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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Thanks all for the advice.  We are doing lightening lane and have reservations at a character dinner, [b]the Italian restaurant,[/b] 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.   [/quote]

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.[/quote]

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

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.)

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