Trip Advice for Niece

My niece and her family are going to WDW. :mickey:

The players are my niece and her husband, her mom (my sister-in-law) and their 3 boys (ages 11, 7 and 5)

It will be their first trip to WDW and there are some extenuating circumstances that are not at all helpful to me in giving them advice.

First, they will not be staying on property and they will not have park hoppers. I guess the thing that bugs me most is that they only have 3.5 days in the parks, and I think they are going during Spring Break..:unsure:

I do not know if they are adventurous when it comes to riding attractions, but I would lean toward not very adventurous.

So her question to me is...

They have 3.5 days at the parks.

Do you...

A. Spend a full day at MK, AK, EP and a half day at DHS

B. Spend a full day at MK, AK, DHS and half day at Epcot

C. Visit 3 parks only, but do 1.5 days at _________ (which parks would you do?)

D. Do something completely different

I am struggling here. I do not know how to advise them. I guess I'd say 'A', but if I had my way they would be staying on property, have a total of 5 park days and do each park per day and then have the extra to repeat any park and especially stay away during Spring Break...but, you know...

BTW I know I should have done a poll, but not sure about that -maybe next time. :blush:

I appreciate any advice, especially from those who travel during the busier times, I did go once the week after Christmas, but I did not know any better at the time.

I would say at least 1 full day at MK and Epcot. Animal Kingdom can be done in half a day. Hollywood Studios does not have a ton to do even with the shows. We did it in half a day. Hard to do a half day park without park hoppers. But I can understand the extra cost. The will need to utilize fastpass as soon as they are able to make it. Also maybe have them look online at park info and pick the things that are important to them. Example: character interaction, parades, shows and night time shows. Hopefully that would give them some type of plan. Lastly be there when the park opens and stay as long as they can comfortably handle it

We went on our first "adult" trip during spring break. We had a great time. It helped that I had read some Birnbaums and other guides so I had an idea of what things we'd like to do before the trip.

I would do Animal Kingdom on arrival day, MK on day 2, Epcot on day 3, and MK on the last/ half day. I don't think I would do DHS with that short of a trip without hoppers with all of the construction.

I would suggest skipping DHS. And focus on 3 days at 3 parks. I would forget about the half day too. Half day could be a "free day" or "relax day" or an "activity day" like Disney Springs Splitsville bowling or miniature golf at Winter Summerland. Sometimes not packing everything in at once is best. Leave DHS untouched so they will come back to visit that park. However, you could use the half day as an option to go back and revisit 1 of the 3 parks. In my experience, most first timers want to visit Epcot twice. So maybe use the half day to revisit Epcot. Or simply use the half day as a "free day" as mentioned above.

I would also put DHS at the bottom of the list - possibly even a "miss" this trip, due to the construction. I'd recommend they do the park that interests THEM the most the first day - let's just say it's MK. Then perhaps EPCOT the next day and AK the 3rd day. Then keep the extra 1/2-day open for the opportunity to return to the one park they really enjoyed, and might like to do an attraction again - or do an attraction they didn't get to the first time they visited. I know it's tougher to do a day at Disney by just winging it, especially if it's busier - but that 1/2-day could be more fun with some flexibility - even if it's (as suggested above) to enjoy an afternoon at the pool at their hotel!

A lot of this depends on the type of people they are, and what they think they might most like. As we all know, there isn't nearly enough time to do all of the great things Disney has to offer, but they can have a great trip!

So, the questions I'm thinking you need to ask/know:
1. Are they Star Wars fans? If so, they will need a 1/2 day at DHS. If not, they can probably skip it this time.
2. Will they want to spend time in World Showcase, or is that better left for another trip?

I'd do 1.5 days at MK for sure, it is the classic Disney experience, and even if they just do that, they will probably feel like they had a good trip. If they are Star Wars people, 1/2 day at DHS. If the boys are into animals, they will love AK and need a full day there, leaving only 1/2 day for Epcot, which really isn't a lot, but enough to hit the cool stuff (what remains of it) in Future World.

definitely a full day at Epcot and MK, maybe split a day at AK and DHS and use the other half day at MK

The half day would be Animal Kingdom if I were going to try to hit all 4 parks.

With that said, I would be more likely to do the half day and a full day at MK and use the other two days for Epcot and Hollywood Studios. However, if they don't care for things like Rock'n roller coaster and tower of terror, they would probably enjoy Animal Kingdom more than Hollywood studios so they could do 1 1/2 days of MK and the other two days for Epcot and Animal Kingdom.

It really comes down to whether they like thrill rides or not to make the determination between Hollywood Studios or Animal Kingdom.

Since it's their first visit and they are traveling with a 5 and 7 year old I think I would allow at least 1 ½ days at MK if not 2.

I too would do 1 1/2 at MK, 1 at Epcot & 1 at AK, skipping DHS. If huge Star Wars fans or absolute desire to visit DHS then only a half day at DHS. Have they priced tickets from authorized dealers outside Disney - many have some good specials making hoppers more reasonable or giving them an extra park day.

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Thank you all for your responses. I agree, if they are not fans of thrill rides or Star Wars, it could be a real waste of a day to visit DHS with all of the construction.

to give you a different point of view. /i have never been a fan of EPCOT. If they do not like thrill rides and you take out World Showcase that doesn't leave much. Many places are in process of change or closed. I would leave EPCOT off the list. I love DS. I can spent two full days there. Love all the shows and going through the movie stuff. My DD14 who is not a Star Wars fan still loved all the offerings. So here is my suggestions. One day at DS, one day at MK, one day at Ak but it can end in afternoon spend some time enjoying whatever off site resort they are at or Disney Springs. Love Splitsville. Go back to MK for last half day.

Normally I would say a full day at HS, MK, epcot, half a day at AK. but since you said they are not very adventerous, i would skip HS. HS has the best thrill rides in rock and roll rollercoaster and tower of terror. also I love the shows, but save HS for another day!
hope they have fun.

The ages of 11, 7 and 5 says to me to do 2 days at MK, One at Epcot and a half day at either DHS or AK (with my bunch it would be DHS) And I would do Epcot first.

Nanc