Today we’re going to take a look at the top 5 attractions at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. This park tends to be a polarizing one for many WDW fans, but it undoubtably offers an unique experience. We may need to revisit this in 5 years when the Navi take over, but we?ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Without further ado:

5: Finding Nemo- The Musical
Often overlooked, this is one of the most immersive shows at WDW, and they do a great job of bringing you into the show. At about 30 minutes, it’s a longer show, but given that the theater is air-conditioned, it can be the perfect afternoon break on a hot day.

4: Dinosaur
This is a must do if only to see the animatronics Disney put in here. They’re huge. It lacks any drops or twists of your typical thrill ride, but its a fun trip through prehistoric earth. With the addition of #2 on this list, this attraction has lost some buzz over the years, but its still worth a ride on each AK visit.

3: Festival of The Lion King
A great show, that only gets better when you see it through your child’s eyes for the first (or fiffteenth) time. The acrobatics and songs do a great job of getting the kids involved and excited in the show. The costumes and performers make this one of the best shows in any of the parks.

2: Expedition Everest
A terrific roller-coaster with one of the best twists (stop at the top and… BACK UP!) of any coaster around, this is a great ride all-around. The best single-ride addition, in my opinion, at WDW in the past 25 years, misses out on the #1 spot for one reason – Disco Yeti. If you’ve seen the Yeti in action, you can’t help but miss it each time you ride now. There are reports that it was running a few weeks ago when James Cameron visited the park, so perhaps there is hope of fixing the design flaw that has the Yeti in lock-down.

1: Kilimanjaro Safaris
This attraction is the Animal Kingdom. A trip through the enormous safari, with animals that you’d need to travel a half a world away to see outside of WDW, walking around mere feet away from you. This is more of an experience than it is an attraction, and well worth making AK a priority to visit on each trip to WDW. Simba 1 going after the poachers on every trip can get a little stale, but not enough to take away from the ride.

Thoughts on the list? Let us know below!

Today’s Top 5 is of the snack variety. We’re taking a look at the top snacks around WDW. I’m going to go out on a limb and predict that no one will guess the #1 choice;

5: Kaki-Gori (Japan Pavilion)

This is one that is especially great on a hot day in Epcot. Fruit flavored syrup poured over shaved ice, simple but delicious. Some people claim that this is nothing more than a snow-cone, and they may be right, but it’s delicious either way.

4: Mickey Shaped Ice Cream Bar

I often wonder if I enjoy this desert more for the iconic shape than the actual taste, but I can’t decide.  My daughter can’t get enough of these, so they’re making the list. Simply hard-coated-chocolate over vanilla ice cream, it’s tough to go wrong with one of these.

3: Churros (Mexican Pavilion)

I know they serve these other places around WDW, but the Mexican pavilion version is huge, and terrific. I’m not sure what the ingredients are for this arm-long snack, but I know they put a lot of sugar on it, and that has made all the difference. A must have at Epcot.

2: Pretzels (Germany)

Another treat offered many places around the World, I’m singling the Germany version out as the best. I’m not sure if they make them differently in Germany, but they always seem softer and doughier here. More than likely my preference is due to the fact that I always pair this dessert with a large beer from Germany.  Unbeatable combination.

1: Dole Whip

I’m guessing everyone saw this coming… Not sure what else needs to be said about Dole Whips that hasn’t been said a hundred time over on the boards, but this is easily my #1. I prefer the Polynesian version over Aloha Isle, but that’s just splitting hairs. A perfect treat for a warm summer day, or a cool fall day, or a frigid winter day.

Thought on the list? Let us know below!

In honor of The Magic Kingdom’s 40th anniversary over the weekend, this week’s list counts down the top 5 former MK attractions. Closed for various reasons, at various points in the last 40 years, these attractions still resonate with many a WDW fan.

#5 Plaza Swan Boats

Going mostly from pictures and reviews of this ride, as its 1983 closing is a bit distant. A relaxing ride through the canals of the MK just seems like a terrific way to enjoy the park, giving this ride the last spot on the list.

#4 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea

I probably remember this ride more for the lines than the actual experience, as it always seemed to take forever to actually get on this ride. Once on though, it was a great trip, leaving the surface of Central Florida and going to the depths of the sea. This ride closed in 1994, without a replacement. I have heard rumors that one of the submarine ships is actually submerged at Castaway Cay for scuba divers and snorkelers to find during their excursions… Can anyone confirm?

#3 If You Had Wings

After watching a video of this on Youtube, I’m slightly afraid that my memory has glorified this ride a bit more than it deserves, but I remember thoroughly enjoying the flight around the world, and the song in particular. Re-themed into If You Could Fly, and then as Delta Dreamflight, the ride was finally closed in 1996 and eventually replaced with Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, giving all the Disdads a chance to be overly competitive in the most Magical place on earth…

#2 Skyway

I always loved the ride in the sky across MK park on the Skyway. It afforded great views of the park, and a fun, if longer, way to get from Fantasyland to Tomorrowland, and vice-versa.  Or maybe I was just lazy… Either way, an unfortunate accident that cost a maintenance worker his life was the death knell for this attraction in 1999.

#1 Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride

This was a great dark ride, and unique in that it had 2 separate tracks, so you could get 2 different ride experiences  from it.  Having never seen The Wind in The Willows, Mr. Toad was a completely new story to me, and I only identified with it through this ride. Closed in 1998 to make way for Winnie the Pooh, the new attraction just isn’t the same… Luckily there’s another version of Mr. Toad’s in Disneyland that still exists today.

Thoughts? Comments? Outrage? Let us know below.

For this week’s Top 5 I ranked the DVC resorts. We did a podcast a while back on this, so I’m late to the game, but oh well. My family tends to be the park-commando type, so the major factors for us are location and theming. The amenities and restaurants don’t play a major role in our enjoyment of a resort as much as those 2 factors, so to keep it simple I decided to rate them based on those alone.  We’ve either stayed at, or visited each of the resorts, with the exception of Saratoga Springs.  So here we go;

5. BoardWalk Villas: Theme = 3, Location=4, Total 7

After carefully rating each resort, I found myself surprised that this was #5 on my list; I had assumed it would be higher. I love the BWV, and the Boardwalk itself is a pretty neat place to spend some time, but this one falls to number 5 based on theming. The theming at the other resorts just carry them above BWV for the purposes of this list. Being able to walk into World Showcase and over to DHS is tremendous though.

4. Beach Club Villas: Theme = 3.5, Location=4, Total 7.5

For me, BC is right there with BWV, and really gets the nod because of Stormalong bay and the beach.  Just a really neat atmosphere and place for both adults and kids to have some fun away from the park. The location again is tremendous (as with its neighbor BWV), and might have been a 4.5/5 if my kids weren’t little and enjoyed walking as much as I do. The stroller factor came into play on these…

3. Animal Kingdom Lodge:  Theme = 5, Location=3, Total 8

AKL is the runaway winner on theme alone, not surprisingly. The décor in and around the resort, coupled with the ability to sit out on your balcony and look over a savannah is just unbelievable.  We’ll be staying here for the first time in January, and I am beyond excited to have a morning coffee outside watching the animals roam. The location is a tough one though. Needing to take a bus everywhere, even to the Animal Kingdom Park, is a major drawback. It’s also a bit away from MK and TTC, so going anywhere on the buses is also a bit of a drive.  Unfortunately the location was enough of a setback to make it come in at #3.

2. Wilderness Lodge:  Theme = 4.5, Location=3.5, Total 8

WL is an absolutely beautiful resort, and wins the tie breaker for #2 on my list based on the ability to take a boat ride to and from the Magic Kingdom and Contemporary.  I thoroughly enjoy the boat ride around Bay Lake, and prerfer taking a boat over taking a bus quite a bit, which helped WL get a 3.5 for location rather than a lower rank. Throw in the closeness to the campground with all the activities they provide for families and this resort is DVC at its best.

1. Bay Lake Tower:  Theme = 3.5, Location=5, Total 8.5

Disney’s newest DVC resort (until the GF) tops my list. BLT is another beautiful resort, and while it lacks the Disney theming of WL or AKL, it’s modern look and feel are really superb. BLT wins on the strength of its location, however. There’s nothing quite like watching Wishes from your balcony each night (with the music piped into channel 21 on your tv!). The walk to MK takes about 5 minutes, and is often even faster than taking the monorail. At the end of a long day, being able to go from Main Street to your room with over-tired children in less than 10 minutes is tremendous. Add in the use of the monorail, and boats to WL and the campground, and this resort is tops. (Also, this is my home-resort. Surely I wasn’t biased by that though, right?

So this week’s top 5 might be a little controversial, but I decided to list the top 5 current MK attractions that I think could use an upgrade or overhaul. The only rule I stuck with is that the attraction needs to remain in some form (so no totally removing IASW and replacing it with a new Monsters Inc. rollercoaster).  I also didn’t pick anything closing/changing with the Fantasyland expansion. So with those guidelines in place;

5) Swiss Family Tree-House

Given the real estate this attraction has, it should be handling more guests than it currently does. A major reason might be the fact that the Swiss Family Robinson isn’t a film many of today’s guests have seen in a long time, if ever. Updating it with a newer movie as the premise would help (I believe Disneyland did this with Tarzan). Adding more interactive games and features throughout the attraction would be a welcomed upgrade as well.

4) Frontierland Shootin’ Arcade

Seeing as this one hasn’t been changed since 1982, I think it’s due. A neat idea in a pretty good location, I can’t say I’ve even peaked in here in 10-15 years.  I think an updated shooting range using current technology (possibly a 3-D experience?), and the addition of some new Characters would draw patrons to this game, and be a neat experience. They should also take away the $1.00 pay to play charge, it can’t be generating that much income, and really should be included in the price of admission…

3) Carousel Of Progress

I personally love this attraction, and I know that it’s considered the attraction at MK with “the most Walt Disney in it” seeing as it exists in much the same for as his original version, but that lends itself to why I think it needs to be updated. The scenes go from the 1900’s, to the 1920’s to the 1940’s, and then all the way into the “future”, only the future is pretty laughable at this point (“Dad! Grandma scored 500 points!”). As time passes, I think the distance between the inventions of the 1940’s and today is too extensive. Updating this show to include other times that bridge the gap better (and a new “future” would help greatly.

2) Hall of Presidents

An original to the park, this attraction seems better suited for that time. While the audio-animatronics are pretty cool, and some of the presidents look very life-like, this show is a bit too long to hold the attention and interest of the current crowds, in my opinion. With the price of a ticket today, most guests try to get their money’s worth, and sitting through this show often isn’t even a consideration. Shortening the show, or making this a walk-through attraction with different Presidents giving various speeches they are known for might help make this attraction more popular.

1) Tommorowland Speedway

This ride is a personal pet-peeve of mine, and definitely my #1 most in need of an overhaul.  I cannot for the life of me understand how the wait time for this ride can be over 60 minutes, ever. The old-fashioned car on steel rail that you can really only turn just enough to give yourself a very uncomfortable whack in the rear, while traveling slower than even the TTA Peoplemover (at least it seems so) is just not working. Re-theming this attraction with a Cars motif, as well as making it an actual race between 2 or more cars at a time, with newer ride technology would be terrific (The drivers wouldn’t have actual control of the vehicles, but they’d travel at higher speeds on a more thrilling course with different outcomes each time). That would be a ride worth waiting for.

Just my thoughts. What are yours?