One Week In DisneyWorld: What Can You NOT Miss?

[Smaps]

MiceChatter BK15 (and real-life best friend of mine) as well as our other Disney best friends from Middle School 'till now are going to Disney World this August for a week.

Only one of us has been to Disney World more than once (the last time I was there I was 4). As Disneyland connoisseurs**, we want to ask:

If you had 7 days in Disney World, what attractions, shows, and snackfoods/particular meals could you NOT miss under ANY circumstance?

** We did read hydroguy's great WDW for DLR Vets post -- so thank you!
** NOTE: We're all cheap appreciative college students , so when it comes to food, we don't really need to eat with characters and go to a bunch of fancy family restaurants -- we tend to have one good $20 dinner a day with a couple snacks throughout the afternoon.

[InspiredByWalt]

Oooh. Great question for this forum. We're going in April (one month from today!). So I'm interested to see the feedback. I'm also a big DL connoisseur, so we're looking forward to checking it all out!

Here's my list of what I HAVE to see!

Magic Kingdom
well - everything!
WDW Railroad
Mickey's Philharmagic
Small World
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh - to compare to our lame version
Tea Cups
Hall of Presidents
Haunted Mansion
Splash Mountain (how can you resist?)
Big Thunder - ditto
Country Bears - because I miss ours from DL
Pirates
Jungle Cruise
Magic Carpets - curious more than anything
Space Mtn
Buzz Lightyear - cuz I hear it's better than ours at DL
Stitch's Great Escape - gotta do it once just to say I did
Eat at the Crystal Palace


EPCOT
Spaceship Earth
Mission Space
Test Track
Soarin'
Turtle Talk w/Crush - Duuuuude!
Mexico - cuz Kevin Yee's pictures of the update looked soooo good
Norway - gotta ride Maelstrom
Eat in ?? My Dad says the French and Italian restaurants are the best - not sure about that. Maybe the Canadian steak house??

Disney's Hollywood Studios
Great Movie Ride
Indy Stunt Show
Star Tours - for the kids - they love it
Lights, Motors, Action! Stunt show
Backlot Tour
Walt Disney: One Man's Dream (see screen name and avatar)
Voyage of the Little Mermaid
Rock n' Roller Coaster (Aerosmith!)
Tower of Terror - to compare to DL
Fantasmic!
Midway Mania
Eat at Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater or 50's Prime Time Cafe

Disney's Animal Kingdom
Expedition Everest - of course!
Kilimanjaro Safaris
Festival of the Lion King
Kali River Rapids
Dinosaur
Eat at Flame Tree BBQ or Tusker House - heard both were good

We'll be shopping at Downtown Disney and visiting Blizzard Beach as well. We'll be there for 8 entire days with a day of travel on either side.

Should be fun!

[BK15]

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh - to compare to our lame version

Completely agree with you on that. The DL version is very dumb. I am hoping the WDW version is better.

I am looking forward to Country Bears because (I never thought I would say this) I miss them too! lol

[Stephmtl]

Oooh. Great question for this forum. We're going in April (one month from today!). So I'm interested to see the feedback. I'm also a big DL connoisseur, so we're looking forward to checking it all out!

hey! My bride and I are going at the same time! 4/2-4/9! CSR.

Nifty...

[Smaps]

Here's my list of what I HAVE to see!**
** (redacted)

Great list -- and we share a lot of the same "gotta do'ems"! I'm going to have to steal this list for when we plan our own day-to-day going-ons

[draybook]

Stitch stinks. But it is nice to say you've done it once. We're going back in December and believe me, we'll be skipping that one.

Don't miss Haunted Mansion or Peter Pan.

[Parisi]

Magic Kingdom:
Pretty much everything... However DO NOT go on Stitch's Great Escape. I can not stress that enough.

Epcot
Test Track
Mission Space (ride the orange side. Its more intense. TRUST ME!!)
Spaceship earth (if you want a nice nap)
World Showcase
Finding nemo
Soarin
Living with the Land
Journey to Imagination

Animal Kingdom
I pretty much hit every ride in this park.

Disney Hollywood Studios
Tower of Terror
Aerosmith Rock n rollercoaster
Toy Story Midway mania
Muppets in 3-D


I saw that you have a limited budget for food, but there is one place you need to eat when at Disney. Its called Ohana' and its located at the Polynesian resort! If you do not eat there, then your entire vacation is an EPIC FAIL!!!!!!

[InspiredByWalt]

hey! My bride and I are going at the same time! 4/2-4/9! CSR.

Nifty...

We'll see you in line!

April 3 - Travel Day
April 4 - EPCOT
April 5 - hotel/pools/DTD - we have 4 kids, so the pools are a must!
April 6 - MK
April 7 - DAK/DTD
April 8 - EPCOT
April 9 - Blizzard Beach - (see April 5)
April 10 - DHS
April 11 - MK
April 12 - Easter/Travel Day

[InspiredByWalt]

Great list -- and we share a lot of the same "gotta do'ems"! I'm going to have to steal this list for when we plan our own day-to-day going-ons

Glad it was helpful! I'm doing my best Disney 'holy cow - we're going to WDW' geek out right now. Can't wait!!!

We've planned for two days in MK, 2 days in EPCOT, 1 day in DHS and DAK as well as a water park day (Blizzard Beach for us - we have a teenager and pre-teens)

[tasman]

Hi Smaps - here are my 2 cents

Magic Kingdom - Mickey's Philharmagic is the one major attraction you won't find at DL - I think it's Disney's best 3D film. Splash Mountain and the refurbed Haunted Mansion have improvements relative to the DL versions. Otherwise, the rides are mostly equivalent or superior at DL. Don't miss the Spectromagic parade or the boat ride from the Ticket and Transportation Center. You will also find some rides / shows no longer at DL to indulge your nostalgia - like the Peoplemover (aka TTA), Carousel of Progress and Country Bears. The fireworks show is pretty good.

Epcot - Ridewise, check out Spaceship Earth, Test Track, and, if you can tolerate it, Mission Space. The Nemo pavilion is nicely done too; I love Soarin but it is the same as at DCA. The rides and films in World Showcase are only so-so - the best things here are the ambience and small cultural performances. Otherwise it's essentially a very nicely themed shopping mall. The fireworks show is pretty good.

DHS - most people think DHS's Tower of Terror is better than that at DCA. The Indy Stunt show is great. Opinion tends to be divided on the Great Movie Ride - personally I think it's great and sets the theme for the park. Rock N Roller coaster is very popular with guests though personally intense, lightly themed coasters are not my cup of tea. Toy Story Mania is a great ride but not substantially different from the DCA version. Fantasmic is good but not quite as good as out west. The other rides / shows are hit or miss or equivalent ot DL / DCA.

Animal Kingdom - my favorite park at WDW...everything here is good or great...except the cheesy Dinorama...although Kali River Rapids and Dinosaur may not be worth it if the wait is too long.

Downtown Disney - La Nouba is a great show if you want to spend an evening doing something other than the parks. Earl of Sandwhich is the best value food in WDW.

Don't spend the whole week at WDW! Universal's parks have some great rides you won't find out west, including Spiderman, Men in Black, and a better version of the Mummy.

Have a great trip!

[Frank_The_Tank]

I have one thing to say. Promise me you dont waste your time on Stitch, that will be all.

[OCBear]

Also agree about Stitch, skip it! DL Space is so much better than WDW.

They also ruined Tiki Room!

But the ones I would say to not miss from a DL frequent visitor are:

MK
Mickey's Philharmagic(Best 3D movie ever!)
Pooh
Peter Pan
Haunted Mansion
Country Bears(Since they took ours away!)
Carousel of Progess(Since we dont have it anymore)
TTA(Since we don't have Peoplemover anymore, loved riding this)

AK
Expedition Everest(Loved this ride!!!!!)
Festival of the Lion King
Finding Nemo Musical
Kilimanjaro Safari

DHS
Toy Story Midway Mania(Same as DCA but I love this ride)
Tower of Terror
Rock N Rollercoaster

Epcot
Test Track
Seas with Nemo
World Showcase(My favorite thing in WDW)

[BK15]

Wow! Everyone seems to pretty much agree on what we must do. I am really excited now. I didn't know there was a peoplemover in WDW so I am really looking forward to that.

Everyone also seems to agree the stitch attraction is a waste of time. I gotta say, you guys are making me want to ride it just so I can see how awful it really is!

Phillar Magic sounds awesome and I can't wait to see it. Also excited to try mission space (of course I will force the group to go on the orange side ).

You guys have been extremely helpful, I really appreciate the advice.

[DLcastmbr]

heh ill also be going around the same time as you guys (well ill be leaving on April 4th while u guys are getting there) where spending 6 days at WDW one day at universal orlando. Cant wait and love this list!

[mikelieman]

We get in on the 11th.