Which park to skip...

[Nicole Fasse]

Hi there! Going to the World Dec 3-5. I've been a million and one times, and was even an AP holder last year. My significant other however, has NEVER been! SHOCKER. We will have 3 full days for the parks and are not staying on property. I wanted to do a full MK day, full EPCOT day, and was unsure if i should split the last day into AK and HS or not. I've seen Pandora, but have not yet been to Toy Story Land. Keeping in mind my S.O has never been, should be spend the extra 70 on park hoppers to try and cram AK and HS into one day? If so, how would you plan out the attractions? THANKS!!!!

 

[danielocha30]

Do Hollywood Studios
You get new Toy Story Land and way better night time shows. Take the $70 and eat at any table service on any of the parks

 

[chris benton]

I'd let the Star Wars stuff, TOT, and TSL vs Pandora + Animal stuff be the deciding factor. Frankly, I LOVE DHS, so this would be an easy choice for me.

Sounds like you'll probably be going back though? 3 days? I'd lean towards getting hoppers, and hitting the big stuff that you'd like, and get a feel for where you'd like to spend more time on the next visit.

 

[KittyKitty]

Is your significant other an animal lover? Then AK is the one. They also have great places to eat there. But either park, you will have a great time!

 

[Cinderumbrella]

Which does he/she want to do?

 

[mickeyfanachey1999]

It'd be easy for me...skip Epcot.

 

[Tiggerlover91]

Me personally, I'd skip HS. I haven't been on the last 2 visits. However, find out what he really likes. If he's into animals, then do AK. If he's into thrill rides and shows do the Studios. You probably could also do the hopper and do both parks in one day. Just talk it over with him and see.

 

[shanew21]

We always skip HS. AK is a must do for us Flight of Passage and Everest alone, not to mention it has the best quick service food on property.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

I'd never skip AK.

 

[Ensusieasm]

If your significant other has never been to Disney World, a ride on FoP is an absolute must. Skip HS if you have to skip one park. Save something for next time.

 

[goodeats]

I think Epcot is the least impressive to a WDW newbie and it’s only popular because of the nostalgia factor. DH kept commenting how dated it looked and how few attractions there were. He doesn’t drink or enjoy shopping that much, so I could see his point. Pandora, FOP, EE, ToT, TSL blow it out of the water.

I would either go with the hopper (you could visit Epcot at night on both your HS and AK days) or skip Epcot.

 

[maryj11]

That's a toss up for me. I like both for different reasons. Let him look at each park on the website and then let him decide. There are fun things to do at both. If he would like to see both then get hoppers.
if you do hop between AK and HS maybe get one for a day that has evening or morning extra magic hours, so you will have more time. I know if I hopped I would get FP for AK just to get the Flight of Passage FP. So maybe go to AK in the morning and after you use your FP's for AK make one for HS. I know that will maybe make it so you won't get a Slinky Dog FP since they have been hard to get but FOP is way better.

 

[kaetra]

If you add park hopper to 3 day tickets I think it’s a lower price point than hoppers for 4-10 days.

 

[Ds4angels]

It'd be easy for me...skip Epcot.

Me too. I'd much rather do HS and AK instead of Epcot

 

[FSU Girl]

I don't agree with anyone about Epcot, it's my favorite park and a must visit every trip. I think FOP would be more impressive to him than the Toy Story rides. But is he a big Star Wars fan? Or does he really like animals? Those two factors could change the answer of where to go.

 

[siren0119]

See... if he's a star wars fan, you kinda have to go to HS. I made the mistake of thinking we could swing a half day at AK and HS, but my kids went NUTS for HS and all the star wars stuff. We ended up going back for another half day at the end of our trip and they STILL could have squeezed more out of it.

TL: DR - If it's about giving him the best experience as a newcomer, it'll be important to know what he is going to be most excited about and then decide based on that.

 

[loves to dive]

That really is a subjective choice for everyone and you will get a range of answers. Personally, I'd go with hoppers and split every day, going back to the parks you felt you missed some of the last day. I've always said I wouldn't skip any parks but our last trip, which was 5 nights 6 days, my adult son actually skipped AK (I didn't I went while he was at ESPN watching the Georgia game). We couldn't get FPs for FOP and he isn't an early riser so didn't want to do rope drop. He loves the animals but it was mid Sept. and hot as heck and he felt the odds of many being active after 9 am was slim. I don't particularly like FOP so went solo and rode the safari around 11 am and it was very active, made a fp for EE while walking around and rode that, walked the trails and left. I was there for about 2 hours. We also only spent about 2 or 3 hours at MK on arrival afternoon. We rode Pirates, Thunder Mountain, Haunted Mansion, Little Mermaid (he had never done it and I made him) COP (because I must), shopped a little and left. We spent the rest of our time at Epcot and HS. It was F&W, which was really why we went and we rode Slinky Dog twice, once in the day and once at night. We also rode ToT 4 times one day. Park hoppers are your friend for short adult trips.

 

[HunterRose13]

If in your situation I would go with 1 day MK, 1 day HS, 1 day Epcot. Apply the $70 towards Fantasmic or fireworks dining/desert package.

In a perfect world with park hopper and early magic hours for Epcot I would go with 1/2 day Epcot, 1 1/2 days MK, and 1 day HS.

I have tried AK three times and just can't find enough to make me want to burn a day there. The high spot is Tusker House for Lunch, but that is about it. YMMV

 

[goofyintoronto]

I would honestly add hoppers and park hop every single day. Two parks in one day isn't hard. I normally do 3 parks in a day.

HS is my least fave park....but i havent seen TSL just yet.

I think Epcot is the least impressive to a WDW newbie and it’s only popular because of the nostalgia factor. DH kept commenting how dated it looked and how few attractions there were. He doesn’t drink or enjoy shopping that much, so I could see his point. Pandora, FOP, EE, ToT, TSL blow it out of the water.

I would either go with the hopper (you could visit Epcot at night on both your HS and AK days) or skip Epcot.

You actually make a very good point about epcot. For a newbie, its not that impressive I guess. And its true that there aren't a lot of rides at epcot. I love epcot because of the nostalgia factor....plus i go to F&W every year. So there's that.

 

[CAQDaddy]

A tough call. There is TSL and Fantastic, but AK is so immersive. I would get more input from your partner.