What are the “Don’t miss” activities at Disney World?

There are so many things to do and see at Disney World.  It is really difficult to come up with a list, because there are so many things to “not miss.”  Since everyone has their own separate list of “don’t miss,” I decided to ask my family what activities they like best.  Below are our individual list from Tory , Michell, Tanner (8 years old), Morgan (6 years old), and Mason (2 years old).btmr

Top 3 Magic Kingdom Attractions:

Tory

  1. 7 Dwarfs Mine Train
  2. Wishes
  3. Space Mountain

Michell

  1. 7 Dwarfs Mine Train
  2. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
  3. Story time with Belle

Tanner

  1. Main Street Electrical Parade
  2. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
  3. Goofy’s Barnstormermain street electrical parade

Morgan

  1. Splash Mountain
  2. Buzz Lightyear Space ranger Spin
  3. Jungle Cruise

Mason

  1. Tomorrowland Speedway
  2. Goofy’s Barnstormer
  3. Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin

Top 3 Hollywood Studios Attractions:RockNRollerCoaster1

Tory

  1. Toy Story Mania
  2. Rock ‘n ‘ Rollercoaster
  3. Fantasmic

Michell

  1. Toy Story Mania
  2. Rock ‘n ‘ Rollercoaster
  3. Voyage of the Little Mermaid

Tanner

  1. Rock ‘n ‘ Rollercoaster
  2. Star Tours
  3. Lights Motor Action

Morgan

  1. Tower Of Terror
  2. Jedi Training
  3. Fantasmic

Mason

  1. Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage
  2. Toy Story Mania
  3. Woody and Buzz Character Meet

Top 3 Epcot Attractions:

Tory

  1. Soarin
  2. Test Track
  3. Mission Spacedisney_test_track

Michell

  1. Soarin
  2. Test Track
  3. Coke Spot

Tanner

  1. Soarin
  2. Test Track
  3. Mission Space

Morgan

  1. Soarin
  2. Test Track
  3. Mission Space

Mason

  1. Finding Nemo
  2. Character Spot
  3. _________

 

Top 3 Animal Kingdom Attractions:animal kingdom

Tory

  1. Kilimanjaro Safari
  2. Expedition Everest
  3. Festival of the Lion King

Michell

  1. Kilimanjaro Safari
  2. Festival of the Lion King
  3. Expedition Everestprimeavil whirl

Tanner

  1. Dinosaur
  2. Primeval Whirl
  3. Finding Nemo Musical

Morgan

  1. Expedition Everest
  2. Kali River Rapid
  3. Festival of the Lion King

Mason

  1. Rafiki’s Planet Watch
  2. Finding Nemo Musical
  3. Triceratop Spin

 

Favorite Character BreakfastOhana-Restaurant

Tory   – Ohana

Michell   – Tuskar

Tanner   – Chef Mickey

Morgan   – Ohana

Mason   – All Character Breakfasts

Favorite Showfestival-of-the-lion-king-5

Tory   – Festival of the Lion King

Michell   – Festival of the Lion King

Tanner   – Main Street Electrical Parade

Morgan   – Fantasmic

Mason   – Story time with Belle

Favorite Character MeetDSC_0107

Tory   – Characterpalooza

Michell   – Baymax

Tanner   – Dark Vader

Morgan   – Anna & Elsa

Mason   – Buzz Lightyear

As you can see by the list created by my family, there are many things to do at Disney and each person has their own favorite. You may have also noticed evidence in our Epcot list that helps explain why that park is not our favorite.  One also cannot miss for our family is ice cream at Ghirardelli in Disney Springs.   We have also been looking forward to the “Kitchen Sink” at Beaches and Cream, but we have never been able to get a reservation there.

Please feel free to add your comments below to let us all know which are your “cannot miss” activities, shows, and others when you are at Disney World.

Fastpass+ at Epcot

When using FastPass+ in the parks, it is always recommended to not book any fastpasses in the first 2 hours of the day.  The lines in the park are a lot lighter at this time and the Fastpass+ is usually not needed.  It is best to use FastPass+ later in the day when the crowds arrive and lines began to grow long.  FastPass+ in Epcot has a tiered system.  You are only allowed to pick one attraction from the first tier, and two from the 2nd tier.  The following is a list of the rides that you should get FastPass+ for in Epcot in order of longest wait times:

disney_test_track

Tier One:

Soarin

Test Track

Mission Space

Tier Two:

Spaceship Earth

Meet Disney Pals at Character Spot

The Seas with Nemo and Friends

The only two rides at Epcot that really need a fastpass are Soarin and Test Track, but unfortunately, you only get to pick one of them.  My advice is to choose one of them and ride the other one immediately at park opening.  Mission Space is probably the third best ride in the park in most people’s opinion, but it is a very distant third.  (As of the writing of this post, Soarin is currently closed for a long refurbishment.  When it returns, the video will change from Soarin over California to Soarin over the World.  There will also be a third theatre added to the attraction.)

Epcot Ball

The second tier at this park is a big drop off from the first.  Spaceship Earth is definitely worth a ride if you have never rode it before, but my family only rides it once every 4 or 5 trips.  It’s not a bad ride, but for me it is not worth waiting more than 5 minutes.  Since it is located in the Epcot ball and very front and center, the line there tends to be very long.  I can only imagine that first time visitors see this as the first ride when they enter the park and think it is a must do since it is the icon of the park.  I would recommend riding it if there is no wait or you have a fastpass, but do not feel bad if you decide to skip it.  I would normally not suggest a Character Meet for a fastpass, but there is really nothing else here to use your fastpass on in this park.  You have an extra fastpass selection; you may as well use it somewhere.  The Seas with Nemo rarely has any weight at all, but again, if you have nothing else to use your fast pass selection on, you may as well use it here.