2 Days, 3 Parks

[Princess Leia]

I'm planning a trip for next January with a group of people in their mid-20s. We plan to spend a full day at Magic Kingdom, and then use a Park Hopper for the second day, splitting it between Epcot and a third park. Would Animal Kingdom or Hollywood Studios be the better choice? One of the other girls and I have been keeping up with the goings-on at Disney (this will be my first trip since 2008, and her first since 2013, I think), and at Epcot, we both are mostly focused on spending time at the World Showcase.

 

[JasonDeyoung]

Hmm I'd prob do Ak unless ur a Star Wars fan then do studios. AK has a few more things to do plus it's now open late at night.

 

[morningstar]

I'm thinking HS. If you want some variety, you're gonna be sightseeing without many rides in WS, and HS is better if you need a thrill ride fix. You can ride RnRC and ToT, and ride Star Tours several times. It's like a different ride every time. It's also a more convenient hop between HS and World Showcase. You can take the boat at the International Gateway.

I think it's hard to do AK in a rush. If you want to do rides it would only be like Dinosaur and EE. Everything else you'd waste a lot of time just walking there. If you want to see animals, it's no fun being in a rush. Then it's just like, "Yep, saw that one. Check." You want to longer awhile and watch what they do.

 

[zeebs758]

I would do Epcot and Hollywood Studios. It is easier to travel from one to the other. It's nice walking to the Boardwalk and taking the boat over to HS or vice versa

 

[jrogue]

I'm 28 here and was just at WDW for the first time since 2013! Normally my family doesn't spend very much time in the Animal Kingdom and would say do HS, but we did the AK at night this time and would highly recommend doing that. We were able to ride every major attraction, eat, and wander around a bit from 6pm onward. Everest, Dinosaur, and the Safari were all walk-ons while everyone else was lining up for the Jungle Book show, so I imagine that will still be the case when Rivers of Light opens. I'd say AK all the way!

 

[Princess Leia]

Thanks! We're at a bit of an impass, since I'd rather see shows at HS (and finally do Tower of Terror and Rock n Roller Coaster), and one of my friends wants to see animals at AK. Unfortunately, neither park will have the next big attractions ready by the time we visit (Pandora and TSLand/Star Wars). Growing up, both MGM and AK were half day parks. I remember just walking around sort of aimlessly at MGM in the afternoon. Ditto with AK. If we had the time, we probably would have done a full day at Epcot, and then the third day between HS and AK, but we're planning on spending Day 3 at Islands of Adventure and Universal (or it could be Day 2, we haven't sorted it all out yet). But even Epcot feels lacking now.
The proximity between HS and Epcot is a major plus though.

 

[Princess Leia]

We've decided to postpone the trip until Fall 2017 so we can see Pandora, so it's looking like Animal Kingdom will be park #3 instead of HS.

 

[LuvtheGoof]

We've decided to postpone the trip until Fall 2017 so we can see Pandora, so it's looking like Animal Kingdom will be park #3 instead of HS.

Don't get your hopes up. There is no guarantee at all that Pandora will be open by then.

 

[Princess Leia]

Don't get your hopes up. There is no guarantee at all that Pandora will be open by then.

We're not setting the date in stone yet, but we're thinking late September. I've heard both Earth Day and June for possible opening dates, so September feels at least a little reasonable. Personally, I think it'll probably be open in June (I don't think Disney wants to risk opening early a la Frozen again).

 

[LuvtheGoof]

We're not setting the date in stone yet, but we're thinking late September. I've heard both Earth Day and June for possible opening dates, so September feels at least a little reasonable. Personally, I think it'll probably be open in June (I don't think Disney wants to risk opening early a la Frozen again).

Where have you heard that? It is behind schedule already, so I think even fall is questionable.