If you’re the parent of a teenager, then you know that sometimes, teens can be a little “too cool for school” when it comes to Disney World. They might view it as a place for babies and little kids, and loudly declare it as such.

But the good news is that Disney World has done an excellent job of adding attractions that teenagers will love. Here’s our list of top attraction for thrill-seeking teens at Disney World.

Magic Kingdom:

It’s not just for kids. There’s a whole mountain range, in fact, plus the crowd-pleasing Pirates and Haunted Mansion attractions that teens will love. Our top picks for teens in the Magic Kingdom:

Splash Mountain

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Space Mountain

Haunted Mansion

Pirates of the Caribbean

Epcot:

Epcot has done a great job adding some major thrills for teens with Test Track and Mission: SPACE. And Soarin’ is just fun for everyone.

Soarin’

Test Track

Mission: SPACE

Hollywood Studios:

Hollywood Studios might just be your teen’s favorite park. With two major thrill rides down Sunset Boulevard, plus an awesome car stunt show and a newly reimagined Star Wars attraction, what more could they ask for?

Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith

Star Tours- The Adventures Continue

Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show

Animal Kingdom:

At Animal Kingdom, your teen will have a chance to meet the Yeti AND a whole lot of angry dinosaurs. They’ll enjoy going on a safari, then getting SOAKED on Kali River Rapids!

Expedition Everest

Kali River Rapids

Kilimanjaro Safaris

DINOSAUR

And don’t forget Disney World’s water parks, Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon,  for some wet ‘n wild thrills for your teen.

Traveling with a 1-, 2-, or 3-year-old toddler to Disney World? Character meals, meet-and-greets, parades and fireworks are all things that kids and adults of any age can experience. But what about real, actual rides? Here’s our list of top attractions for toddlers at Disney World.

Magic Kingdom:

Much of what’s toddler-friendly at Magic Kingdom resides in Fantasyland. Start your day out here, then take a ride on the railroad and the magic carpets!

• Prince Charming Regal Carrousel – Fantasyland
• “it’s a small world” – Fantasyland
• Dumbo the Flying Elephant – Fantasyland
• The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh – Fantasyland
• Mad Tea Party – Fantasyland
• Mickey’s PhilharMagic – Fantasyland
• Peter Pan’s Flight – Fantasyland
• Country Bear Jamboree – Frontierland
• Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin – Tomorrowland
• Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor – Tomorrowland
• Tomorrowland transit Authority Peoplemover – Tomorrowland
• Astro Orbiter – Tomorrowland
• Walt Disney World Railroad
• The Magic Carpets of Aladdin – Adventureland

Epcot:

Much of Epcot is geared toward thrill-seekers and adults. But there are still some attractions that your toddlers will love.

• The Seas with Nemo & Friends
• Journey into Imagination with Figment

TODDLER TIP

Loud noises like fireworks can turn a toddler into a tantrum. Consider bringing kid-friendly ear-plugs or noise cancelling ear-muffs.

• Spaceship Earth
• Living with the Land
• Circle of Life
• Gran Fiesta Tour

At Animal Kingdom:
Animal Kingdom is very toddler-friendly. Take time to see all the animals, and see these attractions:

• Kilimanjaro Safaris
• Finding Nemo the Musical
• Festival of the Lion King
• It’s Tough to be a Bug!
• TriceraTop Spin in Dinoland U.S.A.
• The Boneyard in Dinoland U.S.A.
• Conservation Station and Affection Section– take the Wildlife Express Train to meet animal experts and experience a petting zoo!

At Hollywood Studios:

Much of the rides at Hollywood Studios are for big kids and adults — but there’s still much to do! Take your toddlers to these:

• Voyage of The Little Mermaid
• Beauty and the Beast – Live on Stage
• Jim Henson’s Muppet*Vision 3-D
• Disney Junior — Live on Stage!
• Toy Story Mania
• “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” Movie Set Adventure

If you’d like to know more about visiting Disney World with toddlers, our friends at WDW Strollers have put together a FREE email guide to teach you all about it. Just sign up for their mailing list in the box to the right and they’ll send you the guide, plus other valuable information to make your Disney World trip a complete success.

Disney World has a wonderful perk for those staying in Disney’s on-property resort hotels: Extra Magic Hours. We speak about them briefly in our How to Create a Touring Plan section of our Guide to Disney World, but I’d like to go into a bit more detail today about one park in particular — Epcot.

There are lots of questions about how to make the best use of your Extra Magic Hours in Epcot, so here are our suggestions based on whether you’re visiting for Morning Extra Magic Hour, Evening Extra Magic Hours, or both:

Morning Extra Magic Hour

Morning Extra Magic Hour in Epcot offers Disney resort hotel guests access to some of Epcot’s most popular attractions for one full hour before scheduled opening time. Usually, this means you’ll be able to enter Epcot’s Future World (with your room key!) around 8:00am instead of the 9:00am opening time. Attractions available to guests at this time will be:

Living with the Land
Mission: SPACE
Soarin’
Spaceship Earth
Test Track

Don’t be concerned that World Showcase isn’t yet open; you’ll have plenty to cover with just Future World attractions, whose lines get extremely long later in the day and sometimes even during Evening Extra Magic Hours. For Morning Extra Magic Hour at Epcot, arrive 15 to 30 minutes prior to the gates opening. Once you show your key card and go through the gates, head straight to Soarin’ — this is Epcot’s most popular ride. If fastpasses are available, get a fastpass, then choose to either ride Soarin’ without the fastpass (then come back later to ride with your fastpass) or head over to Test Track for a spin around the racetrack! Once you hit those two rides, proceed along to your other favorites! You should be able to cover all of the “big ticket” attractions within two hours if you make good use of your Extra Magic Hour!

Evening Extra Magic Hours

Epcot’s evening extra magic hours usually extend for three hours after the park officially closes to non-resort guests; most of the time, this means you’ll have access to the following attractions from 9pm to midnight:

The American Adventure in the American Pavilion
Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros in the Mexico Pavilion
Honey, I Shrunk the Audience
Journey Into Imagination With Figment
Living with the Land
Maelstrom in the Norway Pavilion
Mission: SPACE
Soarin’
Spaceship Earth
Test Track

You’ll see that the World Showcase pavilion attractions have now been added into the mix! Our ideal use of Extra Magic Hours in Epcot is to hit the Future World attractions during morning Extra Magic Hour and save the World Showcase attractions — and shopping your way through the World Showcase — for evening Extra Magic Hours! Why? Because fastpass is usually unavailable during evening Extra Magic Hours. This makes getting a ride on Soarin’ and Test Track very difficult; while parks might not be as crowded as they are during the day, it’s still a safe bet that the majority of the park’s attendees that evening still want to ride Soarin’ and Test Track!

Your best bet in the evening: stick to less popular rides until the very end of the evening when most guests have headed home to bed. That’s when it’s most probably that the lines for major rides have shrunk.

Summary

• Arrive early — even for Extra Magic Hour mornings
• Try to ride all “big ticket” attractions during morning Extra Magic Hour, when fastpass is working and lines haven’t yet built up
• Save less popular attractions, shopping, and exploring World Showcase for Evening Extra Magic Hours

Epcot is a fun and exciting theme park for all guests, but creative and skillful use of Extra Magic Hours can make your visit much more enjoyable!

This blog post is part of the DisMarks Disney Blog Carnival! There are lots more great Disney blog posts and articles there, so check them out!