Disney for 4 days

[Disneymagic09]

Hello!

We are planning our first trip to Disney World for January! We will be in the parks for a total of 4 days.
One of those days will be a short day for the kids as we will take them to the kids activity center at 4:30. There is so much information it is overwhelming. I was wondering if anyone had any good advice or must dos. Which park would you do for the shorter day? 5 year old boy and 8 year old girl. Also, what should the Adults do the night the kids are at the activity center?

Thanks for any help!

 

[MotherofaPrincessLover]

Hollywood Studios would probably be the best park for the shorter day. For the adults night, I would plan a nice dinner and then do some resort hopping stopping in at different lounges. Maybe try to catch the fireworks from a resort beach, also.

 

[JillC LI]

I second DHS on the short day. Our first family trip to WDW was for 5 days in January back in 2005 when our kids were 5 and 7. Watch out - we became addicted and return about every other year! There truly is a ton of information, and I strongly suggest picking up a copy of the Unauthorized Guide to Walt Disney World to help you sort things out. January is almost 6 months away so you want to get a handle on what parks you will be visiting what days, whether you want park hopper passes, and especially where you want to eat so that you can make dining reservation at the 180 day mark. We are here to help with specific questions

 

[Disneymagic09]

OK thank you!! Is half day at DHS enough for a star wars obsessed kid? That was my only concern. We are staying at the polynesian resort and have park hopper passes. We also have the dining plan. My plan was to go to Magic Kingdom the first day, DHS and kids activity center the 2nd day, then animal kingdom the 3rd, and epcot the last day. We want to eat at Chef Mickey's and the Sci Fi Dine in for sure.

 

[Darkseid]

Personally, I'd do a half day at AK. I find it to be the most exhausting park and it always feels extra hot.

It really depends on your priorities though. I love Star Wars, so that I'd much rather spend more time at DHS. My DS is also Star Wars obsessed and can't stop talking about the Jedi Training Academy.

My best advice is not to worry over missing things, that is inevitable, but your family will enjoy it either way. Plus, it's a great excuse to take another trip soon!

 

[JillC LI]

Personally, I'd do a half day at AK. I find it to be the most exhausting park and it always feels extra hot.

It really depends on your priorities though. I love Star Wars, so that I'd much rather spend more time at DHS. My DS is also Star Wars obsessed and can't stop talking about the Jedi Training Academy.

Up until last month I would've suggested AK too, but with Pandora Land, I wouldn't say that any more. However, with the OP's love of Star Wars, perhaps DHS isn't a half day park for him either. You are right that it all depends on priorities. Tough decision.

 

[Roknrollrghostr]

I think you should be able to see a good amount of DHS in half a day if you get there early and prioritize the things you think your family would most enjoy. There is so much to do and see at WDW that it can definitely be easy to get overwhelmed, I've been on many trips and I still get dizzy with the amount of choices there are! I think your initial plan seems like the best one though.

For the adults night, I think a nice romantic dinner seems like a great idea. There are some excellent restaurants on the monorail loop such as Citricos at the Grand Floridian or a lot of people enjoy California Grill at the Contemporary. Artist Point at the Wilderness Lodge is also just a boat ride away from the Magic Kingdom and I find that resort very romantic, it has a great cozy lounge too. As an alternate, if you want to have more of a let your hair down fun kind of night, Trader Sam's right at the Polynesian is fabulous. It's a heavily themed tiki bar with fun effects, hilarious bartenders and servers and fantastic drinks and food. It is so much fun it's ridiculous.

You guys are going to have a wonderful time!

 

[Weather_Lady]

Yes, a half-day at HS is enough!

Just to give you an idea of how much you can do there - on our last visit to HS, in 5 leisurely hours which included a snack break and potty stops (on a day with moderate crowd levels), we did: Rock 'N Rollercoaster, Tower of Terror (FP+), Toy Story Midway Mania (FP+), Muppets 4D, the Great Movie Ride, the Frozen Singalong, Star Tours (FP+), and lunch at PizzeRizzo, saw the March of the First Order, and spent at least 90 minutes at the Star Wars launch bay, seeing the film and all of the exhibits, and visiting the Chewbacca and Kylo Ren meet-and-greets and the gift shop. (In other words, we skipped all other characters, and the live shows, but otherwise did just about everything in the park other than "One Man's Dream," which my MIL visited while we were in the Launch Bay.)

 

[Allym146]

Are you planning on resting at the resort and then returning to the same park in the afternoon that you visited in the morning? Just curious since you mentioned park hopper but have 1 park a day in your plans.

 

[DiSnEyF@n]

Personally, I'd do a half day at AK. I find it to be the most exhausting park and it always feels extra hot.

It really depends on your priorities though. I love Star Wars, so that I'd much rather spend more time at DHS. My DS is also Star Wars obsessed and can't stop talking about the Jedi Training Academy.

My best advice is not to worry over missing things, that is inevitable, but your family will enjoy it either way. Plus, it's a great excuse to take another trip soon!

I second the half day for AK instead of HS

 

[LadyBirdV]

I would do HS as the short day , even as a Star Wars fan. I feel like there just isn't that much to do there at the moment to justify any more than ~5 hours, assuming you FP+ properly.
We usually do TWO days at AK (but shorter ones ~5 hours each), so definitely don't agree on that one being a half-day park, but my kids love animals and we are into eco-touring when we travel, so it's actually our favorite park.
Re : Parents Night Out - if you don't end up getting Park Hoppers , you could go back to HS that night and go to the Hollywood Brown Derby for dinner and drinks. Or head to Jiko or Sanaa for dinner at Animal Kingdom Lodge and drinks at Victoria Falls and check out that resort. Or Artist Point at Wilderness Lodge is very good as well.