Weird little non-attraction things your kids (ND or not) enjoyed?

[anotherfakename]

Taking my AuDHD 8 year old in a month. I am not sure how he will handle the attractions with it being new, although we are watching ride throughs on You Tube. He will want to meet Stitch, and he is a weird phase of wanting to ride on boats and look for alligators. The other things he was super excited to try were Frontierland Shooting Acadmey and Tom Sawyer's Island, and we all know those are a bust.

Are there other offbeat things your kids enjoyed? Things that maybe you didn't expect?

 

[Sprinkles&Sprints]

Skyliner - not that I didn’t expect it at all but didn’t think it would be the hit that it was/is. So riding it to grab breakfast/lunch at one of the resorts feels like a ride to my DD.

 

[Wendysofftoneverland]

I think Tom Sawyer Island will still be open next month...through January at least. My kids are also sad about the shooting gallery closing. The island closes early every day, like 4 or 5 pm.

My kids love the EPCOT scavenger hunts. The game board cost $10 but you get a little souvenir prize. I think there might be a DuckTales one for free, though.

There are boats that go from Disney Springs to some of the hotels, and a MK to Wilderness Lodge/Fort Wilderness boat. My kids like the horse barn at Fort Wilderness.

The best place to meet Stitch for us is the character breakfast at the Polynesian, if you can get a reservation.

There are still a couple of play areas in Epcot (1 outdoors and 1 space-themed) and an indoor circus themed one by the Dumbo ride. Epcot has a neat little model train display in the Germany area, the aquarium at the seas, and the Moana Journey of Water exhibit. Also you can collect postcards to color from each country in World Showcase.

AK has the Wilderness Explorer learning stations/activity books. We find that we do a lot of non-ride attractions because my kids have a hard time waiting in lines. We will do 1 long line a day and then have to keep everything else to shorter waits.

Epcot is our favorite, because we can still have a good day, even if it is crowded. There are a lot of neat displays to look at, like Norway had one about Nordic influences in Frozen or Marvel, there was one about a desert race (in Morocco), and in Japan, there was one about kawaii (where I learned Tom Nook in Animal Crossing is a tanuki, not a raccoon). I think they may switch the displays out from time to time, so I feel like I always see something new each time I go.

 

[unrequited23]

The train is great in MK if you want to be away from the crowds for a bit. The trails around the tree of life in AK are good for this too. The parade was a sleeper hit with my boys even though they are too cool for characters. We spend at least 30 minutes in the Stave Church in Norway when at Epcot.

 

[UnderneathAMagicMoon]

Totally random, but paper maps were a hit for the ND kids in my family. They typically have them near the entrance of each park.

My son got super into the goats at the Affection Section at AK. There were signs telling people to pet the goats on their backs or something like that. He couldn’t make sense of that rule and got kinda stuck on why that was a rule, so finally I told him they might bite you if you pet their faces and might poop on you if you pet their behinds. He just loved that, for whatever reason.

His ND cousins have gotten into collecting park “stats” or family vacation stats of various sorts. How many people are wearing each color of Magic Band and which is the most popular? What was everyone’s first, second, and third favorite ride and what order did we visit the rides in the park… that type of thing.

Journey of Water was a huge hit with my son, which was awesome because it’s kind of a B list attraction for many people so wait times were minimal. Strangely he hated the Casey Junior water play area at MK, but Journey of Water he loved.

I guess the short answer is that you really never know - just be attentive when you get there and ready to change plans if something captures your child’s interest. Have a great time!

 

[Beckyb3]

Taking my AuDHD 8 year old in a month. I am not sure how he will handle the attractions with it being new, although we are watching ride throughs on You Tube. He will want to meet Stitch, and he is a weird phase of wanting to ride on boats and look for alligators. The other things he was super excited to try were Frontierland Shooting Acadmey and Tom Sawyer's Island, and we all know those are a bust.

Are there other offbeat things your kids enjoyed? Things that maybe you didn't expect?

I can’t figure out how to reply without quoting all of a sudden so sorry about that. My kids loved collecting the pressed pennies and going to kidcot in Epcot. I also agree on the scavenger hunt in Epcot. The other thing they really enjoy is the animation class at Rafikis planet watch in Animal Kingdom. Usually you only have to wait for a new class to start not actually wait in line.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I still remember when DS was 4 (over 35 years ago) that all he wanted to do was "Can we go back to our village and watch TV?". Back then, they had the Disney Channel on WDW TV, but I don't even know if you could get it on your home TV in the 80s. And "our village" was Fort Wilderness.

 

[Rory607]

The model train in Germany at Epcot has always been a hit with my kids. There is an interactive play area at the end of Spaceship Earth, but I’m not sure if you can get in without riding. My son absolutely loved it in there and would have stayed all day, lol. While it is a ride, Peoplemover was an unexpected thing my kids really enjoyed. There is a part that gets pitch black, so be aware if he is afraid of the dark.

 

[sponica]

I second the trains in Germany, I love those myself.

My kids were also enthralled with the Journey of Water in Epcot.

I third the skyliner.

 

[NickC]

Are there other offbeat things your kids enjoyed? Things that maybe you didn't expect?

We were often surprised by some of the things the kids liked more than the rides.

-Coloring at the Kidcot stations
-Pressed Penny collections
-Passport stamps in WS
-Sergio the Mime and other performers
-Pin trading
-All the play areas (some are now gone.) But Casey Jr. Also the stuff at the exit of Spaceship Earth and Figment.
-Pool activities (hula contest, volleyball)
-Dance Parties in MK near Space Mountain

 

[DeeBee3]

Definitely Epcot that has been mentioned above - scavenger hunts, Kidcot, trying a special snack, the aquarium.
The spray area at MK over by Dumbo. Just riding the train around MK.
Love the pool activities and also the extra stuff at the resorts - making tie dye shirts, for example.
Riding the boats to and from the resorts ( there is the one between MK resorts and then the one from Disney Springs to OKW or Port Orleans)

 

[tinkerjo]

Ride the boat to fort wilderness and see the horses and do the chip and dale campfire singalong. It’s free and very laid back

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

We usually noticed ducks hanging around in the area with the Tiki room and Aladdin's Carpet ride. They would get pretty close to people. Ours were thrilled with that.

 

[Anna131517]

Journey of Water and The Seas pavillion at Epcot
Boneyard at Animal Kingdom

 

[CariadMartin]

You just never know what weird thing kids are going to be captivated by, when I took my 3yo to Disneyland for the first time this summer he was obsessed with the fountain next to the tram stop and we spend a not insignificant amount of time standing watching that

 

[Random Ninja]

My 4yo is obsessed with the fountain splash pad at Disney Springs. It’s just a few water jets in the shape of Mickey, but we can’t go to DS without a swimsuit.

 

[DL1WDW2]

I am fascinated with gators also since I just moved to Florida a few years ago.
If you have a car and the time , the old original Gatorland is very cheap On Orange Blossom Road . So fun to board their train that circles around the park with great friendly conductors that tell you about old Florida and you see a lot of alligators safely from the train.plus they have a performance show to watch them feed those gators !
Who knew gators could jump that high?

 

[DL1WDW2]

Also when you enter Epcot and see those EPCOT Park map guides and the Festival passports … they also have a small brochure
EPCOT Fun For Families with Kids

 

[DL1WDW2]

Sorry , just realized your trip is completed.
Maybe you could post a mini-trip report with suggestions .
Hope you had fun with family!