A Disney trip is not just about doing rides. Soak in the atmosphere, see the shows, watch the parades, try the different restaurants, and explore all of the other features. All of it together form the unique experience of going to these theme parks vs your neighborhood amusement park. That’s what makes these parks so much more magical. Make sure to get the full experience of them.
At Disney World in Orlando, there are 4 theme parks and 2 water parks. It’s actually kind of hard to write a simple summary of each one since they all have so much to offer, so these are my very high-level opinions. I think they’re all worth a visit.
Each park is different and fun in its own way. If this is one of your first trips, I recommend checking out each of the 4 main parks for at least one day or half a day each at first and then decide which ones to revisit on subsequent days. Over time, you’ll develop your favorites, but don’t skip a park for now based on assumptions or stereotypes. Epcot is just for adults, Animal Kingdom is just like my zoo back home, etc. Not true.
Learn more about each one below.
Theme Parks
Magic Kingdom
This is the iconic park. When most people think of Disney World, they’re really thinking of the Magic Kingdom and the Cinderella Castle. Even after so many trips, I still get goosebumps when I first walk into the park and see the castle. It’s hard to describe the feeling, but there’s definitely some Disney magic that washes over you when you walk down Main Street towards the castle. It’s like the trip is finally real, and you’re finally “home” after all the weeks of planning. *sniff* Tears of joy!
Make the Magic Kingdom one of your first parks during each trip! Soak in ALL of the atmosphere! Look all around you, get a Mickey snack, catch the afternoon parade and the evening fireworks. Those are all awesome!
There’s a ton to do here. It’s the park that has the most rides for a range of people. You’ll probably want to allocate more than one day at this park if you have the time. You still won’t do everything, though, but that gives you an excuse for another trip!
The following are the most popular/iconic rides at this park.
- Tron – Virtual Queue or Individual Lightning Lane only
- Seven Dwarfs Mine Train – Individual Lightning Lane
- Space Mountain
- Peter Pan’s Flight
- Jungle Cruise
- Splash Mountain – currently closed for retheming to Tiana’s
- Haunted Mansion
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- Big Thunder Mountain
- It’s a Small World
They will usually have long lines most of the day. Do them as early as possible before lines get worse, especially if you are staying at a Disney resort and have Early Entry.
If you are buying Genie+, reserve these rides (most rides that don’t have Virtual Queue or Individual Lightning Lane will be part of the Genie+ selections) as some of your first rides since they can sell out quick. I’ve put them in the order that they’re likely to sell out. Read more about the different ride types in my Genie page.
Otherwise, all rides besides the Virtual Queue ones are available for you to just walk up and wait in the Standby line.
EPCOT
This is another favorite of ours. There are some cool rides here, but we like it mostly for the World Showcase section where the “countries” are located. It’s just a different change of pace from the ride, ride, ride mentality at the other parks. It’s neat to leisurely explore the nooks n crannies within each country and try the different foods and explore the shops. Some countries have rides and videos showcasing that country too. And yes, there are activities that little kids will be able to do as well.
There’s one festival or another happening in the park almost year-round now, so those add additional activities and food kiosks too. You can go several times a year to catch each different festival and experience something new each time. That’s our favorite reason for going multiple times a year.
The most popular/iconic rides at this park are:
- Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind – Virtual Queue or Individual Lightning Lane only
- Remy
- Frozen
- Test Track
- Soarin’
- Spaceship Earth
The new nighttime fireworks show, Luminous: Symphony of Us, is really cool and I highly suggest you stay til park closing for it. Find a spot with a clear view of the middle of the lagoon in the World Showcase, preferably with a view of Spaceship Earth too.
View my World Showcase page for more details about this fun area of EPCOT.
Hollywood Studios
This park is a hot topic now with the opening of Galaxy’s Edge, the Star Wars land. If you’re a Star Wars fan, then obviously, this is a must-do! Even if you’re not a die-hard fan, it’s still worth checking out the land. They did a great job with the theming, and the rides are super cool, even for non-fans. Toy Story land and the other areas of the park also have neat rides and shows.
The most popular/iconic rides at this park are:
- Slinky Dog Dash
- Star Wars Rise of the Resistance – Individual Lightning Lane
- Millenium Falcon Smuggler’s Run
- Rock ‘n Roller Coaster – currently closed for refurb
- Tower of Terror
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
- Toy Story Mania
Note: Hollywood Studios and EPCOT are the closest to each other so they are good parks to hop between if you have park hoppers. You can take the free Disney buses, Skyliner, ferry boats, or even walk (about 20-30mins) between them.
Animal Kingdom
Nope, this is not just like your zoo back home, unless your zoo is super cool with tons of animal trails, safaris, shows, delicious restaurants, and awesome rides that let you climb up Mount Everest, chase dinosaurs, and fly around Pandora.
I contend that the Flight of Passage ride in Pandora is one of the top 3 rides in all four parks. Many people I know also agree with me. It’s like Soarin’ times 10, but that doesn’t even do it justice. The lines are still really long for it, so do your best to line up very early in the morning or a little before closing, where they’ll let you stay in line once you’re in it even after park closing. Otherwise, you can buy an Individual Lightning Lane for it. It’s worth the additional cost if lines are really long, but they can sell out quickly so buy it early.
The most popular/iconic rides at this park are:
- Avatar Flight of Passage – Individual Lightning Lane
- Navi River Journey
- Kilimanjaro Safari
- Everest
- The Lion King show
- Dinosaur
Note: this park tends to close earlier than the other parks because the animals have to go to bed earlier. Therefore, your Animal Kingdom day is a good day to go to Disney Springs or back to the resort pool for the evening, or if you have park hoppers, hop to another park after this one.
Water Parks
Typhoon Lagoon
If you had to pick one water park and want more water slides and a bigger wave pool, then go to this one. The wave pool alternates between periods of “normal” waves and crazy, huge waves if you want a more thrilling wave pool. Just be careful with the kiddies because the crazy waves are strong enough to knock adults over. Make sure everyone can swim back up.
Blizzard Beach
If you want a smaller park with a tamer wave pool, then go here. It’s still a fun park, and we’ve done both over the years. It just depends on what your family is looking for. Both are good in their own way and have different theming.
Disney Springs
Disney Springs is not technically a park, but I will add the info here anyway because we treat it as another destination to go to. It is an entire shopping, dining, and entertainment area, kinda like those big, new outdoor mall type complexes popping up around the country, that is part of the Disney World Resort. You don’t need a ticket to go there, so many locals will go there just for a meal or shopping or movies, especially on weekends, so beware of higher crowds then.
You can book the table service restaurants there via the Disney site or app the same way you would book the restaurants at the parks and resorts, and there are many good ones there to try. There’s also a huge World of Disney store there, along with many other non-Disney stores of various types if you want to do some shopping. And if you need a non-park activity, there’s Splitsville, to do some bowling, a movie theater, and several other fun things to do.
We like to go down there for at least a few hours on one of the days each trip to walk around, see what’s new, and try out a new restaurant. There seems to be a new restaurant popping up every time we go. It’s a good way to take a break from the parks or to try something new. You can take the free Disney buses there from any Disney resort, so you can get there pretty much the same way you would get to the parks. Check it out if you can.
Planning | Parks | Resorts | Tickets | Genie | Dining | Transportation | MDE | Other Stuff
Adventures By Anne 