Ok, another Disney thread

[nesser1981]

What are your to do & to see attractions @ the Disney Parks.

I think I've got Sea World figured out, we'll just treat it like the zoo, we're not doing rides there.

IOA, Seuss & Harry Potter are tops, and then Super Hero Island for Coop, he's really starting to get into Super Heros.

I've made my list already, but I wouldn't mind see what all you ladies like and your kids.

Cooper isn't tall enough for some rides that Keira would be, so we'll either skip them, or Sean & Keira will do those.

[jessica31876]

My favorites at Disney as a kid was It's A Small World, Dumbo, Peter Pan, Pirates of the Carribean & The Haunted Mansion. Add Space Mountain & Splash Mountain as an adult and those are pretty much the highlights for me. I have not been in awhile but I do have a pass to go sometime soon hopefully. We bought one for our son but he decided he did not want to go so I may take my daughter and make it a mother/daughter thing instead.

[BrattyMeg]

My kids loved the ones Jessica posted (except Haunted Mansion but it's not scary..shrug)

my absolute fave at WDW overall is Soarin (Epcot)
Mission Space and Test Track were fun there too (not for the little ones though)
Tower of Terror, Rockin Roller coaster, Star Tours, and most of the shows were my faves @ Hollywood Studios
Space Mtn is my fave @ MK
Expedition Everest, Safari, and Dinosaur faves @ AK also make sure to see the Finding Nemo and Lion King shows

[jessica31876]

my son loved Test Track at Epcot. He went with his school last month before winter break. I think he rode some other rides there but I am not sure.

Ive never been to Animal Kingdom or MGM before.

[BrattyMeg]

Originally Posted by jessica31876

my son loved Test Track at Epcot. He went with his school last month before winter break. I think he rode some other rides there but I am not sure.

Ive never been to Animal Kingdom or MGM before.

I had never been to MGM/HS before this trip either. It was pretty fun. Not my fave park and it's somewhat smaller than the others but it was pretty fun! We went twice (both times were just a couple of hours) haha so I guess it wasn't too bad

I <3 AK prob my 2nd fave park

[nesser1981]

Originally Posted by FlirtatiousBrat

I had never been to MGM/HS before this trip either. It was pretty fun. Not my fave park and it's somewhat smaller than the others but it was pretty fun! We went twice (both times were just a couple of hours) haha so I guess it wasn't too bad

I <3 AK prob my 2nd fave park

I'm kind of glad to hear HS is small. We're planning to go to DTD in the afternoon/evening that day. Dinner @ Raglan Road Irish Pub.

[BrattyMeg]

Originally Posted by nesser1981

I'm kind of glad to hear HS is small. We're planning to go to DTD in the afternoon/evening that day. Dinner @ Raglan Road Irish Pub.

yeah we got thru it in a couple of hours..plus take away the line waiting for y'all so it should go even quicker.

Are you taking breaks in the middle of the day?

[nesser1981]

Originally Posted by FlirtatiousBrat

yeah we got thru it in a couple of hours..plus take away the line waiting for y'all so it should go even quicker.

Are you taking breaks in the middle of the day?

Probably, I've got it down to see certain shows, we'll try to do those in the afternoon. And MK & Epcot both have lounges that Wish Kids can use to relax and rest.

[BrattyMeg]

Originally Posted by nesser1981

Probably, I've got it down to see certain shows, we'll try to do those in the afternoon. And MK & Epcot both have lounges that Wish Kids can use to relax and rest.

we neeeeeeeded 2+ days for Epcot..granted 1 of those days was just the world showcase and the kids were quite bored with that one but I had a blast.

[nesser1981]

Originally Posted by FlirtatiousBrat

we neeeeeeeded 2+ days for Epcot..granted 1 of those days was just the world showcase and the kids were quite bored with that one but I had a blast.

Yeah, I'd love to spend a longer time at Epcot, I've been once before when I was in High School. I'd say its probably my favorite Disney Park.

But, I do think the kids are going to be super board. We have a dinner reservation @ Epcot at 5:15 I think, so we're going to to AK first thing the same morning, and try to be out of there by mid afternoon. Since Epcot stays open later, we're going to try and make it to the fireworks, but we'll see how the kids act. DH hasn't been to Epcot since he was a kid, he's pretty excited about it too.

[AmberK]

EP is my LEAST favorite park. When we go again I would be just fine skipping AK and EP all together. I loved MK and we spent 2 days there but still didnt do some of the rides. The kids werent big enough or weren't interested.

The must things for me at MK is the firework show, Main Street Electrical Parade, pictures with Mickey and Minnie (you can get fast passes for them and 3 of the princesses), Space Mountain.

HS the must things are Star Tours, Tower of Terror. I've been 2 times now and both times were were not able to ride Rockin Rollercoaster (1st was shut down for repair, 2nd FP was sold out and we didnt want to wait in line). Toy Story Mania is supposed to be awesome but we didnt get to go because at 10 am FP's were sold out and I was NOT waiting 90+ minutes for the ride.

[BrattyMeg]

Originally Posted by AmberK

HS the must things are Star Tours, Tower of Terror. I've been 2 times now and both times were were not able to ride Rockin Rollercoaster (1st was shut down for repair, 2nd FP was sold out and we didnt want to wait in line). Toy Story Mania is supposed to be awesome but we didnt get to go because at 10 am FP's were sold out and I was NOT waiting 90+ minutes for the ride.

FP's were gone for us too but the line for Rockin moved pretty fast..we waited about 30 mins but wow the ride is SHORT...fun but soooo short

We didn't get to do TSM either...was bummed about it but like you we weren't willing to wait almost 2 hours for it (although we did wait that for Harry Potter lol what were we thinking)

[Tracyfish]

My son's favs are
MK: the Buzz Lightyear ride and Pirates of the Caribbean ride
AK: the Nemo, Lion King and Bug's Life shows and the Safari ride
Epcot: Soarin'
HS (his fav park): Toy Story Mania, Star Tours and the Indiana Jones stunt show

[nesser1981]

Originally Posted by Tracyfish

My son's favs are
MK: the Buzz Lightyear ride and Pirates of the Caribbean ride
AK: the Nemo, Lion King and Bug's Life shows and the Safari ride
Epcot: Soarin'
HS (his fav park): Toy Story Mania, Star Tours and the Indiana Jones stunt show

Nemo isn't on our list, DH doesn't want to sit through too many shows. LOL! And We don't have Indiana Jones on the list, I think it would be cool, but I don't know if Cooper would be interested.

[nesser1981]

One of the benefits of Keira's Make a Wish trip is she has front of the line access for everything. LOL!

We are doing character meals, 4 of them, all with different groups, so unless we happen by someone, Rapunzel & Tiana are the only ones at MK I'll be looking for. More at HS, Buzz, Woody & Jesse.

Mickey & Minnie also come to Give Kids the World every Monday & Thursday morning, so we are planning on seeing them there and at our breakfast w/ them @ Tusker House in Ak.

Originally Posted by AmberK

EP is my LEAST favorite park. When we go again I would be just fine skipping AK and EP all together. I loved MK and we spent 2 days there but still didnt do some of the rides. The kids werent big enough or weren't interested.

The must things for me at MK is the firework show, Main Street Electrical Parade, pictures with Mickey and Minnie (you can get fast passes for them and 3 of the princesses), Space Mountain.

HS the must things are Star Tours, Tower of Terror. I've been 2 times now and both times were were not able to ride Rockin Rollercoaster (1st was shut down for repair, 2nd FP was sold out and we didnt want to wait in line). Toy Story Mania is supposed to be awesome but we didnt get to go because at 10 am FP's were sold out and I was NOT waiting 90+ minutes for the ride.

[Tracyfish]

Seriously the Nemo show is really cool. If you have time...check it out.

[AmberK]

We waited about 70 mins for Harry Potter and it was WELL WORTH the wait! Loved that ride! Oh and the Hulk ride at IOA. Best coaster EVER!

Originally Posted by FlirtatiousBrat

FP's were gone for us too but the line for Rockin moved pretty fast..we waited about 30 mins but wow the ride is SHORT...fun but soooo short

We didn't get to do TSM either...was bummed about it but like you we weren't willing to wait almost 2 hours for it (although we did wait that for Harry Potter lol what were we thinking)

[BrattyMeg]

Originally Posted by AmberK

We waited about 70 mins for Harry Potter and it was WELL WORTH the wait! Loved that ride! Oh and the Hulk ride at IOA. Best coaster EVER!

LOOOVED Hulk and Dragon Challenge...

I agree HP was my fave ride of the whole trip I think..followed closely by Soarin' gah I dunno haha

DEF see the Nemo musical @ AK...was soooo good I <3 the dude that played Crush

[Txcorey]

I've become a Disney nut in the last couple of years. We have been able to go 3 times in the last 3 years because of a conference that my husband has to attend. My first piece of advice would be to get the Unofficial Guide to Disney World. It gives in depth descriptions to each ride, show, and restaurant. Sounds like you won't need their touring plans if you get the front line passes. I would say that Fantasmic is one of the coolest things I've ever seen. It shows at Hollywood Studios which is my least favorite park, but Toy Story Mania is there and is also a must ride. I'm not sure how old your kids are, but my son loves the Playhouse Disney show (he was 2,3, and 4 on our trips). At Magic Kingdom he liked It's a Small World, Mickey's Philharmagic (cool 3d show), Peter Pan's Flight, Big thunder Mountain Railroad, and Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin (his favorite). One of my favorite rides there is Haunted Mansion, but he hates it. It "seems" scary at the beginning with the big spooky voice, but is really just a cool ride. My favorite thing at Animal Kingdom was the Lion King show. It's spectacular. We also really liked Killimanjaro Safaris and the Nemo show. I was truly surprised at Epcot. I thought it would be too old for my son, so we just went this past year for the first time and it was great. My son loved the Nemo ride, Soarin, Turtle Talk with Crush, Journey into Imagination with Figment. In the World showcase he loved the ride in Mexico-Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros, and Maelstrom the ride in Norway.
I would definitely make time to see the parades and the fireworks-they are incredible. We did dinner one night at Chef Mickey's and absolutely loved that as well. I'm sure you will have a great time. It is a magical place.

[nesser1981]

Thanks girls.

Tell me this, nemo or lion king? Which one is better? Not sure if dh or Coop will make it through 2 of them.

[scrap2day]

I would ask the kids what they think they want to do when they get there. You never know what they may have seen on television or have in their heads about what Disney World is like. Even with help with lines the place is so big & magical there will be too much to see. Knowing ahead of time will help to make sure you try to get their #1 fantasy about the place fulfilled. SO excited for you!

[scrap2day]

Originally Posted by nesser1981

Thanks girls.

Tell me this, nemo or lion king? Which one is better? Not sure if dh or Coop will make it through 2 of them.

I'm voting Nemo. Not that Lion King isn't good. It is. And if that is the one you see it will be fun too. Just thinking that Nemo might be more appealing to a younger audience.

[BrattyMeg]

I think he'd like Nemo better too...but I think he could sit thru both They aren't very long (20ish mins I think for Nemo and 35ish for Lion King? not 100% sure)

[mariewilcox]

Our faves have changed over the years as Cheyanne gets older so I won't get into all that - LOL.

When she was 5 she LOVED the Lion King show and we saw it a total of 3 times during our 10-day stay. She would have watched hit all day long if I'd let her

[ariesfl326]

My daughter has some new faves since being there for her bday on 1/7 (keep in mind she's 10 so some rides may not be suitable if you have small children)...

MK: Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, Buzz Lighyear Space Ranger Spin and my fave is Mickey's Not So Scary Haunted House (that's the name I gave it when she was 3 yrs old...LOL). When we were there this last time we got to see them lower the American Flag at sunset and it was a really cool ceremony (it's up by the entrance/exit to the park). In all my years going to MK I had never seen that before.

HS: Toy Story 3 (fastpass it early or you may have to wait a long time) and Tower of Terror. If you get a chance and want to draw there is a cool experience back near the animation tour. You actually get to draw a character with a Disney animator. I was lucky enough to win the drawing he did with us (I had to name all 7 dwarfs). The drawing we did that day was Grumpy.

EP: For some reason my daughter loves the ride in the Epcot Ball, as she calls it; it's just a slow moving ride about communication. Personally I think it's pretty boring but I've been on a million times!!! We also like Soarin', Journey into Imagination, and Test Track. The countries are cool but for little kids they may find it boring. Kids can go around to the Kidspots and get a stamp from each country on their mask that they color.

AK: The safari is my fave and my daughter's new favorite is Everest (she rode 5 times in a row b/c the line was so short).

Not sure if you are staying at a Disney hotel, but if you are, take advantage of extra magic hours. That's only for Disney Resort guests and we have been at Magic Kingdom until 2am...it just depends on the time of year that you go.

Hope you all have a blast!!

[BrattyMeg]

Originally Posted by ariesfl326

Not sure if you are staying at a Disney hotel, but if you are, take advantage of extra magic hours. That's only for Disney Resort guests and we have been at Magic Kingdom until 2am...it just depends on the time of year that you go.

Hope you all have a blast!!

I know they are staying at Give Kids the World. Our radio show does a big Disney trip each year for ill children and stay there but I'm pretty sure they don't get EMH. Especially in the morning since they have to get thru the gates earlier and there's morning activities @ GKTW that I'm sure they won't want to miss. That said evening EMH might be easier..I read that the GKTW buttons will not give them access but I know WDW goes out of their way for Make a Wish kids so I doubt they'd be denied.

In all honesty we didn't use the EMH even though we were at a resort...way less crowds in the parks without the EMH that day (meaning am EMH at AK so we did MK that day..etc)

[kendallt]

We normally don't do EMH either since I find that we're able to do just as much, if not more, in non-EMH parks since the EMH parks draw large crowds.

Here are my family's faves, in no particular order, for each park:

MK: Peter Pan, Pirates, Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain

AK: Expedition Everest, Primeval Whirl, Kali River Rapids, Kilimanjaro Safari, Lion King Musical

DHS: Tower of Terror (Well, this is my fave; DH and DD actually don't like it), Rock'n Rollercoaster, Toy Story Midway Mania

Epcot: Test Track, Soarin', Maelstrom, Miyuki (candy lady in Japan pavillion)

[Txcorey]

As far as seeing both Lion King or Nemo, I would put Lion King slightly ahead but I would do both. The shows at Disney are awesome. The Lion King is probably more high energy-there are acrobats on trampolines, dancers, singers, people on stilts, a big float type things at 4 corners of the room with the various animals. Constant motion, entertainment, and energy.

If they like the Nemo movie, I think they'll like the Nemo show. It's done with large puppets and is also really neat. It's a mini version of the movie. We saw both of these when my son was 2 and he had no problem sitting though both. I prefer Lion King, but it just depends on you and your family.

[kendallt]

Originally Posted by Txcorey

I prefer Lion King, but it just depends on you and your family.

Same here...though you can't go wrong with either one! There's a good bit of audience participation, especially with kids, in the Lion King show. They don't really do that with the Nemo show. IMO, if you want a more relaxing, calmer show experience, see Nemo. If you want a more upbeat, fun, high energy experience, go with Lion King.

[nesser1981]

Oh gosh, we dont need emh, lol. But we don't get them w/ out GKTW. We are planning to be back home every evening by like 6, except for 2 days. Whether that happens or not will depend on the kids.