Disney Dining Serving up the latest Disney Eats, Treats, News, and More!
By Cassie
Since the creation of FastPass+ this has been the top question of first-time park goers. Now, let’s look at the top choices for FP+!
Here are the top three!
*Seven Dwarfs Mine Train in Fantasyland, Magic Kingdom- this is the newest Walt Disney World ride and the toughest FP+ selection to gain in Magic Kingdom. It is a brand new ride system for a roller coaster as the ride vehicles are mine train cars that rock side to side as the cars move along the curvy track that rises and falls. You will ride over and around the mountain, as well as through it where you see the Seven Dwarf characters working away in the mine, lots of jewels, and even a view of Snow White dancing with the dwarves in their cottage after work. The evil Queen, in the form of an old hag, is seen lurking at the door outside the cottage. There are some really fun interactive games to play in the queue for the Standby line, so if you don’t get this FP+ go ahead and get in line for this ride. This attraction also has large fans on the outside portion of the queue, and air conditioning on the inside portion. Hi Ho! Let’s go! (There is a 38” height minimum to ride.)
*Toy Story Midway Mania in Pixar Place, Disney’s Hollywood Studios-this is an adorable and fun attraction. You are invited into Andy’s room where you board a vehicle that has mounted “cannons” that you use to play carnival type games. It is a 3-D game that requires you to wear special glasses. Make sure you take a quick look at the extended queue that is the standby line where larger than life toys such as tinker toys, barrel of monkeys, chutes and ladders, etch a sketch, playing cards and crayons create a fun and colorful distraction. At the far end is a singing and talking Mr. Potato Head that tells jokes and interacts with the guests. In Andy’s room you will see books, Christmas lights, boxed toys, tinker toys, etc. The game is fun but very challenging. The vehicles will display your score at the end of each round as well as your accuracy in shooting at and hitting targets. You compete against the other person in your vehicle. You may want to take a quick photo of your scores at the end of the game. Guests of all ages enjoy this ride. If you score a FP+ for this attraction, you are already a winner!
*Soarin’ in The Land pavilion, Future World West, Epcot-this is a ride that takes you on a “hang gliding” tour over some of the most beautiful parts of California. You board a very unique ride system that takes you up into the air, silently and smoothly, to view the film on a huge concave screen. You experience air blowing through your hair, the smells of an orange grove, sea spray scent over the coastline, pine trees in the national park and even the smell of a dusty trail. The combination of all the sensory experiences is done so well that you really feel like you are hang gliding and seeing the best that California has to offer, including Disneyland. You begin your journey early in the day and by the time you get to the last scenes it is after dark which affords you exciting views of the fireworks show over Disneyland. Get your FP+ boarding ticket for this great flight! There is a height requirement of 40”.
*These are the top three FP+ selections within the Walt Disney World resort and are very difficult to get, so if you can get them don’t hesitate. Keep trying if you don’t get it the first time. If you are not able to get a FP+ for them, be at the park right before park opening and go there first, the line will be the shortest it will be all day, with the possible exception of during the Parade or Fireworks shows. Also about 7 minutes prior to park close go there and enter the standby line because if you are inside the queue they will let you ride.
Other Top FP+ in Magic Kingdom:
Splash Mountain, Frontierland, Magic Kingdom- (can also be enjoyed first thing in the morning, late at night or during the parade.) This attraction tells the story of the critters of the Uncle Remus stories and the trouble they get into. You board logs and ride along the water, sometimes inside, sometimes outside. You meet B’rer Bear and B’rer Fox who are trying to catch the wiley B’rer Rabbit to make him their dinner. But B’rer Rabbit outsmarts them every time. B’rer Rabbit soon learns that staying in his Briar Patch is the best place for him. He could have avoided all that trouble if he had just listened to Mr. Bluebird. The ride itself is as fun as the audio-animatronic characters who tell the story. There are three small drops before the big drop taking riders down into the Briar Patch and many opportunities along the way to get wet. Riders in the front, and right side, are the ones who tend to get the most wet. Height requirement is 40”. Yes, you will get wet.
Space Mountain, Tomorrowland, Magic Kingdom-(can also be enjoyed first thing in the morning, late at night or during the parade.) This is a thrill ride roller coaster and it is a dark ride too. You board the rocket and head off into space where you see stars, some planets, maybe a comet or two and while you are preparing for lift off you may see riders on Tomorrowland Transit Authority People Mover going by below. You will experience sudden drops, lifts, dips, and turns in the dark. You will be star struck by this attraction and it may become a perennial favorite for you. Grab a FP+ for this and blast off into space. There is a height requirement of 44” for this ride.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Frontierland, Magic Kingdom-(can also be enjoyed first thing in the morning, late at night or during the parade.) You are a gold miner caught on a run-away mine train. This roller coaster ride takes you through crazy path through a mountain, miner’s town, sulphur springs, underground mines led by a train car that has no driver. This ride has an interactive queue for Standby guests and the majority of the queue is under a roof. See if you can spot the famous BTMR goat. There is a height requirement of 40”.
Pirates of the Caribbean, Adventureland, Magic Kingdom-(can also be enjoyed first thing in the morning, late at night or during the parade.) Take a ride through the same seas ruled by Pirates, including their most famous Captains such as Blackbeard, Barbosa, and Jack Sparrow. As you board make sure you stow away that “Canon” (or “Nikon” or whatever flash camera/phone you have). Glide past iconic PotC scenes such as the skeleton pirate still at the helm of his ghost ship. You will experience a drop in the dark, but keep your hands, arms, legs and feet inside the boat at all times. Your vessel passes on the water between Barbosa’s ship and El Morro that is taking direct cannon fire, some of which may hit near you causing water to splash into the boat. You will travel through a town that has been taken over by pirates and see scenes of the mayor being dunked in a well when refusing to tell the pirates where the town’s treasure is. There is an auction scene where pirates are bidding on women, a burning city, musical pirates, drunk pirates, chase scenes and some pretty funny scenes with Captain Jack Sparrow. Arrrgh you ready? Riders of all ages can enjoy this ride together.
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Haunted Mansion, Liberty Square, Magic Kingdom-(can also be enjoyed first thing in the morning, late at night or during the parade.) The standby queue is interactive and this is a dark ride. You walk to this haunted estate under a covering, past a graveyard. Take special note of the tombstone closest to the entrance of the mansion. Once inside you are led into an unusually shaped parlor. It is also called the “stretching room”. The door you enter is shut and your “ghost host” points out there are no windows and no doors. The room does seem to stretch. Soon you are moving through a sliding door that takes you to your “Doom Buggy” which you board, but the ghosts pull your bar down for you. The ride takes you through haunted halls, a dining room filled with party ghosts, through strange staircases, around a crystal ball with a frightening séance going on, through the attic, and then outside through a cemetery. There are 999 ghosts but there is room for you. There is no height requirement to keep anyone out wishing to get in.
Peter Pan’s Flight, Fantasyland, Magic Kingdom-(can also be enjoyed first thing in the morning, late at night, or during the parade) this ride queue becomes very long right after park opening and stays that way throughout the day. One of the reasons for this is because it is an original ride from when the park opened and it does not have a lot of ride vehicles and it moves very slowly, the other reason the line is long is because it has become tradition for many families to ride it every time they come to Magic Kingdom. It is a unique ride in that you board sailing ships that fly! You ride through scenes of the story of Peter Pan leaving through the window of the Darling’s house, twisting your way over London and onto Neverland. All the favorite characters and villains of the story are in the scenes you view from your flying ship. This attraction can be enjoyed by every age.
Other Top FP+ in Epcot:
Test Track (you could do single rider, or first thing in the morning.) This is the fastest ride in any of the Disney properties across the globe. You glance actual full-size concept cars on your way to the Design Center where you can design your own virtual vehicle on a computer. You will decide what features are most important and put them in your vehicle. You use your MagicBand or your RFID to “carry” your design on toward your destination. From the Design Studio you enter a short queue area and you are directed to the spot to wait for your car to come around for you. While you wait make sure you load your virtual car by tapping your MagicBand or RFID ticket to the touch point. Then when you board your real car, the computer can tell you how your personal virtual car performed on the vehicle testing you are about to go through. This is sort of like a proving ground crossed with Tron. You finally reach the extreme part of your vehicle testing: speed. You exit the building for this part so you have the wind beating against you in your convertible as you reach speeds of up to 65mgh. What a rush! There is a minimum height of 40” for this attraction.
Other Top FP+ in Disney’s Animal Kingdom:
Kilimanjaro Safari Africa, Disney’s Animal Kingdom (If you don’t get a FP+ then get there first thing in the morning to ride.) Have you always want to go on a safari through Africa’s savannah? You board a large bus, open on all sides, and off you go on a bouncy tour through Africa. There are animals that come pretty close to those vehicles, in fact they have been known to hold up the movement of safari vehicles because they are walking on the roads. The Rhinos that behaved badly are now removed from that opportunity to intimidate guests on the ride and have been replaced with gentle giraffes. You can glimpse, and photograph, many species on this safari such as wart hogs, lions, elephants, crocodiles, flamingos, zebra, rare animals like the Okapi and much more. The ride will bounce you along for a 22-minute journey. Hop on board and let’s roll! This attraction can be enjoyed by all ages.
DINOSAUR DinoLand, Disney’s Animal Kingdom (If you don’t get a FP+ for this, try early in the day or during common meal time hours.) This attraction combines some great science with a thrilling ride. You enter the Dino Institute through a museum which includes some fascinating displays. You see skeletons of ancient Dinosaurs! Then you enter a darkened room where you watch a pre-ride video that tells you you will be visiting the early cretaceous period in your Time Rover vehicle to see quiet, gentle dinosaurs…until the technician programs something new into your Time Rover that takes you to the late Cretaceous period to bring back a dinosaur with you to save it from extinction. The cause of its extinction is believed to be because of an asteroid field that nearly destroyed all life forms on earth. The technician already tagged the dinosaur on an earlier “unauthorized field trip” so the computer on board the rover can find him. The tech tells you not to worry about the asteroid field because he is confident the rover can identify and travel to the dinosaur quickly and get you back home with him.
Nothing can go wrong, right? You board your Time Rover vehicle, which is pretty impressive. Keep your seatbelt on, you will need it. There are grab bars for those that need those too. You run over stuff, like a dino tail which angers said dino who then decides to chase you. The rover does travel to a dinosaur, several of them actually, most are not ones that you want to be around because they are carnivores. You do get to see several different types of dinosaurs. There are some asteroids striking down the whole journey. The computer on board tells you to get out, but the tech is reassuring that you can still find the dino and get out, until the last seconds, and realizes almost too late that you do need to get out. As your vehicle prepares to travel back to your time period you see the dino you were looking for, he is holding up a tree that is trying to fall on you and your vehicle. There is a ride photo on here taken when you meet up with a particularly angry dinosaur. You get the picture, if you purchase it in the gift shop as you exit the ride. Riders must be at least 40” tall.
Other Top FP+ in Disney’s Hollywood Studios:
Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster® Starring Aerosmith Sunset Boulevard, Disney’s Hollywood Studios-(Get a FP+ or ride in the first hour of park opening, or during Fantasmic!) This is an amazing ride! You enter through the lobby area of a record company with the walls lined with the gold records it has produced and into a viewing area for a soundstage where the rock band Aerosmith is just wrapping up a recording session. Their manager tells them they are late for a concert they are playing across town. The band’s leader apologizes that they have to go and tells the manager to get a limo for you to come with them to the concert. She orders a stretch limo for you. You exit into the ally and wait for your limo to pick you up. The ride vehicle is a classic stretch limo convertible. Get ready, you are about to take off from 0 to 60mph in a few seconds, it is so much fun! You enter the LA freeway system at night and race to the concert hall across town. The radio just happens to be playing some Aerosmith hit songs. You hear it throughout the ride as each seat has their own speaker system. You take hairpin turns, barrel rolls, and go completely upside down at one point. For the best experience sit up front. C’mon, let’s go! Riders must be at least 48” tall.
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™ From the very minute you see the Hollywood Tower Hotel down at the end of Sunset Boulevard you realize this is not your average resort. Approaching the HTH you see parts of the building are missing and it looks like it was struck by lightning and parts of it burned. You also can’t miss holes in the building, holes that open to the elevator shaft and you occasionally see people on elevators as they go up and down past those openings. To find out what is really going on here, you need to investigate so go inside. Walking through the queue lines you can see overgrown plants, broken fountains, all the signs of a deserted property. You enter the hotel through the lobby where things look just as they would have from the mid-1930’s. There is luggage still sitting there, the concierge desk with brochures, all covered in dust and spider webs. But you can tell it was a very swanky hotel, one that Hollywood elite would have flocked to during the 30’s.
This is in fact true. From the lobby you are directed to enter the Library where you are shown a video with Rod Sterling telling you the story of what happened here. One night a party consisting of a movie star, her husband, her child, the nanny, and a bell hop entered the elevator to go up to their suite. On the way up lightning did indeed strike their elevator and they became ghosts that remain here as their haunting ground. You are invited to go into the Twilight Zone by taking an elevator ride on the service elevator. You are directed to enter a service elevator that is open in the front. Your elevator does travel to the Twilight Zone and you see the ghostly family there. You soon find yourself in that elevator shaft you saw from the outside. Suddenly you are shot up, a door opens and you see the outside, which is a great view by the way, and just as suddenly you fall back down.
The fact is, it is not just gravity that takes you down, there is a motor that pulls you down. Then shoots you back up. Down. Up. The actual ride is determined randomly by the computer as far as how many times and by how much you travel up and down in the elevator shaft. If you didn’t make up your mind in time to get a FP+, get down Sunset Boulevard early and get in line. There is a 40” height requirement for this ride.
Now, if your favorite ride is not on this list and you would like to ride it more than once, by all means get a FP+ selection for it to insure you will ride it at least once.
If you have a valid park admission ticket, you can make three FP+ selections for one park, one day. But after those are first three are used, or their times have gone by, you can select another FP+ at a FP+ kiosk, and it can be in another park. For Park Hoppers this is a great option. After you have used the fourth FP+ you can continue to select another FP+, one at a time, for the rest of the park hours. If you are a Walt Disney World resort guest you can make FP+ selections up to 60 days prior to the date of your arrival. If you have an Annual Pass you can make them up to 30 days ahead, with a maximum of 7 dates chosen at one time. If you are a day guest you may select FP+ after you enter the park for that day, at a FP+ kiosk. If a ride goes down due to a technical issue or weather, you will be notified on your smartphone that it is down and tell you which rides you can enter the FP+ line for a one-time ride and between what hours. There are “tiers” of rides at Epcot and Hollywood Studios, which means you can’t choose all the top tier rides you want, you may be limited to one. For instance at Epcot you can’t select Test Track and Soarin’, you can only select one of them. That means you need to plan on being at whichever one you don’t select for your FP+ at park opening.
