Suggestions on which 3 parks to visit..

[reenie1]

My husband impulsively booked a trip to Disney last night, and we will be arriving in 4 weeks. We went annually for many years but have not been in the past 5 years. It will be two adults and one 16 year old boy and we will be going to the parks three days, with no park hoppers, so three parks total. Any suggestions for which three parks have the best new rides over the past five years that are most likely to interest a 16 year old boy? I am thinking we should definitely go to Animal Kingdom. Thanks for any suggestions on which park to leave out this trip. I am sure we will be back again

I usually spend months planning so I feel extremely behind and like all of my information is out of date. Any suggestions on trip planning websites and books are welcome as well. I used to use TourGuide Mike but it seems like that does not exist anymore. Thank you!

 

[CAS239]

Unless you want to tour the world showcase, I'd leave out Epcot

A 16 yr old will likely love Tot, RnR, and the Indy show... So I'd include HS

 

[hllb]

If no hoppers, I would think that you'd want to skip Hollywood Studios, even though there are still some great rides there. There are also lots of Star Wars stuff. Well, if you guys are in to Star Wars, I supposed I would consider skipping Epcot and doing HS instead. But if you're not into SW, skip HS.

 

[hllb]

Unless you want to tour the world showcase, I'd leave out Epcot

A 16 yr old will likely love Tot, RnR, and the Indy show... So I'd include HS

Yeah, I was torn on that. I think the rides are better there, but I don't think there's as much to fill the day as there would be at Epcot.

 

[scrappinginontario]

As others have said, I would review what is available at Epcot and Hollywood Studios and skip one of those.

 

[danielocha30]

I would leave EPCOT out. Hollywood Studios has more to offer. Magic Kingdom is a must and Animal kingdom has the hot item: Avatar Land

 

[KenHutch]

Hollywood Studios is by far my favorite park (notice the avatar you can tell I like Star Wars) and if your willing to stand in a long line there is FoP at Animal Kingdom. All in all I am thinking Epcot would bore a teenage boy.

 

[wdw&sonny]

Agree with all others. Go to MK and AK (b/c of new Pandora land). Even though you won't be able to get a FOP FP at this late date, many on here have reported getting a FOP FP the day you are there...so go and keep checking your app.

Skip either Epcot or HS. Compare TSM, RnRC, ToT to Soarin, TT and FEA. For a 16 yo boy, I think HS. But, you may collectively prefer the dining/shopping options of the World Showcase at Epcot.

Pick one, get FPs and go with it.

 

[bryanb]

16-year-old me would've liked Epcot, so it might also be a good idea to ask him -- if all choices are otherwise equal to you.

 

[Frozen2014]

Magic Kingdom is a given.
Ak sounds amazing now with Pandora.
So hard...Epcot has Test Track and Soarin...two amazing rides (although maybe Soarin isn't as exciting to a 16 year old).
But as others have said...Tower of Terror and RnRC may be more interesting for that age if he likes thrill rides.

 

[mamamelody2]

MK and AK for sure.
Ask your son what he would prefer out of Epcot and HS. If he is into Star Wars, just go with HS.

 

[PlutoTheDog89]

DHS gets a bad wrap with the construction as only being "half a park" but it's a darn good half. I love ToT, RnR and TSMM.

I believe the International Festival of the Arts is going on during the time you're there, but I'm not sure it's enough to go to EPCOT.

Magic Kingdom is an obvious one. I'd do Animal Kingdom because everyone will be asking "did you do Pandora?!?" when you get back; and I'd do DHS because I think the rides are just better. Maybe do DHS the first half of the day, then go eat dinner and check out Disney Springs.

 

[reenie1]

Thank you all so much for your thoughts. We are planning to go to Epcot at this time. My poor son actually fractured his elbow yesterday, so we may have to give up our planned "pool days" and add another park day or two!

 

[epcotty]

I say skip Hollywood Studios, they're re-doing a lot of the park now (unless you really want to see the Star Wars stuff). I don't know why some people say or imply Epcot is strictly for adults. We've always liked going there and I liked it as an older kid/teen (which is before they tried to make it more Disney-ish). It definitely currently has more to fill the day with than HS. In any case definitely do Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom

 

[mickeymom22]

My teenagers love Epcot. They would rather skip Magic Kingdom! I would let him guide the decision...unless you have your heart set on a park!

Yay for an unexpected WDW trip! Have a great time!

 

[GPC0321]

If you guys are Star Wars fans, Hollywood Studios is a must, especially if you're going to be there at night for the Galactic Spectacular. There's the Star Tours ride of course, cool Star Wars stuff at Launch Bay (including meeting Chewie and Kylo Ren), Phasma and the Stormtroopers march through the park, and there's a stage show of some sort too, I believe (caught the end of it when we were there in December for Jingle Bell, Jingle Bam). Add in Rock N Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, the Indiana Jones show, and whatever else I'm forgetting that a 16 year old boy might like, and it's a decent day.

Personally I love Epcot and would choose it in a heartbeat over Hollywood Studios (even though I love Star Wars too). But I'm a 43 year old woman who likes to shop and eat. LOL.

Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom are musts for me. On my upcoming trip we're only staying 3 nights and doing two non-hopping park days. Animal Kingdom was a given since we're staying at Kidani Village, and Magic Kingdom just goes without saying.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[Haley R]

I would ask your 16 yo what he would rather do. I personally like Epcot better than HS because I'm not a huge Star Wars fan. DH loves Star Wars and still thought Epcot was better. We left HS last year at around 1 pm and felt like we had done everything.

 

[JerseyJanice]

Thank you all so much for your thoughts. We are planning to go to Epcot at this time. My poor son actually fractured his elbow yesterday, so we may have to give up our planned "pool days" and add another park day or two!

Oh, that stinks. Your poor boy! I hope he heals quickly.

 

[Micca]

Thank you all so much for your thoughts. We are planning to go to Epcot at this time. My poor son actually fractured his elbow yesterday, so we may have to give up our planned "pool days" and add another park day or two!

Well I'm sorry to hear about the elbow. I'd def forego the pool days for more park time in any case.