Which parks twice?

[Dawnlight]

My family of 9 (3 adults, 6 children ages 17-9) are going for 8 days at peak season in December (12/22-12/29). We will have full days for the parks, and our tickets are non park-hopper, so I wonder which 2 parks to visit twice.

So far I've planned on MK and Epcot twice. Should I plan them back-to-back visits to the parks we've visit twice or alter them? I've made reservations so far as follows:

12/23- MK (Plaza)
12/24- EP (Akershus)
12/25- AK (Tusker breakfast, Boma dinner)
12/26- HS (50's Prime Time)
12/27 -MK (Crystal Palace
12/28- EP (Biergarten)

We are arriving 12/22 with check in at 3pm, so I don't think we'd make it to any parks that evening. I made reservations for Raglan Road in Downtown Disney, but I wonder if it would be better to try to visit, at least for a few hours, one of parks and get a few rides in.

Thought?

 

[jacknsally19]

My family of 9 (3 adults, 6 children ages 17-9) are going for 8 days at peak season in December (12/22-12/29). We will have full days for the parks, and our tickets are non park-hopper, so I wonder which 2 parks to visit twice.

So far I've planned on MK and Epcot twice. Should I plan them back-to-back visits to the parks we've visit twice or alter them? I've made reservations so far as follows:

12/23- MK (Plaza)
12/24- EP (Akershus)
12/25- AK (Tusker breakfast, Boma dinner)
12/26- HS (50's Prime Time)
12/27 -MK (Crystal Palace
12/28- EP (Biergarten)

We are arriving 12/22 with check in at 3pm, so I don't think we'd make it to any parks that evening. I made reservations for Raglan Road in Downtown Disney, but I wonder if it would be better to try to visit, at least for a few hours, one of parks and get a few rides in.

Thought?

Personally, I usually select my days based on the crowd calendar. I'd guess you did too since you planned AK for Christmas Day - which is a great idea. The nice thing about your plan is that you are visiting each park before you do MK / EP again. After going to each park at least once, you can decide if you'd like to revisit a different park than what you've already selected. I always try to make my last park day "open" in case I want to go some where else. During the holidays, I really like spending 2 days at Epcot b/c of the holiday storytellers. So I think 2 days at MK & EP are likely your best bet - but you should still give yourself the option to make a last minute change!

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of DD but I do like Raglan Road a lot. Its such a fun dinner! Another option is going to dinner at the Wave (easy to get reservations) and then watching the fireworks from the Contemporary. There is a great view from the concourse!

 

[Dallas_Lady]

Definitely MK.

Then I'd let the 2nd one happen naturally. After going to all 4, which one would you like to visit again? This is what we do, we have 6 full park days and plan 1 day in each, 2 MK days and then let the other one be a "wild card." It's hard to believe around here, but not everything needs to be pre-planned

 

[abmitch01]

in our family it would be Epcot and MK, but HS comes in close

 

[jar]

this plan is perfect

 

[KateDrake]

I think your plan looks great! The only change I would make is I would try and do MK as my last day, but that's just what I do for sentimental reasons. I love to end the trip with a last walk down Main Street!

I agree about letting the other second-day part happen organically. Epcot is a good bet, but if you like AK or DHS better, feel free to go back to those instead!

For your arrival night, we also like to hit Raglan Road! It's nice because we get some dinner, do a little shopping and can head back to the resort for an early night so we are ready to hit the parks the next day. So I think it's a great strategy! Then you'll also know if you need to plan more DTD time into your day later in the trip. We are only good there for a couple of hours, but some families stay all day, so that way you'll know if you need to budget more time there.

 

[lustergirl]

MK and EPCOT

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Go to all 4 parks once and decide your last 2 days based on everyone's favorites.

Odds are, there will be dissension in a group that big. I say let everyone go their own way the last 2 days.

 

[Lavitz]

I'm in the minority, but Epcot for me is a half day park. Maybe if it's your first time it'll be good for a full day, but there are very few rides for the kids in your group so a repeat is too much.

I would consider either another MK day or another HS day if they really liked RnR, ToT, or are big on Star Wars. Like others have said, wait to see what you liked best and change if you need to. Also if you do another HS days you can eat at Sci Fi, which imo is much much better for the kids in your group. 50s prime time is only fun for those 40+ in my books, anyone younger may be pretty bored and Sci Fi is great for everyone.

Actually you mentioned 3pm arrival. This is when we usually arrive and we now go to Epcot on this day and make multiple trips to the other parks. 1.5 days at Epcot is more than enough, you might actually scrap your full Epcot day after this. Epcot is GREAT for adults, not so much for kids compared to the others. I am looking forward to an adult only trip (only 20ish years to wait probably ) to do 2 days at Epcot, with kids it'll forever be our half day.

 

[spleuchan]

I'm in the minority, but Epcot for me is a half day park. Maybe if it's your first time it'll be good for a full day, but there are very few rides for the kids in your group so a repeat is too much.

I would consider either another MK day or another HS day if they really liked RnR, ToT, or are big on Star Wars. Like others have said, wait to see what you liked best and change if you need to. Also if you do another HS days you can eat at Sci Fi, which imo is much much better for the kids in your group. 50s prime time is only fun for those 40+ in my books, anyone younger may be pretty bored and Sci Fi is great for everyone.

Actually you mentioned 3pm arrival. This is when we usually arrive and we now go to Epcot on this day and make multiple trips to the other parks. 1.5 days at Epcot is more than enough, you might actually scrap your full Epcot day after this. Epcot is GREAT for adults, not so much for kids compared to the others. I am looking forward to an adult only trip (only 20ish years to wait probably ) to do 2 days at Epcot, with kids it'll forever be our half day.

Epcot is also my least favorite park. Those that like it the most tend to be boozing adult couples. Either a second day at AK or HS would work, but I'd probably recommend a third day at MK.

 

[wareagle57]

Do MK twice no matter what. And I'd do it last, and if possible first. There is just too much to do there. The second one is personal preference. If you are the kind of people that you think will enjoy just wandering around the World Showcase and looking at things or eating/drinking a bunch of different foods then Epcot is what you should visit twice. If not, I find that Epcot has very little to do and not worthy of more than a day. I'd spend 2 at Hollywood Studios. There are a lot of shows to see that will take up your afternoons. And one night you can see Fantasmic and spend the other night at the Osborne lights.

 

[Dawnlight]

Personally, I usually select my days based on the crowd calendar. I'd guess you did too since you planned AK for Christmas Day - which is a great idea. The nice thing about your plan is that you are visiting each park before you do MK / EP again. After going to each park at least once, you can decide if you'd like to revisit a different park than what you've already selected. I always try to make my last park day "open" in case I want to go some where else. During the holidays, I really like spending 2 days at Epcot b/c of the holiday storytellers. So I think 2 days at MK & EP are likely your best bet - but you should still give yourself the option to make a last minute change!

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of DD but I do like Raglan Road a lot. Its such a fun dinner! Another option is going to dinner at the Wave (easy to get reservations) and then watching the fireworks from the Contemporary. There is a great view from the concourse!

Yes, I was thinking that AK would be the park with fewer guests on Christmas, and it happens to be open later than Tues and Weds. (closes at 5pm on those days, 7pm on Thurs)

Some of my kids are big Lego fans, so we were planning on visiting the Lego place, along with Goofy's Candy Co. and the carousel. My mother has mobility issues and tires quickly, so not sure if it's even feasible to get to a park on arrival day, and even if so, I think I want my kids first sight in daylight- especially MK- which we hope to do very bright and early the following day.

I'll have to check out the Wave; thanks for that suggestion!

Definitely MK.

Then I'd let the 2nd one happen naturally. After going to all 4, which one would you like to visit again? This is what we do, we have 6 full park days and plan 1 day in each, 2 MK days and then let the other one be a "wild card." It's hard to believe around here, but not everything needs to be pre-planned

I was thinking this, too, but then I wonder about dining reservations. Does everyone over-book to account for changes like this? What happens to Fast Passes? I don't suppose they can easily be changed last minute. I just worry about missing out on lots of things because of the large holiday crowds. I'm glad to hear others are more of the go-with-the-flow type; I started to get a little panicky when I saw so many reservations were already unavailable to us, so planning kicked into high gear. I don't want to stress too much, but I also want to make the most out of the time we have.

I think your plan looks great! The only change I would make is I would try and do MK as my last day, but that's just what I do for sentimental reasons. I love to end the trip with a last walk down Main Street!

I agree about letting the other second-day part happen organically. Epcot is a good bet, but if you like AK or DHS better, feel free to go back to those instead!

For your arrival night, we also like to hit Raglan Road! It's nice because we get some dinner, do a little shopping and can head back to the resort for an early night so we are ready to hit the parks the next day. So I think it's a great strategy! Then you'll also know if you need to plan more DTD time into your day later in the trip. We are only good there for a couple of hours, but some families stay all day, so that way you'll know if you need to budget more time there.

I like the idea of switching Epcot and MK; I'll have to see about reservation availability. We most likely wouldn't head back to DTD; not much there interests me (or others in our party), and we are not big shoppers. We'll probably be at each park from opening to closing.

I'm in the minority, but Epcot for me is a half day park. Maybe if it's your first time it'll be good for a full day, but there are very few rides for the kids in your group so a repeat is too much.

I would consider either another MK day or another HS day if they really liked RnR, ToT, or are big on Star Wars. Like others have said, wait to see what you liked best and change if you need to. Also if you do another HS days you can eat at Sci Fi, which imo is much much better for the kids in your group. 50s prime time is only fun for those 40+ in my books, anyone younger may be pretty bored and Sci Fi is great for everyone.

Actually you mentioned 3pm arrival. This is when we usually arrive and we now go to Epcot on this day and make multiple trips to the other parks. 1.5 days at Epcot is more than enough, you might actually scrap your full Epcot day after this. Epcot is GREAT for adults, not so much for kids compared to the others. I am looking forward to an adult only trip (only 20ish years to wait probably ) to do 2 days at Epcot, with kids it'll forever be our half day.

Hmm, I'll have to mull this one over a bit. Looking at height restrictions, it seems my guys would be able to ride all EP rides (my youngest 3 are 59", 56" and 56"). I do have some Star Wars fanatics; I'll have to get a better idea of what's at HS; it's been 20+ years since I was there and I'm sure it's nothing like I remember!

I thought about the sci-fi, but I worried about 1) seating; with a party of 9 wouldn't someone have to sit alone? and 2) having suitable food options for our party. I actually had a reservation for it in addition to 50sPT, but cancelled it; maybe I need to rethink things.

Thanks so much for your input!