brings me to question—we want to
do the same thing next visit, 3 park days. We definitely are doing HS again, and love the other 2 like dear old friends, so something’s gotta give. Probably won’t go back for a couple of years after next visit.

Anybody think the “new” (new to us, so like last 6ish years) stuff in AK is must-see? Will it blow our minds like HS did? (Granted you don’t know us, but whaddya think?) I always thought HS was the most skippable, but wow had it changed! Is AK kind of the same deal?

(Not to mention we’ve never been to anything Universal. Topic for another day. Or year.)

We would definitely and have skipped AK. I can't imagine skipping any of the others and we like AK, but if you have to skip one, hands down for us it'd be AK.

 

[Jaymarkm]

If anyone in your family is a Harry Potter fan, you have to do Universal someday! The Wizarding World boasts some of the coolest attractions in all of Orlando. Universal really knocked it out of the park with those lands. That combined with rides like Velocicoaster...definitely worth the visit.


I'm not sure what was there on your last visit, but Pandora is amazing. The land in itself is quite a feat of engineering -- it's like eye candy! Flight of Passage is easily in my top 5 favorite attractions. The first time I rode it I actually teared up a bit. The music, the visuals, the practical effects (wind/rain). It's really beautiful and I doesn't ever seem to get old. Satu'li Canteen is a wonderful quick service stop with great food. The bioluminescence at night is really special. It really feels magical to me. Not everyone responds to the land like I do, though.

Is AK worth giving up EPCOT or MK? That's really tough to say and would be very personal for each person. As a whole, AK is one of my personal favorites next to EPCOT, but that's because it has some of my favorite attractions (Everest, Dinosaur, Safari, etc.) and some of my favorite eats. I could spend a whole day walking the trails, exploring the Tree of Live, etc. For us AK is all about taking things slow and soaking in the incredible theming that Joe Rohde imagineered. If your family isn't going to be into the parts of AK outside of the rides, maybe it isn't worth a full day.

Have you thought about getting PH tickets? You could rope drop AK, as it typically that park that opens the earliest, and then hop to a park that closes late so you can see the land.

I do have one daughter who is pushing hard for AK…never park hopped but maybe this is the time. Hit Epcot during evening maybe. Thanks for sharing the thoughts on AK!

(And yep it’s kind of bizarre we’ve never done the Harry Potter park as we were midnight HP book launches kind of folks. Next after next Orlando trip!)

 

[Jaymarkm]

We would definitely and have skipped AK. I can't imagine skipping any of the others and we like AK, but if you have to skip one, hands down for us it'd be AK.

I told my family maybe we skip Magic Kingdom and they all looked at me like I’d hurt them

 

[Jaymarkm]

We’re DVC at AKV and always do AK due to its proximity and we love Pandora and Expedition. HS was amazing and Star Wars was like being on set. But we did skip HS last year and will do same again. It just always seems overly crowded. Like PP said, park hopping could be an option.

We are AKV too (Kidani) and didn’t do it last time since we were getting solid “Animal Kingdom” time…but this time we are splitting Poly and AK-Jambo so with that split stay maybe AK proximity will be a real plus.

Not sure how we’ll love the split stay but eh might as well give it a shot! Might have to give park hopping a shot too!

 

[RoseGold]

I'd rather skip AK and go to Harry Potter. There, I said it.

And my kid is nowhere near the age bracket that would understand.

The only jawdroppers in WDW you should not miss right now, IMO, are ROTR and GOTG. They left Pandora (and AK) in the dust.

 

[RanDIZ]

We are AKV too (Kidani) and didn’t do it last time since we were getting solid “Animal Kingdom” time…but this time we are splitting Poly and AK-Jambo so with that split stay maybe AK proximity will be a real plus.

Not sure how we’ll love the split stay but eh might as well give it a shot! Might have to give park hopping a shot too!

Split staying is great. We've done CCV/AKV twice before and will do AKV/Poly this year. We don't mind it at all. It's like starting a new vacation. If done right and for enough days, there's plenty of time for resort and park days.

 

[The Foolish Mortal]

IMO, Pandora is very impressive. Personally, I prefer Ak to Epcot, but you should do whatever makes you happiest

 

[scrappinginontario]

We don't like to skip any and if you haven't seen Pandora it's quite the sight! Honestly, it's a personal decision as you know your family best but a trip to AK is worth it at least once!

 

[Genie+]

What is your park days schedule like? Are you visiting soonish? It could depend on those answers but we’d likely get hoppers to do all 4 parks and try to take advantage of deluxe evening hours at MK and Epcot where possible.

 

[loves to dive]

Another vote for hoppers, I can't imagine skipping any of the parks. Heck, we aren't the biggest fans of MK but I still need to at least drop in a few hours, see the castle, ride HM, PeopleMover, Pirates. We have always had PHs, even when there were just two parks to hop to. Not being able to hop until 2 sucks but its workable. Like others have said, do AK in the morning since it opens earlier and closes earlier then move on to another park. You might find yourself doing two parks a day each day. I get a lot more done that way and I always take a mid-afternoon pool/nap break. I'm one of the few that isn't that crazy about Batu (Star Wars Land) and have been known to not even step foot inside the land but I do like HS but I enjoy it more at night then in the day.

 

[Jaymarkm]

Thanks all, super helpful and my better half loved reading the replies too. She’s leaning toward park hopping a day w/ AK I’m leaning toward whatever she leans toward.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Thanks all, super helpful and my better half loved reading the replies too. She’s leaning toward park hopping a day w/ AK I’m leaning toward whatever she leans toward.

LOL - very wise!

Just a note that it will cost the same to add PH to your tickets day 1 or your final day so if you add it at the beginning of your trip you will open up more options to hop if you wish to.

 

[Jaymarkm]

What is your park days schedule like? Are you visiting soonish? It could depend on those answers but we’d likely get hoppers to do all 4 parks and try to take advantage of deluxe evening hours at MK and Epcot where possible.

Yep, that seems like the answer—park hopping one day. Now I just need to convince my son that going to a water park in Dec might be a bad call as he keeps watching videos of it

 

[lockets]

Even though Pandora area is cool - I don’t see AK blowing your mind like HS did unless you really love animals to top off your experience there. We went for the first time to AK in Jan and it felt similar to zoos in major metropolitan areas with just one or two areas that impressed. I thought Africa section was detailed and looked like a movie set.

But I do see Harry Potter at Universal blowing you away. Cause you didn’t ask what you might “like.” You asked what would “blow your mind.” Even if you’re not an HP fan it’s as immersive as the Star Wars section in HS and hence is the only fair comparison really. IMO