Should we visit Disney MGM Park?

[spanannie]

We will be going to WDW for 5 nights in March. Last March we went and only visited the MK and AK. I plan to definitely add Epcot this time. Is MGM something we should do, or can we pass on it? I never hear much about it and little kids. My kids are 3 and 5.

I'm trying to cram everything in, without having too much in any given day! Throwing in my DD's Princess Tea Party and Bibbidi Boppidi Boutique is going to be tricky with the other plans!

[egoldber]

Well, my older DD absolutely loves MGM. The nightly show there, Fantasmic, is her favorite of the nighttime shows. Her favorite parade is also the one at MGM. Other favs of hers:

The Little Mermaid show
Beauty and the Beast Show
Playhouse Disney Live
The Great Movie Ride (I think this is totally boring but she adores it??)

There are several character meet and greets that are only available at MGM: JoJo & Goliath, The Little Einsteins, and characters from Cars. This is mainly a photo-op with Lightning and Mater. Go to the VERY first one of the day. The later ones get absolutley mobbed but the first one is low key.

She loves to eat at the SciFi DineIn Theater.

If it were me, I'd skip the Boutique to do MGM.

[spanannie]

Thank you! That is very helpful!

Have you done the boutique? Do you think we should do it if we have time?

Also, would you do an Epcot morning? We're definitely doing an Epcot evening this go-around.

[egoldber]

We have not done the boutique. I have seen the girls walking around in the parks after doing the boutique, and personally it is not my style. The girls are too made up for my personal comfort level. I am also uncomfortable with places like LibbyLu and the girls form the boutique are made up similar to that. And we have tons of princess dresses and outfits, so I don't see the point for us. The next time we go, I am going to take Sarah for a mommy&me spa day, but I don't get the point of the boutique. Fortunately, Sarah does not even realize that it exists LOL!

Epcot in the morning is nice to get the rides in FutureWorld out of the way. Sarah ADORES Soarin' and Test Track and if you get to Epcot first thing, you can do those and be done with them before the lines get long. Epcot as a park is slow to fill because the World Showcase does not open until 11, so the morning is really nice. Sarah also likes the Universe of Energy, but it is a HUGE time sink because the ride takes absolutely forever. You can also do the Nemo ride and Turtle Talk with Crush early.

What I would probably do for an Epcot morning...

Ride Test Track while sending someone to get FastPasses for Soarin'
Depending on the FP time, either ride Soarin next or to kill time...
Ride the Nemo ride
See Turtle Talk with Crush
Ride the Living with the Land Boat Ride
Soarin'

The FW is basically done and WS is probably about to open.

[spanannie]

I am anti Libby-Lu as well, however, Grace has been to a Princess party here in Austin, and I think the Princess makeovers are completely different. Like you said, though, it is whatever you are personally comfortable with. I think she would eat it up, but the Princess tea party would probably be enough. Plus, it's $225, so it's quite a chunk of change!

Thank you for the hints on Epcot! I have no idea how we will fit everything in! Last year, we only did 1/2 days and didn't get to see all that much, but it was all the kids could handle. We never faced any lines, and it was spring break. Thank goodness for tourguidemike.com!

What do you think of character meals? They were pretty much a waste for us last year. The kids weren't all that impressed, even with the Cinderella meal. Grace is a little girl, now, though, and last year, she was still such a baby . . . not into this stuff back then. We'll definitely do the character buffet at our hotel, since we did it last year, and it was very low key . . . and now very convenient, but I'm wondering if I should book any others? I don't know either if it's worth it to wake up at the crack of dawn for breakfast with Cinderella . . . however, if it will be an amazing experience for G, I will do it.

Thanks again!

[egoldber]

Sarah adores all the character meals, so we always do at least a couple. The Cinderella castle meal at MK is not my fav. Our fav princess meal is the one at Norway in Epcot. Our last trip we had an 8:15 breakfast in Epcot and that was a perfect way to start the day in Epcot. By the time breakfast was over, we then followed the morning Epcot plan I outlined above.

The key to avoiding lines is to get there early. And it sounds like you are all about that, so you're way ahead of the game. :)

I think it was around age 3 that Sarah really started "getting" the characters. I mean she enjoyed them before that, but at age 3 she was REALLY into it.

If your kids like Alice in Wonderland or Mary Poppins, consider the breakfast at the Grand Floridian. Its nice and very low key. teh characters are Mary, Alice, the Mad Hatter, Tigger and Pooh. So its a nice combo for older and younger kids. Also, at the Grand Floridian there is a "Wonderland Tea Party" for children aged 4 and older. Its fabulous and a bargain (relatively speaking) for WDW at $35. The Princess Tea is very nice, but only an occasional sort of thing. We did that when Sarah was 4. She doesn't really remember it though which is kind of sad. She still plays with the doll though. :)

Where are you staying?

[spanannie]

I did not get much out of the Castle meal either. I did not know about the one at Norway in Epcot.

We did the Grand Fl. meal last time, which was a good experience; like you said, very low key, which is our thing. We are staying at Grand Fl. this trip, so we will definitely be doing it again.

Do you recommend character breakfasts over character dinners? Also, do you think it's too much Epcot to go in the AM and then go back to the hotel for a break and back to Epcot for dinner?

Gosh, we need another day in Disney, but this is already costing an arm and a leg!

[egoldber]

I think character breakfasts are great as long as you do them early, say an 8-8:30 seating. You get out of the room, have a hearty breakfast to start the day, and still get into the park early. I don't like them if they are between 9 and 10 because to me that just cuts into park time LOL! I also like them for late lunches because by then you're ready to stop and sit and rest for awhile.

Epcot is *my* favorite park, so I am biased. :) I could easily do all day at Epcot. However, I generally prefer to do two different parks rather than one. So day, Epcot in the morning, then hotel for a rest, then the MK for evening parade and fireworks, that kind of thing.

We have been to Disney about 10 times and still not "done it all". You cannot do it all in one trip.

[spanannie]

I am with you . . . you definitely can't do it all in one trip! I'm just wondering if I can do the 4 parks in one trip? If not, which should I cut?

I'm going by TourGuideMike's details of which days are best at each park, and I haven't been able to find a day where I can do one day at Epcot and another at another park. I'm kind of limited by MK, since that park has some definite "No" days, and I want to go there 2 half days, and one evening for Spectro.

[egoldber]

IMO, as long as you get to MK at park opening (so being outside the gates about 10 minutes before the park opens) you're fine in the MK. We've never used a touring plan and never had an issue as long as we were there very early. I've never used TGM, but I know others do and swear by it.