Is 3 days enough?

thor369

Mouseketeer
Joined
May 9, 2019
Hi, trying to plan a trip with a family of four and the kids are 5 and 2. Initially thought would do a 5 day trip ( not counting the travel day for returning. However, reading somewhere else, that MK and AK are plenty for kids that young and they will get tired, plus they won't be tall enough for the popular rides so we skip them.

What do you guys think is 3 days plenty, may be MK1 day, AK 1 day, he loves dinosaurs and HS 1 day, skip epcot altogether?
 
If you can do longer, do longer. 3 days really isn’t long enough, but it’s better than nothing if that’s literally all you can afford or the only time you can get off.
 
The longer the stay, the per-day cost goes down of course, but the accommodation cost and food, and thus overall cost goes up.

How to weigh this depends an awful lot on how much value you place on not feeling rushed. With MK, the kids may love running around and exploring the caves and hideouts of Tom Sawyer Island and may end up killing an hour or so just playing (for example). IMO If you can swing an extra day or two I think it would help make things more relaxing and fun, also allows for a chill day at the pool to relax and recharge.
 
The first time we went with our kids, we only stayed a day and a half, plus a day at sea world. They didn't know any different and loved it.
If you can stay longer, you will find plenty to keep you busy, but would also love the time you have during a shorter trip.
 
Hi, trying to plan a trip with a family of four and the kids are 5 and 2. Initially thought would do a 5 day trip ( not counting the travel day for returning. However, reading somewhere else, that MK and AK are plenty for kids that young and they will get tired, plus they won't be tall enough for the popular rides so we skip them.

What do you guys think is 3 days plenty, may be MK1 day, AK 1 day, he loves dinosaurs and HS 1 day, skip epcot altogether?


If you can do longer, do longer. 3 days really isn’t long enough, but it’s better than nothing if that’s literally all you can afford or the only time you can get off.

The first time we took our son to Disney was when he was 3 years old. We did 3 days in the parks. Our 4th day was our Downtown Disney (now Disney Springs) and travel day home. We did MK 2 times and AK once. We didn't bother with the Studios, because even though our son was tall for 3, he didn't meet the height requirements for most rides back then. I don't go to the parks for shows and that's what Hollywood Studios has a lot of, so we just avoided it altogether. I was kinda disappointed that we were only doing 3 days in the parks. However, the 2 days in MK and one day in AK was perfect! Next trip we did 4 days.....this time on our travel day, we did about 4 hours in MK before heading home. We added EPCOT that time. Son met height requirements on all rides at 7 years old. On our trip coming up in June, we're doing 5 days. This time 4 full days in the parks, again, HS being omitted. We're doing AK, MK, EPCOT, MK in that order.

You know your kids better than anyone. If you're only going to do the three parks, then 3 days might do it. HS is a bit more kid friendly now with Toy Story Land, make sure you try to get FPs for the rides your children can do.
 
.... We did MK 2 times and AK once. We didn't bother with the Studios, because even though our son was tall for 3, he didn't meet the height requirements for most rides back then. ... I don't go to the parks for shows ... HS is a bit more kid friendly now with Toy Story Land, make sure you try to get FPs for the rides your children can do.

I would also recommend two days at MK and one day at AK and skip HS. There is just so much to do at MK for littles. And then you won’t feel rushed at MK if your children want to watch ducks or play in the treehouse or splash pad. I thought DS5 would love Toy Story Land. Not so much. And he was ambivalent about meeting any Dis Jr characters. He got bored at HS and wanted to leave HS and go back to Epcot when offered the choice. Yes, he found Epcot far more entertaining than HS. Glad we had a hopper or I would have felt like a single park ticket had been wasted on a few mediocre hours at HS.

To be fair, I like HS as a solo traveler or with adults. But with a preschooler and different agenda, HS was the weak link in our park experiences.

ETA: At AK, the safari ride is appropriate for all ages and triceratop spin is like dumbo. You might watch the dinosaur ride on youtube before you take a 5year old on it. It’s dark, jerky, and scary. There may be some 3-6 year olds that love it, but the ones I’ve seen are terrified and covering their eyes and being consoled by a parent.
 
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Personally I think 5 days is minimum 2 x MK, 1 x AK, 1 x DHS, 1 x Epcot, but it also depends how often you go. If you go a couple times a year you could just do a few days and pick up the missed park in 6 months. If it's only every couple years, I wouldn't want to skip a park.

MK and AK are definite for that age, but DHS is a strong contender too with Disney Jr and Toy Story. I wouldn't rule out Epcot - Seas with Nemo, Journey into Imagination, Spaceship earth are all good for that age, plus there are character meets you can't get anywhere else (Baymax, Ralph & Vanellope, Joy & Sadness) and it's a good place to meet Princesses (5 meets around World Showcase). Depends on if character meets are important to you.
 


As others have mentioned, it depends on if you can afford or can get the time off for more days. I, like Jeff above, recommend at least 5 days. Travel days aren't 'full' days anyway. So 3 full days and travel day book ends would be 5 days. With the kiddos that age, I would do 2 full days at MK (with afternoon nap breaks at the resort each day and some pool time then go back to the park in the evening) and an AK full day (all days should have the resort nap in the afternoon.) You could check out Epcot and DHS on the travel (partial) days.
 
Is this your first trip? On our first trip, we had the mindset that we needed to do WDW for the kids, and let's just get it over with. It turned out that we all loved it....the adults probably more than the kids. Since then, we've gone back once a year for the past 6 years.

Any amount of time in WDW is great, but if you can add on a few more days, I think the trip would be more enjoyable. For example, that first year, Epcot was the favorite park. All 4 of us. The kids loved the Kidcot stations, the Club Cool soda tasting stations, the stores in Mexico, China and Japan, the food, the mime in Italy and the servers in France, etc. Also, at that age, it's not a bad idea to take them back to the hotel for a mid-day break. We took our 2 year old daughter back to the resort for a nap and a dip in the pool every day. If we were only there for 3 days, we probably would have felt pressure to keep them out all day, and they would have shown us just how tired they were.
Also keep in mind that there is a lot more than the rides and attractions. The reason that I keep going back is for that 'feeling' of being in WDW.
 
I took a 4 and 2 year old last year. We were there for 6 nights and had 5 day PH. It was worth it. Wish we would have gotten another day. But my son was tall enough to ride most rides minus FOP, and Everest.
 
We are from the Midwest and we wouldn't come all that way for 3 days.
 
We are from the Midwest and we wouldn't come all that way for 3 days.

I can understand this.
For me it's a 3 hour drive so 3 days is fine as we can come back whenever.
But if I had to plan flying, hotel, car, and all of that, yeah 5 days minimum.

We took our 2 year old last year for the first time and did 1 day at AK and 2 at MK.
For us it was perfect, but we intend on going at least once a year if not more so YMMV.
 
Our very first trip (2015) was 9 days / 8 nights. Because we come from Southern California our travel days are pretty much full days, so we had 7 full days, plus about a half day on the last day. Our son was 8. We did 2 days at MK, 2 days at Epcot, one day at AK, on day at HS and a break day, which wasn't much of a break because we swam, went to Disney Springs and changed hotels. For me, that was the perfect length. We really did everything we wanted to do.

Our second trip (2016) was 5 nights, and we still hit every park, but hopped a little more. It felt a little short.

Our last trip (last fall) was 9 days / 8 nights again, but it was also a race weekend and we ran for 3 of the days (we all ran the 5K, I ran the 10K and my wife ran the half). We had a sick day in there to (our poor son on his birthday). And we went to Universal one day, so it was a really busy trip.

Our next trip (2 weeks from tomorrow) is going to only be 4 nights. We are still going to try to hit all parks, but HS and AK are only going to be half days. To me it seems really short, but the way flights worked out, we could either do 4 nights or 7 nights and we just didn't have the time to do 7.
 
3 days is not enough, but I'll take 3 days over 2 days every day of the week.

-DVC
 
I agree 3 day's isn't enough to enjoy everything. With the kids being that little you need to go back to the room and rest and let them nap some. It's a long and hot day for anyone, especially little ones. I do agree that epcot is probably the last park i would worry about for them, but its a great park. Staying longer lets you appreciate everything in moderation and not trying to kill yourselves to get it all in.
Mk at least 2 days.
Ak at least 1 day.
Hs at least 1 day.
 
I see this is an older post, but for those planning a trip with little ones that still need advice:

I have a number of trips under my belt with three kids, ranging from newborn trips to now 8 ,6 and 5 years old. I find its not even until day 3 that we all seem to fall into that vacation 'groove,' finally relaxed. Enjoying Disney with little ones is all about pacing. I can't tell you how many times I've witnessed exhausted kids and stressed parents fighting and yelling over enjoying the time they paid so much for. As others have mentioned, MK needs to be done a few times, AK once to hit the high points, and perhaps HS and EPCOT if you have time. No matter when you go, or for how long, I have found that rope-drop is the way to go, then leave as crowds increase (lunch time), head back for pool and naps, going back in for a second round in the evening if moods permit. If you're planning trips in the future, we always make our Disney 'bucket list' so we have a way to justify things we just couldn't fit in.
 
All depends if you are having a good time. 3 day having good time, no,
but then again if you get sick over spending the ridiculous prices and standing in long lines and the crowds, then one day would be more than enough.
 

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