5 must do/see things in WDW

[allmine69]

So I'm taking my 2 daughters (6 & 8) to WDW 12-31-08 thru 1-6-09. Today I went out and bought a journal to keep a list of all must do see things while there. I really wanted a meal at royal table but no reservations left. But I may get lucky yet!

Anyway give me your top 5 (or 10 or 20)favorites to do.
Thanks so much!!
Chastity

[Andrea from PA]

if you can afford:

1. Get the lowest price package BBB at the Castle location in Magic Kingdom, then head to Cindy's Royal table for lunch.

2. Go to see the Gingerbread house at the Grand Floridian (you can take the monrail there). Only there for the Christmas holiday

3. Go see the Candy Carasol at the Yacht Club (or is it the Beach Club) -- only there for the Holidays!

4. Don't miss the Osbourne Lights at the Studios!

Can you tell I love the Christmas stuff?!

5. Soarin at Epcot -- Get to park at openning, Fast Pass it & then get in regular line -- This way you get to ride it twice! Long wait, but so much fun & not too scary for the 6 year old. of all the rides, this is my MUST SEE

6. If you are staying on-site & have booked thru AAA take advantage of the "Story Time" with a character at Magic Kingdom -- you have to make advanced ressies, but it is free & practically a one-on-one with a character. The character is not announced ahead of time.

7. Pre-Order a PhotoPass or join a group from the Budget Board. The photographers do a great job & I was so glad to have the entire family in great photos.

8. Lion King show at Animal Kingdom. This is my must see show.

9. The nighttime show at EPCOT, Illuminations is my MUST SEE show -- I like it better than Fantasmic (which is quite wonderful). I actually strongly recommend seeing each parks end of day event, but if you can only do one, this is it for me.

10. Invest in the park hopper -- It gives you the flexibility to stay sane.

Have Fun! I'm sure it will be a wonderful trip!

[edamethyst]

K, my musts sees are:

Ride the monorail
the Safari at Animal Kingdom
The Little Mermaid Show
Tower or Terror
Rock N Rollercoaster
Take a boat to Downtown Disney
Any and all fireworks that you can fit into your schedule
Soarin

I'm sure theres alot more but thats all I can think of for must sees right now.
Have a Blast!!

[PrincessBetsy]

1. The fireworks (They are amazing!!) and parade at the Magic Kingdom.
2. The Osbourne Spectacle of Dancing Lights at Disney's Hollywood Studio.
3. Go to the Crystal Palace for breakfast or dinner. It is one of the best character dining restaurants.
4. Finding Nemo The Musical at Animal Kingdom. (My favorite attraction at AK!! It is wonderful! Just be sure to arrive there really early. If you want great seats, I would suggest around 1 hour - 45 minutes before the show.)
5. Visit some other resorts to see the decorations (My favorites are the Grand Floridian, Polynesian, Beach Club, and Animal Kingdom Lodge).
6. Toy Story Mania at Disney's Hollywood Studio.
7. Illuminations at Epcot. (This show is very beautiful).
8. Pixie Hollows in the Magic Kingdom. (I have also not seen this, but it is supposed to be wonderful. There is usually a long line though.)

I'm not sure if your children like HSM, but they have a show based on HSM 3 at Disney's Hollywood Studio. I have not seen it yet, so I'm not sure if it is worth watching.

Have a wonderful vacation!!!! :)

[coltfan]

I am creating my list before I cheat and read other peoples' lists.

Here are my must do's due to the timing of your trip:
1. visit the holiday story tellers through out Epcot (Mexico & Italy are my favorites.)
2. stop to enjoy the Christmas music and light display in the special archway from FW to WS in Epcot
3. see the gingerbread house at the Grand Floridian
4. take your girls to visit Santa and Mrs. Claus in the US pavillion at Epcot if they're still there that week
5. for older children, I would definitely attend a performance of the Candlelight Processional (or at least listen to it outside the theatre)

Here are my favorites for any trip considering your DDs' ages
1. ask your DDs for their A-list of attractions and fit them in
2. take a picture of your DDs in the same spot every trip (we do a specific chair in Minnie Mouse's house)
3. spend a few minutes each evening recording your family's favorite memories from the day in your journal (ask for their input)
4. ride the monorail
5. see the castle at night at least once
6. see fireworks somewhere
7. go to MK for park opening one day to visit your favorite attractions early
8. take your girls to see Miyuki, the candy maker in Japan

[Ilivetogo]

:confused3 I am creating my list before I cheat and read other peoples' lists.


8. take your girls to see Miyuki, the candy maker in Japan


Would you please tell me about this??? :confused3 (Candy maker in Japan)

[coltfan]

Hopefully Miyuki is still in Epcot. She is listed on the live performers schedule and appears several times each day near the Japanese drugstore at a cart. She makes animals out of candy that is like taffy. She chooses people from the audience and asks what kind of animal or creature they want and makes it. She then gives it to them and makes something for a few more people. It is a really neat demonstration.

[Ilivetogo]

Excellent! I'll have to try to catch that this trip. (Going for Christmas week!) :santa: Thanks for the info!!

[Disney Crazy Debbie]

I have never been over the Christmas holidays, so considering the DDs ages I would agree with:
MK:
1. Crystal Palace or CRT
2. Mickey's Philharmagic
3.Monster Inc. Comedy Club
4. Space Mountain
5. Splash Mountain

[Shmily01]

My favs would be:
MK - Buzz & Splash Mtn.
HS - Toy Story, ToT, and RnRC
AK - Nemo the Musical (out of this world good!), EE
EP - The Seas and Turtle Talk

[Disneydreamer5]

I've only been to WDW once but our must see's and do's are as followed:

Soaring. can't express enough how spectatular this is. If we do nothing else when we return to Epcot that is the one thing we will be doing without a doubt. We waited on line for 2 hours and it was well worth the wait.:lovestruc
Chef Mickey. Its hard to get to see the character up close and personal and this was the best way to do just that. The kids got their pictures that they wanted and the wait staff are all just so nice and it was really a lot of fun.
I suppose all characters meals are like this but I just felt so at home there.:wizard:
Splash Mountain & Big Thunder Mountain :banana:
Mickeys PhilarMagic. It was truly something to see. We all really enjoyed it.
I think all the shows are pretty great but this one was in 3-D so it had that something extra,loved it.:3dglasses
Last but not least and I don't know that you will be able to do is Typhoone Lagoone. We have thought about planning a trip and to keep the price down not doing the water parks and all 5 of our children said they would rather wait until we can do the water parks then go and not go to them.
Water Parks are always fun but Disneys have that little something special as you would think they would. We went to both but Typhoone was just fantaastic.:cool1:

[PrincessBetsy]

Hopefully Miyuki is still in Epcot. She is listed on the live performers schedule and appears several times each day near the Japanese drugstore at a cart. She makes animals out of candy that is like taffy. She chooses people from the audience and asks what kind of animal or creature they want and makes it. She then gives it to them and makes something for a few more people. It is a really neat demonstration.

Miyuki is one of my favorite performers at Epcot. She does an amazing job and she makes it look effortless. Sometimes it can be a little hard to understand her and she repeats herself alot, but it is well worth it. If you would like her to create an animal for you, I would suggest arriving there early, and stand right in front of the cart.

[PrincessVal]

1. Do at least one character breakfast/dinner. Pick it based on what characters you want to see most, its a lot easier to get character pics if they come to you instead of standing in line. If the girls want to see the princesses and you cant get into CRT, try the Princess Storybook Breakfast in Norway.

2. The Osborn Lights at DHS.

3. Holiday decorations at some of the resorts - Grand Floridian, AKL, etc.

4. Go first thing in the AM to DHS and get a FP for Toy Story Mania, same for Soarin' at EPCOT. These are the 2 most popular attractions and are worth seeing but you don't want to waste hours in line.

5. If you have never done it - Go to Tom Sawyer Island first thing in the morning when it opens, usually an hour after the park opens but check when you get there. They hide paintbrushes around the island and if you return one to the CM you get a free FP for Splash or Big Thunder for your party. My whole family had a blast doing this.

Have a great trip!

[Andrea from PA]

Just read other posters ---

Turtle talk with Crush is GREAT -- crowded, but GREAT

SLOOOOW down thru Epcot countries -- the kids quickly get into a run from attraction to attraction mode, but World Showcase is something best done "leisurely" -- as you heard about the candy lady -- World showcase is full of this type of stuff that is easy to miss upon first blush -- it appears all is stores & food vendors -- don't be fooled.

[Vijoge]

WISHES!

If I could only choose one thing this would be it. :)

[sm0213]

subscrbing

[SwiftCentaurette]

Wow! All of these things sound really fun!! I haven't been to WDW since I was real little. The Animal Kingdom wasn't even built yet!!

I'll have to take note of all of theses awesome things and do them when I'm up there next semester for an internship :3

[DisneySJB]

My daughter is 6 years old. Her favorites are:

1 - Splash Mountain at MK
2 - The Lion King show at AK
3 - Mickey's Philharmagic at MK
4 - A Bug's Life at AK
5 - Character lunch at Hollywood and Vine (JoJo's Circus) at HS

[TewEpcot]

Umm... I am going to do my best to stay under 10. Operative word being try.

1. Electric Water Pageant (http://www.intercot.com/infocentral/accomodations/electricalwaterpagent.asp): An oldie but a goody.
2. Wishes
3. Fantasmic
4. Every single little nook and cranny of Fantasyland. Everything. If you catch Sword in the Stone, extra bonus. :wizard:
5. A hot dog from Casey's.
6. Holidays around the World (Epcot World Showcase) since you'll be there
7. And a resort tour for the holiday decs, too... since you'll be there
8. Pirates of the Caribbean & Haunted Mansion. Can they please count as one?
9. Shopping in Japan. I don't have daughters, but OH the Hello Kitty stuff they have in there... and then maybe just go to Tepan Edo for dinner, too. :rolleyes1
10. Soarin' and Living with the Land. I usually go to the Land at rope drop, do the boat ride first (no one else there!) and then stand in line (no FP) for Soarin'.

Yup, I have a lot more. But I said 10. So I'll stop. Lego Store! Jungle Cruise! Maelstrom! Living with the Seas (Nemo, whatever)!

no, really... :goodvibes

[Disney MAINEiac]

My must do/see, but probably not a list that would be for young children.

1. world showcase (all of it just wonderful)
2. RnR at DHS
3. ToT at DHS
4. Fantasmic
5. Illuminations
6. Splash Mtn
7. Expedition Everest
8. a meal at Kimonos in the Swan (great sushi)
9. boardwalk at night (street performers)
10. wishes
11. meal at Rose & Crown Pub
12. late night EMH @ MK
13. meal @ Boma
14. test track
15. Big thunder mtn RR
16. PoTC
17. spaceship earth
18. Mickey's Philharmagic
19. Soarin
20. haunted mansion

[allmine69]

All great ideals that I'm writing down keep them coming!!Thanks

[nurse.darcy]

Okay, my must do's. ..not in any particular order. . .

1. Festival of the Lion King. . .over the top performance. Loved every minute of it.
2. TOT and RnR. No explanation needed. . .
3. EE. . .4 times in 30 minutes last trip. . .need a good trip partner for that.
4. Living with the land. . .I really do like this.
5. Soarin (or Soarin over California), a truly fun experience.

I have many more that are must do's but this is a good start.

[ILuvMulan]

So I'm taking my 2 daughters (6 & 8) to WDW 12-31-08 thru 1-6-09. Today I went out and bought a journal to keep a list of all must do see things while there. I really wanted a meal at royal table but no reservations left. But I may get lucky yet!

Anyway give me your top 5 (or 10 or 20)favorites to do.
Thanks so much!!
Chastity

If your daughters love Cinderella, try the dinner at 1900 Park Fare (at the Grand Floridian). It is Cinderella, Prince Charming, the step-mother and step-sisters. My daughter (8) loved it and even my sons had a great time.

Top 5- (my daughter's)
1. Meet Ariel at her Grotto

2. The High School musical show at Hollywood Studios (they can dance with the performers at the end)

3. Space Mountain

4. Mount Everest

5. Turtle Talk with Crush

(O.K., so once I answered I went back and read the other answers and I must add.... I agree
The Lion King show and the Nemo Musical are MUST SEE!)

[chinchbug]

some of my favorites are at Animal Kingdom. I love Its Tough to be a Bug and The Kilimanjaro Safari. I lso enjoy the walk through's at Pangani Forest Exploration Trail to see the gorillas and the tigers at the Maharajah Jungle Trek (also the bats).

[dmagickingdom]

So I'm taking my 2 daughters (6 & 8) to WDW 12-31-08 thru 1-6-09. Today I went out and bought a journal to keep a list of all must do see things while there. I really wanted a meal at royal table but no reservations left. But I may get lucky yet!

Anyway give me your top 5 (or 10 or 20)favorites to do.
Thanks so much!!
Chastity

Ok, obviously there are some things you just need to do just to say you've done it! I will tell you though that in my opinion, the price you pay compared to the atmosphere and the food is disappointing. I have done it and I can now say I have ate there but I probably would not do it again. The server was EXCELLENT but the food was average and honestly the whole experience was just average. I would have rather went to the restaurant in Mexico. That is a BEAUTIFUL atmostphere.

[dmagickingdom]

if you can afford:

1. Get the lowest price package BBB at the Castle location in Magic Kingdom, then head to Cindy's Royal table for lunch.

2. Go to see the Gingerbread house at the Grand Floridian (you can take the monrail there). Only there for the Christmas holiday

3. Go see the Candy Carasol at the Yacht Club (or is it the Beach Club) -- only there for the Holidays!

4. Don't miss the Osbourne Lights at the Studios!

Can you tell I love the Christmas stuff?!

5. Soarin at Epcot -- Get to park at openning, Fast Pass it & then get in regular line -- This way you get to ride it twice! Long wait, but so much fun & not too scary for the 6 year old. of all the rides, this is my MUST SEE

6. If you are staying on-site & have booked thru AAA take advantage of the "Story Time" with a character at Magic Kingdom -- you have to make advanced ressies, but it is free & practically a one-on-one with a character. The character is not announced ahead of time.

7. Pre-Order a PhotoPass or join a group from the Budget Board. The photographers do a great job & I was so glad to have the entire family in great photos.

8. Lion King show at Animal Kingdom. This is my must see show.

9. The nighttime show at EPCOT, Illuminations is my MUST SEE show -- I like it better than Fantasmic (which is quite wonderful). I actually strongly recommend seeing each parks end of day event, but if you can only do one, this is it for me.

10. Invest in the park hopper -- It gives you the flexibility to stay sane.

Have Fun! I'm sure it will be a wonderful trip!

Christmas is a wonderful time to be there!

[The Hendies]

OK, 3 for each park, that'll make 12
MK - all three mountains
AK - Safari, EE, Dinosaur
EPCOT - Spaceship Earth, Space, Grey Goose Slushie:drinking1
DHS - ToT, RnRC, Muppets (I haven't seen Toy Story yet, so that may replace one of these... but maybe not)

[danilynn19]

OMG I'm getting so excited, especially reading about this extra cool :cool1: stuff for the holidays. Thanks :thumbsup2

[mommamoody]

Ride Space Mountain
Ride Thunder Mountain
Cool off in its Small World
Ride the Train around the Park
Haunted House.
I always thought that was the neatest job to work in the Haunted House and witty.

[SydneyFalco]

You asked for five, so I'm giving you five. And an earlier poster (#3 or so) convinced me to post mine, then go back and look at the rest.

For me there are five things I MUST do:

1. Tour World Showcase. Just love it. (Once upon a time this entry might've read World Showcase AND Main Street, as they both use to instill in me the same giddy feeling. But Main Street has been gutted. If they do the same to World Showcase, pull out all the custom shops and replace them with racks of High School Musical 13, then I don't know where I'll go to soak in make believe atmopshere.)

2. Ride the monorail and the MK train. Are these actually things? I guess not, but they are for me.

3. Try a new restaurant or hotel. This is a thing in and of itself, and an important part of being a repeat WDW vacationer.

4. The Haunted Mansion/Pirates Of The Carribean tandem event.

5. Blow off part of a scheduled day and wander/enjoy your resort grounds, or some other's. Honestly, I know this is a weird list, but whenever I've done this I've felt such a feeling of freedom, decadence and relaxation at the same time--a wordly sensation the Germans call libreidakkenspencei. (No, they don't. I'm making that up. I don't even speak German. But it is a complex feeling that needs have its only phraseology in a European language.)

6. BONUS: I promised only five in my list, but six is an extension of number 5., so I'm adding it: Head out unexpectedly at night, if at all possible, and enjoy late night in whichever parks affords it. I love doing this. In a big party, it's especially fun to split off from whoever's too pooped to keep going, and in that way, you form a new dynamic. Just yourself, just you and one member of your party, etc.

Can you tell I like winging it/having complete freedom?

[moepanz]

I would also recomend "pearl diving" in Japan. I love it and I think most little girls would too.

Gingerbread House in the GF is a must also.
Hot dog at Caseys (does not feel like WDW to me if I don't have one every trip)
Monorail ride (sit in front if you can and get pilots license)
Meal and boat ride in Mexico. We just love it there and so did our kids.

Enjoy your trip.

[kimsuenew]

So I'm taking my 2 daughters (6 & 8) to WDW 12-31-08 thru 1-6-09. Today I went out and bought a journal to keep a list of all must do see things while there. I really wanted a meal at royal table but no reservations left. But I may get lucky yet!

Anyway give me your top 5 (or 10 or 20)favorites to do.
Thanks so much!!
Chastity

Hi! Here is my list of 6 (it was hard to narrow it down)! :goodvibes

1. Take the Monorail to the Grand Floridian and eat at 1900 Park Fare! It is a beautiful meal (the characters, decor, and food)!
2. Make sure to ride Toy Story Mania, it is so fun!
3. Don't miss Haunted Mansion, this is close to being my favorite ride at all four parks (second only to TSM)!
4. Make sure to see "Festival of the Lion King" at AK!
5. "Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor " is an awesome show, we/I attend several times per trip!
6. Kali River Rapids (woo hoo)!

My DH & DS rode a lot of rides that I did not so their list is different than mine (and has one more item) but here goes...

1. Aerosmith R-n-R Roller Coaster!
2. Tower of Terror!
3. Boma for supper!
4. Space Mountain!
5. WDW Bass Fishing Excursion (it left out of the Poly)!
6. Kali River Rapids!
7. Splash Mountain!

And we all agree that Specromagic and MK Fireworks are not to be missed!

[H20DogsNDisney]

1. Eat at a Restaurant with characters
2. Its a small world...(something we mustdo as a family)
3. Pirates of the Caribbean
4.Wishes if you can
5.And meeting Mickey and Friends::MickeyMo ::MinnieMo pluto: :tinker: pooh:

[Schmoodle]

This is my kids' list - mine would be a little different!

Star Tours at DHS
Toy Story Mania at DHS
Buzz Light Year at MK
Monsters Inc Laugh Floor at MK
For #5, DD would say Soarin' at Epcot, and DS would say Finding Nemo show at AK.

They also really loved Phantasmic.

[mom2ru]

Here's my 5 yr old DD's list:

1) Ariel's Grotto - Take an extra outfit in case your girls get wet. there's a play area where water squirts up out of the ground.
2) Tea Cups - I'm still spinning from riding with her so much.
3) It's a Small World
4) Honey, I've Shrunk the kids play area
5) Beauty and the Beast performance
6)CRT
7) Lunch with the Princesses at Epcot
8) Dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern and meeting all the characters
9) Sitting in the front of the monorail. She now wants to be a monorail engineer
10) Fireworks

My list
Crush Talk
Beauty and the Beast
Whispering Canyon Cafe
Seeing my daughters face light up
Riding the monorail up front
The parades especially at MK
Eating Mickey ice creams

[creativeamanda]

My top 5:

1. Dinner at the Grand Floridian near time for Wishes--watch Wishes from GF
2. Soarin at EPCOT
3. Spectromagic Parade at MK
4. Lion King Show at Animal Kingdom
5. KidCot in EPCOT

[danilynn19]

What's a grey goose slushie? Where do we find it? (Our ds is old enough to drive so it sound yummy!!

Grey Goose Slushie:drinking1

[DisneyCDE]

1. illuminations
2. Fantasmic
3. Tower of Terror
4. Festival of the Lion King at Animal Kingdom
5. Splash Mountain
6. Riding the Monorail

[koolaidmoms]

Our list for experiences with our kids:

1. Stand on the bridge between Tomorrowland and the Hub at MK and have Tinkerbell fly overhead to start the fireworks. (you'll feel like your watching The Wonderful World of Disney as a kid - if you are of a certain age!)

2. Have a character meal - CRT or CP are two of our favorite.

3. See either Fantasmic or Illuminations.

4. Attend the MK parade.

5. The Little Mermaid - DHS

Our must rides with our kids:

1. Splash Mountain - MK

2. Winnie the Pooh's Honeypots - MK

3. Spaceship Earth - EPCOT

4. Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin - MK

5. The Monorail between - MK and EPCOT

I just asked my DD (8) and DS (5) and they have been 4-5 times each what their favorites were and those were their list. :)

[Geef]

Your DDs ages are perfect for a round of the "Classics" at the Magic Kingdom.
1. The Enchanted Tiki Room
2. The Pirates of the Carrabean
3. The Haunted Mansion
4. It's A Small World
5. all of Adventureland and Toon Town
6. TTA (TomorrowLand Transit Autority - formerly the WEDway People Mover)

[TroyE]

1. Eat at character breakfast.
2. Collect smashed pennies.
3. Open a park.
4. Close a park.

[warpdarkmatter]

don't worry when you get there you will have some crazy lady on tv to tell you the top 10 things to do at wdw:lmao:

[colonialtinker]

don't worry when you get there you will have some crazy lady on tv to tell you the top 10 things to do at wdw:lmao:

Love it :rotfl:

My DD8 stated that if whe could only go on 5 rides they would be as follows:
1. Soarin
2. Mission Space
3. Thunder Mountain
4. Safari
5. Toy Story Mania
and if she had time she would have to go on The Great Movie Ride. She loves when the gangster hijacks the tram :confused3

[valentina]

What's a grey goose slushie? Where do we find it? (Our ds is old enough to drive so it sound yummy!!

It's a citron lemonade slushie. The place my brother gets them is at the Les Vins des Chefs de France kiosk in France at the Epcot WS.

[allmine69]

thanks for all your lists I know it has given me some ideas!

[doc005]

Ckeck out the ICE Festival at the Gaylord Palms. An amazing display of ice sculptures!!! Not in Disney but my kids loved it last Christmas.