Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom - Ride Guide and Spoilers

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Magic Kingdom is my favourite place to visit when we are staying at Walt Disney World. There is so much to see and do. On our recent trip we found little J went on almost everything which I hadn't expected as I thought he still may be too small for some of the rides but he wasn't, he was tall (and brave) enough. I thought I would share a ride and spoiler guide to the attractions at Magic kingdom so you will know what to expect on your next visit.

Tomorrowland

Buzz Lightyear's Space Range Spin

Type of Ride - Slow moving ride which seats 2. Both riders get a gun with a laser which you aim at Z's throughout the ride. Shoot the Z's to score points.

Hints, Tips or Spoilers - Gun is stuck in place and hard to use. Little ones may find it difficult to press the trigger as its on the back of the gun so you need to use your thumb! Make sure you spin your ship round to face the targets to make it easier to hit the further away, higher value targets. If you manage to get maximum points you will be given a special sticker to mark your achievement!

Min Height - No

Fast Pass + - Yes

Ride Photo - Yes

Astro Obiter

Type of Ride - Flying rocket ride. Sit inside your rocket with your legs either side. Younger ones can sit in-between your legs

Hints, Tips or Spoilers - Once it is your turn to ride you get an elevator up to the rockets which are situated on an upper platform. Once the ride starts your rockets will go even higher in to the air.  You can control your height with a lever which is fun for the younger riders. Lovely views of Tomorrowland and the Castle,  especially if riding at night.

Min Height - No

FastPass+ - No

Ride Photo - No

Space Mountain

Type of Ride - High Speed Rollercoaster in the dark. You sit in a rocket with your legs either side. Each rocket seats 6 people however you are in your own capsule.

Hints, Tips or Spoilers - You are fastened in with a lap bar so that always means no loop the loops. Safe for younger riders who aren't afraid of the dark. Space simulation noises throughout so does feel realistic! If you are tall avoid the front row as there is very little space for long legs. Seems to break down quite a lot so check the app for closures.

Min Height - 44"/112cm

FastPass+ - Yes

Ride Photo - Yes

Tomorrowland Transit Authority People Mover

Type of Ride - Slow moving train ride which takes you on a tour of Tomorrowland, and through some of the attractions. Comfortably seats 4.

Hints, Tips or Spoilers - Can be dark at times. Queue seems to always be busy however it does move quickly.

Min Height - No

FastPass+ - No

Ride Photo - No

Tomorrowland Speedway

Type of Ride - Drive your own car around the large track.

Hints, Tips or Spoilers - Steering can be done by younger riders, although they might not be able to reach the control pedals. Luckily pedals are available on both sides of the car. Cars are petrol so can be quite smelly at times as there are a lot on the track. Queue tends to move quickly. Currently closed at the moment and has been for quite a while. Couldn't see any refurbishment underway on the actual ride however there is a Tron ride being built close by. 

Min Height - 32"/81cm and 54"/137cm to ride alone.

FastPass+ - Yes

Ride Photo - No

Fantasyland

Mad Tea Party

Type of Ride - Classic cup and saucers ride. Comfortably seats two adults and two children.

Hints, Tips or Spoilers - Spin the wheel in the centre of the cup to make you saucer spin you round faster. If you have a larger party make sure you ask for two cups as you move to the front of the queue as you will be squeezed into one otherwise.

Min Height - No

FastPass+ - Yes

Ride Photo - No

Dumbo The Flying Elephant

Type of Ride - Fly around on Dumbo The Flying Elephant. Use the lever to make Dumbo go higher or lower.

Hints, Tips or Spoilers - There are two Dumbo rides which helps reduce queue waiting times. There is an indoor play area midway through the queue. It's huge inside with an area for 2-3 year olds and 4-8 year olds. You don't have to go on the ride to go in the Dumbo play area you can just leave via the exit after the kids have finished.

Min Height - No

FastPass+ - Yes

Ride Photo - No

The Barnstormer

Type of Ride - A junior rollercoaster. Seats 2 comfortably.

Hints, Tips or Spoilers - The queue for this ride can reach up to 90 minutes at time. The actual ride lasts less than 40 seconds. On the plus side you can usually access a Fast Pass throughout the day. The perfect 'entry level' roller coaster for children is what makes this such a popular choice. Make sure you hold onto your cap if you have one as you speed round the track!

Min Height - 35"/89cm

FastPass+ - Yes

Ride Photo - No

It's A Small World 

Type of Ride - A large boat ride through different countries around the world.

Hints, Tips or Spoilers - Each boat can seat approx 20 people, the queue is constantly moving. Once you have been on the ride I can guarantee you will have the 'It's a Small World' song playing in your head for the rest of the day. If you have any loose change the children can throw them into the water, there is a large coin collection which has been there for some time.

Min Height - No

FastPass+ - Yes

Ride Photo - No

Peter Pan's Flight

Type of Ride - Fly high over the rooftops of London in your very own pirate ship to Neverland. Seats two comfortably.

Hints, Tips or Spoilers - Extremely popular. There is always a large queue time. Sometimes 2 hours plus. Fast pass is available but is usually booked up. Can be dark in places with UV and good use of LED lighting to give the ride some special effects.

Min Height - No

FastPass+ - Yes

Ride Photo - No

Under The Sea - Journey Of The Little Mermaid

Type of Ride - Slow moving ride. Hop on board your own shell for a journey under the sea. Each shell sits two comfortably.

Hints, Tips or Spoilers - make sure you join the right queue as you can meet Ariel right next door. Lots of music and characters will have you singing along. The ride tells the story from beginning to end. Don't forget to look up as you start to move down under the sea.

Min Height - No

FastPass+ - Yes

Ride Photo - No

The Many Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh

Type of Ride - Slow moving ride through the Hundred Acre Wood. Each honey pot sits 4 comfortably. Two in the front, two in the back.

Hints, Tips or Spoilers - Visit lots of characters along the way while your honey pot bounces like tigger and sways side to side as it gets caught on a blustery day.

Min Height - No

FastPass+ - Yes

Ride Photo - No

Seven Dwarves Mine Train

Type of Ride - Child friendly rollercoaster. Seats two comfortably.

Hints, Tips or Spoilers - Can be fast and steep in places however slows quickly as you enter the mines where you see the dwarves at work. Queue times are crazy, can reach over 200 minutes at times. Fast passes for this ride are booked months in advance. Remember to smile as if you scan your magic band you get a nice video and stills from your ride. This was Little J's favourite ride in the entire park so be prepared to ride more than once!

Min Height - 38"/97cm

FastPass+ - Yes

Ride Photo - Yes and a video too.

Prince Charming Regal Carousel 

Type of Ride - An old fashioned carousel ride with views of the castle and fantasyland.

Hints, Tips or Spoilers - The carousel can accommodate a lot of riders so queue will move quickly.  You can ride on the same horse as your little one, just put them on first, fasten the seatbelt around them and climb on behind as the bigger horses have room for two.

Min Height - No

FastPass+ - No

Ride Photo - No

Liberty Square

Haunted Mansion

Type of Ride - A spine tingling tour of the dark, haunted estate. 

Hints, Tips or Spoilers - Can be large queues at times but keep checking for a fast pass as one will usually become available later on in the evening.

Min Height - No

FastPass+ - Yes

Ride Photo - No

Frontierland

Splash Mountain

Type of Ride - Long Flume ride based on The Song Of The South. Each flume seats upto 8 people comfortably.

Hints, Tips or Spoilers - You can queue separately for the front row however this will increase your queuing time by a little.  The ride is quite long with lots of ups and downs both inside and out. The main drop is quite steep and the force of the splash when you reach the bottom may be too much for little ones. If you are not riding there is a small sheltered play area just by the exit. If you are riding expect to get wet, lots of fun especially on a hot day.

Min Height - 40"/102cm

FastPass+ - Yes

Ride Photo - Yes

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Type of Ride - Runaway mine train type rollercoaster. Each cart seats two comfortably. 

Hints, Tips or Spoilers - Queue times vary dramatically depending on the time of day. Towards park closure the queue time can be as little as 5 minutes and riding in the dark has the added bonus of seeing the fireworks if you time it right. You can sit three in a cart if you have a little one who is wanting to sit between two adults to feel safe.

Min Height - 40'/102cm

FastPass+ - Yes

Ride Photo - No

Adventureland

Jungle Cruise

Type of Ride - Journey though the exotic rivers on board a boat with your own tour guide.

Hints, Tips or Spoilers - The Magic Kingdoms most iconic ride which means it can be extremely busy at times. Don't expect the same experience as you get in Animal Kingdom though as the animals on this cruise aren't real!

Min Height - No

FastPass+ - Yes

Ride Photo - No

Pirates Of The Caribbean 

Type of Ride - Embark on a voyage to a time when Pirates ruled the seas. Each boat seats approx 20 comfortably.

Hints, Tips or Spoilers - Your boat takes you through a pirate adventure taking place at night. Can be dark and loud at times. Queue not usually very long. There is shop at the end of the ride that sells all your pirate merchandise which can't be found in many of the larger stores.

Min Height - No

FastPass+ - Yes

Ride Photo - No

The Magic Carpets Of Aladdin 

Type of Ride - Hop aboard your own flying carpet for views from above Adventureland. Each carpet seats 4 comfortably.

Hints, Tips or Spoilers - The two people in the front can control the carpet to go higher or lower and the two in the back can tip the carpet frontwards and backwards. Watch out for the camel.. he spits!

Min Height - No

FastPass+ - Yes

Ride Photo - No

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Seaworld, Orlando

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Disclosure - We were gifted tickets for the purpose of this post. All thoughts, opinions and photographs are our own. 

Our on recent visit to Walt Disney World we decided to head out of the parks and visit two other attractions, Universal Studios and SeaWorld. We have visited Universal before but we had never been to SeaWorld so we were really looking forward to it. SeaWorld tends to get quite bad press although I never actually take notice of such things in the media unless I experience it myself, so I was eager to explore the park myself and make my own decisions.

Arriving at SeaWorld was easy from Walt Disney World, we ordered an Uber which took us straight to the main gate and cost around $11. We headed straight through security and then were greeted by a very friendly dolphin who was more than happy to pose for a photo with little J.

I had already downloaded the SeaWorld app so had an idea of what we would get up to there and also little J was quite excited to visit the new Sesame Street Land.

Just from glancing at the app you will know that SeaWorld isn't just about animals and shows it's so much more than that. It's a theme park too with actually some of the best thrill rides we have ever been on but I will talk more about them later.

We started to make our way around the park and we soon came to the StringRay area. We have visited many aquariums in the past and seen StringRay up close but we actually got the chance to feed them which was an amazing experience.

The StingRay food is available to buy for $6 and I will warn you that you will be given little frozen fishes. They are dead of course but their eyes are still there and it did make me feel a little queasy. The idea is you hold the fish in-between your fingers upright and place your hand on the bottom of the tank. The Stingray will then swim over your hand collecting the fish on the way. I actually didn't give this a go myself but the boys loved it and it did look fun.

Next we wandered to the dolphins however there was something going on down by the pool, maybe a 'swim with' experience so it was very busy and a huge queue was forming. We did get to see them swimming around and doing little tricks but it would have been nicer to get closer to them but unfortunately that wasn't an option for us on this trip as it's quite costly.

On our way to see the Manatees little J found a little creature wandering around, a lizard.

It was nice to see the Manatee's in rehabilitation. Some of them were huge and I had no idea that they eat cabbages, how strange. The Manatee Rehabilitation gives you a glimpse behind the scenes of the  five acre Rescue Center used for rehabilitating wildlife that have been ill, injured or orphaned – including manatees, sea turtles, birds and other marine animals. While a guided tour of the entire facility has been available for years, the park has now opened up one portion of the area for complimentary viewing to all park guests. This gives you the chance to see firsthand some of the top problems Manatee populations are facing and simple actions we can all take to help, through interactive displays and rescue footage straight from the SeaWorld Animal Rescue Team.

While John and big J headed to queue for the Manta ride, little J and I stumbled upon some pretty birds.

Our first family ride was Antartica - Empire Of The Penguin. The ride is a motion based simulator ride that takes you on the journey of a little penguin. When we were near the front of the queue we were offered wild or mild spinning. We opted for mild however we did see 'wild' once inside and it didn't look too bad. Once we had finished the ride we were surrounded by penguins and it was so cold. Some of the penguins were motionless so we thought they were not real at first however we soon realised they were. It was lovely to see them swimming around in the waters.

Like I said earlier SeaWorld is much more than animals it is also a theme park which if I am honest appeals to us as a family more that seeing animals and shows.

Kraken, Manta and Mako are three of the best thrill rides we have actually ever been on. We love rollercoasters and if I am honest I didn't think the rollercoasters at SeaWorld would be any good but I was so wrong. Each ride had no waiting time at all, we just walked on them which is crazy as if these rides were in Disney, Universal or UK theme parks the wait would be over an hour, possibly two. I'm not sure why they had no queues as they are amazing, I am guessing people head to SeaWorld with their families to see the animals and not for rides.

Both big J and I loved Mako. It's so strange to have a thrill ride that does not secure you in over your shoulders, there is just a bar by your stomach. It reaches up to 73mph and goes up to 200ft high. It's actually Orlando's tallest, fastest and longest rollercoaster and we loved it.

Manta was John's favourite and is very similar to Air, at Alton Towers however it has a loop and seemed a lot faster.

Kraken was also lots of fun and we all enjoyed it.

As well as the rides, attractions and animals there were two attractions that were not included in your ticket price. You can pay $6 per person to go on a Pink Flamingo Boat Ride or $5 per person to go on The Iconic Sky Tower. To be honest I wasn't happy that if you want to go on these two attractions you have to pay. We actually didn't realise and we had already said we were going to on on the Iconic Sky Tower so it cost us $20.

We did all enjoy soaring 400ft feet into the air and the views of Orlando were amazing.

There were rides for little J too in Sesame Street Land. New to SeaWorld this year, Sesame Street has lots of fun rides and attractions for little ones and little J really enjoyed the time we spent there. It was a really hot day and there was very little shade in this area but there were no queues for the rides so we managed to do everything quite quickly before it was time to head home.

We all really enjoyed our day at SeaWorld and it was nice to visit a different theme park that wasn't Disney for a day. I think if we had visited some of the shows and talks our day would have been longer however due to the heat we did call it a day just around 4pm but we did manage to go on all the rides, and the thrill rides twice each.

The best value ticket for visiting SeaWorld Parks in Florida is the Discovery Cove Ultimate Package, which includes a one-day reservation at Discovery Cove (with 30-minute dolphin swim experience and all meals and snacks included) plus 14-days unlimited entry to SeaWorld, Busch Gardens and Aquatica Orlando, with free parking included at all parks. Prices start from £192 per person.

For more information, visit www.seaworldparks.co.uk

Would we visit again? Absolutely. There is so much to see and do and like I said earlier we are a family that loves rides and the three thrill rides here are amazing, so they alone will bring us to SeaWorld on our next visit to Orlando.

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Michelle

 

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Christmas 2018 | The Lanterns at Chester Zoo

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On Sunday we headed over to Chester to experience The Lanterns at Chester Zoo. We have never been before but some of the family went last year and loved it so they booked for us all to go this year. I had no idea what to expect so I was really surprised when we got there to see lots of animals made out of lights.

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Christmas 2018 | Tea With Santa At Dobbies

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On Saturday we headed to Dobbies Garden Centre for our first visit of the year to see Santa. I say our first visit because we have at least another 4 visits planned to various grottos but I can honestly say now I doubt any will compare to the whole Dobbies experience.

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Days Out | Knowsley Safari Park

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We live under 20 minutes away from Knowsley Safari Park yet we haven't been for years which is such a shame. Last week we visited and I instantly remembered all the things I loved about the park and how much fun we have missed out on.

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Planning A Ski Trip

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Before big J left primary school he was offered the chance to go Skiing with the school to the French Alps. I remember being shocked at first because our little boy wanted to go somewhere he had never been before doing something so different than he had ever experienced, without us. It took a lot of persuading and tears before we said yes, but looking back now I am so glad we did. As expected he had an amazing time with his friends and recently we have spoken about maybe going skiing as a family.

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Days Out | CBBC Summer Social 2018

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We were so excited to hear that the CBBC Summer Social event was coming to Liverpool this year and we were literally counting down the days. The lineup for the 3 day event was amazing including lots of CBBC and CBeebies favourites such as Sam and Mark, Mr Tumble, Dr Ranj and lots more.

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Days Out | Indoor Play Centres In Manchester

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Over the last few months we have visited lots of indoor activity / play centres, however there are three in particular that little J has said are his favourite. All completely different but all based around in and around Manchester so I thought I would share with all three.

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Our Stay At Simgill Farm Cottages

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We have just returned from a lovely family weekend break to the Lake District. We love visiting the Lakes and have previously stayed in a little Bed and Breakfast, Caravan Park or Hotel. This break was a little different as there were 14 of us in total so we needed to book somewhere big enough for us all. After a lot of searching the internet my brother in law found Simgill Farm. It's described as luxury self catering accommodation with properties that sleep up to 18 people.

We booked Barn Court which is a detached 5 bedroom cottage that can sleep up to 14 people plus room for cots for children under 2. We have never stayed in anything like this before so we weren't  sure what to expect however after reading the reviews on TripAdvisor and browsing some photographs we were really looking forward to it.

Check in time is from 3pm however we were stuck in traffic on the journey then popped in to Kendal for some dinner first so we didn't arrive till almost 8pm. We headed to the owners house who greeted us and came across opened the cottage up, and gave us a brief tour.

Downstairs there was a large living area which had three sofas, tv, video and dvd player and lots of cushions and beanbags.

There was a bedroom which had one double bed and two single beds. This bedroom had a small wardrobe and 8 decent sized drawers.

Across the hall from the bedroom was a small bathroom with toilet, sink and shower cubicle.

Just along the hall was the kitchen. It was fully equipped with a huge dining room table. It wasn't big enough for all of us to sit around at the same time due to highchairs however there were extra chairs and breakfast bar stools available.

The kitchen had everything you needed from a self catering cottage. It had a huge double oven, microwave, kettle, toaster and lots of cutlery, glasses, plates etc.

There was also a fridge, dishwasher and washer/dryer.

Outside there was a huge garden area, hammock with stand, BBQ and a hot tub which is available to use at an extra cost. I am sad to say that we didn't use the outside area at all we were too busy exploring the Lakes.

Upstairs there were 4 bedrooms. A Master bedroom with ensuite and a single bed.

Two double rooms and the last bedroom had a double bed and a single bed. There was also a bathroom upstairs too.

Simgill had provided us with two travel cots, two highchairs and stair gates were fitted, so really child friendly and saved some space in the cars travelling up.

Simgill Farm is home to over 100 Alpacas and we were lucky enough to book a time slot to go up to the fields and see them.

This was free of charge and I would definitely recommend it. The owners were very friendly and answered any questions we had about the Alpacas and also gave us buckets of food so we could feed them.

Travelling in a group of 14 including 4 small children I was a bit unsure whether it would be big enough and whether we would all have enough space as I know we were all bringing toys etc but it honestly was. It never felt overcrowded and I know the four of us felt like we had lots of space and could head to our bedroom should we need a quick rest.

Big J shared a room with his cousin even though our room had two single beds so it was just the three of us. The extra bed was used as a place to store things so that did come in handy.

Like I said earlier we have never been to this type of accommodation before so had no idea what to bring so we did pack everything we could think of however there are a few things we didn't need.

Whats Included.

Towels - There were plenty of bath towels and hand towels on each bed.

Toilet Rolls - We only used the downstairs bathroom as our bedroom was downstairs and there were two rolls provided. I did top this up with our own toilet rolls as this bathroom probably got used the most by everyone.

Hand Soap - there was a small bar of soap provided and small toiletries.

Tea/Coffee - Again a small selection of tea/coffee is provided (similar to those found in hotel rooms)

Entertainment - There were a selection of videos and dvds in the living area, playing cards and also some family board games such as scrabble.

Wifi - Free and was very good considering we were in the Lake District

Highchairs/Cots - available on request.

A visit to the Alpacas - Definitely worth a visit. The kids loved it.

What To Bring

Food/Drink - It's self catering so unless you want to eat out then I would recommend bringing some food especially breakfast/snacks. There is a Morrisons and Aldi about a 10/15 minute drive away.

Hairdryer - I brought my own anyway but I didn't spot one in the rooms.

Iron - there was a board however couldn't find an iron.

Kitchen Roll - I was lost without this because I use it for everything.

Kitchen Foil - The trays in the oven where already lined but I brought extra and it was used.

Overall we had a great stay at Simgill Farm, I think we all wished it was for longer. It's a great base for visiting the Lakes. Kendal is about a 20 minute drive away, Bowness/Windermere/Ambleside is about 30/40 minutes and Coniston was approx 1 hour away.

Departure time was 10am so it was nice to get up and enjoy breakfast before we left. When it was time to go the owners popped over to say goodbye and also to start cleaning for the next guests who were arriving that afternoon. It does seem very popular so booking in advance is definitely recommended.

Would we visit again? Definitely if we could get a big group together again. Like I said earlier I wished we had booked for longer as there is so much to see and do in the Lakes, an extra few days would have been great.

If you found this post useful there are a few ways that you could say thanks and support Playdays and Runways.

Have you stayed in a large accommodation venue? Leave us a comment below and let us know about your visit.

Visit our Out and About Section for lots of travel posts or check out Snowdonia View

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Michelle

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