View Full Version : which one ?
strange question this but if you had to drop one of the parks from the itinerary which one would it be ?
we're probably going to do 3 days disney and 3 days water parks - our girls are 11,9,6 and 3. we think epcot might be a little old for 2 (or 3) of them and therefore possibly the one to drop ?
anybody have strong views on this ? should we aim to do all 4 (with 3 water parks) in 2 weeks ? would this necessiate another holiday for rest when we got back ?
as always hugely grateful for your input
regards
Mark & Tracy
My kids have always loved Epcot, and my younger one was only 6 when we first went there.
You don't mention whether you intend going to non-disney Parks. If yes, then it would be tight trying to fit everything in, especially if you intend to have relaxing rest days around the villa pool. If not visiting other Parks, then you could easily do 4 Disney Parks and 3 Water Parks in 14 days.
christhear
18-05-2006, 17:10
Animal Kingdom always closes early, around 5 or 6 pm. If you have a ticket which allows hopping you could always do a quick trip to Epcot after AK. The night time show 'Illuminations of Earth' is worth catching even if you don't want to spend the whole day at Epcot.
Also disney only has 2 water parks, are you planning to do one twice?
The water park days are unlikely to be long days so you could probably aim to do all 4 disney parks.
If this is all you are planning to do it still leaves you 6 other days to relax and go shopping.
Hi Carla,
No, we thought just Disney and Sea World this time.
Regards
Mark
Hi Mark
funnily enough we left out universal completely on our first visit, we wanted an excuse to go back[msnwink]
if i were you i would drop one of the water parks in favour for EPCOT, even if you only do some of Epcot it will be a great experience for the little ones
there are activity stations in each of the countries for the little ones, our children got a mask on a stick that you could decorate and you got it passport stamped as you visited each country
if you do go even if it's only half a day then i would also try to stay for the illuminations of earth as it is fantastic[clap]
Mizzy
chrizzy100
18-05-2006, 17:55
We've not been to Animal Kingdom since it first opened...if we have to leave out a park...its MGM...we seem to finish that one way to fast....my kids hate water so we've never had the problem of fitting in any water parks....
We would probably drop MGM, dont know why but it just seems to be the park that doesn't come up in conversation when we are planning our days in Florida. As for Epcot the Kids love this place, especially the food, there as so many great places to eat especially at the Rose & Crown. Yum Yum
Never miss the water parks though.
jackie greaves
18-05-2006, 18:10
If you only get to do one water park I would make it Typhoon Lagoon. There is so much more to do there than at Blizzard Beach,(in my opinion)
Also try and buy hooper passes, this will make things easier for you. We only ever spend half a day in Epcot, but the fireworks here are fantastic.
Like Christine, we always plan our Epcot visit on the same day as Animal Kingdom. Early to AK, lunch/swim stop at the villa and then on to Epcot around 4pm for the rides/fireworks, it works well[msnsmile2]
steph_goodrum
18-05-2006, 19:51
It depends when you are going as well, if its in high season you will find the parks open very late so may find rather than a whole day at the water park it is better to have a split day at Disney with a couple of hours in the water park or if youre staying in a villa with a pit stop in the afternoon for the little one to have a nap and have a swim in the pool, leaving a few extra days open for maybe shopping or extra parks.
If you go to the State parks (Lake Louisa for example) it costs around $4 for a car load of people so you can take a picnic (or they have bbq areas which you can use and have a more relaxing time with generally less people around so its easier to keep an eye on the little ones.
E. Cosgrove
18-05-2006, 20:39
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by chrizzy100
We've not been to Animal Kingdom since it first opened...if we have to leave out a park...its MGM...we seem to finish that one way to fast....my kids hate water so we've never had the problem of fitting in any water parks....
[/quote]
Just show's it's a matter of choice.
MGM is the park I NEVER miss[msnoo][msnwink]
As Epcot is my favourite, I would definately keep it. Tough choice of which park to drop but I would drop a water park.
Regards
IF we have to drop one then for us it is Animal Kingdom as the kids are not that bothered there. We always go to Epcot as the troops love Mission Space and Test Track.
I would drop Epcot although friends of ours say it`s their favorite park, it`s tough choice but I would take it as it comes do your favorites first and then see how much time you have left.
what time of year will play a part also , more with crowds than opening times, as with yougsters you wont be able to play all day and night!!.
there is no reason why you couldnt do all the parks, because there will be rides in each that certain party members can t or don t want to go on. but dont miss sea world..... oh and universal and islands, the cat in the hat and if you hire a villa , the pool..................[msnsmile2]
If push came to shove we would drop MGM, of the 4 its the one we can manage without.
Cruella DeVilla
19-05-2006, 16:01
Sorry Epcot fans but that is the one I would miss out of all of the parks. I think it is sooooooooooooooo dated. After a 20 year absence I managed to drag my hubby who is not a park fan to EPCOT last Thursday and now I see what he is talking about. They talk about things in rides like now that we are approaching the 21st century....hello get with the programme!
Although we are with Stabard in that we enjoyed Test Track.....Mission space well that is another story. (Read last week they are intorducing a mellower version)[sick]. Was also good to get to Harry Ramsdens since we don't live in the UK it was nice to have some decent fishnchips but I dont think we will be going back to EPCOT whereas I would revisit some of the other parks.
When my girls were younger we always did Magic Kingdom and MGM & Sea World. They did Epcot and Animal Kingdom once and didn't enjoy them, but AK did not open until they were older, I would expect younger ones to be entranced by it. Now they are older it is Universal & IoA, Epcot & MGM.
I would suggest you do 2 days parks 1 day at a water park / shopping / by the pool where you can recharge the batteries. But it does depend when you are going - in the summer the parks, with the exception of AK, are open much later, so it can be a very long day - particularly for a 3 year old.
On our first visit in 14 days we did MK, MGM, Epcot, Sea World, Universal & River Island (this was 11 years ago!) and a side trip to Kennedy Space Center, and we were there in July / August. We found we really needed the 2 days on 1 day off, and we also wanted to spend some time relaxing! We had also planned to do Busch Gardens but had to miss that one out. This was before Animal Kingdom & Islands of Adventure, so there is alot to pack in now.
orlandobabe
19-05-2006, 18:17
Epcot for me is all about eating and shopping-mainly. I would combine this one with animal kingdom.
thornton
19-05-2006, 18:41
If I had to choose one for you I would say miss Animal Kingdom as young children would find the walking round the animals not so interesting. However having said that I would say all 4 disney park and 2 disney water parks, missing out Wet 'n Wild.
Jill
I would miss out a water park (Wet n Wild), but if you really don't want to drop a water park then Epcot would be my choice to drop as my 3 daughters didn't particular enjoy Epcot even though I left it until they were a bit older.
I would miss Animal Kingdom. Kids would like Epcot better and the fireworks display is really good.
jbrinkworth
20-05-2006, 11:41
Don't miss any of them! Water parks aren't as demanding as the other parks any way and you've gone a long way to get there! Enjoy everything, even if you are tired out when you get back you'll have forever to recover! (Well until the next trip anyway)
When we went last year (albeit for 3 weeks) we did all the disney and non disney parks and all the water parks too, interspersed with shopping and swimming etc. It was a crammed holiday but I wouldn't have missed any of it for the world!
You'll have a fantastic time whatever you decide to do.
Julie B
cad-properties
20-05-2006, 13:33
We have two children who are ages 4 and 3 and I think I would drop Epcot, we do enjoy it when we go there, but there is not as much for that age group to go on and do.
I can understand that some children may find Animal Kingdom a little less interesting but this is not the case with our children as they love animals (all kinds) we recently went to a snake show and they were the first in the queue to hold them !!!
I think, it really depends on your children, as some of the older ones may prefer Epcot to AK.
Which ever one you miss out it will be a great excuse to go back !.
Have a great holiday
Clair.
www.onlinefloridavillas.com/villas/495.aspx
Thanks everyone for their views and experiences. I have to say that you've all been no help at all - we'll just have to do all 4 parks now [msnsmile2][msnsmile2]
we'll have a load more questions to ask so please keep up the response rate !
thanks again
Mark, Tracy, and 4 excited girls
We wouldn't go to AK again. Busch was so much better. Epcot is ok, Fireworks are good in the evening, perhaps the suggestions of combining these two in a day would be a good idea, if you really can't decide which to drop!
I think you're wise to do all 4, but it really depends on your children - you know them best. Since you do have young ones, there will be attractions that they won't be able to do (or that you just won't want them to do!), so why not take a good look and narrow down your list of must-do attractions. If you have hopper passes, you could probably take in 2 parks in one day. Epcot has always been our favorite (especially Future World), but maybe save the World Showcase for when the girls are older. Definitely visit some of the pavilions in Future World!
ShirleyCottam
20-05-2006, 19:50
Hi Mark and Tracy,
I also think you should do all 4, as I love them all and wouldnt be able to decide which one not to visit!
I think you will be fine putting plenty into your holiday, the first time we ever went to Florida (about 10nyears ago)we had a 14 day pass, and went to Disney everyday. We didnt need another holiday afterwards, but we came home with fantastic memories and fell in love with Florida magic!
steph_goodrum
20-05-2006, 23:03
Mark and Tracy as there is quite a variation between the eldest and youngest of your childrens ages, you might find that sometimes it may be practical to split for a couple of hours and Mum and Dad do different things appropriate for their ages to save you a bit more time, if they can't all do the same things sometimes you end up rushing some so the others can go on something.
And don't forget about the parent swap on the rides, there may be rides that perhaps Mum and Dad want to do the children can't/don't in which case one parent stays with the children in the parent swap area (just ask at the beginning of the ride, then when the first parent gets off they go back to the area and the second can go straight on the ride without the need to go and queue. This also works for the children if, for example, there are more children than you can take on at once (if there are only 2 children per adult for example and the second adult doesnt want to ride then you can take some of the children on and swap them after the ride to accompany the others.
Hi Mark & Tracy,
Living in this area you would think that we would grow tired of the whole disney thing - the kids sometimes do, but they are now old enough that we can say "to heck with you then, you stay home, mom and dad are going to epcot!"
I'd suggest taking it all one day at a time - and see how it goes. Trying to cram everything in or schedule it all, including shopping etc becomes exhausting, even when taking time by the villa pool you'll find yourself thinking of what else you need to find time to fit it.
Everyone has their own favorites but if it's not high season you can fit many of these parks in 1/2 day - like the water parks - I saw someone mention they prefer Typhoon Lagoon. My family prefers Blizzard Beach - simply because the floats and mats are boosted up on a conveyer instead of carrying them up the stairs like at Typhoon. Although for the older ones Typhoon Lagoon has an awesome wave pool - they even offer off hour surfing lessons.
We find that going to the water parks early - we get enough sun and see enough water in 1/2 day we're ready to go. Can then lunch, relax at the villa and head to one of the parks for the evening - great time for MGM shows or Epcot fireworks - everything in epcot is great in the evening. MGM has some great kids stuff - muppets, honey I shrunk the audience - the playground for this one is awesome - climb on giant coke cans, spider webs, slide down a leaf - great fun. Epcot has a large activity center - inside and air conditioned - for all ages, and every country has childrens craft activity. Our family tradition is trying on hats in the shops of every country - makes for some great photos.
Animal Kingdom - I have one that loves it and one that just tags along for the ride. It's best to go first thing in the morning and hop right on the Safari - the animals are fed then and you are more likely to see almost all of them. The Lion King show - is like a broadway show done in the round - worth the price of admission - and they get the audience involved. Easy to do this park 1/2 day.
It will not be hard to see them all in 14 days. I too would nix wet and wild - nothing that the disney water parks don't have.
Take your time to actually enjoy what you do get to and not stress over what you may be missing - will make this a great holiday.
Hope this helps.
OK - its clear that there isn't a right answer here, everyone has their own favourites and in about 5 weeks time when we're back here in the UK reflecting on what will have been an incredible holiday I'm sure that we will have our own too.
this is what we've decided to do over the 2 weeks :
spend 3 days in disney water parks - we're all (6 of us) water babes !
spend 1 day in mk, 1 day at mgm/epcot, 1 day at ak/epcot and our final visit will be to mk and possibly the most favourite bits of the others (time permitting)!
we also got the sea world ticket which we will use over the last week - perhaps only 2 - 3 hours here and there on our rest days or non disney days.
wish us luck !
thanks for all your help
Mark, Tracy and 4 excited little girls
cad-properties
28-05-2006, 01:54
Mark, Tracy and girls,
Have a fantastic holiday.
Clair.
http://www.onlinefloridavillas.com/villas/495.aspx
My kids just love Epcot. It's the one park that they always want to go back to!
ShirleyCottam
29-05-2006, 22:02
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Cottons
OK - its clear that there isn't a right answer here, everyone has their own favourites and in about 5 weeks time when we're back here in the UK reflecting on what will have been an incredible holiday I'm sure that we will have our own too.
this is what we've decided to do over the 2 weeks :
spend 3 days in disney water parks - we're all (6 of us) water babes !
spend 1 day in mk, 1 day at mgm/epcot, 1 day at ak/epcot and our final visit will be to mk and possibly the most favourite bits of the others (time permitting)!
we also got the sea world ticket which we will use over the last week - perhaps only 2 - 3 hours here and there on our rest days or non disney days.
wish us luck !
thanks for all your help
Mark, Tracy and 4 excited little girls
[/quote]
That sounds just perfect!!!!
Have a great time[msnsmile2]
abbeyvillas
30-05-2006, 03:17
We really like MGM and would probably drop Epcot, although I would agree that a 'hopper' ticket sounds like the solution because Animal Kingdom & Epcot would easily double up in the same day.
I would also consider dropping a water park as they all have similar rides / shutes but on different themes and remember if you are going in July/August the sun will be very hot and children easily burn in the water. There are also many height resrictions in the water parks so your little ones may not be able to try some rides.
Seaworld is a must and quite a relaxing day.
Sounds like you will just have to go back to do Universal & I.O.A. you could fit the other water parks into that trip!
Have a great time whatever you decide.
Jeanette
Pegasus928
30-05-2006, 03:38
I'm sure you will all have a great time whichever way you choose to plan your trip
Can't wait til we are at the final planning stages again - but we have a long time to wait yet [msnsad]
Enjoy
Pegasus family
neild292
01-06-2006, 17:57
I would drop a water park before any of Epcot, MGM etc
Neil
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Cottons
OK - its clear that there isn't a right answer here, everyone has their own favourites and in about 5 weeks time when we're back here in the UK reflecting on what will have been an incredible holiday I'm sure that we will have our own too.
this is what we've decided to do over the 2 weeks :
spend 3 days in disney water parks - we're all (6 of us) water babes !
spend 1 day in mk, 1 day at mgm/epcot, 1 day at ak/epcot and our final visit will be to mk and possibly the most favourite bits of the others (time permitting)!
we also got the sea world ticket which we will use over the last week - perhaps only 2 - 3 hours here and there on our rest days or non disney days.
wish us luck !
thanks for all your help
Mark, Tracy and 4 excited little girls
[/quote]
Sounds like a good compromise......reading the thread I was getting a bit worried that there was no mention of Seaworld - and that has always been a favourite of ours. The kids (young AND old) love the shows - especially the one with Clyde and Seamore!
tezz7628
27-07-2006, 14:33
i'm wondering, as most of the rest days people talk about involve relaxing by the pool, why not make it a rest day at the water park and kill two birds with one stone
there's more pools and they are slightly larger [msnwink] :D
Do them all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
[msnsmile2]
With so many diverse points of view, I think you are right das C!!
Give Universal/Islands of Adventure a miss until the little one is older and then you have a great reason to return to Orlando! [msnwink]
Not sure which of these they did, but thought I would mention that the Cottons have been back from their holiday over a month now.
I think they maybe planning a return visit in 2008 though.
They will probably pick up this thread again in due course when they start to plan the next one[msnsmile]
If you go off season then you can probably do 1 day MK, 1 day EPCOT and then 1/2 for AK (morning) and 1/2 day MGM (afternoon/evening).
You would miss a few things in AK/MGM but if you make a plan to hit some of the more interesting attractions then you have had a feel for all 4 parks which will make planning your next trip a lot easier.
Thing is, as you can see from the response, every one will say a different park to drop if you have to drop one.
My personal preference would be to drop the water parks to 2 days and then have a full day in each land-based park.
Thanks Diane but we still keep checking the board .. even though we've been back a month we are still talking about the holiday and especially the fantastic villa we stayed in [msnwink]
what we ended up doing was pretty much what we said, 1 day AK, 4 o'clock go to epcot and catch a couple of rides and then the fireworks.
1 full day in MK
Epcot as soon as it opens - fast pass the rides we couldn't do on the first night then at about 3'o'clock (during the inevitiable thunder storms) go to MGM - fast pass the big rides and see some of the shows
finishing off with another full day in MK (with a pool break at the villa about 1 - 4)
also managed to do 3 full days in the water parks and about 3 half days at sea world (using the 7 day ticket we got)
the sea world ticket is excellent because you can go for the final shows just before or just after dinner/tea and when the weather is cooling off.
I was a bit sceptical that you could do 2 parks in one day but in june the parks were open really late so it possible, also going back to the car, sitting down in an air conditioned, cool environment driving 30 minutes between the parks really recharged the girls batteries.
also if you hire a disney stroller you can use it for the day irrespective of which park you go to, if you are definately going to spend 4 days (or 3 or 2 !) make sure you hire the stroller for that many as its cheaper by about £5 !
the memories come flooding back the more I think about it !
In magic Kindom go to the bit where Aerial the mermaid is - there's a stall that sells frozen coke slush - sensational on a really hot day
thanks everyone for all your help and advice, we will keep reading the boards anyway
regards
mark and tracy cotton