Walt Disney World With Kids (Fodor's, 2012) - Fodor's [60]
Monsters, Inc. was created in response to the way-popular Turtle Talk with Crush in the Living Seas at Epcot. Kids love shows in which characters on-screen interact with people sitting in the audience. It’s high-tech with heart.
The Scare Factor
We receive a lot of mail about Stitch’s Great Escape—most of it negative. While the height requirement to see Stitch is only 40 inches, the prevailing complaint is that the darkness and volume of the ride are simply too scary for many preschoolers. It seems Disney missed the boat here in much the same way they did years ago with Snow White’s Scary Adventures. They named an attraction after a familiar movie character beloved by young children and then created an experience so intense that it scares the daylights out of the age group it attracts. While Disney is constantly tinkering with the Stitch attraction (e.g., raising the light level during the most intense scenes), it remains, as one 7-year-old put it, “scary scary, not fun scary.”
A mom from Delaware echoed the sentiment. “The worst thing about shows like Stitch (and Tree of Life—It’s Tough to be a Bug! in the Animal Kingdom) is that they take beloved Disney characters and make children afraid of them. My son wanted to ride Stitch, but now he’s telling everyone at home that he would never go on it again.” Unless you have brave preschoolers and you love Stitch, you should have your young ones skip this attraction.
Adventureland
Thematically the most bizarre of all the lands—sort of a Bourbon Street meets Trinidad by way of Congo—Adventureland definitely conveys an exotic mood.
Adventureland, Frontierland, and Liberty Square
Touring Tips
If you have two days to spend touring the Magic Kingdom, begin your second day in Frontierland, at Splash Mountain. Move on to Big Thunder Mountain, then the Haunted Mansion in Liberty Square. All three attractions are relatively easy to board before 10 AM.
These lands stay crowded between noon and 4 PM, when the crowds line up to watch the afternoon parade finally disperse. If you miss Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, or the Haunted Mansion early in the morning, wait until early evening to visit them.
Should you find yourself stuck in these lands in the afternoon, you’ll find a bit of breathing space on Tom Sawyer Island or in The Enchanted Tiki Room or the Hall of Presidents. Surprisingly, Pirates of the Caribbean can be a smart choice even when the park is crowded. At least you wait inside, and this is one of the fastest-loading attractions in Disney World.
Time-Saving Tip
If you hustle to Frontierland only to find that Splash is posting a 30-minute wait, get a Fastpass and ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad first.
Adventureland Attractions
Jungle Cruise
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You’ll meet up with headhunters, hyenas, water-spewing elephants, and other varieties of frankly fake wildlife on this 10-minute boat ride. It’s dated-looking in comparison to the attractions in the Animal Kingdom but it’s still fun, thanks largely to the amusing patter of the tour guides, who somehow manage to tell jokes and puns so corny that you’re groaning and laughing in the same breath.
The cruise isn’t at all scary and is fine for any age. Fastpass is available seasonally but is rarely necessary.
Hidden Mickey
When you and the kids are keeping an eye out for Mickey Mouse, you may not realize that you’re walking right past him. No, we’re not talking about the life-size Mickeys, we’re talking about those silhouettes and abstract images that are cleverly tucked throughout Walt Disney World. These “Hidden Mickeys” began as an inside