Which would you skip?

[ExcitedDisneyNewbie]

My dc are 4 and 7. My 4 yr old is petite and looking at a lot of rides she doesn't meet height requirements. We have 4 full days for parks ! Our plan was to do one a day. (Mk,Epcot,hs,ak) now someone was saying I should have 2 MK days and take out one of the other parks! Talk about confused!!!! Would you cut one park out? Which one if you would?
We don't have park hopper

 

[Jfsag123]

It's hard to know which one you should skip or if you should even skip one at all before actually going. Every family is different and you and your kids may love things others could take or leave (and vice versa). After our experience last year, we are skipping AK next time to devote more time to MK and Epcot. I do think with kiddos the age of yours more MK time is probably better. I'm sure a lot of folks on this thread will come on and recommend skipping DHS and/or Epcot, but, in our case, we found waaaaay more to do with young kiddos in those parks than in AK. We've got fabulous zoos right here. I know AK is not just a zoo, but if you're not too intrigued by the zoo part of it, there's not a whole lot left IMHO.

 

[awalker1015]

MK can definitely warrant two days. Epcot is great and she might really enjoy the Nemo attraction. Plus the World Showcase is awesome.

AK would be more shows for the 4yo. There are some midway type rides in Dinoland she might be able to ride plus the safari.

HS- shows and Toy Story Mania will be remain attractions for her.

Actually I would say neither AK nor HS would be full days. Are you committed to not doing park hoppers? If you aren't you could easily split a day between the two. We did that in October and it worked well.

See what other opinions you get but that would be what I would probably do.

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

My dc are 4 and 7. My 4 yr old is petite and looking at a lot of rides she doesn't meet height requirements. We have 4 full days for parks ! Our plan was to do one a day. (Mk,Epcot,hs,ak) now someone was saying I should have 2 MK days and take out one of the other parks! Talk about confused!!!! Would you cut one park out? Which one if you would?
We don't have park hopper

I agree that you need 2 days at Magic Kingdom and with only 4 days in the parks, that would mean that one of the other parks would need to get skipped. Personally, Animal Kingdom is the least favorite in my family, so that's definitely the one we would skip. However, there are many that really seem to love Animal Kingdom. It is the largest park so if you have never been before and know what you want to do and what you want to skip, you can fill a lot of time here. We spend half a day tops. Many might suggest Hollywood Studios since your 4 year old will likely not be tall enough to ride Rock n Roller Coaster and, since you said she is petite, I'm assuming too short for Tower of Terror and Star Tours which both have a height requirement of 40". I wouldn't, though. They can still both do the other rides and watch all of the shows. So, if your family is into Animals and you think Animal Kingdom is something you would want to do, I'd really advise you to skip Epcot. It's my husband's favorite park and I really enjoy it, too, but there is a high chance your children might be bored. Your four-year-old wouldn't be able to do Soarin' or Test Track, much less Mission Space. In Future World, that leaves Livin' with the Land, Seas with Nemo and Friends, Spaceship Earth, Imagination, and Ellen's Energy Adventure. Your kids might enjoy Spaceship Earth, Imagination, and The Seas, but most aren't too into The Land or Ellen's Energy Adventure. Then, when it comes to World Showcase, they might love the street shows, but they also might be really bored. I would think Epcot would be a big gamble and wouldn't want to roll the dice with my Disney vacation.

 

[Kellykins1218]

We'd skip Epcot in a heartbeat.

 

[DisMama5]

We'd skip Epcot in a heartbeat.

Us too. We have younger kids, similar in age to yours and they don't find much of any interest in Epcot, other than characters. Now every person, adult or child is different but that's how it is for my family. The world showcase has no appeal to my kids, but my husband and I love it. They do enjoy encountering the characters while walking around the world showcase but could care less about anything else there, so needless to say they can meet most of the same characters at MK anyways. My kids do enjoy nemo and test track though but as for anything else, even soarin, they have no interest, I think the future/science and countries is just a little to above their heads still, maybe in a few years they will enjoy it. Nemo is cute for younger kids there tho!

A lot of people are pro Epcot on here though. So it's really what you think your kids will like and what's most important to do and see. Everyone is different. We will be skipping Epcot next time, besides one evening to eat dinner with the princesses and watch illuminations, other then that Epcot is out till our kiddos are a little older.

MK and HS appeal great to your kids ages, although it also depends again on their tastes. Hs has a lot of shows, stage shows they might enjoy, actions shows, Disney junior, and a few thrill rides for your older child.

MK overall is usually the favorite of most families, so I would spend the most time here and then venture to HS and then AK if that is an option also if you have the time.

 

[ExcitedDisneyNewbie]

Thank you so much for everyone's reply!!!!

Our original plan was to skip Hollywood studios but then I realized all disney jr characters are there ! My kids (even the 7 yr old) still enjoy disney jr so I wanted to take them to do the breakfast and see the show
I would consider park hopper but I feel like it's a lot for my kids to take in especially a first trip!

 

[SillySallySews]

If this is your first trip I'd stick with the one park per day plan but maybe add the park hopper option if your budget allows. It's hard to decide what to skip if you've never gone. We also go for four days and spend three of those days in the MK. The other day we split either between DHS/AK or DHS/hanging out at the resort or DTD. We skip Epcot. Our kids are 2, 3, 7, and 12. The kids all find it boring, my husband HATES it, especially world showcase. There's not a lot for littles to do there besides meet characters.

 

[mom3teach3]

When my kids were that age they found Epcot boring... World Showcase especially... Actually the only thing that would really interest them would be Crush Turtle Talk and Nemo.... not worth it in my opinion. A good idea would be the two days at MK.

 

[OhThePain]

There are pros and cons for dropping any of the other 3 parks. You'll get 1,000 different answers which really won't help much.

When are you going? If you are going during a peak time, then yes, you'll have to sift through everything and pick which park to skip. However, if you are going at a slower time of year, plan out your FPs right, you could easily fit MK in in one day. Plus there is no telling what the kids may end up not wanting to do (my sisters kids, 8 and 5, for example, refused to ride Space, Splash and Big Thunder Mountains, which saved them a good 2.5-3 hours).

Then again, I am a believer that everyone should get at least a taste of each park on their first trip, this way they will know what they want and don't want to do on their next trip and don't end up missing something they would love because a bunch of people on the internet steered them away from it.

 

[auntyjenn]

I would also say to skip EPCOT with that age of children. I think they will get very bored and tired of it if you try to take them through the world showcase.

(If you're looking for opinions)

But, if you just want to see every park for the experience of it, keep in mind that with one day in MK you will have to be very choosey about what you are able to see. Plan on only being able to do half of the rides/shows etc and see if that will be enough.

 

[Happysahd]

If you're going to skip a park, I'd skip epcot.

For a first trip though, I wouldn't skip a park unless you really have to.

It depends on when you're going, and how much endurance your kids have, but when we do MK in the off-season with our 4 and 6 Y/O we manage to hit everything we're interested in, and most of the favorites multiple times, in one day.

That said, our upcoming trip we're skipping Epcot because my wife doesn't want to do it again and spending multiple days at MK. IMO there's a lot of really fun things to do in Epcot even for young kids but it's a low-intensity park, a lot of walking and no attractions really particularly drawing us back except for the food. The biggest hit of the entire vacation was the girls getting pearls in Japan though, and there were lots of fun moments like that at Epcot, just not stuff we can reproduce by doing it again.

I'd prefer to go back to epcot, mostly for the beer.

 

[Aliceacc]

I agree- you NEED two days (at least ) in the Magic Kingdom!!!

The reality is that, no matter which one you skip, your kids will have a fabulous time and not miss the skipped park.

Personally, I could skip Animal Kingdom, though my husband loves it.

Is adding a day-- even part of a day-- an option? Once you get past 3 days, I think the per-day price drops drastically. We plan to hit the parks on our arrival day (our flight gets in at about noon) and on our departure day (we take off at about 6:30 pm). That might make for an easy fix.

Also, realize that depending on the time of year you're traveling, AK tends to close earlier than the other parks. That may impact your plans.

 

[dlove28]

Here's a different answer, you say four full days. I assume that means you aren't going on your travel days. Can you change that? Increasing your tickets from four to five days is not that incrementally expensive, like $10! For an extra $10 each you can hit MK for an extra half day.

 

[mouseaddicts]

I'll chime in here too ..... our family suggestion is also 2 days at MK and skip AK.

AK is HOT. I mean "hotter than the surface of the sun" HOT ~ Especially in summer! We've NEVER done more than 1/2 day at that park .... and my DD aspires to be a large-animal vet so it's her fave park! AK is designed around the animals so almost everything is outside - in the heat! While there are things to entertain a young child, a full park day there might be a bit much.

In regards to EPCOT, don't forget Innoventions. We've had to DRAG our kids out of there before. They simply love it!! We sit in one of the many sitting areas (enjoying the air conditioning) and let them play away (they are 14 & 16 now btw)! Your petite 4 yo might not be able to do TT or Mission Space, but there are lots of other activities (like those mentioned by previous posters - Nemo, Turtle Talk, Ellen's Energy Adventure, etc.) that she CAN enjoy. In addition to the street shows around World Showcase, don't forget the KidCot stations with activities for younger children. Grab a World Passport and let them collect stamps from each country as you go.

This is just my 2 cents ..... and you paid nothing for my opinion .... so get your money's worth from it!

It's Disney - no matter what you decide, you'll have a fabulous trip!

 

[DRDISNEYMD]

My dc are 4 and 7. My 4 yr old is petite and looking at a lot of rides she doesn't meet height requirements. We have 4 full days for parks ! Our plan was to do one a day. (Mk,Epcot,hs,ak) now someone was saying I should have 2 MK days and take out one of the other parks! Talk about confused!!!! Would you cut one park out? Which one if you would?
We don't have park hopper

~Your plan sounds perfectly fine to me. You're not going to see and do everything in four days -- you're not going to see and do everything even if your vacation was 40 days.

~I would not cut out any park -- one day at each park is enough to enjoy all of the main attractions and features. With that said, there is nothing wrong with doing two days at MK -- I just don't think it's necessary. Have fun!

 

[ArwenMarie]

For cutting one out, it would be between Epcot and AK for me with your kids' ages. The heat is a good point also...AK does get hot and there isn't as much A/C as in Epcot (not sure when you are going).

 

[kickash]

First time we took our kids they were almost 7 and 3. They did not enjoy nor appreciate EPCOT AT ALL... We spent a good 2 hours letting them play in the water features there. Seriously. All that money for elaborate sprinklers lol! They loved MK ( we did 2 1/2 days there) and they also loved DHS, so much so that our next trip will include two full days there.

Good luck! No matter what you decide, have a wonderful time!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[rosebery]

If it's your first trip, I wouldn't cut out any of the parks. You don't know what you personally are going to like. For example, some of the previous posters would cut Epcot, but that's always been my little kids' favourite park. Yes, they preferred Epcot to Magic Kingdom.

However, if you're committed to cutting one for another Magic Kingdom, I would cut Animal Kingdom simply because it gets really really hot in the summer (and the animal attractions can be seen at most zoos).

 

[ericstac]

My dc are 4 and 7. My 4 yr old is petite and looking at a lot of rides she doesn't meet height requirements. We have 4 full days for parks ! Our plan was to do one a day. (Mk,Epcot,hs,ak) now someone was saying I should have 2 MK days and take out one of the other parks! Talk about confused!!!! Would you cut one park out? Which one if you would?
We don't have park hopper

We cut AK off this past trip. Didn't miss it.. My least favorite has always been hollywood studios but AK took its place.. Unless I'm eating breakfast at Tuskers House . One if the best character breakfasts

We usually do AK and HS in the same day though..