Apr 24 2014

Disney World Tips & Tricks – Best Disney World Rides For Babies And Toddlers

Traveling to Disney World with a baby or toddler can be such a rewarding experience. Some of my best Disney World memories are watching my boys enjoy the amazing Disney attractions for the first time. With well over 100 rides and attractions spread among four theme parks, it might be hard to know what is appropriate for young children or what might be too much. Here are my recommendations for best Disney World rides and attractions for babies and toddlers divided into three categories: Fun For All – these rides are universally liked by small children, Great For Most – these rides will work for most kids in the age group and Proceed with Caution – a lot of these rides will be fine depending on the temperament of your child.

Magic Kingdom

Fun For All

Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
Country Bear Jamboree
Enchanted Tales with Belle
it’s a Small World
Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor
Prince Charming Regal Carrousel
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Walt Disney World Railroad

Great For Most

Dumbo the Flying Elephant (goes up and down under your control)
Jungle Cruise (fake use of a gun by boat driver and one dark tunnel)
Mad Tea Party (spins a lot!)
Mickey’s Philharmagic (loud at times and water sprinkles on you a little once)
Peter Pan’s Flight (dark in spots and there is a scene with the crocodile about to eat Hook)
The Magic Carpets of Aladdin (goes up and down and tilts under your control, may get a little wet from a spitting camel)
Tomorrowland Transit Authority Peoplemover (dark in spots – often a favorite ride for kids to nap)
Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid (large Ursula audio-animatronic)
Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress (this is a 21 minute show in a rotating theatre – nothing scary and has a cute audio-animatronic dog)
Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room (show includes a simulated thunderstorm)

Proceed With Caution

Pirates of the Caribbean (dark most of the ride, one small drop, lots of pirates and skeletons)
Haunted Mansion (dark most of the ride, images of ghosts, caskets and a graveyard)

For both of these Proceed With Caution attractions, my boys were fine as babies. Later, they went through a short phase of being scared of the dark and images in these rides.

Epcot

Fun For All

Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros
Turtle Talk With Crush

Great For Most

Journey Into Imagination with Figment (big blast of air in one place and a loud noise in another spot)
Living with The Land (simulated thunderstorm in one section)
Spaceship Earth (dark in spots)
The Seas with Nemo & Friends (dark in spots and audio-animatronic sharks)

Proceed With Caution

Ellen’s Energy Adventure (dark in spots, large audio-animatronic dinosaurs, loud noise associated with “The Big Bang”, 35 minutes long)

Hollywood Studios

Fun For All

Disney Junior – Live on Stage!
Toy Story Mania

Great For Most

Muppet Vision 3D (a little water sprinkles on you once)
Voyage of the Little Mermaid (large Ursula character)

Proceed With Caution

Beauty and the Beast – Live on Stage (some kids may be scared by the Beast character or the story itself)

Animal Kingdom

Fun For All

Festival of the Lion King
Finding Nemo – The Musical (does begin with the death of Nemo’s mother just like the movie)
Kilimanjaro Safaris

Great For Most

TriceraTop Spin (moves up and down under your control)

Proceed With Caution

It’s Tough to be a Bug! (dark, lots of bugs, loud noises, simulates bug touching you, a little water sprinkles on you – really just for true bug lovers, I’ve seen many kids completely terrified and screaming during this attraction)

For a complete list of all of the Disney World attractions and their descriptions, please check out these links for the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom.

What about you? Do you have any favorite rides for babies and toddlers? Please leave a comment!

Apr 18 2014

Friday Favorites – Best Epcot Future World Attractions

For today’s Friday Favorites, I’m going to share with you my picks for best Epcot Future World attractions. Epcot is my favorite theme park in Walt Disney World so it was really hard to choose my top attractions. I decided to narrow it down to my favorite five and here they are in no particular order.

Spaceship Earth This ride is classic Epcot to me. Even though it has gone through several minor refurbishments throughout the years, it still reminds me of early Epcot. This is a 16 minute ride that travels through the 18 story iconic Epcot geosphere depicting the history of communication from cave men through today. There is a great use of audio-animatronics, wonderful narration and beautiful music that help create and tell the story. This ride is suitable for all ages and is not to be missed!
Soarin’ Another great ride that most everyone will enjoy! This ride simulates flying in a hang-glider over the gorgeous state of California. The attraction itself lasts a little over 5 minutes and has you high above the ground in a seat that moves gently creating the sensation of flight while you watch stunning scenery on an IMAX type screen. There is also wind, music and smells to add to the mood. This ride is great for anyone who isn’t afraid of heights and you must be at least 40″ tall to ride.
Test Track This is a fast-paced thrill ride that reaches speeds of 65 mph. The premise is that you are designing your own concept car and then putting it through the test track to see how it measures up. This attraction uses clever interactive technology to allow you to customize a virtual car and then once you are done testing it on the test track, enables you to continue the experience with even more games and experiences. This ride is great for any thrill-seekers in your group and you must be at least 40″ tall to ride.
Living with the Land Another classic attraction that is perfect for anyone in the family. This is a slow-moving 14 minute boat ride that displays the history and future of farming and agriculture. Now this may sound too boring or educational to be fun, but this attraction is filled with amazing audio-animatronics, waterfalls, thunderstorms and real plants to help bring the story to life. There are no height restrictions for this ride. If you love this ride as much as I do, consider dining at The Garden Grill. This restaurant rotates while offering views of Living with the Land.
Mission: SPACE (orange or green) This is the most intense thrill ride in Epcot. There are two versions of this ride Orange (that spins) and a milder Green version. The premise for this attraction is that you are manning a shuttle mission to Mars. The entire experience lasts about 15 minutes including a pre show training where you will assume one of four positions (navigator, pilot, engineer or commander) of your space shuttle. During the actual ride you will have an interactive role to play based on your position, however, if you panic and don’t do your part, no worries, it doesn’t effect the outcome of the attraction. This ride, created and designed with the help of NASA, uses flight simulators to mimic a space launch and is said to be very authentic. Be forewarned, this is not for people prone to motion sickness. Even the mild Green version can cause people to lose their lunch! You will also want to pass on this one if you are claustrophobic. Once closed, the capsule you ride in is small and you are strapped in very tightly with an over-the-shoulder type restraint. Mission: SPACE has a height requirement of at least 44″ tall to ride. However, keep this in mind, when my son first rode Mission: SPACE he was just 44″ and was very uncomfortable! Although, he met the height requirement, most of his height is in his legs, so the shoulder harness came down very close to his neck and he felt like he was almost being choked for the duration of the ride.

Well, there you have it…the best Epcot Future World attractions! I can’t wait to ride them all again this summer!

How about you? Do you have a favorite Epcot Future World attraction? Please leave a comment!

Apr 15 2014

Tuesday Trivia – Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin

In what year did the Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin attraction open in the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World and what attraction did it replace?

Please check the comments section for the answer!

Apr 4 2014

Friday Favorites – Best Magic Kingdom Attractions

For today’s Friday Favorites, I am going to share with you my picks for best Magic Kingdom attractions. The Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World is one of my favorite theme parks! It has such an amazing variety of attractions for every member of the family to enjoy. Throughout the years, I have experienced rides with my youngest son when he was just six months old all the way up to my grandparents when they were in their 70s! I love that Disney World has so many options that the entire family can share together. With over 40 different attractions in the Magic Kingdom, it was very hard to narrow my list down. I decided to pick one favorite from each section of the park. And here they are!

Pirates of the Caribbean (located in Adventureland) I absolutely love this ride! It has been one of my favorites since I was a child. This is a 9 minute dark indoor boat ride with audio-animatronic pirates plundering and being generally rowdy. The accompanying song “Yo Ho, Yo Ho (A Pirate’s Life Me)” is so catchy! There are lots of things to see along the way like skeletons, ghost ships, wenches being auctioned, looting, fires, treasure and of course, Captain Jack Sparrow. The attention to detail on this ride is amazing all the way down to the hair on the pirate’s leg as his foot dangles over the bridge above your head. Although, my boys have loved this ride since they were toddlers, I would be cautious with kids that are very sensitive or are afraid of the dark. There is also one very small hill, so small that even my 65-year-old dad who doesn’t like any sort of thrill rides, can ride it with no problems. There are no height restrictions on this ride.
Splash Mountain (located in Frontierland) Even though I hate getting wet and always wear a rain poncho on this ride, it is one of my all time favorites! This is another boat ride, but this one is more flume style, and travels both indoors and outdoors. It journeys over a half of mile in about 18 minutes during which you will see more than 100 audio-animatronic animals telling a story based on the Disney movie “Song of the South.” Again, there is great music in this attraction including the songs “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah” and “How Do You Do?” This attraction includes several smaller “teaser” type hills throughout the ride culminating in a 5-story plunge. The question on this ride is not if you will get, it is how wet will you get. If you want to stay dry, wear a poncho and be sure you tuck it under yourself and sit on it! You must be at least 40″ to ride and children under 7 must be accompanied by an adult.
The Haunted Mansion (located in Liberty Square) This is another wonderful Disney World attraction and one of my must-do’s on every trip. It begins in a room where a little of the back story is given. Then you will move from there to the actual queue to get in your “doom buggy” to experience the rest of the ride. Once in your “doom buggy” you will tour the entire Haunted Mansion and a graveyard. This ride also has a great song to it called “Grim Grinning Ghosts” and it makes the whole thing seem a little more light-hearted. There is nothing particularly gory about this ride and the special effects that are used to simulate the ghosts are really quite amazing! With that being said, as a child, I was terrified of this ride! My young boys are much braver than me and never had a problem with it. If you are going to bring a young child on it, here are a few things to keep in mind. In the room where you begin your ride, it will go completely dark and other guests find it very funny to scream their heads off at that point. This can be very startling to young kids so you might want to prep them for that possibility. Once you actually get inside your own personal doom buggy, they will be comfortable in their own enclosed car with you. There were many times as a child, I just rode through with parents with my eyes shut all the way and I was fine. There are no height restrictions on this ride.
It’s a Small World (located in Fantasyland) This is a true Disney classic so much so that it has been replicated in every Disney resort around the world! Another indoor boat ride, this one travels to all seven continents in a journey of about 10 minutes. Along the way, you will see almost 300 dolls each displaying the traditional dress from their nation while they sing along to the timeless song “it’s a small world.” This ride just warms the heart! As a child, this was my favorite ride of all time. It is almost like being in a time machine when I ride this attraction, remembering my parents bringing me on it and now I’m enjoying it with my own kids! This is a perfect starter ride for very young kids. It is bright, colorful and calm. There are no height restrictions on this ride.
Monster, Inc. Laugh Floor (located in Tomorrowland) Based on the hit movies, Monsters Inc. and Monsters University, this show is sure to get you laughing! The premise is that the monsters have now discovered that laughs produce more power than screams, so they are after your laughter. Through amazing technology, the animated characters on the screen are able to interact with audience members. This show is usually hilarious and can be made even more funny with great audience participation. If you just want to watch and don’t want to be chosen to play along, avoid the seats with what look like desk lights right in front of them. My whole family loves this show!