It’s pretty stressful to find yourself in Walt Disney World with less time than you need to make it to all four parks.
The Disney World theme parks are massive, and there’s a lot to do in each one. Add in water parks, Disney Springs, and the resorts and you can easily fill a week or more at Disney World and still not see it all! Sometimes, though, we don’t have the luxury of a full week. So what park should you skip if you’re short on time? The answer varies!
Here’s what Disney World park you should skip if you’re short on time!
We’ve got a few different answers for you depending on when you take your trip and who you’re traveling with. Check them out!
If the Weather isn’t Great
If the weather is crummy, you’re going to want to skip the water parks. You might think the water parks are an obvious choice to skip, but Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach (currently closed for refurbishment) are well loved by the thousands of guests who visit every year.
If you’re short on time and thinking about the water parks, go ahead and skip them if you’re in Disney World during the rainy season (June through September). During this time, the water parks frequently close due to nearby lightning, putting a real damper on your day.
There’s plenty to do in the main four parks and with limited time, don’t waste it swimming in the rain. It’s better to spend a full day in a park if you can, so don’t be afraid to sacrifice your trip to Typhoon Lagoon to spend more time in Magic Kingdom!
If You’re with Young Kids
Skip Epcot. Now, Epcot is a favorite for a lot of Disney guests because it’s super nostalgic and has some very creative themes. However, it’s definitely skip-able right now for a few reasons.
First off, if you’re traveling with kids, Epcot can be a challenge. It’s HUGE, and more than half of the park is made up of the World Showcase. Except for Frozen Ever After and meeting Anna and Elsa in the Norway pavilion and some princess meet and greets in other countries, World Showcase is definitely more geared toward adults.
Epcot Construction
There’s also a ton of construction going on in Epcot right now for the transformation of the park so many areas of the park are going to be a lot cooler in a few years. But for now? There are lots of construction walls, and it’s not exactly the beautiful park we usually know it to be.
If it’s Your First Time in Disney World
It might be a good idea to skip Animal Kingdom. Now, Animal Kingdom is awesome and home to epic rides like Pandora’s Flight of Passage and Expedition Everest, but the park has the fewest classic attractions.
Animal Kingdom is a park dedicated to conservation and animals and is, of course, created with the special Disney touch, but of the four it is the most niche park.
You don’t want to miss Tower of Terror or Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in Hollywood Studios or Spaceship Earth and Test Track in Epcot. Then Magic Kingdom is the most must-do Disney park for first timers since it’s made in the image of Walt’s original dream.
So Animal Kingdom is the skip for a first-timer. Definitely put it on your list of things to do when you come back to Disney, but prioritize the more iconic parks and attractions!
If You’ve Been to Disney World a Bunch
This one might be a little controversial, but if you’re a seasoned Disney vet or are traveling without kids consider skipping Magic Kingdom.
Disney World’s flagship park is marvelous, but there’s a lot to do in the other three parks as well, and they can often be much less crowded. If you’re traveling during a busy time, such as summer, Halloween, or Christmas, Magic Kingdom is likely to be slammed.
You may have a much more enjoyable vacation in the other three parks. You’ll ride more rides, eat tasty snacks, and even get to drink alcohol — something you can only do at table service restaurants in Magic Kingdom.
Plus, for many Disney vets, Magic Kingdom has always been a must-hit, and other parks have been skipped so don’t be afraid to pass up on the big name park to really experience the others.
Regardless, there’s no perfect answer to which Disney World park to skip because they’re all awesome in their own ways. But, if you have to, don’t fret! You certainly have options.
Have you ever regretted skipping a certain park? Wish you had skipped a park instead of cramming it in? Share your thoughts in the comments!
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If I was going in the middle of the summer with little kids, I would consider skipping Hollywood Studios. The reason I say this is because Hollywood studios has a limited amount of rides geared towards little ones. Many of the most classic rides have a height requirement and even with that, they might be a bit scary for your 5 year old. Now, if you have kids that are a little but older and are thrill-seekers, this will probably be their favorite park. But with the really little ones, there honestly isn’t much to do especially if you’re not into watching the stage performances. Plus, Hollywood Studios is probably the hottest park in Walt Disney World. Don’t get me wrong, I love this park! But I honestly think that the little ones would enjoy the Animals at Animal Kingdom, or Ana and Elsa in Epcot, and definitely all of the wonderful magic at Magic Kingdom.
We always skipped the water parks – but then finally did them both on one trip in August. We loved them and on our ‘open day’ actually went back to Typhoon Lagoon for a second visit.
Pre-TSL and GE we would only dedicate a 1/2 day for Hollywood studios – usually combine with after a water park day.
The reality is, we go to disney with an expectation of 12-16 hrs in parks each day… so we don’t miss much. With the kids getting older they want to be out until close (which can be midnight+ on some nights).
Over Christmas break one year we decided last minute to go (we live in Toronto, booked Wednesday, hoped in the car and were there Friday morning). On one long day we made it back to the hotel at 9pm – my eldest saw that MK was open to midnight… so he and I went and rode all the mountains…
Moral of the story – you don’t need to skip anything if you are willing to go all in.
If you are not a Star Wars fan, like me, skip Hollywood Studios. I feel this park has way too much emphasis on Star Wars!!! I miss the old MGM studios🙁
I think the answer might depend on weather you are short of time on a one time vacation of short of time on one of many past and future Disney trips. And if your short of time with, or without, kids. Personally, I would skip animal kingdom cause you can find a zoo and animals in any city in America. Plus, I’ve been to the San Diego zoo, the mother of all zoos.
We just got back WDW and decided to skip animal kingdom and instead do an additional day at Epcot. It was just my husband and I on this trip. So it made sense to take advantage of an extra day of Food and Wine. We don’t regret it, we had a much more enjoyable time at Epcot by splitting it into a future world day and a world showcase day. Great trip! And PS, I would NEVER skip Magic Kingdom! 😱😂😂