animal kingdom or Epcot?

jenne03

New Member
Original Poster
I hope I have posted this in the right place! I need help...We are a fam of 5 (12, 7, 5) going to disney the first week in November.

We have a 4 day MYW pass..no hopper option...We are scheduling MK, DHS and AK...with the 4th day probably going back to MK.

We originally had scheduled AK..but when my husband and I went..we didn't like it. We thought it was kind of boring actually. And I thought we got through it in a half a day. Now we are re thinking whether we should go to Epcot...but again..I didn't like Epcot when I was younger... I only appreciated it more when we got older...

So I just don't know what to do? Any suggestions? Which park would you go to ?
 

jonnyc

Well-Known Member
I would go to AK, but I don't 'get' Epcot. I didn't when i was younger i still don't now.

When was the last time you went to AK? Did they have EE?
 

tigsmom

Well-Known Member
I used to feel the same way about AK and then I took the time to really visit each spot and take it all in. I personally would skip DHS and do MK, EPCOT and AK; I would also spend another day in MK as it's always been my favorite. :eek:
 

miles1

Active Member
I would have to choose EPCOT. While I'd hate to give up visiting any park, AK can be done in half to three quarters of a day. EPCOT has more to offer for your day's admission, more dining options, and later hours. If you go early in the AM, you could always take a break for a swim during the day and go back in the late afternoon, then catch Illuminations. While AK is very interesting, you run out of things to do by 3 PM or so, and there's no evening entertainment for later. In fact, some attractions will start to close early by November since it gets dark earlier.

They have added at lot at EPCOT to keep the younger kids interested over the years, like Nemo and Kidcot stops, and some of the rides have a few more thrills like Test Track and MS. It's definitely not the same park as it was ten or fifteen years ago (that can be good or bad depending on your POV), and my kids (14 and 8 last trip) definitely enjoyed it as much as the other parks last trip.

I hope this helps.
 

jenne03

New Member
Original Poster
What is EE? We went to AK when probably about 5 years ago. My itinerary is:
Day 1=MK with res at cinderellas castle for dinner
day 2=AK with res at Boma for dinner
day 3=HS with res at mama melrose
day4= seaworld
day 5= MK with Crystal Palace res

So if I throw in Epcot..that will probably also change my dinner plans since I have heard great things about Askerhaus<sp?>. And I know Epcot has great places to eat..I just am not sure about the entertainment it will provide my kids. I never got Epcot either..I always thought of it kind of like an educational school field trip. However, illuminations is pretty..and I didn't think of that..
 

smk

Well-Known Member
I used to feel the same way about AK and then I took the time to really visit each spot and take it all in. I personally would skip DHS and do MK, EPCOT and AK; I would also spend another day in MK as it's always been my favorite. :eek:

Ditto.

We have rarely gone to WDW and not gone to Epcot, never gone and left out MK, but I could go tomorrow and leave HS off my list and not even blink. It really is an individual choice and it sounds like you have already made ADR for places you want to eat, why not just leave one day open for whatever your family decides to do on that day? Then again, I hate over planning and we don't make ADR's for that very reason. I may be missing some good food but to me the parks are more fun than eating. :shrug: We were lucky in one respect thou, we could go to any WDW park and find fun, even HS, we just had to look harder there.
 

wolf359

Well-Known Member
That's a hard choice for me, since I love both EPCOT and Animal Kingdom.

The trick to understanding Animal Kingdom is knowing it is so much more than just rides. The animal exhibits are all outstanding and I think the core experience when visiting the park. I think visiting the animal exhibits, seeing the Lion King and Nemo shows, AND riding the rides easily makes Animal Kingdom a "full day" park.

EPCOT has a lot going for it, and I think it would fill an entire day more easily, especially since it has so many more obvious attractions. In recent years they've also added more smaller attractions and experiences for younger children which could make EPCOT a good choice.

I also agree with Tigsmom that you may be better off skipping Hollywood Studios. The Studios two biggest attractions (Tower of Terror and Rock N' Rollercoaster) would leave your two youngest unable to ride, and I don't think that park really has much else aimed at younger kids beyond MuppetVision and Toy Story Mania.

So my personal recommendation would be two days at Magic Kingdom, with a day each at EPCOT and Animal Kingdom.
 

jenne03

New Member
Original Poster
I personally could skip DHS studios easily..my dh wants to go. I think it is his substitution for Universal..even though it is clearly not the same. We make adr's because this is the first time we have ever done the dining plan and eaten at any of these places..The times we went before ..we just winged it. But we wanted to try something new(foodwise) new this time..

I guess I could make a list of the attractions at each park and put it out to my family...although I am sure we won't come to a consensus:ROFLOL:

Hmm that is definitely something to consider..Maybe DHS isn't the right place
 

bg0617

New Member
I enjoy both parks and always go to both when I visit WDW, however I only spend half a day at AK when I visit there, spending the other half at DTD. There are more attractions and restaurants at EPCOt which makes me enjoy it more than AK. however AK does have many gems, including Yak and Yeti, Everest, and the Kilimanjaro Safari.
 

Ceekling

Member
I would skip DHS and do Epcot. While DHS does have a couple of great rides, Epcot has the rides plus more. It's my 11 year old's favorite park. Try out the Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure's - they are perfect for all ages and take you to parts of the world you may not have explored before!
 

bcornette

New Member
If it were me I would skip Epcot and do AK and DHS for your kids, unless they are really into other countries and would be excited and entertained by the World Showcase, If not you are stuck in Future World which has less to offer than DHS and AK.

My 2 oldest kids are close to your 2 youngest kids age (DS7 and DD5), so I asked them for their input. They agree that they would rather go to DHS and AK over Epcot.

My kids rode everything at DHS except for Rockin Rollercoaster which my at the time 4yo DD was not tall enough, but she did ride Tower of Terror, Star Tours, and Toy Story midway Mania from open to close, plus they both love the muppets, Beauty and the Beast, the backlot tour and especially the Honey I shrunk the kids playground way more than anything at Epcot except Soarin.

For AK they rode everything last year except my daughter was scared of Dinosaur because she saw a little girl crying coming off of it and the spinning roller coaster was closed. But they love Kali, EE, and especially the safari; but my kids love animals and that may play a huge factor in thier decision. They also love the Nemo and Lion King shows.

If you are staying onsite you could try to plan AK on a evening EMH day so you get 3 extra hours. Also if you got o DHS try to go on day that has Fantasmic showing.
 

C&D

Well-Known Member
You have four days 'at the world', (and of course do what you want) but I would do each park one day. Since you seem to want to do MK twice (maybe try to schedule MK during an extended hours day).
 

Carebee21

Member
I would do AK over Epcot. We took our 5 year old son and Epcot was the worst day. It's a lot of walking and not very many rides. He was whining because he was bored and didn't like the walking.

He loved Animal Kingdom. One of the best thing we did was give him a camera and let him take pics of all of the animals in the park and on the safari ride. He thought it was the best thing ever. And yes, the park isn't big and can be done relatively quickly but it was nice to have an early evening after being out late every night.
 

Nightsbane

New Member
That's a hard choice for me, since I love both EPCOT and Animal Kingdom.

The trick to understanding Animal Kingdom is knowing it is so much more than just rides. The animal exhibits are all outstanding and I think the core experience when visiting the park. I think visiting the animal exhibits, seeing the Lion King and Nemo shows, AND riding the rides easily makes Animal Kingdom a "full day" park.

EPCOT has a lot going for it, and I think it would fill an entire day more easily, especially since it has so many more obvious attractions. In recent years they've also added more smaller attractions and experiences for younger children which could make EPCOT a good choice.

I also agree with Tigsmom that you may be better off skipping Hollywood Studios. The Studios two biggest attractions (Tower of Terror and Rock N' Rollercoaster) would leave your two youngest unable to ride, and I don't think that park really has much else aimed at younger kids beyond MuppetVision and Toy Story Mania.

So my personal recommendation would be two days at Magic Kingdom, with a day each at EPCOT and Animal Kingdom.

Yet that leaves out Star Tours, the new Star Wars stage, great movie ride, Indiana Jones ect... I hate both the rides you mentioned and am still going to DHS two days on our trip.
 

wolf359

Well-Known Member
And that's why it's hard to make recommendations...personal preferences are a big part of deciding what the "right" things to do are, so all we can really do is give opinions based on our own experiences. In my experience Animal Kingdom and EPCOT have more interesting and kid friendly attractions than Hollywood Studios.

But of course opinions will differ on what "interesting" and "kid friendly" actually are.
 

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