Epcot or Hollywood Studios with little ones

[I_HaveA_DisneyProblem]

4 day trip with my wife parents and two daughters 4 and 2. We for sure want 2 days at MK and 1 day at AK. for the remaining day should we hit up Hollywood Studios or Epcot? My 4 year old loves Star Wars and Frozen!!

 

[hakepb]

I'd lean Epcot.
It has the Frozen ride and M&G.

The lack of rides without height restrictions make DHS a more difficult day for young families.

Ideally park hop and do some of both, and enjoy a nice boat ride between both.

 

[I_HaveA_DisneyProblem]

Good idea on the Park Hop!

 

[Tucker24]

If your kids are into Star Wars then Hollywood studios would be fun for them. They can also do the Frozen Sing along and meet Olaf for the frozen side of things

 

[yulilin3]

I think park hoping is the best idea, it's easy to do between DHS and Epcot and you will get more bang for your buck
DHS:
Disney Jr
Voyage of the Little Mermaid
Frozen Sing Along
Olaf meet and greet
Beauty and the Beast live on stage
Star Wars Launch Bay meet Chewbacca and/or Kylo Ren (he's really intimidating so just beware)
Star Tours is also fun (check height requirement)

Epcot:
The Seas with Nemo and Friends
Journey into Imagination
Frozen Ever After
Anna and Elsa meet and greet
Mexico pavilion Gran Fiesta Tour
plenty of meet and greets with other characters all around

 

[ArwenMarie]

I would either park hop or just do DHS. But yeah ideally I think you could make a great day out of parks

 

[ktlm]

My DD's favorite park other than MK at those ages (and still today at age 10) was EPCOT. There are lots of Princesses and characters to meet, the Nemo ride, the aquarium, the Living with the Land ride, Figment ride, jugglers, acrobats, bands, etc, the boat ride in Mexico. We spent a full day there when she was 2 and realized it wasn't enough time, so since then we typically spend 2 days at EPCOT. BUT- for a Star Wars fan, DHS has the Chewbacca and Kylo Ren meet and greets and the Star Tours ride (but the 2 year old is likely not tall enough for Star Tours- it is 40 inches so your 4 year old probably is, but you should check). DHS has the Disney Jr. characters for meet and greet and the Beauty and the Beast and Little Mermaid shows. The only place to meet Anna and Elsa is EPCOT, and at those ages my DD's favorite thing was always meeting, hugging and taking pictures with the characters. I don't know if that will be your girls favorite thing though. Some 2 year olds want nothing to do with the characters. DD has never been an AK fan (but we have a great zoo at home and she didn't want to spend her WDW time looking at the same animals we had at home- she wanted princesses). If we had to skip a park (which we hate to do because I love them all) it would be AK. Is there any way you can add another day to have a DHS and an EPCOT day? If you can't do that, then I would probably hop to hit some of the highlights of each. It isn't too bad to hop between EPCOT and DHS because you can take the boat or walk. The walk is about 15 or 20 minutes. The boat is about 20 minutes because it stops at Swan/Dolphin, BW, and YC/BC.

 

[Tucker24]

DHS also has storm troopers walking around, a star wars stage show, storm trooper march, build your own light saber, and build your own droid, jedi training academy. We have a good zoo at home and the kids aren't really into shows right now so we skip AK. So much more "Disney" things to do at Epcot and DHS that they just can't experience anywhere else

 

[MaryKatesMom]

If you can't park hop ( they are so close) then I would go with EPCOT. It is easier to manage with a stroller.

 

[cassie58]

I would choose DHS as it has both Star Wars and Frozen things. Toy Story Mania is also fun for the whole family(get a FP), and you can meet Buzz and Woody across the way. They also have Jedi Training, a show the kids can participate in and fight Vadar or another character, which they can start doing at age 4 - you will need to get to the park early to sign up for that first thing. You can just watch too for now if he is not ready to do it this time! There is also a Star Wars Stage show to watch during the day. Chewie meet and greet is so fun - he's a hugger! Check the Star Wars thread on here for DHS for all the activities in detail. I have heard great reviews of the Frozen sing-along as well, and Little Mermaid and B&B are perfect for DD.

Yulilin3 has outlined things at both parks well so you can compare. I would add Muppets 3D movie as well to DHS list. With the boat to Epcot for DHS, you could easily hop over there later and do the Frozen meet and greet for your DD in Norway and the little boat ride in Mexico if you wanted to - you would need a FP for Frozen ride, as lines have been long most of the time there, and since it is a very short ride and had not had stellar reviews, you dont want to wait long for it.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

I would do DHS as your 4 year old might like to do the Jedi Academy , Star Tours. There is meet and greet with Olaf, Frozen sing a long. TSMWM is fun for all the family!

 

[Imagineer5]

I would do this:

Morning at DHS, with pre park opening breakfast at H&V for the Disney Jr characters. Morning at DHS, see the Disney Jr Show, Frozen Sing a Long, TSMM. Around 12, head out of the park and go to AK for the afternoon/evening. (Or reverse this, but I love PPO BF at H&V). If you go straight to TSMM, you won't really need any FP at DHS and you can prebook your FP for the afternoon at AK.

On another day, do EPCOT for a full day with maybe an afternoon break. There are wonderful restaurants there that are a lot of fun for everyone.

I have never needed a full day at AK, so that is why I suggest less time there and combining it with DHS.

 

[randumb0]

There isn't much for a 4 year old at Epcot. Your 4 year old will love the Disney Jr show and all of the Disney Jr characters. You also have Star Wars and Toy Story Mania.

 

[hakepb]

There isn't much for a 4 year old at Epcot. Your 4 year old will love the Disney Jr show and all of the Disney Jr characters. You also have Star Wars and Toy Story Mania.

3 boat rides, 3 omnimovers, the aquariums..
And it's never failed to amaze me how much a young child can enjoy aspects of EPCOT like fountains, and dancing water, the sidewalk fiber optic lights and the Kidcot stations. Epcot is not all "in your face", and I think that makes it perfect.

 

[Devi8or]

Sounds like you're getting a little bit of all answers lol

Personally with a 4 year old I would probably say DHS. My kids are 10 and 8 now and their favorite park is Epcot. They love the food and seeing all the different countries. DHS almost seems like a park that doesn't take all day to visit either.....so you could honestly probably do both with a hopper

 

[toonaspie]

4 day trip with my wife parents and two daughters 4 and 2. We for sure want 2 days at MK and 1 day at AK. for the remaining day should we hit up Hollywood Studios or Epcot? My 4 year old loves Star Wars and Frozen!!

Oh dear...sounds like you have a difficult choice at hand since those franchises are in separate parks.

If your kids are into Star Wars then Hollywood studios would be fun for them. They can also do the Frozen Sing along and meet Olaf for the frozen side of things

I forgot about the Frozen Sing Along (shows how little I care for it ) In that case then, I would go for DHS. Lots of other stuff there for your girls as well that they'll enjoy.

 

[addiln]

I would park hop AK and DHS the same day since both parks are just half day parks for us.

 

[lroger01]

There's enough Frozen at both DHS and Epcot that I'd choose based on what the adults want. Would ToT and RnRC provide some adult fun? Or would you enjoy World Showcase more? Then fit what the kids want in between the grown up fun. Keep in mind whatever you choose, the kids won't miss what's at the other park if they've never been there.

 

[Mmw37]

My son loved both at 4, but hasn't stopped talking about Test Track since we left 10 months ago. He also loved Soarin'. Your 2 y/o won't be able to ride, but don't forget those two if your 4 y/o is 40". OTOH, if they're both into Disney Jr and Star Wars, you won't see either outside of DHS. He was 2 on our first trip, and we only did DHS and MK. Both parks will be a ton of fun for the kids. I'd probably skip AK and do both, but you won't go wrong whatever you decide.

 

[allsaintsatx]

I think you should decide which is more important: Star Wars or Frozen. Star Wars is DHS, no contest. Frozen, though. That's tougher. Yes there's the Singalong at DHS which is quite entertaining. It's actually way better than I thought it would be! But, that new Frozen Ever After ride at Epcot? Wow! That is modern Disney magic. And the Meet and Greet with Anna and Elsa is right next door! And, Epcot also has Figment which totally trumps Star Wars AND Frozen combined!!