Hi Travel Fam!
A lot of people ask me about my Disney World trips, so I figured I would let you in on all my secrets to make your time as magical as possible. I have been lucky enough to be raised in a family of Disney Vacation Club Members and I now own an Annual Pass since I love it so much! This will be my first entry in the Disney series, so use this as an overall Park guide and look to my other blog posts here for more specifics! Let’s head off to the happiest place on earth!
*Do you want personalized help planning your WDW vacation? My expert travel agents can help! Email me your information below and we will be in touch!
Staying at Disney World
First off, everything is a lot simpler and easier for you if you stay on Disney property. It will allow you to make Fastpass+ reservations and book dining before the general public which is key! There is also free transportation from the hotels to and from all the parks and Disney Springs. Plus, if you need transportation to/from the airport there is a free shuttle called the Magical Express that will take you! Rental cars and parking cost a lot of money, so the extra cost of staying at the Disney hotels may be worth it anyways!
Staying on site also grants you extra magic hours in the park. This is typically one extra hour in either the morning or the end of the night before the general public is allowed in or after they are kicked out at night. If you time things right, you can ride several of the larger rides within these windows, so in my opinion, staying on Disney property is worth it for these few hours alone. Plus, you can snag that coveted picture with Cinderella’s Castle without the hoards of people in front of it.
Disney has hotels available within all budgets. For a splurge, I definitely recommend either the Animal Kingdom Lodge or The Contemporary. The AK Lodge will give you views of all the African animals that live on the Harambe Nature Reserve, and The Contemporary has views of the fireworks that cannot be beat. Both are close to one of the four parks which makes traveling to those parks simple and easy. For more cost effective options, check out the Art of Animation resort, Pop Century or Coronado Springs.
Don’t waste time waiting in line
Fastpass+ is available for free to all Disney visitors with valid park admission tickets. This means that you should definitely buy your tickets in advance so you can get Fastpasses ASAP. You can book these 30 days in advance, or 60 days in advance if you have a hotel reservation on Disney property. This is where having a reservation comes in clutch, because at the 30 day mark a lot of early Fastpass+ times will be taken.
The easiest way to book Fastpasses is through the Official My Disney Experience App. Simply link your park ticket and hotel confirmation within the app, and then click “+” and “Get Fastpass+”. Simply select the park you will be at that day and the rides you want to go on!
For those of you staying on property, look at the park hours in advance and plan the days you will be at certain parks based on the extra magic hours. Start at the park that has extra morning hours and end at the park that has late night hours.
When you book Fastpasses, rides will be in tiers, so you can only get one Fastpass+ for the biggest attraction at each park, but you can book three total in advance. I recommend making your selections for as early in the day as you can, because once you use all three that you pre-book, you can get another one in the park through the app. Once you use that Fastpass, you can get another (and so on). That’s why booking the earliest Fastpass time you can is best as it allows you to book more throughout the day while you are at the park. After you use all three, you can also book Fastpasses for other parks if you want to hop park to park.
Speaking of the app, Disney World has wifi throughout and rentable chargers, so you are good to go! For entertaining kids in the longer lines, check out the Play Disney Parks app!
Tickets
Single park vs hopper option
When buying tickets it will ask if you want to purchase single park tickets or add the park hopper option for an additional fee. I always do the park hopper option. Sometimes when you get to a park it is busier than you expect and sometimes the magic hours line up so that you can do one park in the morning and one park later at night. This works really well if you only have a few days and you want to make sure you see as much as you can. However, if you have a long time and are sure you will get to all the parks eventually, the single park pass is definitely cheaper.
My Disney Experience App
I’ve alluded to this above, but this is a must! This is your go-to app for your entire vacation. It will allow you to book dining, see bus schedules, get Fastpass+, and find other fun experiences. It tells you the wait times at all the attractions, show times, park hours, and even when the extra magic hours are. If you haven’t, definitely download it ASAP.
To make the rest of this blog simple, I’m going to break it down for you park by park and tell you what to ride and other fun secrets I have discovered along the way. For more on Disney Eats and Treats, click here.
1. Animal Kingdom
This is my favorite and the largest of all the parks at WDW, so get your walking shoes ready! Here are your must see attractions:
Pandora: Pandora, aka the home of Avatar, is my favorite single land at any of the Disney parks. It is magical, and you absolutely have to see it when it glows at night! Pandora has two rides. One is the Navii River Journey which is just your basic boat ride; think Pirates of the Caribbean but with a normally 2 hour wait (not worth it in my opinion). The other ride is my favorite: Flight of Passage. This ride is a moving journey where you fly on the back of a Banshee through the world of the Navii. My advice is to either fastpass this in advance or run here first thing in the morning!
Kilamanjaro Safaris: This is best to do earlier in the day or later in the evening as this is typically when the animals are most active. You will board your truck and head to the Harambe Reserve where you will have the chance to see a variety of animals including elephants, lions, cheetahs, hippos, giraffes, okapi, and waterbuck. No two safaris are ever the same! I would fastpass this with your Pandora fastpass.
Expedition Everest: Think high thrill roller coaster where you try and escape the mythical Yeti. Don’t get lost in the Himalayas… My pro tip: ask for the back row for the most intense ride. This ride also has a single rider line, but beware! Sometimes that line ends up being just as long as the normal queue.
Dinosaur: Board your time rover and get ready to brave some bumps. Hopefully you end up back in the present time with one additional passenger extra large.
Pro Tip: There are also always characters out and about in Dinoland, so look around and you may find Donald, Daisy, and Goofy!
The Animator Experience: This is your chance to learn to draw a Disney character from the true professionals. It was a fun, interactive 25 minute class and the characters vary, so definitely check this one out at Conservation Station.
Some of my other favorite attractions include Primevil Whirl, the Festival of the Lion King show, the Maharajah Jungle Trek, and the light show at the Tree of Life.
2. Magic Kingdom: “Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy.” -Walt Disney
What to Ride
The Mountains: Space, Splash, and Big Thunder. You have to conquer all three! Two are roller coasters and one is a log ride. So prepare to blastoff, get soaked, and hang on since one of them is the wildest ride in the wilderness! Definitely plan to Fastpass at least one of these!
Fantasyland: Head here for all things classic Disney. The most popular ride here is the Seven Dwarves Mine Train. It is a small roller coaster, but with how long the line gets, it’s definitely not worth too long of a wait. Either Fastpass it, or head here first thing in the morning to avoid the crowd.
Mickey’s Philharmagic: This is a 3-D show featuring some of the most classic moments from Disney movies like you’ve never seen before. It’s a great break from the Florida sun and usually doesn’t have more than a 15-20 minute wait. I love it!
Haunted Mansion: Board your doom buggy, because this mansion is home to 999 happy haunts. But there’s room for 1,000…
Other attractions to see in Fantasyland include: Mad Tea Party, the Barnstormer, the Regal Carrousel, It’s a small World, the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, and Peter Pan. Other than Peter Pan, most of these rides won’t get too long of wait times and will have fastpasses available throughout the day, so it’s an easy place to get out the inner child that lives inside of you!
Tomorrowland:
Buzz Lightyear’s Ranger Spin: Zap those aliens and get ready to defeat the might Emperor Zurg!
People Mover: This is a nice break from standing and will take you on a moving tour of Tomorrowland.
The Carousel of Progress: This was one of Walt’s original creations and takes you one a journey from the past to the future. You will have the song stuck in your head all day. There’s a great big beautiful tomorrow after all!
Adventureland:
Jungle Cruise: This is a must do in my opinion. The line does get long, so try and get a fastpass for it early in the day. Board your boat and get ready to laugh at the corny jokes thrown a mile a minute at you! The more you embrace the goofiness, the more fun you will have.
Pirates of the Caribbean: This is a classic boat ride that inspired some of my favorite movies. It’s a Pirate’s Life for me!
Other Attractions that are must sees:
The Festival of Fantasy Parade is a must! Catch the start in Frontierland and hop on either Big Thunder or Splash Mountain as soon as it ends. If you really want to get a good seat, prepare to claim your spot on Main Street an hour or more before parade time.
Obviously, you have to see the Happily Ever After Fireworks show. Makes me cry Every. Single. Time.
Characters are everywhere at this park but often have very long lines! You can get Fastpasses to see certain characters, so if that is imperative for you or your family, definitely try and get those in advance. You can also do a character dining experience to see characters while you eat! For more about character dining, see my Disney eats and treats post here.
This park gets busy, so you may need two days here, but with extra magic hours you can easily do everything you want if you are smart with your fastpasses! This is the park that often does Special After Hours events, so if you are interested click here for more information about that.
3. Hollywood Studios:
This is easily my second favorite park at Disney, and this is the park with the most thrill rides for you adults, and shows that can be fun for the whole family.
What to Ride:
Star Wars!!!! Obviously, Disney’s newest land is Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge. I loved it so much, that I wrote an entire blog post about it. For all things Batuu, click here you must.
Rock N Roller Coaster: Another roller coaster to add to your list, this time in your own super stretch limousine. Unlike Expedition Everest, on this one you will want to ride up front and feel the wind in your face as your eardrums get blown out by the music. Aerosmith can’t be beat on this crazy ride. Rock on!
Tower of Terror: You are now entering the Twilight Zone. Get ready for a stomach dropping elevator ride open and waiting for you…ride if you dare.
Toy Story Land: Andy’s backyard has rides for all ages! Get ready to feel like you’ve shrunken down and are having a playdate with your new toy friends. For a fun roller coaster, check out the Slinky Dog Dash. Be warned: the line gets very long so either fastpass it or run directly here to beat the crowds in the morning. For a game that brings out the competitor in all of us, hit up Toy Story Mania. Aim for targets to score points, and compete against all your friends in this fun, faced paced arcade game ride. Finally, the Alien Saucers are a fun, but short ride. I wouldn’t wait more than twenty minutes for this attraction, but for those with little ones, it is the perfect ride in this area of the park!
Shows and other Attractions: Hollywood Studios is known for its shows, and there are a lot to see!
Frozen Sing Along: Get ready to Let It Go with the stars of the movie Frozen in this fun, interactive sing along show. 10/10 would recommend! Little ones will even get a glimpse of Arendelle’s royals in action!
Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular: For those of you who are looking for a show with some action, this stunt show is a fun way to see what happens behind the scenes to create the action sequences you see in the movies. If you are lucky, you may even be chosen to get in on the show!
Fantasmic! This is a Disney classic. I recommend getting a fastpass for it towards the end of the day if they are available or arriving to wait at least 30 minutes before the show starts if you want to get a good seat (or a seat at all) since this tends to fill up quickly.
4. Epcot:
Epcot has some great rides, but it’s not as ride focused as the others! The main event at Epcot is the World Showcase. Sample food from countries around the world, feeling as if you have been transported continents away just by walking country to country. For a fun challenge, try a certain food and drink in each country! Start small, though so you don’t feel stuffed by the time you finish!
Frozen Ever After: There are a few smaller rides in the World Showcase, but the main one is the Frozen ride in Norway. I recommend either getting a fastpass for this ride or waiting until the end of the night when the line tends to be shorter.
For the World Showcase, you can either start in Mexico or Canada. We always start in Mexico, but either one is great! The World Showcase is a great place to see more rare characters like Mary Poppins and Alice, so check out the character schedules on the Walt Disney World app.
Soarin’: This is one of my favorite rides throughout Disney World. Be prepared to be seated on a hang glider and fly over some of the world’s most famous landmarks. I always get major nostalgia seeing the fireworks at the end. And don’t forget to let your nose take a sniff every now and again! This ride immerses all the senses. Fastpasses for this attraction are often available throughout the day, so try to fastpass other attractions first.
Test Track: For those of you who rode Test Track before the remodel a few years back, this version is less impressive in my opinion. However, it is still a fun ride! There is a single rider line typically with a shorter wait than the regular queue, so I recommend using it.
Mission Space: Those of you who get motion sick, beware. Luckily there is Team Orange and Team Green for that purpose. Take the Orange track for a more intense ride, including a lot of G forces as your shuttle takes off for outer space. Team Green will give you a much less stomach turning experience!
Well, there it is! My tips and tricks guide to the parks of Walt Disney World. For more information, or if you want help planning your WDW vacation, email me below and I would be happy to help you! Plus, check out my other blog posts for more of the happiest place on earth. Happy travels, fam!
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