Favorite Less Popular Attractions!

[Frankie K]

We travel to WDW frequently (maybe 3-4 trips a year) with 2 girls under 10. I have always happily purchased Genie+ in the past. However, for a day or two this coming trip, I'm considering not buying it. We love how convenient it is, but I do feel like we are always rushing to make the next return time and we miss out on a lot of the littler details. For example, we haven't done Tom Sawyer Island in years, I'm sure there's plenty of shows we missed and we could probably easily spend a whole day just walking around Epcot's Flower and Garden Festival. What are your favorite things to do that may not have a lightning lane entrance? Thanks!

 

[mdmost]

The Riverboat and Sailing Ship Columbia
The monorail full loop around both parks
Main Street Vehicles
I love the little side paths like between the Castle and Liberty Square and behind the Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe to Crystal Palace.
Still love sitting through the Carousel of Progress

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Living with the Land

 

[erinch]

At AK: wandering around the Discovery Island Trail and the Garden of Life. The Safari Explorer Badge (forget exact name). If lucky enough to be after dark, get in FoP line right before park close and see Pandora after dark. Rafikis Planet Watch, and drawing lessons. The bird show.

At Epcot, the Scavenger hunts and the mission games. Wandering around inside the pavilions. Kidcot stops. The games and exhibits in Future World , which I shall always call it!

At DHS One Man’s dream and that exhibit.

At MK, show them their history with Hall of Presidents. Swiss Family Robinson treehouse. Tom Sawyer, as you said. Country Bears.

 

[Disney DayDreamer]

At AK: wandering around the Discovery Island Trail and the Garden of Life. The Safari Explorer Badge (forget exact name). If lucky enough to be after dark, get in FoP line right before park close and see Pandora after dark. Rafikis Planet Watch, and drawing lessons. The bird show.

At Epcot, the Scavenger hunts and the mission games. Wandering around inside the pavilions. Kidcot stops. The games and exhibits in Future World , which I shall always call it!

At DHS One Man’s dream and that exhibit.

At MK, show them their history with Hall of Presidents. Swiss Family Robinson treehouse. Tom Sawyer, as you said. Country Bears.

Can I ask what the scavenger hunts in Epcot are? And mission games? Years ago we did the Phineas and Ferb one in the countries, do they still do that or are they different now?

 

[erinch]

Now on a desktop so I can Cut and Paste:

-EPCOT: Phineas and Ferb (which was what Kim Possible became) now is Ducktales World Showcase Adventure
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/attractions/epcot/ducktales-play-app/
-MK: A Pirates Adventure: Treasures of the Seven Seas Missions
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/attractions/magic-kingdom/pirates-adventures/
-AK: Wilderness Explorers
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/attractions/animal-kingdom/wilderness-explorers/
-DHS: MagicBand+ Batuu Bounty Hunters Game in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge
https://blogmickey.com/2022/07/magicband-batuu-bounty-hunters-game-in-star-wars-galaxys-edge/
_WDW: Find Hidden Mickeys (Maybe make a bingo card?)
https://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/hiddenmickey.htm
-Most of the Epcot Festivals have a scanger hunt : Flower & garden this year has Spike the Bee (from the website):
Spike’s Pollen-Nation Exploration

Follow Spike the Bee on his pollination trail, where he will “bee” busy collecting nectar and pollinating gardens.

Here’s how it works:

1. Purchase your map and stickers at select merchandise locations for $9.99 plus tax.
2. Buzz around EPCOT in search of Spike, then add a sticker to your map when you find him.
3. At the end of your journey, take the map to Disney Traders or World Traveler and receive a surprise.

Spike's Pollen-Nation Exploration is subject to availability. Maps and prizes are available while supplies last.
-Overlooked Attractions AK (from 2017, but much is still valid)
https://allears.net/overlooked-attractions-2017-disneys-animal-kingdom/
-Secrets of WDW Videos from Mammoth Club (Molly)
clicking link will bring up a list of the secrets videos
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=mammoth+club+secrets

 

[etrenne]

Living with the Land

I gotta second this one! Something about the AC, the music, and the thunderstorm just brings instant peace! I have taken many accidental naps on this ride-- and love it just as much when I manage to stay awake!

 

[vakamalua]

I could ride the People Mover at MK all day (actually especially cool at night)!

 

[Disney DayDreamer]

Now on a desktop so I can Cut and Paste:

-EPCOT: Phineas and Ferb (which was what Kim Possible became) now is Ducktales World Showcase Adventure
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/attractions/epcot/ducktales-play-app/
-MK: A Pirates Adventure: Treasures of the Seven Seas Missions
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/attractions/magic-kingdom/pirates-adventures/
-AK: Wilderness Explorers
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/attractions/animal-kingdom/wilderness-explorers/
-DHS: MagicBand+ Batuu Bounty Hunters Game in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge
https://blogmickey.com/2022/07/magicband-batuu-bounty-hunters-game-in-star-wars-galaxys-edge/
_WDW: Find Hidden Mickeys (Maybe make a bingo card?)
https://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/hiddenmickey.htm
-Most of the Epcot Festivals have a scanger hunt : Flower & garden this year has Spike the Bee (from the website):
Spike’s Pollen-Nation Exploration

Follow Spike the Bee on his pollination trail, where he will “bee” busy collecting nectar and pollinating gardens.

Here’s how it works:

1. Purchase your map and stickers at select merchandise locations for $9.99 plus tax.
2. Buzz around EPCOT in search of Spike, then add a sticker to your map when you find him.
3. At the end of your journey, take the map to Disney Traders or World Traveler and receive a surprise.

Spike's Pollen-Nation Exploration is subject to availability. Maps and prizes are available while supplies last.
-Overlooked Attractions AK (from 2017, but much is still valid)
https://allears.net/overlooked-attractions-2017-disneys-animal-kingdom/
-Secrets of WDW Videos from Mammoth Club (Molly)
clicking link will bring up a list of the secrets videos
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=mammoth+club+secrets

Thank you so much for this information. I have 2 kids - one big kid - DD will be 20 this summer, this will be her 6th or 7th trip, we did both Kim Impossible and Phineas & Ferb. We've never done a scavenger hunt. Last trip was in Sept 2018 and was my DS's 1st trip. He was 2 years 9 months. This trip will be is 2nd trip, but 1st that he will remember, now that he is 7 years old. She can't wait to show him all the fun things she loved when she was younger. This will be great. Thanks again for all the great info!

 

[erinch]

Don’t forget the Boneyard in AK ! If you are there long enough, I’ve heard that fishing at Riverside is lots of fun too.

 

[seewong]

The people mover! Always miss it when visiting disneyland

 

[RedK]

Living with the Land, Star Tours and the People Mover are 3 of my favorite rides.

 

[livih99]

I think it does technically have a lightning lane, but the Winnie the Pooh ride in MK is a favorite of mine and usually has a relatively short wait

 

[chicagodisfan]

My son decided to make it a mission to go to every attraction in Disney World and we’ve had SO much fun doing the ones that we usually skip over as we go from one FP/lightning lane to another. Here are some of our favorites:

MK - Tom Sawyers’s Island that you mentioned is one of my absolute favorites! We did Tiki Birds for the first time and that was surprisingly fun, the Frontierland Shooting Arcade is now free and cute and nostalgic, and the Pirate scavenger hunt in Adventureland mentioned above is an absolute blast. The effects are so well done (watch out for the spitting snake!) and they are relatively short - I think three stops each. There are 4 adventures total. And the interactive queues at Peter Pan and Haunted Mansion are both really great. You miss them in the lightning lane lines but they aren’t worth enduring a huge wait. We like to go through them at the end of the night or during extended evening hours so we can linger and check them out but not get stuck in a long line.

Epcot - Ducktales World Showcase Adventure is awesome. It shares many of the features with the old Phinneas and Ferb. I think Phinneas and Ferb may have had more adventures per land but we are glad this is back; the Festival Scavenger Hunts are so fun, we like the Easter egg one the two weeks around Easter but Spike the Bee at Flower and Garden and Remy at Food and Wine are great too; the Imagination Pavilion and Spaceship Earth both have interactive exhibits after the rides that are fun and my kids really love playing at the jumping water by the Imagination Pavillion.

Animal Kingdom - we did the Animation classes at Rafiki’s Planet Watch for the first time and loved it! We would definitely do that again. And there are interactive scavenger hunts for the animal trails on the Play Disney app. They are so fun! They have you look for facts and answer questions and then prompt you to take pictures and add fun filters to them with animals or different borders.

Studios - We watched the Indiana Jones show for the first time in an age and really enjoyed that.

We are big Hidden Mickey fans too and enjoy looking for those in the parks and resorts. The Hidden Mickey book with the yellow cover is our favorite one to help find them. So many fun ones are in there!

 

[Her Dotness]

Anyone fond of scavenger hunts must not miss MK's A Pirate's Adventures. It's great fun.

You pick up a treasure map in the little building between POTC and Pecos Bill's. As you decipher its visual cues and locate the illustrated symbol in the surrounding area, you touch your MB to the symbol's sensor on an object to see/hear effects. Some of those are a bit spectacular as befits Disney creativity.

Some symbols are located in shops or beside attractions, others outdoors.

There are a series of treasure maps, so you can spend hours having fun if you like. If you do all the maps, you'll get a little prize.

We think this one more fun than Kim Possible ever was.

 

[Douglas Dubh]

The Riverboat and Sailing Ship Columbia

Uh the SSC is in Disneyland.

 

[nw6675]

I gotta second this one! Something about the AC, the music, and the thunderstorm just brings instant peace! I have taken many accidental naps on this ride-- and love it just as much when I manage to stay awake!

I love the Mickey shaped fruit!

I could ride the People Mover at MK all day (actually especially cool at night)!

My absolute favorite! So relaxing after hoofing it all day.

 

[QueenofPrideRock]

I was surprised by how much I loved the Batuu Bounty Hunters game in DHS?? Like all you're doing is running around scanning doors with your MagicBand+ but .... it made the purchase of the MagicBand+ worth it for me. (Also totally drained my battery.)

I also ADORE Muppet*Vision 3D, have to see it every time, it is a national treasure, etc etc etc.

I guess Star Tours is also "less popular" at this point? Love that one too.

 

[Pinnochio]

Carousel of Progress (it's a great big beautiful tomorrow, shining at the end of everyday!)

 

[tguz]

Mine is the Gran Fiesta Tour. We love to pop in and get out of the heat for a bit and there is never really a wait.