We have 4 day park hopper passes for August. Will be traveling with a 4 year old and 18 month old (both boys so no princess stuff). What parks would you go to? I am thinking 2 days at MK, 1 day at AK, 1/2 day at epcot, 1/2 day at HS. My youngest will nap in the stroller and my eldest doesn’t usually nap. Also, is it best to take advantage of EMH or avoid those parks on those days? If we do the 1/2 days I am thinking of doing epcot in morning and then FP in afternoon at HS. We want to do some bigger rides but they are not our first priority.
Where are you staying?
Shades of Green
I’d do the following, if it were me:
Scrap the park hopper, get a refund.
Pass on AK.
1/2 day to 3/4 day at Epcot, spend afternoon relaxing poolside.
1/2 day to 3/4 day at HS, spend afternoon relaxing poolside.
2 days at MK, breaking at mid-day for a few hours and returning for early dinner and more touring each day.
I’d avoid EMH on all days.
I agree completely. We went with our 4 and 2 yo this year and couldn’t imagine making use of a hopper. Also, my 4yo hasn’t napped in almost 3 years but slept like a log several afternoons we were at Disney.
Meltdowns are bound to happen but I think you can greatly reduce their likelihood if you keep your plans simple.
Are you planning on doing Rider Swap so that you can experience the rides that the kids cannot, or are you doing everything as a family? That would influence the approach I would take, especially when considering whether or not to do mEMH.
Agree with @Crasstastic - the PH tickets are probably not a good deal for you, unless they are the heavily discounted Military ones. However, I would not pass on AK, especially if the 4-year old has any interest in animals.
Oh, and your 4-year old will nap. Trust me…
There are some standout experiences at AK… the Tree of Life, Tusker House breakfast, and the two shows.
However, what you get after the above are two things: rides and the animals. If you’re doing rides, MK and even Epcot do them far, far better. As for the animals, I find that most major zoos “do animals” better (though this is specific to where you live, and changes if you don’t live near a decent zoo).
That’s just my opinion. We went there on May 1st, and I found myself wishing we’d opted for a 4th day in the MK, or a second at Epcot.
We are getting hoppers because thats the passes that are discounted for military. Even if we don’t use them, its still a better value for us.
@brklinck we are planning on doing rider swap, my oldest is only 38 inches so can’t ride the bigger rides. So does that mean we should do EMH in your opinion?
Yes. If you are planning on doing headliners and rider swap then it will take longer to complete these attractions, so the additional “low crowd” time of mEMH will help you out considerably. However, if you will not be able to take full advantage of mEMH by being there at RD then I would not go to that park.
Thanks! I think we can make RD as my children are early risers 
That will make it easier. My DD7 and DW are not… I felt guilty making them get up for RD every morning. Poor little howler monkeys. Our next trip, no EMH, and we’re not getting to Epcot until 10:45am.
You can use the PH for meals. For example, have an MK day with dinner ADR at Biergarten in EP. I love the flexibility of PH.
I agree completely, but with a 4 year old and an 18 month old, that’s pretty ambitious.
Guilty? I’m not sure what you mean. You vill get up! You vill obey ze Touring Plan!
1 Like
My 4yo did not nap during the day in any of the 14 days that we were at disney. Even when I wanted the family to relax before MNSSHP and MVMCP. Still no nap. Ugh!
Have fun whatever you decide
I have boys 4/6, we’ve been going yearly for 3 years. I agree with your plan, 2 days MK, 1 day AK, and then whichever suits you of a combination of HS/Epcot.
At those ages, the only thing my kids love at HS is TSMM (extra extra love), Dis Jr show, the Frozen singalong, Muppetvision 3D, and the HISTK playground. Epcot highlights are The Seas (Nemo, Turtle talk, and the tanks), LWTL in the Land pavilion, the Character Spot, and Journey in the Imagination with Figment. I have one kid who likes Spaceship Earth and the other who finds it boring. The boat between EP and HS is great.
We usually make a fairly set TP for the morning, do RD to sometime between 11-1, consider a 4th FPP on the way out of the park, and don’t plan to return in the evening unless we’re feeling especially motivated. At that age the resort and pool are bigger attractions than anything.
Sounds like Military Salute tickets - the best deal in WDW… For your kids, I would do 2 full days at MK, a full dat at EP, and split the 4th day AK in the AM and DHS in the PM (with FPPs for the latter). In all honesty, except for a couple of the shows and TSMM (and possibly Star Tours and Fantasmic), there really isn’t alot for your DS4 to do at DHS. AK has the safari, trails, and two of the best shows in WDW, not to mention all of the other animal exhibits.
I virtually NEVER take mid-day breaks, but if I was going in August (which I NEVER do), I might need them to excape the hell-on-earth heat and humidity. At the very least, you should plan on an air conditioned TS lunch each day…