My family and I visited Disney World recently and I can say that we had a great time. The hotel and theme parks were exquisite and all the staff we encountered were very friendly. They even gave us free First Time Badges.
I would like to share with you the highlights of our visit and some tips too.
The Walt Disney World Resort is located in Lake Buena Vista, Orlando Florida. The resort has several theme parks which includes the EPCOT; which stands for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, Magical Kingdom, Disney’s Blizzard Beach, and Typhoon Lagoon. We only visited the first four theme parks.
EPCOT is our favorite among all four theme parks. Let me tell you why.
EPCOT celebrates different cultures aside from the technological innovation that you would expect in a futuristic setting.
When I say different cultures, I meant the place created a setting that showcases several nations’ architecture, arts, and their traditional culinary dishes. It’s like traveling around the world in a day. Countries like Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Italy, the United States, Japan, Morocco, France, the United Kingdom, and Canada were represented in this park.
We enjoyed the food, the different exhibits, and most of all the Guardians of the Galaxy Rewind.
The Guardians of the Galaxy Rewind is an enclosed roller coaster with a theme based on the Marvel Universe movie Guardians of the Galaxy. It was opened on May 27th of this year. It does have height and health restrictions. So no person below 3ft 6in can be admitted in this ride. It’s a thrill ride and is not for the faint of heart. The only problem we encountered in this ride was the long wait in line. We waited for almost two hours, but it was certainly worth the wait. It’s the kind of thrill ride that you would want to experience several times.
The second park we visited was the Disney’s Hollywood Studios. It was set up with the Chinese Theatre as the centerpiece of the park.
Inside the theatre is where you can find the Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway ride. This is not your typical train ride because the train cars can separate and has a trackless functionality. It can move forwards, backwards, and swings from side to side while Daisy Duck teaches you how to dance the Salsa. The kids will surely enjoy this ride.
Since my children were all adults, we went for the Haunted House of Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. It definitely got us all screaming at the top of our lungs. It was horrifyingly fun.
We also enjoyed the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, which is an enclosed roller coaster ride that twist and turns.
We watched the beautiful Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage, but for my children and myself, the highlight of our visit in this park was the outstanding performance of the stage actors and actresses from the show, For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration. The presentation was delightful and truly magical.
Before I forget, The Star Wars: Rise of Resistance was also amazing. This attraction was impressive when it comes to immersive experience. The line was one of the longest in the park, but I can say that it’s worth the wait.
We didn’t enjoy Disney’s Animal Kingdom as much as the first two theme parks I mentioned earlier because we were exhausted from walking around from the previous days. However, we managed to save our energy for the best attraction, the Avatar Flight of Passage.
The Avatar Flight of passage will make you experience riding a Banshee, an Avatar dragon-like aerial animal; which were used by the Na’vi for traveling and hunting. The 3D simulator was amazing! It made us feel like we were really flying the Banshees. It’s something you would really want to experience when you visit the Animal Kingdom in Walt Disney World.
The Dinosaur ride was also fun and surprising while the Na’vi River Journey was amusing for its colorful visual effects.
The roller coaster Expedition Everest was the one we enjoyed the most. It is an open roller coaster that travels both forwards and backwards. This ride has some health restrictions too. We never thought we were able to ride this attraction because it was temporarily closed when the park opened at 8 am. The ride did not open for the public until past noon. We were lucky enough to be around the area near its location when it reopened; that’s why we only waited in line for less than 20 minutes.
Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond! is a must see musical show. The presentation was excellent. We loved the voices, the songs, and the colorful costumes. It’s one of the best stage shows I have ever seen. I highly recommend this one. It is a show for all ages.
The last theme park we visited was the Magic Kingdom. It’s in this park where we were able to see a parade with Mickey and his friends.
We enjoyed some of the rides in this park too; namely, the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Under the Sea, It’s A Small World, the Haunted Mansion, and the Pirates of the Caribbean.
We dined in Be Our Guest Restaurant where we seated at the dining hall of Beauty and the Beast’s palace. The food was excellent as well as the service.
The majestic Cinderella’s castle is in the center of the Magic Kingdom. It is the focal point for the magical fireworks at 9 pm.
If you are planning to visit Walt Disney in the near future, below are some of the tips I can share with you:
- If you plan to stay in a hotel near the theme parks, rent a room in a hotel with a bus service that can take you to all the Walt Disney Parks that you are planning to visit for free. My family and I rented a hotel room in one of the All Star Resort Hotel. The commute was so convenient; especially since we weren’t Florida residents. It’ll help you save money, because taxi fare can be pricy. As a guest, you are also entitled to enter theme parks thirty minutes ahead of time that the park officially opens. The extra time will give you an advantage at the attraction’s waiting line.
- Download the Disney App on your cellphone. This app can help you check in and check out in the Disney hotel, make reservations in the the park’s restaurants, check the waiting time for all the attractions in the park, and many more.
- Book your hotel and theme park restaurant reservations ahead of time. If not, you might not have the luxury of choice for rooms or time slot for dining. If you decided last minute to dine in the one of the park’s restaurant and you have no reservation, then you can try to make a reservation because sometimes there are cancellations and you never know; you might get lucky that day.
- Plan the rides or attractions you want to visit ahead of time. I suggest you fall in line to your top picks early so you don’t need to wait in line for a long time.
- The magic band was very convenient. Once you have it registered on your very first day of visit at the theme park’s gate, going into the theme parks afterwards and opening your hotel room door is only one swipe away.
- Bring an umbrella and a poncho. Florida weather changes quickly. We experienced being rained on three times on our first day. The umbrella I brought was a great help. We bought poncho’s in the souvenir shop; which was a little pricy. The umbrella on the other hand was helpful against the scorching heat of the sun. If you feel like an umbrella is cumbersome, you can wear a sunscreen with a high SPF, but make sure to carry it around in your bag or backpack so you can reapply it.
- Bring a water container if you want to save some money for hydration. The park has water fountains for refills. The water bottles were a little pricy inside the park.
- Wear light comfortable clothing. Florida is the Sunshine State with an average temperature that’s around 70 degrees Fahrenheit. The coldest month is January with lows in the 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Wear a mask and bring a hand sanitizer with you at all times. The park is packed with people from different parts of the US and from different countries too. You want to make sure that you’ll enjoy your visit without taking a chance of catching some illnesses.
- Make sure to arrive on the site of the fireworks at least thirty minutes ahead of time, so you can get a very good spot to watch the beautiful display of lights and fireworks.
- Bring a book to read while waiting in line. The line can take more than two hours. It depends on the time of day and the attractions you want to experience.
- Have Fun! Walt Disney’s World is a magical place to experience the joy of childhood over and over again. Enjoy your visit and explore. There’s more than just rides, food, and shops in the theme parks. There’s so many things to learn too.
I hope you liked this post. Thank you so much for reading!
Below are some of the things we bought to complete our Disney experience. These products are link to my Amazon Associate account.
