.@ThemePark I'm 4 days out from my first visit to #WDW! Any last-minute advice for a SoCal-native WDW newbie?
— Clayton Lott (@claytonrlott) February 3, 2015You'll find lots of advice around for Walt Disney World fans planning their first visit to Disneyland, but not nearly as much for people doing the other way around. So here ya go — here are some tips for a Disneyland fan making a first trip to Walt Disney World:
1. Don't get intimidated by the size
Walt Disney World is huge — more than 27,000 acres, compared with just 510 acres for the Disneyland Resort. You could fit 53 Disneyland Resorts inside Walt Disney World. The Magic Kingdom's Cinderella Castle stands 189 feet tall, compared to Sleeping Beauty Castle's 77 feet. It's easy to feel overwhelmed when making the switch from west coast to east coast, as a Disney fan. But don't. There are fewer attractions across the four Walt Disney World theme parks than you will find in the two Disneyland parks. The general layout of the Magic Kingdom and Disneyland is pretty much the same. The entrances to California Adventure and Hollywood Studios are almost identical. You'll feel right at home here, only you'll feel a lot smaller.
2. That said, respect that size
Forget that internal clock you've developed over the years that tells you how much time you need to walk from Space Mountain to Pirates of the Caribbean. The pathways and distances between attractions are much larger in Lake Buena Vista than in Anaheim. While many things might be in pretty much the same place in the MK and Disneyland, you'll need longer to get from one to the other in the Magic Kingdom. Set aside more time to get around, and don't plan on moving through attractions at the same rate that you do in California.
3. Don't even try to park-hop
At Disneyland, park hopping is as easy as walking a hundred yards or so across the esplanade. We often bounce back and forth between Disneyland and California Adventure three or four times on a typical day trip. But park hopping is an entirely different beast at Walt Disney World. The only two parks you can walk between are Epcot and Hollywood Studios, and that's a long, long haul. No, you'll need to take monorails, boats, buses, or your car to get between the parks in Florida. That might sound cool (especially the monorails!), but keep in mind that the trip between parks can take up to an hour out of your day for each "hop." That's time you've paid for with your park admission. Don't waste it. With so much to see in each Walt Disney World theme park, we always recommend that first-time visitors save the money and skip the park-hopper option. Focus on one park per day and leave the park-hopping for when you're an experienced visitor who knows how to work the system to better advantage.
4. Focus on what WDW does best, or at least different
Here are the best attractions for a Disneyland fan to visit at Walt Disney World:
In the Magic Kingdom:
In Epcot:
In Disney's Hollywood Studios:
5. Don't forget Fastpass+
Walt Disney World allows visitors to make their Fastpass ride reservations up to 30 days in advance of their visit — 60 days if you are staying at a Walt Disney World hotel. Advance reservations, for rides and for restaurants, are a must when visiting WDW to avoid long standby queues. Log into the "My Disney Experience" on DisneyWorld.com to start planning your visit. You can reserve three Fastpass+ reservations per day, as well as make additional restaurant reservations. (The restaurant reservations can be made up to 180 days in advance.) Focus on getting reservations for the attractions and restaurants listed above, then just go with the flow to experience the rest of the parks. If you book your Fastpass+ reservations for early in the day, you can get additional Fastpass+ reservations in the park, one at a time, after your first three reservations are up. You can make those reservations with cast members at Fastpass+ stations around the park, or via Disney World's My Disney Experience app.
6. Explore the hotels and beyond
With its much larger size and more than two dozen hotels, Walt Disney World is much more a full-featured resort than Disneyland is. If you're visiting for more than four days (one per park), use your extra time in part to explore some of the better hotels on property. Take the monorail from the Magic Kingdom to the Contemporary, Grand Floridian and Polynesian hotels. They all have some great restaurants and character meal options. Ride the boat or walk the path from the International Gateway entrance in Epcot's World Showcase over to the Yacht and Beach and Boardwalk hotels. (That's the path you'd take to the Studios, too, if you really want a long walk.) Ride the boat from the Contemporary over to Fort Wilderness for the Hoop-Dee-Do Review dinner show or Trail's End buffet. (Stay for the nightly campfire, too.)
Beyond the hotels, Disney has two water parks, golf courses, and its own, much larger Downtown Disney, which currently is a massive construction zone as Disney refurbishes it into a new concept, called "Disney Springs."
7. It's going to rain
Okay, it doesn't rain every day of the year in Central Florida, but afternoon thunderstorms make frequent appearances at the Walt Disney World Resort. When you get there, notice how many attractions have covered queues and wait areas in Disney World, compared with at Disneyland. That's because of the rain. If you're visiting during the summer — when it never rains in Southern California — don't forget to pack a light rain jacket for your Orlando visit. You'll need it.
Okay, fellow well-traveled Disney theme fans: What else would you like to tell a Disneyland fan making his or her first trip to Walt Disney World?
You Might Also Like:
Rate and Review:
Does anyone know if walk-ups are accepted for dinner at Be Our Guest (or any table service restaurant for that matter!)? I realize that may require a ridiculously long wait, but, is it possible?
I have contrary advice on table restaurant selecting. If you're from the west coast, it makes little sense to eat at Teppan Edo or other asian fare since we get lots locally. Disney charges so much for their Americanized version. You're better off picking unique restaurants that have a particular Disney feature like characters or a food you don't have much here. Akersus comes to mind. Norwegian fare plus princesses are two unique features you don't see much in California. French food is also in short supply in the west coast. Be My Guest would be a great choice as is Cinderella's Royal Table for medieval fare.
With size, you should use Disney transportation. I haven't had any trouble despite the reputation of over crowded busses. Leave the car at home. If you want to visit outside attractions, then that's the only exception.
Strong point on Teppan Edo. I just listed the top three from our reader ratings, but I'd lean toward the French restaurants, too. I'd also steer clear of Via Napoli in Epcot, even though I love it, simply because it's almost a clone of Naples pizza in Anaheim's DtD.
Everything is very well marked once you are on WDW property. Don’t use GPS to get to specific locations because you will often be directed to back of house locations rather than the guest entrance. I can’t tell you how many times I would encounter guests in the employee parking lot when I worked at Universal Orlando. They were looking for guest parking but the GPS would bring them to the business offices.
While there are about the same number of attractions in FL as in CA, there are some you just don't need to bother with in FL in favor of doing other things. Why? Either they are exactly the same in CA, or the version in CA is just so much better, why waste your time in FL. Here are a few examples:
It's Tough to be a bug, Muppet Vision, Toy Story Midway Mania, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Sorin', Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin
Then there are the attractions that are in both, but the FL version is simply different and better enough that they need to be experienced:
Splash Mountain, The Haunted Mansion, The Tower of Terror, The Nighttime projection show on the Castle
Try to plan your visit during one of the two big festivals at Epcot. The Wine and Food Festival in the autumn and the Flower and Garden Festival in the Spring are both amazing events and while they increase attendance, they will also give you a lot of extra fun while you are there.
Gosh, there is SO MUCH to say, I can't wait to see the advice others give.
Nice to know its possible. ;)
I just think its not a priority for the first timer. That's all. Resort hopping is oversold as I found it to be a waste of time (that's just my opinion). With limited time, it might be better spent if you know what specifically you might get out of resort hopping. Also, I don't recommend going to any resort restaurants merely based on a restaurant's reputation. Again, with limited time, there are already many restaurants at your resort, the parks, and Downtown Disney. It's an extra hassle to find a bus to bring your back to your home resort (2 legs with 1 transfer). I'm just trying to not steer you wrong. Thank you.
I'd leave a park early and head back to my room to freshen up before dinner at any of the above locations.
Dinosaur/Indy:
I think the, "If you ride Dinosaur, keep in mind that it's the same track as Disneyland's Indiana Jones ride, just with a different theme." point is overblown. @Robert: When you, and many others, focus on the track, I think it gives an impression that theme is meaningless, as if it was just a different name on an identical roller coaster in two different locations. This is a blog about theme, right? ;)
They use the same system and share a layout. Yet, the experiences are very different, starting at the queue to completion. From the variations in the way the vehicles move, to how the show buildings are used, to the story lines, the majority of those people who ride both are not going to notice (or care) that the track is the same. Sure, they'll say, "oh, it's like Indy," or vice versa. But the same track argument is overly dismissive of the overall experiences. (And I get the West Coast bias, as the Indy attraction, from queue on, is a better overall experience for most people. Yet both are worthwhile.)
- In Downtown Disney, you can find Disney Quest, an "indoor interactive theme park". Not worth it unless so have an extra day and want to cross it off the list.
- If you are planning on visiting the Universal parks, remember you need the "park to park" to get on the Hogwarts express
- If you have extra time, check this: http://bestkidfriendlytravel.com/2012/06/18/top-20-non-disney-attractions-in-orlando/
For me, it wasn't just the size of the parks, but also the size of the attractions. I assumed I could do the same number of rides in MK as DL. I would just run through the queues in MK because how different could they be? I feel I missed the opportunity to appreciate many of the differences between the 2 parks. In the future, I think I would plan on visiting fewer attractions and focusing more time on each attraction, even if they are "duplicates".
Also, the Safari in Animal Kingdom was an unexpected surprise. So good we had to go twice.
Oh, and maybe better not to wait over 60 minutes for the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, even if the line is amazing.
This article has been archived and is no longer accepting comments.
Can't wait to experience the awesomeness of the giant Disney World!