Advise picking parks to visit

[francisca2022]

Hi everyone!

We are travelling in February with kids ages 1.5, 4, 6.

This is our first time visiting and would appreciate your help in picking which parks to visit. We have 7 day base tickets.
We are not interested in rollercoasters or scary rides as we don't want to split up during the day. Also, we will probably be doing just half days or taking a long break in the middle of the day as I don't think my kids will have the energy for a full day at the parks.

Which parks would you recommend for the 7 days?
I was thinking:

MK x3
AK x2
EPCOT x1
DHS x1

Thanks so much in advance!!

 

[AnnabelleTheTalkingTree]

I would knock a day off of AK and put give it either to Epcot or HS. Animal Kingdom is AWESOME but there's not a whole lot of actual rides for the little ones.

 

[kanerf]

Hi everyone!

We are travelling in February with kids ages 1.5, 4, 6.

This is our first time visiting and would appreciate your help in picking which parks to visit. We have 7 day base tickets.
We are not interested in rollercoasters or scary rides as we don't want to split up during the day. Also, we will probably be doing just half days or taking a long break in the middle of the day as I don't think my kids will have the energy for a full day at the parks.

Which parks would you recommend for the 7 days?
I was thinking:

MK x3
AK x2
EPCOT x1
DHS x1

Thanks so much in advance!!

Also not sure there are enough age appropriate rides at MK to justify 3 days.

 

[francisca2022]

Also not sure there are enough age appropriate rides at MK to justify 3 days.

thanks for the reply!!
I don't think we will be spending a full day anywhere; most likely just the morning or just the afternoon. so it's more like 3 half days for MK
I am sure they will like to repeat their favorites

 

[francisca2022]

I would knock a day off of AK and put give it either to Epcot or HS. Animal Kingdom is AWESOME but there's not a whole lot of actual rides for the little ones.

HS seems like the least kid-friendly to me, but I could be wrong!

I was thinking 2 (half) days at AK since it's the largest park

I've never been to either EPCOT or HS, and it's been at least 15 years since I went to MK & AK, so I could be completely wrong haha

 

[disney-inspired]

MK is great for Fantasyland and other attractions with no height requirement - TTC, railroad (eventually when it reopens), Jungle Cruise, etc. I would give most of the days to this for the attractions and shows.
Epcot has the kidcot fun stops which the 4&6 year old would enjoy and they have Frozen, Ratatouille, Figment, Living with the Land and Turtle Talk with Crush.
Even though AK doesn't have many rides, I know kids love seeing the animals.
HS seems to be the least small kid friendly with not many attractions. I would give the least amount of time to this park.

 

[tinkerjo]

You can easily do AK in one day or even a 1/2 day. There is a lot of walking but if you aren’t doing big rides at all it should all be manageable. Also it’s the easiest to get a reservation for it if you decide you loved it and wanted to go back. I also think 1 day at Epcot is sufficient. Maybe let a parent go back to the park later with the older child to do a couple “big kid rides” at 6 mine loved rides like 7DMT, BTMRR, Test Track, Soarin, etc. not big coasters but more thrills. Also schedule plenty of pool time!!

 

[AnnabelleTheTalkingTree]

HS seems like the least kid-friendly to me, but I could be wrong!

I was thinking 2 (half) days at AK since it's the largest park

I've never been to either EPCOT or HS, and it's been at least 15 years since I went to MK & AK, so I could be completely wrong haha

I used to feel that way too but lately with the more recent additions there's more for the little ones. We all (including my less than 2 year old and 5 year old) rode MMRR and Toy Story Mania, and my oldest was able to do mostly every other ride (including Slinky, RoTR, Alien Swirling Saucers and ToT) with Rockn Rollercoaster being the exception. Plus they have the Disney JR characters at the Disney Jr Dance Party thing.

As much as I love Animal Kingdom, we only rode Kilimanjaro and Na'vi River together as a family. Oldest was too short for Everest and FOP, and Dinosaur was thematically too intense for her. Basically I got myself a ILL for FOP and rode alone, we did the other two, and then we bounced. Of course at that time (this past spring), there was also no Mickey/Minnie character meet, and the shows were mostly shuttered as well.

Last trip we spent marginally more time in HS but not by much. On a 10 day trip, they both got about a half day total. Much like OP, my kids can't keep up with full park days so our daily routine is more like, quick trip to the parks in the morning, pool pool pool while I stack up Genie+ for the evening, then back out. We spent the vast majority of our time between MK and Epcot.

 

[francisca2022]

I used to feel that way too but lately with the more recent additions there's more for the little ones. We all (including my less than 2 year old and 5 year old) rode MMRR and Toy Story Mania, and my oldest was able to do mostly every other ride (including Slinky, RoTR, Alien Swirling Saucers and ToT) with Rockn Rollercoaster being the exception. Plus they have the Disney JR characters at the Disney Jr Dance Party thing.

As much as I love Animal Kingdom, we only rode Kilimanjaro and Na'vi River together as a family. Oldest was too short for Everest and FOP, and Dinosaur was thematically too intense for her. Basically I got myself a ILL for FOP and rode alone, we did the other two, and then we bounced. Of course at that time (this past spring), there was also no Mickey/Minnie character meet, and the shows were mostly shuttered as well.

Last trip we spent marginally more time in HS but not by much. On a 10 day trip, they both got about a half day total. Much like OP, my kids can't keep up with full park days so our daily routine is more like, quick trip to the parks in the morning, pool pool pool while I stack up Genie+ for the evening, then back out. We spent the vast majority of our time between MK and Epcot.

This is super helpful, thanks so much!!

My kids are very tall so I think they *could* go on some of the thrill rides, but as you said they might not be thematically appropriate.

Maybe i'll switch up one AK day for a second EPCOT day.

 

[disneygolfer1985]

One thing that could be good for doing AK for 2 days is I would suggest doing the character breakfast at Tusker House if you can get it. Great character interaction. Another thing to consider is AK had the wilderness explorer booklet where the kids explore the park to look for animals and get stamps. My girls enjoyed that in February, but we only had 1 day so we are going to spend 1 day doing that exploring the park.

The half days or taking midday breaks are a good idea. We went in February with a 1.5 and almost 4yo and both girls would pass out in the stroller after 4 to 5 attractions so don’t be shocked if the younger ones pass out from all the stimulation.

 

[flowergleam1211]

This is super helpful, thanks so much!!

My kids are very tall so I think they *could* go on some of the thrill rides, but as you said they might not be thematically appropriate.

Maybe i'll switch up one AK day for a second EPCOT day.

I highly recommend two EPCOT days. My kids at age 4 really loved the slow moving rides at EPCOT and would have happily done a second day.

 

[lanejudy]

I'd do a second day at EPCOT. When DD was 5 we spent an entire morning just at SeaBase - she was so enthralled. Many young families rule out EPCOT for young kids thinking the countries in World Showcase will be "boring" for kids, but there is so much interesting there -- DD always enjoyed the street performances outside the various country pavilions.

 

[KittyKitty]

Another thing to consider is AK had the wilderness explorer booklet where the kids explore the park to look for animals and get stamps.

I did that, enjoyed it, and I'm way over your children's age!

Conservation Station at AK has the animals to pet, affections section,you take a train to get to. Also there is Boneyard(is that still there?), Feathered friends in flights, Festival of Lion King, Finding Nemo show, Safari ride, Exploration Trails with Gorillas and Tigers, Na'vi River( dark but calm and pretty).
I highly suggest not going on the Dinosaur ride. It is dark, loud, and scary for young ones. I've seen many times children cry thru the ride. To be honest I was scared too.

 

[francisca2022]

Thanks everyone!!

I am leaning towards a full day at AK so we can get to most of the things we'd like to see in one day and then 2 (half) days at EPCOT.

 

[GoingSince1990]

Make sure to go to the jumping water thing at Epcot (near Imagination). My kids used to be enthralled by it when they were that kind of age.

 

[Specter]

We are heading to Disney World for DD's third trip in November. We took her when she was 10 months old and shortly before she turned 3. She will be 3 and a half when we go in November.

On our first trip we did 2 x MK, 2 x Epcot, 2 x AK, and 1 x HS.
On our second trip we did 3 x MK, 2 x Epcot, and 1 x AK and HS.

For our upcoming trip we will be doing the same format as the second trip. DD is now tall enough to do 2 additional rides at HS and 1 more at MK compared to our trip earlier this year. However, there is still very little for her to do overall at HS. She does like Barnstormer in MK and is very much looking forward to Seven Dwarves Mine Train and the Slinky Dog Dash coasters for our next trip, so I am confident that if she remains a little thrill seeker, and a Star Wars fan, when she's older we may skew a little more toward HS but right now there is just so much that she is at least allowed to ride at MK.

Epcot has the second most things that she can do, plus she really likes Nemo, Frozen, and Ratatouille. While Animal Kingdom is a lot of fun for little ones there are so few rides that she can go on right now. FWIW, enjoy your trip!

 

[Lilsia]

Your plan looks good to me but I personally would get park hoppers.

 

[francisca2022]

Your plan looks good to me but I personally would get park hoppers.

Hi, thanks for the reply.

I just don't see the point of getting park hoppers with little kids but maybe I'm wrong here.

My plan is to spend morning + lunch at the parks, then head back to the hotel to rest and pool time (and some days mornings at the hotel + afternoon at the parks so that we can see the fireworks).

We are new visitors so it's not like we can go to a park just for 2 hours and head straight to our favorite ride. We don't know any rides and we don't know where anything is located hahaha

I don't see us having the energy to visit 2 different parks per day

 

[francisca2022]

We are heading to Disney World for DD's third trip in November. We took her when she was 10 months old and shortly before she turned 3. She will be 3 and a half when we go in November.

On our first trip we did 2 x MK, 2 x Epcot, 2 x AK, and 1 x HS.
On our second trip we did 3 x MK, 2 x Epcot, and 1 x AK and HS.

For our upcoming trip we will be doing the same format as the second trip. DD is now tall enough to do 2 additional rides at HS and 1 more at MK compared to our trip earlier this year. However, there is still very little for her to do overall at HS. She does like Barnstormer in MK and is very much looking forward to Seven Dwarves Mine Train and the Slinky Dog Dash coasters for our next trip, so I am confident that if she remains a little thrill seeker, and a Star Wars fan, when she's older we may skew a little more toward HS but right now there is just so much that she is at least allowed to ride at MK.

Epcot has the second most things that she can do, plus she really likes Nemo, Frozen, and Ratatouille. While Animal Kingdom is a lot of fun for little ones there are so few rides that she can go on right now. FWIW, enjoy your trip!

This is super helpful! You daughter is around the same age as my middle kid.

I am leaning towards your second trip format as well. If we happen to love our first AK day, it should not be too difficult to change one of the other reservations to a second AK day.

Thanks

 

[Lilsia]

Hi, thanks for the reply.

I just don't see the point of getting park hoppers with little kids but maybe I'm wrong here.

My plan is to spend morning + lunch at the parks, then head back to the hotel to rest and pool time (and some days mornings at the hotel + afternoon at the parks so that we can see the fireworks).

We are new visitors so it's not like we can go to a park just for 2 hours and head straight to our favorite ride. We don't know any rides and we don't know where anything is located hahaha

I don't see us having the energy to visit 2 different parks per day

We got park hoppers because the food at some of the parks is not very good, IMO. We like to go to Epcot and eat whenever possible. Plus sometimes the park that you are in is super busy, we like having the option of going to another one. But we went every year and stayed longer then what you are, we also toured differently. We never set an alarm and let the kids wake up naturally. We would have breakfast at the resort and then head to the parks and just stay. My kids are not morning people and if we woke them up for rope drop, everyone would have been miserable and tired. You do what will work for your family.