The Must-See List for First-Time Ages 5 - 7

[pokee99]

Hello all - we'll be bringing my daughter (5) and son (7) to Disneyland for the first time and would like to know what would be the must-see rides for them. Of course, my daughter loves the princesses and my son likes some of the Disney characters, but is kinda too cool for most of that stuff, and generally would probably appreciate the cool-kid rides the most (he's about 55" tall and probably will be taller in the spring).

Any new rides opening up that may not be on the lists I find? I remember reading something about an Ariel ride opening next year...but that's the summer, correct?

 

[goldies 5]

2 of my boys were 5 and 7 on our last trip. Such fun ages at DL. You may want to check out the BBB for your daughter, and most folks here with princess lovers like to eat a character breakfast at Ariels Grotto. My thrill seeking 7 year old really loves Matterhorn, Indiana Jones, Space Mountain, BTMRR, TOT, and CA screamin. My 5 year old prefers to go a little slower. He's more Fantasyland, Bugs land type of kid. Both love POTC and HM. Both really enjoyed the Alladin show and the Dapper Dans quite a bit. Your son will probably like the Jedi Training also. It is very cool if they get picked to participate. Buzz and TSMM are awesome too.
You might want to check out Mouseplanet, they keep you updated weekly on resort activity and closures.

 

[MulanFan]

Depending on the interest and how much they like rides, I would definitely go with PP, Dumbo, and teacups for DD (she loved those, went on them several times). Snow white may be scary, and DD 6 did not care much for Mr. Toad. She loved Gadget's Go Coaster in TT, rode it 11 times. Also liked the TMRR in Frontierland. Did not care for Pirates. Wasn;t interested in Pooh so did not want to go on that ride (but your DD might enjoy it). She loved the rides in DCA's Bug Land, and loved Dots water play area (can't remember the exact name). Her absolute favorite however, was the carousel ...

We did BBB, and she LOVED it. PFF is also a must if she loves princesses. Note there is a separate line for the PFF and meeting princesses (3 on the stage and 3 for meet/greet). I would do Ariel's Grotto for breakfast/lunch, and check around the castle area for sightings (we saw Cinderella and Aurora there, and Ariel walking by).

For DS, I would check out the Jedi training academy as mentioned, and Autopia. He would probably enjoy the coaster rides more. Not too sure about HM, DD would be too scared (she was scared on POTC).

Have fun!

 

[HydroGuy]

Hello all - we'll be bringing my daughter (5) and son (7) to Disneyland for the first time and would like to know what would be the must-see rides for them. Of course, my daughter loves the princesses and my son likes some of the Disney characters, but is kinda too cool for most of that stuff, and generally would probably appreciate the cool-kid rides the most (he's about 55" tall and probably will be taller in the spring).

Any new rides opening up that may not be on the lists I find? I remember reading something about an Ariel ride opening next year...but that's the summer, correct?

Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure will likely open next May.

I second Jedi Training Academy - see "Jedi Training Academy Tips" by Hound 109 www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1478699

And Princess Fantasy Faire for your DD5.

Shows to see:

- World of Color - read up on it - this show is new and very popular and takes a bit of planning
- Aladdin - not to be missed
- Fantasmic - but can be scary for young kids - depends on the child

And then all the rides:

- Everything in Fantasyland
- Finding nemo Submarines
- Tiki Room
- Toontown
- Toy Story Midway Mania at DCA
- Soarin Over California at DCA
- Disney Animation at DCA

Also do not miss

- Turtle Talk w/ Crush

 

[S. S. Columbia]

You might be surprised how quickly your 5-year-old will start to enjoy the rides.

If she's at least 40-inches tall, she could ride Space Mtn, Splash Mtn, and Big Thunder Mtn Railroad (BTMRR).

Five is also a great age for interacting with characters! IMO you might want to spend more time with the characters. I would recommend buying one of those Disney autograph books (they cost around $12), and I also recommend the Princess lunch at Ariel's.

Hope this helps.

 

[azdisneylover]

Pokee99,
You have gotten great suggestions! I might add to check out some of the rides and attractions on youtube with your children. They might say they would love to try something, or say they would want to stay away from something else. Plan to have one want to go on a ride while the other doesn't or isn't tall enough. When this happens, go on a different ride with the other one, or meet a character. (For example, one of mine didn't want to go on the fun wheel, so we went on Toy Story instead! The same one didn't want to go on Splash Mountain so, we went on Winnie the Pooh ride instead.

 

[amym2]

We were there this summer with our 6yo DD and 8yo DS and both definitely had some favorites:

6yo DD-
-Meeting Tinkerbell's fairy friends in Pixie Hollow (we got there when it opened at 9, but never met Tink since she didn't arrive until 9:45)
-King Triton's Carousel (which she rode every time DS was on CA Screamin)
-Monsters Inc
-It's a Small World
-Rides in the Bugs Land section at DCA
-Alice in Wonderland

8yo DS-
-CA Screamin' (now his all time favorite coaster)

Both kids-
-Space Mtn
-Big Thunder Mtn
-Aladdin show in DCA
-Sorceror's Workshop in DCA (in same bldg as Turtle Talk... also great)
-Redwood Creek Challenge Trail in DCA
-POTC (first time they liked this one)
-Peter Pan

 

[Piglet99645]

I'm bumping this because it's a great list!

 

[pinktink83]

Those were the exact ages/genders of my kids when we last went during Halloween!

Depending on their height, the 7 yo should be able to ride everything. The only one you'll probably need to double check is Indiana Jones and maybe CA Screamin', but my DS was able to ride both at 7 years old. My 5yo DD was able to go on almost everything except Indy, Space Mountain & CA Screamin' Coaster (she was tall enough but too scared for the last two). She went on everything else just fine, nothing scared her. Those ages are just so fun!!! You'll have a great time! Young enough to still feel the "magic" and old enough to ride everything and not be scared!

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

Turtle Talk with Crush and Toy Story Mania.

 

[TheColtonsMom]

My DS6 lists his top 10 rides from our trip last week as follows..

#1.Splash Mountain (especially in the front)
#2.Big Thunder Mountain
#3.Haunted Mansion (he initially was scared of this one but said if we went on splash 2x in a row and BTMRR 2x in a row he would try it once turned out he loved it and we went on it several times during the trip)
#4.Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters (DCA was a madhouse so we never made it anywhere near TSMM but he prob would have loved this too)
#5. POTC (he really liked hunting for Jack Sparrow)
#6. Space Mountain
#7. Autopia
#8. Teacups
#9. King Arthur's Carousel (he made a game out of finding Lillian's horse and managed to snag it every time he rode the CMs loved that a little kid was so jazzed with finding this special horse and generally helped him out a bit)
#10. Everything in bug's land rides as well as "It's tough to be a bug" although this might be too intense for your 5 year old maybe one parent can take her on rides while your 7 year old sees this one.

 

[wannagoback]

Also do not miss

- Turtle Talk w/ Crush

I totally agree! It is such an easy show to overlook. But I've seen it a few times myself and every time I think "now, how did they do that?!?" If the Crush himself isn't entertaining, the technology certainly is!