What are your favorite things to do in MK, Epcot, & AK?

[VandVsmama]

The first and only time I've been to WDW was ages ago in the late 70s when I was 5. Epcot wasn't even open yet! By a cool turn of events, DH is going to a work conference in Orlando this summer and we are all going to join him on the trip so the 4 of us (him, me, ODD-soon 12 on the trip, YDD-will be 10 on the trip). DH & the kids have never been to Florida at all, including WDW.

So I have a question for all of you WDW veterans and experts! What are YOUR family's favorite things to do in MK, Epcot, & AK? This could be anything from...

• favorite attraction
• favorite show
• favorite special spot in 1 of the parks
• favorite unique thing to do that your average park goer might not know about

We're going to skip Hollywood Studios. I've been doing tons of reading here on the DIS since we found out a week ago today that we're going to be going on this trip. So, for example, I've read about some REALLY neat things that I'm excited about doing! Like...

- Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom
- the pirate adventure game in Adventureland
- Voices of Liberty at Epcot - OMG, they sound AMAZING!
- seeing that amazing fireworks show in MK

We're going to be there 8 days (Sat - Sat) with 5 park days. Staying off site, renting a car, and probably a 1-night stay on site hopefully at AKL on our last night before we fly back home.

 

[rkstocke5609]

Ok, I’ll play — but there are so many...

MK - I’ll say The Enchanted Tiki Room because it’s classic Disney and NOT related to a movie. It’s a piece of historical cutting edge animatronics.

EPCOT — Figment — gotta do it before its gone!

AK — Expedition Everest is the best coaster at Disneyworld (bonus must do — Donald’s Safari breakfast @ Tusker House is our favorite breakfast at WDW). Full disclosure, I haven’t seen Avatar yet.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

All the night time shows (HEA, Illuminations,ROL,Fantasmic) to us, your Disney days not over without one of them. Also Agent P at world Showcase, the kids love it. Obviously all the big rides, a snack from Les Halles in France, we always start our trip with a meal at Chef Mickey (foods not super but we love it), We love finding the hidden pascals in MK, Tree Awakening at AK is beautiful, and we always stay to hear the Kiss Goodnight at MK. And lots, lots more.

 

[CynBeth]

In MK we enjoy things such as Carousel of Progress, Tomorrowland Transit Authority, railroad, Tiki Room, Country Bears, riverboat, and Hall of Presidents. At Epcot we love the rides in FW but not to miss is Club Cool where you enjoy soda from around the world. We especially enjoy walking around the different countries of WS and riding the boat in Mexico, the movies in China, France, and Canada plus the American Adventure show. At AK besides the Safari we like walking around the various trails and seeing the bird show which is changing. We have not been since Pandora opened.

 

[Mitre10]

MK: It's a Small World and fireworks
EP: Soarin'
AK: the Safari

Have fun!

 

[disneylover102]

Our family isn’t really big on the shows, but really big on the rides. Here are our top favorite rides from those parks:
MK:
Space Mountain
Splash Mountain
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Buzz Lightyear
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

Epcot:
Soarin’
Test Track
Mission:Space

AK:
Expedition Everest
Kali River Rapids
Dinosaur
Flight of Passage (I assume we’d love this. We haven’t had the chance to go on it yet)

 

[Tomh]

Oh gosh, wonderful question, and I'm sure you will get tons of different answers.

MK . . . we like the Pirates game, love sitting and playing a game of checkers with my son outside the candy shop in Town Square. We love riding the Haunted Mansion way too many times lol. People mover after dark is awesome. Love riding the train around the park, and catching a ride on one of the main street vehicles in the morning. We love to watch the piano player outside of Casey's, ride Big Thunder after dark, and climb to the top of the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse (great views, awesome for taking pictures of the park). We love to start our day with a breakfast at Crystal Palace. Supper at Liberty Tree Tavern is a joy too.

AK there are so many new things. Flights of Passage is breathtaking. Na'vi River Journey is simply beautiful, and Pandora after dark is amazing. The Safari is great, both during the daytime, and during the evening. Festival of the Lion King is, in my opinion, the best show in any of the parks, and a must do. The birds of prey show is fantastic. Flame Tree BBQ is perhaps the best quick service restaurant in Disney World.

EPCOT The big three rides, Test Track, Soarin' and Frozen Ever After. Spaceship Earth is a favorite, and pretty much all kids love the Turtle Talk with Crush show. Snacking around the World Showcase, enjoying a taste of each country along the way. We love the outside seating areas up near the quick service restaurant in Japan. It is a quiet area, out of the crowds, beautifully landscaped, with some shade. It is a perfect place to enjoy lunch, or just a drink or snack. We also love the food at the Rose and Crown, and bonus, if you can get a dinner reservation for around 7:30, and ask politely if it is at all possible to get a seat outside . .. . it is the perfect place to sit and enjoy your meal, and if you take your time a bit, you will be eating desert while you watch Illuminations from your table. This is our absolute favorite way to end the day at Epcot, followed by a slow leisurely stroll out of the park.

 

[BigRed98]

Since there’s so much to do I’ll name a few of my favorites.

Magic Kingdom
Must Do’s: Splash Mountain, Happily Ever After firework show, Haunted Mansion, Get a Dole whip or Orange Swirl.
Hidden Gem: Find the hidden pascals.

EPCOT
Must Do’s: Test Track, Eat around the world, illuminations.
Hidden Gem: Club Cool, Find quiet spots in World Showcase and just take in the scenery.

Animal Kingdom
Must Do’s: Pandora and ride Flight of Passage, Exepdition Everest, Dinosaur, Safari, Festival of the Lion King.
Hidden Gem: Walk the Tree of Life Garden it’s quiet, peaceful, relaxing and you can get so close to the tree of life and get awesome pictures.

Fun thing to do in every park: Find hidden mickeys. You can download a free list online or buy the app or book.

 

[Haley R]

It’s hard to choose just a few but I’ll do my best.

Mk: ride thunder mountain during fireworks, carousel of progress, meet lots of characters, Tom Sawyer island

AK: expedition Everest, Safari, get a night blossom in pandora

Epcot: eat at nine dragons, walk through japan stores, three caballeros in Mexico, mission space: orange

ETA: I forgot to mention pin trading. I tried that for the first time this trip and now it’s a must. It was so fun seeing what I could get and I’m putting all of the ones I love in a photo album from this trip!

 

[WedWayPilot]

These are things I try to fit into each trip:

MK: Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, Dole Whip, Be Our Guest Dinner, Parade

EPCOT: Frozen Ever After, Soarin, Spaceship Earth, Turtle Talk, Via Napoli Pizza, Garden Grill Breakfast

AK: Everest, Safari, Flight of Passage, SaTuli Canteen, Maharaja Jungle Trek

 

[disneynanacat]

I've been going to WDW since my dad first took me the year after it opened. Now I take my granddaughters every chance I get.

Magic Kingdom: That magical feeling walking down Main St USA at opening. It's hard to describe but I love it. I tend to like the old rides of course. Peter Pan, CoP, Haunted Mansion. I 2nd the People Mover in Tomorrow Land at night. Love MK at night when it's not crowded and riding BTM, Splash over and over again with no wait. I haven't seen the new fireworks show yet but they're all wonderful. Will miss the electrical parade when we go back June 2.

Epcot: Soarin is great. Spaceship Earth is too. Love, love, love, World Showcase. The shows and movies in the countries. Eating of course! It's best to not rush it and enjoy each country. Finding a quiet spot and soak it all in b4 moving on.

Animal Kingdom: Love Festival of the Lion King, the safari, and exploring the pathways around the Tree of Life. Looking forward to seeing Pandora for the first time.

 

[all*4*love]

Ditto on the feeling at MK, disneynanacat! We usually arrive at night, so seeing Main Street all lit up is something special...and the piped in smell sure helps It really is magical. That being said, we tour Disney World like little, old ladies! LOL!!! We love to stroll and shop and eat...even when the kids were little. In fact, their favorite memories are shopping and eating. We used to watch the parades to break-up the day and rest, but now that the kids are grown, we ride the rides when it's going on. We are not big on the shows. But, we do have some favorite rides and eats.

MK
Haunted Mansion is just a sentimental must! DH grew up going to DW and now our kids have grown up going and this is just our favorite family ride.
Pirates of the Caribbean is another sentimental ride, but mostly for DH and me...the kids not so much.
The Barnstormer is a must...over and over again.
Space Mountain is fun.
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is so cute.
Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin is fun and interactive.
Frontierland Shootin' Arcade is fun, because it reminds us of the Jersey Shore
Astro Orbiter at night.
If you need a rest and a cooling off, Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor...corny, but cute.
This is controversial, but we love Liberty Tree Tavern. We started going when it was a character meal, so it's another sentimental stop.
TURKEY LEG!!! A salty, horrible goodness must

Epcot
Soarin' is a must.
The Seas with Nemo & Friends is another sentimental one.
Frozen Ever After was nice.
Test Track for DH and the boys.
Spaceship Earth is our "leaving the park" tradition. Boring, but a tradition is a tradition
A picture in Bruce's mouth is mandatory.
We love walking and snacking around the world.
Another turkey leg
OMG! The Norwegian Club at Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe. Delicious and big enough for 2. I make it at home for DS and myself, all of the time.
School Bread at Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe is another must.

AK
To be honest, this is the one we skip, if we decide to do MK one more day...which we do almost every visit. However, we haven't seen Pandora, yet, so that could change. We are definitely going this coming trip.
Kilimanjaro Safaris is okay.
DINOSAUR is jarring, but fun.
Expedition Everest is on our to do list. All the years we've been going and we've never gone on...shameful!
Primeval Whirl is fun.
TriceraTop Spin is cute.
I liked It's Tough to be a Bug!.

Try some pin trading. It's fun and it breaks up the waiting for parades and fireworks. Go to Disney Springs...it will always be Downtown Disney to us. The LEGO sculptures alone are worth the trip.We get the lobster roll at a cart and treats at the Candy Cauldron. We always go to AMC Dine-In Theater, Cookes of Dublin and T-REX. Utilize FastPass and pre-order food at certain places to help optimize your time. Get an autograph book and take a picture of the character and the kids. I have a whole album of the picture on one side and the autograph on the other...the best are the illegible ones. They make us laugh.
Okay, that's my dollar's worth! LOL!!! Enjoy your trip. There's nothing like Disney World. It truly is magical.

 

[holden]

MK - the whole place?? We dedicate 2 days to this park on a week trip. Splash Mountain is my favorite.

EP - Test Track is fun. World Showcase is my favorite thing to do here. We love to eat/drink our way around. No visit is complet without a Grand Marnier slushee and Limoncello.

AK - Flight of Passage is our favorite ride at WDW. Don’t miss it. Grab lunch early at Nomad Lounge if you enjoy small plates/apps for lunch. They have wonderful cocktails too!

 

[Mrsbird1129]

Loving all these responses.

 

[KenHutch]

Lets see

Magic Kingdom : Haunted Mansion
Epcot : Soarin for me for the teen shopping
Hollywood : Star Tours (I do at least twice each day)
Animal Kingdom : Expedition Everest

 

[Princess_Lisa]

Magic Kingdom:

Interactive Ride -- Buzz Lightyear
Non-Interactive Ride -- 7DMT or Splash
Show -- Mickey's PhilharMagic
Quick Service -- BOG Lunch
Table Service -- Liberty Tree Tavern

Epcot:

Interactive Ride -- Test Track
Non-Interactive Ride -- Frozen Ever After
Show -- Disney and Pixar Shorts
Quick Service -- Liberty Inn
Table Service -- TBD (Only done Garden Grill so far, but liked it)

MGM:

Interactive Ride -- Toy Story Mania
Non-Interactive Ride -- Star Tours
Show -- Voyage of the Little Mermaid
Quick Service -- ABC Commissary
Table Service -- 50s Prime Time

Animal Kingdom:

Interactive Ride -- N/A
Non-Interactive Ride -- Flight of Passage
Show -- TBD
Quick Service -- Satu'li Canteen
Table Service -- TBD

 

[VandVsmama]

These responses are great!

 

[mickeyfanachey1999]

For me:
Magic Kingdom
Favorite Ride - Haunted Mansion
Tradition - First ride every trip must do at least twice - Carousel of Progress
Quick Service - Casey's Corner
Some folks might not do - Ride the train all the way around the park

Epcot
Ride - Soarin' although I liked the old movie better
Tradition - Shopping at Matsusoki
Quick Service - Yorkshire County Fish Shoppe
Some folks might not do - Walk out of the International Gateway to walk around Crescent Lake at night

Animal Kingdom
Favorite Ride - Even though we have been on FOP for DS15 and I it's Expedition Everest - DS7 Dinosaur
Tradition - Spending the last hour of park time riding Dinosaur as many times as possible
Quick Service - Yak and Yeti QS - Fried rice feeds my wife and is under $5
Some folks might not do - Chalk this up to us being a wacky bunch but after AK we go to All Star Sports where I run in and get DW vegetable soup and then we run through Mcdonald's so the boys can have nuggets and fries.

DHS
Ride -Tower of Terror - hands down my favorite in all of WDW - multiple rides required each trip (at least 5)
Tradition - Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular - even though it's new, I'll never miss it again as long as it's showing.
Quick Service - ABC and Backlot - but really that's a tie because they are pretty similar but nothing to write home about

Off Day - Boat ride from OKW to Disney Springs for some light shopping and a meal at Wolfgang Puck Express

 

[Redbudlover]

I have been going since 1992 and been a DVC member for 10 years do go often. Favorites have changed and now depend upon age and experience of who I go with. HS used to be perfect when my DGD was little and we went just the two of us. A age 12 now she wants to shop eat and go on thrill rides.
For me by myself my favorites are:
MK: riding BTM during the fireworks - spectacular! Love CoP, PoC, Splash. Love the smell of walking down Main Street and watching the castle. Dole whip floats! Must have lunch at Columbia House to cool down and de-escalate by sitting quietly upstairs. MNSSHP!!!
EPCOT: love both Soarin and Spaceship Earth and smelling the burnt paper smell at the place during the ride where the library burned. I also love eating fish at UK, sitting with a book and people watching outside Monaco. Love love love wandering through the gardens during the Flower and Garden Show.
Animal Kingdom. Has always been m favorite park for all the incredible plants and trees and tiny details. Most incredibly themed park ever. Now even more spectacular with Pandora. Favorite ride ever at any theme park anywhere is FOP. I can fly! I love Safari and ride it multiple times every day there. Also love the ditsy bird show!I am a Dinasaur fan! Must eat at Tusker House and have barbecue and now always have a small plate and a cocktail at Nomads. I love slowly wandering the hidden Tree of Life trails.
Last but not least - well sorta least is HS. Star Tours is the only ride I enjoy there now but am looking forward to the new rides, especially Guardians. Rode it in WDL and loved it. Brown Derby is sometimes great there. Sorry we lost the Great Movie Ride. It is not a pretty park and not Disney like to me. Hoping that will change

 

[dachsie]

For my very first trip to Disney the one ride I had to do was the tea cups. I had watched Wonderful World of Disney as a child and remembered seeing tea cups and that was the one ride I had to do. I also enjoy wandering up Main street.

In Epcot, I like walking thru the countries. When I took the nephew and Niece, they did the Kidcot stations at each county and really enjoyed that. They also collected pressed pennies from all the countries.

In AK, I always do the safari and Festival of the Lion King.