I know it may sound crazy but for our next trip we are thinking of skipping AK. We have a max of 4 park days and think 2 MK and one each at Epcot and HS. Our daughter by then will be above 40 inches and can do so much more at these parks. Thoughts?
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
AK is almost my favorite park, nudged out of first place by MK only as a matter of nostalgia and “it all started” there.
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Haven’t been since Pandora opened, but AK has Expedition Everest. Other than that, it is an okay park. I mean, there are some fun things to do, but it is mostly a LOT of walking without a lot of benefit compared to the other parks. So, of the parks to skip, it is probably a good one.
Having said that, Expedition Everest is, hands down, the best roller coaster in all of Disney.
Other things you’ll miss, however, includes Pandora (now), the Safari ride, and some of the shows.
If you are getting Park Hoppers, though, you might still squeak in a half day at AK and a half day at either HS or Epcot. (Epcot is cool, but the World Showcase is worth skipping, aside from perhaps Frozen, if you have to make choices…do Soarin’, Test Track, and Mission Space and get out of there.)
You might also just do 1 1/2 days at MK, and then hit a half day at AK.
Wilderness Explorers is a LOT of fun for the younger set; my DS then 9 finished the booklet last year after three trips working on it. Safari is amazing. FOTLK is the best show on property, and kids enjoy the nemo show. The new/updated bird show with UP! characters will be fantastic. Many characters to meet/greet, including Pocahontas. Animal trails (Gorilla Falls, Maharaja Jungle Trek).
And the vibe/atmosphere there is just so incredibly immersive.
Please don’t skip it 
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My kids (then 15, 12, 7, 6) voted for a second day at AK over a third day at MK last trip–and that was before Pandora. Of course they also love WS at Epcot so maybe we aren’t the norm.
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On our just completed trip we did AK on an EMH morning and got allot in. We did NRJ back to back, explored Pandora then had FPP for FOP. By utilizing the child swap I managed to do it twice lol. We got allot done and there’s still allot to do but MK just has so many rides lol!
Herein lies the problem with Disney: Too much to do, and not enough time to do it!
On top of that, each family/individual will have their personal favorites.
When we go, with 6 days, we usually do two days at MK, two at Epcot, one at AK, and one at HS. AK is our overall least favorite…but as OBNurseNH indicates, that doesn’t mean AK isn’t worth doing. There is a lot to do. It is just for us, our least favorite of them all.
HS, with a child as young as you have, however, probably has the least amount she’d be interested in (aside from, perhaps, the upcoming Toy Story Land). Most of the stuff there is really geared to the older crowd, so you might instead skip that one if you really are planning to not park hop.
Good points, it is so hard to decide with so much to do! It’s not that we didn’t like AK, I think for a 5 year old who can’t go on FOP or EE another day at different park makes sense. Missing the new Toy Story Land is a non-starter lol. Other issue is we likely will stay offsite making FPP more difficult.
To be honest, the Expedition Everest queue, Gorilla Falls, and the Maharajah Trek were some of our absolute favorite parts of our last vacation, along with the Safari. The theming in Africa and Asia are breathtaking and we are spending a 30 min timeslot at each of the Gorilla Falls and Maharaja exhibits EACH of the two days we are at AK this time just because we love it so much. So peaceful and beautiful.
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I underestimated how much my daughter would like AK and only allowed one day last visit. My DD asked for more time that I was not able to give her. She Is not a roller coaster enthusiast. She could have walked the trails for hours!! Because of this, I’m giving it 1.5 days next trip.
Each family is different. My preference is
2 MK 2 EP 1.5 AK .5 HS (HS is always our late start day!)
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We love AK. I don’t think I could skip it. We went on 3 different days our last trip (with park hopping).
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We love the Animal Kingdom so would not want to skip it. I have to see Festival of the Lion King more than once, my girls have to do Everest and we love the Safari and the Mickey & Minnie M&G. Hope you manage some time at AK.
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Really take a hard look at what is available at hs. I love tot and rnrc but i my last trip i passes because i did not think it was enough to go to without a park hopper.
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BATB, RNR and Fantasmic are the only things that bring me into HS. Ok, and maybe Olaf!! 
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AK is honestly my favorite park, especially in the evenings. There’s a lot to do, but it feels so much less crowded.
I would NEVER skip AK.I wouldn’t think twice about giving up a second MK day to go to AK - but I’m an adult and not a kid. If doing 2 MK days was a must, I would skip DHS before I would skip AK - or at the very least, split the day half DHS and half AK.
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Well our plans have changed, as they likely will again. We are now thinking of doing a long weekend in June giving us only 3 park days. This will make the choice easier simply because we can’t visit all 4 parks and don’t plan to hop. Maybe be back to AK next time I hope!