Epcot (frozen) or more MK?

Chrislovesdisney

DIS Veteran
Joined
Apr 16, 2017
We are doing a quick budget trip, girls will be 3 and 6, with the notion of getting in as many princesses and magical little kid rides as possible. We do plan on returning to the parks in subsequent years as they grow, and we do plan on an Alaskan cruise in 2020. But for now, 3 Park days, no hopper. Part of MK morning planning to be eaten up by CRT breakfast. Should we do MK/MK/DHS, or MK/Epcot/DHS? I’m worried one day won’t be enough for MK, and really all they will be missing in Epcot is frozen for the point of this trip. Will we regret missing frozen at this age? They will meet Anna and Elsa on the cruise... thoughts?

ETA: we met Anna and Elsa on a Disney Cruise last summer. My oldest was 4.5 so she had that wow experience.
 
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My niece is 5, she's moved on from Anna and Elsa. If you wait until 2020, they might still be interested but it won't be the OMG reaction you'd get right now.

I'd honestly skip hollywood studios if the goal is princesses. There are a fair number of them through Epcot in the World Showcase.
 
My girls are 2, 4, and 6. We are doing HS, MK, MK, Epcot. If I had to eliminate one, it would be HS. Epcot has the Frozen ride, plus you can only meet Anna and Elsa at Epcot, and also you can meet other princesses in different pavilions of world showcase (Belle in France, Snow White in Germany, etc). I know you said Anna and Elsa will be on the cruise but my 6 yr old is already starting to lose some interest in princesses so I would worry in 2 years it wouldn’t be as magical and special for your oldest. In addition Epcot has Akershus Royal banquet hall. We are doing CRT but will also be doing Akershus. Gotta maximize princesses now! I say all this as someone who hasn’t actually been to Disney yet, but this is based on lots of research and recommendations from friends who have been :-) Have you looked into 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian? They have a Cinderella’s Dinner that features Cinderella, the Prince, the stepmother, and step sisters, who are supposedly hilarious. We are doing it on check in night - no park tickets required since at a resort. I realize you said budget trip but just making sure you know all the options because I think that one gets overlooked sometimes!
 
Do Epcot for sure. Our very first disney trip we did one day MK and one day Epcot. It was PERFECT! World showcase in Epcot is the relaxing antidote to magical kingdom. The Frozen ride is really very nicely done. Our kids are that age and they also love the Mexico pavilion with the boat ride in the pyramid, the Seas with Nemo, Spaceship Earth, Living with the land, just exploring the different countries with all the live performers and getting gelatos in Italy. We like yo do breakfast with Mickey and Chip and Dale in Garden Grill.
 
I had the same kind of trip last year. We did MK HS MK. My 4.5 yo daughter loved the MK and princesses but I also have a (at the time) 2.5 yo son who love all the storm troopers. I don't think I would of changed it because my kids love all the Disney Jr. stuff and the Frozen Singalong and Little Mermaid shows.

It's a tough question!

Next year when we go down since I will then have a 6 yo daughter, 4 yo son and a 1.5 yo daughter, we'll be getting in an Epcot day for sure though.
 
My daughter is five and a total princess lover! She likes Magic Kingdom and Epcot, but not so much Hollywood studios. The storm troopers terrify her and they are walking around by the Disney Junior stuff and the little mermaid show. She’s not a kid who scares easily, But the storm troopers did it! We are going in August and she says that she does not want to go to Hollywood studios at all. She does like Epcot.
 
My daughter is 6.... She has always preferred Epcot to HS. (We go 1-2x a year) My dd likes very mild rides so some of her favorites are in Epcot. That being said, I wouldn’t choose Epcot based solely on the Frozen ride. IMHO -it’s not that great.
 


Unless they're huge Toy Story fans, I'd skip HS. It's my girls' least favorite park. I would do two days at MK and one day at Epcot. Epcot has Frozen and Anna and Elsa, the Nemo ride, Turtle Talk with Crush (which is a super cute show!) and your 6 year old might be tall enough for Soarin'. I have also seen Belle, Aurora, Snow White, Alice in Wonderland, Mulan, Jasmine, and Mary Poppins at Epcot.
 
My eldest was obsessed with the rides at AK at 6, so i would consider it instead of HS, which we all found rather boring. I would do either MK, E, AK or MK, E, MK again.
 
We are doing a quick budget trip, girls will be 3 and 6, with the notion of getting in as many princesses and magical little kid rides as possible. We do plan on returning to the parks in subsequent years as they grow, and we do plan on an Alaskan cruise in 2020. But for now, 3 Park days, no hopper. Part of MK morning planning to be eaten up by CRT breakfast. Should we do MK/MK/DHS, or MK/Epcot/DHS? I’m worried one day won’t be enough for MK, and really all they will be missing in Epcot is frozen for the point of this trip. Will we regret missing frozen at this age? They will meet Anna and Elsa on the cruise... thoughts?

ETA: we met Anna and Elsa on a Disney Cruise last summer. My oldest was 4.5 so she had that wow experience.

Tough one but .... if you met Anna and Elsa than the only plus to them at Epcot is seeing their cottage and going on the ride. Which was well done but not sure worth an entire day ticket given to it. You could book a Princess meal there as well but somewhat redundant of CRT. I would say nothing in Future World is magical little kid ..... World Showcase can be fun for kids but again nothing more there in the princess world that you won't cover at your meals.

Many folks don't like DHS, but we have always loved it. It has the details and Disney look .... Princesses are well covered in different ways than other parks; Little Mermaid SHOW, Beauty & Beast SHOW, Frozen SHOW. You have Playhouse Disney and the Muppet Show is cute. You will have Toy Story Land that should be fun for all. Fantasmic at night is a great show for their age so maybe book a Fantasmic Dining Package at H&V and meet some more characters. You could book it for lunch and if need be take a break in afternoon and be back for the Fantasmic.

I personally would do MK twice with DHS. Leave Epcot for when they are older, able to do or appreciate more and Disney has added more attractions.
 
My daughter and I had lunch with the princesses at Akershus in Epcot. Paired with the Elsa/Anna cottage and frozen ride, it was a great day for her.
 
We were absolutely unimpressed with Frozen Ever After. And it's rare that I say that about anything at WDW, but it's the truth.

I agree that Aukerhaus was wonderful. But I think that any family with young kids would want at least 2 days at MK before planning on other parks. That's the most bang for your buck in terms of elementary age rides.
 
I think that whatever second park you decide, most would agree that you should do two days at MK. Even going open-close (which I would not recommend with children) you aren't going to see everything you want to see in one day, especially if part of your day is CRT.
 
Thanks for all of your feedback, you’ve given a lot for us a consider. Decisions are so hard! I guess at this age, they don’t know what they are missing (only we do!).
 
Thanks for all of your feedback, you’ve given a lot for us a consider. Decisions are so hard! I guess at this age, they don’t know what they are missing (only we do!).

You're right. They won't know. And since it's not a once in a lifetime trip, I wouldn't worry about it too much. Any way you do it will be fun. My oldest is going to be 13 in a few months and she still finds everything fun and magical. Obviously she doesn't think the princesses are real, but it's still fun. And if you don't get it all in when your girls are little, there are still many years for them to still have a great time.
 
Tough one but .... if you met Anna and Elsa than the only plus to them at Epcot is seeing their cottage and going on the ride. Which was well done but not sure worth an entire day ticket given to it. You could book a Princess meal there as well but somewhat redundant of CRT. I would say nothing in Future World is magical little kid ..... World Showcase can be fun for kids but again nothing more there in the princess world that you won't cover at your meals.



Many folks don't like DHS, but we have always loved it. It has the details and Disney look .... Princesses are well covered in different ways than other parks; Little Mermaid SHOW, Beauty & Beast SHOW, Frozen SHOW. You have Playhouse Disney and the Muppet Show is cute. You will have Toy Story Land that should be fun for all. Fantasmic at night is a great show for their age so maybe book a Fantasmic Dining Package at H&V and meet some more characters. You could book it for lunch and if need be take a break in afternoon and be back for the Fantasmic.

I personally would do MK twice with DHS. Leave Epcot for when they are older, able to do or appreciate more and Disney has added more attractions.

Agreed! Frozen sing along at DHS is one of our absolute favorites!
 
My girls are 2, 4, and 6. We are doing HS, MK, MK, Epcot. If I had to eliminate one, it would be HS. Epcot has the Frozen ride, plus you can only meet Anna and Elsa at Epcot, and also you can meet other princesses in different pavilions of world showcase (Belle in France, Snow White in Germany, etc). I know you said Anna and Elsa will be on the cruise but my 6 yr old is already starting to lose some interest in princesses so I would worry in 2 years it wouldn’t be as magical and special for your oldest. In addition Epcot has Akershus Royal banquet hall. We are doing CRT but will also be doing Akershus. Gotta maximize princesses now! I say all this as someone who hasn’t actually been to Disney yet, but this is based on lots of research and recommendations from friends who have been :-) Have you looked into 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian? They have a Cinderella’s Dinner that features Cinderella, the Prince, the stepmother, and step sisters, who are supposedly hilarious. We are doing it on check in night - no park tickets required since at a resort. I realize you said budget trip but just making sure you know all the options because I think that one gets overlooked sometimes!

We just did this and Lady Tremaine was hilarious!!
 
...with the notion of getting in as many princesses and magical little kid rides as possible. We do plan on returning to the parks in subsequent years as they grow...Should we do MK/MK/DHS, or MK/Epcot/DHS?

I would do MK/Epcot/DHS. Since you are going again, and keeping this in mind:

I guess at this age, they don’t know what they are missing (only we do!).

...I would rather hit the little kid highlights of three parks and add more experiences at each as they grow. That leaves some old favorites and some new things to explore at each park next time. Plus, it gives the girls (or at least the older one) a sense of all three of those parks, which will be useful next time when they're more likely to be involved in helping you plan.

Epcot will be great for more than just Frozen, too. There are definitely more princesses to see in World Showcase, and Future World has it's own little kid stuff. - DS could spend ages in the aquarium area when he was little, and Turtle Talk with Crush is adorable!
 
Count me in with 2 MK and Epcot, dropping DHS. We went on Nemo about 4 times when my kiddos were that age. They loved the drummers in Japan. The dancing water at Imagination kept them busy for about 20 minutes. Then they were worn out enough to sleep in the strollers while we enjoyed World Showcase. The only thing they liked at DHS was the Disney Junior show (which is going away for a different show) and Toy Story Mania. We spent about 2 hours total in the park. Without a parkhopper, it's probably a waste of a day, even with TSL opening.
 
So funny you mentioned the dancing water. I suddenly got a flashback to Disney when I was 5 in 1984. One of my few actual memories is the dancing watering Epcot! Forgot about that til now! Thank you!
 

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