Which WDW Park to visit after cruise- one day only

[tlt]

We are going on the Eastern in 3 weeks (our 1st time) and we have a couple of days off afterwards before we have to get back home. Which WDW park would you recommend going to if you only had one day to see it? We keep hearing that you need 2 days at Epcot...is there a park that we can enjoy in one day? It will just be me and my husband. Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[vicnmickey]

This is a wonderful park. I think you would be able to do alot of the park in a day. The only downfall to this park it usually closes earlier than most. I fell in love with Animal Kingdom the first time we went and I would say this is my favorite out of all.
367 days and counting everyone of them

 

[disboo]

If you haven't been to the Magic Kingdom, then you have to got here! It is the heart and soul of WDW. Your first view of the Castle is unforgettable!

If you have been to WDW before, then I agree with the previous poster - Animal Kingdom, particularly if you are staying on site. The park is doable in one short day, and you would have time to enjoy your own resort. Make sure to stroll all of the walkways and trails - there are many fascinating details to see that you miss if you just dash from one spot to another.

If you are staying off-site, I might recommend MGM. It is not as overwhelming as EPCOT (which by the way is my family's favorite park), has a wonderful atmosphere, and is pretty to boot.

Whatever park you choose, you will have to come back again to see some more!

Have fun!

 

[goin2dsny]

I vote for MGM, it is our favorite park, lots to see, but not overwelming, we are going there before our cruise, but to be fair, we are also doing a day at Animal Kingdom & 1/2 day at Epcot, have fun which ever place you go.

 

[Doctor P]

I agree with the sentiment of the previous posters. If you haven't seen MK, that is very hard to pass up the opportunity to see even if you don't see it all. MGM and AK are one day parks. Pick whichever one appeals to you more, and go for it. Even Epcot can also be done well (though not completely) in one day, but you will not be able to do all of the World Showcase well. But if you pick and choose, you can see pretty much all the park even if you don't do all the attractions. Fastpass has really reduced the dead time in the parks and allowed much more to be done in a limited period of time, IMHO.

 

[tkd lisa]

I think it depends on who's with you. We have kids 10 and 8 1/2. I can't imagine going to Disney with kids and not going to the Magic Kingdom. But if it's adults, or older teens, I'd agree with MGM or even Epcot. Just be prepared that you probably won't see everything.

 

[lespaul55]

Since it's just you and your husband, my answer doesn't really apply, but we got much cheaper flights by adding a day to our vacation [June 29 Magic.] What to do with our extra day? We have mostly teenage children who already refuse to go to Disneyland and rather go to Magic Mountain Six Flags, here in Southern Calif. They just prefer more thrill rides. For our extra day, we are staying at Hard Rock Hotel and doing Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. Staying onsite there, your room key gets you front of the line on every ride. So it will be possible for our thrill riding teens to do all of one park and most of the other in the day and a half we have there. The savings on our airfare is more than paying for our stay there.

Leslie

 

[dijid]

I think you can do any of the parks in one day. You could also spend days in any one park, too! Go with what interests you most. My first trip to Epcot was when I only had one day to do it. (I've since spent several more days there and it's still my favorite park.) If you want to do Epcot, I would suggest reading that section in the "Unofficial Guide to Disney" Book - lots of great tips on how to maximize your time there. You can see all of the Animal Kingdom in one day. This is a GREAT park if you love animals and/or zoos. If you've never been to WDW or DL, then the MK might be the place to go just to say you've been there. It is easy to see all of MGM in one day, but personally it is my least favorite of all the parks.

If you're feeling really, really adventurous - you could buy a park hopper pass and only use one day of it and get a little taste of more than one park. You could use your experiences to plan your next trip to use the rest of your park hopper pass!

 

[My~Rumbly~Tumbly]

If you've never been to Magic Kingdom, GO, regardless of whether you have kids or not. If you've already been and do not not have kids, go to MGM or Epcot. If you have little kids go to MGM (my toddler and baby were crazy over seeing Playhouse Disney Live, Voyage of the Little Mermaid, Muppets and then there is the Beauty and the Beast show which we didn't get to see). There are also plenty of things to do and see for the adults. I LOVE MGM! For a GOOD laugh, eat at PrimeTime Cafe!

I did the Animal Kingdom and I don't know if maybe we hit it on a bad day, but I wasn't super crazy about it and I LOVE animals. I was most looking forward to the safari and the video made it seem like you would see lots and lots of animals. It wasn't like that at all. We did see lots of birds, some elephants and alligators, but it was tough to see much of anything else. I would go again, but if time was of the essence, Animal Kingdom would not be a priority. The best part of Animal Kingdom was the Tree of Life. That is an amazing AMAZING thing to see. Seeing that was worth the admission! And the parade was awesome.

 

[KMovies]

There are four answers to this question:

Magic Kingdom - if you like parades (Share A Dream Come True daily and Spectromagic busy nights) - classic rides (Haunted Mansion, Pirates, Small World, Jungle Cruise) - the castle - classic fireworks (Fantasy In The Sky busy nights)

MGM - if you like shows (Little Mermaid, Beauty and Beast, Indy, Walt Disney film, Millionaire, Fantasmic) - thrills (Tower of Terror, Rock n Roller Coaster) - tours (animation, tram)

Epcot - if you love to eat (many, many countries) - educational peices (American Adventure, Canada and Italy films) - and a great ending of the day (Tapesty of Dreams and Reflections)

Animal Kingdom - if you like animals (safari ride, all the walk around areas) - if you like shows (Festival of the Lion King, Tarzan Rocks, Pocahontas, Birds) - if you like beauty (all the plants, the tree of life) - if you like a peaceful, carefree day --- Maybe the best parade according to several on the message boards (Mickey's Jammin' Jungle Parade).

All I would say are one day parks - not saying you can do everything in a day, but you can stay busy for the entire day.

With a question like this, you can't go wrong. There isn't a loser answer.