Things to avoid / Waste of time?

[Disdad13]

Time seems so precious, especially while at DW. There are lots of posts of things you should try to see and do, but what about things you should not waste your time on? There is so much to see and do that I hate to make time for something, only to find that my time could have been better spent doing something else. For instance, I think "Sounds Dangerous" at MGM is a waste of time. I just don't think it is very funny/entertaining. What about you? What things do you consider a waste of precious Disney time, not worth the wait, etc??

[comicguy]

MGM
Sounds Dangerous
Light Motor Action stunt show
Animation Tour (If time is short I would skip it)
Epcot
Canada Circlevision(it is really dated now)
Innoventions(not much here anymore, a good place to visit on a hot day but otherwise...)

[ThanxForNoticin]

That's a very tough question to answer, because everyone likes different things. We're not a parade family, so we never "waste" time there. But I know friends that love to get a spot an hour in advance to enjoy the parade - that's what they like. Obviously, the more experienced you are at WDW, the better you can answer your own question. We've been there a number of times, so we don't usually bother with non-thrill attractions that don't change - like Indiana Jones SS, Universe of Energy, and Tiki Birds as examples. But others might tell you to not miss those attractions.

Our rule of thumb for any of our trips, and for anyone who asks - go for quality over quantity. Pick a few things you feel you are going to enjoy, and just go and enjoy them. Don't spend so much time rushing between attractions that you don't enjoy the attraction you are doing at the time.

[Christine]

Things we don't worry about doing:

Magic Kingdom:
-Hall of Presidents (done it once, that's enough)
-Country Bears (done it once, and it was once to many!)
-Stitch's Great Escape
-the Riverboat
-Tom Sawyer Island

MGM:
-Lights Motors Action
-Indiana Jones
-Star Tours
-Backlot Tour

EPCOT:
-movies in the countries
-Innoventions


Animal Kingdom:
-we pretty much ONLY do E:E (DH does it) and ITTBAB. This park is just not our cup of tea.

[dixielandings]

Some things other people consider a "waste", we never miss - like the TTA. We never go to MK without riding it. Still, I have my own time-wasters:

Magic Eyesore Carpets of Aladdin
Imagination - so sad, it used to be great
Innoventions
Grand Prix Raceway

Most other things that I don't typically spend time on, I'd not begrudge them at least one visit, just for the Disney sake of it.

[JCDarzi]

I think you have to be cautious about how much time you spend waiting to see some of the popular characters. On our last trip in September I waited over an hour with DD3 to see the princesses in Toontown. Since we had a princess breakfast 2 days later with the same princesses, we really should have skipped the Toontown princesses.

I think that the best way to see characters is through character dining and skip the long waits.

[Willowwind]

I'm not a big fan of the movies in EPCOT. But on the other hand my mother wouldn't ever miss them. If it were my choice (vs. the rest of my family) I'd skip MGM all together.

You know what they say, one person's trash is another treasure. :mcoffee:

[Iluvpooh]

MK- Stitch:ill:
Grand Prix Raceway
Snow White
Country Bears
Libert Belle
Tom Sawyer island
EPCOT-Innoventions
O'Canada
Ellen's Energy Adventure
MGM-Indian Jones
Movie Set
Backlot Tour
Animation Tour
Animal Kingdom-Kali River Rapids(too wet)

Just one woman's opinion. Doesn't count for much, but I think a few of these(Canada, Raceway and Stitch) will pop up on few people's posts.

[grumpycajun]

Stitch's Great Escape
Tom Sawyer's Island
Country Bears Jamboree
Swiss Family Robinson's Tree
Honey I Shrunk the Audience

[Pastcastmemberdaughter]

Magic Kingdom:
Tom Sawyer Island
Toontown
Swiss Family Tree House
Aladdin Carpets
Grand Prix Raceway

Epcot:
Innovantions
The differnt counties videos, if the updated them it would be nicer.
Norway boat ride

MGM:
Sounds Dangerous

Animal Kingdom:
Parade

[Momof2boys]

Swiss Family Treehouse
Movie after Maelstrom
Hall of Presidents
Country Bears
Voyage of Little Mermaid

[DisneyMP3Maker]

Universe of Energy (Ellen & Bill put me to sleep everytime. I guess it's a good nap ride)
The Norway video at the end (we just walk right through)
Wonders of Life - wow

We like the rest of the parks prety much. There are some rides that we do at least 4 or 5 times per trip, while others we only do 1 time becuase we "must do it once".

[DawsonAR]

We usually skip magic carpets of Aladdin, Hall of Presidents (we like it but the kids are too young) astro orbiter, sounds dangerous and the movies at EPCOT.

[wedway76]

This is a hard question because as other people said, people’s tastes are different. For example we never miss Ellen’s Universe of Energy, but I know a lot of people that hate it.

We basically have rides two attraction categories, those that we will wait for and those that we won’t wait a long time for. The ones that we won’t wait for we will ride if there is a short line but we don’t mind missing them completely if we never catch a small line.

[Meteora]

We go almost every year, so we do a lot of skipping.
A lot of people seem to actually agree on things to be skipped. Though I will say that I sort of like the Hall of Presidents. And yes, I am a dork. I don't, however, really like the American Adventure. I find it to be a bit too heavy and depressing for a vacation.

MGM:
Sounds Dangerous
Indiana Jones (we maybe do this once every three years)
Animation
We used to like the backlot tour, but it's gotten pretty outdated

MK:
Tom Sawyer Island
Aladdin's Carpets
Snow White
Teacups
Astro Orbitter
Stitch
Country Bears Jamboree (I've done this once, with a friend)
Carousel of Progress--I love it, but my sister does not, and she always wins

Epcot:
Imagination
Innoventions
Mission Space
The movies in the countries

AK:
Pretty much everything. We usually just go to a few shows and Everest. We live right near the Bronx zoo, so we don't find the whole concept particularly exciting, and far too many of the rides are too amusement park-y or not well thought-out.

[septembergirl]

For us, ToonTown is not worth the wait unless there is a particular character you HAVE to see. I enjoy the impromptu character visits around the park. Also in MK, we skip the Riverboat and Swiss Family. We skipped a lot more before DD :princess:was old enough to know better (got 3 DSs). Last time we skipped HoP and I am determined not to miss it this time if I have to go by myself! My DS11 and DS7 had a great time one afternoon at Tom Sawyer playing with some ducks! It was a crowded day and a very relaxing place to get away for a while.

Epcot - I will never go on Ellen's again. Outdated and boring. Same for Innoventions. Not that I am against outdated - Spaceship Earth is my fav!

MGM - I wouldn't bother with the Backlot Tour and I will skip Fantasmic as I don't find it worth the hassle.

AK - We are going for the first time this year for just an evening EMH against DH's wishes so I am choosing very carefully what we will try to accomplish.

Note: DH would be happy going only to MK and MGM!

[indytraveler]

MK
Swiss Family Treehouse
Tom Sawyer Island
Hall of Pres.
Mickey's Toontown except Barnstormer(have older kids)

MGM
Playhouse Disney
Sound Dangerous

Epcot
Movies in Countries

AK
All except EE and ITTBAB

[Kairi_7378]

MK:
Stitch
Country Bears
Carpets of Aladdin
Indy Speedway

Epcot:
Imagination Pavilion
Canada movie (I REALLY needed a seat when I saw this, I actually sat on the floor.)
Maelstrom

MGM:
Animation
Backlot Tour

AK:
Kali River Rapids (too much like a standard theme park ride.)

[TiggerRPh]

Magic Kingdom

Tomorrowland Speedway
Pooh's Dreadful Spot
Tiki Room

Epcot

Circle of Life
Canada Circlevision Film

Studios

Lights, Motors, Yawn
Animation Tour
Sounds Dangerous
Backstage Tour
Chronicles of Narnia

Animal Kingdom

Flights of Wonder

[Mackflava99]

Its sad we are even discussing this stuf-I am such a traditionalist, i always go to Country Bears , Tom Sawyer , Tiki Room & Swiss Family- I think its not complete unless we do that- I guess there is not much i don't like.

But my choices to miss if we must-

MK-
TeaCups
Raceway (too slow)
Toontown- too crowded
Small World- My parents made me go way too often

MGM-
Backlot tour- good , but outdated
*Note- i like Drew Carey so Sounds Dangerous is not bad to me.
AK -
We miss Most except EE and The Whirl

Epcot -
Big Ball ( it needs the current revamp)
Movie after Maelstrom, needs update
Mexico boat ride - needs the current revamp-
Living Seas - except nemo

[snifflesmcg]

MK
Swiss family robinson tree house
Tom Sawyer's Island

Epcot
Innoventions
Ellens World of Energy
World Showcase countries movies (BORING!!!)

MGM
Sounds Dangerous

Animal Kingdom
Most of the park (I only have about 7 attractions I like)

[mrsgaribaldi]

Sounds Dangerous
The Indy Speedway we never do these 2, did them once and that was it. WE also never do Dumbo and Astro Orbiter. We did them once too during a party when there was no line at all. We would never wait in a line for them. We have no kids, can you tell?

[WVParkfan]

At the MK:
- Tom Sawyer island. Unless you are from the inner-city, you've probably seen trees before.
- Swiss Robinson Tree House. See above.
- Liberty Square Riverboat. If you've ever been on a real boat, then you don't want to waste your time on this fake boat.
- Jungle Cruise. Sad, just sad. If you want to see animals, go to the AK
- Mickey's Country House/ Minnie's Country House. OK, I just don't get this. My kids were bored to death. There's absolutely nothing to do there.
-----------
At the other parks, you should try everything. I've never "wasted my time" at any attraction at MGM, AK, or Epcot.

[cgriff]

Well next month I plan on spending some quality time on ol' Tom Sawyer's Island, where by the sound of it I might be the only guest there! :cap:

The only rides/attractions that I know ahead of time I will be skipping are: MK's Parking Lot Tram :fresh:, Stitch's Great Escape/ ExtraTERRORestrial Encounter (sorry, Stitchy: :stitch2:), and Haunted Mansion (<-- it's closed during my visit! :crying:)

[biodtl]

I hesitate to call anything at WDW a waste of time, since 1)I'm not at work and 2)I'm at WDW. That said, probably the one thing I know we won't be riding again is Stitch. Before the ride, we were thinking, "This is going to be great" and after, we were thinking, "?????"

[BrerSchultzy]

What an interesting thread! Swiss Family Treehouse is a MUST MUST MUST see for me and DW...in fact, we go several times. When I win the lottery, we're building our own.

And I think everything should be experienced once. We saw Stitchs Great Escape once...and heaven knows that'll be enough for me.

I think the only real "Waste" of time (besides Sounds Dangerous) in WDW, would be standing in the middle of the road, complaining that there's nothing to do. We've all seen that family. "There's nothing to do here...I don't know why we spent all this money...all they have is shops and candy stores." Those people forgot to stop and smell the audio-animatronic roses...now THAT'S a waste of time.

[cgriff]

Schultzy, I too have wanted to *live* in the Swiss Family Treehouse... When you get yours built may I rent a room? (maybe the one with pipe organ? (my favorite)).

cgriff

[offero]

Before anyone reads my list and panics. It is hard to say, I seem to appreciate even the most mundane rides while I am there, and sometimes these same rides I go on for sentimental reasons. For example I made my wife go on Peter Pan and Spaceship Earth about 6 times (not all at once) when we were there. I honestly feel these rides are only 'bad' because they need to be updated. A simple modernization would make a world of difference. At times Disney seems to fall down in that department.

MGM:
Backlot Tour (it was cool now it is a serious waste of time)
Sounds Dangerous
Animation Tour (here you can see how they made Snow White 6 ‘for dvd release only’)
Ellen's Energy Adventure

Epcot:
Innovations
Movies at the countries in the world Showcase. (some are so old they were shot in Technicolor)
Imagination (a poor replacement )
Honey I shrunk the Audience

Mk:
Carousel of Progress (I know I have committed treason by saying it, I love this ride and would like to see them update it)
Raceway (any car I have been on was very slow or the steering was broken)
Country Bears

[BrerSchultzy]

Schultzy, I too have wanted to *live* in the Swiss Family Treehouse... When you get yours built may I rent a room? (maybe the one with pipe organ? (my favorite)).

cgriff

You're in!

My wife, MIL and Mom, would all want the pipe organ. And those are three ladies who will always get what they want from me. So if I'm already building three, why not add on one more!

[Marker]

Nothing is a total waste of time if someone enjoys it. We each have different tastes in what we enjoy and don't enjoy. I would never imply that simply because I don't enjoy an attraction, that someone else won't like it either. SO... I would hesitate suggesting attractions that someone should not experience simply based on my own preferences. Try it, you may love it, even if someone else doesn't.


Some of MY least favorites....

Sounds Dangerous - loved it the first time, but for me has no return factor.

Jungle Cruise - a great ride in it's time, but now for me it's really dated and obsolete with AK just a bus ride away. I still enjoy it occasionally, but not very frequently.

Swiss Family Tree House - loved it first time, kids loved it first time. It fun to re-visit for nostalgia occasionally, but no great return factor.

Basic Hub & Spoke rides - no particular thrill for me, regardless of whether it's a flying elephant, a flying carpet, a space ship, etc... My kids like them when they were little, but they soon tired of them too.

[Stu29573]

Well, let me think here...

MK
Raceway (loud, smelly, slow)
Any spoke ride, except Astro Orbiters.
Pooh's Blasphemous Spot (absolute insult to the memory of 20000 L)

Epcot
Sorry, but I find the movies boring (I know, I'm an uncultured heathen)
Innoventions

Studios
Sounds Dangerous (I would personally like to demolish this waste of space- I'd provide my own sledge hammer....)

AK
They have attractions there?
Just kidding- but if I were in a huge rush, other than EE and Dinosaur I could skip it....and Dinosaur's iffy)

[epceddie]

I think the Grand Prix Raceway is the biggest waste of time in all the World. It's a terrible, boring ride and it reminds of a cheap carnival.
The Swiss Family Treehouse is a real snoozer and I've never liked Big Thunder Mountain - it's too rough and you get thrown all over the place. The bar always hurts my stomach and it's not worth the wait.
For me, the things I can't wait to do are Pirates and Buzz Lightyear in the MK; the Safari Ride and It's Tought to Be a Bug in the AK; Tower of Terror and the Great Movie Ride in MGM; and Honey I Shrunk the Audience in Epcot.
All of those are time well spent in my book.

[Sharon1026]

Epcot -
Big Ball ( it needs the current revamp)
Movie after Maelstrom, needs update
Mexico boat ride - needs the current revamp-
Living Seas - except nemo

the big ball is better now - we went a few weeks ago...

For our family , it's the Dinosaur ride at AK. It's just painful! Literally! All of us are in pain when we get out of there.

[NJMan66]

I pretty much avoid any ride where:
1) the wait time is >30 minutes and
2) fast pass is not available and
3) the temperature is hot outside and the line to the ride is outside.

To me, there is nothing worse than sweating like a pig while waiting for a ride that lasts only 90 seconds. Of course all this goes out the window if I am waiting for a show/movie.

[janinabr]

The Chronicle of Narnia has to be the worst thing I ever saw in Disney. (or anywhere)

[Mickey91]

Honestly, that is a matter of personal preference. What I may never waste time on, someone else (even in my own family) wouldn't miss. I love Small World. My DS loves EE, My DH loves HM and My DD loves SplM. I don't have to go on any of the other three to feel I've had a good time at Disney. My DS would rejoice if he never had to do Small World again and DD would have the time of her life if she never went inside HM again! We are all so different that you can't tell someone else what they will love or hate. We just all need to get along and accept that there are different types of rides because there are different types of people.

[battle beast]

I can' tbelive how many people skip the best attractions like HoP, Country Movies, etc. The Canada movie IS outdated, but it made me cry!

And the Hall of Prez, well the best cast member I ever met worked in there. he was so nice and made my whole trip! YOu miss things like that by not checking everything out!!!:thumbsup:

[Belle--86]

We always skip the movies in the countries in Epcot, especially Norway we walkthrough. In MK Swiss Family Tree House and the Riverboat.In AK we skip it's Tough to be a Bug (EWW) and Flights of Wonder.

[klynch7]

Wow, most of the stuff on others list I LOVE!! The only ones I'm not big on is Honey I shrunk the audience (cool effects, but 3d shows freak me out, especially the mice on this one, so I usually go in without my glasses and with my feet in the seat), It's tough to be a bug (see above reason, except it's the bees not mice in this one), dumbo (the line is SOO long!), and the carousel (i've ridden carousels before so it's not a big deal to me)

[ChipnDaleGal]

I think that this kind of question will gets many different responses based on our individual tastes and memories. As a few others have stated, just because I don't enjoy a particular ride or show, doesn't mean that it isn't someone elses favorite. WDW is large enough and diverse enough that most of us can find plenty to do and see. As my daughter and I became more veteran than newbie in the parks we have certainly developed our own lists of "Must Do", "Do if we have time and the line is reasonable", and "Not our cup tea"

[hubbyofadisneyholic]

I don't think Walt's plan was ever to build a park where everything in it appealed to all people. For one thing it would be guaranteed to be boring to EVERYONE since it would be empty. You couldn't create an attraction that nobody would find fault with.;)

That being said, everyone in our group has things they don't like or just can't handle.

My wouldn't mind skipping list would be...
1.) SOARIN - we ALL thought it was a snore
2.) IASW - a classic, I know. Drives me nuts.
3.) Jungle Cruise - same as #2
4.) GP Raceway - Can sit in traffic anytime
5.) JII - just a vy poor copy of the original

The fun thing is my wife, daughter, m-i-l and niece would have different items on their lists but we do them all (no coasters for grandma) because to us that is what a family trip is all about. :mickey:

[EvilQueen2006]

I don't know if anyone else shouldn't waste their time on these, but these are the things I tend to skip.

MK
hall of presidents, stitch, raceway,
Epcot
american adventure, movies in the countries, circle of life
AK
pocahontis, conservation station, triceratop spin
MGM
sounds dangerous, animation tour, playhouse disney

[Ayndi]

Wow. I love Innoventions1 This is a must do for us, as we always send an email postcard home to all our family and friends when we're there!

[dmosher]

I find that certain things I stopped going to.. ie:" certain restaurants, rides and shows" to be more fun now that I am taking my wife to WDW. The first time we went (July 2005) was her first since she was a kid and I found that exploring old territoryw ith her brought back all of the fun of things otherwise removed from my usual DW Schedule.

There are still a few things I still avoid:
It's a Small World
Stitch (which saddens me greatly- So Much Promise)
Hall Of Presidents
Tomorrowland Speedway
Tea Cups
Anything in Dinoland USA (the idea bothers me!)

We do like:
Swiss Family Tree House
Jungle Cruise
BackLot Tour
Rio Del Tiempo
Fantasy Land Carousel
ToonTown
Even touring other resortas on our day off from the parks.

I now find them much more fun and new since I am sharing them with her. Next Year when we return,we will be there for 10 days, so I want to do a "never before, never again, not in a long tim tour".
By that I mean all of the things I haven't done, or haven't done in a long time:
Country Bears
Mini-Golf
Tiki Room
etc.

OH, and for the record... if you go on the animation tour at the last show of the night (usually after the fireworks), it is always dead. Once the movie is over, head over to the drawing show in the lobby to the left. Last time (for our honeymoon) it was just my wife, I and an animator! It was awsome!

Thanks for the great post!
D
:mickey:

[WEDTOPIA]

Nothing is a total waste of time if someone enjoys it. We each have different tastes in what we enjoy and don't enjoy. I would never imply that simply because I don't enjoy an attraction, that someone else won't like it either. SO... I would hesitate suggesting attractions that someone should not experience simply based on my own preferences. Try it, you may love it, even if someone else doesn't.




Ditto ! Well said Marker ! The only advice worth remembering on these " I hate it threads ".

:mickey:

[Faz316]

Magic Kingdom:
Railroad
Aladdin
Swiss Family Treehouse
Tom Sawyer Island
Country Bears
Riverboat
Dumbo
Toontown
Grand Prix Raceway
Astro Orbiter

Epcot:
The American Adventure
All World Showcase movies

MGM:
Animation Tour
Backlot Tour

Animal Kingdom:
All walking tours
Kali River Rapids
Pocahontas

[BethieTink]

Wow, this is a such a personal question...:blush:

For me and DH (no kids) it would be the following:

MK - A disclaimer: we have gotten to point that MK is a half day or 2 half days at best. we get in early (or go to a party) and try to be out around lunch time -
Stitch (seen it once, no urgency to return)
Any spoke ride (Astro, Dumbo, Aladdin)
SM - have missed this the last 2 trips, but will hit again in October
Raceway - why bother
Toontown - we always go back there to find characters and never find any worth waiting that long for
Teacups - I like them, but they make DH :ack:
Snow White, Pooh and Peter Pan all depend on time of day and wait.
Tom Sawyers Island - I even skipped this as a child in '74 and '76
Country Bears - way too dated
HoP - haven't done since first trip in 2003, maybe we will do it this year.
All of Adventureland - except for PoTC (and even that we have missed the last couple of trips, need to see the update though)

EPCOT -
Innoventions, JII, HISTA, most of the Land, most of the Seas, Mission Space (DH :ack:), have never done UofE (wait always too long), some country movies (depends on trip)

MGM -
the whole park. Only going this trip to get another shot a picture with Daisy and lunch at 50s PTC.

AK -
We do almost everything here, except Kali (too darn wet) and Rafiki (the train to nowhere).

This is why Disney is great. There is something for everyone.

[FormerCastMember]

Epcot
Canada Circlevision(it is really dated now)

hopefully you are aware that the disney and the canadian board of tourism are in the process of filming a new film for the circlevision attraction

[Spaceship Tigger]

I don't think there's anything at WDW that I would tell someone to "not waste your time on". Maybe there are some that I would recommend avoiding if you don't have a lot of time in the parks.

There are some attractions that I had no idea were so hated until I got on Intercot. I remember riding Sounds Dangerous in 2001 and thought, 'well, that wasn't bad'. Back then I didn't know that people actively wanted to burn it down.

[StitchplusTink=STINK]

MK- Stitch:ill:
Grand Prix Raceway
Snow White
Country Bears
Libert Belle
Tom Sawyer island
EPCOT-Innoventions
O'Canada
Ellen's Energy Adventure
MGM-Indian Jones
Movie Set
Backlot Tour
Animation Tour
Animal Kingdom-Kali River Rapids(too wet)

Just one woman's opinion. Doesn't count for much, but I think a few of these(Canada, Raceway and Stitch) will pop up on few people's posts.

i agree with everything except kali river rapids and ellens energy adventure. i only like EEA because cause i like her humor.also great for the hot days( which florida has alot of. trust me i live here) and its slow moving so great for right after lunch in stead of trying TT or MS. but agaun i like these 2. you might not.

[DisneyNut2005]

Staying on topic, I would not consider a lot of the previously-mentioned attractions like Country Bears as "time-wasters".

Every attraction is worth experiencing at least once.

[castlelady36]

I agree with those who said it is a matter of personal preference. What one may like the other may not so to recommend what not to ride seems silly to me as they actually may like it and would never know since someone told them to avoid it.

[Mackflava99]

Staying on topic, I would not consider a lot of the previously-mentioned attractions like Country Bears as "time-wasters".

Every attraction is worth experiencing at least.

Amen to this quote above

[thejens]

I would have to say that the AK train to nowhere (Exploration STation) is actually not worth seeing even once. However, the Indy Speedway (definitely skippable in most circumstances) was the highlight of our whole trip. You should have seen the look on my 3 year old's face! Absolutely amazing! So, the moral is, it can all be good in the world!

[Camping Mom]

Each to their own, but some I have done and don't wish to do again are:

Mission Space
Imaginations (it used to be really worth it)
Star Tours ( makes me :sick:)
Expedition Everest (can't handle that backward thing)
Indiana Jones

Unexpected Pleasures:
Tom Sawyers Island
Hall of Presidents

[scootch713]

So much depends on age....

my kids love what most people are saying they do not...

magic carpet of aladdin
parades
Country Bears(esp the holiday addition)


so I would try everything once and then make your own list. Nothing is going to be so bad that you feel like you didn't getyour money's worth for the day at disney....