Suggestions for 1st ever ride

[Jedi Mouse]

Pirates is an excellent choice. I'll throw in the Jungle Cruise as well. It's an original attraction to the park, you can all ride together, the line shouldn't be long and it's just such a classic.

 

[Nonsuch]

First stop at City Hall for your "1st Visit" Buttons

 

[grnflash]

I'd hit an original DL ride, probably Snow. PP is an original but the line at that time would rule it out. Snow, while far from the best FL ride, is quintessential OG Disneyland with a short line to boot. And this particular ride features several of the fun things that makes DL so magical - watching for the evil queen peeking out the window before entering the queue building, grabbing the apple at the entrance, then tossing pennies and making a wish in the queue - that's how I'd start a first ever DL visit.

 

[squeezle]

Another vote for Pirates first! Then Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise, Splash Mountain!

 

[chickapin parterre]

I'd hit an original DL ride, probably Snow. PP is an original but the line at that time would rule it out. Snow, while far from the best FL ride, is quintessential OG Disneyland with a short line to boot. And this particular ride features several of the fun things that makes DL so magical - watching for the evil queen peeking out the window before entering the queue building, grabbing the apple at the entrance, then tossing pennies and making a wish in the queue - that's how I'd start a first ever DL visit.

The irony of this suggestion, which is great suggestion, is that all of the listed activities for Snow White, happen before sitting in the mine car. I find that the first five feet of Snow White, is the best themed footage in the entire park, packed with so much detail, that kitchen has to be viewed three times, so in the MM you could actually sit in the same mine car and view the kttchen again and again, ,......but once you get pass the cuckoo clocks, it turns into one of those portable carnival scary ride trailers...now if your children have never been in one of those carnival trailers....then no problem.....they won't know any better. If you need to clinch that opening moment for the children, WE ARE HERE IN DINSEYLAND , photographs of them waiting, boarding, riding and smiling, then yes, Snow White would be a good choice

 

[Diszona]

Another vote for Pirates as well. It has enough "cool" factor to appeal to teenage kids but isn't so thrilling it will cause motion sickness (there are a couple of drops toward the beginning of the ride but they are relatively tame compared to something like Splash Mountain. I hate drops and they don't bother me at all). While Small World is great and a must do, I don't know if it would be the ride I would use to introduce teenagers to the park.

 

[Malcon10t]

Pirates. At 13 and 15, they will think IASW is lame. I love it, and my daughter consents to 1 ride a trip.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

Pirates, no question!

 

[Is This Real]

Thank you for all of your suggestions.

The kids have watched all of the Pirates movies so they are keen to go on that and the feedback from a lot of you is that would be a great 1st ride.
The park is open to midnight so we will have 6 hours, although we have an Extra Magic Hour at DCA starting at 7.00am the next morning and may not stay until midnight.

PS - I just checked the park hours for our stay from 6th July to 10 July and all of our mornings have 7am openings at either DL or DCA which we are very happy about. When I checked last week only one of our mornings was a 7am opening.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Have you, as a family, looked at any ride through videos on YouTube? There are some very high quality ones out there (make sure they are from DLR California). Your first ride should be your family's choice, not anyone else's. Watch some videos, narrow the choices, then pick whichever ride you want to go on first. This is your trip, after all! If you want to ride IASW as a family, then fine -- what's lame about that? If you choose POTC, great. Do you all have a favorite Disney movie? Is there a ride associated with that movie? Go with that one. There aren't any bad choices at DL! Choose whichever ride feels magical to you and your family (and won't make you sick!), then have a wonderful time!

ETA: make sure to check the app for the times for fireworks and the parades. If you decide to ride IASW, you might want to find a viewing spot after exiting the ride so that you can watch the MSEP and the fireworks. That could be a cool thing to do on your first night. If you don't plan to view these on your first night, be aware of the times anyway. Traffic patterns in the park can be greatly affected by people viewing and then exiting the park afterward. And FL will close prior to and after the fireworks for about half an hour each way.

 

[Flynn_Riderrr]

I will be doing a lot of fast pass collecting over our 5 days. (3 full days and 2 half days)

I don't know why, but as a Dad, being in charge of the fast passes and being the one to go get them and know the return times, and which one to get next is one of my new favorite things.

As others have mentioned, definitely do Pirates on the first day. Doesn't have to be the first ride though. I think the Jungle Cruise was another good suggestion. Line shouldn't be more than 20-30min. But the first thing you should do is pick up a fast pass. Space Mountain will already be out of fast passes by then but try to get a Star Tours or Big Thunder Mountain fast pass. For Indiana Jones, my wife and I have had success going though the single riders line but still getting on the same car.

I would stay away from Small World unless the line is 20 minutes or less. I've seen it with lines that look to be well over 30 minutes sometimes which always amazes me.

 

[lunarsongbird]

I just wanted to chime in that I got this book from the library and it's so totally wonderful: https://www.amazon.com/Going-Disneyland-Guide-Kids-Heart/dp/0991295439/
I think your boys would like it.

I too always do Pirates as my first ride.