Help plan Disney world ages 5 and 8

[Anonymous]

We are going to Disney world for three days before Xmas. Staying on site. Doing two days at magic kingdom and one at Hollywood studios. What are the must do rides and any strategy tips? We have dinner reservations for all three nights and are staying on property at the basic hotel, I think it’s like movie magic? Any advice?

[Anonymous]

Former Disney employee here: you're going at a very busy time so you're going to have to be flexible and very patient. What rides you want to go on is very kid dependent but the lines for certain things will be quite long.

If you have a ride that's a big priority, go to the park as early as you can and ride it first thing. You're going to have to decide if Lightning Lane is worth the cost to you.

I don't know what your kids heights are but you can see what they qualify for here: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/faq/parks/height-requirements/

My personal experience is young kids like the "play" rides like Buzz Lightyear and Toy Story Mania best and the silly joke stuff like Jungle Cruise and Monsters Inc Laugh Floor. But that's kid dependent. Magic Kingdom particularly has quite a few "dark rides" (you ride past set pieces) like Peter Pan and Winnie the Pooh that get crazy lines but if your kids aren't into the movies it may not be worth the wait.

Hollywood Studios has more show attractions (Frozen Singalong, Indiana Jones) in additional to rides.

The one thing to remember with young kids, is that the money has been spent and pushing your kids if they're tired or overwhelmed isn't going to make the experience worth it. I can't tell you the number of times I've seen parents get upset at their kids because they spent all this money and their kid is over the crowds, lines, or Florida weather and doesn't want to do anything. Keep everyone hydrated, try to roll with it and give your kids breaks if they need it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Former Disney employee here: you're going at a very busy time so you're going to have to be flexible and very patient. What rides you want to go on is very kid dependent but the lines for certain things will be quite long.

If you have a ride that's a big priority, go to the park as early as you can and ride it first thing. You're going to have to decide if Lightning Lane is worth the cost to you.

I don't know what your kids heights are but you can see what they qualify for here: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/faq/parks/height-requirements/

My personal experience is young kids like the "play" rides like Buzz Lightyear and Toy Story Mania best and the silly joke stuff like Jungle Cruise and Monsters Inc Laugh Floor. But that's kid dependent. Magic Kingdom particularly has quite a few "dark rides" (you ride past set pieces) like Peter Pan and Winnie the Pooh that get crazy lines but if your kids aren't into the movies it may not be worth the wait.

Hollywood Studios has more show attractions (Frozen Singalong, Indiana Jones) in additional to rides.

The one thing to remember with young kids, is that the money has been spent and pushing your kids if they're tired or overwhelmed isn't going to make the experience worth it. I can't tell you the number of times I've seen parents get upset at their kids because they spent all this money and their kid is over the crowds, lines, or Florida weather and doesn't want to do anything. Keep everyone hydrated, try to roll with it and give your kids breaks if they need it.

Thanks for the insider reality check.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Former Disney employee here: you're going at a very busy time so you're going to have to be flexible and very patient. What rides you want to go on is very kid dependent but the lines for certain things will be quite long.

If you have a ride that's a big priority, go to the park as early as you can and ride it first thing. You're going to have to decide if Lightning Lane is worth the cost to you.

I don't know what your kids heights are but you can see what they qualify for here: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/faq/parks/height-requirements/

My personal experience is young kids like the "play" rides like Buzz Lightyear and Toy Story Mania best and the silly joke stuff like Jungle Cruise and Monsters Inc Laugh Floor. But that's kid dependent. Magic Kingdom particularly has quite a few "dark rides" (you ride past set pieces) like Peter Pan and Winnie the Pooh that get crazy lines but if your kids aren't into the movies it may not be worth the wait.

Hollywood Studios has more show attractions (Frozen Singalong, Indiana Jones) in additional to rides.

The one thing to remember with young kids, is that the money has been spent and pushing your kids if they're tired or overwhelmed isn't going to make the experience worth it. I can't tell you the number of times I've seen parents get upset at their kids because they spent all this money and their kid is over the crowds, lines, or Florida weather and doesn't want to do anything. Keep everyone hydrated, try to roll with it and give your kids breaks if they need it.

Thanks for the insider reality check.

A different poster here.
Can you push this to MLK holiday weekend?
You are taking these little ones during a very, VERY busy time at the park.

[Anonymous]

If you are going next week, consider purchasing the Multipass Lightning Lane option and possibly the Single Lightning Lanes (if your family is interested). If you choose not to, you will be spending a lot of time in lines, and your time is short.

[Anonymous]

Yikes, you don't have a plan yet? Don't expect to ride more than a few rides. Google two day magic kingdom plan and try to do that. My plan of attack is to get there at rope drop (means getting up when it's pitch dark out) and going straight to peter pan then doing pirates of the Caribbean. My kids also like the people mover and buzz lightyear ride.

[Anonymous]

Going around Christmas is madness if you haven’t been before and don’t know what you’re doing.

Presumably you’re not strapped for cash if you booked this trip, so at this point you might as well get Genie+ and Lightning Lane so you’re not stuck in 90 minute lines. And spend time on Disboards or wherever learning all the tips on getting the most value from these add-ons.

Remember that it’s ok to chill out and take it easy if your kids get tired. Don’t ruin your trip by forcing them from line to line if they get sick of it.

[Anonymous]

Good advice already, and I"ll add that before you go, take time to learn how to use the app and get a mental picture of the parks. It helps to have some semblance of knowing where you are going and how to use the app so you're not spending all your time figuring it out.

[Anonymous]

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/all-star-movies-resort/

Sounds like you are staying at All Star Movies?

You can download the MyDisneyExperience app on your phone and there is a place to see the ride wait times. It will also indicate if any rides are shut down. This can be helpful while you are at the parks.

Definitely get to each park before they open.

Personally I like to have my main meal at lunch when I am at Disney. It gives us a calming break during the busiest time of day, plus we don't want to miss the fireworks.
Which restaurants do you have reservations for?

[Anonymous]

We took our kids around those ages for their fist time and it was great. My tips-
Getting up early for rope drop is worth it. You can pack protein bars to eat and get going quickly. A mid-afternoon nap is not defeat, it is delightful!
I got the picture package and it was worth it- as the cliche mom that is never in the pictures it was nice having all of us on camera.
Heading back to the closest park after dinner is fun and the fireworks are beautiful, even if you can't see everything.And that is the last tip- you can't do everything, so don't. It's ok! Either everyone will be satisfied with one Disney visit or they will want to go back and be excited to try new things- both are totally valid.

[Anonymous]

Thanks all for the advice. We are doing lightening lane and have reservations at a character dinner, the Italian restaurant, and the belle restaurant. My kids have never done a theme park and we aren’t Disney nuts, so we will do the rides we can. Are any rides “can’t miss” for this age? I noted the cars and buzz lightyear ride and Peter Pan. I also read about Tiana’s ride.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks all for the advice. We are doing lightening lane and have reservations at a character dinner, the Italian restaurant, and the belle restaurant. My kids have never done a theme park and we aren’t Disney nuts, so we will do the rides we can. Are any rides “can’t miss” for this age? I noted the cars and buzz lightyear ride and Peter Pan. I also read about Tiana’s ride.

To clarify: the Italian restaurant in Hollywood studios "Mama Melrose", not one of the Italian restaurants in Epcot? Because you would need "park hopper" tickets to go to more than one park in a day, and you've indicated you are only going to Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios.

All of the rides in Toy Story land (part of Hollywood studios) will likely appeal to your kids. "Toy Story Mania" is similar in concept to the Buzz Lightyear ride, but it was built more recently and I think the mechanics work better. Your kids will love it! "Slinky Dog dash" is a rollercoaster (smaller, not super scary or thrilling, just fun!) and then there is some Alien spinning ride that I enjoy, but isn't as popular as the other two.

In Magic Kingdom, one ride that I think is really fun and doesn't get a ton of attention compared to some of the bigger rides, is Goofy's barn stormer. It's a small rollercoaster and doesn't really look that exciting--but when I was there a few months ago I had a blast on it! If your kids haven't been on many thrill rides and you want to try a tame one to start out, this might be a good choice.

The Tiana ride is basically an older Disney ride called "Splash Mountain" that they re-named and did a face lift to make it Tiana themed. I rode it a few months ago for the first time (after decades of riding Splash Mountain) and didn't think it was as good as Splash Mountain. Along one of the places the boat passes through, some door to one of the mechanical rooms was open (I don't know know if it was a door that someone forgot to shut, or if there just was no door?) It was dark outside the mechanical room was brightly lit so it really stood out and definitely wasn't "magical" like you expect at Disney. It was a very long line too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks all for the advice. We are doing lightening lane and have reservations at a character dinner, the Italian restaurant, and the belle restaurant. My kids have never done a theme park and we aren’t Disney nuts, so we will do the rides we can. Are any rides “can’t miss” for this age? I noted the cars and buzz lightyear ride and Peter Pan. I also read about Tiana’s ride.

To clarify: the Italian restaurant in Hollywood studios "Mama Melrose", not one of the Italian restaurants in Epcot? Because you would need "park hopper" tickets to go to more than one park in a day, and you've indicated you are only going to Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios.

All of the rides in Toy Story land (part of Hollywood studios) will likely appeal to your kids. "Toy Story Mania" is similar in concept to the Buzz Lightyear ride, but it was built more recently and I think the mechanics work better. Your kids will love it! "Slinky Dog dash" is a rollercoaster (smaller, not super scary or thrilling, just fun!) and then there is some Alien spinning ride that I enjoy, but isn't as popular as the other two.

In Magic Kingdom, one ride that I think is really fun and doesn't get a ton of attention compared to some of the bigger rides, is Goofy's barn stormer. It's a small rollercoaster and doesn't really look that exciting--but when I was there a few months ago I had a blast on it! If your kids haven't been on many thrill rides and you want to try a tame one to start out, this might be a good choice.

The Tiana ride is basically an older Disney ride called "Splash Mountain" that they re-named and did a face lift to make it Tiana themed. I rode it a few months ago for the first time (after decades of riding Splash Mountain) and didn't think it was as good as Splash Mountain. Along one of the places the boat passes through, some door to one of the mechanical rooms was open (I don't know know if it was a door that someone forgot to shut, or if there just was no door?) It was dark outside the mechanical room was brightly lit so it really stood out and definitely wasn't "magical" like you expect at Disney. It was a very long line too.

Thank you for the recs -- yes we are going to Mama Melrose. Any advice on what to use the 3 lightening lane passes on?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks all for the advice. We are doing lightening lane and have reservations at a character dinner, the Italian restaurant, and the belle restaurant. My kids have never done a theme park and we aren’t Disney nuts, so we will do the rides we can. Are any rides “can’t miss” for this age? I noted the cars and buzz lightyear ride and Peter Pan. I also read about Tiana’s ride.

To clarify: the Italian restaurant in Hollywood studios "Mama Melrose", not one of the Italian restaurants in Epcot? Because you would need "park hopper" tickets to go to more than one park in a day, and you've indicated you are only going to Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios.

All of the rides in Toy Story land (part of Hollywood studios) will likely appeal to your kids. "Toy Story Mania" is similar in concept to the Buzz Lightyear ride, but it was built more recently and I think the mechanics work better. Your kids will love it! "Slinky Dog dash" is a rollercoaster (smaller, not super scary or thrilling, just fun!) and then there is some Alien spinning ride that I enjoy, but isn't as popular as the other two.

In Magic Kingdom, one ride that I think is really fun and doesn't get a ton of attention compared to some of the bigger rides, is Goofy's barn stormer. It's a small rollercoaster and doesn't really look that exciting--but when I was there a few months ago I had a blast on it! If your kids haven't been on many thrill rides and you want to try a tame one to start out, this might be a good choice.

The Tiana ride is basically an older Disney ride called "Splash Mountain" that they re-named and did a face lift to make it Tiana themed. I rode it a few months ago for the first time (after decades of riding Splash Mountain) and didn't think it was as good as Splash Mountain. Along one of the places the boat passes through, some door to one of the mechanical rooms was open (I don't know know if it was a door that someone forgot to shut, or if there just was no door?) It was dark outside the mechanical room was brightly lit so it really stood out and definitely wasn't "magical" like you expect at Disney. It was a very long line too.

Thank you for the recs -- yes we are going to Mama Melrose. Any advice on what to use the 3 lightening lane passes on?

Unfortunately, I'm not really sure as I've never used the lightning lane. In recent years when I've been to Disney I've gone to the after hours events where you can't use the lightning lane.
Brief opinions on some of the most popular rides at Magic Kingdom:

Seven Dwarves Mine Train: Adorable, more "thrilling" than Goofy's barnstormer but not super scary or wild. Unless your kids are totally against roller coasters, I'd make this ride a priority

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad: This is probably my favorite ride at Magic Kingdom. In my experience it doesn't usually get as long a line as other coaster rides in Magic Kingdom, but it will be closing for refurbishment in January so it might get longer lines now because people will want to ride it one last time before the closure. This is definitely more wild/thrilling than some of the other coasters I've written about here, so it might depend on what your kids like.

Space Mountain: Probably the "scariest" most thrilling at Magic Kingdom (except Tron?) It's in an enclosed building and completely dark (like you're speeding through outerspace.) It's loud. It's kind of rough and jolts you around a bit. Riders ride one in front of the other--so you'd either be in front of your kid or behind your kid, and if they got nervous or scared you wouldn't easily be able to hold their hand or anything. So again, this one would depend on what your kids like

Tron: minimum height of 48 inches and children under age 7 have to ride with someone age 14 or older. I've only ridden this once, and feel like I'd have to ride it again to give a true opinion. I wasn't blown away.

It's a small world: Classic. You have to ride it. If possible, try not to ride in the front row of the boat. The bench is closer to the floor in that row and it got very uncomfortable by the end of the ride with our knees practically to our chins. If I had known I would have asked to be seated in a different row (when we went there was no line.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks all for the advice. We are doing lightening lane and have reservations at a character dinner, the Italian restaurant, and the belle restaurant. My kids have never done a theme park and we aren’t Disney nuts, so we will do the rides we can. Are any rides “can’t miss” for this age? I noted the cars and buzz lightyear ride and Peter Pan. I also read about Tiana’s ride.

To clarify: the Italian restaurant in Hollywood studios "Mama Melrose", not one of the Italian restaurants in Epcot? Because you would need "park hopper" tickets to go to more than one park in a day, and you've indicated you are only going to Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios.

All of the rides in Toy Story land (part of Hollywood studios) will likely appeal to your kids. "Toy Story Mania" is similar in concept to the Buzz Lightyear ride, but it was built more recently and I think the mechanics work better. Your kids will love it! "Slinky Dog dash" is a rollercoaster (smaller, not super scary or thrilling, just fun!) and then there is some Alien spinning ride that I enjoy, but isn't as popular as the other two.

In Magic Kingdom, one ride that I think is really fun and doesn't get a ton of attention compared to some of the bigger rides, is Goofy's barn stormer. It's a small rollercoaster and doesn't really look that exciting--but when I was there a few months ago I had a blast on it! If your kids haven't been on many thrill rides and you want to try a tame one to start out, this might be a good choice.

The Tiana ride is basically an older Disney ride called "Splash Mountain" that they re-named and did a face lift to make it Tiana themed. I rode it a few months ago for the first time (after decades of riding Splash Mountain) and didn't think it was as good as Splash Mountain. Along one of the places the boat passes through, some door to one of the mechanical rooms was open (I don't know know if it was a door that someone forgot to shut, or if there just was no door?) It was dark outside the mechanical room was brightly lit so it really stood out and definitely wasn't "magical" like you expect at Disney. It was a very long line too.

Thank you for the recs -- yes we are going to Mama Melrose. Any advice on what to use the 3 lightening lane passes on?

Just watched a YouTube video that should help you plan your lightning lanes. You don't have to maximize the way they suggest, but it should help:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVy2_na5658