[Sly Fox]

I'm at Disney all week for a conference and my family is coming with to spend the week at the Magic Kingdom. I haven't been since I was a kid so I am looking for some suggestions.

Incidentally Space Mountain is closed down until at least December for repairs.

[thepostman]

space mountain is always closed off...i have been to magic kingdom so many times, so much I am kind of sick of it...I actually really enjoyed animal kingdom when I went with my family a few years ago and I didn't think I would...and there are some decent rides there too, your kids would love it too I am sure.

There is so much to to pick from there...its like a kids dream come true

[flamesbball84]

a whole week just at magic kingdom? i last went to disney world about 8 years ago i thin, hard to remember at this point its been so long, but magic kingdom was one of my least favorites there. of course that's like having to pick which one is the least favorite of the boston celtics championship teams - how can i not like all of them, but one has to be the least favorite.

[LUconn]

Muppets 3D at Hollywood studios. Actually check out as many 3D/interactive shows as possible like Filharmagic, the Bug's Life (it's in the giant tree at Animal kingdom) and Monsters Inc. Laugh floor. Also, you can use a fast pass every 2 hours. Use it. It significantly cuts down on rides with long lines. Dinosaur at Magic Kindom is cool but it's scary so you might not want to mess with that. There's also a sweet Finding Nemo performance with giant puppets that's a must see if you're in Animal Kingdom. The Finding Nemo ride in Epcot is incredibly lame and it has a giant line que. Do not waste your time on it. Get the brochure from the font desk of your hotel for each park and make sure you know the times of the different shows. There's a cool car stunt show in Hollywood Studios. The fireworks at Epcot are the most amazing ones if your kids can stay up that late. If your kids are still into Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and the Disney morning kids shows there's a pretty neat puppet show for that at Hollywood too. Pirates of the Caribbean at Magic Kingdom has been redone to fit the whole Jack Sparrow thing but is mostly the same. Cool rides that I don't know if any of your kids can go on include Tower of Terror, Aerosmith Rockin Rollercoaster, Soarin (pretty tame but very cool. not sure about the height restrictions) Test track. There's also a couple of neat "video game" style rides for toy story, that are fun, one at Magic Kingdom, one at Hollywood. You shoot stuff. Downtown Disney is pretty cool but everything there will cost you. Like a giant indoor video game complex. There is an awesome Cirque du Soleil there too that your family will love but you've got to get tickets before hand because they sell out all their shows I think. But the tickets are kinda pricey. I've never been to any of the water parks so you're on your own there.

So out of all of those random thoughts that came to me, my biggest advice is plan ahead the times of the shows you plan to see and don't waste your fast pass.

[Sly Fox]

We don't arrive in time to hit the park on Monday. My whole crew including my mother- and father-in-law will be hitting the Magic Kingdom from 8am-3:30pm on Tuesday before we all meet up to do Hoop Dee Doo Revue. Wednesday the family plans on being there from open to close. I'll join them around 5pm and we are doing the Royal Table for dinner in the castle at 8:45pm so we could stay for fireworks. Thursday the kids and my in-laws will spend the entire day at the park while my wife leaves to join me in the evening for Bongo's Cuban Cafe and Cirque du Soleil's La Nouba. Friday I have to finish up my conference until 11:30am and then I join everyone else at the park until 5pm. We fly out Friday night (flights doubled to go to Saturday).

So essentially I am only at the park Wednesday evening and Friday afternoon. My kids (7, 4, 2) would probably only have interest in Animal Kingdom so we debated on whether to park hop. We decided to stick with Magic Kingdom on this trip because summertime lines will be brutal and this way they can maximize the park. In a few years the kids will be old enough to appreciate the other parks.

What rides in the Magic Kingdom are worth the wait? Which ones aren't? Keep in mind I have little kids.

[HenryGale]

Young kids in the MK:

Tomorrowland:
Buzz Lightyear
Laugh Floor
Speedway
Avoid - Stitch

Fantasyland:
Dumbo - must do first thing in the morning to avoid 3 hour waits
Peter Pan - Must fast pass or wait is forever
Winnie the Pooh
Mickey's Philharmagic
Small World
Snow White may be a bit scary for the little ones (easy to skip this one)

Liberty Square:
Hall of Presidents - just reopened
Haunted Mansion - may be intimidating for the 2 and 4 yo, but is not bad at all

Adventurland:
Jungle Cruise
Magic Carpets of Alladin
Pirates of the Carribean

Frontier Land:
Splash Mountain
Big Thunder Mountain (not the 2 yo, you be the judge for the 4 yo...my 4 rode it fine)

[Sly Fox]

Thanks for the recommendations. My 7-year-old is already spooked by the Haunted Mansion video. So that will be a no go.

[LUconn]

Splash mountain is weird. It's a lot more than just a log flume. It's themed around some racist movie that Disney doesn't seem to even acknowledge exists anymore other than this ride and you'll see Brer Bear around the park occasionally. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Song_of_the_South

[Sly Fox]

Thanks for all of the tips. We also wound up taking in Hollywood Studios for a day and then Animal Kingdom at the end of the week. Couldn't talk my son into Expedition Everest but that is a sweet setup.

The lead architect/designer for Animal Kingdom and a slew of attractions in the other parks spoke to us at my conference about integrating the Imagineer principles into churches. Cool concepts. He designed the layout at Saddleback. Love the mindset behind it all.

[HenryGale]

Joe Rhode is a really cool dude...

[Sly Fox]

This guy was Joe's boss back in the day. His name is Michael Lingerfelt.

Joe is indeed a very entertaining man.