Tom Sawyer’s Island or Swiss Family Tree House - How long do you need to do each of these? If you only had time for one, which would you choose and why? We will be two families - the kids will be 7,8,9,10 and 11 years old.
On our last trip in Feb 2020 we did not do either. We will be back in March 2023 and are planning two days at Magic Kingdom so I am thinking we will have time to do one. Other things that we did not do on the last trip were the People Mover, Country Bear Jamboree, Carousel of Progress.
Overall - I am wondering what you would choose if we need some time to “fill”.
Hall of Presidents as the kids should know our history. Country Bears are good but short. People movers is OK as it goes in space mountain, Carousel of progress will bore your kids to death. Tiki Bird are OK and kids might enjoy them plus get Dole whips right around the corner. Space Rangers is fun and the kids will love it. Of coarse Space Mountain. Tom Sawyer’s Island is more of a walk than anything else and the Tree House may be good for kids but for adults it is a climb and Boring.
Thanks! We are coming from Canada so the Hall of Presidents isn’t anything they will be interested in!
Last time we did Space Mountain and Space Rangers which they loved both!
I forgot about Tiki Bird, and they’d love the dole whip!
The Tree House takes 10 min to walk through. The island is a playground with trails, caves, wonky bridges, a fort. I love them both. My kids always loved going to the island to run around. They used to have Aunt Polly’s picnic lunches too. You could do both since the tree house takes so little time.
If you have never done the Hall of Presidents you should as it is quite amazing e3ven if your Canadian. We have went to Canada’s program in Epcot and loved it.
Treehouse is outdoors and involves a lot of climbing up and down stairs. Brief and boring (to this adult).
TSI is outdoors and can be a lot of fun for kids to run around and explore, with its caves, fort, and such. Some families really like it as a break.
People Mover is a wonderful, relaxing smooth ride that is in the shade and lets you see views of attractions you can’t otherwise get.
The remaining three, Country Bears, Tiki Birds, and CoP, are all older animatronics things that are indoors and are great places to sit in air conditioning in the afternoon (or if it rains). I think CoP is longer than the other two, and people are known to catch a brief nap there. Tiki Birds has a simulated thunderstorm, in case that would bother anyone.
I loved CoP as a kid. Still love it. It is a must do for our family. And everyone knows how I feel about People Mover. My favorite ride in all of Disney, despite the simplicity of it. During our UOR trip in May 2021, I went into MK (my AP hadn’t expired yet) one morning JUST to ride People Mover because it had just reopened.
TSI is a sure win over Swiss Family Treehouse…but the treehouse is a quick walk through. TSI you need to dedicate a long time to since there is so much to explore. The kids will love it!
We don’t care for the Tiki Room. And CBJ is totally skippable. HoP is really nice, but I wouldn’t prioritize it unless you need a nice, cool break. Don’t get me wrong, we found it very inspiring…I found the American Journey at Epcot the better of the two.
Tom Sawyer Island is a nice break away from the hustle and bustle of the parks. It’s something we did every trip from age 2 through 11.
People Mover is awesome at night. It’s a nice ride break off your feet. Fun for all ages.
Kids and I can’t stand Country Bear Jamboree but my husband will go every trip. He went with his dad as a kid. His dad died years ago so he goes for the nostalgia. Kids and I skip it.
Carousel of Progress is our absolute favorite. We sometimes do it twice a trip. My kids are now 19 and 13 and have loved it since our first trip when they were 7 and 2. It’s air conditioned and it’s a nice place for a break. You must do it!
Tom Sawyer Island as long as you have at least 45 min. It’s far and away the better of the two attractions with caves and such especially with that age group.
B/W the others a surprise hit for us (the entire family from when they were little kids to teens to us middle aged to my parents) is Carousel of Progress. We all like it. Plus no line ever and a/c
After that for me it’d be PeopleMover and Country Bear Jamboree last (I’m just not a super big fan and my hubby falls asleep in it…kids never looked thrilled in that one from youngens to now as teens).
Depends on the kids. My sister and I loved it - even at 4 and 9. We have always loved it.
Ditto for my kids. And even DH didn’t fall asleep and he does in Hall of Presidents, The American Adventure and Country Bear Jamboree (and Spaceship Earth)
Treehouse - 20 minutes, maybe 30 of the kids’ imaginations run away with them. Not good for bad knees mind.
TSI - as long as you want. There’s a lot to explore, and as long as you tell them (and trust them) not to leave the island without you it’s safe to let them go off on their own.
Even if they have no idea of the story, there are caves to explore, paths to follow, a water mill, barrel bridge and the fort (where they can pretend to shoot at the BTMRR passengers) plus the escape tunnel. The escape tunnel is quite dark and long. Make sure you tell them to let you know if they leave the fort. I lost my youngest as I assumed he must have left but he was still playing with new friends.
Definitely a place to get rid of some energy, and get away from the frenzied “hype” of MK.
