Most people don't know just how large the Walt Disney World Resort really is. When many people think of Disney they think it's either just Magic Kingdom or that it's a few parks close together with some hotels...This is not the case at all. Disney World is actually 42,000 acres of land (just to give you an idea that is twice the size of Manhattan and the size of San Francisco!). And of this mass amount of land only 35% of that has actually been developed on. So if you are going with a plan of walking from park to park think again. Also do not expect to see and do everything in one trip because it's not going to happen! Everything is spread out very well with roads to get from place to place, it is like it's own little town. And when you are inside the parks you will not see a lot of the outside world (especially within Magic Kingdom as this is how Walt intended it).
Within this area Disney is actually 4 theme parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom), two water parks (Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon), Downtown Disney (shopping and various restaurants), Disney's Boardwalk, ESPN's Wide World of Sports, Walt DIsney World Speedway (Richard Petty Driving Experience), five golf courses (including a PGA golf course) and 2 mini golf courses (Winter Summerland and Fantasia Gardens). There is also 24 Disney owned resorts (yes that's right 24!) broken into four categories: Deluxe, Moderate, Value, and Disney Vacation Club Villas. As well as 9 non owned Disney resorts. So it really isn't a small world after all!
If you are within one of the many gates that enter these 42,000 acres of land, then you are in Disney World. I am going to only focus on the theme parks, since those are the most important. I started out this post planning on including them all in one but realized this would be better broken into 4 parts. Picking a favorite park is really difficult because they are all great for their own reasons. If I really had to pick one I would probably pick Magic Kingdom only because when you think of Disney World it is the first place you think of and has all of that classic "Disney" nostalgia and of course the castle!
Magic Kingdom:
Since Magic Kingdom is the first place everyone thinks of and is the first built Disney World park, I figured this would be the best place to start. Magic Kingdom opened back in 1971 and is the park Walt was planning before his death (unfortunately he died in 1967 so he never actually saw it finished). When Walt developed the plans for Magic Kingdom he meant it to be larger and improved version of the Disneyland Park in California.
Magic Kingdom is made up of 6 "lands" which are all arranged around a central hub. You will enter the park onto Main Street USA which is made up of Disney shops. One of my favorite restaurants is also located in this area, Tony's Town Square which is themed to Lady and The Tramp and is meant to be the inside of the restaurant in the film which the famous spaghetti scene takes place outside of. Main Street leads you to the main "hub" and Cinderella Castle. Of course, Cinderella Castle is just beautiful! I still remember the first time I saw the castle and it was love at first sight! At this point the park has a hub and spoke design where it breaks off to the different lands.
To the left you can head off to Adventureland, which is where you will find the classic rides the Jungle Cruise and Pirates of the Caribbean. Pirates of the Caribbean is one of my favorite rides in the Magic Kingdom! It is very well themed so that it feels like you are actually in a boat outside at night in the Caribbean. The ride was actually what the movies were created from. On the left you can also enter Liberty Square, the main attraction in this section being Haunted Mansion, which has some amazing technology for it's time or even today (especially the ballroom scene).
Once you get through either of these lands you will also find Frontierland. Frontierland is the home of 2 of the 3 "Disney Mountains", Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. This area is also where I have found a great little "quick service" restaurant called Peco's Bill's, which is always a must every trip for us!
Behind the Castle you will enter Fantasyland, which was recently expanded. Within Fantasyland you will find a lot of the classic Disney rides such as the Carousel, It's a Small World (my least favorite ride lol!) and Peter Pan's flight to name a few. Also located in Fantasyland is one of my favorite attractions Mickey's Philharmagic (a phenomenal 3D show). Fantasyland was also recently expanded to include Story Time with Belle within Belle's cottage. Next to that you will find Be Our Guest restaurant which is beautifully themed as if it is inside the Beast's castle with the main dining area looking just like you are in the main ball room! And of course there is a part of town complete with Gaston's Tavern! Walking past there is Eric's castle with The Journey of the Little Mermaid located inside. As well as the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train expected to be completed within the next month. Part of Fantasyland is also the newly built Storybook Circus area, which is where Dumbo is now located.
Tomorrowland is the final land located to the right of the hub. This land has a futuristic theme. Here you will find many great attractions such as Monster's Inc Laugh Floor (a comedy show which is always different and surprisingly funny), Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, The Tomorrowland Speedway and of course the third Magic Kingdom Mountain Space Mountain (an indoor dark space themed roller coaster).
Magic Kingdom also has 2 parades daily. The first being the Festival of Fantasy Parade which takes place in the afternoon and the Main Street Electrical Parade in the evening. You should make sure to stay to watch Magic Kingdom's fireworks show Wishes at the end of the night! Wishes is an absolute must see and no Disney trip is complete without it :) It is such an amazing show! What I recommend doing is finding a spot on Main Street or near the castle to watch the night time parade. After a short break after the parade there will be a really neat projection show on the castle called Celebrate the Magic, which is followed by Wishes!
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