Parks that you didn't enjoy as much?

[Papa Deuce]

If you wanted to skip a park, whether it be a Disney, Universal, or other park, which would it be? What was disappointing?

We're a group of about 30 people, headed down in September. Specifically, my wife and I are 42, and we have 3 year old twin girls.

We aren't all going to be together every day.

Thanks, Chuck

 

[laceemouse]

I am not a big fan of US. I know a lot of people will disagree with me, but especially with little ones I would skip it and IOA. US has many rides like Jaws and Twister which will scare most little ones silly. My kids are older, but they still have not seen most of the movies represented in this park (we mostly stick to Disney flicks LOL) I have never been to IOA and have no desire to go, it is mostly big coasters and I don't do thrill rides. Would be a total waste of money for us IMO. We really enjoy Sea World and try to go there every second or third trip down. Your kids may love it, and it is a great place to go with a big crowd as it is mostly shows that everyone can enjoy together. We do not do every Disney park on every trip, we always leave one off, but we never skip the MK. Two of our four kids love EPCOT, so don't just automatically rule it out. We also enjoy AK and MGM, both have a lot for kids and adults alike. It really depends on how much time you have and which things you think you kids will enjoy. Some kids are scared of the dark rides at MK, but my 4 have never, at any age, been really scared of anything at WDW.. Have fun planning....Lacee

 

[figment95]

I never really cared for MGM. It's OK but DH and I can usually see all the attratctions we want to in half a day. The only ride I really like there is TOT.

 

[MemphisDad]

Animal Kingdom is one I can live without. The main reason is that the layout is so convoluted and spread out, that it takes a long time to get from one attraction to the next, and there are a lot of bottlenecks on the paths. It is also easy to lose your way - the only visible landmark is the Tree of Life, and if you are in certain parts of the park it is next to impossible to get to it without going in a big circle around to the other side.

Of course, last time I was there, it was in June and all the lines were long - we waited in line for Dinosour for over 2 hours and it didn't live up to the hype. Also, there aren't as many food options. There are fewer attractions at AK than at any other park, but it still takes more than a full day to see them because of the distance you have to cover. If I go while we are there this year I will just run in early in the morning to go on the Safari and then leave to do another park before lunch.

 

[DisneyMomx7]

We were pretty disappointed with the Animal Kingdom. The kids were 2, 4 and 5. They enjoyed the Lion King Show and the Boneyard playground and somewhat enjoyed the Kilamajaro Safari but that was about it, oh yeah and the "dumbo" type ride. We're going back in July and that's the one park we plan on skipping.

 

[mom of five]

We went to WDW last March (2003). Kids ages 9,8,7,6,and 5! We are planning another visit this Oct. and will possibly skip or spend very little time again in AK. Kids liked it okay. Mom and Dad liked it okay. That's it. If we go back it will be to specific things (Lion King show, Tarzan rocks, Dinosaur). We hated the little "carnival" area over near the boneyard. And didn't like the layout. Surprisingly, our kids loved the WS in Epcot. We thought they would be bored but they really enjoyed themselves. We may spend half a day at AK next trip, but a least 2 days for all of Epcot.

 

[Desnik]

As for the Disney parks AK is our least favorite. On our past trip we didn't go at all. We have gone there about 3 times. The Lion King show there is great and not to be missed, same as the safari. For us it's not worth repeating after 3 times!!LOL
We don't do Universal and IOA because of the same reasons laceemouse expressed.
With small children I think MGM is worth a visit. Playhouse Disney, Little Mermaid, Muppets 3D, and Beauty and the Beast are attractions we as a family love! My DD is 6yo and DS is 1yo. DD has been 6 times and loves MGM. Also the parade in the afternoon has the best variety of characters! We love it.
DD also loves Epcot just as much as we do!
We've never been to Disney Quest.
We haven't gone to Seaworld either.(I have been when I was a kid) Usually when we go we stay on Diney property and never leave it!!

 

[zalansky]

We were also disappointed with Animal Kingdom. We blew through it in half a day. Not really impressed.
Also, I agree with the previous posters about IOA and US. Not enough for little ones to do or be interested in.

 

[sweet tooth]

I would have to vote for Animal Kingdom as well. We are going this summer and will spend a 1/2 day only - to see the shows we missed last time. As for the safari - a long wait and nothing spectacular! You would better off spending a day at the zoo to see animals! The layout is not friendly and it has an "unfinished" feeling to me - like half of the park is under renovation. The only plus for us was Donald's Breakfastasaurous which we all enjoyed!

 

[Lollipop Mom]

I guess we are the odd balls here. We all LOVED Animal Kingdom. I only planned ½ a day there based on comments I had read and all we all wanted more time there. My kids are big animal lovers and DH and I enjoyed the more laid back feel of it. Maybe that had something to do with the fact that we were there from 12/28 to 1/3 and went to AK on New Years Eve so it was not even close to crowded sicne everyone else was at MK or Epcot so they wouldn't have to worry about getting in later for fireworks. This was the least crowded day we saw all week, we waited less than 20 minutes for the safari w/o fast passes in the middle of the day. This is a park we are all looking forward to spending more time at on our upcoming trip. As a matter of fact, my 3½ year old was VERY excited that the Travel Channel did their "Inside Disney's AK" show last night! We've Tivoed it for him b/c he will watch it 20 times between now and the day we leave!

The Disney park we were least impressed with was MGM. I wouldn't say I hated it...not by a long shot but it was our least favorite. I have boys so they weren't in to the Little Mermaid or Beauty and the Beast (my 3½ year old spent the whole trip telling me that "we don't need no stinkin' princesses!"). They didn't care for the muppet show since they don't really know the muppets. They liked Playhouse Disney, liked the playground there and LOVED meeting Buzz, Woody and Jessie at Al's Toy Barn. DH and I enjoyed RnR and ToT but this was the park we could have done in a half day. They weren't really thrilled with the idea of lots of shows either. They preferred the "on the go" feel and the rides at the other parks. We'll be at WDW for a total of 9 days on this trip so we'll definitely be going back to MGM but it's the one I'd skip if you told me I had to skip one.

We weren't impressed with US either. Not much for little ones. Even less so at IOA. I do think my kids will love Sea World though. We are planning on going there in Dec/Jan. Our Disney APs expire 2 days before our trip over New Years 2004/2005 so we plan to have a "resort day" and go to Sea World the other day.

 

[toystorymom]

I guess we're odd balls too then, Lollipop Mom! Our family loves AK, and always spends at least one full day there. The Lion King Show, Dinosaur, Safari, and River Rapids are all great. We also love the relaxing pace of walking the trails and seeing the animals.

For us, MGM is the least exciting. We have 3 boys 7,4, and 2. The oldest had a great time because he loved ToT, RnR, and Star Tours but the others were too little for those. The only things they liked were Playhouse Disney, Muppets, and meeting the Toy Story gang at Al's Toy Barn. They also had fun in the playground, but they would have rather been at any other park. My boys also have the mentality "Princesses? Yuck!" so they weren't interested in the other shows. Since you have girls though, they may find more to enjoy.

We haven't been to Universal yet specifically for the reasons the other posters have stated. We want to wait til the boys are older and we can all enjoy those thrill rides together.

 

[Kate-n-sam]

I'll have to agree with you on AK! We love it. Love the laid back feel and the 'naturalness' of it all. Love to take our time. It's not so rat-raceish like some of the other parks. We have not been to MGM in our past 5 trips. There's just not a lot for my family there. We are not show people and not really interested in Hollywood and the movies. We aren't thrill seekers either, so that leaves I think the Great Movie Ride and HISTK playarea. We love the great movie ride and I think the backlot tour is neat, but to us the park is just not worth the trip.

You'll have a great time no matter what!

 

[my3princes]

We would do all of the 4 WDW parks and BB. We would skip Seaworld. We had an ok time there a few years ago, but we have no desire to go back. We like US and IOA, but once every 4 or 5 years is enough. WDW is a must do as often as possible. We also don't care for PI so that save us a night there.

 

[Lollipop Mom]

Just had to share this...on the way to take my 3½ year old to preschool we were talking about how many days till we leave and how many "sleeps" that is plus what he wants to do there. He's like a little tour guide with his running commentary of things "Spaceship Earth is at Epcot, Mom. Figment lives there too but not Cinderella's Castle. That's at the Magic Kingdom. You can get on the monorail if you want to go there." I asked him what the first thing he wanted to do at all 4 parks was. He wants to ride Dumbo and Thunder Mountain at MK, see Figment at Epcot, ride the safari at AK and he says "that's all the parks. There are 3, not 4 Mommy." He's quiet for a minute and says "OH! you mean the Disney World Hotel! I want to do the waterslide there!" I told him the 4th park was MGM and his response was "yeah, but there's nothin' there but Buzz and Woody. We should tell them to come to Magic Kingdom cause it's lots more fun!"

 

[BrianMonk]

Surprisingly, our kids loved the WS in Epcot. We thought they would be bored but they really enjoyed themselves

Specifically, do you recall what your 5 & 6 year olds liked in WS? I've got 2 in that range as well and it doesn't seem like there's much there for the kids.

Any help will be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[Kate-n-sam]

My DD love WS too. She adores the Kidcots (she's more of the artsy type) and having her passport stamped. Its all we can do to stop her from running to the next country for the next kidcot. She also really enjoys the Mexico ride, as do I, which I am a bit embarassed to admit. Maelstrom is definately fun too, but can be a tiny bit scary with the trolls and all. DD also loves to shop and we all like to eat, so it works for us!

 

[BrianMonk]

Thank you Kate-n-sam

Although I have to admit, I'm not crazy about teaching 3 DD's how to shop. We already too much "stuff" around the house as it is

 

[Tigger&Belle]

How many days will you be there? If it's at least 7 days you won't have to skip anything. Are you going after Labor Day? If so the crowds will be low and the lines will be short, if at all.

That would give you a day for each of the major WDW parks, a day for each of the Universal parks, and a day to repeat your favorite park.

T&B

 

[Selina]

Originally posted by laceemouse
I am not a big fan of US. I know a lot of people will disagree with me, but especially with little ones I would skip it and IOA. US has many rides like Jaws and Twister which will scare most little ones silly. My kids are older, but they still have not seen most of the movies represented in this park (we mostly stick to Disney flicks LOL) I have never been to IOA and have no desire to go, it is mostly big coasters and I don't do thrill rides. Would be a total waste of money for us IMO.

Couldn't let this one go! Firstly - as you say you have NEVER been to IOA and your perceptions of the park are very inaccurate! It is a wonderful park for adults and children alike. My children are 8 and 10 year's old and do not ride coasters and yet Universal and IOA are their favourite parks!! (They were 8 and 6 last time we were in Orlando!!)

Here is a taste of IOA (excluding coasters!!) The amazing adventures of Spiderman - a simulator ride with amazing effects - both children love it, Popeye & Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges - white-water raft ride (similar to that at Busch) very fun and there is a ship that the kids love to play on and fire water guns at the people on the barges!, Jurassic Park River Adventure - a fantastic boat ride meeting realistic dinosaurs but there's a hidden menace (T-Rex) - very fun kids love it, Triceratops Encounter - face to face with a 4-ton 24ft long "living" dinosaur - smells like one, moves like one, Pterandon flyers - glides over the tops of the trees of Jurassic Park - kids love this one too, kids play area - Camp Jurassic - a mountaneous jungle, active volacanoes, explore, climb, squirt guns - kids love to play here, The Eighth Voyage of Sinbad - a stunt and special effects show and Poseidon's Fury another walk-through special effects Show - kids love the element of suspense - then there's Seuss Landing - a kids' wonderland - Caro-seussel ride, OneFishTwofish another one the kids love, The Cat in the Hat ride - another the kids love to go on again and again. That is just for the kids!!!!!!

and.......haven't even got to Universal yet!! - Earthquake, Jaws - very fun,Men in Black - a fun ride similar (but better) to Buzz, Woodywoodpecker's Zone -Fievel's Playground - a big hit, Barney Show - kids love, ET Adventure - kids love to ride again and again.

So I hope anyone reading your post will not be put off. Universal and IOA are two great parks along with Citywalk - wonderful restaurants - and if you stay at one of the beautiful on-site hotels - you get front of the line access to almost all of the rides (again and again) and priority seating at restaurants. The Hard Rock on-site Hotel for example is fab - wonderful sandy area next to a pool with underwater music, a fun curly slide, beach bar and snacks.

 

[FeePeeDisney]

I love all things Disney, heaven knows I do, but I too can make it through AK in half a day and not feel as though I missed anything!!

My DS will be five when we go back next month, and he loves animals, so we go there and let him do what he wants. We always go to Lion King and Kilimanjaro Safari, have a quick bite and by the afternoon it's back to the resort. There are no tantrums because we stayed at the park too long, and we haven't wasted our park admission, because we will visit another park, usually Epcot a few hours later. The point isn't to skip anything; you decide on the things you truly want to do, and those are the attractions for which you make time. Our family has such varied tastes, we don't overlook anything, we rarely separate, we take our time and enjoy Florida. If we miss something, chances are we'll be back in a few months, so going commando doesn't work for us.

As far as US/IOA, totally agree with Selina. We all love it, and not necessarily for the thrill rides. DS loves Seuss Landing, and we can't miss the Studios or CityWalk. There is something at both parks for the whole family. Don't skip anything until you have actually done it once. Then you never have to worry about it again because you'll know.

Happy trip!!

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