What are the best rides for first timers on non MM days?

[Misskitty3]

We have some good friends heading to DL on feb 15 - 18th. Mom, Dad, 7 and 5 yr old girls.

Their first day in the park will be Wednesday the 15th which is not a MM morning. The Mom isn't a big roller coaster fan so Space Mt wouldn't be a good fit!

Would love some suggestions for their first 3 or 4 rides. They will be doing MM the next morning so not sure if they should still head first thing to Fantasy Land on Wednesday too?

Thanks!

 

[HydroGuy]

We have some good friends heading to DL on feb 15 - 18th. Mom, Dad, 7 and 5 yr old girls.

Their first day in the park will be Wednesday the 15th which is not a MM morning. The Mom isn't a big roller coaster fan so Space Mt wouldn't be a good fit!

Would love some suggestions for their first 3 or 4 rides. They will be doing MM the next morning so not sure if they should still head first thing to Fantasy Land on Wednesday too?

Thanks!

During an offseason weekday I am not sure it matters that much. But to the degree it does, if one is trying to be most efficient then one wants to get on rides that are slow loaders that build up longer lines during the day.

So one would:

A. Start collecting Fastpasses

B. At DL if one did not have MM the next day then ride the Fantasyland rides

C. If at DL do rides like Matterhorn (except that will be closed), Autopia (it has FP but their FP is often closed off-season and not worthwhile when it is open), Buzz Lightyear, Finding Nemos Subs, maybe Jungle Cruise, maybe do some of the thrill rides.

 

[bumbershoot]

For the MM morning, they definitely want to get to Fantasyland (especially with the ages of the kids), and, if there's time, anything in Tomorrowland they want to ride.

Of course, for non-MM day it's all open, so you have to find out what all they want to ride. And then they start there. It's totally possible that they as a group might want Fantasyland in the morning both days; for my family we wouldn't do that (our first day of a trip tends to start in DCA!), but we're not them.

 

[Misskitty3]

Thanks for the help so far! Since this is a non MM day, I am a bit stumped as to what to recommend!

If it was me, I would head straight to Splash Mountain but ....it isn't my trip (unfortunately)!

I was thinking of suggesting some of the more classic less "thrilling" (no Space Mt).

What do you think of doing Jungle Cruise, Pirates and then Winnie the Pooh (they are big fans of Pooh). After that, they will be able to figure it out and hopefully talk the mom into going onto Splash without worrying too much about getting wet! Ha

P.S The parents nor the kids have been to Disney before so this will all be completely new to them! Therefore, they don't know what they want to do first!

 

[ArchOwl]

Even though they do have a MM the next day, I would be tempted to send them over to Fantasyland if this is their very first experience of DL. Walking up Main Street and into Fantasyland is a classic Disneyland experience and I think would be very magical. And I know that for many kids I have taken to DL who were maybe a little cautious, Fantasyland completely won them over. After that, they were willing to be a little more adventurous.

I don't think they necessarily have to do all of Fantasyland the first day, but a Peter Pan, Dumbo, Mr. Toad, Alice combo is such a great way to introduce the parks. After that, maybe expand to Pirates, Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion, Pooh, then Splash?

I just think that first impressions are very important. Fantasyland has a special magic that I still love today.

 

[Mugglemama]

Even though they do have a MM the next day, I would be tempted to send them over to Fantasyland if this is their very first experience of DL. Walking up Main Street and into Fantasyland is a classic Disneyland experience and I think would be very magical. And I know that for many kids I have taken to DL who were maybe a little cautious, Fantasyland completely won them over. After that, they were willing to be a little more adventurous.

I don't think they necessarily have to do all of Fantasyland the first day, but a Peter Pan, Dumbo, Mr. Toad, Alice combo is such a great way to introduce the parks. After that, maybe expand to Pirates, Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion, Pooh, then Splash?

I just think that first impressions are very important. Fantasyland has a special magic that I still love today.

Totally agree with this^.

On our most recent trip, we had my 2 nieces with us, ages 7 and 9 at the time. Not only had they never been to Disney, they'd actually never been to ANY amusement park, ever. So they really had NO idea what to expect as far as rides, etc.

We hit PP and Dumbo first, because I was trying to be cautious with them until they were comfortable riding rides. By the 3rd ride, they were totally ready for Matterhorn, and NEVER looked back, lol. They rode EVERY ride in both parks during our 5 days there and I think being able to start off with a couple of "mild" but very magical rides made all the difference. They were pretty overwhelmed with excitement before the gates ever opened (shaky and giggly ), but by noon that 1st day they had morphed into total thrill seekers! It was amazingly fun to watch.