What are the must do rides?

[macs4us]

My niece (20 yo) is bringing a friend with her for a short visit this summer. Her friend has never been to CA, and they want to spend one or two days at DL. The problem is my niece really wants to go on July 17th - in fact, she is planning her trip around it. I have told her how crowded it will be but she doesn't care. If she had her way she would move into Walt's apartment above the firehouse, lol. Since we usually go to DL on less busy days I really don't know how many rides we can do. They want to stay from open to close, which I imagine will be 8am - 12 or 1am. So, I am wondering how many rides we can do if we go on July 17th and 18th, and which rides would you consider a must for a first timer? Thanks for any feedback...

Oh - I am on a Mac so I can't use RideMax.

 

[iceskatejen]

I don't know how many you'll get on either. I plan to visit that day also, but if I make it on only one or two rides, that'll be fine with me. I guess the must-dos depend on what kinds of rides she likes. If she likes roller coasters, Space Mountain will be reopened and that's one of my must dos for that day if I don't make it there the day it open.

I'd live in Walt's apartment if they'd let me, too.

 

[AFMom]

This is pretty generic, but the ones that we've always loved -
DL -
Buzz Lightyear(new at DL, but well loved at WDW)
Indiana Jones
Pirates
Haunted Mansion
Thunder Mountain
Peter Pan
Space Mountain
Splash Mountain

CA -
Soarin' Over CA
Grizzley River Run
CA Screamin'
It's Tough To Be A Bug (show)

Fantasmic! (show at DL) is absolutely amazing, and the Electrical Parade at CA ADV is wonderful as well. Going on those dates will make it tough to do much more than that, I'm afraid! Those would be our priorities - but I think you'll find that that will varry widely on the boards!

 

[Itinkso]

I would add Tower of Terror in DCA and Matterhorn in DL.

We sometimes split up our FastPasses. If you want your niece and her friend to ride as many rides as possible, you can use your tickets to get FastPasses for rides other than the FastPasses that they are holding.

We went to DL the weekend DCA opened. DL was virtually empty as many people stayed away thinking it would be crowded. We were walking right onto rides - at Haunted Mansion there were only 4 of us standing in the foyer! It was amazingly strange!