The Resorts Gal Guide to the

Disney World Parks

Walt Disney World is home to four theme parks and two water parks. Below, we’ll provide an overview of each one. This guide is designed as a simple starting place to learn about the parks. It expands on our coverage through various series of articles dedicated to each park. You can select any of the parks to learn more specifics about that park. We’ve also listed our most popular planning articles specific to spending time in the Disney World Parks!

Magic Kingdom

Often referred to as the Most Magical Place on Earth, Magic Kingdom Park is Walt Disney World’s original 1971 theme park. The park’s icon, Cinderella Castle, sits in the center of the park at the end of Main Street, U.S.A. Magic Kingdom has so many attractions and rides that it can be challenging to take it all in over a day’s time. We recommend planning a minimum of two days at this park, and you still probably won’t get to see everything!

Newest Attractions:

  • Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
  • TRON Lightcycle/Run

What’s Not to Be Missed at Magic Kingdom?

This answer could vary depending on your touring party. But we think it’s important to experience a mix of classic attractions combined with more modern ones. Our bucket list day at Magic Kingdom includes the following attractions and entertainment:

  • Meet Mickey Mouse at Town Square Theater
  • Eat a Favorite Treat (Popcorn, Dole Whip, or Ice Cream)
  • See Happily Ever After Fireworks
  • Ride Pirates of the Caribbean
  • Ride Haunted Mansion
  • Ride Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
  • Ride the Tomorrowland Transit Authority Peoplemover (Day and Night)
  • Ride TRON Lightcycle/Run
  • Ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
  • Meet Characters!
  • See the Festival of Fantasy Parade
  • Relax in a rocking chair on the Town Square Theater porch and take it all in!
  • Cool off in The Hall of Presidents, and be surprised by how much you enjoyed it!

Learn More >> The Resorts Gal Guide to Magic Kingdom

the entrance to Magic Kingdom with the train station in the background and Mickey floral planter

Epcot

Epcot opened on October 1, 1982, and is the second theme park at Walt Disney World. Originally called EPCOT Center, the name stands for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. This theme park offers a mix of educational aspects and thrills. Those who love travel will likely be inspired by the eleven countries offered in the park’s World Showcase.

Newest Attractions:

  • Mickey and Friends Character Spot
  • Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind

What’s Not to Be Missed at Epcot?

Obviously, this answer depends on various factors, including your likes and dislikes. But we would not want to visit Epcot without touring the Land Pavilion, the Seas Pavilion, the countries in the World Showcase, and riding Guardians of Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. Below, we have a more concise list.

  • See Luminous: The Symphony of Us (Evening Fireworks)
  • Ride Living with the Land in the Land Pavilion
  • Ride Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
  • Meet Disney Princesses in the World Showcase
  • Visit the Seas Pavilion and Explore (The perfect place to wait out a storm or tour during the heat of the day.)
  • Take the time to REALLY explore the countries in the World Showcase and see what they have to offer.
  • Ride Frozen Ever After
  • Ride Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure
  • See Impressions de France (check hours, usually after 7:00 p.m.)
  • Splurge on a unique snack or beverage in the World Showcase.
  • Meet Mickey Mouse

Learn More >> The Resorts Gal Guide to Epcot

a lake with Epcot's icon Spaceship Earth in the backdrop with red flowers and blue skies

Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Disney’s Hollywood Studios opened on May 1, 1989, as Disney-MGM Studios. The park was designed to be a working studio combined with a theme park. Over the years, Hollywood Studios underwent a name change and settled on being only a theme park. It’s now home to two widely popular lands based on favorite Disney-owned film franchises: Star Wars Galaxy Edge (Star Wars) and Toy Story Land (Toy Story).

  • Coming Soon: The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure
  • Newest Attractions: Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway

What’s Not to Be Missed at Hollywood Studios?

You’ll want to make sure that the things on our list are suitable for your family. But these are some of our favorites, including seeing Fantasmic! which is almost always packed and often requires a time investment to get decent seats.

  • Ride Slinky Dog Dash (x2 day and night)
  • Ride Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
  • Meet Star Wars Characters
  • Meet Disney Junior Characters at Animation Courtyard (for the littles).
  • See For a First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along
  • Enjoy lunch outside at the Brown Derby Lounge (if the weather is nice).
  • Ride Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway
  • Eat a Ronto Wrap from Ronto Roasters
  • See Fantasmic!
  • Tour Galaxy’s Edge at Night
  • Stroll down Hollywood and Sunset to see the neon lights at night.
  • Take on the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

Learn More >> The Resorts Gal Guide to Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Echo Lake at Disney's Hollywood Studios, a theme park at Disney World
Echo Lake at Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park opened on Earth Day (April 22, 1998). It is the last of four theme parks at Walt Disney World, but definitely not the least. A day spent at Animal Kingdom is truly like no other. We recommend touring this park at a slow pace and exploring all of the little things. You will be better for it by the end of the day. If possible (based on operating hours), we recommend touring the park after dark to see Pandora, World of Avatar glow in bioluminescence.

  • Coming Soon: Zootopia Attraction in the Tree of Life Theater
  • Newest Attractions: Avatar Flight of Passage and Na’vi River Journey

What’s Not to Be Missed at Disney’s Animal Kingdom?

It’s important to remember that a park like Animal Kingdom is not necessarily about thrill rides. However, there are a few options.

  • Ride Kilimanjaro Safaris (x2 or more if you can swing it).
  • Tour the trails on both sides of the Tree of Life.
  • Have lunch at Satu’li Canteen
  • Have dinner or a break at Nomad Lounge (preferably outside).
  • Ride Avatar Flight of Passage
  • Explore Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail and Maharajah Jungle Trek
  • Ride Expedition Everest
  • See Festival of the Lion King
  • Take the Animation Class at Rafiki’s Planet Watch!
  • Have fun, and take it slow!

Learn More >> The Resorts Gal Guide to Disney’s Animal Kingdom

the entrance to Disney's Animal Kingdom a Disney World Park

Typhoon Lagoon

Open seasonally, this is one of two waterparks at Walt Disney World. The park is themed to an island setting after a typhoon turns everything upside down. You might even find a ship sitting on top of a mountain!

Blizzard Beach

Someone had the idea to put a ski resort in Florida, but as you can probably imagine, it soon turned into a melting ski resort! Thankfully, puddles make for a good start when it comes to water parks. Also, open seasonally, Blizzard Beach is Disney’s secondary water park.

the lazy river at Disney's Water Park. Typhoon Lagoon

Browse Our Disney World Parks Planning Articles

These articles will help you decide which rides are suitable for your family. They include a list of height requirements for rides in every park and instructions on how to use Rider Switch if you have an ineligible rider. Given its popularity, we’ve also included a list of everything related to Frozen at Walt Disney World.

The 1-Stop Guide to Disney World Lightning Lanes: If you’re planning a vacation to Walt Disney World, this is one of our most important guides. It details everything you need to know about Lightning Lanes, Lightning Lane Multi Pass, and Single Pass. Preview average prices, selections, and a step-by-step overview of how the entire process works.

The Resorts Gal Ride Selector: This free tool will help you select Lightning Lanes for each day of your trip ahead of time. When it comes time to reserve your rides and times, you’ll have a complete plan. Make sure to get your copy of this incredibly helpful spreadsheet.

Free Disney World Ride Spreadsheet: Our free ride spreadsheet is created with Google Sheets to help you plan. It has a tab and detailed instruction guides with examples for each park. Use it to quickly reference rides by their location within the park, height requirements, Lightning Lane status, and whether or not they’re available during early entry or extended theme park hours.

A Step By Step Guide to Reserving Lightning Lanes: This guide walks you through the entire process of opening the My Disney Experience app and reserving Lightning Lanes. Use our screenshots to guide you as you practice the process ahead of your reservation date.

Disney World Rides with Height Requirements: This guide lists every attraction at Walt Disney World with a height requirement, and the ones that don’t!

How to Use Rider Switch at Walt Disney World: This guide will teach you everything you need to know to experience attractions at Walt Disney World when traveling with little ones.

Everything Frozen at Disney World: The Frozen frenzy continues! We’ve put together a guide that shares everything related to Frozen in the four theme parks.

The Magic Kingdom Rides Guide: This is one of our most popular articles. It gives a brief description of every attraction at Magic Kingdom.

Luminous: The Symphony of Us Viewing Locations: This article shares photos of Epcot’s fireworks from some of our favorite viewing locations (and a few of the worst!).

Resorts Gal Ride Selector

Our ride selector tool simplifies the process of choosing Lightning Lanes and desired time ranges. You’ll have a plan formed for each park day in minutes!

Seasonal Guides

Here are a few of our seasonal guides for the parks.

8 Ways to Celebrate the 4th of July at Disney World: Are you spending the 4th of July at Disney World? Don’t miss this special list of must-dos for the holiday!

Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party Guide 2024: This seasonal guide teaches you everything you need to know about the seasonal Halloween Party at Magic Kingdom. This year’s event begins on August 9, 2024!

Meeting Characters at Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party: If you’re looking to meet characters at this year’s event, this is the guide for you! We’ve met them all and shared our experience walking through each character’s meet-and-greet during the party!

9 Things to Do During Christmas at Walt Disney World (2024): This guide shares announcements for the Christmas holidays at Walt Disney World during the 2024 holiday season.

Meeting Characters at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party: If you’re looking to meet characters at the Christmas party, this guide is for you! We’ve shared a preview of every meet-and-greet and what to expect as far as lines.

Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade: Preview photos and videos of the Christmas parade at Magic Kingdom!

Trending

If you’re visiting during the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival, don’t miss taking the time to tour the exquisite topiaries. We’ve got the entire list with photos of each one and their location.

Disney World Theme Parks

The following guides are for each park. Each guide shares a list of attractions and other planning articles specific to that park.

Most Popular

Here are a few of our most popular articles related to the Walt Disney World theme parks.

Disney After Hours Guides

Are you considering purchasing tickets for Disney After Hours? We break down our experiences in the following guides.

More Planning

Are you planning a Walt Disney World vacation. You might benefit from some of our other popular planning resources. You can sign up for our 5-lesson quick start course on our home page, Resorts Gal. We specialize in covering the resort hotels at Walt Disney World and have extensive coverage of almost every aspect of each resort. You’ll find everything from photos of what’s available in the resort gift shop to pictures of the pools and rooms.

Our Disney World Dining Handbook offers a complete overview of everything you need to know about dining upfront. It also links to guides that discuss the Disney Dining Plan, best dining spots, and subjects like character dining in more detail.

Our most popular guides fall under the Disney World Transportation category. We have a transportation guide for every single resort hotel at Walt Disney World. We also have extensive guides that discuss using the monorail, boats, buses, and the Disney Skyliner.

Lastly, if you’re hoping to meet characters at Disney World, we have you covered. We have photos of all the characters who meet regularly in the parks and a few rare ones!