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]

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??? (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!) 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.
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.
Splash Mountain & Big Thunder Mountain
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.
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.

 

[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: 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.
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.
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...

 

[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