January Trip Sat to Wed..Need Help!

essenzza

New Member
Hi all. I'm taking my kids to Disneyworld for the 1st time. I've only been to Magic Kingdom once for a short day work trip.

My daughters will be 6 and 3.5 at the time of our trip. We arrive in Orlando airport around 10am Sat and leave Orlando on a 3:30pm flight on Wed.

I'm thinking of buying a 4 day pass. Would 5 days be pushing it? Not sure how much we'd be able to get in on Wed before flight.

I def want to do Magic Kingdom for 2 days. So now the decision is which park gets the other full day? Hollywood Studios, Epcot or Animal Kingdom? I keep hearing conflicting items. And then which one gets the lesser day on Sat? And which do I speak?

Suggestions? My kids like a lot of different Disney things -- ranging from all the Disney princesses, Toy Story, Disney Jr., etc.

Thank you!
 

eliza61nyc

Well-Known Member
Congratulations!!
So of course you know your daughters best buuut lol (there is always a but). I remind folks that Disney is a sensory overload, lol. It's lights, colors, smells and sounds on steroids. So you absolutely don't want to "push" it. Magic kingdom has so much to see, feel, experience that you want to take it slow and not rush. Now I as a rule don't count the day we leave as a park day even if we leave late. It's just too stressful for us to try and squeeze in a ride and worry about getting to MCO. we get up, have a easy breakfast, relax at the resort, maybe Disney springs and then go to the airport

I would probably skip Epcot with kids that age. Hollywood studios will have the new Toy story land which is perfect for your gals but since it's new it's going to be packed for a while. Will they be big enough to ride flights of passage in Pandora? With a 4 day pass, you can do 2 full days at MK, 1 full day at say Hollywood studios and do a late arrival to Animal kingdom on arrival day.
 
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essenzza

New Member
Original Poster
I hear you..I probably will skip the day we leave too and just relax. MAybe see Disney Springs.

What you recommended is what I was leaning towards but I had someone say Epcot was good for this age so I was going back and forth. There is enough to do at Hollywood studios you think? 1 of them will be tall enough for the Pandora ride and 1 won't be.
 
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cdeev8690

Well-Known Member
Yeah, that 5th day will go to waste. I'd advise against it. 4 days should be perfect. Are you staying on Disney property? If yes, are you renting a car or using Disney's Magical Express to and from the airport?

Epcot doesn't appear to be a crowd pleaser with the youngins right now. It's my favorite park so my future kids don't have a choice in the matter but that is totally up to you. It's your vacation too so if you're looking forward to it, give it a go.

Hollywood Studios will definitely have enough for them. As @eliza61nyc said, Toy Story Land is opening this month and the girls will probably love the stage shows and Disney Junior.

Even if they're not tall enough for Flights of Passage, they can go on Navi River and a plethora of other attractions and performances at Animal Kingdom.
 
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eb3257

Active Member
Last Nov we took our five year old twin boys for their first Disney vacation. We stayed for 6 days (3 days on property and 3 days off property) and spent three days in the park since one of those days was mostly a travel day. We did one day at Magic Kingdom, one at Animal Kingdom and one at Epcot and they loved all three parks. (We skipped HS since Toy Story land was under construction and they would never go on the thrill rides there). The three days in the park worked out well for them! I was worried about pushing them so we had a good mix of park time and on the off days we went to Disney Springs, visited Animal Kingdom Lodge and spent time by the pool. They would LOVE Toy Story land so I'm sure HS will be included on our next trip! Have a great vacation!
 
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Spash007

Well-Known Member
I absolutely love Epcot, but when we went with my 3 year old last year, it was probably the least enjoyed park because there just aren't a lot of rides for them. Really the only way it would be worth it would probably be if you think they would enjoy seeing all the different countries and would be interested in the different types of building, colors etc. Our daughter napped around the time we went around world showcase which was great for us, but with limited time you probably don't want to count on that.

We skipped Hollywood Studios since at that time Toy Story Land wasn't yet open, but are planning on going once it does. We skipped because there are a lot of shows there, but we knew our daughter would only have the patience to sit through 1, maybe 2 at most. On the other hand, my sister recently went with 3.5 year old twins and a 2 year old, and they loved Hollywood Studios. Their kids love watching shows like that, so it was a great fit. By the time you go, they also may open the new Disney Junior Dance Party, which will be a nice break from a regular theater show. It's nice that there will be rides to go on even if the new area will be crowded, but then I'd recommend thinking of how many shows you think your kids can sit through.

For the other full day, I'd recommend Animal Kingdom. When we went we tried to do two half days there that got derailed from the heat, and we ended up missing over half the park! The Africa section has a train that takes you to Rafiki's Planet Watch which is great for this age. There's a nice petting zoo type area, Doc McStuffins was there to meet along with Rafiki, and you can watch the doctors work on some of the animals and there is a slight education component (if you want it). I'm really glad we did it, but with the train ride to get there, it easily takes an hour or more. The Safari also is a longer ride and is absolutely amazing (would recommend doing it early in the day when the animals are active). The Lion King show is also great, but again, a longer attraction. While at Magic Kingdom a lot of the attractions are shorter, we found at Animal Kingdom each attraction took longer but was worth it.

The other thing to consider is whether you can stay at the parks for the full day or need a break in the middle. We were planning on doing full days in the parks, but when we went (last September) it was insanely hot and we had to take a break mid-day. Hopefully you won't run into that problem in January, but planning your days to be a little more relaxed mid-day is probably a good idea none the less. If your youngest is napping (our 3.5 year old is just starting to give it up), try to take advantage of the stroller nap and plan some time around normal nap time where the 3.5 year old won't do rides and can just sleep (even if it's in the park while your oldest goes on some rides).

Sorry if that was information overload, we just started planning our trip back so I have lots of memories coming up!
 
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Dave B

Well-Known Member
I would get a 5th day and get up early and rope drop the last day at your park of choice, have everything packed and load the car and go to the park, then go to the airport
 
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Tuvalu

Premium Member
Even better, call the bell hops and have them pick your luggage up and take it to the Disney Express
To clarify:
A bellman can come for your luggage on departure day but can only stow the bags at Bell Services. To utilize the Resort Airline check-in service (where you can get your boarding passes and drop off suitcases to be transported to MCO) a guest must do so in person at the Resort Airline Check In desk.
 
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