Which rides/attractions do you simply skip? Why?

[CaliTex]

Please do your own research and take into account your own preferences.

We have gone to WDW many times, and I grew up in Southern California so we went to Disneyland at least once a year from the time I was 2 years old, so I have a different take on things, maybe. I love the speedway, because I remember how excited I was as a child to "drive". Of course, now its all about taking my grands, and seeing their excitement and watching them really *concentrate* on their driving. LOL, so cute. Would I go on Speedway if it were just me and DH? Uh, no. But going to Disney as an adult is so much about seeing it through the children's eyes, experiencing it with their sense of wonder and awe.

I love Carousel of Progress because it is one ride I can remember my grandparents (born around the turn of the last century) really being captivated by. I love Tiki Birds, it's simple and corny and retro. Swiss Family Robinson is iconic, and my DGS loves to climb the tree and think about what living in a tree would be like. He uses his imagination and wonders what life was like before Wi. And John Madden football. He likes to talk to his grandpa about how a person could survive in a shipwreck, or other disaster. That's what make that ride worth doing, bad knees and all.

I'm just saying, please don't rule things out simply because of what others say; you never know what rides will become part of a wonderful vacation memory. There are rides we (DH and I) would skip (former linebacker DH is very uncomfortable in It's a Small World boats, for example, but he wouldn't miss the look of pure joy on our 4 year old DGD's face for the world--so he stands in that line and then he squishes himself sideways and he watches DGD's face the whole ride). So please be open to trying things, like PPs said. One rule: we never force anyone to ride something they aren't wanting to do. No guilt, no shame. We simply split up for a bit and meet up later. Try it all, just take into consideration other people's fears, needs, etc, as other posters said so well.

Except Stitch. Never do Stitch. But in general our family doesn't like sensory type stuff like that. Bugs crawling on us, etc. But that is just US. YMMV. Oh, and I don't like Kali, because I don't like being wet at the park, and having wet little ones is a big bummer, especially since we go in winter. I'll go swimming on my own terms, thanks.

Here's wishing you many good times and happy memories, OP! HAVE FUN!

 

[RustManFan]

I don't like thrill rides so I skip them in each park but I like trying everything else at least once. And there are many things that some posters here say are boring that I really enjoy.

To each his or her own!

 

[W.E.D.]

MK:
Stitch--absolutely no desire
Speedway--see Stitch
Aladin's Magic Carpets--see Speedway

EPCOT:
Ellen's Energy Adventure--it kills a lot of time in the touring plan and quite frankly, once you've seen it....

DHS:
Rockin' Rollercoaster--I don't do upside-down

AK:
Kali River Rapids--WAY too short for the absolute soaking you go through.

 

[TinkSassy]

How I do with an "newbies" I take is to give them my fav planning book called WDW with Kids. I like it for adults too as it gives good detail of each attraction and the level of action if there is any concern on "scary" or just "too fast"

We make a top 10 list and then the "I'd like to see" list. That way we get to the most important and then fill in as we can additional stuff.

That being said - I skip Hall of Presidents, Indy Speedway, Astro Orbiter, ToT, Dinosaur (I know - I just don't find it special enough for the rough ride). But I don't always skip all of them (except for ToT - done it once - never again).

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Anything remotely "creepy" because my youngest doesn't do "creepy".

Roller coasters (none of us are fans).

 

[xipetotec]

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.

- Dumbo/Aladdin/Triceratops - we feel these are typical "carnival-style" hub-and spoke with little or no theming.
- Indy Speedway - Lines are often huge and we're not really car people so it does nothing for us.
- American Idol - Never interested us. Won't miss it.

 

[LetsTalkWDW]

DHS:
Rockin' Rollercoaster--I don't do upside-down

My wife was the same way, but she tried it and now she loves it. Says she can deal with the inversion because she can't see it. She does say it makes her dizzy though.

 

[SugarSweetLee]

I am 30 years old, and have never yet gotten tired of Small World or Ellen's Energy Captain EO is a classic that I am SO SO glad they brought back, although for really young kiddos it might be too loud/weird.

I thought the Riverboat was really boring when I was kid, and I haven't ridden it since.

The Robinson family treehouse and Tom Sawyer's Island usually get a pass since I've done them a few times when I was younger, and they eat up a lot of time and energy that I could be putting into going after more rides

I have only done the Stitch attraction once, though I went several times when it was the scarier Alien-themed version, but I could happily go the rest of my visits at WDW with never doing that one again.

Space Mountain I will give a miss unless I'm with other folks who really want to ride it, just because the wait is usually really long and it's my least favorite of the coasters since there's less 'going on' compared to the (imo) more fun theming on Splash & Thunder.

I don't especially care for Dumbo/Carpets but they are good for little ones.

There is a lot of kid-appeal on the Speedway, but it is so loud, has a long & unshaded queue & smells bad that I am happy to skip.

 

[heidijanesmith]

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.

Agree!

I know I am in the minority here, but our family loves Stitch and glad we tried it. I can see why people do not like it, but our kids loved it when they were little and have to go back each trip. I am glad we did not skip it.

Now that we have gone a few times, we skip a few attractions but only after we have tried it prior.

 

[jeneric997]

STITCH!!!! We threaten our kids with this one. Even with our hatred for the ride, my DD's friend asked to go last trip. She said "NEVER AGAIN! It's even worse than I remember!"

 

[ZoZo]

Please do your own research and take into account your own preferences.

We have gone to WDW many times, and I grew up in Southern California so we went to Disneyland at least once a year from the time I was 2 years old, so I have a different take on things, maybe. I love the speedway, because I remember how excited I was as a child to "drive". Of course, now its all about taking my grands, and seeing their excitement and watching them really *concentrate* on their driving. LOL, so cute. Would I go on Speedway if it were just me and DH? Uh, no. But going to Disney as an adult is so much about seeing it through the children's eyes, experiencing it with their sense of wonder and awe.

I love Carousel of Progress because it is one ride I can remember my grandparents (born around the turn of the last century) really being captivated by. I love Tiki Birds, it's simple and corny and retro. Swiss Family Robinson is iconic, and my DGS loves to climb the tree and think about what living in a tree would be like. He uses his imagination and wonders what life was like before Wi. And John Madden football. He likes to talk to his grandpa about how a person could survive in a shipwreck, or other disaster. That's what make that ride worth doing, bad knees and all.

I'm just saying, please don't rule things out simply because of what others say; you never know what rides will become part of a wonderful vacation memory. There are rides we (DH and I) would skip (former linebacker DH is very uncomfortable in It's a Small World boats, for example, but he wouldn't miss the look of pure joy on our 4 year old DGD's face for the world--so he stands in that line and then he squishes himself sideways and he watches DGD's face the whole ride). So please be open to trying things, like PPs said. One rule: we never force anyone to ride something they aren't wanting to do. No guilt, no shame. We simply split up for a bit and meet up later. Try it all, just take into consideration other people's fears, needs, etc, as other posters said so well.

Except Stitch. Never do Stitch. But in general our family doesn't like sensory type stuff like that. Bugs crawling on us, etc. But that is just US. YMMV. Oh, and I don't like Kali, because I don't like being wet at the park, and having wet little ones is a big bummer, especially since we go in winter. I'll go swimming on my own terms, thanks.

Here's wishing you many good times and happy memories, OP! HAVE FUN!

Well said! I totally agree. OP, as you've probably noticed, you'll get tons of conflicting opinions about what to skip.

As a first-timer, I would recommend that you do a little research ahead of time (The Unofficial Guide to WDW is a great resource). But take everyone's advice here with a big grain of salt! I agree with posters who say that first-timers shouldn's skip anything based on a few people's advice.

Others may urge you to skip a specific ride or even an entire park (lots of folks don't like Ellen's Energy Adventure and some folks aren't wild about Animal Kingdom) but these are two of my favorite things to do! AK is my favorite park!

So please don't take people's advice too seriously. Give things a try - you might be surprised what you like!

 

[plumsiren]

I'm approaching my trip like a first-timer and won't be skipping anything unless I know I shouldn't do it because of my motion sickness. I don't give a flying you-know-what how much my family winds up resenting me for dragging them on silly, outdated, and/or boring rides!

 

[ldymcbth]

We haven't done Ellen's Energy Adventure yet, mainly because it's just not been at the top of our list and of all the parks, we seem to always run out of time in Epcot!

I don't do Mission:Space because it makes me sick and claustrophobic. I did it once and that's plenty for me! I hang out in the waiting area/gift shop while the family rides.

I am not a fan of Primeval Whirl (I think that's the name of it? Please forgive if not, it's been a long day!) - it's the roller coastery ride near Triceratops Spin in AK. We rode it once and it was very jerky and made me feel yucky. But I am easily motion sick, so take that for what it's worth! I can ride pretty much anything else in WDW but those two rides.

 

[DakotaRose]

MK: stitch and speedway
Epcot: Capt. EO, Circle of Life
AK: conservation station - never have time for it
DHS: Indiana Jones - boring

 

[kohlby]

Stitch.

Everything else depends on what rides your group likes. Stitch is the one that I feel comfortable saying it should be universally skipped.

My kids absolutely love Ellen and have at 3 years old as much as 9 years old. My eldest will actually do Ellen twice on the next trip due to a YES class and he's perfectly fine with that! Speedway is a must-do for the kids too. I'm not sure if my 11 year old has outgrown it - he liked it at 9 a lot still. But I'm sure my 5 and 8 year old will still love it. Aladdin's Carpets is very similar to Dumbo. Before the dual Dumbo, we did Aladdin instead since the lines were so much shorter. Now we do both. The kids like Mission Space too - but we stick to Green, the more calm side. And the strange one - my kids really enjoyed Captain EO!

We'll likely skip Kali as the kids don't want to get wet. There's a chance some will skip Pirates of the Carribean this time, due to the greatly increased risk of getting wet. Two of my kids won't do Splash Mountain, again, due to getting wet. (Two of my three have some sensory quirks). I have yet to do the Jack Sparrow thing at DHS. That would likely be at the end of my priority list. We've never done American Idol Experience either - it just seemed like it would take up more time than we cared for something the kids wouldn't be interested in at all.

I skip teacups - I can't handle that spinning. The kids love it though so they do it with my husband instead. We also skip Playhouse Jr. We did it once and it was so incredibly boring and the kids weren't into it either. That's when they were younger - they're 5, 8, and 11 now. We don't have cable tv though so that could play a part.

 

[qman]

As has been noted several times as newbies you try everything and form your own opinions. The one thing I would add though is skip the generic rides at the Magic Kingdom you can experience at your home town park or fairgrounds.

 

[sjenkins49]

MK
Country Bear Jamboree - Boring
Enchanted Tiki Room - Boring
it's a small world - Boring
The Magic Carpets of Aladdin - Who Cares
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh - Only if you have small kids
Peter Pan's Flight - To long a line for what it is
Space Mountain - Only if you want to get beat up
Stitch's Great Escape! - Boring

EPCOT
Captain EO - Wife likes it
The Seas with Nemo - Boring
Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros - Bunch of TV screens

AK
Primeval Whirl - Kids Ride
TriceraTop Spin - Kids Ride

HS
We really like all the attractions but this is our least favorite park

 

[awalker1015]

MK Country Bear Jamboree - Boring Enchanted Tiki Room - Boring it's a small world - Boring The Magic Carpets of Aladdin - Who Cares The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh - Only if you have small kids Peter Pan's Flight - To long a line for what it is Space Mountain - Only if you want to get beat up Stitch's Great Escape! - Boring EPCOT Captain EO - Wife likes it The Seas with Nemo - Boring Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros - Bunch of TV screens AK Primeval Whirl - Kids Ride TriceraTop Spin - Kids Ride HS We really like all the attractions but this is our least favorite park

So agree about Space Mt. Loved it as a kid and was so excited to ride it last trip and I literally felt physically abused when I got off. It's like the cars/seats don't have enough support for grown ups.

 

[andiraye]

The touring plans website (same folks that publish the unofficial guide) has some pretty detailed reviews and ratings broken out by age group. We haven't been to WDW in a while and I found it helpful in planning our trip, given my kids' ages.

I will say that some of the attractions people have recommended skipping are on my "must do" list (small world - it's THE classic) or are my favorites from childhood (figment, Swiss treehouse).

 

[jenrose66]

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.

I skip Kali River Rapids at Animal Kingdom. I rode it a couple times when it was just DH and I, but now that we have kids, I just don't feel like getting soaked in the parks.

We have never been on Stitches Great Escape at MK, just no desire...

We skip Mission Space at Epcot. I've been on it once. I just didn't get the hype...