WDW/AK: Calm ride suggestions

[Shellync]

We are going to Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdon in 2 weeks. For some reason my just 5y/o boys are very cautious of rides. We bought a season pass at a local amusement park this past summer to prepare for our Diansy trip, but they still only like the "calm" rides.

Can you give me any suggestions/list of rides that would work well for them in MK as well as AK.

Also, any suggestion on where to start in MK with the rides. I want to start off very calm/simple with rides. How about shows that aren't scary or loud?



A few more ? for the verterans:
Can I buy pressed penny books in MK giftshops. Our boys LOVE pressed pennies.

Can I buy lanyards off site, if so where? They do not have to be Disney, just kid friendly.


Thanks for all your help. We are so excited to go on our first trip with the family, Shelly

 

[mamaminnie]

How about a list of what rides to avoid instead?

AK- It's Tough to Be a Bug, Dinosaur, Expedition Everst, Safari is up to you- it's a great ride but can be a little rough

MK- Space, Splash, Thunder Mountains, Haunted Mansion, Stitch

These are what come to my mind first- YMMV of course.

You'll have a great trip anyway!

 

[labdogs42]

Start with Fantasyland. Dumbo, Peter Pan, Small World, Carousel, Winnie the pooh. I'd skip Philharmagic and Snow White. Do the teacups if they watch it first and decide they want to ride. Head to Tomorrowland and do the Speedway, TTA, CoP, maybe Astro Orbiter if they're up for it, Buzz, and Laugh Floor comdey club. In Adventureland, do Jungle Cruise and Magic Carpets. I'd skip the Tiki room (my son thinks it is scary) and Pirates unless they are getting brave at this point. Go to Tom Sawyer island in Liberty Square. Skip Splash and Big Thunder. I wouldn't do HM, either, unless they say they want to. Hope that helps!

 

[shoppgirl]

My 4 and 6 year olds do not like "thrill" type rides either. All the rides in Fantasy Land are calm, but majority of the rides are dark. My girls are severely afraid of the dark, so they did not enjoy most of the rides in Fantasy Land!! Even Pooh and Peter Pan were rides of terror for them! They hated Mickey's Philharmagic because they did not enjoy the 3D effects of things flying at them, nor did they like the water mist spray, or wind/breeze, while in the dark!

They loved Dumbo, as it was calm and outdoors, Its A Small World, the Tea Cups, and the carousel. At AK, the only ride they both loved was the Safari ride. The Triceratop Spin ride in Dino land was the only ride we could get them to go on, as it is very similar to Dumbo. Train rides are also fun too. Needless to say, we didn't do too many rides, but we sure did experience a lot of other things WDW has to offer.

 

[Nie0214]

My 4 and 6 year olds do not like "thrill" type rides either. All the rides in Fantasy Land are calm, but majority of the rides are dark.

They are very dark! I wouldn't recommend taking any children that don't like the dark on Peter Pan or Snow White. Even Pooh can be a little scary, but then again the part of the movie where he's hallucinating always gave me the creeps when I was a child!

My mother has Retinitis pigmentosa and cannot see in the dark at all, she had never been on Peter Pan because the line was always so long. During our trip in September, we were at an empty Fantasyland and finally got to ride Peter Pan, but she couldn't see one thing on the entire ride. It just made her and me sad after the ride because we realized just how much she's losing her vision.

 

[squirrel]

The boys should be fine on KS at AK. My niece went on it at least twice.

She also hated all the 3D movies. If you want to try one start with Mickey's Philharmagic.

She did freak out when I tried taking her on Winnie the Pooh, but I took her back later and she loved it. We rode it many, many times!

Take the train to Rafiki's Planet Watch.

You will still have lots to do at AK even if you don't go on any rides.

We found a pressed penny book at the resort, I'm sure most stores at WDW carry them.

 

[YellowMickeyPonchos]

In the MK - don't forget the Train, the Riverboat, the Speedway, the very calm TTC, the Magic Carpets of Alladin, and several other simple pleasures. Kids always like those. Oh - don't forget Goofy's Barnstormer coaster, if they get gutsy. It's all exposed for them to see the whole ride, so they know what they are getting themselves into. I actually think it's one of my favorite coasters ever, due to the theming. Goofy and Airplanes in the country. A fabulous match! I can't wait to take my 3.5 yr old on it in January! She likes Gadget's GoCoaster in DL, so she'll love Barnstormer!

Running around Tom Sawyer's Island is the best! Kids love the raft ride over and there are plenty of cool things to do on the island, like climb up in the fort and go over the tire bridge!

The Laugh Floor is great, if they like Monsters Inc. They like to pick on people in the audience - mostly dads when we were there last year.

The Tiki Room can be scary when the thunder and lightening comes. Other that that, it's just a bunch of hip, singing birds and Iago and Zazu fighting over who owns the place. (Iago makes the Tiki Gods angry, producing a thunderstorm outside the windows.)

I would start with the Muppet 3D before I did Philharmagic. (If you aren't going to the Studios, then Philharmagic is fine.) It is the most advanced of the 3D movies, so it has the best effects. Muppets is older and the effects are calmer. Most little ones don't know the Muppets as readily these days, so it may be harder to explain.