Which rides are a must at MK

[KJGrilliot]

Hi everyone!!

We are taking our 7 and 5 year old girls to Magic Kingdom. We have never been to WDW and I was wondering which rides were the best. Our 7 year old is about 50" tall and our 5 year old is 43" tall w/shoes. We may have to buy a new pair of shoes for her to make her taller.

Which rides are a must?

Thank you
Julie

 

[disneyfan551]

I'm not sure about the height requirements, but here are my favorites...Buzz Lightyear, Space Mountain, Splash Mtn., and probably more that my poor, sickly little brain can't think of...

btw...WELCOME TO THE DIS!!! It's almost as good as being at Disney!!

 

[4greatboys]

Our must do rides are Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean,
Space Mountain. There are others we like but we dont like to miss these.

*edited to add Buzz*

 

[Ratpack]

Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain and Peter Pan's Flight.

 

[Laurie W]

Don't forget "It's A Small World". The song will be in your head for the rest of the day, but it's cute and fun.

Laurie W

 

[Clover9990]

Please don't buy shoes simply to make your daughter taller. The height restrictions are there for safety reasons- you wouldn't want to cheat the system and risk your DD getting seriously injured, would you? The only rides that she won't be able to ride at 43" at the Magic Kingdom are the Alien Encounter (which is far too scary for a 5 year old, anyhow), Space Mountain, and the Tomorrowland Speedway (she won't be able to ride alone).

That said, these rides are a must for our family (our kids are 4 and 2):

Peter Pan
Buzz Lightyear
Haunted Mansion
Pirates of the Caribbean
TTA <~~~we LOVE this ride!
BTMRR (my DH takes our 4 year old on this one)
Splash Mountain (same as above)
Goofy's Barnstormer
It's A Small World

We also usually go on Winnie the Pooh, Dumbo or the Aladdin carpets, Cinderella's Carousel, and maybe a couple others...but the above is our "Must Do" list for MK. Have a magical trip!

 

[cd&kids]

I think Ratpack hit it right on the head....Splash Mountain, Haunted Mansion, Peter Pan. (Splash Mountain may be a little intense...especially for the 5-year-old...but if they are a little adventurous, it'll provide a lifetime of memories!)
We put those three in the don't miss category. One notch below in the "do whatever you can not to miss" category is Buzz Lightyear...we were all pleasantly surprised at how much fun that was!

 

[lgrantham]

My 2 boys can't get enough of Buzz Lightyear. Splash Mountain is probably my personal favorite....the characters, the music, the ups and downs of the water is great. The drop at the end is very steep though but is over very fast! I wouldn't consider missing it. I truly do wish theme parks would come up with more great water rides like this one that are more than just a big spash!

 

[disneynutu.k.]

Definitely Buzz Lightyear and BTMRR!! If you don't mind a tip, try the Tomorrowland Transit Authority, it just trundles around in a sort of figure-8 shape, but its a great way of cooling off for a terrific 5 minutes or so. You just sit back and relax!

Disneynutu.k.

 

[nicurn]

my dd loves buzz lightyear, peter pan, dumbo and the tea cups. (don't do dumbo or the teacups after eating however) If they were older, the alien thing over by buzz light year is kind of cool. (it's one of my favourites, dd isn't old enough yet, she also couldn't handle the haunted mansion last time we were there the elevator part with the ghosts scared her right at the beginning and we had to be let out a side door before even getting to the ride part. She was 6 and 1/2 at the time) Have a great time! maggie

 

[lacool]

It really depends on your kids. My 4 and 6 year old DDs would ride Dumbo, Tea Cups, Cinderella's Carousel, and Small World all day long, but refused to go on anything they'd never riden before or which required a pre-ride movie (which ruled out almost every ride at Epcot). I would suggest avoiding Snow White's scary adventure, which is, as advertised, SCARY! The rest of Fantasyland was magical for them.

 

[lacool]

It really depends on your kids. My 4 and 6 year old DDs would ride Dumbo, Tea Cups, Cinderella's Carousel, and Small World all day long, but refused to go on anything they'd never riden before or which required a pre-ride movie (which ruled out almost every ride at Epcot). I would suggest avoiding Snow White's scary adventure, which is, as advertised, SCARY! The rest of Fantasyland was magical for them.

 

[tigger41]

My daughter (who is now 6) LOVED Splash Mountain (we were on it THREE times on our trip last year). She closed her eyes for half of the Haunted Mansion (my favorite ride of all time) but the second time she loved the Haunted Mansion. Peter Pans Flight, Buzz Lightyear Ride, The Pooh Bear ride. Use the FASTPASS for the rides so you can beat the long lines for the popular rides!!! Space Mountain roller coaster may be too much for your 5 year old (she is probably too small) but there is so much to do that your kids will be overwhelmed with the beauty/cleanliness and environment of DisneyWorld.

 

[MrsMud]

It really depends on your kids.

I agree 100%! My girls (who were going on 4 and 6 on our last trip) enjoyed all of Fantasyland, with the exception of Snow White, which I had heard about and did not even suggest. They also went on Buzz Lightyear, Aladdin, Splash Mountain, Transit Authority and the Speedway, and the older one went on BTMR (which she did NOT like, too fast and scary for her). I wouldn't have dreamed of taking them to Haunted Mansion, they would have nightmares for weeks! And Space Mountain for a 5 year old!? Again, you know your own children, but my girls will be 5 and 7 this fall, and I still wouldn't take them on either of those two!
Their favorites (in no particular order):
Small World,
Buzz Lightyear,
Peter Pan,
Splash Mountain (the older one),
and ...a surprise to me... getting pictures and autographs of
the characters.
If you get one of the guidebooks they have basic descriptions of each of the rides. Between that, the advice you get here, and your gut instinct you should have a pretty good idea of what they will enjoy. Have fun!

 

[EltonJohn]

Space Mountain <i><B>IS</i></b> a must. I went to WDW when I was a kid. I was too chicken to ride SM, and have been kicking myself for that past 15+ years for not going on it.

diane

 

[cinmell]

The must rides for us are:
Pirates of the Carribbean
Small World
Haunted Mansion
Splash Mountain
Thunder Mountain
Buzz Light Year
Space Mountain

New must rides (with our 2 year old)
Pooh
Dumbo
Caruousel
Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride

Enjoy your vacation!

 

[drcmk]

My 5 and 7 year old girls are looking forward to:

Dumbo
Teacups
Carousel
Winnie the Pooh
Aladin's Magic Carpets


They were frightened by Snow White's ride on our last trip (2 years ago) and refused to go on the Haunted Mansion. My oldest daughter strongly disliked Small World, one of the dolls-a sphinx maybe--disturbed her, but she's weird like that.