Frequent Visitors: What is ok for you to skip now?

[Farro]

We go for longer trips every few years.

I would say we are very laid back! I don't need to do rides over and over. If I get on Mine Train once, that's fine. I have my favorites, but even Haunted Mansion - we rode it twice and I did not want to go on again the same trip!
I don't care about parades, fireworks, etc. We will watch if we happen to be there, but we certainly don't plan for it.

Love evening, sit down dinners and then a cocktail.
Love lounging at hotel pool/bar in late afternoon before heading out again.
Love listening to the boat horns at the hotel!
Love just being in the parks, soaking up the atmosphere. Especially Animal Kingdom.
At this point, rides are secondary to us, but of course we still love them!

 

[bladiator]

I hate seeing little kids melt down in the evening or super late at night. It's terrible and the parents are melting down too. Nerves frayed, overheated and wanting to get their money's worth. How is that a fun vacation? I've watched parents literally slap their kids upside the head. I've seen kids act like monsters and their parents just look away. It's kinda nutty. I just mind my own business and focus on my visit and what I want to do.

I feel like the majority (maybe I'm wrong) of these people are the "once/twice in a lifetime" WDW goers so they have to go go go for the sake of the wallet. I think that there is probably a very small percentage of those one-timers that can go and just be chill and enjoy. I know it took me about 10 trips to get there. Also, the last time we went, my wife was 6 months pregnant, so I learned that lots of things didn't have to happen. It was the first time I ever skipped Space Mountain and I didn't even feel bad about it! I just didn't want to do it by myself. This next trip will be with a 13 month old and the skip-train will still be in effect. Heck, we may actually meet a character or two which I NEVER DO! It does feel better to be able to know "hey, we'll be back someday" and just keeping it chill.

But I still hate leaving the parks early ... or at all.

 

[randumb0]

I skip all parades and firework shows. You couldnt pay me to see Country Bear Jamboree or Tiki Room

 

[DisneyFive]

I would need to look at it the other way, which rides would I be massively bummed about if they were down when we visited, because other than those, I'm relatively o.k. with skipping anything.

Things I would hate to miss:

1. Soarin
2. Magic Kingdom Park Opening Show
3. Wishes (Now, Happily Ever After)
4. Rockin Roller Coaster
5. Space Mountain
6. Tower of Terror
7. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
8. Expedition Everest
9. Test Track
10. Fantasmic

Dan

 

[Tinkerbell8956]

It's shorter to list my "cannot skips" vs. list everything I'm willing to skip haha. Tower of Terror and Muppet 3D in MGM; Spaceship Earth in Epcot; Space Mountain, People Mover, Pirates, The Little Mermaid ride, and Big a thunder Mountain at night at MK; at Animal Kingdom we love Primeval Whirl. Oh, and a Lapu Lapu at the Poly is also a must.

I am also partial to Splash Mountain, but will skip it depending on the weather.

We love lots of other stuff, but these are the things that we still get really excited to do every time. I could skip everything else and still have a good trip. I haven't seen Illuminations in probably over 10 years. I avoid Fantasmic, too.

Oh, our other must-do thing now is Early Morning Magic...man do we enjoy that!

 

[Micca]

We've been going to WDW for close to 40 years and we still go a couple of times each year. We can skip just about anything if we run out of time or it's going to be a hassle. We always like to catch HM and TOT but we've even missed those on some trips. DVC has helped us cope with this, it's not so bad to miss an attraction when you know you'll be coming back and that it likely won't be very long until the next trip.

 

[tinkerbellandeeyor]

The night time shows we might try rol this trip because it is new other then that I find the crowds are too much for dh

 

[No.1000]

We have always been open-to-close, squash-it-all-in people-although being FL residents, for us it was usually just one park/1 day trips. This year we bought AP for the first time and we have been having a blast just doing "go with the flow". Sometimes we do open to close and sometimes we just hit one park for a couple hours. We are willing to skip anything and are also willing to wait in long lines if we have no fast pass and decide we want to ride. Last trip we waited an hour for TSM and it turned out to be a super-fun time in line. We also waited for HEA-twice. A big part of Disney magic is being open to it and finding it for yourself (it's there!). How you find it is up to you.

 

[loves to dive]

We are go with the flow people, we normally don't even book FPs any further in advance than the day before. We've been going to WDW for over 30 years so we aren't ride centric any more. There are rides we like and will pretty much do stand by for up to about a hour if we have to but there really aren't many of those. We aren't park open to park close and never were.

 

[jen7233]

I'm okay to skip Disney Springs. Rides/attractions I don't mind skipping in MK: Jungle Cruise, Small World, Aladdin, the Treehouse, Tomorrowland Speedway, Tom Sawyer's Island and the Liberty Belle, Teacups, and any of the princess meets. I'd like to skip Stitch and the Laugh Floor, but the kids love it.

 

[SimonSez]

Don't do character meets, Jungle Cruise, COP-although might like to try it again, not as big a fan of Space Mtn as I used to be and ride it more sporadically now. No on RNRC, don't really do too many shows, also Ellen's Energy is another one we don't do anymore--just too long. Have never done Stitch's Great Escape or Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor. No desire to go on Mission Space, but loved Horizons (still sorry it's gone). We don't do the movies in the countries anymore--France, China, Canada. Also don't watch Illuminations these days as I don't like it as much as I used to. There may be others I forgot about but these are what we usually skip. Not saying we will never go on them (except RNRC--that was a one time only deal), but we have our favorites and time is painfully short with Disney trips

 

[SimonSez]

I'm okay to skip Disney Springs. Rides/attractions I don't mind skipping in MK: Jungle Cruise, Small World, Aladdin, the Treehouse, Tomorrowland Speedway, Tom Sawyer's Island and the Liberty Belle, Teacups, and any of the princess meets. I'd like to skip Stitch and the Laugh Floor, but the kids love it.

You reminded me of some others--don't do the treehouse either, have never been on the speedway, I think I've been on the Teacups once. We do Tom Sawyer's Island once in a blue moon, and we've been on the Riverboat a couple times. None of these are must see/ experience every time attractions for us

 

[isabellea]

We do a yearly family trip at WDW. Sometimes it's only for 3 nights and 1 park day or a full week. Before going I ask my kids and DH what are their MUST DO (FP+, ADR, etc.). I make sure we do those things and consider everything else bonus. We never leave WDW feeling meh even if we haven't done everything there is to be done at WDW. Sometimes one of my girl will tell me to make sure next year we do this or that because we missed it this year but that's it. We like change and I'm not afraid at change. So yes an attraction can close before we go back but new things can also open so we try not to be worried about those things. Disney is supposed to be fun, not stressful and I try to make it so for my family as much as possible.

 

[cluvsdisney]

We mostly book our 3 fast passes for the day and fill in the time gaps with shows or a meal or something and head out of the park. I can't think of a ride I have to ride on every visit but DH would be disappointed if we didn't go on Jungle Cruise.

 

[MickeyWaffles]

We go about every year and a half and we just enjoy our time in the parks and don't say we HAVE to get on anything. Much less disappointment that way!

 

[fla4fun]

As a frequent visitor, I don't view it as skipping anything but as mixing things up. I don't do the same attractions every trip, or even hit every park each trip, but over the course of a few trips manage to hit pretty much everything I don't avoid for specific reasons (not a big thrill ride fan Disney or otherwise). I might do a show intensive day, or a retro attraction day, or a new experiences day, and that keeps the parks fresh for me. So what I skip this month might be the only thing I visit next month.

I would make sure you hit the one or two must visit attractions in each park and then fit other things in based on your interest and timing. Sometimes your choices end up being which attractions have the shortest wait at any given time.

 

[bladiator]

I haven't seen Illuminations in probably over 10 years.

INFIDEL OF THE EPCOT RELIGION!

 

[scoobygrl79]

We don't have any must do's and we skip many, many things. It really depends on our mood and what interests us in the moment. Recently, we've been doing park-focused trips (MK only while staying at Poly; EP/HS only while staying at BC) and we don't think about the other parks. But even then, we don't do "everything" in the parks we are going to. We FP+ our favorites, catch other attractions with minimal waits, and otherwise just enjoy the atmosphere. We don't view our time at WDW as needing to be stressful in any way, shape, or form. If something is down, or we miss it, oh well. We find happiness in the attractions we are able to see and do. It is, after all, a vacation.

This is a very fascinating strategy. I bet something like this would take a big load off of my shoulders. Maybe one day I will have the courage to try this out!

 

[KatePossible]

I have been to Disney World almost 40 times (I'm 26 now and started going to the parks when I was 3) and lately I have felt more comfortable skipping things. Growing up and going to Disney with my parents and brother, we tried to do almost everything every time we were there. We usually stayed for approximately 5 days, once a year and then maybe would go for a few days during spring break.

I got married last year and my husband and I have already been to Disney World 4 times together (one of them being when we got engaged and other when we got married at Disney). I feel like going with him has brought a new spin on the parks and I'm more interested in doing things a little off the beaten path than making sure we ride every attraction. However, I still have some must-dos at each of the parks. They are:

MK:

Space Mountain
Splash Mountain
TTA
Haunted Mansion

Animal Kingdom:

Everest
Kilimanjaro

Hollywood Studios:

Rock N' Roller Coaster

Epcot:

Soarin'
Test Track

There are many many other attractions that I LOVE, but if there is very limited time, these are the things on the top of my list. Also, getting a dole whip is a must <3

 

[agavegirl1]

Despite a 9 Day visit in 2014, We skipped:

MK:
Dumbo
Teacups
Carrousel
Astro Orbiter
Laugh Floor
Stitch
Flying Carpets
Swiss Family Treehouse
WDW RR was down for refurbishment
Most of the M&Gs
Peter Pan
Winnie the Pooh

DH is not a fan of MK

EP:

Most of the movies in the countries
Maelstrom closed for redo
Mexico ride
Journey into your Imagination
All the M&Gs

DHS:

TSMM
All Shows
All M&Gs

AK:

Primevil Whirl
Flights of Wonder
All M&Gs

Our Next trip we will ride new things, a few old favorites and spend more time with resort touring, dining, relaxing etc.
There are a few M&Gs I will insist on this time in exchange for not making DH ride Small World or watch Enchanted Tales again.
If we get bored and there is no wait, we may jump on a few rides not currently planned.