Whats not to miss?

[mudnuri]

First trip, DH myself, DD's 6 and 7.

4 days at the parks. 2 days MK, 1 day AK, 1 day epcot. 12 days total in Orlando..

Whats not to miss in MK? DD's are into rides, are looking forward to character interaction. DH and I are interested in just being AAWWED by the experiences. DH and I are not interested in big people rides. NO TOT for us LOL...No water rides either.

What are some attractions you never miss?

Best places for character interaction?

What character meal in MK do you recommend? Prefer it NOT to be breakfast...

Any other advice? Park times are not out yet. We plan to arrive at the parks right at opening, which I think is 9am....and stay till late afternoon. Depending on time of closing etc.

We may hop to MGM on our AK day, depending on DD's .

Brandy

 

[stinkerbelle]

Our "not to miss" in the parks include

MK
Pirates of the Carribbean (always our first ride)
Splash Mountain
big Thunder mountain
Space Mountain (well - DH rides this, I don't)
Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger spin (at least 4-5 times! hehehe)
Mickeys Philharmagic (do NOT miss this - huge AWWWWWW moment!)
and I always drag DH on Winnie the pooh/Sleeping Beauty/Peter Pan.

MGM
Tower of Terror
Rock-n-Roller coaster (again - DH, not me)
Muppets 3-D

AK
the safari - at least twice - in the morning and in the afternoon
Tough to be a Bug 3-d Show
dinosaur. (DH loves this - I just close my eyes!)
Kilamonjaro rapids - but only if it's hot enough out - and at the end of the day - you can get VERY wet.

Epcot
Test track - at least 3-4 times
Mission Space - DH liked it the first time he went on, I might try it this time.
Spaceship earth (still the same from when I was a kid!)

I'm sure I'm forgetting some...

EDIT

oops - forgot to answer your other questions!
about the character dining - we've only done breakfasts...sorry!
good place for character interaction, I've found, is at the entrance to AK - always a bunch of characters from Lion King hanging out. and just check your maps - look for the 'character greeting places'

 

[meeko_33785]

Here are some attractions that I would probably say are must-sees:

MK: Pirates of the Caribbean, Buzz Lightyear, Peter Pan, Haunted Mansion

EPCOT: American Adventure, Maelstrom, Honey I Shrunk the Audience, Impressions de France

MGM: Beauty and the Beast, MuppetVision 3D, Star Tours, Voyage of the Little Mermaid

AK: Kilimanjaro Safaris, Festival of the Lion King, Tarzan Rocks, and It's Tough To Be A Bug

Tower of Terror, Mission: SPACE, Test Track, DINOSAUR, Splash Mountain, and Big Thunder Mountain would normally be on my list, but you mentioned no "big people" or water rides.

As far as character interaction goes, my favorite location is the Expo Hall at Main Street. Some time between 11am and noon, there's usually a couple of Disney Princesses in there are usually with no crowds. Definatly a great place to have the characters all to yourself. The World Showcase pavillions at EPCOT also have out-of-the-way locations that don't get really crowded and allow a lot of character interaction. See if this site helps you:

http://www.geocities.com/disneygettogether/locationguide.html

Never done a character meal at MK unless you count lunch and dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table. It isn't an official character meal like the breakfast they do there, but Cinderella is sometimes in the lobby for meet-and-greets. Very nice.

 

[monarchsfan16]

We LOVE the character dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern. The food is served family style, and as my grammy put it, "is the closest to home cooked comfort food you can get at Disney". Think Thanksgiving. It's a big meal, that will leave you stuff but it's great. The characters all wear Colonial style clothes, to go along with the theme of the restaraunt.
We've also done the character lunch at Crystal Palace. It's a buffet with the Pooh characters. Not as good as LTT but still up there.
Not to miss stuff:
MK
Peter Pan, Buzz Lightyear, Big Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, the parade, any night shows that might occur (Spectro, the fireworks), Whinnie the Pooh
EPCOT
Spaceship Earth,Test Track,ILLUMINATIONS (can't stress this enough...don't miss it!), Honey I Shrunk the Audience, American Adventure, and the Canada movie
AK
the safari, the parade, Camp Minnie Mickey (great character interactions), and the 2 walking trails (Pangani Forest....and the name of the other one is escaping me right now), It's Tough to Be a Bug
MGM
Fantasmic, the Muppet Show

 

[ohpoohmetoo]

When I make a trip SPECTRO is not to be missed gives me goosebumps just thinking about it.

Our family loves the character interaction too. If you get to Toon Town at the right time (I'm not sure if it would be right when they open that section or just a little while after) that's a great place to get autographs. The CM's also can be great resource of where to be when to get the special autograph you want.

We also love Crystal Palace although admittedly we only have had breakfast there. We usually end up with a table that has a view of the castle and I love Pooh.