"Must do" rides/shows/foods/etc.

[aniroc192]

I have been going through the college age section and everything is mainly about the CP (college program). I am one of the few that is going to Disney world NOT for the CP, but to actually vacation.

Although I am going with my aunt, uncle, and two younger cousins, I really want a good idea on what is a must do for college student visitors. I have only been to Magic Kingdom, once, when I was 17 (Im now 20) and I went with my mother, her boyfriend, and her good work friend for a day. This crowd was not a amusement park kind of group. I didn't go on a majority of the classic rides because I didn't want to go alone. There was no riding the tea cups, no flying with Dumbo, and no watching the shows. Unfortunately, my mother spent a lot of money just for us to get to Disney to walk around and "smoke". (my mother is a heavy smoker, and it felt like at every smoking section we saw we were stopping for her to smoke. Took up A LOT of our time and really made me upset.)

Thankfully this time I will be staying AT the park (@POR) for a whole week with park hoppers and with great people that know how amusement parks are. I went last August to Universal with my aunt, uncle, and cousins and they were so fast pace and I LOVED it. We woke up early, opened BOTH parks and closed them as well. My mom and her boyfriend didn't show up to the parks until after noon.

My question for all the college aged Dis-fans is, What is something you recommend doing for a new comer who is now at your age? rides? shows? food carts? Anything on the grounds that I should check out?



Anything to fill this long time Disney dreamer with a bit more knowledge.

 

[BabySimba]

I'm eighteen and going to college so I guess that makes me at the college age.

As for Disney...I'd say the best parks for college aged people are EPCOT, Animal Kingdom and Disney Studios. Magic Kingdom is great and all but the real thrill seekers should head for the other parks. Everest, Test Track, Misson: Space, Rocking Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, you know, the works. Especially with EPCOT's World Showcase. When you're younger, you're all about the rides. But now that you're older you can actually appreciate the work that's been put into each country's pavilion.

As for shows...I'd say check out Cirque du Soleil at Downtown Disney. Really interesting stuff. And of course the shops at Downtown Disney!

I'd also suggest spending a day just touring the hotels. They're really amazing if you stop and look at them. Animal Kingdom Lodge is a good place to waste a few hours just watching the animals.

Hope your vacation goes well!

 

[DOPEYLUVER]

I am not college age - in fact, not even close. My daughter is however, doing the college program so for spring break I took my 20 year old son and his 20 year old girlfriend to WDW for a long weekend - just last weekend. Do not be offended, but I am going to refer to my 19 year old daughter and the two 20 year olds as "the kids."

My first recommendation is to have a plan. There were a number of times that the kids were sent a head to the park while my best friend and I checked us in and shopped and such. When we caught up with them then hadn't accomplished much. So, like I said, have a plan.

We arrived at WDW at my daughter's apartment at around 11:30AM on Friday. We sent the kids to DHS, while we went to the supermarket and then checked into the hotel. We met them around 2:00. They had ridden the Tower of Terror two times. They had 2:35 fast passes for Rockin Roller Coaster. BFF and I looked for someplace to eat and waited for them to get off the ride. Once we ate my daughter headed to work and the rest of us did the Stunt car show, the Backlot tour and the Great Movie Ride. We had plans to return Sunday morning but wanted to get some of the more time consuming rides done. This took us till about 6:40 when we headed out. The car stunt show is great. It is only shown twice per day so make sure you plan around it.

We returned to the hotel and then headed to the Hoop de doo. The Hoop de doo is great fun but kind of costly. If you and your friends can afford it, do it. If not it's not the end of the world.

Saturday morning my son wasn't feeling well so we didn't get as early a start as we would have liked. We were checking out of the hotel we had for one night - POFQ and into the Cabins at Fort Wilderness where my daughter would be joining us for the rest of the weekend. We checked in around 10:30 and sent the kids on their way. BFF and I unpacked the car and met the kids. I don't remember what time. They had been on Everest and Dinosaur. We got fast passes for the Safari and then ate lunch. After lunch we attended the Bug's Life show and then went to the Safari. Afterward's we walked some of the areas and looked at animals. Saw some great things pretty close. We attended the Lion King Show and the Bird show. It was too cold for Kali River Rapids. We headed to dinner at Whispering Canyon at Wilderness Lodge and then back to the campground for what was supposed to be an early night. Instead the kids went swimming.

Sunday morning we made it to rope drop at DHS where we of course got fast passes for Toy Story and then rode Toy Story. We headed over to Tower of Terror and got fast passes for Rockin Roller Coaster. We saw the Beauty and the Beast show and the Muppet show. The kids did Rockin Roller Coaster. Indiana Jones was closed because they were using that stage for Cheerleading competition. We then headed to Chef Mickey's for a 5:00 dinner reservation.

After dinner we went to the Magic Kingdom. The crowds were crazy. We got fast passes for Big Thunder Mountain, then did Pirates and the Haunted Mansion. We went on It's a Small World, Snow White and saw Philharmagic. It was then time to use the fastpasses at Big Thunder. After Big Thunder we headed to Main Street. The kids didn't care about the Electric Parade but did want to see the Memories show projected on the castle. This was followed by the fireworks. Then we headed to tomorrow land. We rode the People Mover, Buzz Lightyear and the Laugh Floor. By this time it was about 11:30. BFF and I were done. MK had EMH until 3AM. The kids stayed until 2:30. They rode Space Mountain a couple of times. I know they did Winnie the pooh twice. I'm not sure what else they did. They got back to the cabin at 3:15.

On Sunday the kids went to Busch Gardens for the day. BFF and I did old people activities at EPCOT.

On Monday we all headed to the Magic Kingdom. The crowds were completely unbearable. Considering the crowds I thought we did pretty well. Big Thunder twice with fast pass, Splash Mountain, Pirates, Haunted Mansion, People Mover, Laugh Floor and one other attraction - i just don't remember what it was. We also had lunch. We arrived at 11:00 AM and left at 7PM. Considering the huge crowds, I thought 8 attractions in 8 hours was pretty good.

My son's girlfriend hadn't been in a few years. She had gone previously with a school chorus group. I was suprised at how little she had done on her previous trips. She said the shows were her favorite part of the trip.

My kids do not care for EPCOT at all. I absolutely love Soarin'.

I would recommend you pick up a show guide as you enter Animal Kingdom and the Hollywood Studios. Try to see all the shows you can. The Lion King at Animal Kingdom is great. The bird show is great. At Hollywood Studios be sure to see Beauty and the Beast, Indiana Jones, and the Car Stunt show. You can generally fit the rides in as they are continues. The shows need more planning.

Have a great trip.

 

[flyslyw]

I think you'll have a lot more fun this time around, especially since you're staying at a Disney resort and staying for a nice length. The park hopper option is really nice to have. I've gone a couple of times with just friends around my age (I'm 21 currently and in college), and I've found that most people around that age seem to like Epcot the most, mainly because of the world showcase, not necessarily the rides. Although Epcot has some really cool rides like Soarin and Test Track, it's mainly all about the different country pavilions which is cool to see and isn't very popular with little kids.

Personally, I'm more into the rides and Epcot is my least favorite of the 4 parks. AK is my favorite of the 4, but all the parks are amazing in their own way. Hollywood studios has some great rides like Tower of Terror and Rockin' Rollercoaster, and some good shows like Muppet 3D Vision and Lights Motors Action, and don't forget to check out Fantasmic at night in Hollywood Studios. One more thing about HS, if you plan on riding Toy Story Mania, i suggest you either ride it as soon as you get there or get fast passes for it because the wait times are incredibly long for that ride.

As other posters have mentioned, it's great to have a plan of what you want to do when you get there, and get there early to avoid the biggest wait times. Don't be afraid to ride whatever you want to ride, even if you have to do it alone. Every part of WDW should be experienced. Enjoy your trip

 

[megarella]

Well, Magic Kingdom is personally my favorite park, and even as a teen/young adult, you'll still love "the Mountains" (Splash, Space and Big Thunder), if not for the thrill, for the theme-ing. Other must-dos in the Magic Kingdom are Pirates of the Caribbean, the Haunted Mansion, and the Buzz Lightyear ride--which is always fun, especially if you start a tournament with whomever you're with to see you gets the highest score! Mad Tea Party and Peter Pan's Flight in Fantasyland are also both great rides that shouldn't be overlooked (though I strongly recommend FP for Peter Pan)! Foodwise...we pretty much always eat at Cosmic Ray's, because there are a lot of choices for QSFB and has a nice theme.

EPCOT is also fun, though it is also educational. For thrills, you basically have Mission Space. Other good choices are Test Track, Soarin' and Maelstrom (though I definitely recommend going for the FP on Maelstrom as it is a short ride and the queue for that ride is very dull). Foodwise, I recommend the resteraunt in Morocco (can't remember the name) because the food is good and the belly dancer is pretty cool (it's sit down though) and France patisserie for dessert!

Animal Kingdom is also a great park! My personal favorite is the Kali River Rapids (because I love water rides), but Dinosaur, the Kilimanjaro Safaris, Expedition Everest and the Primevil Whirl are all also fun! Food-wise, the Rainforest Cafe's always fun!

Then you have DHS---my favorite is Toy Story Mania (another shooting game, though since the line's are longer than at the Buzz Lightyear ride in MK, this is less suited to a tournament). Other good ride choices include Tower of Terror, Rockin Rollercoaster, the Great Movie Ride (I know it's kind of cheezy, but it's still good) and (if it's open again when you're there) Star Tours (Also FP Rockin Rollercoaster and wait in line for Tower of Terror). DHS also has some great shows---particularly the Indiana Jones Stunt Show---volunteer to be an extra! It's so much fun! Food-wise, you can't go wrong with either the Sci-Fi Movie Dine In Theater or the 50's Prime Time Cafe!

Hope that helps!

 

[kenziekinz09]

I'm a little biased, but you HAVE to see Fantasmic! if you're there when it's running. It is my absolute favorite show in all of WDW and I wouldn't miss it for the world. It's also the reason why I've never made it to Animal Kingdom

I'd say must do rides are MuppetVision 3D, Rock N Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror (at DHS), the teacups, phillarmagic, haunted mansion, the mountains, and small world at MK (so sue me for the last one, I love it), and Test Track and Mission Space at Epcot. My favorite restaurants at WDW are Cosmic Rays (MK), Le Celiere (Epcot-it's SUPER POPULAR though), and 50's Prime Time at DHS. 50's Prime Time is the only sit down we eat at on every trip, it's so much fun! You have to have a good sense of humor though.

 

[TheWickerMan]

All of the obvious rides are great. I do recommend you spend some time in the Epcot countries. They have a great fireworks show (or they did the last time I was there 5 years ago) and some excellent restaurants.

 

[theflyingzero]

The best thing to do is get maps and show times like the night before if your not at another park look over it a bit and then just go for it if you got an iphone or droid thing download the wdw wait times app works real well especially if your considering park hoppin and even say if your in world showcase and you want to do something in the front of the park.

I would say have a very general plan dont say hey at 3:21 we will be in line for Haunted mansion thats crazy but ya have a general outline of what ya wanna do makes it go smoother. Also use FASTPASS!!!!!!!!

 

[t-ho]

I'm a little biased, but you HAVE to see Fantasmic! if you're there when it's running. It is my absolute favorite show in all of WDW and I wouldn't miss it for the world. It's also the reason why I've never made it to Animal Kingdom

I'd say must do rides are MuppetVision 3D, Rock N Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror (at DHS), the teacups, phillarmagic, haunted mansion, the mountains, and small world at MK (so sue me for the last one, I love it), and Test Track and Mission Space at Epcot. My favorite restaurants at WDW are Cosmic Rays (MK), Le Celiere (Epcot-it's SUPER POPULAR though), and 50's Prime Time at DHS. 50's Prime Time is the only sit down we eat at on every trip, it's so much fun! You have to have a good sense of humor though.

^ (did you work at HS?)

Fantasmic is the BEST.
Seriously. Look no further than that, and the rest of Hollywood Studios.
haha. Really though it's a good balance of adult entertainment and movies, and childish fun.