Easiest park to get through?

[Livelovedisney]

Hello all. Our kids are 5 and 2. Since we now have 5 day ticket I was wondering is there a park where we can get through in half a day? I know that at animal kingdom there's only like 3 rides for them. However, it seems like hollywood and epcot has shows or interactive activities with them.

 

[SAV]

You can "get through" any park in a half day if you want to. But if you rush through them you will be missing a lot. Especially for first timers(that I am assuming you are).

Animal Kingdom has great shows to see. Trails to walk. The Boneyard for them to explore and play in, The Oasis to explore and hidden gems all around.

DHS can be stretched to a full day by taking in the smaller attractions and the shows.

Epcot has Innoventions in Future World and shows in the World Showcase.

MK is, well MK. Will definitely take you a full day plus.

With kids of that age, I would simply plan a full day at each park and then a second day at Magic Kingdom. Then you can always call an audible on that last day and do whatever you want to do based on how the 4 previous days went.

WDW is big and exhausting, so I would plan the Animal Kingdom day in the middle of the stay so you can get a break because it closes the earliest.

 

[Tom]

If you have 5-day tickets, why do you need a park that you can do in a half day? I'm confused.

Add the Park-Hopper option, then begin each day at one of the four parks. Do as much as you can, or care to do, then hop to another park if you want.

And even if you spent an entire day in one park, that's 4 days. Your 5th day could be spent hopping around the parks to do your favorite attractions over again.

If you're asking because you know the kids will crash and need a nap, you can still do a park through lunch time, head back to the room, then head back over to a park after naps.

 

[rsoxguy]

With young children, in order of least time consuming:

1. DHS. Fewer "kiddie" rides, the available shows are not too lengthy, and a good percentage of the property has been rendered useless.
2. DAK. Plenty of walking, several activities and shows, but less to keep a younger mind entertained in today's world.
3. EPCOT. A lot of ground to cover, plenty of lines, more time consuming.
4. MK. Well, duh...

 

[Livelovedisney]

You can "get through" any park in a half day if you want to. But if you rush through them you will be missing a lot. Especially for first timers(that I am assuming you are).

Animal Kingdom has great shows to see. Trails to walk. The Boneyard for them to explore and play in, The Oasis to explore and hidden gems all around.

DHS can be stretched to a full day by taking in the smaller attractions and the shows.

Epcot has Innoventions in Future World and shows in the World Showcase.

MK is, well MK. Will definitely take you a full day plus.

With kids of that age, I would simply plan a full day at each park and then a second day at Magic Kingdom. Then you can always call an audible on that last day and do whatever you want to do based on how the 4 previous days went.

WDW is big and exhausting, so I would plan the Animal Kingdom day in the middle of the stay so you can get a break because it closes the earliest.

haha...my husband said animal kingdom for the middle day too, but we still need a park for the 1st day we arrive so we can use at least 1 ticket. I know MK is going to be the 2nd and last day, and Holly will be the 3rd day. Before I got the extra ticket the morning we really didn't think we would be going to epcot and we still wanna check out disney downtown too. Plus I made an appointment for my little girl there for the boutique.

 

[Chef Mickey]

1) Make sure you get Park Hopper

2) 5 day ticket will allow enough time at all 4 parks

3) I'd spend 2 full days at MK, 1 day at EPCOT, most of a day at AK and back to MK at night, and a partial day at HS, hopping back to anything you missed.

Hollywood Studios has plenty for kids:

The 5 year old will enjoy Indiana Jones show, Little Mermaid, Toy Story, Great Movie Ride, Muppets, Star Tours, Lights Motors Action, and Fantasmic. You'll miss a lot if you're just worried about what the 2 year old can do. I'm guessing you and your husband will trade off.

With 5 days, there is no reason to really skip and entire park.

Downtown Disney is boring...IMO. It's just shopping and with a short 5 day trip, I'd say skip that.

 

[Livelovedisney]

If you have 5-day tickets, why do you need a park that you can do in a half day? I'm confused.

Add the Park-Hopper option, then begin each day at one of the four parks. Do as much as you can, or care to do, then hop to another park if you want.

And even if you spent an entire day in one park, that's 4 days. Your 5th day could be spent hopping around the parks to do your favorite attractions over again.

If you're asking because you know the kids will crash and need a nap, you can still do a park through lunch time, head back to the room, then head back over to a park after naps.

Well we're trying not to use park hopper. Plus I think it would be really hard moving the kids around. I don't know how enjoyable that would be. Since they're young I'm sure by the time it hits 2 or 3 they'll be ready for a nap. My little ones likes to wake up early and will be up around 7 or 8 (sometimes 6). Plus there's so much to do in one park. I would rather to to conquer one park a day. I feel like we are on a time crunch on this trip.

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

You can get through any of the 4 main parks in less than an hour in a Hummer or Chieftan tank

 

[Ginzuishou]

hmmmmmm, wait until they are in their teens and take them to Chuck E. Cheese now instead

 

[disneygirl1]

We can usually breeze thru AK in a 1/2 day. We have been there so many times, that we know the attractions/shows we want to hit, get them done and we are on our way. But, I agree with PPs, there is a lot of stuff to see and do at AK especially with young kids. IMO with a 5 and 2 year old, I think that DHS would be the quick park for you to get thru as there really is not that much for young children to do there.

 

[Livelovedisney]

We can usually breeze thru AK in a 1/2 day. We have been there so many times, that we know the attractions/shows we want to hit, get them done and we are on our way. But, I agree with PPs, there is a lot of stuff to see and do at AK especially with young kids. IMO with a 5 and 2 year old, I think that DHS would be the quick park for you to get thru as there really is not that much for young children to do there.

We already planed for DHS for our 3rd day and I already reserved fantasmic...my husband really wants to save AK for wedsneday but we also have a dinner reservation for ohana on our 1st day as well. I really want to just do epcot and move the reservation to wedsneday night, but since it's so far from now he's never in the mood to talk about it.

 

[BrerJon]

The 5 year old will enjoy Indiana Jones show, Little Mermaid, Toy Story, Great Movie Ride, Muppets, Star Tours, Lights Motors Action, and Fantasmic. You'll miss a lot if you're just worried about what the 2 year old can do. I'm guessing you and your husband will trade off.

Although for adults DHS feels almost abandoned and devoid of attractions, for families with kids it's good as there are lots of shows with high kid appeal - Magic of Animation, Little Mermaid, Disney Junior, Beauty and the Beast, plus I know a five year old who loved Tower of Terror and Rock'n'Roller Coaster too, so when little kids are involved it really is a full day park.

Despite that I'd say it's the easiest just because crowds are lower and it's smaller, so less walking/strolling than at other parks, and most of the time you're sitting watching shows instead of standing in lines.

One thing you don't seem to mention is a water park - I would think Typhoon or Blizzard are probably the easiest parks on property if we're including everything.

 

[stephbreynolds]

I would say Epcot based solely on the age of your kids. There isn't that much to do for that age group.

 

[Livelovedisney]

Thanks for all the replies everyone. We really have a lot to consider. We're still not 100% sure of what we're going to do just yet. But I agree Stephbreyoplds, I think Epcot would be more of a half day park for us, but even then I wouldn't want to miss the fire works at night. We have to switch our plans around now.

 

[Daniel Johnson]

Yea, I thought we could burn through ak in a half day. But I get stuck in details. We now regulate our MK trips to one day, though, I usually get a ticket for another day and go spend it at MK by myself. My wife gets bored quick. We haul each park in a day, cramming every ride and show...my wife usually sleeps on the 5th day until noon or 2...while I wonder MK.
Good luck. I've never experienced disney with kids, we don't have any...again. Good luck!

 

[raven]

Just a fun fact: I was on Seven Dwarfs Mine Train last Wednesday when Wishes started and was out of the front gate by the time it ended

 

[stephbreynolds]

If you have a later flight, I would go to epcot after you arrive. You can fast-paced the fireworks and some of the rides for smaller kids. The world showcase is my favorite part of Disneyworld but it 's very spread out. My two kids (5 and 3) refuse to use stroller so it isn't a good idea for us.

 

[RMichael21]

Here's my recommendations:

I would say that you should spend 2 full days at the Magic Kingdom, 1 at Animal Kingdom and 1 at Hollywood Studios. I would reserve a full day for Epcot, but you could spend the Early morning there, head back to the hotel for a swim at the pool and a nap, and then return for dinner and the fireworks.

For 5 days, here's what I would recommend:

Day 1: Magic Kingdom
- You have reservations at Ohana, so it'll be easiest to arrive, maximizing your park time. Also, Magic kingdom is always a great first Disney park for the little kids.

Day 2: Animal Kingdom
-I know people said to put it in the middle, but it's a good park to do after a long day at MK

Day 3: Hollywood Studios
- You already have Fantasmic reserved, so I won't change that around

Day 4: Epcot
- I nice nap and swim in between the morning and late night would be nice after a long few days for your kids.

Day 5: Magic Kingdom
- It's always nice to finish a magical tip with the Magic kingdom!


No matter how you plan it, I know you'll have a wonderful time!

 

[Livelovedisney]

Here's my recommendations:

I would say that you should spend 2 full days at the Magic Kingdom, 1 at Animal Kingdom and 1 at Hollywood Studios. I would reserve a full day for Epcot, but you could spend the Early morning there, head back to the hotel for a swim at the pool and a nap, and then return for dinner and the fireworks.

For 5 days, here's what I would recommend:

Day 1: Magic Kingdom
- You have reservations at Ohana, so it'll be easiest to arrive, maximizing your park time. Also, Magic kingdom is always a great first Disney park for the little kids.

Day 2: Animal Kingdom
-I know people said to put it in the middle, but it's a good park to do after a long day at MK

Day 3: Hollywood Studios
- You already have Fantasmic reserved, so I won't change that around

Day 4: Epcot
- I nice nap and swim in between the morning and late night would be nice after a long few days for your kids.

Day 5: Magic Kingdom
- It's always nice to finish a magical tip with the Magic kingdom!


No matter how you plan it, I know you'll have a wonderful time!

Thank you for your suggestion Rmichael21. I talked to my husband about it and we are moving everything around now, which is fine. Day 1 we are doing MK and CRT. Day 2 we are doing AK and doing ohana really late at night but that's okay since we plan to be done with AK around 3 or 4 hope that when we get back to the resort the kids will take a late nap and be ready for dinner. Day 3 Epcot mainly because DHS has magic hour and i just don't want to be there with a ton of people. Day 4 DHS with fantasmic dinner. Day 5 as much as MK before we get super exhausted.