Cinderella Castle
The castle is my favorite out of all of Walt Disney World (WDW). I am completely in awe every time I see it. The Cinderella Castle is 189 feet tall. It is designed to make it look taller than it really is so the castle did not need to have a blinking red light to warn air traffic. (Good call!) There is also a restaurant, a suite and a high point for Tinker Bell to fly from at night. Guests walk through to see the Cinderella story mosaics. The Castle is in the center point of the park and is the most recognized icon in the world.
Animal Kingdom
After seeing what Walt Disney World built for their animals and how they are treated, I think I would love to come back as an animal owned by Walt Disney World. What a life! The animals have freedom of movement and they are not stalked by predators. Trying to spot them is fun while on the safari ride. The attractions are great whether you ride Expedition Everest, Flight of Passage, DINOSAUR or Kali River Rapids.
The entertainment is top notch and is a must-see. The Lion King show is my favorite. My son was pulled up to walk with the cast members during the show a few times when he was young. Great memories. Do not bother to look for a plastic straw. You will not find one. WDW provides paper straws in the event a straw is dropped and an animal ingests it. (WDW has incorporated paper straws throughout the entire property along with no plastic covers.) The dining is great, also. We love Yak & Yeti! This is, by far, one of my favorite parks.
Walt Disney World’s Property Size
Walt Disney secretly purchased many, many properties under many different names in order to keep the Florida location secret while all of the purchases were taking place. The intention was to have an excessive amount of space to continuously grow within the confines of the WDW property lines without other businesses setting up shop so close to Walt Disney World.
Walt Disney regretted not having the extensive acreage to build in California with Disneyland, which also resulted in businesses building so close to Disneyland. He had no buffer. This is why the purchasing of land in many different names for the Florida project was so secretive. Disneyland is 500 acres. Walt Disney World is over 27,000 acres.
Disney Springs
This is a large venue of shopping, eating and entertainment. Want to see a movie? AMC Theater is a great place for that. Both of those places are great to spend a rainy day or evening. Dining options are extensive. This is one of my favorite places to visit.
MagicBands
Disney released the use of MagicBands in WDW only. The Magicbands are to make a guest’s visit easier and more magical. This also saves money and makes things easier for Disney. They save money on plastic cards for tickets and room access, which tend to be lost causing Disney more money and time with having to replace them. No more having to take every person’s card out of a pocket for entrance, charge for purchases, use for dining whether charging to the room or using for Disney Dining Plan, etc.
This also allows WDW to take your pictures on all rides and combine with photographers’ photos for Memory Maker, which brings in more income for WDW and provides convenience and more unique photos and videos for the guests. I would be remiss to point out the basic fact that it also helps Disney study guests to further offer more benefits that curtail to each person. For more information on MagicBands, click here!
Water Parks
Typhoon Lagoon has so many different things to do for all guests of many ages. To name a few, it has a wave pool, water slides, family raft ride and a shark reef that you can snorkel in amid sharks and other sea life. Blizzard Beach gives you the opportunity to slide down one of the world’s tallest water slides. No other Disney Park has water parks.
Utilidors
There is a tour available to see the utilidors, but most guests rarely go on this tour. If you do not take the tour, you do not get to see this unique part of Walt Disney World. The utilidors are tunnels that run below Main Street, U.S.A. and much of the Magic Kingdom. Walt did not want guests to see a Frontierland Cast Member walk through Fantasyland to exit the park.
The utilidors allowed the Cast Members to travel across the park without being seen. They are also used to transport trash and supplies. With all of this being said, now you know that, technically, the entire Magic Kingdom is on the second floor! So, next time think of all the activities happening below your feet as you are on an attraction or walking around.
Epcot
World Showcase provides us with a visit to 11 country pavilions complete with dining, dialect through the Cast Members from each country, charm, architecture, history, culture and even merchandise from each country. We get a world tour plus Future World with educational, yet, fun pavilions to explore. Soarin’ is a must-see at least once and maybe more than that, if you have the chance. There is so much to see that you will see more the second time that you did not see the first time.
Let us not forget Test Track. Build your own car and compete against others when you are in the car based on how you built your car, which is saved on your MagicBand. You scan your MagicBand before you get in the car so the system knows when your car will be racing.
Resorts
When you stay on Disney property, everything appears to be so much easier and seamless than if you stayed off Disney property. You fly into Orlando, retrieve your luggage, go to your hotel, check-in, give your luggage to the hotel’s bell services (if room is not ready) and go to a park. For Pros and Cons With Staying On or Off Disney Property, click here.
If you check-in online before arriving and have your MagicBands with you (Disney mails MagicBands in advance to US residents only), you do not need to check-in at the hotel in person. You simply take the DME to the hotel, drop off your carry-on bags with Bell Services and head to the parks.
Regardless of how you check-in, if your room is not ready, Disney will text, email and/or call you when your room is ready with a room number. Go directly to your room whenever you want, because the key is programmed into your MagicBand as soon as the resort assigns you a room.
All you need to do is call Bell Services for them to deliver your luggage. (Please tip accordingly.) How simple is that?!?! There is a wide range of hotels to stay at to fit your budget, wants or needs. In my opinion, staying at a WDW resort hotel is the only way to go, because it is the best experience you can possibly have while on vacation.
Fantasyland
Magic Kingdom’s Fantasyland is better than any other. To name a few, there is the Seven Dwarfs’ Mine Train (not recommended for guests with knee issues. Click here for details), Be Our Guest Restaurant and Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid. All of the attractions, in true Disney style, are high quality and they have great dining and snack options!
Hollywood Studios
This park has grown exponentially over the last few years. It has become a park for all ages with more and more attractions. While it was sad to see some icon attractions/entertainment go away in an effort to make way for the new additions, change is good! It has also become popular with the millions of Star Wars fans flocking to see Star Wars Land. I think all of us have a little bit of Toy Story in our souls.
Over the years since Toy Story first came out in theaters, generations have watched, admired and reflect back on when they would play with their toys. The humor in the Toy Story movie series made us laugh and, ultimately, made us cry with the series coming to an end, but we have Toy Story Land to visit. Take a walk through Andy’s yard, go on the attractions and take some time to meet Woody and some of the other characters.
Golf courses and ESPN
Walt Disney World has four golf courses. The Palm and Magnolia courses are rated 4-stars by Golf Digest. The Magnolia Course is also a Cooperative Wildlife Sanctuary certified by Audubon International. Walt Disney World also has the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex that holds over 200 events each year.
Cast Members
I would be remiss not to mention the cast members. They are an integral part of the whole experience. Each cast member is patient, friendly and smiling during the good and bad times in order to maintain the Walt Disney World magical experience.
It does not matter if it is the horrible weather conditions, how to run their assigned ride to keep us safe, the necessity for cast members to put on waders to evacuate Pirates of the Caribbean, dealing with the excessive crowds that cause tempers to fly, the incredibly hot character costumes they wear in the hot and humid weather, keeping all of Walt Disney World so clean that keeps us going back for the good, clean, wholesome fun……We thank all cast members for making our vacation experience at Walt Disney World a magical one.
