While surfing the Net we all come across many articles about how great Walt Disney World is. Top Five lists abound recommending everything from the best attractions to the tastiest foods and more. And I’ve even written some of these lists.
But today I thought it would be only fair to look at the other side of the Disney Dollar, so to speak. Is everything at Walt Disney World worth the time?
Here is my Top Five list of what I consider to be time wasters out of any Disney vacation. I’ve chosen only one from each of the four Parks and one from Downtown Disney:
Magic Kingdom: Tom Sawyer Island
I’m sure back in 1955 when Disneyland first opened this was a fantastic place for kids! Davy Crocket was popular as were Westerns in general. And the works of Mark Twain were still regarded with respect in schools, unlike today. So the chance to crawl over a turn-of-the-century island with a cave and a military Fort must have been almost irresistible.
Even in 1971 when WDW opened, the pull of Tom Sawyer was still strong. But we have to admit that Disney was offering a lot more entertainment on the shores of the Island back then. Characters like Huck and Becky roamed the paths as well as a few soldiers and Indians.
But now it’s just a big empty Island really. You simply walk around and then leave. For me and mine it simply isn’t worth the raft ride until Disney adds some more magic perhaps as they did briefly at Disneyland with the Pirate makeover.
EPCOT: Wonders of Life
Not so much a waste of time anymore as a waste of space. I never got to see the attractions in this Pavilion, which I regret. Cranium Command and Body Wars only exist on YouTube these days, which is a shame. But things change and that’s not a bad thing. If the changes bring better things.
But in the case of Wonders it was simply shut down. Now it’s just a big empty building taking up prime real estate that we’re all paying to see! Oh, Disney does open it for conferences and lectures during The Flower and Garden and the Wine and Food Festivals, but it offers a bland experience at best.
Without a corporate sponsor to pump money into this building, don’t expect anything new in the back corner of Innoventions East anytime soon.
Hollywood Studios: Backlot Tour
In a nutshell: Just stop already! This ‘attraction’ was never really a great thing to begin with, and so as Disney has raided it’s
footprint for other attractions over the years it’s become even less inviting. When I last bothered to give it a chance, the special effects demonstration at the beginning was broken, so perhaps the best part of the ‘attraction’ was missing. Then we just rode past rooms with stuff in them before going out into the sun to drive past other Park Guests who were walking in the same area.
Hardly an exclusive backstage pass! With rumors that this ‘attraction’ will soon be closed entirely swirling around the Internet, I say: It couldn’t happen too soon.
Animal Kingdom: Rafiki’s Planet Watch
Do your kids dream of going to school while at WDW? I didn’t think so, but that’s how it may feel for some when they visit the Watch. It’s filled with educational opportunities, but they usually require a lot of milling around and reading. You may see an animal being cared for. But not likely. You may see a candid moment in an animal’s life on an Animal Cam. But not likely. Getting the idea?
It tries hard to be both educational and entertaining, but simply doesn’t have enough to work with.
Having said that, I do enjoy the train ride over to the Watch on the Harambe Line. And sometimes you can meet the Talking Trashcan! But after that, plan to be bored.
Downtown Disney: Pleasure Island / Hyperion Wharf
Pleasure Island is no more and Hyperion Wharf is in a complete stall. There simply isn’t anything there now.
When Pleasure Island was up and running, I never saw it as a viable family experience anyway. Mainly designed around the nightclub culture, it was more for partying adults than your typical Disney Guest. And the stores in that section of DTD were not usually Disney themed.
But that was all to change with the coming of Hyperion Wharf! A new family environment with this and that and blah blah blah. So where is it? When will it be finished? No one knows.
So until Disney finishes whatever it’s trying to do over the bridge, this area wins as the biggest time waster, and space waster, of Downtown Disney.
In Conclusion: I’ll just say that for some areas, I found it hard to find a time waster, while for others I had to choose between two or three. Do you agree with my list, or do you have a bigger time waster for one or more of the Parks?
Be a sport and let them be known! Perhaps we can save some unsuspecting Walt Disney World Guest from boredom!
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I have done wdw at least 30 times…first time i have been to Tom Sawyers Island was last Sept. with my 3 yr grandson. The best part was it felt like we had the place to ourselves. It was a great break from the crowds. Awesome for boys, lots to explore.
I am in complete agreement with you on your list of Time Wasters.
I think it depends on what is a waste of time and what is not depending on what you like to do. If yo are mainly a thriller seeker and just want to ride the fast rides like Haunted Mansion then yes all of those would be boring. If not then those may not be boring.
My kids loved the planet watch last time we were there.(although we will probably skip it this time since we are in a race with time while we are there 4 parks 2 days..ugh!!!!!) They got to pet a BIG snake, cannot remember which kind it was but it was HUGE! And for boys who love these sorts of things it was huge hit as was the train ride over there.
As a mother of 4 young boys aged 10, 7, 4 and nearly 2, I have to say one of their top places to go is Tom Sawyer Island. Its not confined, they can run and be loud and be a real child. You can even walk on the grass! I got frustrated in the playground there with parents (of girls mainly) stopping their child from being a child. If you can’t do it at WDW, where can you? Also, my name is Becky so they get a kick from the Tom <3 Becky sign on the fence….
Stitch and Narnia are my two missing…Dinosaurs was loud and unnecessarily rough…
I miss the little eatery on Tom Saywer Island!
My daughter loves Rafiki’s Planet watch because of the petting area! We had fun on Tom Sawyer’s Island, we got to do the scavenger hunt as a family and the kids were so excited when they found the paint brush. I could see how it might not be as fun once they are all found because there doesn’t seem to be much purpose after that.
This would have been good to know when we took our family over a couple of years ago. We did not go to Tom Sawyer’s Island as we have been at Disneyland and didn’t think we needed that boredom. We did do the Backlot Tour and while it was cool to see some of the things (the airplane, herbie and the loop lets you see both sides), it was not what we expected. I was fortunately enough to have been able to see/experience Wonders of Life back in 1992. Body Wars was cool-was basically Star Tours with a different film. We wanted to see it again, but lines were long. I recall the rest was interesting, but not overly entertaining, which is why people go to WDW. If they can educate you while entertaining you, LOVE IT.
We were at WDW in early June of 2011. We did RPW for the first time. I liked the set up. My daughters (12 & 6) liked seeing the animals. The A/C was nice for cooling off. We also got to take pictures with Pocahantas and Rafiki AND Jiminy Cricket, who is hard to find in the parks. I have no complaints about it. As for the other things, I would recommend doing them once and if you don’t like them then don’t do them again. Epcot is know for having a lot of educational spots. The Wonders of Life we did in 2002. The Body Wars ride scared my then 4 year old. The Energy ride w/ Ellen seems outdated. I won’t complain though. Not everything at the parks is spectacular. Low key is good sometimes. I just wish we could go more often. Texas is far from CA and FL. : )
It’s funny, my sister LOVES going to “school” at AK, and has since she was really little. She’s just into all that geekery. She’s a rare breed, I guess. And either way, I applaud the Mouse for going to the trouble to promote conservation. It’s no Expedition Everest, but, you know, they can’t aaall be Expedition Everests.
I miss the olden-days… when there actually was a Backlot on the Backlot Tour.
I’m not a fan of all the movies at World Showcase. Although, I went to “O Canada” for the first time in YEARS and was pretty excited about Martin Short. Either it wasn’t as bad as I remember, or they updated it. So, maybe I’ll give France and China another shot. They’re probably the only thing on my list of time-wasters. I’d much rather get a literal taste of France and China than watch a movie.
And honestly, I’m going to face a bit of ridicule here and put Test Track on my write-in ballot. It just doesn’t do it for me. The line is never short, and I can get a similar experience driving to Florida with my windows down. (Alright, if you must know… I also had a bad experience on the thing.) I’d have more fun on Tom Sawyer island. LoL.
We are planning on visiting Tom Sawyer’s Island but with our two little boys. I’m pretty sure they are going to love it- even if it is to get out the stroller and romp around a bit. I have a feeling we are going to need to get away from all the over-stimulation from time to time.
I enjoy Tom Sawyer’s Island…like walking around it…but not on the Fort Side. That needs some help, it stinks…eww. It’d be really cool if there was characters walking around over there!
Wonders of Life – wow I vaguely remember that when I went in HS – hah…not sure they will put something there, I think they like using it those 2 times a year…especially now that they are in co-hoots w/ HGTV.
Backlot Tour – Uh, I’m sure I’ve gone on this, but I sure can’t recall it!
Rafiki’s Planet Watch – we go out there usually every time we are at AK. We like the train ride…and we walk around look at all the reptiles & lizards. We have been there when they were doing surgery on a bird one time….hehe one time. And my boyfriend likes the petting zoo area! LOL. I do think they could do things to make this more interesting, but I don’t think they should get rid of it.
As far as Pleasure Island – they are slowly morphing it into a family friendly area. Pleasure Island was closed down 2 yrs or so now. New places have been popping up…it just takes time. I know they closed off some areas for a while, but until it’s all done, it’s just a walk through to the other side of Downtown Disney!
My personal time waster is the Energy Ride w/ Ellen – OMG long and boring and the message is so wrong. Really can’t believe this is at Disney. But, it is hidden way in the back. And we don’t really care for that Enchanted Tiki under new management. Guess it’s fun for kids.
I thought I read it’s being closed and replaced….but I agree..one time thru is all you ever needed. Boring. LOL.
I can say that we will probably be skipping the Rafiki’s Planet Watch.
We did the backlot tour just to go through Catastrophe Canyon. They need to skip the tour & just have CC as a ride!
Sounds Dangerous…god…I hated that thing. and I’ve never been to Tom Sawyers Island, actually.
Time waster for me: the Country Bears thing.
I loved Pleasure Island. When I was a CP we had so many wonderful times there. It’s been really sad for me to watch it slowly be taken apart. Motions is scrubbed from the Earth. Sigh.
I agree with all of them. I really don’t care for TSI. Maybe it’s something that appeals to young boys, as several ‘disagree’ comments seem to suggest. We walked it, and it became more of a check-off item. We can now say we saw it, and probably won’t go on the island again.
People will probably disagree with me on this too, but I don’t care for the Swiss Family Robinson house either. It felt like I just walked a giant staircase, and back down. I have not seen it since the redesign, because honestly, I can’t see much they could do to make it appealing. We MAY try it again this year, but only if we are trying to kill some time.
Rafiki’s isn’t a complete waste, it just needs some ‘adjustments’. Maybe better ways of demonstrating the educational items, rather than just reading. Something a little more interactive.
I agree with your whole list except TSI for little guys. TSI is the PERFECT place for our 1 and 2 year old sons to get the wiggles out … especially before the long car ride home. They’ve really perfected their aim with those riffles shooting the Big Thunder Mountain cars and that barrel bridge never gets old.
As far as Wonders of Life goes … ginormous waste of space EXCEPT when you’re looking for a quiet spot to park a napping kid in a stroller. You can hear the crickets over there.
I love TSI also because of the kid thing. For me, the Stitch ride is the biggest time waster. Surely they could of come up with something better than that! At Epcot, I am not a fan of Circle of Life. At Hollywood it would have to be Narnia or the Awful Drew Carey one.
I love TSI also because of the kid thing. For me, the Stitch ride is the biggest time waster. Surely they could of come up with something better than that! At Epcot, I am not a fan of Circle of Life. At Hollywood it would have to be Narnia or the Awful Drew Carey one.
I love TSI also because of the kid thing. For me, the Stitch ride is the biggest time waster. Surely they could of come up with something better than that! At Epcot, I am not a fan of Circle of Life. At Hollywood it would have to be Narnia or the Awful Drew Carey one.
I would have to say that Narnia is worse than the Backlot tour. At least you can sit down and look at ‘stuff’ on the tram. I would rather do that than be stuffed into that dark room to watch a trailer to a movie… the only good thing is the A/C.
I like Rafiki’s PW! It’s all good. I love seeing the animals and spending time talking to the staff there… but hey, I enjoy Animal Planet.
I’ll agree with you on that one Jeanine, that attraction has never done enough to draw my eye to even make me want to experience it, so I’ve never seen it. Maybe I’ll check it out to see if it is as bad as it seems! 🙂
I’ll agree with you on that one Jeanine, that attraction has never done enough to draw my eye to even make me want to experience it, so I’ve never seen it. Maybe I’ll check it out to see if it is as bad as it seems! 🙂
I do agree with you on all but one of these! I really enjoy Tom Sawyer Island – it is my get away from the crowd without leaving the park place. I have found a leisurely walk around the shaded paths rejuvenates me. I do wish they had at least a beverage stand available, but I haven’t seen that in years. We took our young ones over there on one of our trips with their new Davy Crockett guns and let them run some energy off – they loved it.
Sorry my friend, but I respectfully disagree with you on two of your choices: Tom Sawyer Island and Rafiki’s Planet Watch.
Sophie loves TSI, and I like it too! On a hot day, going into the cave is cool and fun!
Last June was the first time we went to Rafiki’s planet watch, and we all enjoyed it. For starters, it was hot as blazes that day so the A/C was welcome, but they had some demonstrations on the things they have taught the box turtles, which was nice because I love turtles, and then before we left we walked right up and had pictures with Pocahontas, and Pocahontas even gave Sophie a kiss on the cheek at the end, which was quite special.