We went to 4 of the parks in 5 days. On Monday, we went to Magic Kingdom. It seemed to be geared more for the younger kids. My 6 year old girl loved it, though. Space Mountain (roller coaster) was pretty cool. The other good ride that I remember there was the Toy Story. It was like the Men In Black ride at Universal (you ride through and shoot at stuff with guns attached to the car.
On Tuesday, we went to Epcot. Lots of cool stuff there but we didn't get to do everything because it stormed really bad for about an hour or two. My favorite ride (of all the parks) was here, Mission Space. However, if you get dizzy really easy, this may not be for you. I don't do the spinning rides as well now that I'm in my 30s as when I was a kid. Still, I followed their instructions to keep my head back and eyes on the screen. Great ride. Also, Test Track was pretty cool. Waited in line for Soarin' for almost an hour. It was a little disappointing. It's just a (simulated) hang gliding ride. There was also an Ellen Degeneres hosted/narrated ride (Energy something) that was worth checking out.
On Wednesday, we did Hollywood Studios (formerly known as MGM Studios). Make sure to catch the stunt car show. I think they only have 3 shows each day(10:30am/2:30pm/5:30pm), but is definitely worth it. Hollywood Tower of Terror was really cool and fun. Also, they have a pretty cool Aerosmith themed roller coaster. Note: this was the only ride, if memory serves, in all the parks that my 6 year old girl was not big enough to ride. Also, they have this night show called Fantasmic that is worth seeing.
On Thursday, we had a day off and utilized that time to go visit our friends 45 minutes away in Lakeland. Tried to get chagrin to come out and hang with us that evening but he had to work. Oh man, he(my buddy, not chagrin) has this beautiful 2008 Harley Davidson. I am so jealous. Then again, I wouldn't want to spend 25k on a motorcycle, either.
On Friday, we went to Animal Kingdom. First thing we did was the Safari ride. It was really neat if you like animals. They had lots of wild/exotic animals - it was as if you were on a real African safari. There is a bug attraction/show that is themed like A Bug's Life. Great for kids and adults - although it may scare young ones a bit. This park is also where they have the Tree Of Life. It's really cool to see. It's a fake tree with carvings of animals in it. And the thing is huge. Expedition Everest is really fun roller coaster - we rode it 3 times. They also have raft ride that is like Fury Of The Nile at Worlds of Fun, only twice as good. It holds 10 or 12 people and I think half our party got completely soaked. They also have this cool dinosaur themed ride - kind of a Back To The Future/Jurassic Park thing.
A couple of things:
- I was amazed at all the rides that my 6 year old girl was able to ride. That was really nice. She even rode Expedition Everest and liked it. On that same note, she rode Mission Space with the wife and in-laws on the easier side (green team, I think). I was with the boys (orange) on the more intense side. Anyway, after the ride she was crying and said "mommy, I am dizzy". Then she paused from crying and said "but that was really fun".
- Fast Pass is a part of your ticket. My wife had told me that Fast Pass was something for which you had to pay extra. So, on the first day we didn't bother with it. I was planning to ask someone at some point how much and having them add it to our ticket. I never got around to it the first day. As we were entering Epcot the 2nd day, I asked and they explained that it was already part of my admission. For those that don't know, your admission is a card like a credit card. You can use this to get a fast pass to a ride that has a long line. Simply swipe the card and it prints out your Fast Pass. That way you come back during the times it says and you get into the ride within like 10 minutes, rather than waiting 45-60 (or more in some cases - i.e. Soarin'). You can also have more than one Fast Pass at a time. When you get a Fast Pass, it will say next FP available at **:** time (usually it's an hour or two from when you got that FP). While not perfect, it does substantially reduce wait times for the really popular attactions if you allow it to dictate your schedule.
- We stayed in the campground, Fort Wilderness. They had a ton of stuff there to do. There were 2 or 3 swimming pools, basketball courts, pony rides, wagon rides, campfire marshmallow roasting, etc.) but we really didn't have time to do most of that stuff. By the time we got everyone up and around, showered, and ate breakfast, it was time to go to the parks. Then we would get back at night around midnight or 1 am usually. Too late to do much of anything other than go to bed. It was a whirlwind tour, I tell ya. Perhaps I'll post some pics later. Be sure to wear some comfortable walking shoes and keep applying the sunscreen.