Which parks? How many days?

[EmilyAnn]

I am planning a trip for my family that will be a Saturday to Saturday, so 8 days and 7 nights. We will be driving from NC so we are not planning to spend time in the parks on our arrival day or departure day. I will be traveling with my parents (mid 40's) sister (mid 20's) me (28) husband (31) and our 4 sons who will be 6, 5, 3, and 18 months at time of travel. How many days should we plan to spend in the parks? If we buy 4 day tickets and decide that we want to go 5 or 6 days instead can we just pay to add days while we are there? Are there any parks we should plan to skip? Or should we spend at least 1 day in each park? My boys really love the Disney Pixar movies and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. They haven't watched any of the Disney animated movies yet (tried watching Aladdin with them once and the panther cave thing coming out of the sand scared them and they refused to watch more.) My older 2 boys are currently 43 inches tall and we are going one year from now, so I think they will be big enough to ride pretty much everything. I am thinking of maybe skipping Animal Kingdom. Or would that be a mistake?

 

[plutoloversmom]

You can always add on more days to your park passes so don't worry about that I think that with your children being so young that you should really try to plan more time in magic Kingdom it is amazing for little ones. Animal Kingdom is also a good park for little ones. They really seem to love the Safari ride, the walk through wildlife exhibits and there is a petting zoo. If I would skip a park with little kid it would probably be Epcot because there isn't much there for little kids. However all parks have good experiences and fun things for the whole family.

 

[RDawn]

I agree with Plutoloversmom. My kids LOVED AK & were lukewarm about Epcot when they were 6 & 8 years old. They really enjoyed the shows & the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground at DHS too, but MK was #1. Have a magical time at WDW!

 

[RDawn]

I would plan on 2 days for MK. AK & DHS can be done in a day. We took a mid-day break each day & the down time suited children & adults. You can always find more things to do if you have more days to spend in each park... these are just my minimum park time suggestions.

 

[DisneyBliss7]

Animal Kingdom is a must for us! One of our favs I think your kids will love it.......We always get 5 day base tickets, and go to MK twice, then AK,Epcot,DHS each once. I will say Epcot is my kids least favorite, but they still love all the parks where each time I mention cutting one out they refuse lol

 

[stellao]

I am almost certain we will be skipping AK and we will be there 7 full days (6 park days, 1 off day). I don't have much interest in going and my kids wont know what they are missing as they have never been there. My plan is to maximize our time in the other parks. I have one day towards the end of the trip that is kind of wide open and we have a tentative plan to go to Epcot for the 2nd time. If my kids hate Epcot or we just don't feel like going back, I have no problem going to AK that day instead. Both parks are projected to be "recommended" by almost all crowd calendars for that day and I have no in park dining reservations so I think it will work just fine for us to make the last minute decision. Good luck!

 

[Gumbo4x4]

I always recommend doing all 4 parks at least once before returning to any of them for a 2nd day. The conventional wisdom is 2 days each at Epcot and MK, and 1 each for DHS and AK for a first-timer with that amount of time. But, that's based on averages. There is no telling what your family will love or not love. Based on the planning DVD's and all our research, we thought DHS would be one of our favorites and that we'd be bored at Epcot. What ACTUALLY happened was we loved Epcot and left DHS early. You just don't know until you try them all.

So, plan a day at each and leave the rest of your trip up in the air. You can decide after day 4 if you need a 2nd day at any of the parks, and if so WHICH one(s).

 

[tourguide81]

I'm always team Epcot regardless of kids - it's our favorite park and there's no way I'd miss it just b/c I had kids. That said, we spent tons of time there on our last trip and the 3 year old had plenty of fun.

W/ 6 days I'd probably do a total of 2 days each at Epcot & MK, and 1 day each at the Studios and AK. I prefer park hopping so we don't spend the whole day at the same park.

 

[MandiC]

We are staying the same length of time, 6 days at the parks (no parks the day we fly in or the day we leave) and are doing 2 days at Magic Kingdom, 2 days at Epcot (my kids are super excited about the World Showcase and we've made our passports already ), and 1 each at Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom.

 

[mrsp1030]

Where are you staying? If you are onsite and close to MK or Epcot, we often pop in during the evenings sometimes even when we've done a different park earlier in the day.

 

[MrInfinity]

Essentially 5 adults and 4 kids 6-and-under? That sounds like a fun trip! Nice because several adults can splinter off and go do some of the bigger rides while others hang w the kids. Perfect way to travel. Given this I wouldn't skip any of the parks.

You'll really enjoy EPCOT. The 3- and 2- year old are basically going to stroller along w you wherever you go. The 6- and 5- year old would have a good time looking around, especially if they're into Phineas & Ferb. Get them hooked on the adventures and finding all the hidden secrets and you'll run out of time at EPCOT before you know it. Plus there is the Journey into Imagination here... and while purists will complain it's not the original, it has such a catchy song our kids end up singing it to themselves the rest of the trip.

Hollywood is not to miss cuz the 6- and 5- will love Toy Story. Plus there are lots of good shows, and you can even break off and take in a ride on Rockin Roller Coaster or Tower of Terror yourselves. Interesting that they're startled so easily... not sure Star Tours would be ideal for them. Unless they watch Star Wars w/o getting startled. Ours are into that, and our 11, 7, and 5 I think will all like Star Tours.

Animal Kingdom -- no definitely do not skip this one. It is the most comfortable park in the world. There is so much tree cover and awesome theming that it's really pleasant to walk around here on a hot day. There's a lot of neat things to see and do... definitely hit up the Safari and the Rafiki's Planet Watch. There's also kiddie rides in Dinoland.

If you were only 2 adults and 4 kids, I might recommend skipping some of the parks that are more difficult for 2 parents to keep children happy at -- but because you will have the luxury of splitting up here and there I think you would get the most out of experiencing a little bit of each.

My recommendation... 5 tix. 1 each park plus 2nd day at MK.

PS. We are going in May w 4 kids 11, 7, 5, 2. Very similar.

 

[squirrel]

Animal Kingdom is my second favorite park. It has two great shows and the safari ride.

I think I like it so much because it's more of a relaxing park. You can wander around looking at the animals and meet characters along the way.

A lot of people think it's a half day park but I enjoy spending the whole day there. With a 10 day ticket we go at least twice to AK.

I would do 3 park days and then your break day and then another 3 park days. It doesn't cost that much more to add an extra day. AK usually closes a bit earlier than the other parks so I would do it in the middle of one of your 3 days if you decide on 6 park days.

 

[NjMamaMouse]

We always buy a five day ticket and we only do AK every other year. For my 6 and 3 year olds this has the least for them (their personal taste). And on the years we do head to AK it is usually for only a 1/2 day.
So this year is 3 days of MK (their favorite) 1 day at EP and 1 day at HS.

 

[happymommy]

For a whole week, I would definitely not plan on skipping one park!

My kids' first trip at ALMOST 3 and ALMOST 5 (just not quite, technically 2 and 4) their favorite park was Epcot. My son literally begged one night to go back to the "big globe" and ride Spaceship Earth after getting in his pajamas (we were walking distance staying at the Boardwalk Villas) so I put him in the stroller for one more ride while my DH put DD to bed. Of course he fell asleep (happy boy) in the stroll back to the resort.

Honestly, there is so much to enjoy at each park for every age. Our plan when our kids were really little was that if we went to MK that day, after a few hours (3 or maybe stretch it to 4 at most) we would hop somewhere else. To me, it seems that at busy times, MK feels more crowded. So we always get park hoppers; it just works for us.

Our first trip, we really did relax and enjoy DAK too though. The kids enjoyed walking the paths to see animals, the acrobats, and the safari.

I would take it at the kids' pace and enjoy it. You will not see it all. Just keep that in mind. Don't try to. You won't. You will be back (if you get hooked like me!). I still haven't seen it all. But try each park and then see what you enjoy more! We have been surprised at what we've spent time doing - my kids DRAG me into Innoventions at Epcot! They have loved it since their first visit (plus it's a nice break if it's either hot, cold, or rainy out).

So, in short, I would not plan on skipping one park. It is very inexpensive to add a day once you have a 4 or 5 day pass. It's the first 3 or so that costs the most.

 

[EmilyAnn]

we are planning to stay off site and will not be buying park hoppers b/c we are on a tight budget. I think we will start with 4 day tickets and do each park once and then add a 5th or even 6th day once we get there if we decide we need more time in one of the parks

 

[squirrel]

we are planning to stay off site and will not be buying park hoppers b/c we are on a tight budget. I think we will start with 4 day tickets and do each park once and then add a 5th or even 6th day once we get there if we decide we need more time in one of the parks

That is a good plan not to purchase hoppers for a first trip. You won't need them and you waste time going to another park when hopping.

Double check but I believe that as long as you add more days before you leave the park on your 4th day you can add more.

 

[EmilyAnn]

I just looked at undercover tourist and it looks like a 5 day ticket is only $1 more than a 4 day ticket. Is that right?

 

[squirrel]

I just looked at undercover tourist and it looks like a 5 day ticket is only $1 more than a 4 day ticket. Is that right?

Yes, after purchasing 4 or 5 days it's next to nothing to add another day. That's why I suggested 6 days with a break in between to rest.