Disney World - Rides
This ride is so much fun for all ages.
Let me preface this to say that I am in no way a Disney expert. This was my first time visiting Disney World with my kids and the last time I went was back in 2012. It is very different bringing kids than going with Scott.
Fast Passes
Fast Passes save so much time waiting in lines. You are given 3 passes per day per person. Once you redeem all of them you can add another fast pass if something is available. For some rides, all fast passes may have been booked in advance in which case if you want to go on that ride you will need to wait in line.
When you are booking fast passes for kids that are under 4 you also need to take into consideration height restrictions. If for some reason when you get the fast passes that someone in your party didn't get on, they will still let them on with your group. We had that happen a few times. In addition, kids under 2 don't need fast passes.
Child Swap (Rider Switch)
Child swap is a great resource if you have a child that isn't tall enough to go on a ride. Even if you only have one fast pass for that ride, you go to the fast pass entrance and they scan both magic bands so the person can ride when you get back. However, if you end up not going on the ride, you still need to scan your magicband because it is not something you can cancel in the app and will prevent you from adding more fast passes later in the day.
We actually did a child swap for my youngest but my mom wasn't planning on going on the ride anyways, but it worked out because Scott and my oldest were able to ride again without waiting in line.
My toddler loved this ride. She went on it 3x.
Boarding Pass - (Star Wars Rise of the Resistance)
The new Star Wars ride at Hollywood Studios is one of my favorites and I'm not even a big Star Wars fan. It is very well done and it is a ride/simulator that doesn't even feel like a simulator ride. Normally I can't do simulator rides, but this one I was fine. In order to get a "boarding pass" you need to be in the park before 8am, be on your phone at exactly 8am and click "Join Boarding Group." You are guaranteed a ride sometime during the day if you in one of the first 51 boarding groups. I would suggest having everyone in your party try. If for some reason not everyone is added to the boarding group, go to guest services and they will fix it. We were group 48. The ride is prone to breaking and sometimes gets stuck on a number. For us it was stuck at 48 for an hour or so so we were told to come back at group 49. This made the usual 30 minute wait within the ride longer but it was still a great ride.
There is no real way to tell when you will get called for your ride. You have to check your status in the app periodically and there are some signs around the park that have ride wait time updates.
Our Fast Passes
These are the fast passes we reserved 30 days in advance. Once we used the 3 per day, if we were still planning to stay at the park we added more if they were available. The reason you see more than 3 passes per park is that we visited the different parks over the course of a week.
Magic Kingdom
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train x2 (Scott actually ended up riding it 3x with parent swap)
Enchanted Tales with Belle
Under the Sea - Journey of the Little Mermaid
Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin
Peter Pan's Flight
Pirates of the Caribbean
Jungle Cruise
Haunted Mansion - I skipped this with my youngest.
Epcot
The Seas with Nemo & Friends
Spaceship Earth - This was neat but I wouldn't recommend for a 15 month old. She fell asleep but it was pretty steep uphill.
Meet Anna and Elsa at Royal Sommerus
Frozen Ever After - We actually didn't end up getting to go on this ride. Both my girls fell asleep during our fast past time. I think that if we had ventured back they would've let us on in the fast pass lane if we explained it, but everyone was hungry for dinner.
Hollywood Studios
Toy Story Mania
Slinky Dog Dash
Frozen Sing-Along Celebration - My toddler loved this but I left after 10 minutes with my 15 month old. She fell asleep but it was extremely loud and probably too loud for her ears. I wasn't the only parent that left because of the volume being too loud for their child.
Rise of the Resistance (boarding pass required)
Neither of them were scared on this ride. They were pretending for the photo.
I hope this helps you all out with planning your trips. All of these rides are the more popular rides that tend to fill up fast. Slinky Dog Dash is a true rollercoaster ride. My toddler loved it but you do have to be 40 inches tall. I personally did not like it much, I liked Seven Dwarfs Mine Train much more because I would refer to it as a "semi rollercoaster."
Most of these rides have a very long wait time if you don't get a fast pass. I'd say 90+ minutes. Slinky Dog Dash is usually around 120 minutes.
In addition, if you plan on doing the safari ride at Animal Kingdom I would definitely suggest a fast pass. If you don't have one, plan to be at the park at 8am to get on the ride. That is what my husband and oldest did. Our fast passes for that day were already planned out at a different park for the afternoon but my oldest really wanted to see the animals. They got up early and managed to get on before the wait was 90 minutes long.
If you need any help planning your trip, feel free to check out my friend Ashley's Facebook page and Instagram.
