First Ride of the Trip

[GeorgiaHoo]

Haunted Mansion. Peter Pan is fine but is super short and I would save that for a FP—don’t wait in line.

 

[LvnDsny]

We like to start every trip with a ride on the Walt Disney Railroad train....hoping it will finally be open again when we get there at the end of the year.

 

[Stitch577]

My grandmother's favourite is Small World, but I wouldn't let that drive our touring plan. Instead, I'd be trying to plan an optimal route to minimize the walking between rides, and let that drive my plans. With that said, I'd probably cut left to the Jungle Cruise, or cut right to Buzz.

You also didn't say how many days you'll be there with her. Trying to get all that in, in a single day, might be a bit much, as some of the rides could have pretty long wait times.

We will only be there for four nights! Was planning on doing an Epcot half day, animal kingdom day, magic kingdom day, and Universal.

 

[Kaadk]

We will only be there for four nights! Was planning on doing an Epcot half day, animal kingdom day, magic kingdom day, and Universal.

Ok in that case, you’ll want to take into consideration what you could all conceivable hit in a single day. I don’t know you and your grandma, but mine’s 90, and isn’t going to able to pop all over the park. Even at 67, my mother would have difficulty popping all over the park. Given the rides you wanted to hit:

...
-Under the Sea- Journey of The Little Mermaid
-Peter Pan's Flight
-Winnie the Pooh
-Small World
-Philharmagic
-PeopleMover
-Buzz Lighter
-Pirates of the Caribbean
-Jungle Cruise
-Liberty Square Riverboat
-Haunted Mansion
-Country Bear Jamboree

I’d probably cut Buzz and the PeopleMover off your list. If you hit them, great, but chalk them up to your ‘expendables’ since they’re a bit removed from the rest of your list. This leaves you then with a couple of choices, depending on what her favourites are:

Option 1:

jungle cruise, Pirates, Country bear, Liberty boats, Haunted, Small world, Peter, Mickey’s phil

with mermaid and Pooh in reserve, followed by people and buzz if she’s able.

Option 2:

straight back to

mickey Phil, Peter Pan, small world, haunted, liberty, country bear, pirates, jungle,

then you can either cross to tomorrow for buzz, people, or head up the east side of the castle for pooh,mermaid

Option 3:

cut to the right of the castle, Pooh, mermaid, then follow the route of option 2,

Or, if Buzz or People are your top priorities, then option 4:

Buzz, people, Pooh, mermaid, then follow option 2, but figure you might not hit liberty boats, country bears, pirates and jungle cruise.

And of course, for any of these routes, once you picked the path that hits the attractions in the order that’s important to you, (and grandma) then you plan your FP accordingly. Like, Peter , since you basically need a FP for to avoid long lines, if you go option 2, you want an early FP, option 1, maybe an early afternoon for it, option 3, late afternoon or 4, early evening.

Try to plan walking speeds, need for breaks, food, etc, and have a ‘plan’ for the day. Be sure to build in some flexibility too because no matter how well you plan, inevitably, something always throws your plans out of order.

 

[tinkerbelletreasure]

Man that line is always long. We usually do it late but it’s still a half hour wait. I don’t use FP for it. I save that for others. But I don’t blame you. It’s such a popular ride.

Me too. I ALWAYS end with Peter Pan! But I know not everyone stays until close like we do.

 

[wilbret]

I'm always a Jungle Cruise guy in the AM. Too many people heading toward Peter Pan/TomorrowLand.

 

[parkhopmom]

Small World. Years and years ago (1974 to be exact ) My dad begrudgingly took us to Disneyworld. Small World was our first ride and won him over! Plus its a longer, relaxing ride, lots to look at-plenty of time for more exciting things as the day goes on. I think it would put her in the magical mood!

 

[AngelDisney]

Hello everyone!

I am bringing my grandmother on a Disney trip next spring. She has not been to Disney in at least 40 years, so I want to start her trip off strong. Our first day will be spent at Magic Kingdom, and I'm trying to choose the best first ride for her. The rides she would enjoy are:
-Under the Sea- Journey of The Little Mermaid
-Peter Pan's Flight
-Winnie the Pooh
-Small World
-Philharmagic
-PeopleMover
-Buzz Lighter
-Pirates of the Caribbean
-Jungle Cruise
-Liberty Square Riverboat
-Haunted Mansion
-Country Bear Jamboree

Please help me decide what the best first ride would be, and tell me why you chose it. Thank you!

When I visited DLR again after 34 years, I looked forward to riding the rides I rode when I last visited DLR like the Haunted Mansion and the Submarine Voyage. It’s just nostalgic. Besides riding the popular headliners, ask your grandmother which rides she remembers the most and include those rides. It would bring back fond memories.

Have fun planning!

 

[jshoemak]

We love to start and end our trip with Haunted Mansion!

 

[Sarahslay]

I always have to do People Mover as my first ride, always. I don't know why, it's just a fun way to start the trip.

 

[Ds4angels]

We always cut to the left, so I would do JC, POC, HM and schedule 1st FP10:30-11:30 PP, then hop over to IASW. The less backtracking the better

 

[JenBush]

I would take my grandma on Small World first just because to me it feel so iconically Disney. I also think Peter Pan would be a great first ride if you are rope dropping MK.

 

[ars0525]

what does your grandma say about it?

I think at RD hitting Peter Pan cause of those rides listed it has a fun standby line that you will miss if you do the FP. Who wouldn't want to start the day with a trip to Neverland & pixie dust?

Now if you aren't planning on RD then I wouldn't wait in the standby line for Peter Pan cause it can get long. FP it later instead.

 

[Grumpy by Birth]

We typically visit MK on our first day (now that we're able to make multi-day visits... back in the day, we visited one park per visit). We usually arrive at RD and go to Adventureland first. Jungle Cruise is our first ride before the lines get long, followed immediately by PotC. Then on to Splash or BTMRR for our first FP of the day.

Even though PotC is one our favorite rides, we don't do it first because hitting JC first is just better logistically for us.

 

[Bullseye]

Pirates, to spark the imagination matey ...stand fast now me hearties

 

[GPC0321]

If you will be there at RD, I'd say go straight to Peter Pan. The stand-by queue is almost as much fun as the actual ride. And to me, it just gives you that "Off to Neverland!" beginning for a magical, pixie dust filled day. After Peter Pan, hop over to Small World so you can go ahead and get that song firmly planted in your brains. Now you're ready for the rest of your day in the Magic Kingdom!

 

[southernprincess1]

We always start in Fantasyland. We're planning on riding Peter Pan first, hoping to get a fast pass as we are not rope drop people. Our trip is in September.

 

[CAQDaddy]

Peter Pan or Pooh. I think either of those would be fantastic for an older guest.