2 days - HS or AK?

[kennyl]

Pretty excited for our trip in May... will be the first time back since I was kid back in the 90s and the first time for our family of 3 (6 year old daughter).

We bought a 5 day park package, and because of my daughter's age, I figure 2 days at MK is a must. That leaves 3 park days and we're pretty much decided on skipping Epcot. With that said, if you were going to spend multiple days, would it be at Animal Kingdom or Hollywood Studios?

No one in the household is a big fan of Star Wars (but we do want to do the rides), so it's making the decision tougher

 

[Kooks and Bay Bay]

IMO I would not choose to skip EPCOT.
Yes go to MK twice and then go to each of the other parks one day.
That really will give you the best of everything.
But if you really insist on skipping EPCOT then my vote would be HS twice.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I also vote for an Epcot day.
I'd be sure to use at least one day for AK.
Under the current system, I find HS frustrating to visit. If you don't buy G+, expect long lines. If you do buy G+, expect the worthwhile options to run out by noon. We usually skip Rise.

If we have limits, we skip HS. If you are adamant on skipping Epcot, I'd either do one + one or two days at AK, but know that AK closes fairly early most days.

My other STRONG advice in such situations - if you have not done so- is to ask the youngest members of your group which option they prefer, especially if the youngest member(s) of your group are children. It is rare that children get to make vacation choices, and this is a great opportunity. Since there is no wrong answer, it is a great learning opportunity for them to own a decision.

 

[gottalovepluto]

I’d repeat neither and do Epcot. Epcot has Remy, Frozen, a number of princess and character meet and greats, and kidcot.

 

[elvispursley]

I would totally do Epcot. My DS at that age loved Epcot and it’s still his favorite park (he’s 20 now). I personally think there’s way more to do at Epcot for a 6yo than at HS. I would opt to see all the parks.

 

[Sprinkles&Sprints]

I also vote for an Epcot day.
I'd be sure to use at least one day for AK.
Under the current system, I find HS frustrating to visit. If you don't buy G+, expect long lines. If you do buy G+, expect the worthwhile options to run out by noon. We usually skip Rise.

If we have limits, we skip HS. If you are adamant on skipping Epcot, I'd either do one + one or two days at AK, but know that AK closes fairly early most days.

My other STRONG advice in such situations - if you have not done so- is to ask the youngest members of your group which option they prefer, especially if the youngest member(s) of your group are children. It is rare that children get to make vacation choices, and this is a great opportunity. Since there is no wrong answer, it is a great learning opportunity for them to own a decision.

Love this - I just did the same with my 5 year old and she had us back at HS 3 nights in a row!

Also agree with others on not skipping EPCOT - so much for littles to do there.

Depending on where you’re staying - and logistically how feasible this is - you could also combine AK with one of the MK days. We’ve done this before. You don’t really need a full day at AK. Once we did MK in the morning, walked to GFV and had a relaxing lunch to take a break, and then took the bus to AK - worked well.

 

[Rpo0921]

Something else to consider is what you the parents might enjoy. Personally I would go to Epcot just to ride guardians because I think that highly of it. And with others pointing out the abundance of kid friendly activities I think it would be wrong to skip Epcot.

 

[Skippyboo]

I would not skip Epcot- it’s Flower and Garden festival time. It’s a beautiful time to go there. Then I would do one day each AK and HS.

 

[Smrtalec33]

I’m going in May with my 6-yr-old daughter for 4 days and our plan (with park hoppers) is 1.5 at MK, 1 at Epcot, 1 at HS and 0.5 at AK.

When we went two years ago, Epcot was her favorite park. She loved Test Track and Soarin as well as Frozen (none of us liked Remy, tbh) and meeting princesses.

I could honestly see us making it more like 1.5 at Epcot and 0.5 at HS - we are starting at Studios because she is dying to do tower of terror, and she also likes slinky dog and runaway railway.

The moral of the story is kids are different. But to generalize, Epcot would be my second choice for a six-year-old, especially a girl.

 

[Ensusieasm]

Pretty excited for our trip in May... will be the first time back since I was kid back in the 90s and the first time for our family of 3 (6 year old daughter).

We bought a 5 day park package, and because of my daughter's age, I figure 2 days at MK is a must. That leaves 3 park days and we're pretty much decided on skipping Epcot. With that said, if you were going to spend multiple days, would it be at Animal Kingdom or Hollywood Studios?

No one in the household is a big fan of Star Wars (but we do want to do the rides), so it's making the decision tougher

Especially since your trip is in May, you really might want to include Epcot because it’s Flower and Garden Festival time. The gardens are so beautiful!

 

[angryduck71]

I also vote for an Epcot day.
I'd be sure to use at least one day for AK.
Under the current system, I find HS frustrating to visit. If you don't buy G+, expect long lines. If you do buy G+, expect the worthwhile options to run out by noon. We usually skip Rise.

If we have limits, we skip HS. If you are adamant on skipping Epcot, I'd either do one + one or two days at AK, but know that AK closes fairly early most days.

My other STRONG advice in such situations - if you have not done so- is to ask the youngest members of your group which option they prefer, especially if the youngest member(s) of your group are children. It is rare that children get to make vacation choices, and this is a great opportunity. Since there is no wrong answer, it is a great learning opportunity for them to own a decision.

I like this answer. I usually do this with my son. And, he's 17 now and I still do it. I do insist on doing a few small things I must do, but we usually like the same things anyway.

 

[angryduck71]

Another plug for EPCOT -- Ducktales is the current game played in World Showcase -- my son LOVED all versions of this (we've been doing it since it was Kimpossible, then Phineas & Ferb). https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/attractions/epcot/ducktales-play-app/

 

[mmouse50]

What are your objectives for Animal Kingdom? What will be open and what will be closed? (Tough to be a Bug? Dinosaur?) Will your daughter ride Everest? Unless you are planning to do all the shows and the walking trails I find it hard to spend a full day at AK. We usually make it a .5 day and spend the other some place else if we have park hoppers otherwise we will leave around 2 or 3 and head back to the resort to relax for the rest of the day.

 

[kennyl]

Thanks for all the replies!

My daughter is 47" tall, so we're good for most of the rides, except from Tron (which sucks because I really want to do this one!).
Will rethink Epcot, but I remember not liking it much back in the day (early to mid 90's). Figured most would respond with 1 day only @ Animal Kingdom, so reaffirms my thinking as well.

My worry with HS is whether 1 day is enough or not, and I dont want to feel rushed. We're staying at Wilderness Lodge. But will do some more research on whether we should do 1 day each park, or 2 days HS and skip Epcot.

 

[Skippyboo]

You can get a lot stuff done at HS if you don’t want to buy Genie+ for HS if you rope drop. Then you can go back to hotel for leisure/pool and then go back later in the day if you don’t have park hoppers for stuff like Fantasmic. Galaxy Edge is super cool at night.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Thanks for all the replies!

My daughter is 47" tall, so we're good for most of the rides, except from Tron (which sucks because I really want to do this one!).
Will rethink Epcot, but I remember not liking it much back in the day (early to mid 90's). Figured most would respond with 1 day only @ Animal Kingdom, so reaffirms my thinking as well.

My worry with HS is whether 1 day is enough or not, and I dont want to feel rushed. We're staying at Wilderness Lodge. But will do some more research on whether we should do 1 day each park, or 2 days HS and skip Epcot.

You’ll be bored at DHS by the end of 1 day if you spend the whole day there. Especially since you’re not into all the details of Star Wars land.

Buy ILLs for Tron for the adults and take turns. This will make the line fast and give each of you some special time with your kid to ride the people mover or buzz or something while the other adult rides Tron

The Epcot of the ‘90s is no more as the park has changed so much.

 

[Simba's Mom]

What about the Wilderness Explorer Activity? That might be a great reason to go back on a second day. Also, do you plan to do the drawing activity out at Rafiki's Planet Watch? Although your daughter's only 6, she might enjoy it. Also, don't forget the show in front of the Tree of Life with the parrots. It only lasts about 5-10 minutes, Winged Encounters, but it's very colorful and lots of fun.

 

[kennyl]

Thought about those 2 activities... but likely to skip given (we already have a few character dinings and Bibbidity boutique booked). And yes, the winged encounters show is on the list of things to see at AK!

 

[loves to dive]

Another option, since you are no longer required to make park reservations, is to do the one day at HS and the one day AK then decide if you want to repeat either of them. If you don't go to Epcot. Personally, we would never skip any of the parks but we have always had PHs even when there were just two parks to hop to. My son actually loved Epcot more than MK when he was little, but he loves to learn new things and loved going to WS and talking to the cast members about their countries. Heck, when he was little there weren't as many kid friendly rides as there are now and he still loved it.

 

[sparrow10_]

Pretty excited for our trip in May... will be the first time back since I was kid back in the 90s and the first time for our family of 3 (6 year old daughter).

We bought a 5 day park package, and because of my daughter's age, I figure 2 days at MK is a must. That leaves 3 park days and we're pretty much decided on skipping Epcot. With that said, if you were going to spend multiple days, would it be at Animal Kingdom or Hollywood Studios?

No one in the household is a big fan of Star Wars (but we do want to do the rides), so it's making the decision tougher

AK & HS are half day parks imo