AK vs Epcot....if you have to choose.

mom2aprincenprincess

mom2aprincenprincess

Mom to 2 prince's and 1 princess
Joined
Apr 11, 2011
My family will be visiting WDW July 2019 and we are planning a total of 4 park days w/o hopper. We want two full days at MK, and one day at HS.... we are torn now between Epcot and AK. My kids are 17, 10, & 7. I am trying to choose the park that I think they will enjoy the most. When I think of Epcot I think mostly of the countries, which I think will be boring for my younger two kids. It’s been 7 years since we’ve been to WDW, so I don’t really remember what AK has to offer, plus i was 6 months pregnant and couldn’t do everything that i wanted to. I remember not caring much for it when we were there the last time, but 7 years later I might feel differently, especially if there is more to interest the kids. What would you all choose??
 
FoP is the best ride on property. If you can FP it, do that park. If not, and you don't want to get up early to get ahead of the line, go to Epcot, as you will spend 4 hours waiting in the July heat to ride it.
Beyond that, in terms of thrills, the two parks are pretty even. Test Track vs. Everest, Soarin vs. Dinosaur, with the Safari as an added bonus for AK. Know that it is very very hot and humid there in July, though.
 
Tough one but given the ages of your kids, I’d go with AK. Epcot’s world showcase can be “boring” for kids. Although AK might not be a full day park for some, if you see the shows (lion king, Nemo)...and take your time doing the trails, it’s a lot of fun. It might be too much $$$ depending on your budget but both the Caring for Giants and Up Close with Rhinos tours are awesome (for all ages)
 
I think the may question to ask is if you kids will enjoy seeing more. If you want to learn about animals and see Pandora then I think AK would be a good choice. If you want to learn more about different cultures and have more interesting learning experiences then pick Epcot. Personally, this would be a hard choice for me. I love Epcot, but I also love AK. There will be more to do at AK, but Epcot may be a more leisurely, relaxing day. One thing to keep in mind, I think in July that will be the last month for Illuminations, so I don't know if you would really care to see that. I am also going to add what the previous poster said, AK will be super hot and humid in July. There will be very limited inside rides, unlike Epcot.
 


Given the ages of your kids, I would vote AK. Both parks have a lot to do. But most kids their ages, just are not overly excited about the countries.
AK has FoP (as said, the best ride at WDW so far), Navi ( ok, but not great), Everest loads of fun, Dinosaur, Safari, Kali rapids if they don't mind getting soaked (in July that might be good).
Also the shows Lion King and Nemo are excellent.
 
Well you could go to YouTube and have your kids check out a bunch of the videos at both parks. I do think FoP is the best ride at WDW but I love Test Track and Soarin so much I would probably go Epcot.
 
Depends on the 7 year old and their like of risks, I would say. I personally would lean towards AK, but my 8 year old LOVED Epcot this past spring. Test Track and Soarin were just enough thrill for her....at AK she refused to do Everest (she would have been fine, she did RNRC, but it just looks so darn intimidating), she tolerated Dinosaur but wouldn't go back on it, and she was all in for FoP but it was a bit much for her and she didn't want to go back on with her sister and I. With not doing Everest and not wanting to re-do Dino or FoP, AK loses a bit of the fun. But my oldest has always been a thrill seeker and even at 7 would have done everything at AK multiple times with a smile! :)
 


AK is a very fun park, and quite unique. Esp for your kids age. So much to see and do. I'd go with AK for sure. If your kids arent interested in the different countries in epcot (World Showcase) then I feel it would be a waste as they'd go through the park fairly quick.
 
My suggestion would be to look at the descriptions of the attractions and decide based on what you feel your family will enjoy more.

I'm in the minority because I don't care for AK much at all so for me its an easy choice. Epcot all the way.
Plus Illuminations is ending after the summer so if you like it you may want to consider that in your decision.
 
Personally, I'd ditch one of the MK days and spend one day in each park. Yes MK is the heart of WDW, no doubt. However, if it's been 7 years since your last visit I'd suggest getting a flavor of each park. While you can't do EVERYTHING in MK in one day, you can still get a lot done.
 
In your case, I'd ask your oldest child. If your younger kids are like mine were, they were happy/excited at ANY park. Epcot was a favorite for a long time and we skipped AK for many years. Then, after Pandora was added, we put AK back in the rotation. Nowadays, we always go to AK but sometimes skip Epcot or just go for a half day (we have APs so we can hop). My kids are age 15 for reference. I think they'd say skip Epcot (unless we were staying at an Epcot resort, of course). Our main ride at Epcot is Test Track. Soarin' is ok to them. Anything else they can take or leave, but we all enjoy walking around the countries (just not as many "rides" for us). However, at AK there are a lot of rides that are our "main" rides such as FoP, Safari, Kali River Rapids, Dinosaur, and a couple others, along with the various animal trails.

Good luck!
 
kiramay said:
My teenagers would pick doing Epcot and AK over a second MK day. Even my youngest loves Epcot. He’d ride Test Track all day.
Click to expand...

Klayfish said:
Personally, I'd ditch one of the MK days and spend one day in each park. Yes MK is the heart of WDW, no doubt. However, if it's been 7 years since your last visit I'd suggest getting a flavor of each park. While you can't do EVERYTHING in MK in one day, you can still get a lot done.
Click to expand...

Oh true! I didn't even think of that. They could actually get quite a lot done in MK in one day if they plan for the full day/night there. Take a nice midday break with a dining ADR to rest a bit.
 
If you could swing it I would say get a hopper and maybe do half a day at AK and the other half for Epcot...you get a taste of both without sacrificing the two days you want to spend at MK...but if that is not in the cards then I would heed the other posters' advice and maybe take your kids thru some youtube videos of the attractions/offerings at each park and make a decision.
 
mom2aprincenprincess said:
My family will be visiting WDW July 2019 and we are planning a total of 4 park days w/o hopper. We want two full days at MK, and one day at HS.... we are torn now between Epcot and AK. My kids are 17, 10, & 7. I am trying to choose the park that I think they will enjoy the most. When I think of Epcot I think mostly of the countries, which I think will be boring for my younger two kids. It’s been 7 years since we’ve been to WDW, so I don’t really remember what AK has to offer, plus i was 6 months pregnant and couldn’t do everything that i wanted to. I remember not caring much for it when we were there the last time, but 7 years later I might feel differently, especially if there is more to interest the kids. What would you all choose??
Click to expand...

If you HAVE to choose I would probably go with AK. Pandora is amazing and the park is packed full of great stuff for kids the ages of yours. Our kids do love Epcot as well - but I'm sure they would pick AK.

For your kids age my best recommendation for you would be to do 1 day at each park. At 17, 10 and 7 my bet is your kids would like the rides and attractions at AK just as much as MK. Also, with the month you are going, if you had to miss 1 park I would suggest skipping HS. It's really a shell of itself right now and I don't mind skipping it until Star Wars opens.
 
For our part we see the 2 parks as completely on different spectrums. For pure delight as in spending the day seeing things and riding things we opt for Animal Kingdom. When you have animals involved with anything nothing is ever the same twice. We love the bird show (cant remember its name) the safari, Dinosaur, and just the park in general for its lush gardens.

We truly enjoy Epcot when we want to just stroll and shop and eat and imbibe. That fairly sums up our thoughts on this park.
 
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