Best 3 parks for young children?

[jvz82]

I'm starting to plan our trip to Disney world for next year. We've been there twice since having kids and spent one day at magic kingdom and one day at animal kingdom both trips. Our family has grown since then and we have 4 kids now. For our trip next year, our kids will be almost 8, almost 6, almost 4, and almost 2. We will for sure spend one day at Magic Kingdom. What would be the best choices for the other two days? It's been a while since I've been to Epcot or Hollywood studios.

 

[Bluegrrl]

If you have a park hopper, I would say MGM for the one rocking roller coaster/Disney Jr. show(if younger kids are Disney Jr. fans), and Star Tours. You could hop to Animal Kingdom, or to MK, depending how you feel. Epcot is OK. I think the lands might be interesting - Japan and China have the most interesting shops, and the UK has a neat selection of Dr. Who stuff. Plus there are lots of characters at all the lands.
I love AK because of the animals, which are almost an attraction of themselves. Poor old DHS has been gutted - it's really a 1/2 park.

Food-wise, we love Backlot Burgers at DHS. They have a decent price, and free refills of soda! Same with the dino restarant at AK. The Yak and Yeti is also a good choice for kids, surprisingly. Kids may not think they like Chinese, but its really good and not so intimidating as they think.

Those are some of my picks/thoughts.

 

[ontheuptick]

We find that with our kids, similar ages (8, 5, 2), Animal Kingdom is the least favorite - by a fairly wide margin.

Hollywood Studios has a ton that our kids will enjoy: TSMM, Star Tours, Jedi Training, Muppet Vision 3D, Frozen Sing-a-long, Voyage of Little Mermaid, Disney Jr Live, Tower of Terror, Beauty & Beast on stage, Fantasmic, great Character Meets (Buzz, Woody, Sofia the First, Doc McStuffins, Jake, Mike and Sulley from Monsters Inc, etc.). Even though some talk about how much of HS is "shut down", for kids, there's still a lot to do.

We would never consider cutting out Epcot for AK either. Not even close.

 

[kohlby]

I'd do one MK, one EP, and one either MK or EP - to be decided after the other two days. EP was my kids favorite park until very recently. It still is my youngest's favorite though. It has always even beat out MK for my kids and they love that one too, of course. Both MK and EP are huge - a second day at one of them will help you not feel so rushed.

AK was a flop when my kids were younger, though many young kids do like it. DHS won favorite park spot for my eldest on our last trip - when he was 11. It was EP before that though. And though my kids did like DHS at those ages, EP and MK were the top two of the disney parks. We tried AK many times and it did not work out well for us. It was only this last trip, at 5, 8, and 11, that it worked out as a half day park - though my two older kids liked it a LOT more than my youngest.

 

[Shellyb84]

I would do MK, Epcot, and DHS. Or if you have a park hopper, split a day with DHS and AK.

 

[Baklava]

If you have a park hopper, I would say MGM for the one rocking roller coaster/Disney Jr. show(if younger kids are Disney Jr. fans), and Star Tours. You could hop to Animal Kingdom, or to MK, depending how you feel. Epcot is OK. I think the lands might be interesting - Japan and China have the most interesting shops, and the UK has a neat selection of Dr. Who stuff. Plus there are lots of characters at all the lands.
I love AK because of the animals, which are almost an attraction of themselves. Poor old DHS has been gutted - it's really a 1/2 park.

Food-wise, we love Backlot Burgers at DHS. They have a decent price, and free refills of soda! Same with the dino restarant at AK. The Yak and Yeti is also a good choice for kids, surprisingly. Kids may not think they like Chinese, but its really good and not so intimidating as they think.

Those are some of my picks/thoughts.

One more strike against DHS is that RNRC has a height requirement of 48" and Star Tours is 40". There's a high chance that kids who are 2, 3 and 5 will not meet 48" and possibly not 40" for the little ones. For reference, my 5 year old is considered tall at 45". She would not have hit 40" at 3. DHS does have other good stuff, but the headliners require kids to be taller than the OPs are likely to be. I'm not sure I could make a full day of that park with littles.

 

[Momof3WDW]

Animal Kingdom in the morning, hit the Safari when the animals are active. that was a hit for my kids this year. The older ones may like the Wilderness Explorer book, we have not done it yet, but we saw a lot of kids doing it and my son was really interested.
DHS is good if the kids can sit through shows. My youngest was not a fan of sitting through the shows, but my older two really enjoyed them this year.
EPCOT was really interesting to my kids this year. We didn't do the Passports, but they did color a Duffy Bear and got some stamps. The Living Seas is a lot of fun for them to. Biggest issue with EPCOT was my two girls as they are both under 40" (even my 4 year old), the two big headliners are height requirement of 40" (Soarin and Test Track)
MK is a must do and I would suggest 2 full days there.

 

[jacknsally19]

I would totally skip HS. With everything closed and all the construction walls that will be up next year, I would not bother. Depending on when you go, I think the new rivers of light show will be open in Animal Kindgom so it could be pretty cool.

We were just there in September and spent 2 days in Epcot and 2 days in MK and had a great time. My DD is almost 4 and she loves Epcot. I know it's a bit of mixed bag for some people but there are a lot of Meet and Greets with princesses which my daughter loves. She also really loved the aquarium. The Nemo & Figment rides are her favorites and there isn't much of a wait so we can easily repeat them.

 

[dizzy daisy]

My kids love AK and EPCOT so that's my suggestion

 

[jvz82]

Thank you all! Lots of stuff to think about. It's good to know HS will be under construction. I was looking forward to the Rockin Roller coaster and a few other things but there just may not be enough for the whole family to enjoy there. I don't want my husband having to occupy half of the kids while I wait in line with the other kids for rides over and over. It's tough when you have older ones wanting to hit the roller coasters but the littles can't quite do it! My 4 year old is super tall (46 inches already) so more than likely she will be 48" by next year but hard to say if she'll want to do those rides.

I like the idea of possibly doing 2 days at MK and 1 day at Epcot. I enjoy AK but we went there the past 2 trips (and to be totally honest, my dad had a seizure at AK on our last trip and it was a really crappy day so that may be why I want to avoid it). There's so much to do at MK that the kids may really enjoy spending 2 days there. We won't be getting park hopper passes so we'll need to just pick one park per day.

 

[dizzy daisy]

Thank you all! Lots of stuff to think about. It's good to know HS will be under construction. I was looking forward to the Rockin Roller coaster and a few other things but there just may not be enough for the whole family to enjoy there. I don't want my husband having to occupy half of the kids while I wait in line with the other kids for rides over and over. It's tough when you have older ones wanting to hit the roller coasters but the littles can't quite do it! My 4 year old is super tall (46 inches already) so more than likely she will be 48" by next year but hard to say if she'll want to do those rides.

I like the idea of possibly doing 2 days at MK and 1 day at Epcot. I enjoy AK but we went there the past 2 trips (and to be totally honest, my dad had a seizure at AK on our last trip and it was a really crappy day so that may be why I want to avoid it). There's so much to do at MK that the kids may really enjoy spending 2 days there. We won't be getting park hopper passes so we'll need to just pick one park per day.

Oh goodness, I hope your dad was okay. I totally understand your wanting to skip the park.
I think two days in MK is an awesome idea!
Happy planning!

 

[TwoMisfits]

Thank you all! Lots of stuff to think about. It's good to know HS will be under construction. I was looking forward to the Rockin Roller coaster and a few other things but there just may not be enough for the whole family to enjoy there. I don't want my husband having to occupy half of the kids while I wait in line with the other kids for rides over and over. It's tough when you have older ones wanting to hit the roller coasters but the littles can't quite do it! My 4 year old is super tall (46 inches already) so more than likely she will be 48" by next year but hard to say if she'll want to do those rides.

I like the idea of possibly doing 2 days at MK and 1 day at Epcot. I enjoy AK but we went there the past 2 trips (and to be totally honest, my dad had a seizure at AK on our last trip and it was a really crappy day so that may be why I want to avoid it). There's so much to do at MK that the kids may really enjoy spending 2 days there. We won't be getting park hopper passes so we'll need to just pick one park per day.

If you don't already have Disney tickets (and if you have transportation), your kids are the perfect ages for Legoland and there are always discounts of 50% or more for the tickets. Also, your kids are the perfect age for Sea World and its Happy Harbor area and the rest of that park (and there may be a Blue Friday deal for that). So, if it were me, I'd do a day in MK, a day at Sea World, and a day at Legoland with your kids.

If you have to stay in Disney parks, I would do 2 MK and then see what the kids want for the 3rd (they may want something new this time or they may want to return to AK).

 

[jvz82]

T

Oh goodness, I hope your dad was okay. I totally understand your wanting to skip the park.
I think two days in MK is an awesome idea!
Happy planning!

Thanks, yes he was fine but it was a really scary day for all of us! He'd never had a seizure before.

 

[jvz82]

If you don't already have Disney tickets (and if you have transportation), your kids are the perfect ages for Legoland and there are always discounts of 50% or more for the tickets. Also, your kids are the perfect age for Sea World and its Happy Harbor area and the rest of that park (and there may be a Blue Friday deal for that). So, if it were me, I'd do a day in MK, a day at Sea World, and a day at Legoland with your kids.

If you have to stay in Disney parks, I would do 2 MK and then see what the kids want for the 3rd (they may want something new this time or they may want to return to AK).

I hadnt considered going off site, something to think about! I haven't been to sea world since I was a teenager and I've never been to Lego land.

 

[Patty Kaufman]

I can't find any info about HS being closed? Or attractions closed?

 

[Ava]

With those ages I would do MK, Epcot, & DHS. Most of the rides at AK are height-restricted and we haven't found there to be a whole lot to do there for toddlers/preschoolers unless they are really into looking at animals.

We had a 6yo and a 2yo this year, and I wasn't sure about DHS for those ages, but it actually ended up being a great day. Your older two will likely be tall enough for RNRC (maybe just the oldest), Tower of Terror, & Star Tours. The whole family can do Toy Story Mania & Great Movie Ride. Then there are all the shows that you can do together as well - your younger ones will probably love the Disney Jr show, my 2yo was in heaven in there.

Or you could do 2 days at MK, and then choose either Epcot or DHS for your 3rd day. My 6yo liked the rides at Epcot but wasn't really into walking around the countries, so yours may be bored in that area.

 

[Happyjen27]

With those ages, I would do another MK day, and then probably Epcot. If you had teens, I would say DHS solidly, because of the coasters, but, with a max age at 8, you still might be able to eeek some magic out of them at MK, and you can offer Test Track at Epcot if they have a need for speed.

2 MK days? Absolutely. It's truly magical there, and there so much you can't even get it all done in 2 days. I would rather be in MK than any other park. I would gladly skip AK for a second MK day, and DHS is getting lean as so many new attractions are being planned.

 

[quagmire0]

I would seriously consider two days at MK as well. Normally, my other two would be Epcot followed by DHS. However, with all the construction going on at both parks, I don't know if there will as much to do there for younger kids as there usually is. Animal Kingdom would be last on my list. There's a limited amount of rides and attractions, especially for younger kids. If you can financially swing the park hopper option, I might recommend it.

 

[quagmire0]

I can't find any info about HS being closed? Or attractions closed?

DHS won't be closed, but here's a good resource for attraction closings/rehabs: http://allears.net/pl/refurbishments-and-closings.htm

 

[dreamit]

My vote would be for MK, AK, and Epcot. I know for many AK isn't a favorite, but I feel that if you go into it thinking that it isn't all about the rides and you have a good plan, it's a wonderful way to spend the day. My 8 yo dd loved the wilderness explorer stations, the safari, and even seeing all there is to see there. There are great show, too. It's just a completely different pace and feel than the other parks.