Must dos for an ultra short trip to WDW with an adult Disney newbie?

My bestie and I are hoping to escape to WDW in April to celebrate her birthday and have a girls' trip.

I'm reasonably WDW savvy but my friend has never been. I don't want to do my picks, I want to have my friend get the best Disney flavour in our 2-3 days.

What are the absolute must dos? (Keeping in mind that we have a long term back injury to factor in - so no Space Mountain!)

Thank you!!

I would be sure to do the classics, Small World, Peter Pan, etc. Also take time to go to shows and to eat and enjoy being there. Maybe a meal at a monorail resort?

It's hard to put myself in a newbie's shoes, but I just took my husband (adult newbie, grew up with Disney movies but not an active fan by any means) for the first time a few weeks ago for just 2 days. When I asked him what he liked best in each park, his answers were:

Magic Kingdom (full day):
- Monster Inc Laugh Floor (his #1 fave)
- 7 Dwarves Mine Train
- Festival of Fantasy parade (this apparently really exceeded his expectations!)
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- Rope Drop Welcome Show (he got misty-eyed!)
He was LEAST impressed by some of the "classics" though... small world, peter pan, haunted mansion, tiki room, etc. His comments were "cute, but I'm really glad we didn't wait more than 10 minutes for those" — there wasn't the nostalgia factor or emotional impact for him.

Animal Kingdom:
- Safari
- Everest
- Flights of Wonder
He LOVED this park, he thought it was beautiful. We were only there half a day and he would have stayed longer no problem.

Hollywood Studios:
- TSMM
- Star Tours
- meeting Chewbacca & Darth Vadar
- Star Wars fireworks
- Tower of Terror
He is only a moderate Star Wars fan, but he loved all the SW stuff! He generally liked Hollywood Studios a lot. He liked this park and Animal Kingdom much more than Magic Kingdom — I think the crowds and strollers turned him off.

We didn't make it Epcot — but I think he will enjoy it next time.

Frankly, I was surprised and fascinated by some of his answers. But overall he really enjoyed the WDW experience and we will be going back! (That was my mission. Operation: Husband Conversion!)

My best advice is make a plan you feel is solid in terms of avoiding super long lines and hassles and include a variety of different experiences. But then give your friend space to form her own opinions and connections, which may differ greatly from yours. It was super hard from me to restrain myself from trying to "sell" everything to DH as "the most magical thing ever don't you get it!?!"

Super helpful post. Thank you!!!

I will add that, at AK, I think Festival of Lion King would be a great choice. I skipped it with my husband this round because he explicitly told me he is NOT a fan of the Lion King. (What?!) But I think most people would be delighted by this show!

I've done this a few times - my first time to WDW (DH took me when we were dating) was only for 3 nights, and we squeezed in 4 parks in 2 days! I did similar trips with my girlfriends after.

One thing that I make sure we never miss (esp if I'm going with someone who has never been to DWD) is Fantasmic! Although I don't plan to bring our kids to Hollywood Studio when we go in October because of all the closures (And they're too young for a lot of the rides there), when I went with my girlfriends (Adults in 20s, back then ) one of the girls literally had tears in her eyes during the show because all the classic characters were there! Another must do for me is the Sci-Fi dine in theatre because it's just so unique. Although I am somewhat disappointed at all the closures at Hollywood Studio.. but if you intend to get park hopper then I think you should go there even if it's just for these two things.

I think you should do at least 1 of the great nighttime shows. To decide - gauge how well your friend tolerates crowds (MSEP and Wishes), or a long seated wait (Fantasmic). For someone who grew up with Disney, I would go for one of those. But not much beats an evening in World Showcase ending with Illuminations for me. That would be wonderful if she's not really into all the Disney stories.

Be sure to have some after-dark time soaking in the atmosphere somewhere. I think WDW does lighting, music and atmosphere really well at night.

For daytime, Epcot will be beautiful for Flower and Garden Festival. Maybe just hit a highlight or 2 in Future World and spend most of your time in WS if you are limited.

Another evening, if you can tear yourself away from the parks, I would go for a great meal if your friend is a foodie. Maybe California Grill (that view!), Yachtsman Steakhouse, Citricos or Jiko if they are in your budget. There are lots of other great options if not.

Use different modes of transportation. Be sure to ride the loop of the monorail. Maybe take a little break on your MK day and go to FW or the Poly via one of the water launches.

Is she a kid at heart? Make time to stand in line for her favorite character somewhere. (Kenny the pirate dot com is a great resource).

Where are you staying? There are some great things to do at the resorts as well during whatever downtime you carve out.

And don't feel like you have to do all 4 parks if your friend wants some R&R. DDs and I did 3 nights and only MK for 1 day on our last trip. If you take advantage of on-property resort hopping (visit shops or lounges), your pool (if it's warm), and other things like Disney Springs you can stay pretty busy.

This is a great thread! I am going to a convention with a WDW newbie and she only has two nights to spend at the parks. I recommended EPCOT and MK for evening touring. I let her pick the rides and recommended Illuminations and Wishes. We hope to enjoy WS at EPCOT, drinking and eating around the world. And then evening MK enjoying WDW's classics.

My college room mate and I went for 3 nights/4 days recently. She had been to Disney before but had never truly "done" Disney (example she had been to Epcot more than once but never seen the world showcase?). We were two adult women and probably our favorite part of the trip was our day/ night in the world showcase at Epcot along with all of the night time shows!