SDMT - what did i miss?

[Rach3975]

I like it and we ride when we can get a FP or beat the line with a PPO breakfast at BOG, but it wouldn't be a big deal if we couldn't ride one trip. We're not a thrill ride family--we like 7DMT, BTM, and SDD. Most of the other coasters are too intense for us. 7DMT is the gentlest "big" coaster at WDW, so it's great for people who are looking for that level of intensity. (Two members of my family only ride 7DMT--even BTM is too much for them.) Since the wait at BTM is usually a fraction of the wait at 7DMT, we'd rather ride BTM a few times than stand in line at 7DMT.

Also, this past visit (Nov 2018) we went through the standby queue for the first time. Some of the features I'd heard about weren't there anymore, and we had to get pretty far up in line to find anything fun to entertain us.

 

[MickeyWaffles]

IMO part of the reason its so popular is because it is 1. A relatively newer ride and 2. Located in the MK.

Is it a fun ride. Yes!

Is it a must-do ride. No.

I would also add a 3rd reason - the 38” height requirement makes it a spectacular first “big” ride for the littler kids. Still need 2 more inches for BTMRR.

I enjoy it a lot. I love the mix of dark ride and family friendly coaster. And my daughter’s reaction the first time she rode it at 3 years old (in May) was absolutely magical. All smiles the whole time. I’ll remember it forever.

She rode it again in January and was just as thrilled as the first time she went on it. It’s rare that a new WDW ride feels like an instant classic to me. It usually takes more time. But SDMT is definitely an instant classic for me.

 

[StacyStrong]

I'm not a fan of the ride at all. I rode it my first time in December and didn't like it. I'm so glad I had a FP and didn't have to wait standby. At the same time, I was annoyed I wasted a FP.

With that said, I get how it's a great ride for families and I'm sure I'd feel different if I rode it with younger family members.

The ride seat is horribly uncomfortable and tiny too and I'm not a particularly large person.

 

[WDW1970]

You definitely did not miss anything. We had three separate FP for this ride the year it opened on three separate days of our visit that year. After using the first FP we looked at each other and said “that’s it??”. We cancelled the other two FP and never looked back! We look at the wait times on MDE and constantly shake our heads thinking who would wait that long for this ride? FP ok but anything longer than 20 minutes could be better used elsewhere.

 

[Brett Wyman]

It’s a kids roller coaster with cool animatronics. It’s fun but not too thrilling for adults. We’ve only ever done it with FP or during EMM and I really enjoy it(it’s my 4 year old daughters favorite ride in all 4 parks right next to SDD), but I can see the disappointment if you waited 90 mins first. Of course I could see the same thing for PP, SDD, and Navi if you waited over an hour for those rides too. You made the right call not waiting.

 

[DVCcurious]

What did you miss? The opportunity to SING!!!

It ain't no trick to get rich quick
If you dig dig dig with a shovel or a pick
In a mine (In a mine)
In a mine (In a mine)
WHERE A MILLION DIAMONDS... SHINE!!

 

[Laura527]

It’s a kids roller coaster with cool animatronics. It’s fun but not too thrilling for adults. We’ve only ever done it with FP or during EMM and I really enjoy it(it’s my 4 year old daughters favorite ride in all 4 parks right next to SDD), but I can see the disappointment if you waited 90 mins first. Of course I could see the same thing for PP, SDD, and Navi if you waited over an hour for those rides too. You made the right call not waiting.

Agree! This would be a fun ride for the little ones. Also, it's a VERY SHORT ride, say compared to BTMR, or at least it felt that way to us. All adults, we said "is that it??" when we got off.

 

[DumboDash2006]

We love it. Especially me. I'm a wimp and do not like most roller coasters. Even BTMR is a bit too much for me. But SDMT is perfect. It's not high/off the ground so the scary part isn't there and I love the queue, the song, the caves/jewels and the Snow White's cottage. It's everything I love about Disney.

 

[pahoben]

The ride through the mine is our favorite scene in all WDW so for us you missed a lot. It is extremely nostalgic for me the parent and colorful and happy for the children. The music is great and at the end the girls are happy to see Snow White dancing and afraid when they see the evil witch at the door. It is certainly not a world class thril ride but then nothing at WDW is. It is a very well done audio and video experience for our family.

 

[LilyWDW]

I'm not a fan of the ride at all. I rode it my first time in December and didn't like it. I'm so glad I had a FP and didn't have to wait standby. At the same time, I was annoyed I wasted a FP.

I 100% agree. I was so mad I wasted a FP on it. At least now I know not to next time.

No way would I wait more then 10 mins to ride, if even that. It was boring.

 

[hdnyc]

I love the ride, but only because I think it is really pretty going through the mine with the sparkling gems and then seeing the shadows of the dwarves as you climb up the hill. I cry a little every time they start singing "Heigh Ho". It appeals to a lot of families because it has a low height requirement for a roller coaster. . .my 3yo was able to go on since the height is 38". It's more interesting theming than the Barnstormer. As a pure roller coaster, it is nothing - you barely move in your seat. BTMR is much more of a coaster, and Space Mountain way more than that. But my little girls don't care about the theming of BTMR. . .the wild west theme isn't exciting to them. A roller coaster with a princess is much more fun. Slinky Dog is a more intense coaster ride, but I don't care for the theming as much.

I like that you don't really know where you're going next with 7DMT, Space Mountain, and BTMR. . .the track ahead is sort of hidden and you don't know what's coming next. Slinky Dog and Barnstormer are wide open and it feels like a coaster at Six Flags or Sea World instead of Disney to me.

 

[gharter]

Its a fun ride, but not a must do. Much better toward the back of the train (just like SDD).

 

[epcotty]

You didn't miss anything. We were super disappointed in the ride. At the end we were like, "is that it?"

Yeah with all they hype, you'd expect it to be as elaborate as Splash Mtn but only has 1 interesting segment during the ride and 1 at the end

 

[epcotty]

Can’t miss it if I’ve never seen it. Honestly the comparisons between 7DMT and the other coasters is misguided in my opinion. Other than for nostalgias sake I compare it to SWSA or Mr Toad for replacement value. (I know WtP replaced Mr Toad)

I think 7dmt is in the area that used to be used for 20,000 leagues and I still miss that

 

[Unca’ Donald]

I love SDMT. It's not a great roller coaster as far as thrillseeking goes, but I just love going through the mine. Whistling along to "Heigh-Ho" while making the slow ascent on the lift hill gives me this awesome feeling I can't get on any other ride in all of WDW.

 

[mamaofsix]

Completely agree. The animatronics were great but IMO it was much more underwhelming than BTMR

Agreed!! We will be skipping it next time. Can't believe it's so popular.

 

[quandrea]

Oh, I love it so much! It makes me smile. It makes my kids grin from ear to ear. I love the song, The audio animatronics, the sparkling jewels, the views of the Magic Kingdom. It just makes me feel good! I don’t always need to be thrilled. It entertains in the most charming way. Just sitting here thinking of it over my morning coffee has me smiling. I think it’s exactly as it should be.

 

[KenHutch]

We managed fast pass's on our last trip but to be honest the ride is a bit over rated and if we don't manage to hit it next time well so what?

 

[Uncle Coaster]

I rode it for the first time in November. I remember thinking to myself as I was walking away that if I ever get off that ride and I’m NOT singing, then it’s time for me to walk away from Disney. The ride to me was pure fun.

 

[firefly_ris]

SDMT is superior THEMATICALLY to SDD because of the setting, animatronics, the mine, etc. SDD is superior RIDE-wise but not thematically. BTMR is superior to both of them -- All just IMO, of course.

We had a FP for SDMT last month, which I got on 60+3, however, during our FP window the ride went down. The kids weren't going to wait in standby lines until the ride opened back up so I bit the bullet and used up the Anytime FP that it turned into for something else... the ride didn't come back up for at least 2 hours -- then the standby line was insane and I never was able to get another FP for it for the whole rest of the week (we had an additional MK day later that week). So we missed it. A bit of a bummer because the 38" requirement meant all 3 of my kids could ride, but we did lots and lots of other stuff all week so not an incredible loss.

If you can, rope drop it, or go right at closing -- we were not able to do either because by our 2nd MK day the kids were waking up later in the morning and not making it quite as long at night either.