There are two main reasons why Walt Disney World is the best family theme park in the world. Walt Disney has the greatest collection of characters and intellectual property. Walt Disney also has the resources, imagination and desire to create amazing theme park rides. Walt Disney World is so much more than just rollercoasters. With four distinct theme parks, the possibilities are endless. This variety include simulators, experiences, wonderful restaurants, live animals and so much more. In Hollywood Studios, Toy Story Mania is an exceptionally fun ride for the whole family.
All Toys on Deck
Toy Story Mania is a virtual shooting gallery. It is appropriate for everyone in the family. This common theme is one of the amazing ways Walt Disney World truly brings families together. There are many of these rides and adventures that families can experience together. Not many amusement parks have attractions that appeal to everyone. The wait time for Toy Story Mania is usually less than 40 minutes. In slower times, it is often under 20 minutes. The queue is indoors so everyone will stay cool and dry. It is also heavily decorated with toys and games that are fun to look at and talk about. Mr. Potato Head entertains guests in line with some funny antics. I can not stress enough how great it is to have everyone in the family able to enjoy this attraction.
The Competition
My family can get pretty competitive on Toy Story Mania. The games are really fun to play. It is a shooting game, but it is super kid friendly. The games include breaking plates and popping balloons. The game is scored accurately and the technology used is unsurprisingly advanced. My secret tip for a higher score. If you have a younger child under 10, sit with them because you will have an opportunity to hit more targets.
Toy Story Mania is a fun ride for everyone in the family. A trip to Walt Disney World is more than a vacation. It is a memory making machine where families can come together and create shared experiences.
On my last trip to Walt Disney World, something unexpected happened. We didn’t plan for it ahead of time. It kind of just happened. But it was really fun and I’m actually really proud of it. We went to three different parks in the same day, and even had time to swim at the resort. This was our 3rd day at Walt Disney World. We were staying at Disney’s Boardwalk Resort. We were only able to get around so easily because of the resort’s great transportation options and location in close proximity to both EPCOT and Hollywood Studios. We had park reservations at EPCOT and began the day there.
Park 1: EPCOT
We started the day by taking a Friendship Boat from Boardwalk to EPCOT. When you take a boat to EPCOT, you enter the park at International Gateway, where the Disney Skyliner is. This gets you into the park between France and England. We were in EPCOT the night before exploring the World Showcase, so we went over to Journey into Imagination with Figment. We continued on to SeaBase, the aquarium in World Nature. We were on our way then to an early lunch at Space 220. We didn’t really have a plan for the rest of the day. We then saw we were able to get a Lightning Lane reservation for TRON Lightcycle/Run. Because of the ease of travel to Magic Kingdom from EPCOT on the monorail, we decided to head over there after lunch. Well, we rode Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind before we left.
Park 2: Magic Kingdom
We took the monorail to Magic Kingdom, and headed directly over to TRON. We breezed through the Lightning Lane. It was our first time on TRON so we were really excited. The queue onto the ride is great at building anticipation. The ride is amazing, though unusually short for Walt Disney World. When we got out, we didn’t have any more reservations for rides or dining. It was really hot at almost 100 degrees. We then came up with the plan for the rest of the night. We would go back to the resort for pool time and a light dinner. Then we would go to Hollywood Studios for Fantasmic.
Park 3: Hollywood Studios
We had never gone to a park so late that we were just going for a night time show. But we thought it was a good idea. We didn’t have to take time out of our next day at Hollywood Studios to see Fantasmic, which left more time for rides. So we got to Hollywood Studios a little before 8 pm for the 9 pm show. We went right to Fantasmic and got in early, and got great seats. We watched it in awe (as usual) and headed back to Boardwalk as we started the day, on a Friendship Boat.
Walt Disney World is a massive resort destination for family fun. There are four distinct parks, including Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and EPCOT. Each park has its own unique theme and feel. EPCOT is actually an acronym for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. The theme here is clear throughout EPCOT, with a focus on science, planet Earth and Space. Hollywood Studios, especially with the new additions of Star Wars: Galaxy Edge and Toy Story Land, is where the movies come alive. Animal Kingdom is a combination of a zoo and a theme park. Magic Kingdom is the “happiest place on Earth”. By itself, it is home to six different lands that bring wonder and joy to children and adults. There is even more fun to be had at the two waterparks, Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach. But what about Disney Springs?\
I have been going to Walt Disney World with my children for over 10 years. I have not gone to Disney Springs since 2013. There is just too much to do with little kids and there is not enough time. Now that they are older I think it is finally time to make our return to Disney Springs. We are now 10 days away from our vacation and I am surprised by how excited I am to visit Disney Springs. We are trying something a little different this trip. We usually fly to Orlando early and make it to our first park around midday. This time we are flying out early afternoon and will be going to Disney Springs that first night. I got a reservation at T-Rex Dinner which I have been hoping to visit for some time now.
Credit: Disney
We are excited to walk around Disney Springs and take in all the sights. We have purposely not looked much into what we will do there and we are excited for an unplanned night of leisure. There are so many shops and places to stop for a snack and a drink. There seems to be live music everywhere and everything Disney. I think it is going to be a great start to set the stage for an awesome week.
Animal Kingdom is certainly the most unique park at Walt Disney World. It really is astonishing that Disney was able to combine a world class amusement park with what is essentially a wonderful zoo. All of this is accomplished without guests being aware of any of the effort behind the scenes to care for the animals.
Animal Kingdom is the largest park by area, and it feels it. It is a long walk from one side of the park to the other. Then there are the walking trails to see the animal exhibits. Animal Kingdom has diverse (and bulky) vegetation throughout the park that can make navigation more difficult, especially for new visitors. There are also less rides than at the other parks. All of this has the combined effect of making planning your day at Animal Kingdom much more important.
The Must See Attractions
Based on popularity and wait times (and not personal preference), the biggest attractions at Animal Kingdom are Avatar: Flight of Passage, Na’vi River Journey, Festival of the Lion King, Kilimanjaro Safari, Expedition Everest and Dinosaur. So the plan must be to find the best way to get to all those attractions, without making the day so hectic that it takes away from the enjoyment.
The Plan that Works for Me
Expedition Everest
I have a plan that I have worked through over multiple visits to Walt Disney World that gets me the results I want. I usually don’t purchase Genie Plus for Animal Kingdom, because there are just too few attractions to use it on. If you really want to get on Avatar: Flight of Passage, you can book a Lightning Lane reservation for that ride alone (more on timing later). The most important part of the plan is to arrive early at Animal Kingdom. I want to be there at least 20 minutes before the park opens. Now this is usually pretty early in the morning because Animal Kingdom is often the first park to open. But you need to get there early and get in at rope drop.
Now mostly everyone heads over to Pandora when Animal Kingdom opens. So I go the other way and I can ride Dinosaur and Expedition Everest (once or twice even) without any wait. Next it is on to Kilimanjaro Safari, and then Festival of the Lion King. By then it will be around 11 am. Then it’s either a light lunch or snack, or right over to Pandora. If I have made a Lightning Lane reservation for Avatar, I will hop on, and have the rest of the day to relax and see the animals. Otherwise, I will get in line and wait. The queue is interesting, and the wait is most often less than posted. I am not a huge fan of the Avatar movies, so I don’t wiat for Na’vi River Journey. But if you want to experience it, the ride is beautiful.
Magic Kingdom is the happiest place on earth. It really is. Thrill rides, beloved characters and iconic attractions bring back adoring guests year after year. Theming at Walt Disney World, and especially within Magic Kingdom, is something that helps Disney World rise above other amusement parks. Other Disney parks come close, but nothing quite catches this phenomenon like Magic Kingdom. Tomorrowland just feels different than Fantasyland and Fronteirland. It really is amazing. Magic Kingdom is the best.
There are so many rides in Magic Kingdom, that it wouldn’t be possible to experience them all in one day. Especially with little children, there is a certain limit of how much can be done. Little ones don’t do very well waiting in lines. Although Disney designs most rides to accommodate even the smallest guests, the thrill rides to have a minimum height requirement. And that leaves families scrambling sometimes trying to decide what to do. Here I will pitch one of my favorite attractions, Tomorrowland Transit Authority People Mover.
A view from People Mover
The People Mover is an elevated open air tram that travels around Tomorrowland in basically a tour of the attractions. The ride is slow moving and relaxing, but does sometimes seem to be cruising a little faster. It winds its way through rides like Space Mountain and is narrated with fun facts. Guests can get fun views of Magic Kingdom as they wind their way through Tomorrowland.
A view from People Mover
Vacations to Walt Disney World are about making family memories. Most rides and shows can be experienced by almost everyone in the family. Tomorrowland Transit Authority People Mover can truly be enjoyed by everybody. The ride is entertaining, long and enjoyable. The wait is never too long. The trams allow families to sit facing each other so they can really connect and converse. It is calm enough for people who don’t want a thrill, while also being fun enough for kids seeking a ride. I can’t describe the joy I feel while zooming around Tomorrowland with my favorite people.
For the first time in our adult lives, my wife and I traveled to Walt Disney World without our children. The 2 of us celebrated her 40th birthday on a 3 night vacation. Our thoughts before our vacation had us wondering what it would be like in Disney World without kids. Would there be enough to do? Would it be as fun or as magical? Would we miss them? Would they be mad at us? Well, all our questions were answered rather quickly. We had an amazing vacation. While it was certainly very different without our children, it was an experience every Disney Dad should enjoy.
EPCOT
We knew that we were not planning a usual vacation to Walt Disney World. We did not want to rush to make it to every ride. We wanted a relaxing pace so we could take in every magical moment. We also planned for a lot of time at EPCOT. We wanted to navigate World Showcase without the attention being on our children. We also wanted to see Fantasmic (finally) as it had been closed for almost 3 years because of the Covid19 pandemic. We added the park hopper option and made park pass reservations. We chose Magic Kingdom for our arrival day, because it was open late and we were staying at Bay Lake Tower at the Contemporary Resort. The second day we started at Hollywood Studios and ended at EPCOT. We reversed that plan for the third and final day, starting at EPCOT and moving to Hollywood Studios.
Bay Lake Tower
One of the things we attempted that we had never done before on a family Disney vacation, was to have a nice dinner. We made late reservations at California Grill inside of the Contemporary. We had a wonderful day at Magic Kingdom. We rode Splash Mountain (one last time before the new theme). We returned to our resort to grab a drink and watched the fireworks from our hotel room balcony. That was something we didn’t plan in advance but gave it a try when we realized we could. And it was so worth it. It was an experience we never considered, but it was so magical to have a private view of the Magic Kingdom fireworks. We played the accompanying music on the hotel TV and we felt like rock stars. California Grill was amazing and we lucked out with a table at the window with a wonderful view of Magic Kingdom.
The second day at Hollywood Studios we planned for a short stay there. We wanted to get to EPCOT right at 2 when park hopping opened. We watched Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream inside the Walt Disney Presents museum. It was a great show that we were never able to get to with kids. We had a few drinks at Oga’s Cantina and saw Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage. The wait for Tower of Terror never got low enough for us to get in line. There was so much we wanted to experience without having to get on the thrill rides to appease the kids. Another first for us, we took a Friendship Boat to EPCOT. It might be the slowest way to make the trip, but it was so cool. And the boat operators entertain with jokes that imitate Jungle Cruise.
EPCOT without kids was awesome. We did get Lightning Lane reservations for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind twice. That ride is so much fun. We got to enjoy so much of what makes EPCOT unique and fantastic. We stayed until 11pm with extended hours and headed right back the next day at 8:30 for park open. We stayed until almost 5 pm and then finally headed over to Hollywood Studios. This time we took the Skyliner to Carribean Beach from EPCOT and hopped on the other line to Hollywood Studios.
Our night at Hollywood Studios included a Lightning Lane reservation at Rise of the Resistance, drinks at BaseLine Tap House, and a late 9:30 showing of Fantasmic.
Visiting Walt Disney World with only your spouse is so easy. It’s so much quicker to decide on where to go or what to eat. Many decisions become cumbersome when traveling with kids. It becomes even more slow when the extended family comes along. But with just 2 people that are so familiar and comfortable together, we traversed effortlessly through the parks. We were able to do so much in just three days, we both felt like we were there for a week.
Walt Disney World is home to some pretty amazing rides. Across four theme parks, there is a diverse mix of thrill rides, family rides, shows and experiences. Hollywood Studios has transformed recently more than any other park. Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and Toy Story Land have massively increased the size of the park. Even still, Hollywood Studios is relatively small, but the rides are jam packed all over the park. The current big draw is Rise of the Resistance, which is one of the most unique attractions in all of Disney World. But there are plenty of great experiences here that don’t get the attention they deserve.
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge
Let’s start within Galaxy’s Edge with Millenium Falcon: Smugglers Run. This great attraction is completely overshadowed by Rise of the Resistance. It doesn’t get nearly enough hype because of this. Smugglers Run is a wonderfully immersive adventure. Guests are able to enter the Millennium Falcon and step into the flight deck. It is incredibly fun and kids get so much joy from their scores at the end of the ride. It is such a unique Disney attraction that delights all. Especially for Star Wars fans the ability to be inside the Millenium Falcon is mind blowing.
Our next entry on our list is a bit surprising, but this attraction has become under appreciated. It has been a staple of Disney World for so long, people have stopped realizing how great it is. Of course, I am talking about the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. The ride is still magnificent approaching 30 years of operation. The theme, the details, the music, the decorations and everything else are so great. The ride is the perfect mix of fright and fun for children and adults. It doesn’t seem possible to achieve that goal, but Disney was able to create this timeless attraction.
Finally, maybe I am biased because of my own personal love for them, but Muppet Vision 3D is criminally under visited. The pre-show is hilarious to the point I often quote some of it, “what foolishness would you like to see”. The 3D movie is funny and sweet and the Muppets really shine. The Muppet Theater is iconic and nostalgic. And kids that don’t know the Muppets still thoroughly enjoy the show. Hollywood Studios always seems to be the sunniest and hottest park at Walt Disney World. A nice rest in a cool theater should help rejuvenate your family for the rest of the day. There is hardly ever any wait for the show, and nobody will be disappointed.
Walt Disney World Railroad had been closed for over 4 years. It was inoperable while construction was in progress on Tron: Lightcycle/ Run. But as of December 2022, it has finally reopened. Because of this extended closure, there are many people who have never enjoyed a ride on the rails. Additionally, there will be many who are totally unaware of this attraction. Don’t let this experience be forgotten.
The Walt Disney World Railroad is unique in that it is an attraction, but is also a mode of transportation. There are three train stations around Magic Kingdom. The first one is at the park entrance. The next two are in Frontierland and Fantasyland. The train only operates in one direction in that order. It can be a quick way to get around if the timing is right. It is also a relaxing way around the park and a nice break.
The Walt Disney World Railroad is a scenic ride that provides an opportunity to see some interesting views of Magic Kingdom. During the construction update, imagineers added a tunnel through Tron Lightcycle/Run. Similar to Tomorrowland’s People Mover, Disney World guests will feel the magic when riding the Railroad. It is such a simple attraction that would be completely ordinary at other amusement parks. But, at Walt Disney World, that indescribable feeling of joy and wonder is perfectly captured.
EPCOT is a BIG park. To be honest, I find out something new every time I go. It is too big to really get to know in one day. But at the same time, it lacks some of the thrill rides that Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios have. It is hard to justify spending multiple days there on a vacation that is not super long. So there are sections of the park that people don’t get to explore and they unfortunately miss out on experiences. This is totally understandable as there is just not enough time to do everything.
The Seas with Nemo and Friends might just be the most overlooked area of EPCOT. There are no thrill rides here. The Finding Nemo right is cute, but it is not a big draw. Turtle Talk with Crush is not one of my favorites. Even the restaurant Corral Reef (which I personally love) is one of the easiest places to get a reservation. It doesn’t help that the area is basically tucked away in the corner of EPCOT. However, there is one thing here that should be a bigger draw.
There is a really nice aquarium here that you should spend some time checkingout. Sea turtles, dolphins and sharks can all be found in the massive tank. It is a wonderful indoor (think A/C) space where kids can run around and enjoy some freedom. I’m a big proponent of letting them run free at times as a little break from waiting in lines and being forced into compliance with the itinerary. Bigger kids can also learn from many of the friendly cast members.
The aquarium is accessible after the Finding Nemo ride or by walking into the unadvertised entrance to the left of the Nemo entrance.
Packing for vacation can be cumbersome and stressful. But I like to consider packing as part of the vacation and treat it as such. It should be fun and exciting. And a vacation to Walt Disney World is going to be fun. And yet there is so much to think about planning that even packing is a part of the process. But there are a few tips that I have learned over the years.
We always have a backpack in the park. It has gotten smaller as the kids have grown up, but it is still a necessity. We will put our reusable water bottles and snacks for the day in there. We also put some small toys and fidgets for the kids to occupy them in line, and a phone charger.
I pack snacks and breakfast bars in my suitcase. Having these items are convenient and they save money and time inside the park. Also once the snacks are consumed, there will be room in the suitcase for souvenirs.
It takes up alot of room in the suitcase, but we bring an extra pair of sneakers for everyone. Sometimes the rain will get so heavy, so fast that your sneakers will get really, really wet. We have had to dry sneakers with a hair dryer, and that process is horrible. It takes forever with a group of four, and the room will smell for days. This is especially true in the summer months, because it will rain. The last time we went to Walt Disney World in August, it rained almost every day. One of the days was a washout after about 3 pm and we tried to make it work. But our sneakers paid the price.
Rainy day at Hollywood Studios
A sweatshirt is usually not needed, but it sometimes can be in the cooler months. We will wear or bring the sweatshirt for the flight and then just have it in the room if we need it. We won’t bring it to the park every day, but only if the weather forecast calls for it.
