How long do we really need at each park?

[tnsdean]

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We're taking three boys (11, 7 & 3) this May. We're staying for two weeks but want to fit in some other attractions. How many days do we really need to see each park? We were planning on buying a 10-day pass.

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[Dumbo Ears]

I think a ten day pass should work out well if you going visit other areas.

When we were down last summer, we only visited Disney and we were there for a week, Sun to Sat. My brother and his wife and kids, who met us there, stayed an extra day. He later went on to say it was one day too much.

We found that Magic Kingdom and Epcot are full days plus, but AK and MGM you can do in a day or less.

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[Capt. Tigger]

I would have to agree with Dumbo Ears. MK and Epcot can be done in a day but its a really full day, you might want an extra day or half-day to finish some things you might not have gotten too. It shouldn't be hard to take care of DS and AK in a day each.

Hope your trip goes great!

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[debfen]

Our last few trips have been 10 day trips and we have spent every day, all days in WDW. Especially if this is your first trip, you are going to need some extra time in each park, just to take it all in. Besides the parks there is soooo much more to do at WDW. Your 11 and 7 year olds would love Disney Quest. Also there are the water parks and the pools at the resorts are cool too. ( Are you staying at a Disney Resort?) Downtown Disney has alot of intesting shops and places to eat and is worth spending the time. You might want to consider a Park Hopper Pass so that you can move around the parks throughout the day. We seldom stay in the same park all day. We usually start in one park and then move to the park that is opened the latest or the one with extra magic hours. Hope this helps. No matter what, just have fun!

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[Winkster]

I'd do the parks in smaller chunks - maybe 2 days in the Studios but aim to leave by 2pm each day so you can get some R&R around the pool.

On this basis, I'd suggest another 2 half days at AK (you can probably do the whole park in half a day anyway but there's a lot of walking and it's always fun to ride some things again and again!).

Epcot I'd say allow 2 days - maybe even do Future World on one day and the then World Showcase on another - and maybe even a return trip one evening to eat and catch the fireworks.

The Magic Kingdom can then be used to mop up extra days on your pass!

We never spend long days in the park now, in fact we've been known to go to the Studios, ride ToT and RnR and then leave. If you have 14 days at Disney, why exhaust yourself arriving at opening and being on your feet all day til closing? Vacations are for relaxation! Spend half a day here and half a day there instead and then crash round the pool, shop (Downtown Disney etc) - far more relaxing.

You'll still have plenty of time for Sea World, Universal etc.

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[cinderellamom12]

Hi,
An important thing to remember is that you can always upgrade your pass. Secondly, in addition, once you have a five day pass, to add on additional days is only a few dollars. For example, upon arrival we only had a 6 day hopper pass, we upgraded to seven days and it was only like $2 more per person. We did it right at guest services at the hotel. Secondly, you can also add on the water park option after arrival once you know what the weather will be like if you are going during the winter.
Hope that helps

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[Dumbo Ears]

I would like to add that we all had a blast at Pop Century! Does that sound corny? We loved the arcade and the pool.

The Mini Golf is a lot of fun too!

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[Shadow Jedi Rhy]

It all depends on how you like to split up your days and tour. If you're a commando style person the amount of time goes down, and if you're very very laid back you can add a little time as well. To get to see the most of a park here's a good time frame.

Magic Kingdom: 1 1/2 to 2 days and you can also use extra time to mop up things as mentioned before as there are a lot of things you may want to ride more than once.

Epcot: 1 1/2 to 2 days. Plan on doing the World Showcase on the day you plan on spending less time and be sure to do it at night and see Illuminations.

Studios: About a full day park, this one can change on how much you like Tower and Rockin and enjoy movies. If you get there early or do an EMH you can easily get it done in a full day.

AK: Probably about a full day park just b/c it's a lot of walking. As far as attractions and such probably a 1/2 to 3/4 day but there tends to be a good amount of travel time here.

Sea World: A nice park and a solid day park, go at your own pace and don't push it as it tends to be a little more laid back.

Universal: Probably a good solid day although you may have some things you may want to do more than once.

IOA: Completely dependant on how much your group likes coasters, if they do it's probably about a 1 1/2 day park if not about a day.

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[bride]

With a 10 day pass you are in great shape. Time to hit each park at least twice except maybe for Animal Kingdom which is really a one day park unless you want to spend your time wandering the nature trails.

I would recommend the following:
2 to 2.5 days at MK with at least 3 visits
1.5 to 2 days at Epcot depending on how your kids like Innoventions which for my boys is very popular.
1 to 1.5 days at the Studios with at least 2 visits to make sure you fit in all of the shows.
1 day at Animal Kingdom.

If you have the Park Hopper and Water park options then you can really do it in style.

I would recommend a visit to both Water Parks for at least the morning and if it is still open (I have heard rumours) at least two visits to Disney Quest. 7 and 11 year old boys will not want to miss Disney Quest.

Throw in a bit of time for souvenir shopping at Downtown Disney and you are all set.

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[tnsdean]

Wow! Great information. Thanks everyone.

As for Disney Quest, I see it will cost about $40 to go one day, but $90 to add the entire waterpark/quest/etc. option. Are the water parks worth it? My boys really want to go to aquatica at seaworld and I don't know if it's worth going to more than one waterpark.

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[GhostHost]

Magic Kingdom - 2 days (including at least one night for fireworks)

Epcot - 2 days (including at least one night for Illuminations)

Animal Kingdom - 1 full day if you take your time (can be done in a half day)

MGM - 1 full day if you want to ride your favorites more than a few times (can be done in a half day)


My favorite parks are MK and Epcot so I have to start and end every vacation with those two parks for sure. MK is the heart of the Disney experience and should not be rushed. Remember that if you are doing Park Hopper tickets then you can go from park to park as you please and it may take a few days to figure out where you want to spend most of your time. Travel between MK and Epcot is easy with the monorail and buses so you can easily hop between those two parks within a half hour or less. Visit AK early in the morning while it is still fairly cool out and get your safari rides done then. Later in the morning and early afternoon you can explore the rest of the park and I bet that by 2:00 you are finished and ready to go. Epcot is always fun in the evenings and we always seem to end up there at night no matter what park we visited that day. World Showcase in Epcot is really fun to stroll around and check out the shops and linger before Illuminations starts. I'm sure you will have a great time no matter what and just remember to take your time as you have about twice as long as most people do on a Disney trip.

Oh yeah, regarding Disney Quest, frankly I do think it is really worth the cost of admission but seeing as how you have three boys in that age group it might be fun for them. You could easily spend a full day at the water parks but I would recommend a half day because it really takes a lot out of you and you don't want to be too worn out for the next day. I would spend the morning at a water park and then get an afternoon nap. Then you could visit a park like Epcot in the evening and be rested.

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[Kimberly51184]

For me, 10 days in Disney World STILL isn't enough!

We can usually cram MGM and Animal Kingdom into one day each. Magic Kingdom and Epcot I would give at least two days each to. Depending on what you are really interested in seeing at Epcot. If the countries bore you, then a day might be enough. But I think Magic Kingdom needs at least two days.

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[Curious Alice]

I like to split up my days. Spend the mornings in one park, go back to the hotel and rest for a bit, then spend the rest of the day in a different park.

(I tend to go a little crazier sometimes, visiting several parks in one day, but that's because I know them so well so we just target certain attractions.)

I find that I like to visit MK twice per trip, Epcot twice per trip, and MK and Studios once per trip.

For me, AK and Studios usually take a half day.

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[pinchi2]

If it's your first trip, I recommend you take the 10 day ticket. After all, if you don't use all the days, you won't lose a huge amount of money. Upgrading is an option too. You could get a 7 day ticket and then add more days if needed. On our first trip we took the 10 day ticket and returned with about 3 days unused. Since you have kids, you may want to take it slowly and split days.
Overall, you may need 2 days for MK, 2 days for Epcot and 1 day for MGM and AK each. Again, that would be full days, but you may want to take breaks and go back to the hotel to rest, especially for the kids.
There are so many things to do at WDW beyond the theme parks you may end up spending less time at the parks than you planned.
If you plan on seeing all the fireworks (which I absolutely recommend), you may want to start your days at the parks later or just take an afternoon nap and go back to the park for that. If not, the kids may get tired and cranky by the time the fireworks are on.

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[Winkster]

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If it's your first trip, I recommend you take the 10 day ticket. After all, if you don't use all the days, you won't lose a huge amount of money.

We stay for 17 nights and, despite having been to WDW on numerous occasions before, always get 21 day passes (not sure if these are one of the passes only available in the UK).

It's only £20 ($40) more than the 14 day and means we have the option to visit parks every day of our vacation. Because we enjoy park hopping (even between Universal and Disney) and never do full days in any of the parks, having the extra flexibility works great for us.

We always buy the 14 day Orlando Flexticket too for the same reason.

We often pop into parks just because we're passing, or because we want to go to a certain shop, want to do a certain ride, go to a certain restaurant or just because we have a few hours spare.

On this basis, go for at least a 10 day pass!!!

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