Which order should I do the parks?

[Tizag]

Hi -

This is one of my first posts on this site, but I have been lurking for a few weeks and I have found loads and loads of GREAT information, thanks!

I will be in Disney in May with my family (DD6 and DS4). I went for the first time when I was 6, so I am excited to share the magic with my kids. I was at Disney last about 11 years ago, and one time before that (when I was 6!).

My question is, we have a 4-day ticket (without Hopper). We want to do Magic Kingdom on the first day. Should we also do MK on the second day, or do another park on the second day and return to MK the third or fourth day? (I thought 2 days at MK, 1 day at AK, and one day at DHS). Any suggestions?

Thanks! (And I will have more questions coming…..)

[RockinRollerMom]

:welcome: Welcome to Intercot!

A lot of people suggest saving MK til last. I have never been able to do that. Esp. when my DD was young. I just want to get into the middle of the magic as soon as I get there. You didn't mention if you were staying on or off site. If you are staying on site I would suggest taking advantage of EMH. The early EMH might work out the best for you with 2 little ones. If you are not going to be taking advantage of the EMH I would suggest MK as Day 1 and Day 4. Mix up DHS and AK as Day 2 and Day 3. I agree with you that your first trip with the kids, that it is ok to skip EPCOT. A lot of people will disagree with me, but I think that if you have to skip one with little kids that EPCOT is the one to skip. Best of luck and whatever you decide I'm sure your trip will be magical!

[TinkerbellT421]

First of all :welcome: to the wonderful world if Intercot! Well, like the PP stated about the EMH I would try to take advantage of EMH...I personally wouldn't skip Epcot. But the IMHO. I love Epcot. But if you plan on going back to the world soon I can see it being ok to skip it now and going back then doing Epcot. BUt I love Epcot and usually do two or three trips to both Epcot and MK. But if you have to skip one park I can see it being OK for Epcot. Though I dont care for DHS, I think Epcot has a lot more to do than DHS because DHS is easily only half a day worth. BUT I would definitely start and end with MK. I would go with Day 1 and 4 with MK. Have a wonderful trip! :mickey:

[DizneeFan13]

:welcome: to Intercot-

I think that everyone has the right idea - bookend your family's first trip with the most magical of all parks, it will really make some for incredible memories.

But for the rest of your time I feel that it really depends on what your little ones are into. When I took my family (DS2, DS4, DS8 and DW) in Jan, we spent 2 days at MK, 2 days at DHS and one at Epcot, and only 1/2 day at AK. My DW loves the MK :cloud9:so that was a given for Day 1, and my older two DSs are junkies for the Tot and Star Tours:yoda:.

The EMH is a must if you are staying on property especially if you aren't going with the park hopper.

One last note - if you little ones really like the characters, we did find that the Epcot character interactions to be much less crowded:crowd: than those at the MK or DHS so that is one thing to consider when picking a park to skip.:mickey:

[FaithTrustPixieDust]

I ditto what others have said- start and end with Magic Kingdom!!

My kids mirror yours in age and gender, and my experience would suggest that you check the height restrictions on the rides at DHS. Studios has a couple of things that your kids will LOVE, but seems to have more SHOWS than RIDES. Plus your 4 year old may be too short to ride some of the rides. Since you are not doing the park hopper, you may hit the high points and then wonder what to do with the rest of your day.

If you plan to do a princess meal for DD6, mark your calendar and schedule it as soon as you are able!! You may be drawn to Epcot after all for the princess interaction in Norway . . . . :princess:

[Tizag]

Thanks for all your wonderful replies! I will do as you all suggested MK first and last day.

We are staying onsite at the CBR - can someone explain what is the EMH since some of you suggested this? (I know it's Extended Magic Hour, but I cannot find on this site what it means....)

[TinkerbellT421]

EMH, are in fact Extended Magic Hours. The parks that are listed as having EMH will tell you if they have PM or AM EMH. If it is AM they will open one-hour prior to "Normal" park hours and PM is two hours later. So I.E. if MK normally opens at 9AM and they have AM EMH they will in fact open (to disney on-site resort guests only, you will have to provide your room key for all in your party entering the park to be allowed in) @ 8AM...if it is PM EMH and MK "normally" closes @ ten it will in fact close @ 12AM. Hope this helps. I am not sure if disneys website has yet released the EMH scheduled calendar for May yet. But you can always check. Just go to disney.com...click the travel tab...click the WDW tab on the left and click parks calendar.

[RockinRollerMom]

Extra magic hours is a perk given to guests who are staying at a WDW resort. On each day one of the parks is open either 1 hour early or stays open 3 hours late for resort guests only. There are specific rides that are open during these times, but most of your popular attractions will be open. You can find the list in info central on this site. I have always found EMH's to be worth going to. The lines are considerably shorter. However which every park is having the EMH's that day does seem to be a little more crowded for the regular park hours. IMHO the short lines for the EMH makes up for it.

[TinkerbellT421]

Excuse me its up to 3 hours late for PM hours. Here is the link under intercot for all the detailed information. You can find it under the infocentral tab

http://www.intercot.com/infocentral/park/extramagic.asp

[Tizag]

Thanks!!!

[mickey001]

Heres what my family does: First day at MK, followed by wishes that night (the spectacular firework show-must see!) at MK. Next day we split Epcot (we aren't really interested in the world showcase, just our opinion though) and HS (which is the old MGM). Third day we either go to a water park or go to AK, dpends on what we r feeling. Fourth and final day we go back to MK (our favorite park).
-I would suggest going to MK twice, once again just my opinion.

[momof3+twins]

First suggestion: Get a park hopper. They are so worth it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Second: We don't care for AK that much. It is a half day park. So, think about even going there.
Third: YES! Do MK two days!!!!!!!!!! It is the best park and so much fun!!!

[Goes4FastPass]

I would not quicly delete EPCOT from your list.

[Disneyfan1971]

I've alway been to MK the first day then Epcot and half day at DHS..there just isn't as much to do there as the other parks. Of course i've never been to AK and looking forward to that very much.

Would you say spend half a day at AK as well?

[DisneyPrincess21]

The first time i went to Disney (As an adult) was back April 2006, I didn't really have a plan on what parks would be best on what day. But after that trip i returned on December 2007. I decided to save Magic Kingdom for my last day since it seem to have the most "Disney Magical" feeling.I am glad i did because it made your last memory of Disney end on the best magical feeling. :cloud9: And my favorite part which almost brought me to tears, And still brings me almost to tears even now was when you were leaving the park for the night, And at the top of the train station all the cast members were standing with the white mickey hand's and they were waving bye, And it spelled out "See Ya Real Soon!" :cry: Now don't laugh but it really made me almost cry. :blush: I guess i just love Disney and only got to go once as a kid, So it's the only place on earth i can go and still feel like a kid. And because of that memory is why i Highly suggest saving Magic Kingdom for last.
PS,If anyone else has had the same emotional feeling about the "See ya real soon" at the end of magic kingdom please let me know so i don't feel like such a dork :D

[wedway76]

I would definitely go to MK the first day. Then you may want to go to different parks on day 2 and 3, and ask the kids which they want to go back to on day 4.

I am a big EPCOT fan, and my son loved it when he was your kids’ age, but I can see a lot of kids not thinking it is boring. That is your call. Without hoppers you would hate to ruin a day ay a park that the kids have no interest in.

[BigRedDad]

Epcot and MK are really two day parks. AK and DHS can be considered half-day parks depending on what you want to do there. For me, all parks are more than one day parks because I see new things every time I go.

If I were determining how to do it and not sure, alphabetically works, reverse alphabetically, EMH may make a different decision. It really depends on what you want to do. In 4-days, you will not see everything. In two weeks, you will not see everything. Enjoy what you do see and go back again another time.