ADVICE please - whether to go...& if so, where?

[dcsend]

sorry in advance for the long post, but i want to give you some "background"...
kids, ages 16, 18, 21, 24 will be together for the first time in 9 months (2 of them work out west; 1 in india). the 18 yo is my only daughter. for christmas we're taking them to florida for 4 days for some family time and R & R... we're from NY and haven't been to disney in 11 years. how can we go to Fl and not go to Disney for a day?! thing is...i (the mom) just want to go for the "magic", see the gardens, hear the music, etc. Kids aren't really into amusement parks, and their "doers"...they like to "do" stuff - not a lot of walking, no museums, and they don't sit well (2 are big game hunting guides out west). and one hates crowds. YET, they'd be willing to go to a park for a day - just to be together (and for mom). 2 want MK for the nostalgia. 1 is interested in Pandora. It's been so long, Disney would be a whole new experience for them. Poor 16 yr old doesn't even remember when he was there at 5...
non travel days are Dec. 12 - 14, 2017. we're staying off disney and have a rental car.
Here's my questions:
1. someone mentioned that i should just tour the resorts where i can still get the "magic" of disney and see the decorations...that i can probably do without the kids. Or should we do a park?
2. i don't want to make this a Disney vaca, so i'm only willing to go one day. Is a 2 park hopper too much for one day?
3. is it possible to approach the parks at our leisure and just ENJOY? last time i was stressed and a Disney Ninja - we were there at rope drop, whole park mapped out, studied TourGuideMike's website, etc. Don't want to do that this time...i don't know if the kids will appreciate standing in 2 hr lines for 4 rides in the course of a day...they will have just driven cross country and 1 will have traveled 36 hours home from India.
4. IF you suggest us going to a park, which one? Someone else mentioned Epcot - more "adult"...tho daughter loves Peter Pan...

1 of the 3 days, I would like to go to the Blue Man group...
sorry for the questions, and thanks for letting me think out loud. Our budget is tight and really, all i want to do is enjoy my kids before they leave again in Jan (back out west and 1 goes to Africa!) and since WDW is the Happiest Place on Earth...

THANKS in advance for your thoughts!!

 

[NinaBella]

Meh, I don’t think Epcot has a lot of appeal
Unless you want it for the gardens.

I would go to MK for the nostalgia. I think one park would be fine. If you did two parks I think AK sounds good for your crew. I do not usually recommend AK but I think it would appeal to them more than Epcot. So you could do AK in the morning and MK in the afternoon till closing?

Blue Man is always fun. I also like touring the resorts.

Have fun!

 

[dcsend]

Nina,
THANK YOU!! That HELPS, a lot.
Have a great holiday season.

 

[siestakeys04]

I agree I would do MK and AK if you did a hopper. Have a great time.

 

[hsmamato2]

with your group of world travelers, I think Epcot would be a bore.... I'd do MK for the nostalgia since that's your aim anyway.... and you can do a one day ticket, and make 3 fp pp,that's not too stressful for a group to do,and still have fun! I wouldn't choose hopping with your description IMHO. it's just not worth all the running around. You could also pick AK but again,I wouldn't choose to hop. that will add layers of stress to your day that you don't want.

 

[dcsend]

with your group of world travelers, I think Epcot would be a bore.... I'd do MK for the nostalgia since that's your aim anyway.... and you can do a one day ticket, and make 3 fp pp,that's not too stressful for a group to do,and still have fun! I wouldn't choose hopping with your description IMHO. it's just not worth all the running around. You could also pick AK but again,I wouldn't choose to hop. that will add layers of stress to your day that you don't want.

THANK YOU for sharing! I think I agree...just needed someone to tell me.
Can I do FP? I thought you could only if you were staying at a resort, which we are not...

 

[hsmamato2]

THANK YOU for sharing! I think I agree...just needed someone to tell me.
Can I do FP? I thought you could only if you were staying at a resort, which we are not...

you can book fp 30 days out...and keep checking for the ones you want! have fun

 

[dcsend]

with your group of world travelers, I think Epcot would be a bore.... I'd do MK for the nostalgia since that's your aim anyway.... and you can do a one day ticket, and make 3 fp pp,that's not too stressful for a group to do,and still have fun! I wouldn't choose hopping with your description IMHO. it's just not worth all the running around. You could also pick AK but again,I wouldn't choose to hop. that will add layers of stress to your day that you don't want.

I have another scenario... It seems like adding the "hopping" option is only $30 more! WHAT IF we do MK at rope drop and since we have to leave early because of MVMCP, we take the boat to WLodge - see the sights, have dinner - then hop to AK and see Pandora??? Too much?

 

[dcsend]

Nevermind! I did the math wrong!!! It's $300 MORE, not 30. yikes!! My head is swimming, lol

 

[loves to dive]

I would get a PH and let the kids go wherever they want to go, maybe the family do MK in the morning, monorail resort hop for lunch to see the decorations for those who care then using Disney transportation, everyone can go to whatever park they want to go to for the afternoon/night. Maybe meet up somewhere for supper. As far as planning, not necessary. If you have the tickets 30 days out you can go ahead and grab your 3 FPs at MK then grab more for the other parks later. Or if some of the kids prefer thrill rides, grab EE and FOP for the afternoon/night and wing it at MK in the morning or mix and match. We rarely book our FPs any earlier than day before, usually day of while waiting in line.

 

[disneycountrygirl]

If you plan to park hop, I would be ready to sacrifice an hour of the day....that may or may not be a deal breaker for you. With having hunting guide kids, it seems like they'd be able to handle a commando day without needing the "rest" of a transportation hour. At that point, the only possible upside of transportation is just visiting time with your kids.

I agree with the others that it's definitely MK or AK (or both). If it is a party night at MK and therefore you HAVE to leave early, then it makes the park hopping option more worthwhile, and the park hopper expense IS cheaper than staying for the party, but even still, if AK closes at 9, is it really worth $300 for 2 hours?

I would be more inclined to stay at one park. Imagine your day at both and see which appeals more - at AK, you'll have Expedition Everest and the (maybe stressful and timewasting) Flights of Passage (that you may not even be able to get on), Navi River Ride, Festival of the Lion King, Rivers of Light, and the animals. At MK, you will have Space Mtn, Splash Mtn, Thunder Mtn, 7 Dwarves (same scenario as FOP), the nostalgia, a parade, and if a non-party night the fireworks (and if it's a weekend, tons and tons and tons of people.) Just writing it out, I think we'd pick MK.

But I think the most appealing choice for MK is a non-party day falling on a weekday. The extreme crowds would change my choice if it's a non-party day on a weekend. In that case, I would still look at the option of just leaving the MK at 6 (leaving at the last possible moment...I've read here there is some castle show thing that you can watch just past 6 from main street or something like that), and then hop over to the Grand Floridian to see the Gingerbread house and then perhaps on to Disney Springs or Ohana or something for dinner.

 

[dcsend]

If you plan to park hop, I would be ready to sacrifice an hour of the day....that may or may not be a deal breaker for you. With having hunting guide kids, it seems like they'd be able to handle a commando day without needing the "rest" of a transportation hour. At that point, the only possible upside of transportation is just visiting time with your kids.

I agree with the others that it's definitely MK or AK (or both). If it is a party night at MK and therefore you HAVE to leave early, then it makes the park hopping option more worthwhile, and the park hopper expense IS cheaper than staying for the party, but even still, if AK closes at 9, is it really worth $300 for 2 hours?

I would be more inclined to stay at one park. Imagine your day at both and see which appeals more - at AK, you'll have Expedition Everest and the (maybe stressful and timewasting) Flights of Passage (that you may not even be able to get on), Navi River Ride, Festival of the Lion King, Rivers of Light, and the animals. At MK, you will have Space Mtn, Splash Mtn, Thunder Mtn, 7 Dwarves (same scenario as FOP), the nostalgia, a parade, and if a non-party night the fireworks (and if it's a weekend, tons and tons and tons of people.) Just writing it out, I think we'd pick MK.

But I think the most appealing choice for MK is a non-party day falling on a weekday. The extreme crowds would change my choice if it's a non-party day on a weekend. In that case, I would still look at the option of just leaving the MK at 6 (leaving at the last possible moment...I've read here there is some castle show thing that you can watch just past 6 from main street or something like that), and then hop over to the Grand Floridian to see the Gingerbread house and then perhaps on to Disney Springs or Ohana or something for dinner.

THANKS for this! I think you're right...since this time of year is not ideal for us (3 kids with birthdays: Thanksgiving - New Years; 3 kids having wisdom teeth out Dec & Jan before they return to traveling; and this impromptu trip) I think the extra $300 for 2 hours is a deal breaker. So MK it is.

My last question(s)...just thinking out loud. Non-Party during the week = more crowd + more time at the park...will we really want to spend 10-12 hrs there? I imagine we'd have to get there at rope drop to beat some of the crowd.
VS
Party Day during the week where we'll still want to get there at rope drop (less time at the park), BUT less crowd so we MAY be able to see/do more...

Is that what we're looking at?