Can Only Choose One WDW Park... Which One?

[AviaL]

Wait until you're closer to decide which park, but in general i'd pick Disney on a Thursday, especially if you have express passes for Universal. That way, you go to Disney on a low crowd day, and skip the lines in a more relaxed way at Universal.

@coast2coastmickey Thanks! Why do you recommend waiting? Any reason aside from just taking more time to decide?

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

Hi! I'm a college-age student helping plan an Orlando trip with my husband and family, including one day at Disney World. We need your knowledge and advice! Which (one) Disney park should we go to?

More information:

• There will be 7 people on the trip: me, my 24-yr husband, 45-yr mom, 45-yr dad, 18-yr brother, 14-yr sister, and 12-yr brother.
  
• We have 3 days in Orlando, Thurs-Fri-Sat in mid-August.
• Our main objective is to go to Harry Potter World, so we'll be for sure spending 2 days at Universal with a Park-to-Park pass. But we want to spend one day at a WDW park. We like big rides, but it would be sad to go all the way there without doing the immersive magical experience that is Disney. So, Which day (Thurs/Fri/Sat) would be best to go to WDW instead of Universal?
• My family and I went to all the parks in WDW and Universal (for the first time) in late December 2011. What major changes in WDW have happened since December 2011?
• My husband and I have been to Disneyland before (just once for me), most recently in early January 2018. (It's just occurred to me that I've never been to a non-Christmas themed park!) Which WDW park would feel the least like a repeat of Disneyland?

Here's what I remember from our 2011 WDW trip:

• Wasn't too impressed with Hollywood Studios; it didn't have much to do in the way of rides or immersive worlds, and the Star Wars stuff looks like repeats of Disneyland.
• Liked Animal Kingdom for Kilimanjaro Safaris, River Rapids, etc. but not so much for the live animals since we have great zoos near us. How are the Avatar additions?
• Was totally enamored with Epcot for the immersive countries and liked their rides a lot (the bigger ones). Didn't love the Tomorrowland-style stuff (innoventions, labs, etc)
• Loved Magic Kingdom for its pure Disney-ness and lots of iconic rides. Slightly worried about having so much overlap between Disneyland and Magic Kingdom rides, but most of my family hasn't been to Disneyland.

So, I think Hollywood Studios is out of the running. Animal Kingdom could still be in the running depending on what you all think of 'Pandora—The World of Avatar'. Epcot and Magic Kingdom are definitely in the running.

Thanks for your help! I really appreciate it!

Hmm, we always will choose MK if we only do one day, but we LOVE MK. We like Pandora at AK but I'm not a big AK fan, I really think this depends on what ya'll want to do. I feel like all the parks will have something that appeals to everyone in your party.

The big changes at Disney since 2011, familiarize yourself with FP+ to maximize your one day, have a planned out idea of your touring plan, do look at a few crowd calendars for WDW and Universal and see at that time of year what they say. They aren't 100% accurate but can be helpful especially when it comes to special events/ ticketed parties. Also, be sure you know your chosen park hours for the day to make the most of your one day. Have fun

 

[anna samantha]

When I only have one day I have to park hop. I start at MK early in the morning and move to EPCOT in the evening so I can eat in France and watch IllumiNations. If I absolutely had to choose only one I think I'd have to go with MK, but I would cry. EPCOT at night is my favorite park.

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

Epcot is unlike anything at Universal OR Disneyland, so for your purposes I would choose Epcot.

 

[phinz]

FWIW, if you're just doing Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade, you can do them in one day, including riding the train back and forth for both shows. If you're doing other IoA and Universal stuff, then yeah, two days is good.

That said, while being a huge Epcot fan (I actually don't care all that much for the Magic Kingdom), it sounds like that, for your group, the majority here are definitely right. Magic Kingdom gives the full Disney experience, with something for everybody. It's definitely the first place I would take anybody who has never been to a Disney park.

 

[4littleones]

Park hopper for that one day. AK in the morning, the rest at Epcot.

 

[SG131]

I also say MK. Yes it’s got some similarities to DL, but it really is the most disney. I think if your siblings were older I’d be more inclined to say Epcot.

As far as animal kingdom, Pandora is cool, but I’m guessing you aren’t staying onsite. Unless you are staying at a qualifying hotel you will not be able to make fast pass selections until 30 days prior to your trip, and at that point there is very very little chance of getting fast passes for flight of passage in pandora especially for a group of 7. These fast passes are hard to get even at 60 days out. So you are looking at a few hours in line to do this ride and since you only have one day, I don’t think that’s the best use of your time.

 

[mamamelody2]

Another vote for Magic Kingdom!

 

[gharter]

If you can only do one, it must be MK, as its the iconic one.
AK is a close second.

 

[rstevens333]

I'd say MK, but it sounds like you want something distinctly different from Disneyland.

My vote is Epcot. There's nothing else like it, and unlike DHS there is enough to fill an entire day.

 

[Rockette]

Magic Kingdom. It has the most attractions out of any of the Disney Parks.

It also has a new fireworks show too, which would just seal the deal for me. The other parks are great, but the Magic Kingdom would be the park I go to if I knew I was only spending one day there without the chance of return for a few years.

Have fun!

 

[ArielSRL]

We are doing one Park day in June and yes, it is MK. MK has, hands down, the most magic of any of the parks, in our opinion.

 

[kathy884]

I when going to Disney always go with my 22 year old and for him the Magic Kingdom is the Disney must do park every time. He likes all the other ones too, but the MK has the classic Disney vibe he loves and without question would be his choice every time we only have time and budget for just one, which actually is true for so many Orlando trips we do. It is, though, very much like Disneyland (with Disneyland even being a little more charming than the MK park - Both DS and I thought so). If being too similar to Disneyland for you is a concern (too much of a been there, done that, bought the T-shirt), Epcot sounds like the one for you per your original post.

We have a party of 12 adults coming down for a wedding in March ages 22 - 82 and only two out of the 12 are must do MK people -- my son 22 and my niece 28. The other 20 somethings, 30 something, 50 somethings, and 80 somethings could easily pass. A few in the group are big Epcot fans, but it's not an absolute must do for them. SeaWorld is actually the one park that appeals to the entire group and is the only park we are all going to be doing together in March. I know Universal was a must for some of the group to see the new HP stuff, but now that all have seen that not sure where it fits now.

Have a wonderful time. I'm sure you will have fun whatever you pick. Having so many choices can be hard, but the good thing is that they are all fun choices.

 

[lovin'fl]

Epcot is our fave and we could go to WDW and just spend our time there. But AK is also a park we like to visit. They have they new Pandora and FoW is the best ride at WDW. So maybe give that a try, if you can get a FoP FP.

 

[Disneylover99]

MK

 

[ZoZo]

I also say MK. Yes it’s got some similarities to DL, but it really is the most disney. I think if your siblings were older I’d be more inclined to say Epcot.

As far as animal kingdom, Pandora is cool, but I’m guessing you aren’t staying onsite. Unless you are staying at a qualifying hotel you will not be able to make fast pass selections until 30 days prior to your trip, and at that point there is very very little chance of getting fast passes for flight of passage in pandora especially for a group of 7. These fast passes are hard to get even at 60 days out. So you are looking at a few hours in line to do this ride and since you only have one day, I don’t think that’s the best use of your time.

Agreed. Unless you're staying on site, you're unlikely to get FPs for FOP. I'd go to MK ,since most of your group hasn't been to either DL or WDW before. MK is quintessential Disney.

 

[DisFam4]

You say mid-August. Something to keep in mind is that Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party opens on Friday 8/17. It is an extra expense if you wanted to go and is a great time. BUT it also means that MK closes early on that day so if you don't plan on going to that party, stay away from MK.