Things That Make Kids Cry at Walt Disney World

By Lisa Green 

 

In all the visits I’ve made to the four parks at Walt Disney World, there are a few attractions (rides and shows) that stand out to me as holding a special sort of power – the power to make kids cry!  Sure – we know that meeting characters can cause a fright, but I’m talking about seemingly kid-friendly stuff.  Check out my list and then comment with your own experiences and observations – this topic will certainly need to be revisited from time to time.  Especially since we’ve got a bunch of new attractions to look forward to with Pandora coming to Animal Kingdom and Start Wars Land in the future for Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Disney World Things That Make Kids Cry

Fantasmic – If the wait alone doesn’t do it, some of the elements of the show have a considerable fear factor.  Any time there are villains involved, there’s the potential for unhappiness.  In the case of Fantasmic, I think it’s the mixture of big images projected on water, pyrotechnics, and live characters – lights, sound, and a lot of action!  After waiting for the show to start, I imagine some little ones are terribly disappointed – doesn’t help that it’s also probably past their bedtime.




It’s Tough to be a Bug – This one seems like it will be so much fun!  Beneath Animal Kingdom’s Tree of Life where it’s cool and dark and the walls are plastered with fun insect movie posters, the wait for the show is deceiving.  This 3D experience is no Mickey’s PhilharMagic!  Even little ones who are not usually afraid of bugs find this show horrifying.  I’ve seen it enough time that when certain parts are about to happen, I think, “cue the crying!” and sure enough, parents are bee-lining for the door (see what I did there?).  Seriously, if you’re considering this attraction for children under the age of seven, consider letting them sit on your lap.  Trust me.





Dinosaur – Our daughter is 24 and still plugs her hears during this ride’s trip back in time in Animal Kingdom.  The idea that dinosaurs are all around you is scary enough – add jerky, unpredictable motion and loud noises and you’ve got the perfect combination for a major cry-fest.  This is one of those just-because-they’re-tall-enough-doesn’t-mean-they’re-ready attractions.





Stitch’s Great Escape – This one made me cry.  Horrible doesn’t begin to describe what I thought of this Tomorrowland attraction in Magic Kingdom.  To say I hated it would be an understatement.  I’m a big fan of Lilo and Stitch, but this ride, formerly the ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter (1995-2003), uses major seat restraints to keep hapless guests in place while they’re tortured by Stitch’s antics.  This includes some periods of complete and total darkness.  I don’t know if Stitch still burps chili-dog breath in your face (I’ve heard that was gone), but I wanted out of that place so bad – I can only imagine what a 40″ tall (the minimum height requirement) child would go through in there!  This one may look fun, but I say keep walking!

What about YOU?  What attractions do you think should be added to the list?

This article was originally posted on Lisa's Living a Disney Life Blog.
She can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/LivingaDisLife and on Twitter at @life_of_green

Please be sure to check out Lisa along with me and David Hodges on The Disney Exchange Podcast!

Wordless Wednesday: My Favorite Ride in Each of Walt Disney World's 4 Parks

By Nick

The Disney Exchange- Episode 7 Show Notes: A Walk Around Animal Kingdom

By Nick

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

-The Disney Exchange is Lisa Green, David Hodges, and me, Nicholas Maglio

-Main Topic- A Walk Around Disney's Animal Kingdom

-Lisa insists Animal Kingdom is a full day park. She gets there as early as possible and gets busy before heading to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for dinner.
I disagree and get fired. Bye.
My wife, Barbie, and I generally just go half a day. This gives Lisa a stomach ache.
Dave gets there for rope drop if possible and also doesn't stay all day, but does return later in the day.
He points out that Animal Kingdom is wonderful at night, and I agree.

-I am pretty sure the animals at Animal Kingdom are audio-animatronics. No?

-First thing we do at the park: Lisa enjoys stopping at the cast members holding critters in glass cases with critters first thing in the morning, and will stop to look as long as she doesn't have an early FastPass. We do Kilimanjaro Safaris. Dave never gets FastPasses for the morning, opting instead to get them for late morning and early afternoon. He will ride Safari or Expedition Everest first depending on the weather.
Dave and I discuss potty locations at the front of the park.

-Touring strategies: Dave doesn't have one, but will FastPass Expedition Everest, the Safaris and the third depends, but is normally Festival of the Lion King and he can do it over and over, seeing it every trip. I confess we've only seen it once. Lisa has done it 3 times in one trip.

-Dave points out I am uncultured. I don't disagree.

-Lisa points out we (and by we, I mean the collective us, you folks included!) need to stop and observe the wonderful details in Animal Kingdom particularly in the ride queues such as Kali River Rapids. I state I've only ridden this once.
I once again give Lisa agita.

Photo: Lisa Green

-Lisa claims she has video proof of a frog attack on Kali River Rapids. (it happens at the 4:10 mark, btw)

-My favorite ride is Dinosaur, Dave and Lisa don't agree. Spoiler Alert: the Dinosaurs are NOT real.

-Lisa gives ME an ulcer. She prefers Primeval Whirl to Dinosaur.

-Dave has ridden Triceratops Spin, while Lisa and I have not, because it is just a spinning ride.

-Lisa tells a Dumbo horror story, before we return to Animal Kingdom.

-Where do we eat? Dave eats at Flame Tree 75.3% of the time. Lisa eats there also, 90% of the time. She also likes Yak and Yeti's quick serve. But her big thing is the snacks!
We learn Dave is not a sharer.
Our favorite is Yak and Yeti for sit down, Flame Tree for quick serve.

-Top 3 attractions? Dave: Rafiki Planet Watch, (in fact, so much, he likes it twice) and Festival of the Lion King. Lisa: Pangani Forest Trail, Expedition Everest, and Kilimanjaro Safari.
Me: Safari, Everest (for my wife), and Dinosaur.
I explain how my Dachshund, Squidward, looks like a Naked Mole Rat.

 

 Squidward and his sister, Shnelly

-The Wheel of Distany- One Favorite Souvenir you always buy: Lisa's is a Christmas ornament. Dave; Limited edition PIN. Me, a t-shirt.

- We meet Miss Pixie, our very own advise columnist!

-If you have a question or would like advise from Miss Pixie, contact her at:

misspixie@thedisneyexchange.com

Thanks for listening, and if you enjoy the show, please leave feedback on iTunes!

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December '14 Walt Disney World Trip Report : Part 3

By Nick

Monday, December 8th

We up early and off to Disney's Animal Kingdom for Extra Magic Hours at 8am. It was gray with a light drizzle, and cool.

We rode Kilimanjaro Safaris, but despite the cool weather, there weren't many animals out at that early hour.

As we were all hungry, and it was now drizzling harder, we decided to have breakfast at Pizzafari, a restaurant we'd never been in previously.

Since we were planning to eat lunch at Yak and Yeti, I decided to eat light and got the Ancient Grains Hot Cereal. It was filling is about all I can say good about it. A lot of cream and sugar helped make it more flavorful, but just.

We rode the Safari again, and there were a few more animals out, and we caught the giraffes feeding.

By the time we finished the ride, it was raining steadily.

We walked over to the character spot between Africa and Asia, and got photos with Baloo and King Louie. This was one of the best character interactions we've seen.

At one point they were fighting over who would get to pose with Barbie.

We then took a walk through The Maharajah Jungle Trek, but didn't see much animal activity there. I didn't even see the tigers.

After a wonderful lunch at Yak and Yeti, where we all split different dishes, we took a ride on Dinosaur.

As it was raining heavily, we all decided to head back to the Wilderness Lodge.

We all rested for a bit before meeting and catching a bus to the Grand Floridian to see the Christmas Tree and Gingerbread House (and, yes, buy some goodies).

Left to right: Jill, Josh, Barbie, me, and Nicole

Then it was off to the Contemporary to see the Frozen themed gingerbread display.

We headed to the Polynesian next for a very good dinner at O'hana.

We went to the Magic Kingdom to see the Castle Lighting.

Afterwards, we'd planned on riding a few rides, but it began to rain again, so Barbie and I left Nicole, Josh, and Jill, and headed back to the Resort.

Trip Report: Part 1 and Part 2

Do You Remember When Dinosaur was Countdown to Extinction?

By Nick

One of my favorite rides at Walt Disney World is Dinosaur, located at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Dinosaur is a dark ride that takes us back to the Cretaceous Period, aboard a Time Rover, to bring back a live dinosaur, dangerously close to when a large asteroid is going to hit the earth. Along the way we encounter many species of dinos, and come very close to getting hit by meteorites.

Did you know, however, that the ride was initially called Countdown to Extinction? It was changed to Dinosaur to promote the film of the same name, released in 2000. At that time, there were several changes made to the ride, including toning down some of the more frightening effect elements, and making the ride itself less intense.

I was not fortunate enough to ride the original, but do have a few items from that period, including this button.
The button is lenticular, starting with the Carnotaurus in the distance…

…and, suddenly, he is upon Mickey!

I also have a book, “Countdown to Extinction, A Hologram Adventure to the Age of the Dinosaurs”,
from Disney Press, by A. J. Wood, illustrated by Chris Forsey.

.

From the back cover:

Catch the mistakes in the Dino Institutes Files on a holographic adventure through the prehistoric past.

The Dino Institutes Files have been corrupted by a computer error and there’s only one way to find the mistakes. Climb aboard the Time Rover and explore the age of the dinosaurs, but be careful: the past is filled with a hungry Carnotaurus, meteor showers, and erupting volcanoes. With vivid illustrations and holograms on every page, this exciting book ties into the knew Countdown to Extinction attraction at DinoLand U.S.A., part of Disney’s Animal Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort, and brings the dinosaurs back to life.

Throughout the book, we are asked to find the mistakes in the Time Rover Files.

For instance, we are asked to look at the picture and find 2 mistakes. The files state that these tiny chicken sized dinosaurs, Compsognathus, were 98 feet big. That would be a big chicken! So, error number 1. The file states that the Compsognathus has five fingered hands. Clearly the picture shows they have three, so we have mistake number 2! I feel so smart!

Can you tell which is the T-Rex and which is the Triceratops?

YOU are smart too!

We are getting the Time Rover files all straightened out!

Speaking of Time Rover, I’ll be featuring MY very own Time Rover in a future post, so please stop back.

Audio/ Video: Dinosuar at Disney's Animal Kingdom

By: Nick

As discussed in a past post by my wife, Barbie, we love Dinosaur at Disney's Animal Kingdom. On our last trip, I took video of the pre-show film, and tried to get video of the actual ride, but, that is pretty dark, and it's impossible to see any imagery, but if you are as familiar with the ride as we are, the audio is enough to bring back memories of a journey back to the age of the dinosaurs.

Favorite Food Friday: Mickey's Premium Ice Cream Bar

by Nick

Mickey's Premium Ice Cream Bar, aka a Mickey Head or Mickey Bar. Like the popcorn, this frozen treat is somehow the tastiest ice cream bar ever! Sure, there are some that come close, in fact, I personally think that Dove's Dark Chocolate bar is very similar. But, well, the ambiance of the parks make the Mickey Bar the clear winner. They are available all over WDW and Disneyland, but for some reason, we often get one right after riding Dinosaur at Disney's Animal Kingdom in WDW. Maybe it's to calm our nerves?

Wordless Wednesday: Our Disney Side

Photos of Barbie, Gaylin, and Nick

  Barbie

 Nick

 

Gaylin