Tell me what to miss.

[Keith]

I only have 1 day at each park in Dec., so to save time, what should I miss at each park? We have 2 kids, ages 8 & 10, and haven't been there since 2001.

 

[oogieboogie]

you can pass Stitch's Great Escape at MK - what a waste of time - depending on what your kids like to do you could pass up Fantasyland and Toontown.

 

[imaaagination]

I would skip Universe of Energy at Epcot...way too long for only seeing the dinosaurs for a couple minutes. It's cute, but I wouldn't waste the near hour it takes to go through it

 

[TAKitty]

It is hard to say for sure what to miss. Another poster said you could miss Fantsyland. It is my favorite land, and I don't have kids yet! Look at the ride descriptions and see which ones seem to interest you and which don't.

 

[isyt]

Each family is different so here it goes:

MK- my kids love Stitch ( I hate it ) , but skip Cinderellabration.

Epcot- Do Soarin' and TT first and if time permits the rest and do countries until 9p. If I had to skip EE I would is 45 minutes.

MGM-Their probably tall enough for ToT or RnR so do those maybe skip Indiana Jones.

AK-I would do Tarzan because they are taking it out and its one of my favorites. If you don't have time skip Lion King even though it is a great show!

Good luck you will get lots of advice, I would also skip most of the parades if you saw them last time they did not change.

 

[mattsdragon]

It really depends on what your kids are into. If they like Stitch, then you can't skip Stitch's Great Escape, if they want to meet characters, then you may have to skip a lot of things to wait in line at the toontown fair. Personally, I would skip 90% of AK, do Dinosaur and Kilamajaro, and leave for more time at another park, but your kids may want to see the shows or do some of the other things there.

Don't overplan, because any small kink in the day will "ruin everything". Have a good time, that's what matters.

 

[luvmyfam444]

well it depend - if you have a girl I would definitely do CInderellabration, Fantasyland, the parade. Boys aren't gonna necessarily want to stop for those. Skipping is hard for me to list - I'll have to think on it...but must sees would be Haunted Man, Mnts (space,Thunder Splash)...skip COuntry Bear (boys wouldn't like---dd loved it--she's almost 8)....must do Pirates --skip Tiki birds?? we liked it - but it's pretty corny---skip Jungle cruise if not enough time---we love this one---but skipped last trip--
skip Toon Town unless they want to see Mickey or princess

Personally I'd split my day of Animal Kingdom w/ Epcot cause there's isn't much to do for either - unless your kiddos are really into learning - mine were bored w/the countries last time....BUT you MUST do Soarin & the moon one (went blank on name---sorry---& Race track) At Animal Kingdom must do's are water one (my brain has left me tonight on the names!) & do safari & dinoland stuff.


Oh yea - @ AK Lion King is awesome---

Now MGM you MUST MUST MUST see the stunt show--AWESOME! Indiana JOnes is great (my kiddos it's too loud for but dd#2 is young!) OF course RNR & TOT--again if boys skip Beauty & maybe Mermaid--definitely skip Playhouse Dis(way too young for your kiddos!) gotta do muppets & honey I shrunk---wait I think that's @ Epcot??? you should do the great movie ride if you've never done it -I'd skip MIllionaire- unless there's time& same w.Drew Carey...MUST MUST do the backlot tour...& the animation is pretty neat...

Well,I'm not sure I answered your quest on what to skip - but maybe I gave you a few ideas...

 

[goofy's friends]

I really depends if you have girls or boys on some of the characters, parades, shows, etc. If you do mostly skip Fantasyland, I would be sure to at least catch Mickey's Philharmagic (new since you were there last). It is the best 3-D at Disney. There is a 3-D in each park and I would skip these others after this one. At MGM, we felt that alot of things were outdated (Great Movie ride, Indy,etc.) or too young (Playhouse, Mermaid), so this is the park that I would shorten for time in the other parks, IMO. In AK, be sure to catch Lion King and this was our favorite parade, if you like parades (then you could skip the one at MK with the snowglobes--forgot name??) We love Epcot, but if you go through the lands, you could skip the country movies (Canada, China). These get a little old to the kids. I would skip a lot of Future World--hit Soarin and Test Track for sure. Hope this helps

 

[nbandfour]

At AK many people think you can skip the conservation station and Rafiki's planet watch. We always skip the Dinosaur Carnival thingy (Hester's?) too, For my family, which includes an 8 and 10 year old, all the rest was absolutely unskippable. In fact, for the past 3 visits we have taken a short day at AK, but I've promised ds10 to do a full day or even more next time. He IS an animal lover (practically savant, really) and wants to make sure he gets to do all the animal encounters in the oasis area.

MGM was probably the least engaging for my 8 and 10. The backlot tour was a snooze (for me too, really underwhelming). They didn't really "get" much of the Great Movie Ride, except for Wizard of Oz and some Indiana Jones. My husband was the only one of us who really liked the car show. Things not to miss: Indiana Jones stunt spectacular, RoR, ToT, Beauty and the Beast show (who cares if they are girls or boys?! Sheesh- it's a great show!) We love Little Mermaid too, especially the opening number with the puppets. Oh, and eat at Sci-fi, Primetime can be hit or miss, depending on your server, but Sci-fi's atmospher is reliable.

There's almost nothing my kids would want to skip at MK, including Stitch. The biggest time sinks are the Dumbo-style rides. You can save a lot of time avoiding those. This year we skipped Country Bears and Tiki Room. DON'T skip jungle cruise- it was one of our favorites this year. My kids were also very intrigued by the Hall of Presidents. I think that's the best animatronic in the park.

Over to EPCOT- I have to say the my kids were not that taken with the WS, with the single exception of the candy lady in Japan. By waiting for a second show to begin, they managed to both get chosen. It was probably my favorite thing too! They did like both the rides (El Rio and the Norway-one). Even if you don't eat there, you ought to go into the Mexico Pavilion, really lovely. We liked Illuminations too.

Almost everything at Future world was good. Energy wasn't open, so that didn't figure in. Well, you might skip the Timon and Pumbaa movie in The Land- very preachy but nothing new in the way of info. Actually, now that I think about it, Imagination was pretty bad...both the weird ride with Figment (which was like a cheap funhouse at the beach) and Honey I Shrunk the Audience which is the weakest of the 4 3-D shows at WDW. We LOVED Spaceship Earth, so don't miss that. You'll hit all the headliners, of course, but also make sure you do the boat ride in The Land. The tomato tree is worth the time!

Fireworks EVERY night, for sure. We stayed at the Poly this year and loved strolling the 20 yards to the beach everynight.

Have fun,
NB

 

[Keith]

I really depends if you have girls or boys on some of the characters, parades, shows, etc.

My son is 10 and my daughter is 8.

 

[dixiedizfan]

MK - Pirates of the Caribbean
Haunted Mansion
Peter Pan
Splash/Space Mountain
Big Thunder Mtn. Railroad
Buzz Lightyear
Mickeys Philharmagic

EPCOT - Soarin'
Spaceship Earth
Test Track
Living Seas
Maelstrom (ride in Norway)
Illuminations

MGM - Rock & Rollercoaster
Tower of Terror
Star Tours
Backlot Tour
Fantasmic

AK - Kil. Safari
Its Tough to be a Bug
Legend of the Lion King
Maharaja Jungle Trek

 

[java]

Yes I would skip Lights Motors Action at MGM- that is a time zapper. I agree on the universe of Energy unless you can hit it just right and walk right on this one is also a big time taker. In AK my kids loved the Dinosaur carnival area- Triceratops Spin is one of their must do- and 2 of my children are your children's ages. I would skip Rafiki's Island if you are limited in time. In MK, while we like it, TomS. Island is skippable. too much time. We also skip the speedway(too similar to rides we have near our home and that line is a killer) Hmm I am trying to think of what we do on the last day- the "extras" that are fun but not must do- Oh in Epcot we only enter Inoventions if we have tons of time to kill- so avoid that one. And all the movies in Epcot are beautiful but take time so pick your favorites(we love China and O'Canada) American Adventure is another one we skip if pressed for time. Have fun doing all the things you want to do. And I hope you have no lines!

 

[java]

MK - Pirates of the Caribbean
Haunted Mansion
Peter Pan
Splash/Space Mountain
Big Thunder Mtn. Railroad
Buzz Lightyear
Mickeys Philharmagic

EPCOT - Soarin'
Spaceship Earth
Test Track
Living Seas
Maelstrom (ride in Norway)
Illuminations

MGM - Rock & Rollercoaster
Tower of Terror
Star Tours
Backlot Tour
Fantasmic

AK - Kil. Safari
Its Tough to be a Bug
Legend of the Lion King
Maharaja Jungle Trek

WHAT?!! No big thunder no Space mountain no Haunted Mansion no Peter Pan No Philarmagic??? WHAT??!! Those are our favorites and definate must do's for my 11 and 8 year old. We rode Space Mountain 6 times last trip. Well diferent strokes for different folks I guess. What do you do in MK?

 

[Nank]

I would skip Stitch's Great Escape. But make sure to do Buzz Lightyear ride! What fun! Have a great trip!

 

[dixiedizfan]

Oh sorry ... I misread the question. I thought it asked what NOT to miss! Sorry, but hopefully those who read my list will see what I really meant!

 

[AnaheimGirl]

I'd skip a lot of MGM. Get park hoppers and go there just for a couple of hours, for ToT and RnRC, the one show that sounds best to you, and maybe get Power Rangers autographs if the kids are into them. MGM is a huge time waster IMO because it's mostly shows, and it always seems as if, when you get out of one show, you don't have enough time to get to another before it starts. So you try to ride ToT while you wait for the next showing, but it's line (even with FP) is longer than you'd hoped, and you still miss the next showing of the next show you want to see, and so on, and so on... The backlot tour (or whatever it's called) is disappointing, too, especially if you've been on the one at Universal.

I'd also skip a lot of Epcot. Don't miss Soarin' and Test Track, but a lot of the rest is really dependent on your personal likes and dislikes. Our family is more into exhilarating rides, so we didn't think Living with the Land and Spaceship Earth were anything special, but lots of people love them. Innoventions can easily be skipped, it's just not that innovative anymore.

At MK, with your age of kids, I'd skip Dumbo, Aladdin, Speedway, TTA, Toontown (unless they are big into characters) carousel, teacups, Tom Sawyer's Island, Jungle Cruise, Tiki Room, the train, and some of the Fantasyland rides, depending on what characters your family likes.

At AK, I'd skip Triceratops Spin, but I haven't explored the place enough to tell you anything else. My 8yo (girl) loved Primevil Whirl, Dinosaur, and Kilmanjaro Safari, but didn't want to explore any of the trails or see any shows, so we left that park early. Hmm, she did the same thing at age 4, guess AK's just not her thing, lol. I'd love to go there by myself one day and explore the trails.

Personally, if I were you, I'd get parkhoppers, spend 2 days at MK, and make half days of whichever 2 of the other 3 are less appealing to you. But again, it really depends on your likes and dislikes, so take that with a grain of salt.

Oh, yea, and I'd skip all the parades. They take up a huge amount of time, and if you don't arrive very early to wait for a good spot, you won't be able to see over everyone else's heads anyway. Plus, ride lines are shorter when everyone else is a the parade!

Have fun!