The world felt a little sadder with the happiest place on earth being closed, but July 11, 2020 marked the day of Walt Disney World’s reopening! If you’re eagerly looking for the best time to plan a trip there, take a look at how I experienced Walt Disney World in five magical days!

Tips for Visiting

I have been to three out of the six Disney resorts, including Disneyland Paris, and plan to make it to each park someday. So far, Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida has been my favorite park because it offers so much, from animal experiences, to amazing rides, to tasty food in five different parks! This itinerary is great for families, couples without kids, and anyone else who wants to experience an unforgettable Walt Disney World vacation! Before we get started on the itinerary, here are some tips for your visit.

1. The outline below of my trip is best done with Disney World park hopper tickets, which allows visitors to experience more than one park a day. It provides flexibility and a better chance to see everything you want during your visit. I would highly recommend a park hopper pass if you know you want to see it all.

2. When you purchase your tickets, be sure to also reserve FastPass tickets up to three months in advance. You can choose three rides to get FastPasses for and must use the passes before you can get more—with the long lines all over the park, it is definitely worth it to get them! (Note: FastPasses are not currently available due to Covid-19, but when they return be sure to plan them into your trip!)

3. To save money, I avoided expensive restaurants with character meals. I didn’t feel like I was missing out since there are plenty of opportunities throughout the parks to meet characters and I found decent food for much less at the other restaurants around the park.

4. Do not underestimate the size of Disney World—it is not like Disneyland where you can walk from one park to another and even to Downtown Disney. The distances between parks at Disney World is much larger. Conveniently, there are several ways to get around Disneyworld, including driving, taking a charter bus (many hotels outside the park even offer shuttles), using the monorail, getting from Epcot to Hollywood Studios via the new Disney Skyliner, and by water taxi if you are a guest at a resort.

5. I love maps because they help me visualize where I will be going and where things are in relation to each other, so refer to these Disney World maps while planning your trip with my Disney World itinerary!

6. Be sure to download the Disney World mobile app to see live wait times for rides, an interactive map, and other information while inside the parks. You can also use the app to reserve FastPasses that are still available the day you’re in the park.

7. Prepare for long days in the parks with lots of walking and tiring activities. A 5-day Disney World itinerary sounds like a blast, but it can also be really exhausting, especially for young kids. Take breaks whenever your group needs to and pack items that will help the trip go smoother.

Now, let’s get to the best part—how to spend five days exploring each park at Walt Disney World!

Day 1 - Disney’s Magic Kingdom Park

Magic Kingdom is the iconic park with Cinderella’s Castle, similar to Disneyland and the other parks throughout the world. I wanted to start here to really feel the magic come alive! This park includes Main Street, Adventureland, Tomorrowland, Fantasyland, Liberty Square, and Frontierland—all the classic Disney experiences. To reach Magic Kingdom, visitors must travel on a ferry across Bay Lake (my preferred way to enter the park) or take the monorail (how I left the park after fireworks at night).

My Favorite Rides:

• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

• Seven Dwarfs Mine Trail - This is my favorite ride in Magic Kingdom that can’t be found at Disneyland—be sure to get FastPasses!

• Space Mountain

• Haunted Mansion

• Pirates of the Caribbean

Food Highlight:

One of the best things I ate in Disney World were the waffle sandwiches at Sleepy Hollow Inn. I shared two with my travel partner—a nutella with fruit and a chicken with syrup. They were both really good!

Other Activities:

One of my absolute favorite activities at Disney World was actually doing a Pirates of the Caribbean treasure hunt! Tucked away in Adventureland is a small area where you can pick up a map and an activated card that will give you clues to follow. Barely anyone was doing it at the same time as me and I had so much fun! I loved going up to seemingly random objects throughout Adventureland and making them move and talk with my card. I got a lot of questions from people who were intrigued and wanted to try, too.

I also loved Enchanted Tales with Belle, which I haven’t experience at any other Disney park. It’s such a cute walk-through experience where visitors get to re-enact the tale of Beauty and the Beast and meet Belle. My travel partner was chosen to play a knight in the story and I’m not gonna lie, I was a little jealous.

Day 2 - Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park

Animal Kingdom is hands down my favorite Disney park out of every single one I’ve been to! I am a huge animal lover and Animal Kingdom has amazing opportunities to see and learn about them. I discovered an amazing secret while I was there—at night when everyone gathers to watch Rivers of Light, the rides are abandoned and the crowds completely die down! If you get park hopper tickets, spend two nights here—one to watch the light show and one to ride your favorite rides over and over again.

My Favorite Rides:

• Kilimanjaro Safaris - Real life animals come up close to the safari truck—I saw an adorable baby giraffe running around crazily, several rhinos blocked our path during one ride, and the lions could be observed without fences blocking the view! This ride closes at night, but my group walked there right before it closed, got on with no wait, and got a ride all to ourselves, where I endlessly asked the poor driver dozens of questions about the animals.

• Expedition Everest - This ride is so much fun that I rode it nine—yes, I’m crazy—consecutive times while everyone else was watching Rivers of Light! I regretted nothing, but definitely was done after the ninth time.

• I visited a WEEK before Avatar World opened and didn’t get to experience it, but I’m sure Na’vi River Journey would have been another favorite ride!

Food Highlight:

I really enjoyed dining by the lake with a plate piled high with meats and sides from Flame Grill Barbecue!

Other Activities:

Animal Kingdom is full of animal exhibits and is basically a zoo. Aside from the Kilimanjaro Safaris, there are animals all throughout the park, from parrots to tigers to gorillas and many more!

The most iconic part of Animal Kingdom is the ginormous Tree of Life in the middle of the park. Get a close up look and discover the dozens of animals carved into the trunk.

It’s Tough to Be a Bug was a fun 4-D show I loved from Disneyland and it was just as good here. I especially loved watching others see it for the first time and getting surprised at the bug ‘encounters’ the show offers!

I met Pocahontas in Animal Kingdom, which was a unique character experience I hadn’t had before!

As mentioned, the Rivers of Light show happens at night and is beautiful. When walking out of the park after the show, take the time to appreciate the Tree of Life, all lit up.

Day 3 - Epcot Theme Park

Epcot is a unique park that isn’t solely focused on Disney-themed rides and venues. There are two parts to the park—Future World and World Showcase. Future World has more rides and a focus on futuristic attractions, whereas World Showcase is where you can walk in a big circle to different areas that represent countries throughout the world. If you are traveling from one of the Disney World hotels nearby or from Hollywood Studios, be sure to take the brand new Disney Skyliner to get there!

My Favorite Rides:

• Soarin’ Around the World - If you’ve been to Disneyland, you will find that this ride is very similar to Soarin’ Over California, but instead focuses on iconic places throughout the whole world. It is one of my all-time favorite rides!

• Test Track - I enjoyed designing my own virtual car before getting on the ride and racing super fast down the track!

• Mission: SPACE - This ride was a blast the first time I went on it, but once was enough—the second time made me nauseous as the ride spins like crazy and is very disorienting!

• Frozen Ever After - The wait for this ride was ridiculously long, especially for not being a thrill ride. It is similar to Pirates of the Caribbean, meaning that you travel in a boat on the water. For avid Frozen fans, the wait is worth it, especially when “Let It Go” blasts through the air!

Food Highlight:

Ice cream is always a highlight, so naturally I loved the ice cream in the France section of Epcot’s World Showcase called L’Artisan des Glaces. I also had my grandest meal in Epcot at the German restaurant, Biergarten. The atmosphere was so much fun, with a playful cultural performance, large tables with strangers who become quick friends, over-sized mugs, and a buffet of traditional German food.

Other Activities:

Walking around the World Showcase is a fun way to experience different cultures, including Mexico, Italy, France, Japan, Morocco, Germany, Norway, the UK, and Canada.

My first visit to Walt Disney World was in the springtime, during the Flower and Garden Festival. There were dozens of beautiful topiaries throughout the park, shaped as popular Disney characters. I loved searching for them!

Both China and Canada have Circle Vision shows where you can stand in the middle of the room and watch a documentary of the country that surrounds the circular walls.

My favorite Disney princess and movie has always been Mulan, so meeting her in the China section of the World Showcase was exciting!

Day 4 - Disney’s Hollywood Studios Park

Hollywood Studios has some of the best thrill rides, but the least amount of activities I wanted to do, so I only spent half a day there. It is similar to California Adventures in Anaheim, but it felt smaller and does not have the iconic ferris wheel or boardwalk area. It also has a huge Star Wars area and Toy Story Land.

My Favorite Rides:

• Tower of Terror - This ride really is terrifying (yes, because the giant drop, but also just the spooky atmosphere) but it’s worth it because it is SO MUCH FUN.

• Rock n’ Roller Coaster - This ride is a must-experience for anyone who loves roller coasters! I always use the single rider line (even if I’m traveling with others), which is much shorter.

• Star Tours

• Toy Story Mania - This ride is more like a game where you get to play against the person sitting beside you and shoot at targets to get more points. The competition can get fierce! This same ride is at Disneyland, but the line for this one is so much more immersive and fun, modeled to look like Andy’s room!

Food Highlight:

I had lunch at the Sci-Fi Dinner Theater, which had sci-fi short films showing on a big screen and seats that looked like cars. It was a fun atmosphere that felt like being at a drive-in movie theater and the milkshakes were delicious!

Other Activities:

My favorite 4D Disney show is Muppet Vision, which can be seen at this park. It is hilarious and entertaining—the perfect place to rest from standing in the sun, waiting in a long line.

Fans of Star Wars will love walking through the Star Wars area and seeing different characters, such as Storm Troopers, as well as watching the Jedi training.

Walking through Toy Story Land was so much fun—everything is designed to make it feel like visitors are toys in Andy’s room. I saw Toy Story characters walking around, including Buzz, Rex, Woody, and army guys.

Hollywood Studios is where I met Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy and saw Donald Duck!

Fantasmic plays at night in Hollywood Studios, complete with a great light show and an appearance by Mickey Mouse!

Day 5 - Revisit Your Favorites

For your last day at Walt Disney World, take the time to revisit your favorite parks and ride your favorite rides! I revisited Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom. Throughout the week I collected a few free FastPasses from rides breaking down temporarily, so I used those up as well! This was a fun day, ending with a firework show in Magic Kingdom. I was glad I had the extra day to relive my favorites, especially since another visit to Disney World won’t be for a long time.

Travel Days

I would not advise anyone who wants to get the most out of the parks to visit on the days they will be traveling to and from Orlando. Whether you are driving (like I did from Georgia), or flying into one of the two airports (Orlando International Airport and Sanford International Airport), you may have time on your travel days to do other activities. There is a ton to do in Orlando, but I will keep these suggestions Disney-related.

Water Parks

Disney World has two water parks—Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach. I haven’t visited either of them, but it would make a great summer time activity!

Disney Springs

Disney Springs has tons of restaurants, shopping, and entertainment. It is a fun and free place to hang out and walk around.

Hotel-Hopping

Disney World hotels are incredible, with many activities, great restaurants, and fun themes. It would be fun to spend some time traveling around to the different hotels and experiencing them, even if you don’t plan on staying in any of them.

Bonus Day - Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party

If you happen to visit in September or October, be sure to plan a night at Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party! Admission for this special event in Magic Kingdom is not included in a park hopper pass, but it is definitely worth experiencing. I actually went on a night I was in Orlando a separate time than the rest of my Disney World itinerary, visiting Universal Studios. I hate horror movies, so I chose this party instead of the teen/adult experience at Universal Studio’s Halloween Horror Nights. I had a blast at Disney World, dressing up as Meg from Hercules, riding all the rides, seeing tons of Disney villains, and getting loads of candy! There were also fun Halloween-themed parades and shows. The night ended with a fantastic Halloween-themed fireworks show!

Five days at Disney World is a big commitment for many families and couples, but if you have even more time in Orlando or want to spend fewer days at Disney World, visiting Universal Studios with the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is a MUST!

For a classic Disney experience, visit the park that started it all—Disneyland in Anaheim, California. I grew up going many times, so it has a special place in my heart and remains one of my favorite places on earth!

Looking for more fun family vacation destinations? Another hugely popular spot, great for families visiting the Eastern USA, is Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

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