Day with 5 year old son- which park?

[lilwendigirl]

My 5 person family (DD14, DD9, DS5) is headed to WDW in late April 2022. We arrive late Saturday night and will start the parks on Sunday. Current plan is to do MK Sunday, HS Monday, half day Wed at MK to rest, Thurs at EP, Friday at AK, and Sat finish at MK. No Parker hopper; staying onsite in DVC. Tues my DDs and husband are headed to Universal- big HP fans! My DS5 and I are free to do whatever we want on Tues at WDW.
two questions- first, how does the plan sound order of park wise? We do want 2.5 days at MK and we are not huge SW fans but we do want to see GE. We will have early entry and late nights (as offered) based on our resort selection. Not planning to Genie + but it’s an option.
Second, I was thinking of taking my DS5 to EPCOT on Tues when the rest of the family is at UNI bc my son is a tinker-er and I think he would love to have all the time he wants to play in the ‘exhibit’ areas in FW. Plus I wanted to do a special lunch with him at Space220!!! But I am afraid going with him to EP before we go with the family could be a let down for him when we go on Thurs. Should we wait to go later in the week as a family and should I just take him to MK on our special day? Or should I change up the order of our plans and do EP as a family on Mon and then again on Tues with my DS? If so when do I go to HS?
insights appreciated.
(It goes without saying that I know I am overthinking this and I appreciate your feedback and help planning anyways )

 

[kwdw]

You already have 2.5 days at MK - I'd pick a different park.

I'd suggest AK.

You could purposefully start the Wilderness Explorer activities, and take time to go out to Conservation Station and explore there (maybe do the Animation Experience if he likes to draw). You could also play carnival games in Dino-Land. He is also more likely to enjoy some time at the Boneyard compared to the rest your kids. Pick a different place for lunch than you will go with the whole family. I can't speak for your son, but many 5 yo's are happier with a short meal of pizza vs. a sit-down meal. Or maybe go to Rain Forest Cafe if you think that would be new to him. Another idea is to save time to go to the Lego store at DS - maybe eat at T-Rex.

To do the Wilderness Explorer stuff - there's really more than you can do on ONE day - so it would be cool to give him a second day to do that.

Plan SOME rides with him this day - but maybe save other ones for doing with the family.

Some of my responses are based on a kid I know that - she loved the rides in FW at EP - and she liked the active coloring of Duffy when they had that - but all the exhibits and shops bore her to tear at EP.

 

[TreeFalls]

You already have 2.5 days at MK - I'd pick a different park.

I'd suggest AK.

You could purposefully start the Wilderness Explorer activities, and take time to go out to Conservation Station and explore there (maybe do the Animation Experience if he likes to draw). You could also play carnival games in Dino-Land. He is also more likely to enjoy some time at the Boneyard compared to the rest your kids. Pick a different place for lunch than you will go with the whole family. I can't speak for your son, but many 5 yo's are happier with a short meal of pizza vs. a sit-down meal. Or maybe go to Rain Forest Cafe if you think that would be new to him. Another idea is to save time to go to the Lego store at DS - maybe eat at T-Rex.

To do the Wilderness Explorer stuff - there's really more than you can do on ONE day - so it would be cool to give him a second day to do that.

Plan SOME rides with him this day - but maybe save other ones for doing with the family.

Some of my responses are based on a kid I know that - she loved the rides in FW at EP - and she liked the active coloring of Duffy when they had that - but all the exhibits and shops bore her to tear at EP.

+1 for AK. When my son was 5, I had him on the last day of our trip (plus the 7 month old). He chose to go back to AK. Wilderness explorers, trails, stop at the interesting animals and learn all about them. I think it's the best park for exploring without doing rides or anything.

None of my kids have ever really liked World Showcase very much.

 

[loves to dive]

Another vote for AK, you can always just do a half day then go back to the resort for pool time.

My son loved Epcot at that age but WS was full of CMs from their countries and he has always loved learning and was a history geek from day one. He loved talking to them about their countries and doing all the things in Future World. That was back in the 80s when Future World had lots to do. Right now a lot of the CMs from other countries still aren't back and Future World is kind of a mess.

There are all sorts of side trails at AK to explore, you can walk around the trail at the bottom of the tree of life and try to find all the animals.

 

[unrequited23]

AK is my youngest son's favorite park. He loves the Boneyard play area and the animal trails. I would head there, especially if I had an early bird on my hands. Another option would be to have a lazy pool day and let him do the pool activities and go to DS for the lego store and T-rex (if he likes dinosaurs)

 

[Disneyfan754321]

Another vote for AK.

Another option is Disney springs day..
My son loved it.. we ate at trex cafe , went to the lego store and rode the hot air balloon... then on the way back we stopped for some mini golf
(it was next to our hotel the swan reserve) then pool time. The one on one time and some relaxation was exactly what he needed with all the walking that was done in the week)

 

[Wendysofftoneverland]

My 5 year old loves "Epacot." He mostly likes Future World, but April is Flower and Garden Festival time and he loved searching for "Buzz Buzz"...aka the Spike the Bee scavenger hunt. So I'd pick Epcot. We went in late April to AK last year and we just got so hot and tired, while the Seas and Land portion of Epcot's Future World give a lot of indoor air conditioning.

I love your idea of a special Space 220 lunch.

 

[martikus]

My son loved Epcot. if they do an Easter scavenger hunt or the like that is great. He could ride living the land over and over. He LOVED garden grill character breakfast at that age. I’d personally do that over a crazy expensive space. Remember at 5 you are lucky if they eat a French fry.

Or do a pool day and a character meal at a hotel. Either way will be great. At that age we skipped AK to have a second day at Epcot he loved it so much. Make sure to leave time to roam the Japan gift shop.

 

[ShazzySteph]

Another vote for AK! When my nephew was 5, he wanted to do the Safari 3 times in 1 day. Also the Wilderness Explorers is so fun and takes more than 1 day to get through. Plus, with the park being so big, it is easy to get "lost" in the magic of it.

 

[ElenaRN]

My 5 year old loves "Epacot."

ODD used to say it like this also. It was so cute. Brings back memories!

 

[Wildcard]

AK seems like a natural choice, but a word of warning from experience...

My 5 year old hated it. He loves animals, but can also see them at the local zoo. His problem was that he is a full on thrill seeker, and a bit short for his age. So we were left with a bunch of cool rides that everyone else could go on, and a bunch of animals he's already seen. Now that he's a bit taller he loves it. Needless to say, 5 was a tricky age.

 

[MamaMermaid]

AK for sure!