Tag Archives: Magic Kingdom Attractions

In Magic Kingdom? Avoid the PeopleMover!

Posted on by

There’s been much too much love shared among Disney fans on social media, in blog posts, and on podcasts  for Tomorrowland’s PeopleMover attraction.  Way too much effusive praise.  I feel the need to warn you away.  Don’t listen to the hype, I say!  Why?  Well, if you’ve never ridden the PeopleMover, now’s not the time to try it.

In Magic Kingdom? Avoid the PeopleMover!

Let me give you the five best reasons to mark this attraction off your to-do list…

  1.  You’re afraid of heights.  You’re pretty high up on this ride – at times, on the very edge of the track even.  It’s straight down if something goes wrong.  Better not chance it.
  2. You like clean air.  You’d think that a birds-eye view of Magic Kingdom would be refreshing, right?  Nope!  The exhaust fumes from the Tomorrowland Speedway are toxic!  You’ll have a difficult time breathing, trust me.
  3. You’re a thrill ride junkie!  No thrills here.  PeopleMover is a total snooze-fest.  A boring, narrated, slow-moving tour of Tomorrowland’s sights and attractions.  You want thrills in this section of the park?  You’ll want Space Mountain or Stitch’s Great Escape, for sure.
  4. You (or any member of your party) are afraid of the dark.  Your ride vehicle will enter tunnels of complete and total darkness.  Like can’t-see-your-hand-in-front-of-your-face pitch blackness.  And not in a thrilling way.  It’s boring and uneventful…unless it’s your biggest fear, then it will be horrible.
  5. You want to be cool.  This ride is for dorks and geeks.  Cool kids do not ride the PeopleMover.  It’s the last place you’d ever want to be caught if you want people to think you’re worldly and hip.

So, if you’ve been here before you know that I’m always completely honest, right?  I give you my opinions in a straight forward, no-nonsense way and I can’t lie to you now.  I love the PeopleMover!  It’s the only must-do Tomorrowland attraction for me on every visit.  I’ve taught my entire family to appreciate and adore this wonderful ride as much as I do, but too many people have started to notice its awesomeness!

It’s getting too popular.  Where we used to walk on no matter the season or time of year, we’ve recently started to have to wait in line.  Sometimes for as long as 20 minutes!  I don’t like this development and want you to pass up PeopleMover so those of us who love it the most can have it to ourselves.  Am I asking too much?  I don’t think so.  Re-read the list of reasons to avoid the PeopleMover, take them to heart, and keep on walking, okay?  Please?

Holler if you love PeopleMover!!!!

Magic Kingdom – Wait Here Not There

Posted on by

IMG_3279The opinions expressed here are my own (as if you didn’t already know that).  I’m crazy about Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom and it’s probably my favorite park, followed closely by Animal Kingdom.  Don’t get me wrong – there’s plenty of fun to be had in Epcot and what’s currently left of the Studios, but Magic Kingdom holds the most happy memories and has so much entertainment to offer me when I’m there.  When I daydream about being at Walt Disney World, I’m almost always in Magic Kingdom.

It won’t be long before we’ll be selecting FastPasses for our next visit to the World and that got me thinking about how I’ll be weighing the pros and cons of different attractions – including the entertainment value of specific ride queues.  This is just me now, but I’m much more willing to wait in some queues than I am in others solely based on the quality of the wait.  If we start in Adventureland and work our way around the park, land by land, here are my recommendations for:

Magic Kingdom – Wait Here Not There

RM-Adventureland-Magic-KingdomAdventureland – Wait for Pirates of the Caribbean not Jungle Cruise.  Yes, if we are strictly speaking Adventureland attractions, I’d much rather FastPass Jungle Cruise and wait for Pirates.  The queue for Pirates is cool and dark with excellent mood-setting elements – it’s actually an excellent place to cool off on a hot day and let your face rest from the pressure of your sunglasses on your nose.  WDW Jungle CruiseThe wait for Jungle Cruise is hot and has less to enjoy.  Personally, I find it somewhat frustrating although I do enjoy the announcements.

Frontierland – Wait for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad not Splash Mountain.  Big Thunder’s queue is interesting with loads of interactive elements to enjoy – in fact, I enjoy it so much, I sometimes wish the line were moving a tiny bit slower.Interactive Queue for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Interactive elements for Big Thunder Mountain QueueSplash Mountain’s queue, while possessing some cute features (like the adorable bird houses) is not nearly as interesting.

Liberty Square – Save your FastPasses!  Haunted Mansion is the only attraction that will ever have a significant wait and the queue (unless the day is super hot and humid) is great! Check out all the interactive components, search for the Bride’s Ring on the ground (embedded in the pavement) as you move along.  RM-Liberty-Belle-Haunted-Mansion-ViewPay attention to the excellent (and plentiful) Disney details.  If heat and humidity are factors – cool off in the Hall of Presidents during the day and save Haunted Mansion for after the sun goes down.

Fantasyland – Hmmmm…This is the toughest one!  Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is going to have the longest wait – maybe for the entire park.  Seven Dwarfs Mine Train SignThat being said, it also has an excellent, highly entertaining and interactive queue.  Peter Pan’s queue has just been “plussed” and is worth waiting for.IMG_2542If you have little ones, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh has a very kid-pleasing wait.  IMG_0899Personally, I’d burn a FastPass on Dumbo if it’s a must-ride attraction.  I hate the wait for Dumbo so much, I’ve never made it to the ride.  (You can read the story here.)  Based solely on time-savings, excluding Dumbo, the FastPass would have to go to Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.

Tomorrowland – Remember that FastPass I told you NOT to use in Liberty Square?  I’d use it here for Space Mountain.  While the queue is dark and cool, it’s also a snooze-fest.  Even though it was one of the first attractions I can remember that got a few interactive parts added to the queue, they’re not all that interesting.  RM-Space-Mountain-SignOnce you reach the top of the upward climb to the boarding area, the queue reverts to old school back and forth, metal-partitioned, waiting.  And waiting….and….you get the idea.

Your turn to weigh in!  Where would you select FastPasses in Magic Kingdom – and where would you stand in line?