Which rides/attractions do you simply skip? Why?

[emij]

This will be our first WDW trip next month! It will be me, dh, ds7 and dd4.

I've been playing with the touring plan and trying to figure out which rides/attractions are totally skip-able.) I realize there is SOMEONE out there who appreciates each attraction.)

I would love to hear what YOU skip and why.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Small World - boring, outdated and cheesy.

Mission Space - makes me claustrophobic.

Tower of Terror - I hate heights.

 

[niroc]

My advise would be to buy some Disney planning books or go on YouTube and watch some videos on the attractions YOU think your family might be interested in.

The problem you will have listening to other people is you might miss something that YOUR family loves just because you listened to someone else. For every 50 people who hate a particular attraction/restaurant there will be another 50 people that love it.

My biggest advice is BE FLEXIBLE. While planning is now critical for a Disney trip it is also just as important to deviate from that plan if at the time your family wants to do something else.

Enjoy your first trip!

 

[Kirby]

How long are you going to be there?

I'd just play it by ear and go with the flow. You'll never get to see everything so that will give you reason to go back again. I remember our first time with our kids right about your kids age. We did no planning and had a blast.

 

[Nohal]

MK - avoid anything that spins - Dumbo Tea Cups etc
Tiki birds - been there done that don't care to see it again
Country Bear Jamboree - as above
Stitches great escape - a waste of space
These are the only things that we don't do every trip

Epcot - Mission Space one side to scary the other boring
Ellens Universe of Energy we only do this if we have time

HS - Again to scary Rock 'n Roller Coaster & Tower of Terror

AK - Everest again to scary
Kali Rapids did it once with bathing suits on and got soaked

Everyone has different rides they don't like. It is DH & I and we are seniors so someone younger or with young children would have different things on their lists.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Stitch.

 

[shannn]

MK
Stitch - don't enjoy
Astro Orbiter - heights
Peter Pan - will do but not with a long line
Magic Carpets - same as Dumbo
Speedway - boring with long line

Animal Kingdom
Boneyard - my kids are too old

DHS
Honey, I shrunk the kids - kids are too old

Epcot
Captain EO - bad, not in a fun way
Circle of Life - boring
Innovations - I wish I could get them interested, but they say it's boring

 

[The Hendies]

Advice for a first timers.... DON'T SKIP ANYTHING!
Skipping rides or attractions is for the second trip!
The only disclaimer is if you need to avoid heights, spinning, etc.

 

[LaurenT]

one pretty safe one to skip is Stitches Great Escape. Yes, there will be someone who loves it, but for every one of those there are 99 people who hate it.
I felt so bad for people this last trip as I saw them swiping their magic bands to get into Stitch! You just know they haven't been to the Magic Kingdom before, they probably have a little kid who loves Lilo and Stitch and went about planning their FPs carefully... making sure their kid got to see the stitch ride...

 

[DisneyF4]

Advice for a first timers.... DON'T SKIP ANYTHING!
Skipping rides or attractions is for the second trip!
The only disclaimer is if you need to avoid heights, spinning, etc.

I absolutely agree with this! Everyone has different likes, so find yours on your own! As far as what WE skip... Great Movie Ride and Tiki Birds... both attractions just bore us to tears, but YOU may love them, so go find out!

 

[sethschroeder]

Can't believe no one mentioned Pirates in Hollywood Studios. It's by far the worst experience in the world. You get done and think you will now go on to the ride to find out that what you just experienced was the extent of it. If you have to go on it don't waste time in line if it's longer than 1 show.

 

[LaurenT]

Can't believe no one mentioned Pirates in Hollywood Studios. It's by far the worst experience in the world. You get done and think you will now go on to the ride to find out that what you just experienced was the extent of it. If you have to go on it don't waste time in line if it's longer than 1 show.

See? Now, I like the Pirates thing in DHS! Maybe because i knew ahead of time that it was just a mock up of a ships bow with some special effects and a hologram of Jack Sparrow - i knew there wasn't any ride.. that the pre show was the whole deal...
but - yes, most people are disappointed with it.
Not sure you can say it's the worst thing in the world when you have things like Captain Eo, Stitch, Tomorrowland Sppedway and the Country Bear Jamboree to compare it to...

 

[Princesca]

Stitch - as much a I love that character, I can't stand that ride. My husband said he felt 'beaten up' by the time it was over. He got mushed by the shoulder bars, and the rest of it was just offensively disgusting.

We also skip the roller coasters. DH doesn't like them, and I don't care about them one way or the other. I'm much more into Pirates, Mansion, Carousel of Progress, IASW, etc.

 

[deakam]

With the kids being 7 and 4 I would skip Stitch. It is very very dark and can be really scary. Do the Speedway because the kids really think they are driving. Ours had a blast at that age. If you have never done Small World then you must do it once. And Peter Pan's flight is always an hour wait so get a fast pass. It is a good ride for kids. Space Mountain you sit in front or behind your child not next to them. It is also dark. Dark as in you can not see what is coming up next. They do have a kid swap if your 7 year old wants to go but I don't think a 4 year old will be tall enough.

Definite skips for us is the Hall of Presidents. We do it when they change the current President but never any other time. We also skip Ariel's little ride because we have no little kids but you should do that one.

All of the other scary rides I don't think your 4 year old is going to be tall enough for. We tend to skip the finding Nemo show at Animal Kingdom but that is because we have seen it. If you have not I would try to see it but not at the expense of missing the Lion King Show. We also skip the little ride at the Living Seas. You see more fish by walking around the tanks. A Must do is Turtle Talk with Crush.

 

[BuzzinDownToDisney]

MK - Stitch
Tom Sawyer (Time killer)
Magic Carpets (Same as Dumbo, which has an air conditioned queue)
Tiki Room and Swiss Treehouse
Speedway (Noisy, smelly and probably have this exact ride within an hour of your house)

Epcot - Ellen (unless you need a 45 minute nap, this is a serious strategy for some)

DHS - Go on everything, not enough rides to avoid any.

AK - The whole park

 

[MataHari22]

This will be our first WDW trip next month! It will be me, dh, ds7 and dd4.

I've been playing with the touring plan and trying to figure out which rides/attractions are totally skip-able.) I realize there is SOMEONE out there who appreciates each attraction.)

I would love to hear what YOU skip and why.

Like PP said, I would do some research and read up on the rides and attractions and see what you think would appeal to your family. You can check out the rides and see what they are like on YouTube. There are a lot these days that I skip, because I do not have children, but my first time, as a little kid, I did ride ones I skip now, like Dumbo and Small World.

And, I agree with the others that say to skip Stitch, for sure! Lol

ETA: I love Animal Kingdom and I like Ellen's Energy ride.

 

[Dano13]

You can find point of view videos on YouTube of most rides which would help. Buying a book like unofficial Disney would assist to. For what it is worth my list is:

Magic Kingdom - stitch. Just a brutal ride
Small world. Maybe for a first timer try it as it is an icon.
Aladdin (same as Dumbo, and most do Dumbo)

Epcot - Ellen unless you want to waste an hour (literally)
Mission Space (confining to me)

DHS - nothing that I don't enjoy to differing levels. Some rides are great there.

Animal Kingdom - aside from the Kilamanjaro safari and Kali River rapids I could care less about this park. Bugs life is cute too.

 

[GenieCat]

Magic Kingdom: Stitch, agree with pp that it's a waste of space.

Animal Kingdom: It's Tough to Be a Bug, is another pointless waste of space. Why is smelling a stink bug and getting "stung" by a wasp considered entertainment?

Epcot: Test Track - I drive a car every day around on city streets which are badly maintained and equally as rough as TT.

 

[hunan6]

I'm probably on my own here, but I would skip Maelstrom. I find it to be a let down. I just don't get it. Whether waiting in the long lines or using. FP, it just not seem worth the time to me.

 

[HopperFan]

There is the list of those I would like to skip but DS makes me do them .... and then there is the few I just put my feet down and only do once a decade such as:

Stitch - so bad, and going on it makes me so sad that they took a great attraction "Alien Encounter" and dumbed it down.

Speedway - it is jerky and nauseating even with a good driver. Add in one of the hottest lines to stand in.

Kali River Rapids - nothing wrong with it but I don't do soaking wet.

Mission to Space - avoided for years, tried it and got really sick, and I see the mild version as completely pointless, so I enjoy a nice bench and a Mickey Bar!