Help Please!

[MrsKingTriton]

This is our first trip to Disney EVER!!!!
Can you all please give me a list of "Definately Must Do" and "Stay Away From" rides and attractions. I want to make sure we do all of the "Must See" on this trip. It will be myself, DH, DS 9, and DD 5. Your help is greatly appreciated!

 

[Kitterleen]

Fantasmic is one show you don't want to miss! SpectroMagic is a parade you can't miss! As far as the rides, I'm not sure how you are about roller coasters, but Rockin' Roller Coaster in MGM is one of my favorites, but I love all the coasters. I'd see all the 3D movies/rides as they are good for all ages .
DS is 8 and we tend to skip the "kiddie" rides if we're running short on time. If you going during a time when the crowds will be low, you should be able to do everything you'd like and maybe somethings twice
Buzz Lightyear is always a hit with everyone

 

[MrsKingTriton]

Thanks for the advice. We leave in 33 days. I cant wait. It is a well needed vacation. After all we have been thru the last couple of months with the hurricanes it will be good to get away for a while.

Please everyone keep giving me your great advice.

 

[psiprez]

As a quickie guide, just go by what rides have FastPass. They are, for the most part, the most popular and exciting rides!

Also, don't let EPCOT fool you into dawdling around in Future World. The World Showcase is where you should spend most of your time.

 

[Joanna71985]

I think there are several "must-sees" in Disney. I love Buzz in Tomorrowland; it's so much fun trying to get points. Test Track at EPCOT is fun. It looks worse then it is. The Safari Ride at AK is cool because you get to see lots of animals, and depending on the weather go on Kali River Rapids (if it's too cold don't ride- you can get soaked!). Millionaire is a lot of fun at MGM, and so is GMR and Backlot Tour at MGM. Must-see shows/parades are: Spectro (the night parade) at MK, FOTLK at AK, and maybe Beauty of the Beast at MGM. I would say that as for "don't-sees", basically don't go on whatever doesn't appeal to your family. Have a great time!

 

[Nikki_Mouse]

I agree that Buzz in MK is great and Test Track was our Family favorite (kids aged 4 and 6), but Fantasmic is definately a not miss attraction. My husband also love "Tough To be A Bug" although my kids were alittle scared. The typical favorites were Dumbos Elephant ride and The Teacups at MK. They also loved the Kali River Rapids- rode it three times!!!
My son just said that Test Track was his favorite!!! We loved Soarin Also!!! Have a great time!

 

[daisyduck123]

My DS7 says his 2 favorite are "The Haunted Mansion" & "Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin"...both are in The Magic Kingdom.

DD11 loves too much to list here.

Hope you have a magical trip!

 

[Deedee]

Try and do as much as you can while you are there otherwise you will be saying i wish i had done this and that when you get home. As it is your first trip every thing is worth trying once have a great time.

 

[Marypoppinsiam]

My 6 year old loved Buzz at MK, the safari at AK, it's a bugs life adventureland at MGM and of course Pirates of the Carribean at MK. Epcot was ok for him but at this age they want to ride things not walk around looking at things that would interest a 10 year old and up. Above all buy a guide book (Passporters has a great one) and let everyone pick some thing that they definitly want to do everyday and then schedule your plans around those things. Just remember to have a wonderful time and if you do miss something ( because you will ) you have an excuss to go back.

Have a great time on your vacation!!

 

[kowalchicky]

Reservation's at Chef Mickey's is a must for my family. We are coming up on our third trip and our reservation have been made. We go to the dinner buffet. It's a great opportunity for the kids to have their photo taken with mickey,minnie,donald duck,and goofy....also chip and dale.

 

[tlbwriter]

You know, my own mother, who has known me my entire life, couldn't pick rides/attractions that I would like. I think your best bet would be to get a copy of the Unofficial Guide or some other publication that describes everything, and then decide what's best for you. My "must see" could easily be your "why bother!"

 

[Maybelle]

We took our first trip in June, and we had a blast!! You will have a GREAT time no matter what! Our family is DH, me and DD, 8 years and not very adventurous.

Some of our favorites:
MK: Mickey's Philharmagic, Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, Space Mt. (without DD), Big Thunder Mt. (DD's fav.).

MGM: Star Tours (DD's fav.), Millionaire, Muppets 3-D, Rockin'RC (w/o DD), FANTASMIC-awesome!

AK: Festival of the Lion King, dd liked the boneyard in dinoland (this was our least fav. park)

Epcot: Soarin' (we all LOVED this!), Turtle talk with Crush (in The Living Seas, again we all loved it!), Innoventions east, World Showcase (dd, loved this, we bought her a passport right away, and it gave her something to do while we were walking through the nations to keep and eye out for the passport stations. This ended up being one of her favorite things.), Illuminations

We personally were not impressed by:

MK: Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Carrirribean (dd wouldn't open her eyes and kept her ears plugged the entire ride.), Tomorrowland Transit Authority (kept breaking down.)

MGM: nothing. we loved everything we did, but we needed more time.

AK: It's Tough to Be a Bug. DH loved it, and I thought it was cute, but dd hated it and I had to take her out half way through, she was scared to death! Lots of other scared kids left too, but others came out that loved it, so use your own discretion.

Epcot: nothing I wouldn't recpmmend.

These are only our preferences, you may find your family is totally different. Now that we have been once, I know what we want to do again, what we won't do again because we didn't like it, and what we won't do again, just because we have already done it...like Small World. Should you see it once, definately, will you want to go again and again??? Debatable.

Have a great time, I envy you!!!

 

[MrsKingTriton]

Thank you all for your ideas. I made a list of all the rides and we all sat down and pulled them up on the Disney website and took a vote of which ones we would like to do and dont want to waste our time this time doing. :thewave:

i just wanted to get other peoples opinon to see if some of the rides and attractions we chose are worth going on our first time.

please keep the information coming!!!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

 

[gt0163c]

It all depends on what you like.
I'm a 30 year old tall kid with a big allowance and no curfew who's also more than a bit of a geek (aerospace engineer). Epcot is my favorite park, The Future World part of it. I could spend half a day in innoventions, easy.
My sister, on the other hand (three years older than me and more of the liberal arts bent) loves Animal Kingdom. She could ride the Safari all day.

My favorites at each park:
MK: Buzz Lightyear (just don't put my sister and I in the same car, too much sibling rivalry, although my BIL puts us all to shame when it comes to tallying points at the end) and Splash Mountain. Mom love Pirates of the Carribean and Jungle Cruise (but Mom likes puns and bad jokes).

Epcot: Innoventions and Living Seas. Everyone in the family likes Test Track. I'm looking forward to Mission Space (wasn't open last time I was there). Mom (an Occupational Therapist, so she goes in for the med stuff) won't ride Body Wars but could spend half the day in that pavilion. My 5 year old nephew loves Soarin'. We all like the 30 minute, air conditioned nap that Universe of Energy provides.

Futureworld: I don't have a favorite here, but Mom and Dad like these. Dad likes the Norway ride. Mom likes the China movie. I like the live singers at the American Pavilion, but other than that, I'm not a huge fan.

MGM: Rockin' Roller Coaster (The takeoff is amazing) and the Muppets pre-show. The Muppets show itself is okay, but the preshow and wandering around the "backstage" area is hilarious. But, I also grew up watching the Muppets every Saturday night.

Animal Kingdom: Safari, the Birds of prey show (I like things that fly) and Dinosaur (although I like Indiana Jones at Disneyland better even though it's pretty much the same ride). Mom loves watching the tigers. My nephews like the dinosaur playground.

As for shows, my sister and her family like Illuminations (they do have the best fireworks). My older nephew and I like Fantasmic. Mom and Dad go in for Spectromagic. I enjoy watching the water parade and the MK fireworks from the Fort Wilderness beach. A nice, quiet time (although it can get chilly since we usually go for Thanksgiving).

 

[annie1995]

Definately Soarin in Epcot! Sit in row 1 section B. Ask to sit there and wait for it if you can, definately worth the wait!

 

[sprite]

My almost 5 year old dd's favorites:

MK
Peter Pan
Buzz Lightyear
Monorail (resort loop)
Belle's story time

EP
Soarin'
Kidcot stops

AK
Safari Ride
Bug's Life
Kidcot stops
Rafiki's conservation station (- we tried this for the first time last week and loved it, both my dd's 8 and almost 5 loved it -)

MGM
Ariel's show
Playhouse Disney show
Beauty and the Beast show
Stars and Motorcars parade

 

[lordhavemercy]

These are our favs....
Magic Kingdom.....Peter Pan...DD and GrD and myself...would ride it over and over if possible.
Splash Down Mountain...this is Disney animatronics at it's best...!!! one of our fav's...
Since it's your first...IMHO you should try to do...It's a Small World...it's Classic Disney...along with Pirates of the Caribbean...just remind the 5 yr old that it's all pretend...!!! Maybe show them pictures before-hand...
...Buzz Lightyear...sure to be a favorite...(don't be afraid to get back in line to do something again....it's all about having fun...not putting notches on your mouse ears...)
All of Epcot is excellent....the Mexican Pavillion makes a wonderful meal experience....that kids of all ages enjoy....
Look for the 3-D movies....if you can only hit one...go for the Muppets...it's great...we still love it...and i'm 46 my daughter 15.
Try to fit in one character meal...our fav was the character breakfast at O'hana's...get your kids disposable cameras...the characters will have fun with them when they see that they're taking the pictures....
hope you have a wonderful time...!!!

 

[iwannbindisnee]

We took our kids for the first time in 1995 when they were DS9 & DD7. they ended up loving it, but it took about a day or 2 for my DS9 to realize it wasn't just a huge amusement park. he spent the first day being very disappointed in the "shows" he called them (whether we were on a ride or not- if it didn't go up, down & upside down & go fast it wasn't a ride!)
We had to sit him down & explain that this wasnt jsut another Busch Gardens, Kings Dominion or Hershey Park (he had been to all of them). That was our biggest hurdle-his "mindset" that we didn't even realize he had til we got there! I guess I just knew what Disney was & was so pumped up to show them I forgot to explain it.
It sounds like you all have seent he book, so your kids probably have a good idea what Disney is, but I just wanted to mention it since I thought my kids did too! Especially for boys sometimes if it isn't a "thrill a minute" they get bored, if htey are expecting something like that!
That being said-about the only thing my kids still don't have the patience for they are 18 & 16 now) are the countries that only show the 360 degree movies (China & Canada I think). They however did LOVE the acrobats in China & the Italian Statue--check your times schedule (either in your room if you are staying on site or when you get to the parks or on line!)
Finally (sorry this is so long) in Feb went w/ nieces & nephews from age 1-9 & I was surprised to find that my DNephew7 was afraid of Haunted Mansion! I had to take him to Mickey's Philharmagic to get his mind off the Mansion (but he absolutely loved that! He's a pretty fearless kid otherwise?
Have a wonderful, marvelous time! I am jealous!
Debbie

 

[Rella Bella]

This is our first trip to Disney EVER!!!!

Twentythree days!! Good for you!!
My tips for first-timers:
-Read all you can on DIS... there are great threads about rides, restuarants, timing, making ADR's, where to sit for parades & fireworks, and so much more!
-Understand before you go that no matter how many days you'll be there you won't get to do/see everything. First rule... relax & enjoy to journey. Disneyworld is MUCH bigger than I could have ever imagined before our first trip.
-Familarize yourself with the photo pass program before you go
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/special/specialindex?id=DisneyPhotoPassPage
-Have basic plan organized for each day... you can always flex but going in without a plan can be overwelming
-When you arrive take time to watch "The 10 best things" on the Disney resort channel on TV.

As for rides to skip:
-With a 5 yr old I wouldn't do Stich or Bugs Life. You'd think they'd be for kids but they're not... my DS9 still doesn't like either of them.
-If you get sick on spinning rides Body Wars is one of the worst. (Mission Space is so cool it's worth a bit of queezy... at least for an adult.)
Have a Magical Disney Vacation!

 

[disney_me]

You will have so much fun at Disney. We are getting ready for our 3rd trip there for Christmas. 4th trip is in the works.

Let's see, I loved all the rides at the Disney parks. Test track is a big hit with my 9yr old DD ,also Haunted Mansion , Buzz Light Year is a fun 4 all kinda ride , all the 3-D movies are great.

All I can say is FAST PASS the main rides. (can only FP one ride at a time) This will help you get on more things. FP is great, the clock will stand in line for you.


HAVE A GREAT TIME!!!!