Overrated / Underrated - Fantasyland

And it’s a pirate ship that flies! In June we lucked out with a 16 min. line for Peter Pan at 10pm and the subsequent trips since the 2 yr old has insisted we do Peter Pan (even with its more normal 30 min. wait) when we’ve passed it at night. DH & I have taken turns with him in the line while the other one takes the other 2 older, less patient ones on a round of Snow White, Pinocchio, etc.

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I went last June with out any sort of TP. We were a Group of nine and were there four days. As far as Fantasyland goes, you can probably do each one twice without even trying. I suspect you are spending more effort than you will need.

The only things in Fantasyland that were one and done for us were Storybook canal boats, Carrousel and Casey. Well. And Peter Pan bc of line.

I’m still a bit more than a year away from my trip. This is more of a fun poll. I know I’m going to have all the time I need to ride every single thing and see all the shows I want! I was mostly interested in what is “overrated” in the DLR Fantasyland since I’m choosing to try and be spoiler free. (I figure I’ve gone this long without seeing these rides - I can wait one more year!) :laughing:

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I personally don’t think any of it is overrated, I love it all. We usually stay on site and hit all the FL rides that are open during MM, then once the rest open up, we head to those. The over or underrating of Storybook canals depends (for me) largely on who is your guide. Some of my “trips” have been wondrous adventures, while others have wondrous duds! My favorite trip was one where we had accomplished 12 rides (none duplicates) before breakfast. Oh and make sure you keep an eye out for clapping Peter! When I see him, it is like seeing a celebrity!

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What? Someone on the TP forum spending more time than is needed to plan out the minute details of a trip more than a year away?! Preposterous! :joy:

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It’s even sadder that I plan trips I don’t even take. I figure I paid for year long subscription. Why not make trip plans for trips each month to see what it would look like??!!?? :crazy_face:

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you are not alone!

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Nope, definitely not alone @darkmite2. Definitely not. I have a spreadsheet for WDW that I pull out every time I start dreaming about when we’re gonna get to go back.

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In this land, I love them all. I would say if you’re taking the Walts Footsteps tour you might hold off on Alice unless you plan on riding it multiple times. That is more than likely what you will ride. I love this ride so I would happily ride it multiple times. I think a must do if you’re a WDW regular is the Canal Boats, this was one of Walts favorites. The boats are a little tippy though lol

I personally prefer Peter Pan in MK to the DL version. Its still a long wait so I would try to get there at rope drop.

Hopefully you’re crowds are low. We went this August and used MaxPass and I found that the Matterhorn ran out of Fast passes first.

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If you get a multi-day ticket (or if you stay on property) you will get an early entry day – depending on the time of year, we can often get most of the rides in Fantasyland done in that hour if we get there right when things open up. Everything’s so close together that you can walk off one thing and on to another (with the exception of Matterhorn and Peter Pan, which often have longer waits).

We usually go for three full days and see everything, plus our favorites more than once. In five days, you can literally go on every ride, see every show, and eat at many of the restaurants. Plus after one ride, you’ll know what’s “meh” and won’t bother doing it again!

As a frequent visitor, I find most things in Fantasyland to be one-and-done. I love them for their nostalgia, but they don’t have high repeat-ability. To me Mr. Toad, Pinocchio, Snow White, Casey Jr. Train, the carousel, Dumbo and the teacups are fine once. The Storybook Land Canal boats could be done more than once - there are lots of details (although the line moves VERY SLOWLY). Same for Alice in Wonderland, Small World and possibly Peter Pan (although it’s pretty much the same as the WDW version).

The Matterhorn and the Subs are worth a repeat since there’s nothing like those at WDW.

I think that covers my thoughts on Fantasyland. Have a great time!!

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I grew up on the original Disneyland (E tickets and the like). My dad was there on opening day. My mom went on a high school trip. I’m 50 (born in 68) and had probably been there 10 times by the time I was 5. I offer that as background.

Fantasyland is my favorite. All of it. We do the Storybook Canal Rides, Small World (several times), Peter Pan (as many times as we can), Alice, Snow White, Pinocchio, and Mr. Toad (which was terrifying to me as a child). We do the Tea Cups. And of course, the Matterhorn (which I was too young to ride until later return trips). And then outside of Fantasyland, the only two “requirements” are Jungle Cruise (soft spot for this one: memories of making out with a captain in the cast area during the fireworks when I was 16) and Haunted Mansion. Sure, we’ll ride Splash Mountain and Space Mountain; but they aren’t part of my original memory. The submarine is no longer my 10,000 Leagues under the Sea (I’ve seen the Nemo version; it’s fine, but my claustrophobia wins). ToonTown is foreign to me (unlike an obviously younger person above), but only because of my age. I’ve never ridden Indiana Jones because meh. But to each his own. I’m cool with Disneyland changing (I have mixed feelings about Star Wars land, even though a 3rd grade me waited in very long lines to see the original Star Wars at the movie theater); I recognize though that things change. Bugs Land, which I never saw until I was an adult–with my little niece, I will miss. But plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose. I welcome Pixar Pier. I have great nostalgia for Disneyland, but I recognize that it will only remain the same in my memory.

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@GwynneAsh
We are of an age, although I have a few years on you (born in 65). I visited Disneyland for the first time when I was around 5. My only memories are of Pirates and Tea Cups. Both of these are must-rides for me. I was kind of sad when they re-did Pirates after the movies, but yes we have to accept change and move with the times!

We just returned from our epic road trip to take my oldest to college. We had three of her friends along who are all newbies to DL. Their reaction to the classic Fantasyland rides was interesting and funny (to me). They came off most of them with a shell-shocked look on their faces dues to how dark (figuratively) they are - particularly Mr. Toad’s decent into Hell. We ended with Peter Pan which has a much more upbeat feel. LOL

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My boys (now 14 and 15) went on all the FL rides a few years ago with a “matured view” and were shocked at the fact that we let them ride such “morbid” rides so young. In fact the exact quote from then 12 year old was, “what is wrong with you???” I was laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes!

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My daughters’ first visit to DL was in 2010 at ages 7 and 10. The scariest ride for them? Hands down, Snow White’s Scary Adventures! They still do not like that ride!

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