The Walt Disney World Resort located in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, near Orlando, is the flagship of Disney’s worldwide theme park empire. It is by far the most visited theme park resort in the world.
The primary destinations within Walt Disney World are the four theme parks. The Magic Kingdom is the oldest and most popular park of the complex, based on the original Disneyland in Anaheim, California. The Magic Kingdom has various ‘lands’ organized around the central landmark of Cinderella’s Castle, and while it is more oriented toward children, many adults will love the escapism as well. Epcot, the second theme park, is an “educational park” dedicated to international culture and technological innovation with two distinct areas, “Future World” and “World Showcase”. The third theme park is Disney’s Hollywood Studios, which is themed around 20th-century movies and television, with a variety of live shows and attractions based on some of the most iconic films from that era. Finally, Disney’s Animal Kingdom is a wildlife park, something of a mix between a zoo and a theme park with both naturalistic animal exhibitions and typical Disney rides.
Walt Disney World also has two large water parks, Typhoon Lagoon and the newer Blizzard Beach, both heavily themed. For more adult entertainment, Downtown Disney has extensive shopping, nightclubs, restaurants, and unique entertainment. Disney’s Boardwalk is a smaller collection of restaurants and nightlife spots themed as a 1920’s Eastern Seaboard boardwalk. Other activities throughout the resort include golf, miniature golf, tennis, boating, spas and health clubs, backstage tours, and many more.
The most important thing to understand about the Walt Disney World Resort is that it was designed to be fun for anyone. Singles and couples without children who think a Walt Disney World vacation is just for kids ignore the many “adult” entertainments available throughout the resort. Gourmands, sun-worshippers, world travelers, adventure-seekers, comedy-lovers, movie buffs, sports fans, club-hoppers, and history buffs can all find numerous activities and attractions to pique their interests.
The resort is enormous, a multi-day resort destination. Each of its four theme parks is big enough to occupy visitors for a full day (and often two, depending on crowds). Unless you live nearby, four days is considered the bare minimum length of visit to even begin to experience the resort; some people stay as long as two weeks and still bypass some attractions.
Traveling to Walt Disney World represents a major pilgrimage for many American families. The “typical” visit would involve flying into Orlando International Airport, busing to an on-site Disney hotel, spending about a week without leaving Disney property, and returning home; of course, there are infinite variations on this template, but this remains the standard from which all other itineraries are deviations.
Everything at Walt Disney World is carefully constructed and choreographed to maintain your perceptions of visiting an idealized world. Company jargon frames every aspect of customer service as part of the “show”: employees are “cast members”, visitors are “guests”, and every prop and costume must be completely “in-character” while “on-stage” (visible to guests). While some people find this cloying and artificial, the vast majority of visitors are happy to immerse themselves in this relaxing, carefree environment.
Even so, the realities of Walt Disney World can be stark: long lines, sweltering heat, rude guests, and expensive merchandise are common. There are ways to avoid the worst elements (namely by carefully choosing when to visit) and customer service is almost universally impeccable, even (or perhaps especially) when things go wrong.
Many first-time visitors try to do too much during their stay. Unless crowds are unusually small, this is a sure recipe for burnout and exhaustion. You need to have a basic schedule in mind, but you should remain flexible in order to account for closed rides, full restaurants, special events, and just changing your mind. If the crowds get too heavy or the weather gets too hot, smart guests staying on-site head back to their hotels to relax, grab a snack, or take a swim, then return later in the day.
With some careful basic planning, an open mind, and a cheerful attitude, a visit to Walt Disney World can be whatever you want it to be: fulfilling, exciting, relaxing, enlightening, or just plain fun. Whatever you chose to do, your visit is guaranteed to be an experience, in every sense of the word—one you’ll never forget.
The sheer number of attractions—including rides, stage shows, parades, and fireworks displays—at Walt Disney World can be intimidating to guests. It’s usually best to have a plan going in. Check the guidemap for the park you plan to visit and decide which attractions will be your highest priorities before you leave for the park. Keep in mind that parades and some shows occur only at specific times, and plan your route to put you nearby in time to get a seat. Be flexible, though—once you’ve hit your priority attractions, you can go back and pick up more if you have time remaining.
The traditional amusement park advice of arriving early and heading to the back of the park first tends to work well, although more and more guests are starting to catch on, so the benefit may be reduced.
Be aware that during the busiest times of year, lines can be up to two hours long for the most popular attractions. One option for avoiding these lines is the free service known as FastPass, available only at select attractions. Simply insert your park ticket into the machine, and you’ll get a FastPass ticket with a time interval stamped on it, at any time during that interval, you may enter the attraction using a separate, shorter queue. Note that the FastPass queues may bypass some or all of the scenery and theming found in the longer lines, which for some guests is a significant part of the Disney experience. Consider what you may be missing if you choose to get a FastPass.
Tags: children, Disney, theme park