Should we do MK twice?

[Forevermarypoppins]

Because of the ages of your children and being a first time,
I would advise 2 days at MK
skip EPCOT

make a list of appealing things for your kids at MK and then try to match that with EPCOT attractions and rides( few). I think MK wins every time

 

[purrenh1]

I think a lot of people here made a great case for skipping HS and including Epcot, with 2 MK days basically a given (so much to do! great for all ages!). But I agree with those who say skip Epcot because of the number of features down. Yes, shows in HS are down, but they're not all great for 3 year olds either. If your children aren't into Star Wars and/or Toy Story, yes, that makes HS easier to skip. Galaxy's Edge wasn't open when my kids were that young, but they always loved Star Tours and the small area around it anyway. If the upcoming Ratatouille ride were to be open at Epcot (I doubt it will be for you, but who knows?), that would tilt my vote to GO to Epcot, SKIP HS.

 

[djmeredith]

Don't forget about Cars at DHS! I forgot to mention that one in my first post. While it's only 1 attraction, many littles love Cars and it was a cute attraction. So DHS has: Toy Story (just the atmosphere of that is super cute); Cars, Muppets, Frozen Sing a Long, Star Wars and Disney Junior (whatever that attraction is). Indiana Jones show might be back by then too and that is entertaining for kids. Maybe Little Mermaid and/or Beauty and the Beast will be back by then too. The character cavalcades there include Pixar and Disney Junior characters. Epcot: Frozen, Nemo/aquarium (the play area and Turtle Talk with Crush are both shut down so the aquarium is the only thing besides Nemo ride to do right now), Figment, Spaceship Earth. We didn't see any cavalcades or characters at Epcot (we weren't looking for them in any of the parks, just happened to catch them at the other 3). As others have said, the walls around Epcot in Future World really are a bummer. The atmosphere in the entry and Future World really suffers from that construction.

 

[destinationahead_dis]

So much great info!!! Thanks all... yes I pretty much had it down to picking between Epcot or HS to skip out on (with the notion we'll hit it next time we come.) But it was really hard to research especially with today's situation not knowing what's currently down. Thank you all!!!

MK has a lot to do.. you will be much happier going twice...and doing half the park a day.
My kids favorite park is AK
They love HS but the crowds were too much.
In a normal environment they would love it... but I just could not deal with all the people this time so we skipped it.

In the current climate you should do AK, epcot, MK and MK.
If at all possible try and plan during the week.

Ok, thanks so much for park order recommendations. I saw another poster saying they did MK before AK for their first trip and their kids were disappointed. Why put MK at the end? I feel like my daughter will be pestering the poo out of me the entire trip because she wants to see the castle. Has anyone done like a MK, AK, E/HS, MK type trip? Pros/ Cons?

 

[Eastern]

MK twice, for sure, AK once, and then Epcot or DHS is a coin flip. Look over the rides and see what they can actually go on.

I would do AK, MK, other park (you may do half a day at one of these parks so it's a semi rest day. Fill out with pool time), MK. I agree that if you go to MK first they might not appreciate AK.

 

[Flamingeaux]

Skip DHS and do MK twice!!! You won't regret it.

 

[Memorymakerfor4]

I saw another poster saying they did MK before AK for their first trip and their kids were disappointed. Why put MK at the end? I feel like my daughter will be pestering the poo out of me the entire trip because she wants to see the castle. Has anyone done like a MK, AK, E/HS, MK type trip? Pros/ Cons?

We always do MK on the last day and (also the first day if we can manage it). The last two trips we have started in AK because my daughter is bananas for FOP and that worked well too. If it were my family, I'd switch your two middle days around because AK can be a half day park if you really need it to be, and we always seem to hit an energy slump on day 3.

 

[crazylady]

So much great info!!! Thanks all... yes I pretty much had it down to picking between Epcot or HS to skip out on (with the notion we'll hit it next time we come.) But it was really hard to research especially with today's situation not knowing what's currently down. Thank you all!!!



Ok, thanks so much for park order recommendations. I saw another poster saying they did MK before AK for their first trip and their kids were disappointed. Why put MK at the end? I feel like my daughter will be pestering the poo out of me the entire trip because she wants to see the castle. Has anyone done like a MK, AK, E/HS, MK type trip? Pros/ Cons?

I think that is a great line up. I love starting and ending with MK. And by day #3 everyone should be kind of tired so a shorter day (HS) or a more relaxing day (EP) will probably be exactly what you're looking for.

 

[twinmom13]

Our first trip was when my kids were 5, and we did three days at MK and one at AK. The first day was a half day at MK, then a full day at MK, a shorter day at AK, and our last day at MK again. It is totally a matter of preference, but there was plenty to do at MK to fill the two and a half days we were there, and since none of us had ever been to HS and Epcot before, we didn't miss them. We went again when they were 6 and did a full day at MK, half a day at MK before hopping to AK for the Ultimate Night of Adventure VIP tour, and then the Ultimate Day of Thrills VIP Tour, which hits the headliners at MK and HS as well as Soarin' at Epcot, on our last day before hopping back to MK. It was a good mix for us since the tours let us do everything we wanted to do at AK and HS in a short amount of time, but this approach requires hopping. We went in September of this year and did a half day at MK, a full day at AK, a full day at HS, and a full day at MK. Had hopping been available, we probably would have ended up at MK every night. We have yet to go to Epcot other than during the Ultimate tour, which hardly counts since they take you in the back way to ride Soarin' and then leave, but we are looking forward to adding it on the next trip.

For us, MK is where we like to spend most of our time, and we like to start and end our trip at MK. By skipping HS and Epcot on our first trip, we had a new experience (HS) on our second trip and will have another new experience (Epcot) on our next trip. We are big ride people, so we usually skip the shows and even the animal paths at AK. Some of our favorite rides are at AK and HS, but you cannot beat MK for the sheer number of rides and for classic Disney magic.

 

[AngieInOH]

I know you said only 4 park days. Could you go to MK on your arrival day? It's not too much more to add a day. We always go into MK on arrival day, then hit it up again on our last day. I personally wouldn't want to skip Epcot during the Flower and Garden Festival. It's beautiful with great picture opportunities.

 

[Day-Day]

I think Hollywood Studios (if meeting height requirements) is better than EPCOT for a 6-year-old; maybe not so much for the 3-year-old. For the older child under current operations: Rockin Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, Toy Story Mania, Slinky Dog, Flying Saucers, Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railroad, Rise of the Resistance, Smugglers Run, Star Tours, Frozen show, and Muppets 3D. I may have missed something but these are ones we did with a 6 year old a couple of weeks ago at DHS. Spaceship Earth was a dud with the 6-year-old at EPCOT and we did not do Living with the Land. Frozen, Donald's Three Amigos, Test Track, Living Seas, Soaring, Imagination with Figment, and the Pixar Short Films were all good. It will be interesting when Ratatouille ride opens.