Which park would you do twice?

[jaceraden]

I don't know if that's wise to base a whole park day on one meal.

No, it's not. Most of the restaurants are average at best. And, if you are travelling in June of this year, HS does not have enough going on to warrant two full days, IMO.

Look at what each park offers and decide what looks good to your family for repeating. Epcot would be my family's pick since there's so much to see and explore. But, I'm sure others would say that about AK. So, there's no wrong answer. You'll never be able to see it all anyway so pick one and commit. It will be great!

Edit to add: As a first timer, a hopper might be good or it might be an extra headache. You lose park time when you're "hopping" and it's expensive. But, it does solve problems like a park that you don't want to be in all day but want to go back for a specific reason.

 

[hes122]

The one time I had a PH we didn't even end up using it, so I would plan as if you don't have it and then if you decide you want to hop once you're there add them to your tickets.

 

[ashleyr409]

No, it's not. Most of the restaurants are average at best. And, if you are travelling in June of this year, HS does not have enough going on to warrant two full days, IMO.

Look at what each park offers and decide what looks good to your family for repeating. Epcot would be my family's pick since there's so much to see and explore. But, I'm sure others would say that about AK. So, there's no wrong answer. You'll never be able to see it all anyway so pick one and commit. It will be great!

Edit to add: As a first timer, a hopper might be good or it might be an extra headache. You lose park time when you're "hopping" and it's expensive. But, it does solve problems like a park that you don't want to be in all day but want to go back for a specific reason.

How hard is it to hop from AK/HS?

 

[ashleyr409]

I am also concern about the Fantasmic night time show. I read that you need a dining package to be able to get in and not wait forever. This is why I am stuck.

 

[DisArmyWife215]

I am also concern about the Fantasmic night time show. I read that you need a dining package to be able to get in and not wait forever. This is why I am stuck.

Don't worry about Fantasmic. Even with the dining package you still have to get there early if you want a good seat in that section. I honestly recommend sitting in the middle back as opposed to the dining section, you'll be out of the area faster at the end of the show. Which is really nice!

 

[jaceraden]

The easiest way to park hop would be to use a ride share. Next would be your own/rented vehicle. Last would be Disney transportation - a bus in this case. I usually expect park hopping to take at least an hour off my park time. You need to factor in leaving the park, waiting to travel, travelling, then getting back through security, etc. to get in the next park. Sometimes it's less than an hour and sometimes it's more.

If you want really good seats for Fantasmic, you will have to dine or wait in the line. I have only been once and we sat at the very, very back because I refused to go and line up early. I enjoyed the show and didn't care I was in the back. Your mileage may vary.

 

[MousetersInc]

Btw, how much is there to do at AK? This much. Also note the advice here about second vs first Fantasmic show.

 

[Roscoe18]

This is all personal preference, but I would probably do AK again out of those options (though I would likely pick Epcot again if given the choice of all three). Before SWGE opens, HS just doesn't warrant a second day, IMO. AK is big and takes a while to walk around, plus you'd have the opportunity to get FP for FOP two days, and that's certainly a ride you'll want to do more than once if possible (I say this as someone who's only done it once ... so far ...)

 

[ashleyr409]

Btw, how much is there to do at AK? This much. Also note the advice here about second vs first Fantasmic show.

Thank you. This was very helpful.
When I go to my MDE it shows the Fantasmic showing at 9:00 pm. I guess this would be the second showing?

 

[3gr8boys]

Yes. I was looking into that. But to be honest I don't even know where to start and plan with hopper.

I love hopping because I don't plan it. I pick a park to start in....make FP+ and ADR. At some point, someone says I want to go to such and such to ride such and such. ...and we (or a subset of we) head for the busses.

I am also concern about the Fantasmic night time show. I read that you need a dining package to be able to get in and not wait forever. This is why I am stuck.

I am pretty sure that Fantasmic FP can be had as a 4th and so on. Maybe consult the FP sticky thread to be sure as it may be harder than I think.....also, even with meal or FP seating there is bound to be a recommended arrival window (as in, well before the show) to get decent seats.

FWIW, if you are hopping, you can schedule your 50's PT meal on your "HS day" and hop to HS another afternoon for a dinner& Fantasmic evening.

 

[kniquy]

Good evening all,

Would you do 2 days at AK, or 2 days at HS?

We are a family of 5 DH, myself, DS15, DD12, DD6. This will be our first time at Disney and I am really confused.
We are going in June 2019 staying at B Resort.

If you don't have hoppers i would strongly consider getting them. This way you don't have to feel like you have to pick just one park. If I had hoppers in your situation then i would look at doing 1 1/2 days at AK and maybe the other 1/2 day at another park. Having hoppers also helps with planning - so for example you can RD one park getting a ton done by 10am without using FP then you can go to another park in the afternoon or evening and be able to use your FP there.

 

[ashleyr409]

I love hopping because I don't plan it. I pick a park to start in....make FP+ and ADR. At some point, someone says I want to go to such and such to ride such and such. ...and we (or a subset of we) head for the busses.




I am pretty sure that Fantasmic FP can be had as a 4th and so on. Maybe consult the FP sticky thread to be sure as it may be harder than I think.....also, even with meal or FP seating there is bound to be a recommended arrival window (as in, well before the show) to get decent seats.

FWIW, if you are hopping, you can schedule your 50's PT meal on your "HS day" and hop to HS another afternoon for a dinner& Fantasmic evening.

If we can get a good seat for Fantasmic I would drop Mama Melrose and just stick with Sci Fi and have one day of HS.

 

[3gr8boys]

If we can get a good seat for Fantasmic I would drop Mama Melrose and just stick with Sci Fi and have one day of HS.

Oops! I try to not lose track...but I forgot your HS restaurant want was SciFi, not 50s.

I do think exploring other ways to get decent Fantasmic seating would be worthwhile..... Though other folks will be much more help than me in figuring out the best strategy.

 

[LONES]

I am sure you know this, but I just want to add....

If it is your first time...there is something you can not plan for, and that is the “ohh and ahhhs”...

If you go to a six flags park, or a county fair etc, and that is what you are used to, you are not going for the detailed theming...lol...but if that is what you are familiar with, you might be under-estimating your reaction to Disney ‘s extreme attention to detail.

Besides rides, there is just a lot to experience. Watching the animals in AK, catching a show in the world showcase, playing on Tom sawyers island, watching a show in HS, walking down Main Street, just walking around and soaking it
in...there is so much more to WDW then rides...give yourself some time to enjoy the oooohhhs and aahhhhs!

My second day would be Epcot, not for rides, but to explore the wonderful countries in world showcase. Oh.and shopping! I spend at least 45 min in the Japanese dept store! Epcot is also just so big!

I would completely agree with this. On our first trip as a family, our daughters were 15 months and 3. We were not well prepared, and our first park was MK on the Sunday of MLK weekend. We showed up at about 10:00AM and waited 45 minutes to get on Dumbo. The kids were just overwhelmed by the crowds and activity. The next day we headed to Epcot. We spent over an hour in the innoventions building. My kids loved that piggy bank game!! I was bored, and wanted to move on... but was glad they were happy. We also spent about an hour at the dancing fountains. Again, we had to drag them away. The Koi ponds in Japan were another good hour for them. They loved Epcot, and that ended up being a 2 day park for us. We went back to Disney almost every year while they were in elementary school, and they always loved Epcot. I would have never expected that.

 

[isabellea]

For me the only parks I would happily spend two days are MK and AK.

 

[samsonjs]

We are actually adding a second day for AK this trip because we missed a lot in one day at AK last year. There are a ton of details and we didn't even get to see the night show because we were taking in Pandora. We do 2-3 days ad MK and 1 day at HS and Epcot.

 

[deedubb]

How hard is it to hop from AK/HS?

Hopping easy, but it's time consuming. If this is your first Disney trip, I would not get hoppers. There will be plenty of things to occupy you for 1-2 days in each park and you don't need to worry about adding park hopping to the mix to make planning more complicated. IMO, hoppers are useful when you have been multiple times on only want to spend a few hours in one park before moving onto another. For example, we like to watch HEA and Illuminations multiple times each trip but don't want to spend several full days in each of those parks, so hopping is essential.

As for AK to HS, it's bus or Minnie van/Uber/Lyft. MK/Epcot can be monorail, and HS/Epcot can be done on foot.

 

[ashleyr409]

Thank you all for the wonderful information and advice.

I think we will do 2 days at AK. Our second and last day. I will make FP for our last day and whatever we don't get we can try RD on our second day.

I think we will keep Sci Fi and cancel Mama Melrose, I was only doing it for Fantasmic. We will just arrive early for this nighttime show.

Thank you again.

 

[Delirium]

The FP situation makes 2 days at HS more valuable than 2 days at AK. Plus, the overall show selection at HS is better (although Lion King is the best).

 

[bdiddy]

We always do MK and Epcot twice. We used to do HS twice but not sure if we would now until everything is all open. AK is the only one we typically do just once.