Disney Springs is a huge shopping and dining complex in Walt Disney World. Its basically an outdoor shopping mall filled with over 100 retailers and more than 60 restaurants. You can go to Disney Springs for all your needs when at Walt Disney World. Its …
On my latest trip to Walt Disney World, I was shocked at how efficiently I was able to tour Animal Kingdom. While I stayed at the park from open to close, I definitely didn’t need that amount of time to see everything the park had …
Animal Kingdom is the newest of the 4 theme parks that make up Walt Disney World. It opened in 1998 and is a hybrid of a traditional amusement park and a zoo and wildlife conservation station. In addition to hosting some of Disney’s best attractions, the park contains a series of wildlife trails, presenting guests the opportunity to slow down and enjoy the beauties of nature. You can even take a mini-safari on the Serengeti here! With stunning additions such as the World of Avatar, Animal Kingdom is better than ever. I thoroughly enjoyed my day at the park earlier this year. I’ll cover the specifics of my day in more detail in another post, but for now I’ll be providing you with a guide to the attractions found in Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
I personally recommend doing Animal Kingdom towards the back end of your Disney vacation. To me, the park is always one that can be toured with a more relaxing pace, making it ideal after a busy few days at Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. In saying that, Animal Kingdom opens early. Like really early. On the day of my most recent visit, the park opened at 7.30am to Disney resort guests (and at 8.00am to regular day guests). Since you’ll want to be at Animal Kingdom about 60 minutes before park opening, that means setting a very early alarm to ensure you’re there on time. If you can be on the first bus from your resort for the day, you’re doing great.
That ties into my next point. While I’m sure Galaxy’s Edge does something similar at Hollywood Studios, Flights of Passage draws huge lines INSTANTLY. You want to be right at the front of the queue entering the park and following the cast members into Pandora. Your only chance of doing that is being at Animal Kingdom early enough that you beat the pack of others doing the same thing. Its a stressful start to the day, but once you’ve ridden it, things will be much calmer for the remainder of your day.
As with the other Disney parks, Animal Kingdom now utilises the Genie+ system. It has replaced the old Fastpass+, and is basically a means to book “skip the line” windows at most attractions throughout the day. Genie+ comes at an additional cost to your park admission. I don’t think its essential at Animal Kingdom (you’ll be able to fit everything in without it), but given the advantages Genie+ provides at other parks, I think its worth purchasing for your trip.
Genie+ covers all the rides at Animal Kingdom except for Flights of Passage. To skip the line at that attraction, you need to pay for an Individual Lightning Lane reservation.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom shares a basic layout that is similar to the Magic Kingdom – the classic “hub and spokes” model. You enter Animal Kingdom through the Oasis, the park’s Main Street equivalent. Instead of being one simple thoroughfare to the centre however, the Oasis is made up of a number of paths passing various animal exhibits, all converging at the same destination. That destination is Discovery Island, home of the Tree of Life. This massive 14 storey artificial tree is the park’s icon. From here, the remainder of the Animal Kingdom’s lands branch out from the hub. Moving clockwise through the lands, you’ll encounter Pandora: the World of Avatar, Africa, Asia and DinoLand USA. I’ll now take you through all of them.
Discovery Island is the heart of Disney’s Animal Kingdom, providing access to the other lands around the park. Situated under the massive Tree of Life, a man made baobab tree (on which the night time Awakenings projection show is displayed), Discovery Island is home to a few minor attractions as well as shopping and dining options. The land puts you in the mood to explore the rest of Animal Kingdom. You won’t spend the majority of your day in Discovery Island, but there’s a few things worth checking out here all the same.
Its Tough to be a Bug is an immersive 3D film housed inside the Tree of Life and inspired by the Pixar film: A Bug’s Life. The show illustrates the importance of insects to our global ecosystems. The film is humorous, similar to Mickey’s PhilharMagic at the Magic Kingdom, however it does get a bit creepy for kids when Hopper and his gang of grasshoppers show up to cause some trouble. Without spoiling too much, lets just say the special effects go beyond what you’ll see on the screen. Overall, Its Tough to Be a Bug is an underrated attraction that I recommend seeing some time during the busy afternoon hours.
The Discovery Island nature trails wind around the base of the Tree of Life. Not only do they provide close-up views of the Tree’s animal carvings, you can also see various zoological exhibits including flamingos, tortoises and otters along the way. There’s larger nature trails throughout Animal Kingdom, but this is a good introduction to that aspect of Animal Kingdom.
Wilderness Explorers is the Animal Kingdom’s scavenger hunt style game that you can play while exploring the park. The idea here is that you sign up to Russell’s (from Up!) Boy Scout gang and earn a series of badges by attending various wildlife checkpoints around the park. Along the way, you’ll learn various facts about the animals you’ll see in your travels. Wilderness Explorers is great for families with young children, especially if they can’t ride the bigger rides throughout the park.
While there’s a number of snack and counter service options in Discovery Island, the land is also home to three restaurants. Pizzafari, as the name suggests, is famous for some of the best pizza in Walt Disney World (at least outside of EPCOT), making it great for fussy eaters. Meanwhile Flame Tree Barbecue is where you can stock up on delicious BBQ ribs and other smoked specialties. The land is also home to the signature dining restaurant of Animal Kingdom – Tiffins, which serves diverse, exotic offerings with waterfront views.
Africa is the largest land in Animal Kingdom and where you’ll find the park’s original headliner attraction. Guests enter Africa through the fictional village of Harambe, themed as a modern east African town that operates tours on the great savannah. As you explore Africa, you’ll encounter various forms of street entertainment such as the Tam Tam Drummers and Harambe Village Acrobats who each participate in numerous performances throughout the day. While the safari itself is definitely Africa’s main attraction, there’s many other things to see here.
Kilimanjaro Safaris is the park’s original headliner, and its an experience like no other. Its essentially a mini-safari. Guests board large safari trucks and take a guided tour of the African savannah. Along the way, you’ll encounter all kinds of African animals wandering around – elephants, giraffes, lions, rhinos and more. It used to be open for night time safaris as well, although my understanding is that these now need to be booked in advance. Kilimanjaro Safaris, its a good choice for Genie+ reservations if you’re using it at Animal Kingdom, so that you can choose the time of your tour. Avoid the heat of the day as there’s less chance that the animals will be active. Personally, I’d try to do this right after rope dropping Pandora, as the animals will still be reasonably active at that early hour.
The Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail can get quite busy, probably owing to its entrance being right next to the queue for Kilimanjaro Safaris. The highlight here is obviously the gorilla exhibit (you won’t see them on the safari), but you’ll also visit a walk through aviary and get underwater views of the hippo pool along the way.
This mini-broadway show features the various characters of the Lion King and all the film’s classic songs. Numerous acrobats, puppets and performers put on a very exciting show that is well worth checking out. The shows runs just over 20 minutes, so check out the times throughout the day to ensure you set aside enough time to enjoy this one. The show is popular, so you might need to arrive early to get a good seat.
Broadly part of Africa, Rafiki’s Planet Watch is an area of Animal Kingdom that encompasses the Conservation and Affection Section, the park’s veterinary headquarters and petting zoo. You reach this section of the park by way of the Wildlife Express Train. While a visit to the conservation station is interesting, personally I think it eats up a bit too much time that could be spent experiencing the rest of the park. If you miss this part of the park, you’re not losing out. You’d get just as much out of watching the Animal Kingdom series on Disney+ if you’re interested in Disney World’s conservation efforts.
Africa is home to both a quick service restaurant, and a table service restaurant. The quick service option, Harambe Market, is a great choice for a snack at lunch time, with differing outdoor stations serving African inspired cuisine. Meanwhile Tusker House Restaurant hosts the park’s only character dining experience – Mickey, Donald and the gang meet guests in safari costumes, with countless African dishes available in an all you can eat buffet setting. Having dined at Tusker House in the past, its a really good dinner option if you’re wanting to try something different.
Like much of Animal Kingdom, Asia is an incredibly themed land, drawing from architectural styles found in South and South East Asian nations such as India, Indonesia, Thailand and Nepal. It’s centrepiece is the fictional village of Anandapur in the Himalayas. A facade of Mount Everest provides a great photo opportunity and also contains the park’s most thrilling ride, while numerous other attractions will also keep you busy in this part of the park.
Expedition Everest, without question, is one of the best rollercoasters in all of Walt Disney World. Definitely more thrilling than the rides that you’ll find at the Magic Kingdom, this epic coaster takes you up into the mountains on a quest to come face to face with the resident Yeti himself. Without spoiling too much, expect to reach great speeds and travel in both directions (forwards and backwards), but there’s no loops or inversions to worry about. You’ll save time at Expedition Everest using Genie+, but an even better tactic is to use the Single Rider line to dramatically cut down on your wait (chances are you’ll be ushered right on up). Its definitely an attraction you’ll want to ride more than once as well, and the single rider line is very handy at ensuring you can do this.
As the name suggests, Kali River Rapids is a whitewater rafting ride that takes guests downstream to witness the impacts of deforestation and environmental exploitation. You’re bound to get soaked when riding this one, and for that reason it gets swamped with crowds during the heat of the day. While its a lot of fun, the ride is surprisingly short, especially compared to Disney’s river rapid ride over in California. Its still a decent choice for a Genie+ if you’re travelling during the summer months (Florida heat = popular water rides!). As a heads up, just make sure you keep your feet up when riding – you don’t want to walk around Animal Kingdom with wet shoes for the rest of the day.
The Maharajah Jungle Trek is another mini-zoo experience at Animal Kingdom. As you make your way along the path, you’ll pass through the ruins of an elaborate temple, said to be the old palace of a Maharajah. As you move through, you’ll see species such as Komodo Dragons, flying foxes, and of course, the Bengal tigers. This trail is well worth taking the time to experience, though again, avoid visiting in the heat of the day if you want to see active animals.
This wildlife show takes place in an open air amphitheatre numerous times throughout the day and is all about the winged species of Animal Kingdom. Throughout the half hour you’ll witness various birds swooping throughout the theatre, including the majestic bald eagle. I actually haven’t seen the latest addition of this show – I didn’t watch it on my latest Disney trip, and on my last visit, I saw the precursor to its precursor (its changed a lot over the years!). If you’ve watched a bird show at a zoo though, chances are you know what you’re getting into with this one.
Asia contains numerous snack stands that offer incredibly diverse dishes, but only one restaurant. That restaurant is the Yak & Yeti Restaurant and is a great choice for dinner at Animal Kingdom. Yak & Yeti serves numerous Asian fusion dishes in a beautiful Nepalese stylised restaurant. While there’s a counter-service window attached that serves many of the same dishes if you’re in a hurry, I highly recommend taking the time to properly dine here. I did on my latest Disney trip and LOVED it.
While Animal Kingdom is full of excellently themed environments, DinoLand USA is the exception to that rule. Its actually a fairly tacky looking section of an otherwise brilliant theme park. The heart of that tackiness comes from the Dino-Rama Carnival area, which contains a few basic midway rides. Meanwhile, the land’s headline attraction is actually a great thrill ride, tucked away towards a back corner of the land. The land of dinosaurs is also home to Animal Kingdom’s second broadway show.
The main reason to check out DinoLand USA, Dinosaur is a thrill ride in the dark loosely based on the Disney animated feature of the same name. Basically, you board a ride vehicle and are taken through a mixture of a track and motion simulator, similar to the vein of the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland. Along the way, your ride vehicle bucks about the track on your journey back in time to capture a living dinosaur, with dangerous carnivores providing countless scares in the process. Dinosaur is a great thrill ride that really gets the heart pumping. Because its tucked away it often takes a while for queues to form here. Its definitely an underrated attraction at Animal Kingdom.
TriceraTop Spin is just another spinner ride like Dumbo at the Magic Kingdom. Here the ride vehicles are flying triceratops dinosaurs. This just fills space among the midway games in the DinoLand carnival area and gives kids something to do. You can skip it.
While not necessarily fitting the theming of DinoLand, this excellent 40 minute Broadway show takes place multiple times throughout the day and is of Broadway quality. The show involves stunning puppetry, special effects and choreography to tell the story of Finding Nemo through musical numbers. Make sure you factor this show into your schedule when touring Animal Kingdom if you haven’t seen it before. The theatre is huge, so you shouldn’t have any problem making it into your chosen session.
The Boneyard is an immersive playground for children with the theming being that of a dig site. In addition to running around on slides and swings, kids can also search for dinosaur bones in a sandpit.
DinoLand USA isn’t the place to come in Animal Kingdom for exotic food options. There’s a few food stalls throughout the land, but the only proper dining option is Restaurantosaurus, a counter-service restaurant that serves basic theme park foods like burgers and fries. Unless you’re a really fussy eater, I recommend being more adventurous and eating in the other lands at Animal Kingdom.
The World of Avatar, which first opened in 2017, is the newest land in Disney’s Animal Kingdom. It is absolutely beautiful, being a recreation of the planet Pandora. Set a generation after the events of the original James Cameron film, the World of Avatar brings the floating mountains of the Valley of the Moa’ra to life. Fitting the land into the overarching theme of Animal Kingdom, the story sees Pandora since becoming an ecotourist destination for humans, relations with the Na’vi people having improved significantly since the events of the film.
Pandora is impressive by day, but even more gorgeous at night, when numerous bioluminescent plants light up in vibrant colours. The land is home to two major attractions that develop the longest lines in Animal Kingdom, making Pandora a no-brainer to hit up first thing in the day. Throughout the day, a Na’vi drum ceremony takes place in the land, while Pandoran Conservation Initiative scientists can also be found roaming the land. Overall, Pandora is unlike anything you’ll experience elsewhere in the Animal Kingdom. In many ways, the scope of the land was a precursor to Galaxy’s Edge in Hollywood Studios.
Without question the most popular ride in Animal Kingdom, lines for Flight of Passage can easily reach a few hours during busy times of the year. Overall, the ride is an advanced motion simulator that takes you on the back of a banshee for an aerial tour of Pandora (think Soarin’ but far more breathtaking). The ride vehicle even mimics the feeling of the banshee inhaling and exhaling under your legs throughout your flight. Flight of Passage is a technological breakthrough and remains one of the most awe inspiring rides in all of Walt Disney World. Getting off the ride, I was lost for words. Its that good.
Pandora’s other attraction, the Na’vi River Journey, isn’t quite as exciting, but its no less beautiful. On this ride you take a boat trip through the Pandora jungle at night, giving you the opportunity to see the bioluminescent plant life while its still sunny outside. Along the way you’ll also encounter incredibly sleek projections of Pandoran fauna and a hyper-realistic audio-animatronic of the Shaman of Songs, a Na’vi witch of some sort. Na’vi River Journey isn’t as popular as its neighbouring ride, but can still develop lengthy lines. I personally recommend securing a Lightning Lane through Genie+ so you can ride this one after rope dropping Flight of Passage.
Aside from a few snack stands, Pandora only has one dining option, the Satu’li Canteen. Its an excellent choice for either lunch or dinner. Set in an old mess hall from Pandora’s military past, Satu’li Canteen serves customisable bowls where you can mix and match a number of ingredients to create your ideal meal, along with unique and colourful beverages and desserts. I ate here a recent trip to Animal Kingdom and loved it.
Animal Kingdom is a beautiful theme park. I really enjoy the mix between doing rides and taking some time to watch the animals in its various trails and exhibits. I think the park hits a nice balance between the two. Hopefully this post has been helpful if you’ve not been to Animal Kingdom (or its been a while) in showing all the experiences you can enjoy on a day at the park. What is your favourite part of Animal Kingdom?
Disney’s Hollywood Studios. It used to be such a simple park to tour when visiting Walt Disney World. Thats because for years it was the park that was undergoing renovations (EPCOT currently has that claim to fame). On my last visit to Walt Disney World, …
Disney’s Hollywood Studios opened in 1989, under the name Disney-MGM Studios. In many ways, the park served as an answer to Universal Studios Florida, which was being constructed at the same time. Hollywood Studios was originally a relatively small park, containing a Studio Tour and …
I love EPCOT. Its my favourite park in Walt Disney World. On my recent trip to Orlando, I spent more than one day at this park. I do think its very possible to see what EPCOT has to offer in a single day though, especially at the moment as the park is going through a stage of redevelopment. In this 1 day EPCOT itinerary, I’m going to provide you with an overview of how I spent my first day at this amazing park during my Walt Disney World trip. I followed this EPCOT itinerary and did pretty much everything there is to do in the park, so I think its a good plan for someone with limited park time.
I bought Genie+ as part of my vacation package on my latest trip to Walt Disney World. While its definitely useful at other parks, I don’t think its really essential at EPCOT. I only made a few Lightning Lane reservations, and honestly, if I hadn’t used them, I think I still would have been able to get through everything on this EPCOT itinerary. There’s just not that many attractions where you’ll be waiting for a long time at EPCOT (provided you plan out the first part of your day well).
I visited EPCOT on a weekday in July – otherwise known as peak Disney tourist season. The Food & Wine Festival hadn’t started yet (it kicked off on a later day in my vacation), so that might have had something to do with the park not being as packed on the day I followed this touring plan.
As a resort guest, I was able to take advantage of early park admission. That meant an 8.00am rope drop on the day I visited (with the park opening to other guests at 8.30am). Since I was staying at Disney’s Pop Century resort, I got to the park aboard the Skyliner, and entered at the International Gateway entrance to the park. I was there by 7.15am and ready to go. Guests were let into the park from around 7.30am.
At 7.00am, (from on board the Disney Skyliner), I made a reservation for the Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind virtual queue. My boarding group was called around 12.45pm, so I planned my EPCOT itinerary around that. My first Lightning Lane reservation was for Soarin’ at 8.30am.
Entering the park at the International Gateway (my first time having done so), I started my EPCOT itinerary by following the crowds to the right. Reaching the queue that quickly gathered at the France pavilion, I got ready to ride Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure. I really enjoyed this new attraction. It was unlike any Disney ride I had experienced at that point, as it does an excellent job utilising the new trackless ride technology. If I wasn’t entering the park at International Gateway, my EPCOT itinerary probably would have been more dependent on Genie+, as I would have started on the other side of the park, but owing to my circumstances, I was able to get this popular ride out of the way early on. I was actually on Remy’s by 7.50am, before early entry had even officially begun! – getting to the parks early always pays off!
Getting off Remy’s, I made the long walk to the front section of the park to continue my EPCOT itinerary. I had planned to ride Test Track next, however the ride was facing a delayed opening that morning (not an uncommon occurrence). That meant I continued onwards to Mission: Space (naturally the orange version), and it was basically a walk on. I then headed over to the Land Pavilion to ride Soarin’ Around the World. I used my Lightning Lane reservation, though it was hardly necessary at that hour – I did beat the few rope droppers who had headed here right on official park opening though.
With the park officially open for about a half an hour by the time I got off Soarin’, I next headed to Spaceship Earth, keen to take a ride on this classic EPCOT attraction in light of its rumoured makeover in the near future. Its a fairly lengthy attraction, eating up about 20 minutes of time, but by the time I got off, Test Track had opened, so using the single rider line I did that. I had planned to skip Journey Into Imagination with Figment (I’m not a huge fan of this family friendly ride), but passing it on the way back to the Land Pavilion afterwards, I saw it was also a walk-on, so did it as well. Not bad touring progress as it wasn’t even 10am yet!
With only a few more attractions to experience in the former Future World, I set off to do the rest of them (excluding Guardians). I returned to the Land Pavilion and took the most popular greenhouse tour in the world aboard Living with the Land. I skipped Awesome Planet, and instead made my way to the Seas with Nemo and Friends next door. Starting with the attraction itself (again, basically a walk on), I followed it up with some time watching the manatees, dolphins and more in the SeaBase aquarium – its an excellent aquarium by theme park standards! By the time I was done here, it was around 11am, meaning World Showcase was properly opening. Around the same time, I made a Lightning Lane reservation for Frozen Ever After for around 2.00pm.
With 11am nearing, I made my way back towards the World Showcase. People have differing views as to which way to circle the lagoon, but I tend to always go the clockwise, which means starting in Mexico. After picking up a margarita (I’ll write more about snacking and drinking around the world in the future – its the best part of any EPCOT itinerary!), I spent some time checking out the exhibits and stores, while also riding the Gran Fiesta Tour starring the Three Caballeros, which never has much of a line.
Finishing up Mexico with the mariachi band performance, I then wandered into Norway. I proceeded to do everything except the Frozen attractions here, which meant checking out the Norse mythology exhibits and having a snack and Viking coffee at the Kringla Bakeri og Kafe. With time to do one more pavilion before having to return to the front of the park to ride Guardians, I picked up an alcoholic tea cocktail in China, ventured through the pavilion’s massive retail space, and had a look at the Shanghai Disneyland exhibit.
Three countries into my tour of the World Showcase, my boarding group was called for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. That meant a long walk back to the main entrance of the park to ride the newest attraction on this EPCOT itinerary. Despite operating the virtual queue, I still spent a decent amount of time in line for the attraction (I’d say probably around 40 minutes all up, including the pre-ride scenes), but it was all worthwhile. This indoor rollercoaster is incredible. It really sends you in all directions and if it wasn’t so popular, I definitely would have tried to ride it again. This is the one attraction you have to make sure you do when you visit EPCOT.
Getting off Guardians, it was time to head back to Norway, as I had another ride reservation to use. With my Lightning Lane window open, I boarded a boat for Arendelle aboard Frozen Ever After. This is the one part of my day where Genie+ paid off, as the regular standby line was about an hour at this point. If I had to get in the regular line, it wouldn’t have been the end of the world, but by passing the normal queue here, I had more time to enjoy the rest of the World Showcase for the remainder of my day at EPCOT.
I resumed my tour of the World Showcase at the Germany Pavilion. It was only 2.30pm, and from here on out, the rest of my EPCOT itinerary made for a very relaxed day. I made my way around the remainder of the country pavilions – Italy, the US, Japan, Morocco, France, the UK and Canada. Along the way I snacked, drank, enjoyed the cultural exhibits and stores, and watched a few musical performances. I enjoyed it so much that I returned on my spare day at Walt Disney World after doing the other parks.
I’m not going to provide a detailed list of everything I did at these pavilions, but I feel like I spent roughly half an hour at each country. As a lover of travelling the world, this was the best part of my day at EPCOT, and by having a busy morning, I was able to take my time and enjoy it. While some might say I could have used my time better by doing other attractions again in the front of the park, to me, the World Showcase is what EPCOT is truly about.
After spending the rest of the day in the World Showcase, I capped off an excellent day at EPCOT with the nighttime fireworks show. Unlike other Disney nighttime shows, you don’t need to arrive early for a good vantage point – there’s so much room around the lagoon you can see it from all angles. Its the perfect way to end your 1 day EPCOT itinerary. I really enjoyed my day touring the park as set out in this post. I’m sure there are other touring plans that readers might prefer (particularly those focusing on the front of the park in greater detail), and I’d love to hear about them. Hopefully if you’re headed to EPCOT though, this post has been of use to you in working out how to tour this excellent Disney park.
EPCOT (originally known as EPCOT Center) was the second theme park to open at Walt Disney World. Opening its gates for the first time in 1982, EPCOT was the first Disney park in the world to not be the conventional “castle style” park (after all, …
On my recent trip to Walt Disney World, I decided to spend only one day at the Magic Kingdom. I wouldn’t recommend a 1 day Magic Kingdom itinerary for most guests (especially first time visitors). There’s a lot to do, see and ride in the …
The Magic Kingdom is the most popular and well known theme park in Walt Disney World. Its the park that most people think of when they hear the phrase “Disney World”. On the east coast of the United States, it all started with a mouse (as always), but beyond that, the Magic Kingdom park is where Florida’s theme park capital status began. Opened in 1971, the Magic Kingdom is the original Disneyland in Anaheim on a much larger scale. This is the park where you’ll find many of Walt Disney’s classic creations, as well as some of the most iconic rides in Imagineering history. When you’re in Orlando, it goes without saying that visiting the Magic Kingdom is a must. But with so many attractions, there’s a lot to do, and you could easily spend more than a day at this park alone. Lets cover it.
First of all, the Magic Kingdom is huge. The park covers roughly 43 hectares and all up has over 40 attractions (rides, shows and more). If you’re a first time visitor to Walt Disney World, I feel like you’ll want to spend 2 days to really get the most out of this theme park. I know I needed it on my first visit to Walt Disney World. Having been a few times now, I’m able to tour the Magic Kingdom within a day, but by doing so I’m going in knowing I’m going to skip some of the attractions that aren’t as appealing to me. The Magic Kingdom will always have a place in my heart, but I actually enjoy the other Disney World parks more. With that said, the attractions at this park are especially appealing to younger visitors. Budget your vacation time accordingly.
If you’re an experienced Disney traveller that knows all about the old Fastpass+, you’ll be interested to learn about the Genie+ service. Unlike its predecessor, Genie+ is a paid service, but if you include it with your ticket, you’ll be able to make Lightning Lane (skip the line) reservations throughout the day. You make your first reservation at 7.00pm (if you’re a resort guest), and can make a new reservation every two hours from park opening onwards. Most attractions offer Lightning Lanes at Magic Kingdom, so its worth it. The only major ride that doesn’t is the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, which you need to pay extra to book an Individual Lightning Lane for. Note unlike Fastpass+, you can’t book the same ride more than once each day.
You should get to the park at least 30 minutes before opening (an hour at busy times of year). You’ll beat the line to your first attraction.
The Magic Kingdom park layout is often referred to as a “hub and spokes” model. Its the same type of design you’ll find at all Disney “castle” parks around the world. You enter the park at Main Street USA and follow the street towards Central Plaza in front of Cinderella Castle, the park’s iconic landmark. From here, you can access the various lands that branch out from the main hub. Moving clockwise around the castle, you’ll find Adventureland, Frontierland, Liberty Square, Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. In this post, I’ll take you on a deeper dive into each of these lands.
Main Street USA is the entrance to the Magic Kingdom. It opens an hour or so before the park’s scheduled opening time, so always plan to get here early to make the most of your day. Main Street USA is made to look like a American small town thoroughfare around the time of the early 20th century. The street is lined with various shops and eateries until you reach the Central Plaza, which is where the nightly fireworks take place over Cinderella Castle. Main Street is also the most popular spot to see the character parades through the day at Magic Kingdom. You won’t find any major rides in Main Street USA, but there’s some popular character meet and greets in addition to all the shopping you can do here.
The only real rides in Main Street are trolleys, buses and other vehicles that offer one way trips down the thoroughfare to Central Plaza. Definitely not worth waiting around for.
The iconic railway stops at Main Street station, right above the entrance to the Magic Kingdom. Its currently closed due to construction on the Tron-coaster in Tomorrowland, but normally provides a means of linking the various lands for guests that don’t want to walk great distances. There’s some interesting scenery along the way, so its worth doing a full loop after you’ve seen everything else in the park (probably on a second day).
Town Hall in Main Street is where you can meet Mickey and Minnie Mouse themselves. Naturally, the mouse that started it all is hugely popular, so keep your eye on wait times if meeting Mickey is important to you. In the past, only Mickey greeted guests in Town Hall, but his other half has joined him here in honour of the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World. You were previously also able to meet Tinker Bell in Town Hall, but since Minnie arrived, she hasn’t been around. Whether she’ll return in the future is a question that only time will tell.
There’s quite a few spots to eat on Main Street USA. Casey’s Corner is a baseball themed quick service restaurant serving hot dogs and other kinds of American theme park cuisine. As far as table service goes, the Crystal Palace offers a character meal with the Winnie the Pooh characters, while Plaza Restaurant offers affordable comfort food. Finally, Tony’s Town Square Restaurant provides Italian options like pasta and pizza (and is where you’ll find the footprints of Lady and the Tramp outside). For those with a sweet tooth, you’ve also got the Main Street Bakery and Plaza Ice Cream Parlor.
Adventureland is a combination of exotically themed environments. As you venture deeper into the land, you’ll notice your surroundings shift from those of a African safari village to more of a tropical Caribbean theming. The land is home to two classic rides that need to be experienced by every Magic Kingdom visitor.
Board the Jungle Cruise for a boat ride along the rivers of the world, complete with animatronic animals and terribly great puns from your skipper. One of Walt’s original rides at Disneyland and replicated in the Magic Kingdom, the Jungle Cruise is a lot of fun, even if it does seem a bit outdated nowadays (its part of the charm!). Be ready for encounters with hippos, piranhas, elephants and of course, the backside of water. You’ll have a blast.
In my view, the best ride in Adventureland. It takes you on a boating adventure through the times when pirates swashbuckled around the Caribbean. Of course, with the popularity of the Pirates of the Caribbean films, updates have been made, with audio-animatronics of characters such as Captain Jack Sparrow and Barbossa added along the way. There’s two small drops on this ride, but they are quite tame. Pirates moves guests through its queue quickly and is a good choice when other lines pick up throughout the park. Fair warning though, you won’t leave this one without its catchy song being stuck in your head.
Not a must do by any stretch of the imagination, the Magic Carpets of Aladdin is a spinner style ride in the same vein as Dumbo the elephant. Riders can move their flying carpet up and down to avoid (or hit) the water sprayed by a spitting camel.
This walk through attraction takes you up a series of stairs and across bridges to explore a replica of the treehouse from the classic film, the Swiss Family Robinson. Its a good break from the lines when everything else is packed in the early afternoon. You’ll especially appreciate it if you’re a fan of the original story.
A guilty pleasure of mine, this Walt original is a show starring a myriad of animatronic birds. Led by the quartet of parrots, Jose, Fritz, Michael and Pierre, this 15 minute musical is a light hearted way to escape the Florida heat and rest your feet while being entertained by some musical numbers from yesteryear.
Adventureland is home to one of the most popular snacks at the Magic Kingdom – the Dole Whip ice cream from Aloha Isle. You should definitely go out of your way to try one of these when passing through. Also, the spring rolls at the Spring Roll Snack Cart are quite tasty. In terms of sit down restaurants however, there’s only one option in Adventureland, that being the Skipper Canteen. Serving up African and Asian cuisine, the restaurant is themed to the Jungle Cruise next door, and your wait staff will continue that theme with the various puns and cheesy jokes throughout service.
Frontierland’s theming takes you back to the American frontier of the 1800s, the very essence of the Wild West. Home to cowboys, prospectors and other gold chasing bandits, Frontierland is also where you’ll find two of the parks most popular attractions (although one currently undergoing a major re-theming). Its an area of the park that I recommend doing in the mid-morning, while queues in Fantasyland and Tomorrowland tend to still be building more rapidly.
Big Thunder Mountain is one of the most popular rides at the Magic Kingdom. Its a rollercoaster that takes you for a spin on board a runaway mine train, careening through tunnels and a ghost town. There’s no huge drops or inversions, its all about the scenery, special effects and tight turns. This makes it a ride that most family members are able to enjoy. Big Thunder Mountain is definitely a good choice for a Genie+ reservation as lines build up.
Splash Mountain was favourite ride at the Magic Kingdom, so I have to mention it, even if its a thing of the past. It was a log flume ride with countless audio-animatronics and a number of drops. There was always a good chance you’d get wet on this ride, making it a source of massive crowds in the heat of the day. Splash Mountain has been the target of controversy, due to it portraying characters from the outdated Song of the South film. When the attraction re-opens, it will be a new ride based on the Princess and the Frog film. While I’ll miss the original, I hope that I’ll be able to experience the new version of the attraction next time I visit the Magic Kingdom. I was also glad to have been able to ride the original ride one last time.
Similar to the Enchanted Tiki Room in Adventureland, the Country Bear Jamboree is an animatronic musical show, this time hosted by the loveable (and ageing) Country Bears. This Southern folk performance is quite popular with some guests, while others don’t hold it in as high regard. Its a show I personally wouldn’t mind if I missed, but would check it out if I had time when visiting the Magic Kingdom. Its another one of those attractions to consider when its hot outside and lines are long elsewhere.
Situated in the middle of the Rivers of America, Tom Sawyer Island is accessed by rafts in Frontierland. Across the river, you’ll arrive on a brilliantly themed island filled with references to the Adventures of Tom Sawyer. You’ll find caves, a windmill and Fort Langhorn here. Tom Sawyer Island is a great place for kids to run around and burn off steam, but is also a good choice to just escape the crowds at peak time in the park. Its an underrated hidden gem in the Magic Kingdom, even though there’s no major attractions here.
There’s a few dining options in Frontierland. Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn & Cafe is a quick service restaurant offering Tex-Mex cuisine, while being themed to the Pecos Bill short from Melody Time. Meanwhile, the Diamond Horseshoe is a table service restaurant, which offers an a la carte menu at lunch, and a buffet at dinner. Either way, you’ll be enjoying more of the Western style food here.
By the way, speaking of Peco Bill – sending a huge cast compliment to Dilicia who was working there on the day of my recent visit. If you come across a cast member that really goes above and beyond in their interactions with you to make your day, you should send a cast compliment on the MyDisney Experience app!
Following along the waterfront from Frontierland, you’ll reach Liberty Square – the smallest of the lands in the Magic Kingdom. Continuing the theme of American history, this land is set in the United States at the time of the Revolutionary War, with colonial style buildings found throughout the area. There’s even a replica of the Liberty Bell from Philadelphia, and a large oak tree, adding to the patriotic atmosphere. The area is home to one of the more popular dark rides in the Magic Kingdom.
A true Disney favourite, the Haunted Mansion is a dark ride around a haunted house, although its not frightening by any means. The emphasis is more on the immersive atmosphere as your doom buggy takes you on a tour of the old manor. Along the way, you encounter dancing spirits and singing ghouls. This is one of the best traditional dark rides in the Magic Kingdom and should be a priority on any visit to the park.
This large paddleboat takes guests on a tour around Tom Sawyer Island and deeper into the Rivers of America. Along the way you’ll see displays of mine towns, Indian villages and wild animals. The boat departs every half hour or so and is a good choice to rest your legs during the heat of the day. Its all about taking in your surroundings and relaxing on board.
The Hall of Presidents is a mixed film and audio-animatronic show featuring every President in the history of the United States. The show is updated regularly so that the latest president can be added (Joe Biden was up and running on my latest visit). An attraction like this will inevitably draw political commentary, however the overall message of the show is overwhelmingly patriotic and celebratory. I personally found the audience to be quite respectful (though before the show they do make a big deal to ask guests to act appropriately). The level of detail on the animatronics is also incredible, and the film before they show up provides a quick summary of American History.
Liberty Square is an excellent choice when it comes to dining in the Magic Kingdom. The land offers both a table service and counter service restaurant. The quick dining option is Colombia Harbour House, one of my favourite places to eat in the park, with various seafood options (try the lobster roll!). If you’re looking for a full on restaurant experience, head to the Liberty Tree Tavern for a colonial style thanksgiving platter.
Fantasyland is the heart of the Magic Kingdom, a village underneath the towers of Cinderella Castle that is home to attractions and entertainment based on many of the characters from Disney’s fairy tale features over the years. This land underwent a significant expansion that was completed in 2014, and the area can now be divided into three subregions. The Castle Courtyard is the original Fantasyland where classic Disney dark rides can be found. Meanwhile, tucked away at the back of the land is Storybook Circus, an area mainly for little kids with a carnival theme inspired by the Dumbo film The Enchanted Forest is the newest section of Fantasyland, hosting the headline attractions and impressive theming based on Disney classics such as Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Every Disney fan knows what to expect with Its a Small World. This iconic attraction was originally devised by Walt over in Disneyland after being rolled out for the 1964 New York World’s Fair. Its a simple boat ride that takes you past doll covered sets which represent the various countries of the earth. All the while, you’ll never forget the words to the ride’s theme song again, as the dolls sing in unison. Its a very simple attraction with a simple message, but you can’t go to the Magic Kingdom without experiencing it.
Peter Pan’s Flight takes your traditional Disney dark ride and combines it with impressive technology for its time to take the experience to another level. In this retelling of Peter Pan, you board a flying pirate ship and cruise above London and Neverland, being taken past animatronic sets depicting the key scenes of the film. This ride is the definition of the magic and charm of Walt Disney and is extremely popular. If you’re not hitting this up very early in the day, scoring a Genie+ reservation would be highly advisable.
This is just a carrousel ride in the heart of Fantasyland, albeit an elaborately designed huge one. Its not worth queuing up for in my view, but it is beautiful to look at.
Another traditional Disney dark ride. This one sees you climb into a Hunny Pot for a trip into the pages of the Hundred Acre Wood. Along the way you’ll encounter Winnie the Pooh and all his friends. Due to Pooh’s popularity, this attraction can develop lengthy lines later in the day, so try to ride it early on. Its nothing mind blowing, but a fun attraction for Pooh fans all the same.
This rollercoaster is the headliner of Fantasyland, and also the most popular attraction in all of the Magic Kingdom. Its flooded with guests literally from park opening. Needless to say, if you don’t want to purchase the individual Lightning Lane for this ride, this needs to be your first ride of the day – you need to be in line right away when the ride starts operating or you can expect a (very) long wait. Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is a family friendly coaster which is less intense than Big Thunder Mountain in Frontierland. Its a very smooth ride without any big drops, but the carts are specifically designed to sway you around the sharp corners. The highlight of the ride is a brief indoor section in which you’ll pass audio-animatronics of the Dwarfs whistling while they work.
Personally, I find it to be a bit short (hence why its not worth waiting nearly an hour to ride), but I still try to get on it every time I visit the Magic Kingdom.
Contained within (or underneath?) the impressive facade of Prince Eric’s castle, this is a dark ride that retells the story of the Little Mermaid. Along the way you’ll see all your favourite characters and sing along to the classic soundtrack from the film. The Ursula animatronic at the end is particularly impressive. There’s nothing that really sets this ride apart from the other Disney dark rides (you can experience the exact same attraction at the California Adventure park), but I always make sure to ride this one regardless. Who doesn’t love Under the Sea?
Mad Tea Party is just a typical cup and saucers spinner ride, except for the fact that its themed to the Mad Hatter’s party from Alice in Wonderland. Its good for a quick spin if the line is short (and you don’t suffer from motion sickness) but its otherwise skippable. Unlike most versions of this ride, Mad Tea Party at the Magic Kingdom takes place under shelter from the hot Florida sun.
Dumbo is a really simple spinner ride in which guests climb aboard a flying elephant ride vehicle and do a few loops around while controlling the how high they fly. Because its Dumbo however, the ride is really popular, so much so that they actually added a second Dumbo spinner to help manage crowds. If you’re with children, you’ll have to take them on Dumbo, but otherwise I feel like its more an attraction you can watch from the sidelines rather than battling the lines.
Located up the back of Fantasyland with Dumbo in Storybook Circus, the Barnstormer is the Magic Kingdom’s junior rollercoaster. Its very tame and is where you’ll want to expose young riders to their first rollercoaster before building them up to Seven Dwarfs or Big Thunder Mountain. There’s not much more to say than that, with more than half of the ride being consumed by the initial ascent. I wouldn’t waste time on this one without children.
This 3D film features Donald Duck taking a trip through various Disney animated features from the 1990s in his quest to cover for Mickey as the conductor of the PhilharMagic orchestra. Disaster ensues for our favourite duck in the scenes that follow, combined with special effects and cameos from all your favourite Disney characters. There’s never a long wait for PhilharMagic and its great to get into the air conditioned theatre during the heat of the day. This show makes for a good 15 minute break in the packed afternoon hours.
This meet and greet experience allows guests to meet two Disney princesses. There’s two separate lines here. One normally takes you to Rapunzel and Tiana, while the other is for Cinderella and Elena of Avalor. Expect long waits.
Another character meet and greet – this time guests can meet Merida from Pixar’s Brave in a special themed area beside Fairytale Hall.
Fantasyland is definitely the place to come to meet Disney princesses. Here you wander down an immersive queue to Ariel’s underwater grotto to meet the star of the Little Mermaid. This meet and greet hasn’t yet reopened, following the slimmed down line up of attractions that operated during the pandemic, but given its location right next to the Little Mermaid ride, I’d expect it to reopen soon.
Enchanted Tales with Belle is a unique attraction – part interactive show, part character meet and greet. The attraction starts with a tour of Maurice’s workshop before you’re transported through a secret passage to Beast’s Castle. Members of your group are subsequently tasked with simple roles to act out with Belle for her birthday. Belle arrives and the play takes place, with those selected for a performance also getting the opportunity to take their photo with the iconic princess. Its a fun way to spend 20 minutes, especially if you have kids that will want to participate. Like Ariel’s Grotto, it hasn’t yet reopened following the pandemic.
One final character meet and greet in Fantasyland, here you can get in line to meet either Donald and Goofy or Minnie and Daisy. They’re all decked out in circus attire, with this meet and greet being found in Storybook Circus. Like many other meet and greets in Fantasyland, this one was closed on my recent trip to Magic Kingdom, though Disney have already announced that this one will be reopening in the near future.
Fantasyland hosts a number of dining options, including some of the most sought after restaurants in the Magic Kingdom. Pinocchio Village Haus is the largest counter service restaurant in Fantasyland, but it serves basic theme park food and is nothing special. On the other hand, Be Our Guest Restaurant is one of my favourite restaurants in the Magic Kingdom as you’ll eat your meal inside the stunning chambers of Beast’s Castle. You can even meet Beast here if you have a dinner reservation (though lunch is also great). If you really want to splurge, you can head to Cinderella’s Royal Table for a character meal with the Disney Princesses inside Cinderella Castle.
While Tomorrowland is meant to represent the future, you have to remember that the Magic Kingdom opened in the 1970s. Because of this, the vision of the future on display in this land is quite different to what we might expect for a land of the future today. With that said, Tomorrowland is basically a collection of attractions with vague ties to the future that would be out of place in other areas of the park. Tomorrowland remains a very popular part of the Magic Kingdom however, as its home to one of the most famous rides in all of Walt Disney World, and also contains an assortment of other exciting attractions. I usually tend to tour Tomorrowland in the evening, mainly due to the lighting of the land being particularly impressive at that time of day.
The big one! Space Mountain is the ultimate thrill ride of the Magic Kingdom and a Florida original. Its basically a wild mouse style rollercoaster without any big drops but instead a series of winding turns. What makes it so thrilling is that the ride is entirely in the dark, with the opening blast off tunnel ascent feeding into the theme of space travel. Space Mountain is incredibly popular. Genie+ is highly recommended here, or alternatively make Space Mountain either your first or last stop when touring the Magic Kingdom. This is one of those Magic Kingdom rides that can’t be missed.
Another Tomorrowland highlight, this attraction sees you join Buzz Lightyear from the Toy Story films on a mission to battle the evil Emperor Zurg. You do this by boarding a ride vehicle and going through a virtual laser shooting range, with numerous targets on Zurg’s minions (and an animatronic of the evil emperor himself). Each shot scores you points, quickly turning this into a fun competition with your ride buddy.
This is basically a go-kart track with cars being guided along the course by a rail. Its fun for children, but it smells of exhaust and is definitely not one of my favourite rides at the Magic Kingdom. With that said, racing along the course during the fireworks at night one time was a particularly magical memory I have from the speedway.
The PeopleMover is a mini-monorail that takes you around the key sights of Tomorrowland, including a sneak peak inside Space Mountain itself, a model of the original EPCOT project, and the ongoing construction site of Tron Lightcycle Run. Its a good way to enjoy the theming of Tomorrowland, and there’s barely ever a significant wait. Do the PeopleMover when wait times are too long elsewhere. I’ll be the first to admit its a guilty pleasure for me.
Another spinner ride like Dumbo and the Magic Carpets, except for the fact that this one uses rockets that travel higher up and faster (and its also situated up on a higher platform too). It offers great views of Tomorrowland and the rest of the park, but you can skip it on a busy schedule.
This is a screen based comedy show, hosted by Mike Wazowski from Monsters Inc. The show consists of a number of comedic acts from monsters, having discovered in the events of the original film that laughs create more energy than screams. The jokes are actually pretty funny, making the Laugh Floor an underrated gem in Tomorrowland. Just be aware that there’s a chance you may be chosen at random from the crowd to be the butt of the slapstick humour.
There’s no attraction that better showcases the outdated vision of Tomorrowland than the Carousel of Progress. This audio-animatronic show provides a nostalgic look at the increasing impact of technology on a family living throughout the 20th century. The Carousel of Progress is a Walt original, its roots able to be traced back to the 1964 New York World’s Fair. The scenes from the turn of the 1900s, the 1920s and the 1940s are an impressive snapshot of the times, but the supposed contemporary scene has definitely been passed by. Still, that’s part of the charm here. Besides, its in air conditioning and has a catchy song. Experience this one when you need a break from the big queues.
There’s not a huge amount of great food options in Tomorrowland. In fact I don’t think I’ve ever dined in this area of the park. There’s no proper restaurants out here, although if you need get a bite Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe is one of the larger quick service options in the Magic Kingdom. It serves basic theme park cuisine such as hamburgers and hotdogs, making it a suitable choice for fussy eaters.
With so much to do in the Magic Kingdom, it comes as no surprise that most guest will spend more than one day of their Disney vacation visiting this park. This is where Walt Disney World all began, and there’s definitely some attractions here you can’t say you’re a Disney parks fan until you’ve ridden them. A day at the Magic Kingdom can be exhausting, but you’ll always leave the park with a smile on your face – at least that’s my experience. It truly is the most magical place on earth. Whats your favourite part of a visit to the Magic Kingdom?
Walt Disney World is one of my favourite places in the entire world. Visiting Florida’s various Disney theme parks is definitely the highlight of any trip to Orlando. In saying that, there is A LOT to know if you’re planning to go to Disney World …