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Last minute weekend trip to Disney later this month in January.
Daughter is 13 going with DH. She’s already been to magic kingdom and animal kingdom. She would have one day, possibly two days for Disney events. Which recommended theme park should they go to? Or anything else in Orlando they can do? |
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Orlando native here.
It very much depends on the kid. There's Star Wars Land at Hollywood Studios and the Guardians Roller Coaster at EPCOT that are relatively new. If she really likes roller coasters or Harry Potter I'd head to Universal. I haven't personally been to the new Universal park, but I've heard some good things. |
| If she's been to Disney before at her age, have her look at Universal to see if that would appeal more. If not, Hollywood Studios for something new. |
| Epcot might be fun |
| I like HS but Epcot also a solid choice at that age. If she’s a Harry Potter fan and has never been to universal, I might rank that first, but otherwise I think disney is way better than universal. I know a lot of people disagree on that though. We got to both parks almost annually so I’ve been to all of them a ton. |
| Epcot ftw |
| Hollywood studios is the favorite of my son who is that age (tower of terror and Aerosmith coaster and the starwars stuff). But he likes Epcot too. Especially when they have those food kiosks up for each country that they do at certain times of the year. |
Orlandoan weighing in again. Universal is kind of a mixed bag. A couple of the rides haven't aged well and can be a bit painful to ride (Hulk and Rip Ride Rockit) and they have a few rides that lean way too hard into screens (ai have trouble with the Simpsons, Spiderman and the Transformers rides) and it can make you a bit sick to your stomach. But Velocicoaster is supposed to be amazing and they did do a good job with the Harry Potter immersion if she's a fan. I also really like the Men in Black Ride. I just looked up some recent feedback on Epic Universe and it sounds like they have some big ride reliability issues right now. Disney occasionally can have issues with the big rides going down too. Epcot is a heavy walk around park but has some more places to just hang out for a bit (like The Living Seas) and Hollywood Studios has some shows (I still love the Indiana Jones show). If she likes fancy foods, Epcot usually has some kind of festival going on and you can buy fun stuff to eat. It does sometimes feel like you’re paying money to spend more money. I had plenty of stuff I liked to do around Orlando as a teen that wasn't theme parks but for a special Dad/daughter trip I'm not sure I'd recommend them. |
| Get the fast passes, especially if you are staying on property, can book them 7 days out. Will make all the difference in a short trip. |
| It really depends on what your daughter likes. Can you give us more information about what she liked best from MK and AK? Is she a thrill seeker or does she prefer the dark rides and shows? |
FastPass isn’t a thing anymore |
| Just let her pick. She may prefer to do MK again. |
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Agree on letting her pick. With that age you don't want to be wrong
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| I think universal is much better with teenagers. We went this time last year and didn’t need express passes for anything. We had a great time. I’d get a park hopper so you can ride the Hogwarts express if you decide to do universal |
Whatever it is called now, lightning lane? We just got back, would have been miserable without them |