May the Force Be With Us: A Family Trip Report Summer 2021

Walt Disney World Trip Reports
1635

TRIP RETROSPECTIVE

PART 5

Attractions

This was our first trip where our kids were excited and open to riding thrill rides. We had to coax them very carefully to ride one or two on our last trip to Disneyland in May 2019. Even DD4 proved herself to be a little daredevil! I think by our next trip, DS will be tall enough to try the remaining rides he missed this time (if not brave enough to try the UOR roller coasters!). And maybe DD2 will even be able to join her older siblings on Splash Mountain and Big Thunder.

Here are our favorite attractions:

Me

  1. Rise of the Resistance was an instant favorite. It will be hard to top the experience of being part of the Resistance, face to face with the First Order, accompanied by familiar characters and musical themes, ambitious special effects, and thrilling ride elements. For those who have been on the Forum for some time, you know how important this ride is to me - I’ve been tracking it since the day it opened! That’s what I mean when I say riding it was cathartic. It sums up the love and joy I’ve felt seeing the sequel trilogy unfold over the last decade. I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but these films speak to me.
  2. Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure was the best roller coaster experience I’ve ever had. It was so smooth yet so thrilling and unpredictable. The theming was the best of any Universal ride, and rivaled even the best of Disney (i.e., Rise of the Resistance). Make sure to try it at least once on the bike. It’s fun in the sidecar as well, but the stance of the bike is more fun.
  3. Velocicoaster was the most thrilling coaster I’ve ever been on. It was perfectly built for thrills without giving you a headache or knocking you around too much. The theming brought up so much nostalgia for me - it is so slickly done in the Jurassic World style, but has enough Jurassic Park charm to keep it from feeling sterile. Loved it.
  4. Splash Mountain has long been my favorite ride, and it still is (let’s call these top 5 a tie). As I said before, I am at peace with the future, but I will miss the ride. It carries so much nostalgia for me, as one of the first thrill rides I ever rode at Disneyland as an 11-year-old. I am looking forward to seeing it as The Princess and the Frog. I’m sure Imagineering will get this right.
  5. Tower of Terror is another ride I’ve often called my “favorite.” My favorite sensation is that thrill in your stomach when you drop, and I love the theming! I was devastated when DCA’s version was changed to GotG, but now that I’ve ridden it, I can honestly say that having both ToT in Florida and GotG in DCA is the perfect outcome. Let’s keep it this way, please?

Honorable Mentions:
6. Expedition Everest was in my Top 3 at Disney coming into the trip, but it was bumped by RotR, I suppose. This ride is built so perfectly to maximize thrills despite not being in the same class as, say, Velocicoaster. (That’s why DS didn’t like it, I guess!) I love the theming as well.
7. Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway was better and more thrilling than I thought it would be, without being too scary for timid DD2. Don’t skip this one! It’s a charmer.
8. Flight of Passage was much more enjoyable for me this time thanks to getting my motion sickness under control. I will always ride this one when we are here in the future. I had worried I’d have to write it off after my first experience. Take dramanine and ask for a seat near the center of the theater.
9. Krakatau Aquacoaster was so much fun! Everyone who rode it loved it. It was not too scary once you were on it, though DS was spooked looking at it from the queue and did not ride. I’m sad he didn’t get to experience it, cause I know he would have loved it. But I’m also proud of him for being willing to get up to the loading platform, and prouder still that he spoke up and said he wasn’t ready to ride yet. That took as much guts as riding it.
10. Frozen Ever After gets a mention mostly since it was my first time riding it, and I was impressed. Like MMRR, it’s another one I think everyone should ride at least once. It’s more fun than the Maelstrom. #sorrynotsorry

DW

  1. Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure
  2. Flight of Passage
  3. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
  4. Mission Space: Orange
  5. Rise of the Resistance
    Honorable Mentions:
  6. Velocicoaster
  7. Expedition Everest
  8. Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
  9. Escape from Gringotts
  10. Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

DSIL

  1. Velocicoaster
  2. Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure
  3. Big Thunder Mountain
  4. Hulk
  5. Expedition Everest
  6. Space Mountain
  7. Avatar: Flight of Passage

DBIL

  1. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
  2. Rise of the Resistance
  3. Avatar: Flight of Passage
  4. Test Track
  5. The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man

DS9

  1. Space Mountain
  2. Big Thunder Mountain
  3. Splash Mountain
  4. Ika Moana
  5. Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem
  6. Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
  7. Slinky Dog Dash
  8. Millennium Falcon
  9. Test Track
  10. Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway

DD7

  1. Space Mountain
  2. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
  3. Splash Mountain
  4. Kali River Rapids
  5. Avatar: Flight of Passage
  6. Test Track
  7. PeopleMover
  8. Mad Tea Party
  9. Slinky Dog Dash
  10. Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway

DD4

  1. Slinky Dog Dash
  2. Flight of the Hippogriff
  3. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
  4. Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
  5. Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem
  6. Magic Carpets of Aladdin
  7. Dumbo
  8. Frozen Ever After
  9. Cat in the Hat
  10. Caro-Seuss-el

DD2

  1. Ariel’s Undersea Adventure
  2. Caro-Seuss-el
  3. Prince Charming Regal Carousel
  4. Alien Swirling Saucers
  5. Dumbo
  6. Triceratops Spin
  7. The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
  8. It’s a Small World
  9. Astro Orbiter
  10. Speedway
19 Likes