Give Me Guidance on Park Days

[DisneyMomD]

We are going for 6 days this June (5 full days, 1 half day). Here is our itinerary:

Saturday - DHS (Star Wars Weekend)
Sunday - Epcot
Monday - Magic Kingdom
Tuesday - Rest
Wednesday Magic Kingdom
Thursday - ??
Friday - Rest
Saturday - ??

We are trying to decide whether to do another full day in Epcot and a half day at Animal Kingdom or full day at Animal Kingdom and half day in Epcot.

We have two kids, DD 9, DS 5

Any insight you have would be appreciated!!

 

[disneygirl76]

We are going for 6 days this June (5 full days, 1 half day). Here is our itinerary:

Saturday - DHS (Star Wars Weekend)
Sunday - Epcot
Monday - Magic Kingdom
Tuesday - Rest
Wednesday Magic Kingdom
Thursday - ??
Friday - Rest
Saturday - ??

We are trying to decide whether to do another full day in Epcot and a half day at Animal Kingdom or full day at Animal Kingdom and half day in Epcot.

We have two kids, DD 9, DS 5

Any insight you have would be appreciated!!

I would do AK for a day with a half day at Epcot. I think the itinerary looks great! I think kids will prefer a day at AK I think over another whole day at Epcot.

 

[SAV]

Based on a crowd calendar at easy wdw:

Saturday is going to be crowded at SWW, but I assume you expected that.

Your Sunday pick is a most recommended day for Epcot, so keep that one.

In general, Mondays at MK are usually more crowded because people arrive and start their trips at MK. Monday is a great day for AK or to use that as your "rest" day.

Tuesday is actually the lower crowd days for all of the parks except Epcot, so maybe make Monday your "rest" day and go somewhere that day.

Wednesday is a most recommended day for MK, so you are good there.

Thursday is good for Epcot and AK.

Friday(while SWW is going on) is good for MK & AK.

 

[TXDisney]

Epcot is our favorite park. We normally do 2 Epcot days, 2 MK days, 1 HS and 1 AK.

 

[JohnD]

I would do AK for a day with a half day at Epcot. I think the itinerary looks great! I think kids will prefer a day at AK I think over another whole day at Epcot.

Agree. MK and AK are the most "kid friendly" parks. To OP, definitely plan on a "full day" in AK no matter when that full day may end which still could be anywhere between 3:00 and 5:00 pm or later. AK is more than just rides. You also have the animal trails and shows. You'll be surprised at the amount you can accomplish in AK if you plan a leisurely day exploring rather than a 1/2 day in "commando" style doing just "rides."

Here's a sample itinerary (mine):

FP+ Kilimanjaro Safaris (9:15 AM - 10:15 AM)
Pangani Trail (10:15 or earlier depending on when you get out of Safaris - 10:45 AM)
FP+ Festival of the Lion King (11:00 AM show, 30 minutes)
Lunch: Flame Tree BBQ (11:45 - 12:45)
Tough To Be A Bug (12:45 - 1:45)
Flight of Wonder (1:45 PM Show, 25 minutes)
Maharajah Jungle Trek (2:15 - 3:00 pm)
FP+ Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain (2:55 PM - 3:55 PM)
Finding Nemo (4:00 pm show, 45 minutes)
Dinosaur, extra FP+ or standby (5:00 pm or later)
Yak & Yeti Restaurant (6:00 PM)

I left out Rapids from my itinerary as I got soaked last time. If you want to do it, be sure to bring ponchos. You'll be grateful you have them.

 

[SAV]

As for the other part of your question, I would definitely plan for a full day at AK. You can get through any park quickly if you want to, but there is a lot to see and do at AK. Get your Safari FP+ for as close to rope drop as you can since the animals are out and most active in the morning. Then I would suggest you get one for Kali River Rapids and Expedition Everest. Then you can just do Stand-by or an additional FP+ for Festival of the Lion King and/or Finding Nemo the musical since those are both shows in larger buildings. Don't forget to catch Flights of Wonder as well. You can always do walk-up for It's tough to be a Bug underneath the Tree of Life. Spend time in Dinoland. Your DS5 will probably love the boneyard.

And since you are going in June and it will probably be at least 90 degrees and a lot of humidity, forget the poncho's and get WET on Kali. It really cools you off.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I think an entire day for rest is a total waste, especially with how cheap it is to add days to multi-day tickets. Rather than going theme-park-commando on your park days and then taking days off in between, I'd humbly suggest taking things at a slower pace each day but not taking any one day completely "off".

 

[Weather_Lady]

I agree with @CaptainAmerica. Every day you add to your ticket is significantly less expensive than the first few. (The price difference between a 4-day adult ticket and a 6-day adult ticket, for example, is about $22!) Rather than going "feast or famine" and trying to cover parks in a single day, why not adopt a more balanced schedule each day? We like to arrive before rope drop and tour for about 4 hours, and thanks to the lowest crowds of the day and a good touring plan, we get more done in the first 2-3 hours than we could the whole rest of the day put together. We have a CS lunch, and as the crowds and heat are building to their most uncomfortable point, we're heading back to our resort for naps, and sometimes a swim, too. (Our kids are "too old" for naps and DH and I don't ever take naps at home, but at WDW, we find we all need them, and they leave us all cooled down and fully-recharged!) We don't head back to a park until at least 4pm, and we generally leave by 9pm, so the kids can get back to bed at a decent hour (except for the last night, when we all stay up late). Our evening touring is at a more relaxed pace: that's when we have the bulk of our FP+ scheduled, and we like to have a table service dinner during that time, too.

Structuring our days this way (with two 4-5 hour "touring sessions" and one 3-hour break) each day, we all stay well-rested and in good humor, and can cover 80-100% of each park with:

Magic Kingdom - 4 half-day sessions (doing every possible attraction, including Tom Sawyer Island)
Epcot - 2 or 3 half-day sessions (the number just depends on whether we want to see every film and pavilion in World Showcase or just some of them, and whether we want to do Ellen's Energy Adventure and the Innoventions buildings in Future World)
Hollywood Studios - 1 or 2 half-day sessions (depending on whether we want to see just a couple of live shows, or all of them)
Animal Kingdom - 1 or 2 half-day sessions (depending on whether we want to see all of the live shows and walk all of the trails, or just do a couple of each)

 

[JohnD]

Okay. I'll grant a half-day in AK makes sense if you intend to spread out what you want to do over two days. However, if you only plan on being in AK on just one day in your itinerary, then I recommend spending the whole day there rather than a commando-style half-day.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Magic Kingdom - 4 half-day sessions (doing every possible attraction, including Tom Sawyer Island)
Epcot - 2 or 3 half-day sessions (depending on whether we want to see every film in World Showcase, and do Ellen's Energy Adventure and the Innoventions buildings in Future World)
Hollywood Studios - 1 or 2 half-day sessions (depending on whether we want to see just a couple of live shows, or all of them)
Animal Kingdom - 1 or 2 half-day sessions (depending on whether we want to see all of the live shows and walk all of the trails, or just do a couple of each)

That's about how mine breaks out, but we're a tad more DAK-heavy. DAK is really the only park we'll do open-to-close (since it closes so early). That day, we usually go to bed early rather than nap in between two shorter park sessions.

Okay. I'll grant a half-day in AK makes sense if you intend to spread out what you want to do over two days. However, if you only plan on being in AK on just one day in your itinerary, then I recommend spending the whole day there rather than a commando-style half-day.

At least. Depending on the season you go (and therefore the operating hours), you might need a day and a half to do all of DAK at a leisurely pace. That assumes you go to the shows (the two best "free" shows at WDW IMO) and take your time on the trails.

 

[Jessica Meier]

We plan on doing our first day at MK which closes at 7pm. Contemplating HS that evening but may just do the pool and watch a movie. Epcot next day all day and evening. Rides and M&G all day and evening. HS the next day, stay for Fantasmic if we don't do it first night. AK next day with MK at night. Take a nap in between to enjoy EMH at MK. Epcot after sleeping in a bit and possible park hop to any others we want to visit. MK our last day and will either crash or park hop or shop our last night since MK closes at 7.

 

[zeebs758]

I would try to go with a full day at Animal Kingdom especially with the little ones. I think there is a lot more to enjoy and do for kids at Animal Kingdom.

Also, I would take a whole day off just for rest. I would take the morning and early afternoon off then go visit a park later for dinner and night time entertainment