If you only had time for two of these DCA rides ...

[EmJ]

… which ones would you pick?

Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind
Goofy's Sky School
Silly Symphony Swings
Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters

Riders are a pretty adventurous 5-year-old, a timid dad, and a mom who's up for whatever.

 

[Aladora]

… which ones would you pick?

Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind
Goofy's Sky School
Silly Symphony Swings
Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters

Riders are a pretty adventurous 5-year-old, a timid dad, and mom who's up for whatever.

Silly Symphony Swings and anything except Goofy's. I don't hate it but I always come out of it with bruises! Luigi's is fun but I've never been on the new IO ride.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

For the timid dad, leave out GSS and SSS. But if you ride SSS with your son, there is a parent seat for 2. LRR is a charming ride -- the dances are different each time, so it's fun to ride and to watch while you're waiting in line. EW will be a re-vamped ride from Bug's Land. It is pretty tame, but should be fun for your son.

 

[tarheelalum]

Goofy or Silly Symphony swings will be the most exciting for the kids. Great views as well. I love riding both of them.

 

[midnight star]

Goofy and Silly Symphony Swings.

 

[mfleeting]

Goofys because we love it and probably the whirlwind one (just because it’s new)

 

[EmJ]

So far, Goofy's and SSS are winning. I'm keeping a tally

Do Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters have a steering wheel you can turn, even if it's nonfunctional? If so, that will change that ride from "maybe" to "indispensable".

 

[figment_jii]

That's a tough question...from an adult perspective, I would probably opt for Silly Symphony Swings and Roadsters, but if this for the little one, then I'd probably opt for Sky School and Whirlwind (maybe, I don't know enough about it yet). Goofy's Sky School is biggest thrill ride on your list, but it's brutal on adults. The turns are really sharp and there is actually one really good drop. I went on with a 6 year old (I think she was about 6) and she loved it, but the rest of the adults did not. She didn't seem to mind the sudden corner whips (I think she was smaller so it didn't feel as pronounced). So, if your husband is really timid, this might be a good ride for you and the child to do without him.

Silly Symphony Swings is pretty mild when all is said in done, unless you have trouble with rides that go in circles. It goes higher up than one thinks, but the trade off is a pretty cool view of DCA. The 5-year old I rode it with (a bit timid - didn't like any of the "big" coasters really, but loved TSMM-style rides) was with okay with it. He did, on the other hand, really like Jumpin' Jelly Fish. I know it's not on your list, but it's in the same area and it might be worth giving it a consideration (it is a very mild ride). Luigi's Roasters is another pretty mild ride, but cute more than exciting. You have no control over the car and there is usually one spin at the end (so again, something to keep in mind if your bothered by spinning rides). This is one where three guests can usually fit into the same ride vehicle.

 

[j9isawesome]

Not Goofy’s Sky School. That one usually has about an hour wait for a short painful ride that isn’t fun. If he’s adventurous he might find the newly returned Flick’s Flyers/Inside Out ride to not be super exciting, like a less intense version of the silly symphony swings. So maybe the swings and Luigi’s would be the best 2 from that list for your lil one.

 

[EmJ]

Okay, duh, I just watched a ride-through of Luigi's. There is no way I'll keep my son off that (I'm hoping to avoid Autopia, but we'll see). So that's one slot filled, leaving the choice of one ride between GSS, SSS, or EW.

 

[DLgal]

So far, Goofy's and SSS are winning. I'm keeping a tally

Do Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters have a steering wheel you can turn, even if it's nonfunctional? If so, that will change that ride from "maybe" to "indispensable".

No wheel.

 

[DLgal]

The swings are fun, but not particularly unique. Same for EW (that's a basic spinner like Dumbo).

Go for Goofy's Sky School.

Curious as to why you can't just do them all? You can knock them out really quickly, for the most part. Get a fastpass for Goofy's and then standby the rest.

 

[Brett Wyman]

An adventurous 5 year old would love the Pal-A-Round swinging gondolas too! My kids 4 and 2 love it.

 

[EmJ]

An adventurous 5 year old would love the Pal-A-Round swinging gondolas too! My kids 4 and 2 love it.

Yeah... the ONE ride I cannot do are ferris wheels, and there's no way DH will go for it. Once it gets to the top, I'm absolutely convinced I will for sure die. I'm not sure why--I've been skydiving and had no trouble! But in any event, Pal-A-Round is a no go for us.

 

[RemainSeatedPlease]

I recommend against Goofy's Sky School. Painful and lame. Sounds harsh, but I just cannot understand why this ride seems to have a level of popularity that it does. It's almost exactly like a ride I had at a local fair growing up that barely interested me then. Now that I'm an adult, it causes pain as well. And has a long wait to boot. Just no.

The Swings are fun, but also are not anything unique. I've ridden swings like this in multiple different parks/fairs. But, if there's no wait, you might as well go for it. It's kind of neat that you are looking right out over the water. If you have a fear of heights though, it will feel higher when you're up there than it looks from the ground. And another piece of advice - do not ride in the rain! The raindrops will feel like needles hitting your face!

I would definitely add Luigi's to the list. I don't know enough about Whirlwind, but I might give it a try since it's something different.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

Glad you picked Luigi’s as it’s an adorable ride and the most “Disney” of all your choices (since EW is not open yet I can’t comment on that one).

I actually liked Goofy’s Sky School the one time I rode it but I appear to be in the minority’s!

Silly Symphony Swings was terrifying to ride with my 3-year-old. As much I knew he would not fall out, I had this irrational fear that he would!

I am also curious why you can choose only two of these rides? Goofy’s Sky School has FP and the swings usually have a short wait. Luigi’s is popular but at times the wait will be moderate.

 

[EmJ]

I recommend against Goofy's Sky School. Painful and lame. Sounds harsh, but I just cannot understand why this ride seems to have a level of popularity that it does. It's almost exactly like a ride I had at a local fair growing up that barely interested me then. Now that I'm an adult, it causes pain as well. And has a long wait to boot. Just no.

The Swings are fun, but also are not anything unique. I've ridden swings like this in multiple different parks/fairs. But, if there's no wait, you might as well go for it. It's kind of neat that you are looking right out over the water. If you have a fear of heights though, it will feel higher when you're up there than it looks from the ground. And another piece of advice - do not ride in the rain! The raindrops will feel like needles hitting your face!

I would definitely add Luigi's to the list. I don't know enough about Whirlwind, but I might give it a try since it's something different.

No one has a fear of heights in our party; I have a fear specifically of ferris wheels, lol. I think I'm going to strike Goofy's Sky School entirely from the list. We're already doing BTMR and Gadget's Go Coaster, so there will be other roller coaster experiences. The visual attractiveness of EW might be too much for my son to resist. I'll try to show him videos of each and let him choose between EW and SSS, but it looks like there's no ride-through video yet! Just how new is this ride?

 

[pharmama]

I think watching the ride video probably answered the question for you but just to be clear, there isn't a steering wheel and you don't drive Luigi's- you're just along for the ride. I think its a great ride and a good choice.

I agree on the swings- this is a standard carnival/amusement park ride. The ride itself is very short.

Flik's Flyers (which is being turned into the EW) was fine but also not very exciting- not sure exactly what it will look like in its new incarnation though. To clarify- this ride is not open yet. It's supposed to open "this summer" but no date has even been released yet. So a lot is still unknown on this one.

I actually like Goofy's but it is jerky and the cars are kinda cramped. If you or DH are tall/long legged/have back or knee issues you may want to skip this ride. It's a "mad mouse" coaster if that helps.

Add me to the list of why only two of these?

 

[EmJ]

I think watching the ride video probably answered the question for you but just to be clear, there isn't a steering wheel and you don't drive Luigi's- you're just along for the ride. I think its a great ride and a good choice.

I agree on the swings- this is a standard carnival/amusement park ride. The ride itself is very short.

Flik's Flyers (which is being turned into the EW) was fine but also not very exciting- not sure exactly what it will look like in its new incarnation though. To clarify- this ride is not open yet. It's supposed to open "this summer" but no date has even been released yet. So a lot is still unknown on this one.

I actually like Goofy's but is is jerky and the cars are kinda cramped. If you or DH are tall/long legged/have back or knee issues you may want to skip this ride. It's a "mad mouse" coaster if that helps.

Add me to the list of why only two of these?

Thanks! Did people ask why only two and I missed it?

It's possible that we will be able to do all four (except Goofy's, I think we're taking it off-off), but I'm trying to plan conservatively knowing that my son HAS to have a midday nap and we can't be in the park later than 7:30. So, I've already identified 8 attractions in DCA that we want to do more than these four, so if we have time I'm prioritizing which of these we would want to do.

Also, I had no idea that EW wasn't open yet. That explains why there are no ride-through videos!

 

[StarSpeckledSky]

… which ones would you pick?

Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind
Goofy's Sky School
Silly Symphony Swings
Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters

Riders are a pretty adventurous 5-year-old, a timid dad, and a mom who's up for whatever.

Since you've picked Luigi's (nice!), I'd recommend SSS or GSS as your second. Not super familiar with DCA though.