What are your "MUST-DO's" at the parks?

[carol9999]

Hi -- i am going to WDW mid oct and was wondering what your top 10 must-do's were for each of the 4 parks.... i probably can't spend more than one day in each park, so i want to make sure i get the best of the best. Also, another question, dh and i are taking our 3 boys (10,9, and 5) and wonder if it is realistic for me to think that we can go from 9am til closing when we go to the parks.... i feel we need the whole day to see everything and was a little worried if maybe kids can't make it all the way thru the day...what are your experiences? thanks

 

[spectromagic]

i love everything just make sure you dont miss WISHES!!!!

 

[luvsTink]

I would run to my nearest book seller and get The Unofficial Guide to WDW. It should help you alot.

Anne

 

[LovesHauntedMansion]

I do everything at the parks except the big thrill rides, however your children will probably not be tall enough to ride these rides anyway. Since you are going in October it won't be too hot. Therefore, there is a chance that you won't need to take a break away from the park. It depends on the stamina of your children. I go with my nephew who runs around wild everyday so he definitely can stay all day. Get at least 1 guide book & do as much research as possible.

 

[Del]

After 2 days of open til closing park seeing, i suspect that the kids and the adults will hit their wall. They will be limp noodles the next day. My must do in MK: Spectro magic parade. MGM: Who wants to be a Millionaire. AK: Lion King Show (your boys might like the Tarzan Rocks Show) Please read the Unoffical Guide---it's a wealth of info , especially related to kid approriate rides. Good luck.

Del

 

[4thof52003]

Taking your chidren into consideration, in MK I'd DEFINATELY hit Buzz Lightyear, Pirates, Peter Pan, (if the 5 yo is brave) HM, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Tom Sawyer's Island can be fun, I personally love Philharmagic, don't overlook Goofy's barnstormer.
In Epcot, I would definately do Test Track, Honey I shrunk the Audience, the Maelstrom in Norway, if you need some down time watch one of the shows in one of the countries, the Epcot ball, Figment (I loved the old ride), Cranium Command, if you all have strong stomachs brave bodywars.
In MGM, Who Wants to be a Millionaire is a lot of fun, I doubt they'd let your youngest on Tower of Terror nor do I recommend it, Muppets 3-D is AWESOME, Fantasmic is definately worth it, I wasn't impressed with the Backlot Tour, but that's just me, StarTours can be a lot of fun (again-stronger stomachs required).
At AK, I always do A Bug's Life, Kali River Rapids, Dinosaur, I also liked Triceratop Spin, the Safari ride is ok, and though I've never been back to Conservation Station I hear it is worth at least a look back there.
Hopefully this is helpful and I hope I haven't forgotten something MAJOR.
I agree that Wishes is something that you should not miss, although I like to watch Illiminations, especially from Rose and Crown in England.

 

[Fooboy]

ABSOLUTES!: Mickey's Philharmagic, Test Track, Mission: Space, just about all of the fireworks shows, and the classics at the Magic Kingdom. There are just too many to mention! haha! but these are the very few that one should visit and get a fast pass (if necessary) to get to F A S T. Don't forget about the wonderful restaurants available!!!!!! MY gf and I LOVED Boma at the AKL! the desserts are to die for. Enjoy the "savannah" while waiting if you there is one, which prolly will be! enjoy!!!!!!!


foobs

 

[01Sweetpea]

My kids were 11 & 8 when we went in Feb. We were at every rope drop (only did EE once at MK). By 3pm they were done with the parks and wanted to go back to the resort to relax and swim. I could have probably pushed them for another hour, but after that it would have been down hill.

What I did what create an excel spreadsheet of each park, with all the rides broken down into categories as rated by The Unofficial Guide (no wonder DH says I'm obsessed). Then I gave the sheets to the kids with The Unofficial Guide, and they read thru the Guide and picked 5 rides each they wanted to go on, and rated them. I then compiled the lists, and we had our top 5 rides to do.

Since we were there for 9 days, we were able to take our time and go back to a park if we missed a few things.

My top attrations:
AK: - Lion King Show, Safari, Tough To Be a Bug, Dinosaur, Triceratops Whirl
MGM: - ToT, RnR, WWTBAM, Fansatmic
Epcot: - TT, Ellen's Energy, Mission Space (just to say I did it, would never do it again)
MK: - Philharmagic, Buzz, Pirates, Splash Mtn, BTM, Space Mtn.

 

[FatCow]

1. Get Birmbaum's official guide. I have both official and unofficial guides. I find the official guide, coupled with reading ALL (yes, ALL) the threads within "Theme Parks Attractions and Strategies" section is a lot more helpful than reading the unofficial guide.

2. Go to http://www.allearsnet.com for additional information

3. Take a deep breath

4. Plan, plan, plan (in writing, I mean)

5. Use your plan ONLY as a guideline and NEVER use it as if it's etched in stone.

 

[bigbabyblues]

May not be much help, I'm planning our second trip, but our first with kids. My boys are 3 and 1, so it's mostly geared towards them.

MK-Dumbo, Pooh ride, Buzz Lightyear, Carousel, Peter Pan, Barnstormer, Carousel of Progress (if it's open), Philharmagic, Wishes, and Spectromagic. Also the daytime parade if we have time.

AK-Festival of the Lion King, Kilamanjaro Safari, Triceratop Spin, Conservation Station, whatever else we have time for

EPCOT-Spaceship Earth, Maelstrom, the Living Seas (my 3-yo loves anything related to fish,etc), as much as we can see if the World Showcase, Illuminations, whatever else we can fit in

MGM-Playhouse Disney, Characters at Al's Toy Barn (Toy Story characters), Beauty and the Beast, the Stars and Cars parade, Great Movie Ride, and whatever else we can fit in.

We will be there 8 full days at the end of Sept/early Oct, so I'm thinking we should be able to do quite a bit. There are a lot more things I would like to get to do than I listed, we'll just have to see how things go. We're also going to MNSSHP and doing several character meals.

I agree with getting a good guide book (or 3 or 4), I have the Unofficial Guide, and I love it. I also borrowed several others from the library because I wanted to see if I'd like them before I bought them. Most of them I didn't like enough to buy. I know with my family, we will not be able to go without a break in the afternoon, the boys would be so cranky and tired, it would not be a good trip for us.

Have fun planning!

Steph

 

[jann1033]

MK : wishes and peter pan( much to hubby's chagrin he thinks pp is dumb but i would ride it a couple times a day if i could drag him on,love the "london" view), buzz
epcot: french movie, fantastic scenery and music followed by fantastic coffee and french pastry, illuminations
mgm :tot, Brown Derby
ak: safari, lion king and gorillas

 

[jann1033]

Originally posted by carol9999
. Also, another question, dh and i are taking our 3 boys (10,9, and 5) and wonder if it is realistic for me to think that we can go from 9am til closing when we go to the parks.... i feel we need the whole day to see everything and was a little worried if maybe kids can't make it all the way thru the day...what are your experiences? thanks

hrs will be shorter mid oct like in dec /Jan when we go. we have always gone from opening to closing ( and ee sometimes) starting when the kids were preschool...imo the secret is pacing yourself, sitting down for a sit down lunch and a snack or 2 and any parades and not rushing from ride to ride but moving in an orderly fashion without a lot of backtracking..i differ with some of the guide books here, i can not handle runing from one end of the park to go on a couple attractions then back again. too tiring imo so we go at a steady pace and get the big attractions done first in each land but don't skip from land to land. the sit down lunch is as good as going back to the room to rest imo and less time consuming. also important is a rest day somewhere mid schedule to totally rest up.
I have a chronic condition that zaps my strength and i was able to keep up fine doing this so am guessing most kids would do great!

 

[pakdayton]

Must do list

#1 buy the unofficial guide

MK : Big Thunder Mtn, Buzz, Philharmagic, Wishes
MGM: Great Movie Ride, Muppets, Who wants to be ... Fantasmic
AK: Safari, Bugs life, Dinosaur
Epcot: Test track, Honey i shrunk ...

if you plan on pushing through opening to close every day ... i'd guess your older boys would be okay, little guy may need a nap/swim, maybe you could split up if he cant make through ... one grownup with bigs and one with little to take nap/swim

also EVERYONE may want to swim ... pools at wdw resorts are cool (you didnt say where you were staying)

if its midday and everyone's hot and cranky ....and you donet want to go back to your resort ...there are a few places to cool down
in MK ....fountains infront of jungle cruise, donalds boat, and mister place in tomorrowland ... take off socks and shoes and let them get wet ... 10 minutes "wasted" getting wet may save your day (also by ariel's grotto ... but your boys may not get near the place)

Epcot ... ice station cool for free drinks, misters by test track, jumping fountain by imagination
AK ... a small fountain/sprinkler/some sort of dripping water is in the dig area to your right as your enter on the first level
MGM ... small fountain/water is in honey i shrunk .. playground (by the dog's nose - i think)

oh ... TTA (tomorrowland transit authority) aka "wedway" is a great place for a rest ... dont cram all five of you in one tram ... let the little one lay down on a bench ... CM nearly always let you ride more than once if you want ... many a little kid has napped on that ride

good luck

 

[deanna2426]

I am listing these top 10's as my DS(5) gave them to me. He is pretty tall, so he meets all height requirements except RNRC and Space Mountain.

MK - Buzz, BTMRR, Splash, Goofy's Barnstormer, Philharmagic, Peter Pan, TTA (loves this for some reason), Indy Speedway, parade and Wishes

MGM- Star Tours, Muppets,Playhouse Disney, and, if the older ones are brave, RNRR, and TOT. Fantasmic is a must-see. Truthfully, we make many trips back to MGM b/c Star Tours is our son's favorite attraction, but you can easily do this in half-day.

AK - Festival of the Lion King, Tarzan Rocks, The Boneyard, Kilamajaro Safari, Kali River Rapids, Dinosaur (scares DS alittle), It's Tough to Be a Bug and Camp Minnie-Mickey for great character interaction.

Epcot - Test Track, Spaceship Earth, MS (if daring), Maelstrom in Norway, wandering around WS to see live entertainment, Kidcot stations to make masks, and Illuminations!

Have a great trip!!!