What rides to skip?

I'm not a roller coaster person but BTM at Disneyland is one of my most favourite rides ever. Rode it at WDW in 2018 and darn near broke my tailbone, that ride is so rough at MK. Definitely far superior at Disneyland. As is Pirates, it's about twice the length of the one at WDW and just so much more atmospheric, esp at the beginning.
 
Skip as there are little to no differences:
Big Thunder, Small World, Dumbo, Star Tours, Buzz Lightyear, Millenium Falcon, Rise of the Resistance, Jungle Cruise. The queue is different on Mickey and Minnie's Train Ride but if you're ridden it before at HS, it might be worth skipping since it's at the back of the park

Similar but better or with small differences:
Haunted Mansion has the Hatbox Ghost which WDW doesn't have yet.
Pirates of the Caribbean, far superior
Tiki Room since it's the original
Autotopia, if you enjoy it, it's longer and more scenic.


Different and worth it:
All of Fantasyland, save Dumbo
Space Mountain, ride side by side instead of single file
Matterhorn, outdoor WDW Space Mountain
Splash Mountain, assuming you're going before it closes
Mr. Lincoln
The trains
Everything in California Adventure except The Little Mermaid
The above is great. Also, Pooh is not in Fantasyland but falls under that worth doing at DL.
 
Skip as there are little to no differences:
Big Thunder, Small World, Buzz Lightyear,
These are absolutely wrong. Everything else on this list is accurate.

Small World WDW looks like a budget ride compared to Disneyland. I don’t remember specifically what made Thunder at Disneyland better than WDW, I just remember thinking “huh, ours is much better” when I got off the ride at disneyworld. Buzz is no contest. I won’t even waste my time with the one at disneyworld ever again and I really enjoy the one here.
 

My son did Matterhorn at 5 and hated it. It is VERY rough. My other son didn't try until he was closer to 9 and he also hated it. They are now 18 and 16 and they still hate it. It's just not an enjoyable ride for our family. It's so rough that it's actually painful. The Yeti is also kinda scary in there for a kid.

I'd say start with the Gadget Coaster in Toontown. Then Big Thunder. Then Goofy's Sky School at DCA. Then Space Mountain. Then Incredicoaster if she's feeling bold and is tall enough.
Oh, good to know, thanks. Like as rough as Dinosaur? She's watched the You Tube videos but of course it is hard to tell the smoothness on videos. She has a sensory issue which means she actually craves impact, so as long as she feels safe, she will probably be okay.
 
Oh, good to know, thanks. Like as rough as Dinosaur? She's watched the You Tube videos but of course it is hard to tell the smoothness on videos. She has a sensory issue which means she actually craves impact, so as long as she feels safe, she will probably be okay.
She will get the impact on the Matterhorn! :D

Very different than Dinosaur though. Indiana Jones at DL is actually the same ride system as Dinosaur. To me, the Matterhorn is rougher, but I would not consider the thrill level very high, unless you think the Yeti will bother your child.
 
These are absolutely wrong. Everything else on this list is accurate.

Small World WDW looks like a budget ride compared to Disneyland. I don’t remember specifically what made Thunder at Disneyland better than WDW, I just remember thinking “huh, ours is much better” when I got off the ride at disneyworld. Buzz is no contest. I won’t even waste my time with the one at disneyworld ever again and I really enjoy the one here.

Small world is fine on the inside, but the exterior at WDW is significantly inferior to the DL version. The WDW version does not have the movie characters that they added at DL - one may or may not prefer that.

Big Thunder is essentially the same, howeve a more recent track replacement at DL makes it smoother and also they added some special projection effects in the last cave that have not as of yet come to the WDW version. Other than that they are pretty similar.

Honestly, I don't think anything should be "skipped" jsut because it's at WDW. For time management purposes, I can get cutting the rides that are absolutely identical, but most of the classic stuff has at least small differences.
 
Oh, good to know, thanks. Like as rough as Dinosaur? She's watched the You Tube videos but of course it is hard to tell the smoothness on videos. She has a sensory issue which means she actually craves impact, so as long as she feels safe, she will probably be okay.

More rough than Dinosaur. It is shaky and the car bottoms out HARD several times. It makes your brain rattle and your body gets slammed up against the sides of the car, because the restraint system is very inadequate to hold you in tightly.

My kids don't particularly like Indiana Jones either (similar to Dinosaur in terms of movement). It is just too jerky for them.

I think Matterhorn is FAR worse, FWIW. I will still ride Indy and Dinosaur. No more Matterhorn.
 
She will get the impact on the Matterhorn! :D

Very different than Dinosaur though. Indiana Jones at DL is actually the same ride system as Dinosaur. To me, the Matterhorn is rougher, but I would not consider the thrill level very high, unless you think the Yeti will bother your child.

Indy and Dinosaur are indeed the same ride system and track layout, however the programmed motions of the ride vehicle are different. Both are kinda rough, but Indy I think has fewer hard jerking motions. Maybe not though. One difference is that Indy is much brighter and you can see a bit where you are going, unlike the pitch black Dinoraur.

Another major difference is that in Dinosaur you ride in a time-machine with the inherent risks that entails, but on Indy, you just need to not look the idol in the eyes, though someone always does. 😉 Be safe, folks!
 
More rough than Dinosaur. It is shaky and the car bottoms out HARD several times. It makes your brain rattle and your body gets slammed up against the sides of the car, because the restraint system is very inadequate to hold you in tightly.

My kids don't particularly like Indiana Jones either (similar to Dinosaur in terms of movement). It is just too jerky for them.

I think Matterhorn is FAR worse, FWIW. I will still ride Indy and Dinosaur. No more Matterhorn.
Oh, okay good to know. I don't think she'd like that, especially as I seem to recall it is a single seat. We will test out BTMR and go from there. At least we have genie + for all our days.
 
Oh, okay good to know. I don't think she'd like that, especially as I seem to recall it is a single seat. We will test out BTMR and go from there. At least we have genie + for all our days.

Have you ever gone down a slide at a playground and flew off the end, landing on your bottom? Imagine that over and over again for 2 minutes. That's Matterhorn. It's terrible.

Your plan sounds like a good one.
 
Also a frequent WDW-er, headed to DLR for the first time in two months (Yay!). This thread is super helpful.

Question - how does BTMR compare to WDW in terms of 'scare factor'. Our DD just turned 6, and just started 'real' rollercoasters over xmas, so trying to decide if she can go on it. If any of you happen to know Canada's Wonderland, she can do Thunder Run no problem.
The main difference between BTMR and Thunder Run - besides theming and everyhting else superior ;) - is thunder run is very cyclical (meaning you go around around around the same track twice and BTMR has more elevation and anticipation without any duplication - so its more of an experience vs just a coaster. I would not call it scary - my 6 year old loves this ride.
 
The main difference between BTMR and Thunder Run - besides theming and everyhting else superior ;) - is thunder run is very cyclical (meaning you go around around around the same track twice and BTMR has more elevation and anticipation without any duplication - so its more of an experience vs just a coaster. I would not call it scary - my 6 year old loves this ride.
I think she can handle the WDW version, so sounds like DL one would be fine. TBH - she seemed a bid disappointed by the lack of thrill on thunder run. I'm starting to think she could handle SM, especially since it is a 2 seater. We will try lower key ones first, though.
 
I think she can handle the WDW version, so sounds like DL one would be fine. TBH - she seemed a bid disappointed by the lack of thrill on thunder run. I'm starting to think she could handle SM, especially since it is a 2 seater. We will try lower key ones first, though.
Yeah, after our first disney trip my boys did not look at Thunder Run in the same way. lol The nice thing about DL and DCA is I feel like they are a nice combo of theme and thrill. You have Incredicoaster and Guardians for those that really love thrills, but its not the extreme of Leviathan or Yukon Striker - never. again. lol
 












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