Animal Kingdom and Epcot same day with park hopper?

BigHero4

Well-Known Member
I'm kicking around ideas for our next trip. It will be myself, my wife and two boys (ages 4 and 7). With two young kids, we aren't thrill seeking people, but they love Disney entertainment and smaller rides/attractions. ADR's will not be needed at either park. I'd also like to give the boys some rest around lunch time so they don't get Disney burnout.

Is it feasible to do Animal Kingdom in the morning and Epcot in the afternoon/evening?
 

sg1

Member
We're doing that very thing with a 5 and 7yo next month. We're doing AK in the morning without FP, going back to our hotel for afternoon and then we have an ADR at Mexico at 530pm. Got FP+ for Test Track, character meet and greet and Turtle Talk for the evening before Illuminations.
 
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BigHero4

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
@popcenturylover if you don't mind me asking - how old are your children, and what was your morning at AK like? Did you feel like your kids had a good time, and was this the only stop at AK during your trip?

I guess this whole topic takes a new twist once Avatar is open in 2017.
 
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popcenturylover

Well-Known Member
We had our 2 adult children, 6yr old DD, & 2yr old DGS with us. We had to split up. My DD 22 took our DGS to a few of the shows & we rode some rides that he couldn't. We did a couple of meet n' greets, the Safari, & Triceratop spin together. Our DGS LOVED all of the animals but my DD6 doesn't care to ever go back to AK!:rolleyes:
 
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JohnD

Well-Known Member
The best way for this to work is for Epcot to have evening EMH. Many finish up AK beginning mid-afternoon.

Hop to Epcot on your own schedule and stay until close. Will you get all of Epcot done? No. So choose the things you most want to do.

That's what I'm doing this Friday. AK during the day, then hopping to Epcot for Illuminations Dessert Party and evening EMH.
 
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disneyfirstLJ

Well-Known Member
During our most recent trip in April my 11 year old daughter and I did AK in the AM and Epcot in the PM. However, we had already been to Epcot prior. At AK we did the Safari, Lion King show and the Nemo show. It was raining really hard that morning so we didn't get to explore AK as much as we had wanted. We went back to our resort to relax and then went to Epcot in the afternoon/early evening. We liked having the park hopper on this trip and I would do it again.
 
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JIMINYCR

Well-Known Member
Yes we have done it before. Get in AK early, do the things we want and go to EP later. Depends on what you can afford to bypass. On those types of days we dont do Dinoland or Rafikis Planet Watch area at all and dont linger around shopping. With your younger kids they might not want to pass up certain things so it might be making other choices of what to leave behind to do EP.
 
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lostpro9het

Well-Known Member
Yes it can be done, we've done it too. IMO, book your fast passes for EC in the evening and make rope drop for AK. In the first 3 hours alone at AK you can knock out trips on dinosaur, PW, EE, catch the FoW show, walk both trails and make a safari trip, without being rushed and have some time for 2 snack breaks. It is amazing what you can ride in the first hour alone without rushing.
 
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boilerpicc

Well-Known Member
We have done this before, though we generally end up going back to both of those parks at least one more time during our trip (love park hopping!). With little kids, there isn't a lot you can do ride-wise at AK. We get there early to make sure we do the safari first thing. Then we walk around the trails, maybe catch a show or go to Rafiki's Planet Watch, and then head back to the hotel for an afternoon nap. You definitely won't be able to do everything at Epcot, but you will be able to do Figment, Spaceship Earth, and some Nemo/Turtle Talk.
 
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Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
It depends on how much you want to do at each park! With a half day at AK, you can do: (1) the Safari; (2) the two walking trails or Expedition Everest and Kali; (3) Dinosaur or Tough To Be A Bug; (4) one of the three live shows; (5) one of a character M&G, the Boneyard/Triceratop Spin, Rafiki's whatever, the Discovery Island trails, or another skipped attraction of choice; and (6) a counter-service meal. As you can see, you'll have to pick and choose, but it's certainly possible to hit the highlights in half a day (which is what my family typically does, standby only but with a rope drop arrival guaranteeing short lines, and saving our FP+ for our evening park).

As for Epcot, in one half-day you can either do the vast majority of Future World or the majority of World Showcase, or just a little bit of each. The biggest issue (potentially) is the fact that you only get one "Tier 1" FP+, so you can do Soarin' or Test Track, but not both (at least, not without a prohibitively long line). We typically spend a half-day doing most of Future World (Soarin', Living with the Land, The Seas with Nemo, Imagination, Spaceship Earth, Character Spot, Club Cool and Mission:Space -- skipping Innoventions, Ellen, the Lion King movie, Captain EO and Test Track). Another half-day is spent on World Showcase (including all the World Showcase "rides," the American Adventure and one or two of the three films in France/China/Canada), plus Test Track (either with Fastpass or just after rope drop).
 
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