One afternoon...which park would you do?

[Jeff1017]

Hello everyone! Long-time lurker, first-time poster.

As luck would have it, my company is sending me to a conference on Disney property in April. Of course, my first thought was 'when can I squeeze some park time in?'. My best option appears to be Saturday 4/1 from around 2:00 pm to closing. The primary pros for each park are:
Magic Kingdom because it is Magic Kingdom and I think has the latest closing that day
Epcot: Flower and Garden
Animal Kingdom: see how many times I can take advantage of single-rider line on EE, Rivers of Light

I'm not even considering Hollywood Studios because conference attendees get free admission from park closing to midnight later in the week. So which park would you do if you only had roughly 8 hours to spend? I don't necessarily have a favorite park so I'm mainly trying to decide where I can make the best use of my time.

Thanks in advance for your input!

 

[NeedMoreMickey]

Tough choice. If I had an afternoon to closing I would take AK or Epcot. I can't wait to see Rivers of Light and I can spend a lot of time walking the trails watching the animals. I love the F&G at Epcot every year and it is good people watching. If you don't want to stay for ROE at Epcot you can take ride over to Poly or Contemporary and watch the fireworks at MK. If you are a Wishes fan maybe go to MK since Wishes is being replaced.

 

[belledream]

Ooh that's tough...three great options to choose from. I would always say MK because like you said, it's MK! But there is something to be said for a leisuirely afternoon strolling Epcot and taking in the beautiful F&G Festival. I think that tops a hectic afternoon at MK on a Saturday. But then again, I'm also very much anticipating seeing ROL...and I'm guessing you haven't seen it yet either. However, if I knew I was going back at some point, I'd wait for the rest of Pandora to open in May.

I choose...Epcot!

 

[dmatt87]

I choose Epcot - a few cool rides, going around the world and the F&G festival is a must!

 

[Jeff1017]

Thanks for the input. It really helped and made me realize that my previous trips have included my kids and World Showcase isn't their cup of tea. They typically remember it as a hot walk around a lake! This time it's just me so Epcot it is!

 

[Susan Savia]

Epcot!

 

[Beacon Joe]

That's a good choice! Enjoy.

I faced that situation once when I was randomly in FL when I was an undergrad. I had a free day, but crowds were pretty sizeable (for the time), so I went to EPCOT and spent most of my day simply poking around and relaxing at different spots in World Showcase. I only went on two rides (Horizons and Maelstrom), but it was probably one of the most fun days I've ever spent at WDW. Nowadays with kids, it's definitely a different sort of visit. My kids enjoy World Showcase, but definitely don't like to linger too long in any one spot.