We are going to be in Orlando in October and will have two full park days (non-hopper tickets). We plan to do MK on one day (not on the Halloween party day so can go back in evening after nap). We can’t decide what park to do for second day. Kids are 8, 4, and 1.
MK - catch any rides we missed on day 1 and re-ride the favorites. Negative to this plan is we have all been to MK two years ago but none of the other parks (AK, HS, Epcot).
AK - This would be our preferred choice but we have never been and are concerned it will be mostly like going to a zoo with few rides available for little kids.
Epcot- Adults are intrigued but are concerned about the F&W festival with young kids and lack of rides for young kids.
We have scrapped HS entirely because we will likely not get any FP to the new rides and the rest of the park appears to be either shows or under construction.
I would appreciate any input for our second day based on your experience with young kids.
I would skip Epcot. The parts that would interest the adults wouldn’t likely interest the kids and vice versa.
AK is our favourite park, so that would be my choice. Check out the rides and shows to see if there is enough your kids would enjoy. Otherwise MK is always a solid choice for a second day.
We did all 4 parks when my boys were 6 and 4 and AK was by far their most favorite place. We are going back next week (10 years later) and AK is what they are looking forward to the most.
AK!–my kids always pick AK for our return day at the end of our trip (we always leave the last day free to pick). Even when they were similar ages to yours. Safari, trails, character meets, train ride to petting zoo, boneyard playground, nav’i, triceratop spin, festival of lion king, nemo. show Older two can ride kali river rapids. 8 year old likely tall enough for Dinosaur, EE, and FOP. and wilderness explorer badges are lots of fun.
I guess our littles are the exception here. They like EP a bit more than AK, and HS w/o fpps for SDD could be tricky right now.
Dgs loves loves TT since 4yr old. They both like all the different rides, not any others in particular. They like Turtletalk a lot. Actually the 2 1/2’s fave one year was the “beatles” band in UK pavilion haha.
My kids prefer Epcot over AK as well. At AK, we enjoy the rides and characters, but the rest really does feel like a zoo to us. At Epcot, my kids like the aquarium, Figment, Soarin, TT and Spaceship Earth. They also liked the store in Japan and seeing some of the characters.
Pick one, then don’t second guess yourself. While we can all make recommendations based on our family preferences, you will get different recommendations based on, well, family preferences!
When ranking parks, our family would put AK last. But I know others who put AK first. We generally like Epcot moreso than HS and AK, but others put Epcot last.
The fact is, once you pick one, whichever it is, you’ll find enough to do for everyone to enjoy. Embrace your choice and forget about the remaining two parks!
Given you have a one-year-old, I think that HS is probably last on the list at this stage, though. There are more things you can do with a handheld infant at Epcot or AK.
That’s a really good point @ryan1. A friend’s Dd loves AK ahead of any other park. I love all parks equally. Everyone especially kiddos have their fave rides and funstuff.
And as you say HS would be a bit tricky with a very little one. It’s a bit hectic over in TSL right now, with the new rides including the crowds and the long lines. And the other headliners (other than TSMM) all have varying height restrictions, which won’t all work for the 4yr old.
My 4 year old loved EP better than AK. But it probably depends on how tall your 4 year old is. Mine loved TT and Soarin’. He actually liked all the rides at EP expect Mission Space.