Finalizing park plans- input needed

[lairam]

Good evening ,
I would love some advice from veterans on here. I’m planning my family’s trip - we are planned to stay at POP last week in March. We are taking my 8 year old. She is over the moon excited. We are a bit nervous w COVID but , still planning on going. I have not been in over 25 years!
So my plans this far ;
MK 1st day
Epcot second day
Midweek -pool/relax day. We have breakfast ADR at Polynesian
4th day I need advice / no park yet reserved, it is a Thursday and I snagged and ADR at Sanaa thinking we will prob do AK. However after reading reviews about AK I’m having second thoughts and might rather check out universal or spend another day at MK.
Last day of week is planned at HS with ADR at sci-fi , so..that was also a score and not flexible.

my question is -would you spend an extra day at MK or go to AK , I guess not a ton is open except at AK due to COVID except for rides which my daughter is moderately excited about. Is AK worth it right now?
I went to universal during the 90s and it was my favorite theme park , however it may be very different at this time.
We also have an ADR at Sanaa on this open day and these ADR’s are hard to come by this close to our trip.

I have about 6 ADRs planned ;
trittorio, the wave for breakfast then skipper canteen on MK day, Kona, frontera,
Sanaa on free day and SCI-Fi on HS day, obviously. I figure we will try to eat a few meals at POP and the rest will be at QS. I’m also gluten free so this has been an added challenge. I know there are many dining options at Disney springs , however transportation may impact this decision.

Any input would be welcomed and appreciated!

 

[WawaCoffee]

I may be there the last week of March, also staying at Pop.

Here's my suggestion.. I've never been a fan of Animal Kingdom, even with the addition of Pandora. I would spend the additional day at Magic Kingdom. With the current situation (shortened hours, no FP), you may not get to experience everything in one day.

By spending two days at MK, you can also leave a bit earlier on the first day, giving yourself more time for rest & relxation. Since you planned an entire day of rest, I'm assuming that's important to you on vacation.

You will enjoy Sci-fi at HS... always a highlight for me! The staff is excellent there.

 

[GBRforWDW]

Hello, we went to all 4 parks with dd6 last month. We had a 5th day, and spent a couple extra hours at Hollywood Studios. My daughter loves animals way more than rides, so it was definitely important to go to Animal Kingdom this trip. We did do a couple rides right away, my daughter and I did Navi River journey while wife headed to Flight of Passage. Then we did Kilimanjaro Safari. Once off there, we found the Wilderness Explorers station by Gorilla Falls. And that's what we did the rest of the day, just going from one WE station to the next. It was quite fun and my daughter was very engaged with it, often spotting the signs before we did. We even took the train ride up to Rafikis and did an animation drawing session. Each park is what you make of it and the WE and animation experience was really enough to make it a fun park day for us. If none of that sounds exciting, it's probably better to skip and do what PP said with second day at MK. There's so much to see and do in that park, it's nice to have more time there to keep a more leisure pace.

 

[rongarbutt]

We always try to get two days at MK, and sometimes that means we don't visit AK. Your 8 year old will probably thank you for the extra day at MK. It's your first trip in 25, but let's hope it's not your last in the next 25!

 

[mktink626]

I 100% agree with WawaCoffee...skip Animal Kingdom and do a second day at Magic Kingdom. With it being the last week in March, it will most likely be a little busier, which means you won't be able to do everything at MK in one day. Plus, extending it to two days will make it a bit more relaxed for you since you won't be trying to squeeze everything into one day. Animal Kingdom is really nice to stroll around, but it isn't our favorite attraction-wise. And you could still do Sanaa with extending MK to two days. Just take a mid-day break from the park for your ADR at Sanaa. We went there for the first time last month and the food was amazing! Make sure your daughter gets the kids dessert...it was one of my 13-year-old's dining highlights! A word of warning...our experience with Disney transportation was not great at Animal Kingdom Lodge. We ended up ordering a Lyft to get back to the park. But Sanaa is worth it

 

[Meglen]

I guess I'm alone with loving animal kingdom. We went a few years back and my son was 9 and his first trip. He loved the animals. He also liked riding Everest and flight of passage. He was to "old" for the kiddie rides in MK so the bigger thrill type rides he liked. This coming trip I'm making sure to have 2 AK days (also staying at akl) so we can really enjoy the animals and take it slower. So if your daughter loves princess and the type of rides at MK go for it. But not everyone hates AK.

 

[mktink626]

I should probably add that we live by a really great zoo and have had an annual pass since my kids were babies. Because of that, my son and I aren't as enthralled with the animals at Animal Kingdom as others might be. But the park is absolutely beautiful with amazing theming and I would be perfectly happy just wandering around there all day! If you do end up going, try to carve out some time for Nomad Lounge. They have amazing gluten free churros (better than the regular ones in my opinion), and if you get a table outside, it's a fantastic place to see all of the character floatillas go by.

Honestly, I went to Disney for the first time in 22 years last August (we've been 2 additional times since then). There is so much to see, you aren't going to be disappointed regardless of which park you decide to do. And you can always change your plans mid-trip! If you do MK one day and decide it wasn't enough time, you can always swap out your Animal Kingdom day for a second day at Magic if there is availability.

 

[lairam]

I guess I'm alone with loving animal kingdom. We went a few years back and my son was 9 and his first trip. He loved the animals. He also liked riding Everest and flight of passage. He was to "old" for the kiddie rides in MK so the bigger thrill type rides he liked. This coming trip I'm making sure to have 2 AK days (also staying at akl) so we can really enjoy the animals and take it slower. So if your daughter loves princess and the type of rides at MK go for it. But not everyone hates AK.

Thank you ! I’m torn because I like the princess stuff but we both love animals I will have to look into the rides at AK before I schedule .

 

[lairam]

I should probably add that we live by a really great zoo and have had an annual pass since my kids were babies. Because of that, my son and I aren't as enthralled with the animals at Animal Kingdom as others might be. But the park is absolutely beautiful with amazing theming and I would be perfectly happy just wandering around there all day! If you do end up going, try to carve out some time for Nomad Lounge. They have amazing gluten free churros (better than the regular ones in my opinion), and if you get a table outside, it's a fantastic place to see all of the character floatillas go by.

Honestly, I went to Disney for the first time in 22 years last August (we've been 2 additional times since then). There is so much to see, you aren't going to be disappointed regardless of which park you decide to do. And you can always change your plans mid-trip! If you do MK one day and decide it wasn't enough time, you can always swap out your Animal Kingdom day for a second day at Magic if there is availability.

Thank you , did not know this . This is all great advice

 

[elittleton]

AK has been my DD favorite park since she was 3. We always have visit it twice. MK she is fine with once if we only go for 5 days instead of 6. Up until our last trip when she was 8 she didn’t ride any of the thrill rides. She still won’t ride Everest.

 

[BiteOfFrost]

My daughter is 9. We just got home from 5 days in the parks.
Skip AK. Go MK a second day. No contest.

 

[MDIME]

I agree with what most others have said about doing 2 MK days. As for your ADR’s.. I have celiac disease so also must eat GF. Trattoria al Forno is fantastic! As is Sanaa! Frontera is really good and almost entirely GF. Sci-Fi GF menu looks great, I just haven’t been so I can’t say first hand. But I would totally go there! The rest of your ADR’s I’ve not been to so I can’t comment. For QS at MK, Pecos Bills has some good choices for QS. I also try to have allergy friendly chicken strips and fries at least once per trip bc how often do you get those in a restaurant?! Many menus are on the MDE app so scope that out beforehand so you have an idea of what is available and what others in your party may enjoy. Also, the fresh popcorn and dole whip are GF I believe Mickey ice cream bars are too! A restaurant that I’m dying to try is 3 Bridges at Coronado, looks like a great GF menu! Have fun!

 

[hes122]

I have two trains of thought on this:

1- Two days at MK will almost guarantee that you'll get to experience everything you want there at a pace that works for your family. When I went in 2017, we had 2 MK days and we purposefully planned for day 1 to focus on Fantasyland, Tomorrowland & Liberty Square while spending day 2 in Frontierland & Adventureland. We didn't do a ton of traipsing back and forth across the park and it was nice. In 2019, we had a park hopper + MVMCP tickets, so we ended up spending the Christmas party most of the doing part-specific things (character meets & special ride overlays) and then the next day hit up the other things we wanted.

2- I had never been to AK prior to 2017 and going in I expected it to be a glorified zoo. I ended up being way off-base with that assumption (you know the saying), and so we ended up adding an extra day to our park tickets (we had an extra unplanned day) just to go back to AK, and this was BEFORE Pandora opened.

So there's not really one right answer. You should do what works best for your family. Have you considered adding the park hopper option to your tickets? You could start that day in AK and then hop over to MK after 2:00. That's kind of the best of both worlds IMO, but it will cost you some $$.

 

[OB1]

How much does your kid like animals? We could never go without visiting AK. It is an easier day in the park. I would consider adding another day, and making AK your easy park day with pool/relax also. No reason to rush in this park. Walk around, watch animals, goto conservation station and do the animation drawing. The safari is so neat for anybody. You could spend an easy 4-5 hours here, then spend the rest relaxing.

Much cheaper to add another day than to jump to Universal, where I'm not so sure a young one will enjoy. Then you have another day for MK, and it can also be a more relaxed day since it is your second day back to that park.

You have a LOT of eating planned. For a first time in years, and having to travel to places that you are eating, that is a real time drag. The good part is that you get to relax a little for a sit down. Since you mention that you are Covid nervous, the sit down restaurants may be the biggest threat. When we went in DEC, we did not do a single sit down dining. Disney is doing a great job of cleaning and spacing. We felt much safer than a trip to the grocery store.

GOOD LUCK

 

[Blondie58]

I guess I'm alone with loving animal kingdom. We went a few years back and my son was 9 and his first trip. He loved the animals. He also liked riding Everest and flight of passage. He was to "old" for the kiddie rides in MK so the bigger thrill type rides he liked. This coming trip I'm making sure to have 2 AK days (also staying at akl) so we can really enjoy the animals and take it slower. So if your daughter loves princess and the type of rides at MK go for it. But not everyone hates AK.

You aren't alone! We LOVE Animal Kingdom. I can't imagine skipping this wonderful park.

 

[DisDad05]

Since you haven't been to Disney in 25 years, I would suggest giving AK a chance and allowing your daughter to experience such a wonderful and unique park. Also you may want to consider getting hopper tickets. This way you could have the best of both worlds after 2 PM.

Either way whatever you decide, you're going to have a great time.

 

[Kelly014]

We could never skip AK. If we have to skip a park, it’s EPCOT (though I hate doing it). My kids are 11 and 6 and have been multiple times. I was talking with my DD 11 the other day and she was totally torn between AK and MK being her favorite park. I think she finally settled on MK, but it was close! We frequent the zoo, but AK is so much more than that. Excellent food, love the culture, we love Avatar so that helps but I think Pandora is amazing regardless, Expedition Everest is one of our favorite rides, the walking trails with animals are nice, love the safari, love the Dino play area, Dinosaur, Wilderness Explorers is such a fun program for kids (we will be bringing our books next time to finish them!). I’d say at least give it a try, I know it’s often love it or hate it on the boards, but I never understand when people don’t like AK!

 

[pcoleman]

AK is my daughter's favorite place at Disney. My daughter would kill me if we skipped it. IF you have no emotional attachment to AK and due to the age of your child I would do another day at MK.

 

[skuttle]

We love AK. It’s the prettiest park, to us most relaxing, and has our favorite attractions. We did miss the shows send entertainment, but we still love it and would never skip. Our last two trips we skipped epcot. Too much construction and our kids (17, 10, and 8) don’t care for it. Our last trip this past weekend we did two DHS days, 1 MK, and 1 AK.

 

[NashvilleMama]

I would definitely plan to visit AK. My 10 year old daughter has deemed it her favorite of the parks for years now - it's not just about the animals. It's a really immersive and unique experience.

We're huge MK fans so I get the draw of going twice. One thing we've done before is to buy 3-day park tickets, and then a separate 1-day park hopper ticket so we could do AK in the morning and MK to close out the day (we don't park hop usually so don't want to pay for it all those other days.) You just have to do the math on what makes sense if you go this option depending on the rest of your schedule.