how much time for epcot/AK

[gaffz70]

We will be going in Aug for 7 days and I still feel like there is not enough days for everything...we usually do the parks in the am and the pool in the afternoon and parks back at night. Last time we went in Aug we skipped AK b/c it didn't seem all that appealing in that heat.

So, I'm asking the experts...Can we fit AK in one morning and do Epcot in an afternoon?
We will be doing the world showcase at night, so that's already taken care of. We have 2 boys 8 and 5 - there doesn't seem to be a lot that they would want to do at Epcot

Thanks for all of your help!!:thumbsup:

[DANAM]

I have to admit my first trip back to AK since openning we where in and out of there within 2 hours. Nothing seemed appealing to us and it was sooo hot. AK is now one of our favorite parks. MY kids are 5 and 7. We always do AK on an EMH evening and get there right at open and stay to close. We have been fortunate enough to get rain on these days which makes things alot cooler.
But to answer your question do to the mass size of this park and all the shows I can't see how it would be possible to do in one morning. However, if you do some planning you can probally do your top 5 in one morning. I suggest looking at the shows and attractions and pick 5 or so thing you really want to do. Remember shows are some times not always avaialble all day. Make sure you use fast passes as much as possible.

With all that being said we generally stay 7 or 8 days and normally do the same as you. Head out early nap and relax mid day and back to the parks at night, with Ak being the exception. We normally spend all day at AK and at least 3 if not 4 mornings or evenings at Epcot. My kids love to stop at all the kidcot stops. Don't be suprised with a little (or a lot in my case) of planning you should easily fit in time for AK and I think you will really enjoy it.

[WishingStar2006]

Animal Kingdom is our all time favorite park...we go almost every morning and stay til lunch (Flaming Tree Bar B Que or Yak & Yeti) and then head back to the resort for pool and rest and then back to another park for the evening.

Remember to get to the Safari at AK early as the animals are more plentiful then.

[DizneyRox]

We will be going in Aug for 7 days and I still feel like there is not enough days for everything...
It's not, but you could go for a month and not do everything.


So, I'm asking the experts...Can we fit AK in one morning and do Epcot in an afternoon?
We will be doing the world showcase at night, so that's already taken care of. We have 2 boys 8 and 5 - there doesn't seem to be a lot that they would want to do at Epcot

Thanks for all of your help!!:thumbsup:
We can spend days at AK and usually do. If you're just looking to go on rides, then yeah, you can probably fit it all into an action packed morning, however I would say that you're selling the park short if you do that. There is so much more to see and do. The two best shows (Festival of the Lion King and Nemo the Musical) are at AK. Flights of Wonder is worth checking out. Spending time just admiring the landscaping and the beauty of the park makes it worth spending more time there.

As for as Epcot, a 1/2 day is absolutely not enough time. Changes are all the rides worth doing could be sold out of fastpasses by the afternoon.

MGM is a 1/2 day park in my opinion, that's one I would put off if it were up to me.

[Imagineer1981]

AK would be tough to do in just the morning unless you skip the shows and stick only with the rides. There are enough attractions that your morning will already be full:

1) EE
2) Dinosaur
3) Kali River Rapids
4) Kiliminjaro Safari
5) Tough to be a Bug
6) Primeval Whirl

Then the shows:

1) Nemo
2) Festival of the Lion King
3) Flights of Wonder

And don't forget all the other amazing things to see:

1) Tree of Life in general
2) the nature trails
3) Conservation Station
4) Chester and Hesters
5) the Oasis
6) Camp Minnie Mickey
7) and just the general sites/shops of AK

[PixieMagic]

Hmmm - we only last at AK till about 1pm...We hit the major attractions then head back to the hotel...As for Epcot...there is absolutely NO WAY to do it all in an afternoon! Even when I was a child it was my favorite park and they have added so much more for kids in the 20 years since I was of the age to be "bored" there.... Just saying....

[BelleKP]

AK would be tough to do in just the morning unless you skip the shows and stick only with the rides. There are enough attractions that your morning will already be full:

I was going to say the same thing. In my last two trips our most memorable days were spent at AK. We went for morning EMH and stayed until close . . . and in the August heat too :whew:
As for EP, if you have another time planned for World Showcase than you MAY be okay . . . but like others have said, don't sell it short. Your DSs will really enjoy the Kidcot stations, and I know my five year old could spend a whole afternoon in The Seas alone. We have two full days alotted for EP on our upcoming trip, and I'm not sure it's going to be enough :)
Good luck with your planning! :thumbsup:

[jmj18]

We spend only the morning at AK....just has no appeal for us other than safari...and a few other things. We last until lunch...and then are out of there. Too hot and boring for us.

Epcot takes us days. We LOVE it! Our kids love it too. I would say we spend most of our time here and the MK

[alaMode]

You will just have to prioritize what you want to do/see at each park.

Talk to your family and make a top 5 for each park.

At AK, do you want to concentrate on rides, learn more about the animals, or maybe see as many shows as possible?

At Epcot FW, do you want to participate in the interactive exhibits, experience the most rides, or a little of both?

We'll be doing an AK morning/Epcot afternoon on our next trip.

Our plan is:

AK
1. KS--it really makes a difference to experience it first thing in the morning!
2. Festival of the Lion King--We saw Nemo last time--love them both!
3. EE
4. & 5. Character interaction at Camp Minnie-Mickey--my ds LOVES getting autographs, so that's always a priority at any park. It eats up a LOT of time, but it's what he likes best so we make sure we do it!

This plan also allows time to enjoy the details that make AK such a visually interesting place!

Epcot FW
1. Soarin'
2. The Seas area
3. Test Track (unfortunately this seems to break down quite frequently--we've only ridden this once in 3 trips! It was so much fun we have to keep trying!)
4. Character Connection
5. Spaceship Earth

We tend to visit during off-peak times, so the wait-times for the rides should make this plan viable.

We are okay leaving a park knowing there are things left to do and see...this will be our 4th trip and we enjoy revisiting true favorites and discovering new ones for next time!

Have fun!

Tess

[iheartdisney]

we usually do the parks in the am and the pool in the afternoon and parks back at night.

We follow a similar schedule. Staying at an EPCOT resort we also do World Showcase at night. With 7 days our family would do about 5 1/2 days at MK, 4-5 1/2 days at EPCOT (this includes visiting World Showcase at night) and then about 2 1/2 days each for DHS and AK. Personally, I would allow a bit more time for EPCOT. I think you'll be pleasant surprised at how much there is to do for an 8 and 5 year old. My DS6 wanted to do Test Track over and over and my DS5 loved Spaceship Earth & Journey into Your Imagination with all of the interactive things at the end of the rides.

[bruin1344]

On week vacation, AK is only 1/2 day park. Epcot is usually at least 2 or 3 half days since I eat at World Showcase most of the dinners.

[Bellerella]

Our family loves AK and Epcot the most- in my opinion two parks you won't want to miss! Our first trip to DW, we wern't that impressed with AK, but this year, we fell in love! My favorite was the Festival of the Lion King- it was such an amazing show! Dinosaur, safari, and kali river rapids were also favorites. The jungle trek was also really cool. You could see animals at your own pace, which is pretty neat.

We were there 7 days, and went to epcot nearly each day, even if just for the food! We didn't have any children in our group, but there are kidcot stops that looked neat. World Showcase is my absolute favorite- i can't go without seeing the whole thing lol! But it really just depends on what your family's interests are, and what activities you like to do. World Showcase isn't the most action-packed area- it's a little more peaceful. :mickey:

[mudpuppysmom]

These are our two favorite parks.....had you asked if you could do MGM and Epcot in one day I still would say no b/c we usually spend 3 days at Epcot and 1/2 day or so at MGM!

MGM is our arrival day park -- but that is just us. I am quite sure that others out there can spend a lot more time there, but our family just does not really enjoy that particular park the way we enjoy AK and Epcot.

At AK we can easily spend an entire day there plus another half day......it's just how my family enjoys things.

I think you need to figure out exactly what you like or think you like and go from there. For us, we do MGM arrival day, then AK one full day, Epcot two full days, MK a day then back to AK and Epcot in the same day and our last day we usually finish up at MK.

Each trip is different too -- we started out only spending one day at Epcot, but as our son has gotten older there is more to do/see with him and he enjoys the park more and more each time we go -- and the same with AK (he says he wants to be an animal rescuer when he gets bigger -- or a vet, so both parks have animals, land and sea, so that peaks his interests and we foster that along with his imagination!).

Just eval what you want to get out of your vaca and go from there.

[Lizzie]

We used to be able to do AK in one full day. But now I think that the kids are older we will need more time. But its one of my favorites I love just walking around with the camera taking pictures.

[ThanxForNoticin]

I think you've gotten lots of good feedback here. Just to add my 2 cents, it really will depend on what you might want to see and do. Can you do AK in a morning? Yes, as long as you pick out a couple 'must-do' attractions and realize you will not get to a lot of things. If you want to enjoy AK fully (attractions, shows, animals, food), it will take all day. Can you do EPCOT in an afternoon? Yes, as long as you hit a few of your favorites. I find it hard to believe your boys won't enjoy many of the EPCOT attractions, like Test Track, Living Seas, Energy, Spaceship Earth, and Innoventions.

One thing is very true - in August, your plan to spend most afternoons by the pool is a very good one! Hope you have a great trip.

[KAJUNKING]

it seems the ak grows on us, the more time we spend there the more we enjoy this park. the nemo show and fotlk are imho the best two shows in all of wdw

[Giggy]

For us Animal Kingdom is at least a one and a half day park as we like to get as much done as possible. One of those days we have a character breakfast. Epcot again we spend more than 1 day at as we like to do all the attractions and go through all of world showcase. Epcot gets at least one full day, then is mixed with other things such as an evening after a water park. Sometimes another option has been driving to Magic Kingdom in the morning, taking the monorail to Epcot and then finishing off at Magic Kingdom that evening.

How long each park takes depends on how long you have and how much you want to see/do. Florida has been a 2 or 3 week holiday for us with normally 2 weeks spent in Orlando. As we don't go often we want to see everything each park has to offer so each park is visited over more than one day. If you have less time and just have a few key attractions to visit at a park then you can cut it down shorter. An extreme case I guess would be going to Magic Kingdom, riding the 3 mountains (Thunder, Splash, Space), Pirates of the Carribean and Haunted Mansion, then leaving. It wouldn't work for us though, last time we went Magic Kingdom got our first day, our last day and at least part of two days in the middle! :mickey: