Half A Day... DAK or Epcot?

[RMichael21]

Hey everyone! I have a short trip coming up at the end of July and I need some advice.

Some background... It'll just be two of us, and we love all kinds of ride and attractions (whether that be dark rides, thrill rides, etc. We ride all of them, haha). Our last trip the with both of us present was 2013, and I just went in 2015 and went to DHS/Epcot in a half day and then MK for a day. We skipped DAK because of time constraints.

On July 23rd, we arrive at WDW most likely at around 1:00 to 3:00 PM. For the past several months, we've been planning on going to DAK for our half day, with one day at MK and two days at Universal. Here's my predicament... I've heard spectacular things about the atmosphere of DAK at night. However, my concern is that there won't be much to do besides the night safari, Everest, Kali, Dinosaur and some street shows. Especially with Rivers of Light possibly not being open by then (I have absolutely zero interest in seeing the Jungle Book show), do you think it would be better to skip Animal Kingdom for when Rivers of Light (and Avatar) are open to further round out a night experience at the park? I'm contemplating switching our half day to Epcot, because Frozen and the new Soarin' film will be open/new... I don't know, I can't decide.

 

[Demeter Tess]

Why two days at Universal, if I may ask? I'd just buy a one-day park hopper, but that's just me. Other than Harry Potter and a handful of other rides, I find most of Universal to be pretty poorly maintained.

As far as Animal Kingdom goes, we visited last weekend for the evening events and enjoyed ourselves, but it's definitely not something to write home about. Mostly we just enjoyed getting to see the park illuminated at night, since we'd never been there past sunset. The safari is an odd experience after dark (very subdued and a bit shorter than during the day) but I did enjoy the Jungle Book show. Very fun, but then I love Bollywood-style productions. Given that there will be new attractions at Epcot, I'd go with Epcot this time around.

 

[RMichael21]

Why two days at Universal, if I may ask? I'd just buy a one-day park hopper, but that's just me. Other than Harry Potter and a handful of other rides, I find most of Universal to be pretty poorly maintained.

We're both Harry Potter fans, and we've been to Universal before and two days was perfect to see everything for us.

As far as Animal Kingdom goes, we visited last weekend for the evening events and enjoyed ourselves, but it's definitely not something to write home about. Mostly we just enjoyed getting to see the park illuminated at night, since we'd never been there past sunset. The safari is an odd experience after dark (very subdued and a bit shorter than during the day) but I did enjoy the Jungle Book show. Very fun, but then I love Bollywood-style productions. Given that there will be new attractions at Epcot, I'd go with Epcot this time around.

Thanks for the help!

 

[KikoKea]

We really enjoy Epcot/WS at night, including the fireworks, so will always end up at either MK or Epcot at night. Not sure about AK yet- we're going in Sept and plan to run by AK one morning, but do no plan to be there at night until Avatarland is open next year. So, my vote would be to use that half day for Epcot. Have fun!