Epcot or MK at night? Which would you choose?

[ilovepluto23]

My next trip is not until January 2007, but I can't stop thinking about it...too excited!

Anyways, my friend and I are going to do one full day at the Magic Kingdom. The next day we are going to MGM in the am, and either MK or Epcot that evening. We don't know which one to pick! We both love MK and Epcot equally!

We are trying to also base it off of restaurants: Akershus in Norway at Epcot and Liberty Tree Tavern Character Dinner at MK are our two biggest choices.

We are also considering just having counter service for dinner.

Based on all of this...which would you pick?

 

[wannabeBelle]

gotcha...........although I always make it a point to spend some time in MGM on any trip as I love Mulch, Sweat & Shears and the 50' Prime Time is one of my favorite restaurants in Disneyworld. Belle

 

[ilovepluto23]

gotcha...........although I always make it a point to spend some time in MGM on any trip as I love Mulch, Sweat & Shears and the 50' Prime Time is one of my favorite restaurants in Disneyworld. Belle

MGM is my 3rd favorite park...but ToT is my FAVORITE ride! So I have to fit in a trip to MGM for ToT and the Rockin' Roller Coaster.
50's Prime Time Cafe makes me really uncomfortable, but the rest of my family loves it. I guess to each his own!

 

[Darwin]

Have you ever had dinner at Crystal Palace? Muy Bueno! It's a huge buffet with Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, and Eyore walking around. It's in the MK.

 

[HoW]

I'm going to side with the others on this one. While I absolutely love MK at night (especially Cinderella Castle and the lights of Tomorrowland), and LTT is always a fun meal with the characters (not to mention the food), but, if you've already had a full day in MK then World Showcase is not to be missed for a fantastic evening.

 

[ilovepluto23]

Have you ever had dinner at Crystal Palace? Muy Bueno! It's a huge buffet with Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, and Eyore walking around. It's in the MK.

I've heard good things about Crystal Palace but Pooh bear and friends kinda keeps me away. Pooh bear = screaming kids.

 

[ilovepluto23]

I'm going to side with the others on this one. While I absolutely love MK at night (especially Cinderella Castle and the lights of Tomorrowland), and LTT is always a fun meal with the characters (not to mention the food), but, if you've already had a full day in MK then World Showcase is not to be missed for a fantastic evening.

But I forgot to add that I will be doing a Full day at Epcot too! There's where the dilema comes in!!! :hammer:

 

[Braves323]

MK is by far my favorite park at night. The castle is beautiful and Main Street is all lit up. Wishes is by far my favorite nighttime show. I gave Illuminations another try last month when I was at WDW but IMO it doesnt hold a candle to the MK. Maybe that is because I have been going to WDW since I was a little girl and named my cat Cinderella when I was five.
I would agree with those that are saying the food at Epcot is better if you want to sit down and relax for awhile after a long day in the parks. Good luck in your decision. You cant go wrong no matter what you choose.

 

[ssidiouss@mac.c]

My next trip is not until January 2007, but I can't stop thinking about it...too excited!

Anyways, my friend and I are going to do one full day at the Magic Kingdom. The next day we are going to MGM in the am, and either MK or Epcot that evening. We don't know which one to pick! We both love MK and Epcot equally!

We are trying to also base it off of restaurants: Akershus in Norway at Epcot and Liberty Tree Tavern Character Dinner at MK are our two biggest choices.

We are also considering just having counter service for dinner.

Based on all of this...which would you pick?

First of all.. you have to do both parks at night because they are both so amazing looking at night!!!

If you have a full day at magic kingdom then you already should be seeing that at night on thay day. The second day where you go to MGM.. catch the boat outside of MGM that takes you to Epcot.. it fits perfectly.. and the boat ride is so nice.

What I would do is :

Day ONE:

Magic Kindgom DAY
Libery Tree Taven DINNER (or Ohanas across the water there which will give a nice halftime break)
Magic Kingdom NIGHT

DAY TWO:

mgm DAY (tower of terror, etc)
Boat to Epcot
Germany DINNER
Epcot NIGHT (Fireworks, etc)

-=-=->> Try to set it up where you do one or the other on its scheduled extra magic hours at night. Because having 3 extra hours to walk around and just enjoy the sight of the park at night is priceless!! :sohappy: :sohappy:

 

[ilovepluto23]

First of all.. you have to do both parks at night because they are both so amazing looking at night!!!

If you have a full day at magic kingdom then you already should be seeing that at night on thay day. The second day where you go to MGM.. catch the boat outside of MGM that takes you to Epcot.. it fits perfectly.. and the boat ride is so nice.

What I would do is :

Day ONE:

Magic Kindgom DAY
Libery Tree Taven DINNER (or Ohanas across the water there which will give a nice halftime break)
Magic Kingdom NIGHT

DAY TWO:

mgm DAY (tower of terror, etc)
Boat to Epcot
Germany DINNER
Epcot NIGHT (Fireworks, etc)

-=-=->> Try to set it up where you do one or the other on its scheduled extra magic hours at night. Because having 3 extra hours to walk around and just enjoy the sight of the park at night is priceless!! :sohappy: :sohappy:

Many problems with this set up for me.

1) I don't like boats. They scare me.

2) my best friend hates Biergarten in Germany. Good taste in restaurants though, I LOVE Biergarten!

3) Day one Magic Kingdom we are going to the Contemporary to eat dinner at Chef Mickey's (never been there, and I LOVE character dining...you're never too old for characters).

Thanks for the input though! I appreciate it! I really should have said I have a full day at Epcot planned as the last day. Oops!

 

[BizlovesDisney]

Norway was amazing, and I love it. But I would vote MK, at night it is so much fun. But both are amazing.

 

[Interruption?]

My next trip is not until January 2007, but I can't stop thinking about it...too excited!

Anyways, my friend and I are going to do one full day at the Magic Kingdom. The next day we are going to MGM in the am, and either MK or Epcot that evening. We don't know which one to pick! We both love MK and Epcot equally!

We are trying to also base it off of restaurants: Akershus in Norway at Epcot and Liberty Tree Tavern Character Dinner at MK are our two biggest choices.

We are also considering just having counter service for dinner.

Based on all of this...which would you pick?

Ohhhh, that is a REALLY tough choice.

I love Epcot, and I love the Magic Kingdom. I love them both equally, but for different reasons.

There's no denying that no matter where you are in the Magic Kingdom at night, it will be beautiful, but it's a different kind of beautiful than Epcot. The Magic Kingdom is much more intimate than Epcot. With Epcot, when you're in World showcase, you feel like you're at a World's Fair. It's big and it's grand, and there's certainly no shortage of beauty. I, personally, am megalomaniacal, and I absolutely love grandeur, so I would have to pick Epcot in terms of nighttime aesthetics. In Epcot, you really feel the pulse of humanity all around you, whereas Magic Kingdom feels more like an enchantment, and has an otherworldly quality to it.

As far as dining goes, Epcot wins, hands down. The best meal I've ever had on Disney property was at the Teppanyaki Dining Room in Japan. The only place I really love and want to return to in Magic Kingdom is the Columbia Harbour House, only because it holds memories for me. (See my Trip Report, entitled "Oh the Glorious Countdown" or read the report entries in my LJ).

That leaves nighttime shows. I'm stumped on that choice. It all depends on what you like better. Wishes! just makes you feel good all over. It makes you believe in magic again, and it makes you feel like a little kid. IllumiNations gives you this feeling of awe and wonder. It makes you proud to be a human being, and it's a very moving show. I really don't know which one to pick.

So my final choice is: Disney Studios :lookaroun I have no idea which of the two to pick. Lol.

 

[KaliSplash]

Ok, I read through the whole thread so I know you are going to both parks. Therefore the question is, which park is better at night.

The Magic Kingdom.

I love Epcot at night. (although I've never gotten Illuminations, ROE).
The Magic Kingdom, on the other hand, is the single best place to be in the world. And while I love the Main Street Electrical Parade more than any other parade in the history of the world, SpectroMagic is better than Illuminations, in my opinion. Plus, you get Wishes! Plus, you get Magic, Plus you get etc.etc. etc.

Are there better restaurants in Epcot, absolutely. But if your decision is about more than food, there is no question where you need to be.

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

Of your two alternatives I'd have to pick EPCOT - purely because of Illuminations at the end of the night

 

[ypcat]

Day one Magic Kingdom we are going to the Contemporary to eat dinner at Chef Mickey's (never been there, and I LOVE character dining...you're never too old for characters).

I've heard good things about Crystal Palace but Pooh bear and friends kinda keeps me away. Pooh bear = screaming kids.

These two restaraunts attract the same age range. I wouldn't discount Crystal Palace. We went there for our honeymoon, and I don't remember it being loud at all. We also went later in the evening.

 

[ilovepluto23]

These two restaraunts attract the same age range. I wouldn't discount Crystal Palace. We went there for our honeymoon, and I don't remember it being loud at all. We also went later in the evening.

I'm not a big fan of Pooh bear anyways, I'd rather see Mickey

 

[Darwin]

These two restaraunts attract the same age range. I wouldn't discount Crystal Palace. We went there for our honeymoon, and I don't remember it being loud at all. We also went later in the evening.

Well, ilovepluto23, looks like you've recieved a lot of great advice (as well a myself, thanks ya'll :wave So it looks like you're going to have to flip a coin to decide. One last thing on Crystal Palace, I know what you mean about screaming kids but like ypcat said, I don't think it was bad. Maybe we got lucky. But we also got a picture of all four characters together with us and one of the servers said that you probably wouldn't ever get a picture like that again. Again, maybe we just got lucky.

I also agree that Spectromagic is spectacular. It's great music and so fun with everything lit up. It's a more "magical" parade. I still put in my two cents for dining at EPCOT and watch Illuminations. It's more an "emotional" feeling to it. But you can't loose with either.