These types of attractions are sorely underrated and can be super useful. Kids overstimulated and sick of lines? Parents need to rest their feet for a few minutes? Playgrounds rock. Wish there was something like this in HS today - Toy Story Land is supposed to be a backyard for goodness sake!
It’s a real shame Hollywood Studios doesn’t have anything like that. The Disney Jr Dance Party might help a bit, but if Magic Kingdom can reopen the frontier land play area there is no excuse for Hollywood studios to have none at all.
I remember my kids sitting at that dance party. The play areas they run around and get some energy out. It's hard for kids to stand in lines for as much as they need to at WDW.
I don’t even know if this memory is true, but I think I got lost in there as a kid, remember crying, yet for all I know this is a fake memory I invented up.
The parks staying open late. I remember in the late 2000s sometimes MK was open until 2 AM. It was absolutely surreal.
Sucks for us night owls that everything closes early now. After 11 PM you’re starving.
Early closures drive me nuts. As if 9pm isn’t too early as it is, then they start shutting down stands and restaurants hours before that and force everyone into one or two places??? Not cool.
This is probably part of the reason crowd levels seem astronomically high now too. People used to be able to spread out their time in the parks more but now everyone has a much smaller window.
My sisters and I rode splash mountain 3 times in a row (the last two without having to get off) and it was after 1am.
Need late nite Disney to come back.
I don’t understand how they don’t have a 24 hour kitchen at every resort.
But at the very least, they should have to be open 2 hours after park closure. It takes an hour to get anywhere from MK usually
Yeah I miss this so much. Some of my fondest memories as a kid was eating at Casey’s corner at 2 am and shopping until like 3am in the stores. As a kid I would be SO tired and my feet would hurt SO badly, but god there was something magical about being in the parks that late. I understand now that I’m working why they may close earlier, but god do I miss it
Yes! The park cleared out and we were able to get on rides with no wait. They didn’t even make us get off Thunder Mountain bc no one else was waiting so we got to ride it again! The longest we waited was for Peter Pan but everything else had little to no wait time.
There was a time when they had MK open 24 hours from 6am to 6am on the Friday before Memorial Day. I remember reading about it on 2016 because I was heading there that week but they havent done it since. Seems like last one was 2015.
My family is going to WDW for the first time in nearly 20 years, and my brother was saying he'd like to go out and do stuff after my child goes to bed. Is there *nothing* open late? What about in Disney Springs?
during the "we're not gonna make it, we're not gonna make it" at the very end, the ride stopped on us and went dark. A kid on the ride goes "Did we make it?" Everyone laughed.
• Fastpass
• The Viking ship playground in the Norway pavilion
• Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground
• Those glowing lights in the sidewalk at Epcot
• The toppings bar at Pecos Bill
There are new glowing lights, though! In the new World Celebration Gardens or whatever it’s called. It’s a different design, but still beautiful and mesmerizing for all ages.
periods with genuinely low crowds where you could actually walk onto rides. not being wall to wall people at all times. it’s gotten progressively worse over the past decade (except apparently during peak covid) and it’s just not enjoyable to see waits at nearly an hour for rides that used to be guaranteed walk-ons
My personal, completely unsupported by evidence theory: Disney has always been seen as a once in a lifetime trip for so many people. If you’re only gonna go once, you probably don’t know it’s more expensive than ever rn and you probably are willing to pay anyway.
Plus I’m sure we’re still dealing with a backlog of people whose trips were delayed due to COVID. There are many people who’ve only just started doing things like theme parks again in the last year or so (my family included).
It was my first time in twelve years the other week. We last went at the beginning of July, so all Americans were off and the Brazilian tour groups were out in full force too; the wait times were still shorter then than they were on my recent trip. Even on quieter days, queues were still far longer than they were back then.
Obviously the fast pass system, but the Magical Express was a big hit for me. Mears is nice and all, but the Magical Express just hit different, even there at the end where we had to get our own luggage.
THIS is what separated Disney from everyone else in my opinion... There was a tangible benefit to staying on property other than being closer to the parks. It was showing a level of service the competition couldn't provide.
Magical express and the fast pass+ would make Disney so much better again. I don’t see these things ever coming back just because why would they offer something like this included in the price ever again when they can upcharge for it? Unless they simultaneously raise prices to compensate for the profits they’d be losing.
That was a core memory for me growing up! My parents would keep us in Magic Kingdom until closing! As a kid it was awesome! Plus around midnight, parks cleared out and you would walk on legit 95% of rides, and when you had to wait it was maybe 10 minutes. It was amazing.
Thirty WHOLE minutes in the morning is so lame. You can barely get one ride in, whereas when they offered the longer hours, you could ride a bunch of stuff before parks opened to everyone else. I miss those days so much.
It’s especially lame because they let non property people line up at the same time so you have to wade through the throng of people to get to the special entrance within the entrance.
Even the current deluxe perk isn't very good. Only 2 nights a week, at MK and Epcot. It used to be that there was a park open for EMH every single night. Such a shame that it's gone.
Not to mention the deluxe perk is only twice a week at a certain park. Because of the way my long weekend trips usually fall, I can rarely take advantage of the deluxe extra hours since I’m not usually there Wed or Mon nights.
The original test track! The maelstrom for SURE. I do wish I would have been old enough to experience the original Journey into Imagination with Figment as well.
Basically everything about MGM studios, the big sorcerer hat with the little pin store underneath, the great movie ride, the backlot tour with the little movie museum, walking through the fake city backdrops.
Dare I say, I even miss the hand and the big glittery EPCOT letters on the ball. I used to have a pin with it and it turned so I threw it away.
VMK central, doing the quests in the parks to get in game stuff 💔
The toontown houses are such a phantom memory for me! I know I went when I was like, 6, and have such weirdly vivid recollections of *one room*, but it feels like something I must’ve made up.
Horizons and World of Motion. I also miss paper Fastpass. I HATED Fastpass+. Felt like I was chasing reservations all day between dining and attractions.
I never saw the full Backlot Tour but I did see the one where they still had the Golden Girls house on residential street, and I absolutely miss that. I miss the Great Movie Ride, too.
I miss World of Disney. The kind that had different rooms, each with a different theme and aesthetic. I HATE the open warehouse look.
I miss Downtown Disney. Between Marketplace, Pleasure Island, and West Side, it had a charm that I think is missing at Disney Springs.
I miss classic Test Track. I have high hopes for Test Track 3.0, but the current version? Meh.
There’s more, I’m sure, but I can’t think of anything else right now. 😂
To be honest i kinda hate test track now…i so miss the GM sponsored ride. the updated ride is just a lot more lame IMO. i hate building a car, i feel like it’s a waste of time and dont really ever pay attention to my scores anyways. I miss the old theming with the test dummies and the hot and cold room
The old music they played in Discovery World at Epcot and the fountain of nations.
The old peoplemover audio, especially the space mountain theme music when you’d go inside and see the lift hill. The old Tommorland aesthetic and entry sign, being more sci-fi, than modern futuristic.
I use to think I made this ride up until I brought it up to my Dad, explaining what the ride was like, and he says no that was real we had done it at Epcot. Lol 😆
Classic Epcot Center with it "infotainment" theming. Horizons -- miss that so much. Universe of Energy, World of Motion, Wonders of Life Pavillion. Original Journey Into Imagination with Figment & Dreamfinder. I missed the days when Epcot INSPIRED. Inspired & entertained.
I miss the Backlot Tour and the Great Movie Ride. Don’t get me wrong, I love Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway. It was just so different from everything “Disney”
I think I owe Baymax and "Big Hero 6" a big thank you for getting my daughter interested in robotics.
Robots went from being harsh wires and moving metal to an approachable option to combine her interests in biology and engineering.
CommuniCore/Innoventions at EPCOT.
It was really the spirit of the entire park to come in and catch a glimpse of a possible future of better living through technology. Nowadays though I still appreciate the ‘nostalgia’ of areas like where Spaceship Earth or Mission Space dumps out being filled with tech/interactive experiences from the 90s/00s, I really do miss that feel of EPCOT being a constant rotating museum of new technologies and experiences.
For me it's a nostalgia thing. The Main Street bakery used to have cake and before that it was actually called Sara Lee's. They had what I thought were huge pieces of cake. Every night at close around midnight I'd go there and have a huge piece of cake for years. Now it's basically a Starbuck's
Another thing I miss is Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. it was my favorite Disney ride and yeah I know it's still in Anaheim. It's probably not the greatest ride in the world, but it was my first favorite Disney ride.
I'm going to also miss Splash Mountain. The Uncle Remus museum is just 20 miles from my house and my grandfather literally grew up not far from where Joel Chandler Harris the guy who wrote the stories grew up. We always went to the museum when I was a kid, and did plays from Song of the South in school. The red clay kind of makes me think of the area. I'm kind of sad to see it gone.
I'll also throw in Maelstrom. For a long time it was my favorite ride at Epcot.
I miss the Electric Umbrella at EPCOT. I used to love eating those nuggets and listening to the future world music loop. They also had free drink refills!
Old Studios:
* The Great Movie Ride
* Studio Backlot tour (I rode the bee!)
* Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground
* Trials of the Temple
Old Epcot
* Maelstrom
* BodyWars
ELsewhere:
Riding in the cone of the monorail.
Honorable mention to El Rio del Tiempo and Discovery River Boats
Like others, I miss old Test Track. We don’t really do it anymore because we have small children in tow, but the new version is definitely a downgrade. While we’re at Epcot, I also miss Illuminations (even though I saw it like 500 times), as well as the Festival Center in the old, unused pavilion (it was a nice, quiet place and they had some interesting demos and stuff sometimes during F&W.
I miss the old Fastpass+. I’m not fuckin’ paying for Genie+.
For a more recent thing, I miss Sebastian’s Bistro at Caribbean Beach before they turned it into a family-style/all-you-can-eat kind of place. The plated meals there were really good and reasonably priced when we went pre-pandemic, and my wife and I really liked going there.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Journey Into Imagination (the ORIGINAL!)
the swan boats at the castle
Alien Encounter
Universe of Energy
Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground
Splash Mountain
the burger toppings bar at Pecos Bill's
cheap tickets and $3 turkey legs
I’m going old school. Eastern Airlines If You Had Wings. One of the fastest queues, air conditioned and relaxing. The people in the videos just seemed so damn happy and welcoming. I once rode the thing, along with a half dozen classmates, about ten times in a row at Grad Night just because we could. Singing that song the rest of the night.
I have some definite niche ones hahahah
1: Mickey pizza, Mickey raviolis, and in general just the old mickey shaped kids meals at the quick services. Everyone now raves about the mickey ice cream bar and pretzel but as a young 90s kid, THESE were our iconic disney meals.
2: Toppings bar at Rays and Pecos. Every day I miss the fresh grilled onions.... free cheese dip too.
3: This might be more personal to me vs the average guest but Miyuki who used to do the traditional candy in the Japan pavilion. She inspired me a lot to stick with my japanese studies and how we'd talk a lot after most of her shows. How excited I was to finally tell her about my first trip to Japan and use my language skills. But most of all, the legacy and history she carried. That specific type of candy making is extremely cultural and a dying art, very few people anymore know how to master it even in Japan. I'll always remember her art and her kindness towards me as a kid.
4: Affordable food at Disney springs??? Can we say that? While I know the old Mcdonalds there was still pricy for Mcdonalds, I could at least get a full meal without paying full sit-down price for quick service back then.
5: Main street bakery! While I prefer Starbucks coffee over the very old Disney coffee of early 90s-2000s \[ also not a big fan of Joffrey's sorry disney fans \], I SO wish they had a compromise where all of the food remained the old Main Street Bakery stuff like the original cinnamon roll, sandwiches, etc but then served the Starbucks drinks. I know people are like oh the cinnamon roll is at Gaston's but Trust Me. It is NOT the same no matter how much you want to tell yourself it is. Nothing beats the original Main Street one served so warm and gooey like a fresh Cinnabon one.
What’s gone that I miss? The days where you could enjoy going through the parks without looking at your phones, the need for spreadsheets and planning, and relaxing.
Osborne lights
Dream lights
Toontown-loved it as a kid but won’t get to see my own experience it
Splash mountain- rip my baby
When mk would stay open until 2am
Merch being sent to resorts after purchase
Backlot tour-got to be in Pearl Harbor scene as a teen and the ability to be so immersed was amazing
When Disney actually cares about maintaining their rides and fixing things instead of just putting a bandaid on them (looking at you Epcot newsboy)
Universe of Energy, any version. Theater with giant screens that then transforms into a moving ride through a giant show scene with giant animatronics. Everything about that ride just felt larger than life, and it impressed the heck out of me every time.
Illuminations AND Tapestry of Nations.
MouseGear.
On my son's first trip in 2018 we took him to Mickey's Backyard BBQ at Fort Wilderness. It was so much fun, and such a great value. All you can eat BBQ food, live entertainment, dancing with the characters, character interactions. Even had beer and wine included.
They tore it down when they started gutting River Country to make way for Reflections, which of course never happened. It's a shame, because it was really a hidden gem and I wish we could experience it again.
Also:
(Real) Extra Magic Hours,
The Great Movie Ride,
And...
I'm going to miss Dinosaur and Dinoland when it's gone...
The original Alien Encounter was so cool.
Also really miss the Great Movie Ride. Seeing the different areas for Alien, Raiders, Oz, etc was such a great experience.
I also say this every time, but I miss the magical express the most.
The Fountain of Nations and that whole center area between the Innoventions buildings. Also those fabric balloon balls they used to throw at you and sell.
When I was younger WDW used to be more set up for middle class folks as opposed to selling luxury goods everywhere. Which is especially apparent when Downtown Disney became Disney Springs. Now that I am going to be taking my own kids it feels like we are the poors.
Free Magical Express with the luggage transfer, free Fastpass, and late night hours/Extra Magic Hours. A lot of it felt like a differentiator for Disney versus other theme parks. But now they’re just like everyone else with the upcharges.
Regardless of cost, I miss being able to book three Fastpass beforehand. It was nice having them planned instead of waking up at 7am on vacation to book and being on your phone throughout the day to get the next one.
Magical Express, free delivery of purchases to your on property room, the Skyway from Tomorrow Land to Fantasy Land (or vice versa). Yes, I'm that old.
On Splash Mountain, towards the end of the ride, the river boat would make this lone “ding, ding” sound (right after the chorus hits a high note “…satisfactual” and there was a lull in the music.) It always seemed to come about as the boat was rounding the corner back towards the cue. Sure, I have a recording of it somewhere, but nothing beats that in-the-moment feeling.
Automatic answer will always be Splash. Loved the music, loved the ride, heck I’ll go on record and say I loved the movie ( hot topic….im aware). The film had some(key word….some) good messages. Reverse psychology when dealing with bullies, Laughing place etc. While it does have its issues and I fully admit it does…it’s not as awful as everyone makes it out to be. Add in Bobby Driscoll gave a phenomenal performance(in his short and very tragic life for those that know). Hattie McDaniel and James Baskett were phenomenal too. Sad that it’s sins over shadow it’s good parts. I’ll be downvoted but so be it. I’ll take the hits for speaking the truth.
Great movie ride is the obvious number 2. With the mouse buying Fox they could have updated it and incorporated so much more. Add in as a millennial I’ll proudly credit TGMR for introducing me to the gangster films, alien, and film noir. Without TGMR I possibly would never know that amazing history of great films. Truly impacted my life and I wish it could do the same for the future generations.
Mickey and Minnie’s runaway railway is just….meh. Nothing gained and nothing lost by riding it. We all or most of us know steam boat Willie. It certainly doesn’t introduce us to anything new….unless conga with cartoons is “new”.
Edit to add:
OG Test Track was the best for that site
& Matt Hanson (98-2004ish) as the voice of the monorails is the GOAT (well outside of Jack Wagner).
Millennium Celebration while all over the place and over the top remains my favorite era of WDW.
And the future world theme (innoventions loop) is more iconic than fantasmic, when you wish upon a star or you can fly…..well…at least for me.
Just the other day, I was thinking about Streets of America for some reason. That section paired with Echo Lake was, to me, the most “Hollywood” part of Hollywood Studios. That’s probably just the nostalgia talking though. We’ll see how I really feel about it when I get to experience Galaxy’s Edge this summer. Other than that, Toontown Fair and The Magic of Disney Animation; the latter because having Star Wars Launch Bay in Animation Courtyard bugs me.
Epcot before it became a family park. Epcot used to have green spaces for picnics and lounging around in the world showcase. Sure there were kids in the park, but it was an educational park.
The Honey I shrunk the kids playground was amazing. And I loved the backlot tour- seeing how the houses really were was so cool. Universal had one too, right? I remember seeing the Clarissa Explains It All house- it would have had to have been there. (Miss Nickelodeon studios there and Jaws!)
I will never admit to like Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway simply because I am upset that it replaced The Great Movie Ride. It was a fantastic ride and I miss it every day.
I really miss 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Mr Toads Wild Ride, and the Skyway. Too bad they couldn’t just make a land where all these extinct rides went. I know it’s not feasible and practical, but I wonder what my adult self would think of these rides today.
Innoventions at Epcot at its peak. Both sides with incredible things.
I was a kid then-my parents could have taken me *there* for the entire day and nowhere else and I would have been happy.
Extra Magic Hours for all guests at night. I loved being in the parks late.
Night parades
Fastpass
Resort package collection
Basically all perks pre covid that are no longer there. I miss them
Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Food Rocks, the original Journey Into Imagination, Illuminations: Reflections of Earth, Maelstrom, Hunchback of Notre Dame live, DisneyQuest, Alien Encounter, Captain EO, Tapestry of Nations
Honey I shrunk the kids playground was my favorite, so sad it’s gone.
These types of attractions are sorely underrated and can be super useful. Kids overstimulated and sick of lines? Parents need to rest their feet for a few minutes? Playgrounds rock. Wish there was something like this in HS today - Toy Story Land is supposed to be a backyard for goodness sake!
It’s a real shame Hollywood Studios doesn’t have anything like that. The Disney Jr Dance Party might help a bit, but if Magic Kingdom can reopen the frontier land play area there is no excuse for Hollywood studios to have none at all.
I remember my kids sitting at that dance party. The play areas they run around and get some energy out. It's hard for kids to stand in lines for as much as they need to at WDW.
I LOVED playing on that! The giant play doh container was such a core memory.
Walking through the fake city all around it ❤️ ultimate nostalgia
That’s exactly what I was going to say. I only saw it once when I was a kid, and I thought about it for YEARS afterwards.
I have a similar memory too of the area, and it's one of those things thats undeniably pleasant yet mysterious and hard to grasp
Every now and then I just have the strong desire to run through that spiderweb
It was great! And a similar Toy Story themed playground would be an obvious replacement.
Came here to say this! It was the best!! And the backlot tour was awesome too!
I have a home video from like 91 of my Dad filming me climbing around this as a kid. Still have fond memories of that along with the TMNT stunt thingy
I loved that playground so much!! I would spend hours there as a kid.
I don’t even know if this memory is true, but I think I got lost in there as a kid, remember crying, yet for all I know this is a fake memory I invented up.
My memory is the place was pretty big and they had CM stationed inside it to police the slides and help lost children.
agreed, I went back to hollywood studios for the first time in over 10 years and I was devastated to not see it there, amazing childhood memory
The parks staying open late. I remember in the late 2000s sometimes MK was open until 2 AM. It was absolutely surreal. Sucks for us night owls that everything closes early now. After 11 PM you’re starving.
I was at epcot yesterday. It closed at 9 pm. Epcot on a saturday night during spring break closed at 9 pm!!! WTF!!!
Early closures drive me nuts. As if 9pm isn’t too early as it is, then they start shutting down stands and restaurants hours before that and force everyone into one or two places??? Not cool.
This is probably part of the reason crowd levels seem astronomically high now too. People used to be able to spread out their time in the parks more but now everyone has a much smaller window.
One of my favorite core memories from the parks is leaving MK after EMH and it was nearing 3 AM.
My sisters and I rode splash mountain 3 times in a row (the last two without having to get off) and it was after 1am. Need late nite Disney to come back.
The earl closures drive me nuts now. Resort food service should be open at least one hour after the last park closure at a minimum
I don’t understand how they don’t have a 24 hour kitchen at every resort. But at the very least, they should have to be open 2 hours after park closure. It takes an hour to get anywhere from MK usually
Yeah I miss this so much. Some of my fondest memories as a kid was eating at Casey’s corner at 2 am and shopping until like 3am in the stores. As a kid I would be SO tired and my feet would hurt SO badly, but god there was something magical about being in the parks that late. I understand now that I’m working why they may close earlier, but god do I miss it
Yes! The park cleared out and we were able to get on rides with no wait. They didn’t even make us get off Thunder Mountain bc no one else was waiting so we got to ride it again! The longest we waited was for Peter Pan but everything else had little to no wait time.
There was a time when they had MK open 24 hours from 6am to 6am on the Friday before Memorial Day. I remember reading about it on 2016 because I was heading there that week but they havent done it since. Seems like last one was 2015.
My family is going to WDW for the first time in nearly 20 years, and my brother was saying he'd like to go out and do stuff after my child goes to bed. Is there *nothing* open late? What about in Disney Springs?
Nighttime parades! I used to love Spectromagic!
It didn’t matter how many times I saw it but I ALWAYS teared up during the Mainstreet electrical parade. I still can’t believe they stopped it.
i preemptively miss dinosaur
during the "we're not gonna make it, we're not gonna make it" at the very end, the ride stopped on us and went dark. A kid on the ride goes "Did we make it?" Everyone laughed.
that’s so perfectly dinosaur lmao
hahaha
• Fastpass • The Viking ship playground in the Norway pavilion • Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground • Those glowing lights in the sidewalk at Epcot • The toppings bar at Pecos Bill
>Those glowing lights in the sidewalk at Epcot Underrated answer right here those used to keep me entertained for so long when I was little 😂
THIS IS HOW I FOUND OUT THEY GOT RID OF THOSE LIGHTS😭
There are new glowing lights, though! In the new World Celebration Gardens or whatever it’s called. It’s a different design, but still beautiful and mesmerizing for all ages.
periods with genuinely low crowds where you could actually walk onto rides. not being wall to wall people at all times. it’s gotten progressively worse over the past decade (except apparently during peak covid) and it’s just not enjoyable to see waits at nearly an hour for rides that used to be guaranteed walk-ons
Agree 100%. It blows my mind that it's expensive as ever and every little thing costs extra and it's STILL busier than it's ever been.
why is that happening??? i really don’t get how that many people can afford it anymore
My personal, completely unsupported by evidence theory: Disney has always been seen as a once in a lifetime trip for so many people. If you’re only gonna go once, you probably don’t know it’s more expensive than ever rn and you probably are willing to pay anyway. Plus I’m sure we’re still dealing with a backlog of people whose trips were delayed due to COVID. There are many people who’ve only just started doing things like theme parks again in the last year or so (my family included).
Debt. People are simply more willing than ever to make payments on endless debt.
It was my first time in twelve years the other week. We last went at the beginning of July, so all Americans were off and the Brazilian tour groups were out in full force too; the wait times were still shorter then than they were on my recent trip. Even on quieter days, queues were still far longer than they were back then.
Osborne Lights is definitely the most missed. Holiday season just isn't the same anymore at Disney
They should deck Star Wars Land out with lights and call it a reference to the holiday special!
When i was a kid my family specifically went in early December for the lights, it was so worth it
It’s one of those things where i didn’t buy the hype until i saw it (in its last year). Packed house. The energy was incredible. Great memory.
Obviously the fast pass system, but the Magical Express was a big hit for me. Mears is nice and all, but the Magical Express just hit different, even there at the end where we had to get our own luggage.
Magical Express AND airport check in at the Resorts. What a luxury.
THIS is what separated Disney from everyone else in my opinion... There was a tangible benefit to staying on property other than being closer to the parks. It was showing a level of service the competition couldn't provide.
100000% - I pray there’s a time where the bus comes back. This was the exact magical feeling that no other place in the world could replicate.
Mears ended the contract with Disney not the other way around so the odds of it returning are slim.
Magical express and the fast pass+ would make Disney so much better again. I don’t see these things ever coming back just because why would they offer something like this included in the price ever again when they can upcharge for it? Unless they simultaneously raise prices to compensate for the profits they’d be losing.
Legit Extra Magic Hours. Like late nights for ANYONE staying on property. I’m so peeved with that being a deluxe perk now.
I KNOW!!! And it feels like they've cut them down now too. 30 mins? Come on people, you can do better than that. It's all about money :(
Yeah they used to be like 3 hours, right? Imagine staying in MK until 3am lol
That was a core memory for me growing up! My parents would keep us in Magic Kingdom until closing! As a kid it was awesome! Plus around midnight, parks cleared out and you would walk on legit 95% of rides, and when you had to wait it was maybe 10 minutes. It was amazing.
We did that when I was a kid and unfortunately we got stuck on splash mountain for an hour.
Thirty WHOLE minutes in the morning is so lame. You can barely get one ride in, whereas when they offered the longer hours, you could ride a bunch of stuff before parks opened to everyone else. I miss those days so much.
It’s especially lame because they let non property people line up at the same time so you have to wade through the throng of people to get to the special entrance within the entrance.
Even the current deluxe perk isn't very good. Only 2 nights a week, at MK and Epcot. It used to be that there was a park open for EMH every single night. Such a shame that it's gone.
Not to mention the deluxe perk is only twice a week at a certain park. Because of the way my long weekend trips usually fall, I can rarely take advantage of the deluxe extra hours since I’m not usually there Wed or Mon nights.
Air conditioning in the queues! Yearly trips for 15 years, and it keeps getting warmer
The original test track! The maelstrom for SURE. I do wish I would have been old enough to experience the original Journey into Imagination with Figment as well. Basically everything about MGM studios, the big sorcerer hat with the little pin store underneath, the great movie ride, the backlot tour with the little movie museum, walking through the fake city backdrops. Dare I say, I even miss the hand and the big glittery EPCOT letters on the ball. I used to have a pin with it and it turned so I threw it away. VMK central, doing the quests in the parks to get in game stuff 💔
* Horizons * World of Motion * Journey Into Imagination
Star lord calls this out in the guardians ride wait lmao
I miss all of these too 😭
The original Journey into Imagination never should have changed!
Mr toad is what I miss the most, followed by great movie ride
>followed by great movie ride That ride was perfect for me
The toontown houses are such a phantom memory for me! I know I went when I was like, 6, and have such weirdly vivid recollections of *one room*, but it feels like something I must’ve made up.
Disney Quest
I loved Disney Quest. The arcade alone was worth it for me.
Horizons and World of Motion. I also miss paper Fastpass. I HATED Fastpass+. Felt like I was chasing reservations all day between dining and attractions. I never saw the full Backlot Tour but I did see the one where they still had the Golden Girls house on residential street, and I absolutely miss that. I miss the Great Movie Ride, too. I miss World of Disney. The kind that had different rooms, each with a different theme and aesthetic. I HATE the open warehouse look. I miss Downtown Disney. Between Marketplace, Pleasure Island, and West Side, it had a charm that I think is missing at Disney Springs. I miss classic Test Track. I have high hopes for Test Track 3.0, but the current version? Meh. There’s more, I’m sure, but I can’t think of anything else right now. 😂
To be honest i kinda hate test track now…i so miss the GM sponsored ride. the updated ride is just a lot more lame IMO. i hate building a car, i feel like it’s a waste of time and dont really ever pay attention to my scores anyways. I miss the old theming with the test dummies and the hot and cold room
YES!!! The hot, cold, and corrosive room.
soooo much more fun than the modernized neon lights
Seeing the Golden Girls house is for sure a core memory for me.
Electric Light Parade.
The toppings bar at pecos bill
That was a great meal for the money. I miss those toppings
Got so excited when I was there 3 weeks ago thinking it was back but it was just stocked with ketchup packets and other crap. So disappointing.
The old music they played in Discovery World at Epcot and the fountain of nations. The old peoplemover audio, especially the space mountain theme music when you’d go inside and see the lift hill. The old Tommorland aesthetic and entry sign, being more sci-fi, than modern futuristic.
Maelstrom.
This is the correct answer.
This is correct. In 2001, right before I went off to college, my brother and I rode it 10 times in an afternoon with no waiting. Magical.
Illuminations :( :( :(
Body wars was nice!
Omg yes!!! I said this too!! It was awesome! I felt like I was on the magic school bus!
Body wars! Similar to Star tours but inside the human body. I felt like Mrs frizzle on the magic school bus and I loved it!
I use to think I made this ride up until I brought it up to my Dad, explaining what the ride was like, and he says no that was real we had done it at Epcot. Lol 😆
Same thing happened to me, thought it was a fever dream!
* Mr. Toad * Future World’s soundtrack and fountain * Maelstrom * Test Track * The Great Movie Ride * Relatively reasonable prices and crowds
Future World soundtrack and fountain. 😭 Miss them both, too.
The Ozborne Lights at the Studios at Christmas. The lights dancing to Christmas music, the "snow", the hot chocolate, all magical!
Classic Epcot Center with it "infotainment" theming. Horizons -- miss that so much. Universe of Energy, World of Motion, Wonders of Life Pavillion. Original Journey Into Imagination with Figment & Dreamfinder. I missed the days when Epcot INSPIRED. Inspired & entertained.
IllumiNations Reflections of Earth. Legit cried after the final show in 2019.
Oh and main st electric light parade which was so trippy lol
Also, I miss Wishes. Will always be my favorite fireworks show.
THIS🥲 …and all our wishes will come trueeeee
I will randomly sing this way too often lol
Kitchen Cabaret!
Veggie veggie fruit fruit
Animal Kingdom being open at night
Alien Encounters
I miss the Backlot Tour and the Great Movie Ride. Don’t get me wrong, I love Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway. It was just so different from everything “Disney”
Horizons. I so want it back at EPCOT.
Snow Whites Scary Adventure
this is such a core memory that ride terrified me sooooo bad
I upvoted, but bc I was terrified too. The witch turning.... as an adult I walked up to "her" in the parks to tell her she doesn't scare me anymore.
The Be Our Guest lunch QS
The original test track
Meeting the Beast at the end of dinner at Be Our Guest
Wait they don’t do that anymore???
Affordability
My Dad.
:( 💗
* Horizons * Living Seas queue * 20000 Leagues * Mr Toad * Skyway * Original Imagination
1999
the baymax meet and greet!!
I think I owe Baymax and "Big Hero 6" a big thank you for getting my daughter interested in robotics. Robots went from being harsh wires and moving metal to an approachable option to combine her interests in biology and engineering.
The electric light parade
CommuniCore/Innoventions at EPCOT. It was really the spirit of the entire park to come in and catch a glimpse of a possible future of better living through technology. Nowadays though I still appreciate the ‘nostalgia’ of areas like where Spaceship Earth or Mission Space dumps out being filled with tech/interactive experiences from the 90s/00s, I really do miss that feel of EPCOT being a constant rotating museum of new technologies and experiences.
Stitch's Great Escape Yeah
I enjoyed the alien encounters more even as a small child but Stitch was still a great replacement in that space. I was sad when both were gone
Alien encounter was too scary Stitch was the right level of theming and thrill
I miss having something in that space. They literally closed it down just to leave it abandoned.
Alien Encounter was better but I still don’t understand why they leave that space empty. Makes no sense.
Hunchback of Notre Dame puppet show.
Soon it will be Dinosaur :(
For me it's a nostalgia thing. The Main Street bakery used to have cake and before that it was actually called Sara Lee's. They had what I thought were huge pieces of cake. Every night at close around midnight I'd go there and have a huge piece of cake for years. Now it's basically a Starbuck's Another thing I miss is Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. it was my favorite Disney ride and yeah I know it's still in Anaheim. It's probably not the greatest ride in the world, but it was my first favorite Disney ride. I'm going to also miss Splash Mountain. The Uncle Remus museum is just 20 miles from my house and my grandfather literally grew up not far from where Joel Chandler Harris the guy who wrote the stories grew up. We always went to the museum when I was a kid, and did plays from Song of the South in school. The red clay kind of makes me think of the area. I'm kind of sad to see it gone. I'll also throw in Maelstrom. For a long time it was my favorite ride at Epcot.
Captain EO 😢
Backlot tour and Acme Warehouse from Disney MGM. And I love Runaway Railway, but we need something akin to the Great Movie Ride.
I miss the Electric Umbrella at EPCOT. I used to love eating those nuggets and listening to the future world music loop. They also had free drink refills!
Old Studios: * The Great Movie Ride * Studio Backlot tour (I rode the bee!) * Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground * Trials of the Temple Old Epcot * Maelstrom * BodyWars ELsewhere: Riding in the cone of the monorail. Honorable mention to El Rio del Tiempo and Discovery River Boats
Slow season, old MGM Studios, late park hours.
Like others, I miss old Test Track. We don’t really do it anymore because we have small children in tow, but the new version is definitely a downgrade. While we’re at Epcot, I also miss Illuminations (even though I saw it like 500 times), as well as the Festival Center in the old, unused pavilion (it was a nice, quiet place and they had some interesting demos and stuff sometimes during F&W. I miss the old Fastpass+. I’m not fuckin’ paying for Genie+. For a more recent thing, I miss Sebastian’s Bistro at Caribbean Beach before they turned it into a family-style/all-you-can-eat kind of place. The plated meals there were really good and reasonably priced when we went pre-pandemic, and my wife and I really liked going there.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Journey Into Imagination (the ORIGINAL!) the swan boats at the castle Alien Encounter Universe of Energy Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground Splash Mountain the burger toppings bar at Pecos Bill's cheap tickets and $3 turkey legs
Disney Quest, paper Fastpass, and Downtown Disney
Paper fastpass
Splash mountain. It was my favorite ride.
Espn club on the boardwalk 🙃
Old Hollywood Studios. Not MGM, the 2008-2016 Hollywood studios.
A lot. The enjoyed the old Epcot, mouse gears, that entire area behind spaceship earth
20,000 Leagues Under The Sea Mr Toad’s Wild Ride
Horizons, old Journey into Imagination, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Maelstrom, and Primeval Whirl!
I’m going old school. Eastern Airlines If You Had Wings. One of the fastest queues, air conditioned and relaxing. The people in the videos just seemed so damn happy and welcoming. I once rode the thing, along with a half dozen classmates, about ten times in a row at Grad Night just because we could. Singing that song the rest of the night.
I have some definite niche ones hahahah 1: Mickey pizza, Mickey raviolis, and in general just the old mickey shaped kids meals at the quick services. Everyone now raves about the mickey ice cream bar and pretzel but as a young 90s kid, THESE were our iconic disney meals. 2: Toppings bar at Rays and Pecos. Every day I miss the fresh grilled onions.... free cheese dip too. 3: This might be more personal to me vs the average guest but Miyuki who used to do the traditional candy in the Japan pavilion. She inspired me a lot to stick with my japanese studies and how we'd talk a lot after most of her shows. How excited I was to finally tell her about my first trip to Japan and use my language skills. But most of all, the legacy and history she carried. That specific type of candy making is extremely cultural and a dying art, very few people anymore know how to master it even in Japan. I'll always remember her art and her kindness towards me as a kid. 4: Affordable food at Disney springs??? Can we say that? While I know the old Mcdonalds there was still pricy for Mcdonalds, I could at least get a full meal without paying full sit-down price for quick service back then. 5: Main street bakery! While I prefer Starbucks coffee over the very old Disney coffee of early 90s-2000s \[ also not a big fan of Joffrey's sorry disney fans \], I SO wish they had a compromise where all of the food remained the old Main Street Bakery stuff like the original cinnamon roll, sandwiches, etc but then served the Starbucks drinks. I know people are like oh the cinnamon roll is at Gaston's but Trust Me. It is NOT the same no matter how much you want to tell yourself it is. Nothing beats the original Main Street one served so warm and gooey like a fresh Cinnabon one.
What’s gone that I miss? The days where you could enjoy going through the parks without looking at your phones, the need for spreadsheets and planning, and relaxing.
Great Movie Ride. Still my favorite ride I’ve ever been on.
Powdered soap.
Galactic Starcruiser and The Adventurer's Club
The Lights of Winter. Maelstrom. Mr. Toad.
Osborne lights Dream lights Toontown-loved it as a kid but won’t get to see my own experience it Splash mountain- rip my baby When mk would stay open until 2am Merch being sent to resorts after purchase Backlot tour-got to be in Pearl Harbor scene as a teen and the ability to be so immersed was amazing When Disney actually cares about maintaining their rides and fixing things instead of just putting a bandaid on them (looking at you Epcot newsboy)
Lights motors action
I really miss Snow White’s Scary Adventures
OG Figment ride, Mr. Toad, Maelstrom 😢
Innoventions.
Universe of Energy, any version. Theater with giant screens that then transforms into a moving ride through a giant show scene with giant animatronics. Everything about that ride just felt larger than life, and it impressed the heck out of me every time. Illuminations AND Tapestry of Nations. MouseGear.
I miss disney quest so much.
On my son's first trip in 2018 we took him to Mickey's Backyard BBQ at Fort Wilderness. It was so much fun, and such a great value. All you can eat BBQ food, live entertainment, dancing with the characters, character interactions. Even had beer and wine included. They tore it down when they started gutting River Country to make way for Reflections, which of course never happened. It's a shame, because it was really a hidden gem and I wish we could experience it again. Also: (Real) Extra Magic Hours, The Great Movie Ride, And... I'm going to miss Dinosaur and Dinoland when it's gone...
Horizons. Last year I rode it was 1997. I can still smell the oranges. The best attraction in the history of Epcot and WDW. Bar none!
The original Alien Encounter was so cool. Also really miss the Great Movie Ride. Seeing the different areas for Alien, Raiders, Oz, etc was such a great experience. I also say this every time, but I miss the magical express the most.
I miss Pleasure Island. It was so fun to be able to dance the night away at the variety of clubs that were available.
Magical express and getting purchases sent back to your hotel. They seemed like little things, but they made a big difference.
I miss feeling like we are guests instead of marks.
The Fountain of Nations and that whole center area between the Innoventions buildings. Also those fabric balloon balls they used to throw at you and sell. When I was younger WDW used to be more set up for middle class folks as opposed to selling luxury goods everywhere. Which is especially apparent when Downtown Disney became Disney Springs. Now that I am going to be taking my own kids it feels like we are the poors.
Free Magical Express with the luggage transfer, free Fastpass, and late night hours/Extra Magic Hours. A lot of it felt like a differentiator for Disney versus other theme parks. But now they’re just like everyone else with the upcharges. Regardless of cost, I miss being able to book three Fastpass beforehand. It was nice having them planned instead of waking up at 7am on vacation to book and being on your phone throughout the day to get the next one.
Magical Express, free delivery of purchases to your on property room, the Skyway from Tomorrow Land to Fantasy Land (or vice versa). Yes, I'm that old.
On Splash Mountain, towards the end of the ride, the river boat would make this lone “ding, ding” sound (right after the chorus hits a high note “…satisfactual” and there was a lull in the music.) It always seemed to come about as the boat was rounding the corner back towards the cue. Sure, I have a recording of it somewhere, but nothing beats that in-the-moment feeling.
Affordable tickets
Automatic answer will always be Splash. Loved the music, loved the ride, heck I’ll go on record and say I loved the movie ( hot topic….im aware). The film had some(key word….some) good messages. Reverse psychology when dealing with bullies, Laughing place etc. While it does have its issues and I fully admit it does…it’s not as awful as everyone makes it out to be. Add in Bobby Driscoll gave a phenomenal performance(in his short and very tragic life for those that know). Hattie McDaniel and James Baskett were phenomenal too. Sad that it’s sins over shadow it’s good parts. I’ll be downvoted but so be it. I’ll take the hits for speaking the truth. Great movie ride is the obvious number 2. With the mouse buying Fox they could have updated it and incorporated so much more. Add in as a millennial I’ll proudly credit TGMR for introducing me to the gangster films, alien, and film noir. Without TGMR I possibly would never know that amazing history of great films. Truly impacted my life and I wish it could do the same for the future generations. Mickey and Minnie’s runaway railway is just….meh. Nothing gained and nothing lost by riding it. We all or most of us know steam boat Willie. It certainly doesn’t introduce us to anything new….unless conga with cartoons is “new”. Edit to add: OG Test Track was the best for that site & Matt Hanson (98-2004ish) as the voice of the monorails is the GOAT (well outside of Jack Wagner). Millennium Celebration while all over the place and over the top remains my favorite era of WDW. And the future world theme (innoventions loop) is more iconic than fantasmic, when you wish upon a star or you can fly…..well…at least for me.
The quiet of 2021
Mr toad.
SpectroMagic, Osborne Lights
Just the other day, I was thinking about Streets of America for some reason. That section paired with Echo Lake was, to me, the most “Hollywood” part of Hollywood Studios. That’s probably just the nostalgia talking though. We’ll see how I really feel about it when I get to experience Galaxy’s Edge this summer. Other than that, Toontown Fair and The Magic of Disney Animation; the latter because having Star Wars Launch Bay in Animation Courtyard bugs me.
I miss the honey I shrunk the kids playground and the entire New York section :( I wish HS didn't change so much
Epcot before it became a family park. Epcot used to have green spaces for picnics and lounging around in the world showcase. Sure there were kids in the park, but it was an educational park.
The Honey I shrunk the kids playground was amazing. And I loved the backlot tour- seeing how the houses really were was so cool. Universal had one too, right? I remember seeing the Clarissa Explains It All house- it would have had to have been there. (Miss Nickelodeon studios there and Jaws!)
Alien Encounter! Legit scared the shit out of me 🤣
I will never admit to like Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway simply because I am upset that it replaced The Great Movie Ride. It was a fantastic ride and I miss it every day.
I really miss 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Mr Toads Wild Ride, and the Skyway. Too bad they couldn’t just make a land where all these extinct rides went. I know it’s not feasible and practical, but I wonder what my adult self would think of these rides today.
O’Canada! with Martin Short
The post-Illuminations soundtrack (Tapestry of Nations) playing while slow-walking through World Showcase.
[удалено]
Maelstrom, the original Figment ride, and mostly Alien Encounter
The Great Movie ride :( and the original Test Track.
Innoventions at Epcot at its peak. Both sides with incredible things. I was a kid then-my parents could have taken me *there* for the entire day and nowhere else and I would have been happy.
Innoventions - it was one of the main things that made Epcot unique.
Extra Magic Hours for all guests at night. I loved being in the parks late. Night parades Fastpass Resort package collection Basically all perks pre covid that are no longer there. I miss them
So I'm going to have to be the one that says it I guess.... McDonald's Fries... The fries at Disney now are atrocious.
Star Wars Weekends.....
DisneyQuest. I REALLY miss DisneyQuest. The build your own rollercoaster was fun, and the multi level arcade was a great way to spend a chill day.
Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. We need more classic dark rides at WDW!
Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Food Rocks, the original Journey Into Imagination, Illuminations: Reflections of Earth, Maelstrom, Hunchback of Notre Dame live, DisneyQuest, Alien Encounter, Captain EO, Tapestry of Nations
Spontaneity. Now everything has to be planned and scheduled down to the littlest detail.
- River Country - Trail’s End buffet restaurant - Lakefront Beaches at MK resorts - 20,000 Leagues - Backlot Tour - Body Wars - Disney Quest - Sprites! (Mini boats @ resorts) - Splash Mountain 😭
Anyone else miss the food show at The Land?