Your Favorite Things to Must Do/Eat

[KalamityJane]

We have a reallllllly relaxed touring style, but I like to go into DL trips with an idea of things we would like to do. For instance, this upcoming trip, I'd love to see Mickey and the Magical Map (we haven't seen it yet). Also, we always get soup bowls at Pacific Wharf.

What are your favorite must dos? We leave in less than 2 weeks and my must do list is rather short because we were just there in February. It's fun to find new things, too

 

[gerilyne]

We like to try new things every trip but a short list of the must dos each time are
- ride POTC as our first ride
- eat dinner one night at Blue Bayou
- stop for a mint julep and bengiets before riding around the park one full loop on the train
- eat breakfast at Flo's late morning and people watch from the back seating area
- walk through Radiator Springs and It's a Bug's Life at night all lit up
- ride Screamin' at night before it shuts down for WOC
-just before leaving the park, get ice cream from Gibson Girl and sit in Main Street with all the lights and just enjoy the atmosphere

I could keep going but this would be our top it's not a DL trip without experiencing.

 

[YukonMommy]

-Our first must do is to ride the train all the way around the park (this way I get to finish my coffee while it is hot!!)
-Tiki room, I know some find it blah, but it is a classic and one of my Moms favorite things to do, plus my kids can now sing along!
-mint julips
-eating a treat from the candy store on Mainstreet while sitting curbside waiting for the parade!
-Turtle Talk with Crush
-I could go on and on and on!!

Have a magical time!

 

[LALA8971]

For our upcoming trip, we have the following MUST DO list:
- Eat at Blue Bayou (a first for us)
- Ride IASW (my DS hasn’t been on this one yet)
- Mad Tea Party (another first for my DS)

My must do list for every trip is get a couple Tigger Tales (I’m obsessed with them!) and lots of shopping! And go on Splash several time (my person fav). For my DS and DH it's probably ride California Screamin’ and SM at least 5 times.

Have a blast!

 

[craigkerstiens]

We've got a variety of things we rotate through, but the one that seems to happen every time at some point is grabbing a good drink in the Carthay Circle lounge. We started it as a trend when our daughter would crash for a nap to find a spot to sit quietly and relax a bit. We love the light Jazz disney music and the drinks are quite good as well.

 

[gottalovepluto]

As the PP said Carthay Circle lounge. We had a relaxed touring style on our last trip and took time to do the lounge one evening for drinks and appetizers and it was the absolute highlight of our trip. We also took time in the parks to browse the many shops, it's amazing all the details in the shops that we never noticed when we were rushing to find the perfect trinket or favorite character t-shirt on previous trips.

The 2nd highlight of that trip was the Lilly Belle (the fancy red caboose you sometimes see attached to a train). This experience takes some planning as well as some park time but it is definitely worth it. It is a round-the-world trip aboard the Lilly Belle with one of the conductors acting as tour guide for the trip. It was a truly unique experience (though little kids could easily be bored). The Lilly Belle has no set schedule and does not always run. We did it two years ago and if nothing has changed here is how to do it: check in at Main Street station as soon as the park opens and ask the conductor if the Lilly Belle is running that day. If it is they will have a couple times which you can schedule to ride in it later in the day. Once the spots fill up, that's it and there are only 14(I think) spots available so they go fast. It took us twice during our last trip. I lined up at the end of MM outside of the station (there were a few people in front of me) and reserved a spot for our fam of 5 later in the day. And the best part- IT'S FREE! With a little of planning it's a unique experience available to everybody who visits.

 

[KalamityJane]

Oh squee!! These are all such great ideas! And we haven't done most of them (you know how it goes, you get into the Disneyland rut of doing the same things )

I have always wanted to do Blue Bayou, but wondering about it with kids... Mine are almost 7, 4 and 2yo. Worth it or wait until next trip and go alone with DH?

 

[lovebug33]

Depends if it's a one day or a multi-day. However, we always eat at a sit down, usually Big Thunder Ranch BBQ. We see fireworks at least once. We go to the Tiki Room!

 

[craigkerstiens]

I can't speak as much for the 7 and 4 year old, but we've gone to Blue Bayou a few times with our daughter at age 2. Overall it worked out great, the ambiance of it is great and fun for kids, feels very much like you're in a scene in the Princess and the frog. So I suspect it could be quite fun for the 7 year old.

 

[calilou]

I recommend doing the Blue Bayou Fantasmic! dining package and get two birds with one stone. It's worth the price IMO. It's kid friendly - kids are totally into the atmosphere and boats from POTC. We've eaten there regularly since my girls were one. Fantasmic was great to watch front and center on the cushions you get with the package.

We are big fans of all the shows - Magical Map, Royal Theater (the Frozen show now does a FP so go there early to get one for later in the day), Alladin show in DCA, new Frozen sing along also in DCA and all the others! They're a great break.

Something new we did this last trip was the Animators Academy in DCA. Loved it! Especially my 9 year old (younger ones may find it too frustrating - 5 and under).

 

[BandMom1]

Our must do/eat list:

DL - Jungle Cruise multiple times (we love the corny jokes!)
Horse drawn streetcars
Tom Sawyer Island
Buzz Lightyear (son and I have a "friendly" competition going between this ride and Toy Story)
Club 33 (when possible)

CA - Aladdin show (most favorite show EVER!!!)
Toy Story
Tower of Terror
Carthay Circle for lunch and/or dinner

 

[Aladora]

It has become a thing for us to try and do at least 1 new thing every trip...although after 7 trips we only have a few things left that we have never done. Riding the Lilly Belle, eating at Ariel's Grotto and eating at Club 33 are the only ones I think we have left.

Other than that, DS gets a new ear hat every trip and I take a picture of him wearing it on the Mad Tea Party ride. (I did miss one trip and every time I look at my pictures, I want to go back in time and kick myself for missing that one time!).

Oh, I almost forget, Mickey Pretzels. I HAVE to get one every trip!

 

[GatorChris]

#1. Head straight for Big Thunder Mt. There's nothing like walking on to this ride.
#2. After grabbing a BTMRR FP, we head over to Splash Mt (when it's not down for 3 months)
#3. Heimlich's Chew Chew train is a must! Can't explain why. We just laugh every time and love it.
#4. Everyday CA at sunset, they start blaring over the loud speakers "Sh-Boom" in Cars Land and turn on the lights of all the building. We love this!
#5. Every trip sees us at least once at Gibson Girl grabbing a waffle cone with Cookies'n'Creme.

 

[NannyBeBe]

A few things we must do -- we must eat at least one corn dog, we must have a hot fudge sundae at Clarabelle's, we must have a snack at Bengal Barbecue. My personal musts are the Fried Green Tomato Sandwich at Hungry Bear and breakfast at Carnation Cafe and riding the carousel. One thing that we have never done and hope to do this time is to sit in the rocking chairs on Main Street and watch the people go by. Sure hope those chairs are still there. And I want to ride the horse-drawn carriage down Main Street. Been going to DLR for over 30 years but have never done that. If I get really lucky, there will be baby ducks on the river and I can sit and watch them. As you can see, rides are not a priority. We do ride most everything but have learned to enjoy all the non-ride things too. Getting a cold drink and sitting down to enjoy the peace of DLR is lovely.

 

[beachdreamr1229]

Must Do's

DL
PotC
churro
Small World

DCA
Monster's Inc
Little Mermaid
soft-serve ice cream

I actually have a log to-do list of things I haven't done before. These include: baked potatoes from the Harbour Galley, Mickey's Magical Map, Aladdin show (at DCA), trying some of the "speciality" pastries in both parks, visiting the pirates' lair, Animation Academy, taste some of the alcoholic beverages in the parks, ride some of the vehicles on Main Street...the list goes on...

 

[LizardQueen8]

Must have something Mickey shaped to eat each day of my trip. Must buy a new ear hat and a new pin. Must go on Peter Pan's Flight, the Alice ride and Space Mountain. Must do a Character Breakfast. And after my last trip, I must ride Big Thunder Mountain after dark.

(And this isn't necessarily a must, but I love taking a ride on the Mark Twain about an hour after the park has opened while I drink my coffee.)

 

[VandVsmama]

My must do's:

Pirates of the Caribbean
Haunted Mansion
Go on a DL roller coaster (I don't like the DCA ones)
Get tears eyed at least once during our visit because I am so happy to be in such a wonderful place

 

[LALA8971]

Get tears eyed at least once during our visit because I am so happy to be in such a wonderful place

I totally left this one off my list!
1st trip with DS - it was watching him kick Darth Maul's booty during Jedi Training Academy!
2nd trip with DS - it was watching my 68 yo father act like a kid again!

 

[NannyBeBe]

I always stop to smell the beautiful roses.

 

[disneymoon0606]

I just wanted to bump this up in case others have ideas. These all sound great!