First Timers with DD7, need advice!

[megan0davis]

Hey everyone! I am planning our very first trip to Disney World for myself, my husband and our daughter (7). I have poured over countless sites, forums and the Disney site itself for info/advice on strategies and what to plan for. We are going in June, staying at Port Orleans-Riverside. A quick rundown of plans:1.5 days at MK, 1 day at Epcot, 1 at HS, 1 at AK and one free day to relax at resort.

She is very excited to meet characters and rides, but I am concerned about how she will respond to rides. She's never been on a rollercoaster, but a local pizza place has a ride that takes you up in the air (similar to TOT, but smaller) and she totally freaked out on it. I've watched several youtube videos of the major attractions with her and she genuinely seems thrilled about them and insists she will not be scared, but I fear I will plan my trip around FP+ for rides she ends up hating. What's a girl to do??

Anyway, I'd love advice from anyone on rides, attractions, meet & greets, etc. that are absolute musts. I fully realize we will not see and do all that we want, so I am trying to realistically plan our days. I expect us to travel at a moderate pace, but we will probably take breaks here and there. I am open to the idea of leaving the parks mid afternoon and returning late for fireworks shows, etc. if needed.

Please share any advice for this first timer! My FP+ selection window is quickly approaching and I'd love some solid ideas! Thanks!!

 

[lillykat]

Has she been to any parks before? How does she handle other rides? It really varies per kids ( my two are complete opposites. Mine are 4 and 6 but their birthdays are in May and June). My younger will go on anything...but my older was scared of many bigger rides so she skips. Why don't you FP some very popular but skip the scariest and then do them standby. For us...my DD was ok on splash but not space. She watched all the videos and wanted to ride but then did not enjoy them.

I would FP in MK things like ETWB, A&E M&G, Peter Pan, speedway, splash, 7DMT, R&C. Then try to hit space or BTMR if she wants to go when lines are the shortest. You can try to pick one up down there if you need to. But those would be my top pics with a 7 year old girl who might freak out. You can replace splash or the mine car is she refuses to ride.

EPCOT my DD liked Soarin but refused to ride TT. You only get one big one there so might be easier to pick. You can hit TT standby at rope drop if she wants to ride.

HS I would do TSM as my choice. I would skip TT if she did not like that ride at the restaurant. Maybe star tours if she doesn't mind being bounced around.

AK- I would definitely get one for the safari ride, kali if she might like water rides. I would skip EE my older DD said no way to that ride. My younger one wants to try it. I am not sure she will make the 44 inch requirement she is right there. So we will just ride if it is short and she makes it. DH will take my older one on something else. We did our third at the Mickey M&G bc we didn't want EE or dinosaur. If we ride we do it late in the day as the park clears out.

Btw we stayed at POR last May in the royal rooms and loved it. We are preferred this trip for something different.

Definitely find time for the pool. My girls had to be dragged out to go to dinner at Akershus bc they were having too much fun. Also my parents took them on a carriage ride which was a big hit.

 

[DJFan88]

I completely agree with the above poster.

My youngest would do Splash but not Space.
It wasn't till 3rd trip that he would do BTMR (but ironically loves that now, and doesn't want to do Splash anymore )
He loves the indy speedway. peter pan is a good ride for kids, but if you go 1 st thing on a early entry day you can get pretty good w/out a pass, but you got to go early. Ditto we usu. have no prob. getting on indy if early on an early entry.
I know nothing about this new Mine ride in Fantasyland so can't comment onthat.

At Epcot,Soarin is a good bet if you only get one in that tier. Also Maelstrom is good. My son does love TT. (Funny thing is one that you won't need a FP for esp. if you go later towards the evening when lots of people have moved to future world is the ride in the Epcot ball. We have to ride that thing over and over and over again for him!)

I'm sure you're probably going to use some FP for waits for princesses too. I'm not sure how that goes as I now have older boys, but have heard you can do that. I'm sure it would be worth it here.

The Safari and Kali Rapids are great. Kali is a favorite of my kids. At least 2 rides per visit for them.
Also, a 7 year old will absolutely Love the Nemo show.
though many younger kids love EE, mine will not touch it with a 10ft. pole.
It will not take away from your experience at the park if you miss it.


With the limited amount of time you have and the fact that you have a limited amount of FP I would start with the most important stuff that's not too crazy and don't worry about the scary stuff. The kid will definetly tell you if they want to go on it and I find that is easier. There really is so much to do, and esp. at MK so many other excellent rides you will want to do. Pirates, Small world, Pooh, Monsters (really funny and easy to get into) Buzz Lightyear are a few that come to mind. Plus you are fitting in princess meets.


DEFINETLY TSM at HS. Star Tours is great too. Mine loves that over and over.
But RNR and TOT are a no go for him.

We started going when he was 6,7 and then 9.

Maybe you want to use a FP for a great location for the Electrical Parade too. I've heard that that is a good use for a FP.

BTW, POR is my kids favorite resort of the mod's.
The food court can't be beat IMO.

 

[imprimouse]

great advice by all those above. I'll add that we found it best to start the day with a few calm attractions like IASW and Dumbo, then PoC and see how she's liking it (or not). Pirates is a good dark ride to start with.
our DD(now 15) took a shine to thrill rides early on and loves them.
Have a great Vacation!

 

[Cynister]

You've got some good advice from the previous posters. I'll add in my 2 cents. Last year we went with my DS (9). He isn't big on roller coasters at all. I had to do some convincing on BTMR that I had been on it before & it is fast but not scary before he'd go. He was also unsure of Splash Mtn at 1st (not thrilled about being in dark rides), but that turned out to be his favorite that we had to ride 5-6 times. That being said, here are my recommendations/experiences:

AK - Do the Safari ride & Kali River Rapids. Those are not scary in the slightest, no big drops, dark, etc. The other I would recommend for kids is Dinosaur. However the thing to note here is that it is dark for most of the ride. There are a few unexpected dips in the track, but they aren't large. It is just dark so you don't expect them. There are lots of large animatronic dinosaurs roaring at you so this ride may be on the border of scary for your daughter.

HS - Do Toy Story, Indiana Jones Show & Backlot Tour (I think they're still doing them), & the Muppets show. Those are all low key & fun. I'd stay away from RnR, TGMR, & ToT. Star Tours is good, but again this is kinda dark. You sit in rows of seats like a small theater & the whole room of seats jerks around with the action on the screen in front of you. This may or may not be ok with your DD. You might want to check out a YouTube on that one.

EP - Do the Grand Fiesta Tour, Maelstrom, Living with the Land, Figment, Turtle Talk show, & Ellen's Energy Adventure. Ellen's was actually surprising for us. We liked it a lot. We didn't do Soarin' or TT because DS was a little freaked out about them. Actually we finally got the courage to do TT & it kept shutting down so we eventually skipped it. We did do Mission Space & it is a little unnerving if you don't like being completely strapped into place inside a container that swings. Yes, you can choose the 'mild' experience but not all kids are ok with the big overhead braces that strap you in so you can't move.

MK - Do Peoplemover, Jungle Cruise, Tomorrowland Speedway, Buzz Lightyear, It's a Small World, Peter Pan, Dumbo, Monsters show, Little Mermaid, & the train. I'd stay away from Space Mtn for this go around. Probably too dark & has decent hills for in the dark. Stitch's Great Escape might be iffy too. This one is in complete darkness for a decent amount of time with lots of alarms going off & things moving around you. It will feel like Stitch is jumping on your shoulders & messing with your hair all while you are in the dark. It definitely freaked some kids out when we were there. Now back to my original statement. I'd get her to do Splash Mtn & use that as a judge for a lot of these other rides throughout the parks that involve hills & darkness. Splash Mtn has a good chunk of time inside & in pseudo-darkness. It is never completely dark expect for 1 spot before you start climbing the hill at the end. The majority of the ride is dark as in a room with some night lights on, but it is also filled with a ton of animatronic characters all lit up & singing to you the entire way. The drop down the hill is a bit steep the 1st time you go on it, but sit in a back row & it is over in a second. Then you are done with any major drops. It really is a lot of fun. BTMR is fun too. It is just very fast with lots of turns so you have to hold on to not squish the person next to you. It isn't dark & there aren't big hill drops, just lots of side turns at a fast speed. HM was also a favorite at the end of the day. This 1 my son was worried about & in the beginning you are piled into a very dark room that you can't see around you. But you all are standing together as a group, you aren't strapped into anything. You are actually inside a large elevator & you just don't know it. That helped my DS completely. Instead of listening to the mysterious story the CM was telling, I was whispering to him & pointing out how the ceiling was moving away from us so we were actually in an elevator. He thought that was neat. This ride is slow & yes, there are 'ghost' images throughout, but for the most part they are drawn friendly, funny or cartoony. They aren't super 'realistic' looking. This is a dark ride, in some areas very dark for a few seconds here & there, but by the end my son loved the hitchhiker ghost & would go on it again.

 

[shelemm]

I would not take her on Tower of Terror or Rock n Roller Coaster at that age unless she feels confidant. I would take her on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad before Space Mountain and tell her that Space Mountain is the same track but in the dark. No drops. You could take her on Expedition Everest and tell her it never really goes that fast, there is one drop, not that bad, and is over before you know it. Splash Mountain goes slowly except for one drop.

Most kids that are a little scared at that age will be ok with most rides. Just tell her Disney does not want to scare children.

 

[megan0davis]

Thanks everyone for the input! It's hard knowing how much she will be comfortable with, but I know we will have a blast no matter what! Plus, there's always next time!

 

[CatNipRules]

I was never a big ride person when I was little. My step father went on a roller coaster with me once and pretended like he was scared. I was laughing so hard that I forgot to be scared.

I've always told my son that he should try a ride at least once. If he doesn't like it then he doesn't have to do it again. It prevented a lot a freak outs. I remember the first time he went on Rock N Roller Coaster, he was scared, but ended up loving it. I also told him that I would go on it if he liked it.

He still considers that his biggest accomplishment. Getting mom to go on the one ride she was most terrified of. LOL!!

We never pushed him, but told him that he might like it if he gave it a try.

Now at 17 my son is a master at all the rides.

 

[fyreworks]

Just took DS7 year old a few weeks ago. It's probably easier to describe the rides we skipped on purpose based on what we thought she could do. She has sensory issues and does not like dark or loud noises. (When we took her at 5, she freaked out on Peter Pan! but she was OK this time).

At MK, we skipped BTMRR and Space Mtn because we thought it would be too intense (plus the back to back seating on Space Mtn leaves no room to hold her hand or anything if she gets too scared.) One that I did not anticipate was her freaking out about Haunted Mansion. I told her it was "funny scary" and she did come out with a smile on her face but she would not do it again. I tell her to try everything once just so she knows what it's about and if she hates it, she never has to ride again. She loved Splash Mountain.

At Epcot, we skipped Mission Space and the Ellen's energy adventure. She balked on Test Track at first because of the incredibly loud noise the cars make when it goes around the track outside as you approach the ride, but we told her it wouldn't be that loud during the actual ride and she actually enjoyed it afterwards (although she wanted to sit in the back row of the car).

At HS, we skipped ToT and RnR. Fantasmic was a little intense for her. She did OK, with her hands over her ears most of the time, and sometimes over her eyes during the Evil Villains scene (which seemed to go on forever!)

At AK, we skipped Everest, Primeval Whirl and Dinosaur. She LOVED Kali River Rapids.

As far as the princess interactions, we got the most out of Rapunzel at MK, Anna and Elsa and Merida.

Hope that helps a little.

 

[vicb]

Really good advice from everyone....

Seven is such a great age to go to WDW! My DD was 6 1/2 her first trip and she believed in all the magic. She had amazing interaction with Little Mermaid and Snow White. She liked many of the rides but we did not push dark or what she perceived to be scary rides. We focused on shows, character interaction, special souvenirs, swimming pool, fun places to eat. We rode the monorail several times too just for fun. We only did MK and Epcot that first trip (there was no AK then) and we skipped HS but now I think that was a mistake. I didn't think there would be enough to do for a 6 and 3 year old (this was in the late 90's)-dumb! We also did DTD for RFC which was a novelty to them back then.

We just told ourselves we didn't have to do it all, the kids would get older and we would do more each trip and so we did. They both love WDW and we are headed there for 4.5 days in May to celebrate DD's college graduation and my DS is now a college freshman! Disney is still cool to them.

Last bit of advice, some of your most magical memories will come from unplanned things so don't be commando and miss out on those moments. It might be as simple as stopping to talk to the Mayor of Main St. or stopping to watch a street show. Disney CM's can be amazing in the interaction they have with children, my DS had a great time with a pin trading CM when he was about 7 or 8, made his day totally.

Best wishes!

 

[Travelgrrl]

This is less about which rides to go on (as others have covered that very well) but just a warning that the parks are wonderful and stimulating in the extreme and I can't advocate enough to go early, have lunch before others do, take a break in the afternoon at your hotel, and return in the evening. The only thing you will miss is a 3:00 parade, but it's well worth it in keeping up everyone's spirits.

I would also second the emotion to start with mellow rides (at the beginning of your day and your trip) and work up to wilder ones. A 7 year old is just thrilled to be there; they don't care about FP this and that and what's the hot ride, if it's their first trip.

Have a great time!!!

 

[imprimouse]

Really good advice from everyone....
Last bit of advice, some of your most magical memories will come from unplanned things so don't be commando and miss out on those moments. It might be as simple as stopping to talk to the Mayor of Main St. or stopping to watch a street show. Disney CM's can be amazing in the interaction they have with children, my DS had a great time with a pin trading CM when he was about 7 or 8, made his day totally.

Best wishes!

excellent advice! DO NOT miss the streetmosphere actors, especially those in Hollywood studios.

 

[vicb]

Something else I thought of is on our first trip we didn't make any ADRs for lunch only dinner. Since we didn't/don't take a mid-day break having an hour to sit down in ac for a good lunch is very helpful in restoring energy and spirits.

Sometimes we did a mid-day break but sometimes we would (and still do) go until 3-4pm, head back to hotel for a swim or rest then we go back out for dinner.