WDW in 2 days - send your recs

[shortstax]

If a family who's never been to a Disney park told you they had 2 days to visit WDW, what would you recommend?

(using this to start my brainstorming because I'm really overwhelmed by planning this...)

Other factors:

• Will be in April 2023, flying in from Ohio
• Kids will be 12 and 8
• No food allergies or physical limitations

Any advice welcome!  Thanks 

[VillainV]

At 12 and 8, I’d do park-hopper passes. They may like Magic Kingdom because of the novelty, but they’re a little old for much for it. Maybe a half day at MK, half day at Epcot, then try to split Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom depending on what kind of rides they like (thrill rides vs. gentler rides).

ETA: I’d recommend doing a sit-down lunch mid-day because it’s a good way to get off your feet and into a climate-controlled environment.

[daisyduck]

I wouldn't try to fit in all 4 parks in two days, you'll just be running from one place to another and not really able to enjoy any of it (and you'll miss big chunks of every park doing that). With two days I would do MK and HS. Animal Kingdom has the least to do, so I wouldn't spend time there on a short visit (I give it about half a day when I'm spending 8 days in the parks).

MK and HS have the most to do and really give you the Disney experience.

[purplepenguin7]

With the ages of your kids, I would do park hoppers. Get to Magic Kingdom for the opening (rope drop) ride the classic rides and anything must do for anyone in the family. In the afternoon/evening, hop to Epcot. On day 2, start at HS, stay as long as you want and if time hop back to MK or Epcot depending on interests.

I’d probably skip Animal Kingdom. It has a few rides, but it’s basically a zoo (caveat I haven’t been there in a long time). If your kids happen to love animals you can spend the second morning there and then hop to HS. I’d also skip any reservation meals so you can be most flexible.

Some this really depends on what you or your kids are interested in. Would they like meeting characters? Star Wars? Toy Story? Big rides? No rides? I’d alter slightly depending on what you family is most into.

[dcrunnergirl52]

I would just do a day at MK and a day at HS. If you haven't been to WDW before, you'll spend a good part of your time just getting your bearings, finding rides, etc. so splitting a day between two parks seems like too much. Just enjoy MK for an entire day and then the same at HS. If you end up with extra time on your second day after HS, go to Disney Springs (which doesn't require a ticket).

[midwestmama]

Sept 25, 2022 22:15:47 GMT -5 purplepenguin7 said:

With the ages of your kids, I would do park hoppers. Get to Magic Kingdom for the opening (rope drop) ride the classic rides and anything must do for anyone in the family. In the afternoon/evening, hop to Epcot. On day 2, start at HS, stay as long as you want and if time hop back to MK or Epcot depending on interests.

I’d probably skip Animal Kingdom. It has a few rides, but it’s basically a zoo (caveat I haven’t been there in a long time). If your kids happen to love animals you can spend the second morning there and then hop to HS. I’d also skip any reservation meals so you can be most flexible.

Some this really depends on what you or your kids are interested in. Would they like meeting characters? Star Wars? Toy Story? Big rides? No rides? I’d alter slightly depending on what you family is most into.

I would recommend the same thing regarding parks. 

Regarding meals, I would recommend making at least 1 dining reservation, so you can get the experience.  If it were me, I'd make a dining reservation at MK or HS, and then get food around the World Showcase at the various quick service restaurants at Epcot.

[MDmomof2]

We went when my kids were about your kids' ages and hopping to each park seems like a lot. I'd review what's available at each park with your kids and have them pick what they most want to do. Make sure to do that park/parks and then plan a few things you want to do around it. I agree that if you can afford it, make a dining reservation. My DD loves Pooh and we make sure we do Crystal Palace every time we go. She is 15 now and would still insist on meeting with Pooh and friends!

[quesyrah]

Get Genie+!

For first timers I wouldn’t skip any of the parks. My kids were 8 and 12 when we went and they loved all 4 parks.

If you’re strictly looking for rides and thrills, Disney isn’t your place. If you’re looking for family fun, atmosphere, experiences and shows you can’t get anywhere else plus fun themed rides, that’s Disney.

Disney is way more than just rides to me.

[shortstax]

Sept 27, 2022 11:38:50 GMT -5 quesyrah said:

Get Genie+!

For first timers I wouldn’t skip any of the parks. My kids were 8 and 12 when we went and they loved all 4 parks.

If you’re strictly looking for rides and thrills, Disney isn’t your place. If you’re looking for family fun, atmosphere, experiences and shows you can’t get anywhere else plus fun themed rides, that’s Disney.

Disney is way more than just rides to me.

So maybe this brings up another question…

My kids want to go to WDW because they’ve seen it on tv and hear about their friends/cousins going. DH and I figured it would be fun to take them, but if they’re used to Cedar Point style parks, how should we set the ride expectations so that they’re not disappointed?

I mean, they’re good-natured kids who would have fun anywhere, but nothing would be worse than spending all the time and money on Disney to hear that they’d prefer CP or Kings Island 😂

Thanks for all the recs so far! I appreciate all the insights! 😎

[shortstax]

With what I’ve read about crowds and lines, doing more than one park in a day seems like a recipe to be in a constant hurry and disappointed.

Is that not the case? This is so hard to grasp as a newbie, so thank you.

[daisyduck]

Sept 27, 2022 18:17:48 GMT -5 shortstax said:

With what I’ve read about crowds and lines, doing more than one park in a day seems like a recipe to be in a constant hurry and disappointed.

Is that not the case? This is so hard to grasp as a newbie, so thank you.

I think that is exactly the case. It also takes a while to switch parks whether you drive or take the bus, easily 45 minutes to an hour to leave and get to whatever you want to do in the next park. If you drive you'll have a long walk out of the park to your car and then back into the next park. The walk to the bus would be shorter, but you can easily wait 20+ minutes on a bus depending on if you get lucky with your timing or not.

[wawa]

Sept 27, 2022 18:15:34 GMT -5 shortstax said:

Sept 27, 2022 11:38:50 GMT -5 quesyrah said:

Get Genie+!

For first timers I wouldn’t skip any of the parks. My kids were 8 and 12 when we went and they loved all 4 parks.

If you’re strictly looking for rides and thrills, Disney isn’t your place. If you’re looking for family fun, atmosphere, experiences and shows you can’t get anywhere else plus fun themed rides, that’s Disney.

Disney is way more than just rides to me.

So maybe this brings up another question…

My kids want to go to WDW because they’ve seen it on tv and hear about their friends/cousins going. DH and I figured it would be fun to take them, but if they’re used to Cedar Point style parks, how should we set the ride expectations so that they’re not disappointed?

I mean, they’re good-natured kids who would have fun anywhere, but nothing would be worse than spending all the time and money on Disney to hear that they’d prefer CP or Kings Island 😂

Thanks for all the recs so far! I appreciate all the insights! 😎

Disney is no cedar point, but it does have several good coaster style rides (everest, space mountain, guardians of the Galaxy, the oddly themed music one I can't remember what it's called...) and a few gentle but really fun smaller coastwrs. (7 dwarves, slinky dog) My kid's only point of reference was more typical amusement parks like 6 flags so they didn't understand what to expect, but rides like Remi or soaring are just cool even if they dont make you scream. My kids favorites were the thrill rides, but they still had an absolute blast with the "experience" stuff.

Absolutely pay for genie+ though and closer to your trip come quiz the shit out of the experts here in how to use it though.

[quesyrah]

Sept 27, 2022 18:15:34 GMT -5 shortstax said:

Sept 27, 2022 11:38:50 GMT -5 quesyrah said:

Get Genie+!

For first timers I wouldn’t skip any of the parks. My kids were 8 and 12 when we went and they loved all 4 parks.

If you’re strictly looking for rides and thrills, Disney isn’t your place. If you’re looking for family fun, atmosphere, experiences and shows you can’t get anywhere else plus fun themed rides, that’s Disney.

Disney is way more than just rides to me.

So maybe this brings up another question…

My kids want to go to WDW because they’ve seen it on tv and hear about their friends/cousins going. DH and I figured it would be fun to take them, but if they’re used to Cedar Point style parks, how should we set the ride expectations so that they’re not disappointed?

I mean, they’re good-natured kids who would have fun anywhere, but nothing would be worse than spending all the time and money on Disney to hear that they’d prefer CP or Kings Island 😂

Thanks for all the recs so far! I appreciate all the insights! 😎

So I would definitely stress that it’s a family park so most of the rides aren’t thrill rides.

But there are definitely thrill rides in each park- guardians of the galaxy and test track in Epcot, expedition Everest in animal kingdom, tower of terror and Rock n roller coaster in Hollywood studios….

So they should still have fun

[SusanBAnthony]

If they like scarier rides, have you thought about doing one day at MK for the classic Disney experience, and one day at universal?

[mrsslocombe]

April crowds are hit or miss. I've been there in April with the parks empty and then also with high crowd levels.

Thanks to the Skyliner, switching from Epcot to HS (or vice versa) is pretty quick, about 15 minutes. The other parks are 45-60 minutes unless they bring back the Minnie Vans.

I'm very anti-Genie+ but with only two days I would just fork over the money unless you think you will return to Disney in a couple years.

I'd do 1 day MK and 1 day HS. You definitely want to see the fireworks at MK, and probably Fantasmic at HS. You'll need to grab a spot 30-60 minutes before (if there's two Fantasmic shows, go to the later one and you probably won't need to be there more than 20 minutes ahead of time).

I'll be the naysayer and say I'm not a fan of sitdown meals. The one exception is in-Park character breakfasts-schedule the earliest time so you can be there before the park is open. You get to take empty park photos and are already there to ride the rides. We always just use counter service (there's many options to sit inside.) You can maximize your time with mobile ordering.