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Planning a trip to Disney and have a question...


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We'll be at the resort outside Disney for five days/four nights. DH thinks that we should buy only 2 day passes to Magic Kingdom. I think we should buy 3 day passes. I'd hate to regret not having the extra day once we're there.

 

Our kids are 10, 8, 6,4,and 3. Do you think 2 days will be enough since we're going at a not-so-busy time of year? Do you think 3 days of MK would be too much? We're only going to Magic Kingdom, not any other parks. WWYD?

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May I ask why you don't want to go to any other park? I would probably do a day at MK, a day at Epcot and then the 3rd day to go back to whichever one was your favorite. We like Epcot. You could even divide and conquer and have part of your family do Epcot on the last day and the other do MK. I think 3 days at MK would be a bit much for me. I might even go to Animal Kingdom for the 3rd day. A Disney ticket is good at any of the parks...now without a park hopper you will have to choose just one to do.

Christine

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If you are only doing MK, 3 days in a row is a bit much. (Coming from the family who just spent 4 days in a row at Busch Gardens!) But also like Christine said, a ticket is good to any park. If you don't add the park hopper then you have to stay in one park that day.

 

Epcot is a lot of walking and my dh doesn't like it too much. At those ages, I'd say that Animal kingdom would be a hit. Disney Studios (I htink that's what they call it now) has some stuff for each of your kids, but for my family it's not an all day kind of park, more like 1/2 day.

 

I would get 3 days and enjoy it to the max.

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I think you can wait and see if you prefer. I think you can add a day to your existing tickets once you are there. You might have to stand in line at the ticket booth though. MK would be fine for 2 days but for a third day it might be better to go to another park. Epcot might be "boring" for the younger kids. There are some attractions at Disney Studios and Animal Kingdom for younger kids. Personally, I'd go to Seas World for the 3rd day. We loved Sea World!

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I think you can wait and see if you prefer. I think you can add a day to your existing tickets once you are there. You might have to stand in line at the ticket booth though. MK would be fine for 2 days but for a third day it might be better to go to another park. Epcot might be "boring" for the younger kids. There are some attractions at Disney Studios and Animal Kingdom for younger kids. Personally, I'd go to Seas World for the 3rd day. We loved Sea World!

 

It's just that a third day at Disney is cheaper when bought as a package, rather than a single day at Sea World. (does that make sense).

 

I'm not a huge fan of Epcot. I think it's very outdated (except for the cool Nemo exhibit) and a little too old for my kids. Animal Kingdom is out since my dc, except for my 2 boys, do not like animals. In fact, my 10 yo dd hates animals. But I think she'd tolerate Sea World since it's also a lot of entertainment.

 

So, I guess I'm leaning toward 2 days at MK and 1 day at SW. :001_smile:

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I agree with the above posters. If you get a park hopper pass then I would do the three day pass otherwise two days at the MK is more than enough. I would also agree that Animal Kingdom is a great pick for all ages. Although it has the big roller coasters it also has a large amount for your littlest to do. Both Animal Kingdom and Epcot have kids programs where they do different activities throughout the park in order to get a small stamp or poster. My DS had almost as much fun trying to find the kids centers as he did with the park rides. We love Disney parks.

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If you're only willing to go to MK, then two days should be plenty. My kids and I love the other parks, so for my family, we'd go for 3 days of park-hoppers and do everything!

 

Animal Kingdom is one of my favorites (and I wouldn't describe myself as an "animal person" by any means), and my whole family loves Epcot. I guess I don't really understand why it would be "too old" for your crew... Hollywood Studios (formerly MGM) is probably our least favorite, but it's still tons of fun with great shows like Beauty and the Beast and the Indiana Jones stunt show, etc.

 

But if none of the other three parks appeal to you, two days at MK should do it.

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First of all the countries should work for all ages. They can do the passport thing and kid station at each country. Plus, we like to let one member pick out one thing to get like Schoolbread at Norway and we all eat it, then someone else picks out a French pastry and we all share, etc. There are tons of things to do at Epcot. We went when the boys were 2 and 4 and had a blast. I don't think it is too old.

 

It's just that a third day at Disney is cheaper when bought as a package, rather than a single day at Sea World. (does that make sense).

 

I'm not a huge fan of Epcot. I think it's very outdated (except for the cool Nemo exhibit) and a little too old for my kids. Animal Kingdom is out since my dc, except for my 2 boys, do not like animals. In fact, my 10 yo dd hates animals. But I think she'd tolerate Sea World since it's also a lot of entertainment.

 

So, I guess I'm leaning toward 2 days at MK and 1 day at SW. :001_smile:

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If you have three days passes you won't feel as though you have to cram everything into two days in the park, and can stroll, go back to the hotel and swim/chill out, etc. I think three day pass would make it more enjoyable.

 

That said - out of our 2.5 weeks in Southern California we plan to allow one measly day for D'Land!!!!

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Yes...it is slower than other times of the year, but still expect to wait in line for popular rides. Two years ago, we went two weeks before Christmas and it was VERY slow! I think the longest we waited in a line was 15 minutes. However, we don't do the "big" attraction roller coasters since our children are younger. We only go in the mornings for 3 hours...since my children and DH are pooped after about 3 hours of walking...and about 1.5 - 2 hours in the afternoon. We were able to see and do everything we wanted in 2 days.

 

This year, we went the week after Thanksgiving...and, I was shocked at how long some of the lines were by 10am! The Peter Pan ride had a 45 minute wait! My SIL goes with her family every summer, and they can wait 2 hours in line for a ride! Yikes!!!

 

All I'm saying is...I've been told that each week in December will get busier as it gets closer to Christmas. Two days should be plenty of time if you are going to spend a good portion of the day there. Just make sure you use the Fast Passes to your benefit...and, hit the rides that are most important to you first! And, get there early.

 

One word of advice since you have younger children...unless you are bringing a stroller...get one or two double strollers. We got one double and piled all three of ours in there. It helped tremendously!!

 

By the way, the Christmas decorations are lovely!!

 

Smiles!

~Holly

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OK seeing that you are going two weeks before Christmas I'm wondering if you have looked into Mickey's Very Merry Christmas. It is at night and there is virtually no wait for any of the rides. They give out free hot cocoa and cookies throught the night. The castle lights are beautiful. It really makes doing the entire park manageable. Also if you get the park hopper pass you can go over to MGM and look at the Chritmas lights there which are amazing. You are going at a really good time of year so I would look into what the parks offer for the holidays.

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OK seeing that you are going two weeks before Christmas I'm wondering if you have looked into Mickey's Very Merry Christmas. It is at night and there is virtually no wait for any of the rides. They give out free hot cocoa and cookies throught the night. The castle lights are beautiful. It really makes doing the entire park manageable. Also if you get the park hopper pass you can go over to MGM and look at the Chritmas lights there which are amazing. You are going at a really good time of year so I would look into what the parks offer for the holidays.

 

Or is it included in the base pass. I've never heard of it.

 

As you can see, I'm a Disney novice. Don't know much about it and really appreciate the advice I've been given thus far.

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OK seeing that you are going two weeks before Christmas I'm wondering if you have looked into Mickey's Very Merry Christmas...

 

The Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party is *fabulous*. It's officially from 7pm-midnight, but I believe they'll start letting people in a few hours before that even without daily park tickets. (You should ask on some of the Disney boards though -- we've always had park hopper tickets for the same days we've gone to the VMCP anyway.) We've gone on a weeknight during the second week in December for the last two years, and it's just wonderful. Minimal crowds, all the best rides are open, characters (with short waits) everywhere, hot chocolate, cookies, Christmas lights, "snow", special parades and shows...

 

Or is it included in the base pass. I've never heard of it.

 

It's a separate special ticket. They kick all the daily pass people out at 7pm, and only allow VMCP ticket-holders with wristbands in from 7-midnight. My kids have willingly napped beforehand for the last two years with the prospect of getting to stay till midnight at Disney. ;)

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You can upgrade any ticket for up to 14 days. If you go for 2 days and want a 3rd, you would only need to pay the difference. Being FL residents for us getting 3 days pass was like buying 2 days and getting one free. Saying all that...I think 3 days would be too much for MK, aleast for my family, and we LOVE MK. We much prefer SeaWorld. Seaworld is so much better for the kids, so many shows (don't forget to find Pets Ahoy- dogs, cats, etc...they all put on a performance that's amazing), they now have some rides, etc...really nice.

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My children enjoy Epcot and the younger ones love the passport activities. (Lame as some might be lol). Epcot is nice and wide...one simply doesn't feel the crush of people there in the same way. And their night program of fireworks, music and lasers is the best of any of the parks, imo. Epcot also has wine for the mommies, which MK does not. :glare:

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