Simplified Guide to Visiting Walt Disney World

If you haven’t been to Disney World in quite a few years or if this is your first visit, here is a quick reference guide to help you know how to plan. As with all destinations, there are thorough guides available online and detailed in books explaining how to plan a Disney vacation. In my opinion, there’s a little too much of the same details repeated out there and not enough information on how to easily navigate this huge theme park destination.

It had been about eight years since I had last visited Disney World, and a lot had changed across all four parks. There were new areas to explore, new rides to ride, and a new lightning lane system to learn. Even though I knew where everything mostly was, I still needed to look up some information to help us have a smooth time there. In order to help you have an easier time at Disney World, without needing to know everything, I have created this guide to give you an overview of what to consider and research ahead of visiting the theme parks.

Click the arrow for an even more condensed version of my Disney World Guide:

• Know in advance what you are hoping to experience at Disney World – rides, shows, the Disney experience, etc… – What will make it all worthwhile for you?
• Understand that Disney is less of a high-thrill destination and more of a family fun experience,
• Know how everyone in your group wants to experience Disney World. If some of the group wants to ride as many rides as possible and some want to take a slower pace, it is best to know that ahead of time so that everyone is happy and not disappointed in anyone.
• Once you purchase your tickets and hotel accommodations, do not stress about how much everything cost. You have already made the purchase. Allow yourselves to enjoy it.
• Look up crowd volume predictions online before you purchase your tickets to visit Disney World in order to help find a less busy time to visit.
• Consider adding Park Hopper and Lightning Lane at least for one of the theme park days so that you experience it.
• Add relax days to visit the different Disney resorts, Disney Springs, or to do something else, in between the theme park days to get a breather from all of the theme park excitement.
• Use the My Disney Experience App to view the ride wait times both before your visit and during your time at the parks.
• Whether you choose to stay at a Disney resort or outside of the Disney property, know what perks are included in a Disney resort stay – free daily theme park parking, 30 minute early entry to the theme parks, and transportation around Disney World – you can better decide where you would like to stay based on your budget.

As a quick overview,
Walt Disney World is located in Orlando, Florida and has:
4 Theme Parks: Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom,
Disney Springs – outdoor shopping mall,
32 Disney Resorts with Transportation around the Disney World property,
1 water park open at a time – Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard Beach,
2 miniature golf courses – Fantasia Gardens and Winter Summerland,
ESPN Wide World of Sports

Magic Kingdom is the most attended theme park with the most rides to ride within a Disney theme park. Magic Kingdom’s most popular rides are TRON Lightcycle/Run, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure (water ride), Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain, and Peter Pan’s Flight. There are also what many would consider classic rides there to enjoy: Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Jungle Cruise, Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover, and Dumbo the Flying Elephant.

EPCOT theme park has the World Showcase Pavilion of 11 countries – Canada, United Kingdom, France, Morocco, Japan, American Adventure, Italy, Germany, China, Norway, and Mexico, allowing you to walk, eat, and shop between cultures and interact with the employees in each pavilion that are usually from that same country. EPCOT is known for its variety of good food. EPCOT’s most popular rides are Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, Frozen Ever After, Test Track, and Soarin’ Around the World.

Hollywood Studios has changed quite a bit over the years from what it looked like in the 90s, but it still maintains its Hollywood, California theme. It is most known for the Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge and Toy Story themed areas. Hollywood Studio’s major rides are Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, Slinky Dog Dash, Rockin Roller Coaster, Twilight Tower of Terror, and Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railroad.

Animal Kingdom is the least visited park of the four theme parks, but you wouldn’t necessarily be able to tell that when you are in the park because of the popularity of the Avatar themed land. Avatar’s Flight of Passage and Avatar’s Na’vi River Journey, Kilimanjaro Safari, Kali River Rapids (water ride), and Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain are Animal Kingdom’s most popular rides. Animal Kingdom also has trails to view various live animals.

You will purchase Disney theme parks tickets based on how many days you would like to spend at the Disney World Theme Parks, whether or not you would like to pay to park hop (go to multiple theme parks in one day), or whether you would like to just do one theme park per day.
Disney also sells separate tickets to Special Events throughout the year:
After Hours at EPCOT, After Hours at Hollywood Studios, After Hours at Magic Kingdom, Mickey’s Not so Scary Halloween Party at Magic Kingdom, and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party at Magic Kingdom each offer between 6-8 hours total time, depending on the party, to be in the parks during the evening with less people, shorter lines for rides, entertainment, character greetings, and free snacks. Jollywood Nights at Hollywood Studios is an additional Christmas party that offers most of the same perks as the other parties, except instead of offering free snacks, the Jollywood Nights includes the PhotoPass service. I will briefly detail the potential benefits of these special events near the end of this article.

Overnight Accommodations: Along with deciding how many days you will spend at the Disney World theme parks, you will need to have a place to stay overnight. The main decision is whether you would like to stay on the Disney property in one of the 32 Disney resorts or off property in the surrounding Orlando, Florida area. If you choose to stay on Disney property there are a few perks to consider, which include:

• Free daily parking in the Disney World theme park parking lots, normally $30 per day for those not staying on Disney property,
• Early entry into the theme parks, which allows you to enter the park around 45 minutes early and ride the rides 30 minutes before the official park opening,
• Use of the Disney World transportation which takes guests around the Disney World property by bus, monorail, boat, and skyway between Disney resorts, Disney Springs, and Disney theme parks.
• During 2025, you also will get free tickets to enjoy a Disney water park on check-in day.

When purchasing your Disney World theme park tickets or Disney resort overnight stays, check the Offers page on the Disney World website for promotions and potential discounts for specific time frames.
Also, Disney Visa Card holders, annual pass holders, and Disney Vacation Club members can get additional discounts on the Disney World property at select locations.

Depending on how many days you select for the theme parks, I recommend adding in relax days so that you can enjoy the pool, Disney Springs, or simply visit the various Disney Resorts. When you select multiple days for tickets at the theme parks, they will give you a time frame to use these tickets within that could allow for some relax days in between if you choose to do so. The theme park days tend to involve a lot of walking and can be tiring if you do it everyday straight for a week. Having a little time to relax can really make a difference!

Resort hopping is visiting the various Disney resorts to just enjoy walking through the different themed lobbies, and to see their unique styles, restaurants, and gift shops. Some of the highlight resorts to visit are the Polynesian Resort, Grand Floridian Resort, Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter, Wilderness Lodge, and Animal Kingdom Lodge.
By browsing through photos, blogs, and videos online you will find that each resort on the Disney property has something unique that interests visitors to come and see.

How the Disney Transportation travels between Disney Resorts:

• There is a separate Disney Resort monorail that runs between Magic Kingdom, Contemporary Resort, Ticket and Transportation Center, Polynesian Resort, and the Grand Floridian Resort.
• Disney boats run directly from Magic Kingdom to Wilderness Lodge, Fort Wilderness Campground, Contemporary Resort, Polynesian Resort, and the Grand Floridian Resort.
• The various skyway lines connect EPCOT and Hollywood Studios theme parks, Caribbean Beach Resort, Riviera Resort, Pop Century Resort, and Art of Animation Resort.
• There are Disney Transportation boats that run between Disney Springs, Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter, Port Orleans Resort – Riverside, Old Key West Resort, and Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa.
• Additional Disney boats run between Hollywood Studios, EPCOT, Boardwalk Resort, Yacht Resort, Beach Resort, Swan Hotel, and Dolphin Hotel.
• Disney buses drive to each of the different resorts from the various theme parks and Disney Springs, including to the Animal Kingdom Lodge that I listed above as a highlight resort.

Disney World has many popular foods and snacks that visitors love. In order to know what to look for, it is a good idea to watch a few online videos and explore some online blogs on where the tastiest foods and snacks are across the Disney World property. Have a list of the foods you are interested in and their locations before you arrive at Disney World. You can search and view Disney World property restaurants and kiosk menus on the Disney World website.

Disney World is a magical place that allows for all ages to feel like children and to just be happy. However, if you do not know what you are doing there it can make for a stressful or frustrating time as well. Therefore, it is best to know what you are getting into.

In general I would say compared to other theme parks, the rides at Disney World are more family oriented. If you only like high thrill rides it is important to understand that while Disney World does have exciting rides, it’s not the same high thrills focus that other U.S. or Florida theme parks may have. Disney in general focuses on providing guests with a different experience than just thrill. Being on the Disney World property is supposed to feel like being apart of the Disney storytelling experience and also like you are stepping into the films. You need to understand this in order to really enjoy your time there, you have to go in with the right expectations.

Another important expectation that you need to have going into the park is that once you have purchased the tickets and booked your hotel, you need to let go of how much it all costs once you are actually at Disney. You already made the decision to purchase the vacation to go to Disney, so now you need to enjoy it. You cannot just be focused on price and how much everything costs, especially while you are there. Yes, things cost money, and staying on property and attending the theme parks is not cheap, but, you need to go into the Disney park knowing ahead of time what it is that will make it worth the price for you and your family.

Ask yourself these questions before you visit: What are you coming to Disney for? Are you a fan of any of the movies featured in the rides or themed lands at Disney? Do you enjoy Disney films? Are you trying to ride a certain number of rides? Are there certain rides you feel that you need to ride? Are you planning to focus mostly on riding the rides? Are you also hoping to include viewing any Disney shows or fireworks? Are you wanting to avoid standing in long lines? Are the parks going to be overly busy during your visit? Are you interested in the idea of seeing and experiencing the transformation from what original creator Walt Disney designed back when the park first opened to seeing the developing ride innovation up to today? Yes, some of the attractions may seem dated, but realize these attractions are pretty impressive for the available technology back when the parks first opened. A lot of the Disney experience is founded on the nostalgia of being at or experiencing Disney. This experience could be the nostalgia of having watched the movies growing up and then getting to see it in person at the parks or simply the nostalgia of having previously visited the parks as a kid and returning again. For many Disney fans, experiencing this Disney experience in person is priceless and makes the cost and dealing with the potential crowds worth it. It really should feel like a pleasure just being at Disney. It is important to consider ahead of time how you and your family or friends feel about this.

How much does everyone in your group want to see and how much are they willing to walk to see it in the time frame that you are visiting Disney? It is good to figure out ahead of time what everyone’s pace is in your group. If some of you are going to move efficiently from ride to ride or even park to park and some want to go slower, maybe consider your options so that everyone is happy. This could include splitting up and having a plan to come back together for meals or certain rides or shows.

Disney can get very crowded, and, with the crowds, come long wait times. Standing in lines with long wait times can take away from the fun of being there and can bring potential disappointments with the rides themselves especially if it is your first time visiting. You really do not want to spend your time waiting in long lines. Many of the rides do not last very long to ride, so waiting a long time isn’t really worth it. Yet, people will still stand in line for them. I have seen people really feel the pressure to experience everything in a short amount of time, especially when they feel that they paid so much money to be there, and they end up losing time just standing in line and just not understanding how to navigate the crowds.

Now, do not feel discouraged, the rides at Disney are great. It just takes some planning ahead of time to work with the busier times of day. Personally I cannot see waiting in lines longer than 45 minutes for any ride, in any theme park anywhere, in order to make it feel worthwhile. Therefore, I recommend not waiting in lines longer than 30-45 minutes to avoid disappointment especially on your first visit. If you have a favorite ride and feel that it is worth the wait, by all means do what feels right for you!

My suggestion of a 30-45 minute wait time can be difficult to achieve for everything, especially during high volume crowd days. You can use the My Disney Experience App, before and during your visit, to check the wait times across all four parks for the various rides. You can also find predicted crowd volumes at the parks before your visit by looking at crowd calendars online. You can do a search online for estimated crowds at Disney World to see when the predicted lower crowds will be. If you have to visit during the peak visit times be sure to utilize the 30 minute early park entry bonus if you are staying in any of the Disney World Resorts and also consider buying the lightning lane passes.

To reiterate from above, when purchasing your park tickets you can choose to visit each theme park one day at a time or you can purchase a park hopper in addition to the ticket which allows you to visit multiple parks in one day. Having the park hopper added to your theme park ticket really helps take the pressure off of seeing everything in one park while dealing with the potential crowds, because you can always just visit another park when wait times start to get too long. When choosing to Park Hop, expect the Disney transportation between parks to take time; especially in the evenings. If you are prepared for it then you aren’t upset. Being upset is only going to make your time there miserable, so just don’t get upset. It is best to park hop, when using the Disney buses, especially from Hollywood Studios, well before the park closes and well before the Fantasmic show at Hollywood Studios ends. Going from EPCOT to Magic Kingdom can be a little easier using the Monorail, but it will most likely still be crowded and take extra time.

Come into the theme parks each day with a general idea of the attractions you are hoping to ride. It is worthwhile to view the wait times before your trip to Disney World on the My Disney Experience App to see how long the wait times are for the rides that interest you. If they seem too long for you to wait in and also get to everything you are hoping to experience, consider purchasing Lightning Lane passes for everyone in your group. To bypass some of the wait time for rides at the theme parks, you can purchase Lightning Lane Multi Passes, Lightning Lane Single passes, and Lightning Lane Premier Passes for all or some of your days at the theme parks to ride rides using Lightning Lane one time each. There are many videos and blogs online detailing how to use the various Lightning Lane passes and that list which attractions are under which Lightning Lane Multi Pass selection category to start that day, so I encourage you to research this a little beforehand to learn how it works.

Your theme park ticket includes the ability to wait to ride an attraction in the Standby lines.
As of February 25, 2025, all Disney World Attractions are available through Standby lines and no attractions are listed for Virtual Queue. When Virtual Queue is being offered for the newest attractions, the regular theme park ticket will also include the ability to book Virtual Queue online through the My Disney Experience App each morning at 7am. If you get into the virtual, and have everyone that also wants to ride selected, you will be given a time to enter the standby line of the ride by scanning your park ticket. This wait could be 45 minutes depending on demand to ride the ride. If you have park hopper and would like to ride another virtual queue attraction or if you do not get into a Virtual Queue for a certain ride at 7am you will have another opportunity to book at 1pm, you just need to be in the theme park where the ride is to book at 1pm. You can only ride each ride on the Virtual Queue one time each per day.

If you would like to try to shorten the wait time spent in the Standby lines, purchasing the Lightning Lane Multi Passes allow you to select an hour time frame for three different rides in order to enter a shorter ride line called the lightning lane line. The price changes per day, but it ranges from $15-$39 per ticket. You can purchase lightning lanes, if staying in a Disney resort, 7 days in advance of your check in date at 7am. If you are not staying on Disney property and plan to purchase the lightning lanes, you can purchase lightning lanes 3 days in advance at 7am of your first theme park ticket date. You can purchase lightning lanes 7 days or 3 days in advance for any or all of the days, up to fourteen, in your theme park ticket visit. For example, if you have two theme park day tickets purchased, and you are staying at a Disney resort for 5 days, you can purchase lightning lanes seven days in advance at, or after, 7am for one or both of the days that you plan to visit the theme parks.
Included with your Lightning Lane Multi Pass purchase, you also get Disney PhotoPass Service for each day that you purchase the Lightning Lane Multi Pass.
Having the PhotoPass Service gives you access to download, for free, photos and videos of you riding the rides. The rides that take your photo while on the ride are:

• Magic Kingdom: TRON Lightcycle/Run, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, Space Mountain, Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
• EPCOT: Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, Test Track, Frozen Ever After
• Hollywood Studios: Slinky Dog Dash, Twilight Tower of Terror, Rockin’ Roller Coaster
• Animal Kingdom: Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain, DINOSAUR

If you would like to have additional photos taken by Disney cast members around the theme parks, with characters, or if you did not purchase Lightning Lane and would like to download photos and videos of you on certain rides, you will need to purchase Memory Maker.

Lightning Lane Single Passes are purchased individually for specific rides, that are considered the most popular rides in each park. The price is different per ride and ranges from $13-$25 per ticket. The pre-purchase time frame is the same as the Lightning Lane Multi Pass: seven days in advance at 7am for Disney resort guests and three days in advance at 7am for those staying off Disney property. You will purchase the lightning lane individually for each of these specific rides for each day that you would like and then select an hour time frame in order to ride the ride by entering the faster lightning lane line.

Lightning Lane Premier Passes allow you to ride each attraction at any time during park hours one time each through entering the lightning lane lines in one specific Disney park selected for the day. Premier Lightning lane passes will only work in the park you selected for the day, it will not work in other Disney parks if you have Park Hopper. The price of premier lightning lane passes ranges from $119-$449 per ticket depending on the park. Purchasing the Lightning Lane Premier Passes also gives you free access to the Disney PhotoPass Service which includes the photos and videos of you on various rides to download. With a Disney resort reservation, you can purchase Lightning Lane Premier Passes 7 days in advance starting at 7am. If you are not staying at a Disney resort you can purchase the premier pass 3 days in advance at 7am.

If you purchase a park hopper for your theme park ticket and you also decide to purchase the regular Lightning Lane Multi Passes, you can reserve lightning lanes in other parks after riding one ride in the park, you previously selected, to use with lightning lane. You can purchase the lightning lane multi pass either seven days in advance at 7am if staying in a Disney Resort or three days in advance at 7am if staying somewhere else. When you are purchasing your lightning lane multi passes, for each park ticket in your vacation package that you plan to have lightning lane, you will select the Lightning Lane for one theme park that you will start at and select each person that also has a ticket in your group that will also use the lightning lane multi pass. You then select your three preferred attractions in that park and adjust the times to your preference based on availability. On the day of your visit, if you have Park Hopper added to your ticket, you just need to ride one of the lightning lane attractions that you selected for Lightning Lane before you can switch your other lightning lanes to another park. You can select up to three rides on Lightning Lane Multi Pass at a time and then continue selecting new rides as you scan to enter the Lightning Lane lines, or modify ride selections, until they are all booked up for the day. Lightning Lanes are a really nice option to help you ride all of the rides you are hoping to experience while at Disney on your theme park days without dealing with high wait times.

To emphasize again, once you step into Disney World, it is best to leave the thoughts of how much everything costs behind and just enjoy yourself. Do not fear how quickly the time is moving, instead just enjoy your time there. Be happy, be friendly to cast members (the employees), and embrace the experience that is special to being on Disney property. Many people visit for the experience: the cleanliness, the attention to detail within all of the Disney properties, the unique and immersive rides, and the friendly and accommodating customer service that is special to Disney.

30 minute Early Entry for Disney resort guests and best arrival times for those not staying at Disney:
The big question the night before each Disney theme park day for many is when do we leave, when should we arrive, and what ride line do we head to? As with most decisions, everyone is different in terms of when they would like to get up and head to the parks, how many days they are spending overall at the Disney theme parks, and how many rides they are hoping to get to. In general, know that being at the park first thing gives you the most opportunity to ride some of the most popular attractions without a long wait. As the day goes by in the park, the crowds build. Afternoons tend to be the busiest times and usually stay busy until late in the evening.

I tend to take a more relaxed, yet still efficient, approach in my morning arrival plans. I usually hope to arrive shortly before the 30 minute early entry time begins. I choose the park with the ride that I would like to start with, based on when my first lightning lane attraction is, and then I try to arrive about 15 minutes before early entry begins. Depending on the park and the day, they usually let you into the park about 15 minutes before early entry. Once in the park, you can head over to the cast members that will scan your resort room key (also the barcode on your phone). They will definitely start scanning by the early entry start time, 30 minutes before park opening, but they usually will start scanning room keys or magic bands before that.
For those not staying on Disney property, it is best to be at the park entrance a little before the official park opening.

In deciding when to leave each morning, and when driving to the theme park parking lots, I use GPS to estimate how long the drive will be. Getting to Magic Kingdom takes longer if driving yourself, because it involves a monorail or ferry boat ride from the parking lot to the official Magic Kingdom entrance point, so expect this to take extra time to get there. When taking Disney Transportation in the morning, I estimate the transportation to take roughly 20 minutes to get somewhere and then hope that we can time it right to board the boat or bus each morning. Some may argue that this is not enough time to allow and that it could take longer for Disney transportation to get there, but as I mentioned before, I know not to get upset and I just trust what naturally comes to us on when the right time to leave each day is. We are not upset if we are a few minutes later than expected and we know it will all come together regardless.

To briefly explain the Special Event Tickets further, the After Hour Parties at EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, or Magic Kingdom allow guests to enter the theme park 3 hours before the park closes and then stay in the park for an additional 3 hours after the regular park guests leave, for a total of 6 hours. Even though these ticketed events may seem highly priced for less hours than a full day, they can be worth it to be able to ride the rides with shorter wait times because the tickets available for the parties are limited. A potential downside of these after hour parties is that they are focused on the evening time frame, so if you are hoping to see the parks also in the daytime you may want to have a regular admission ticket with or without a park hopper so that you can see the different parks during the day. Also, before purchasing a special event ticket, always check online to see what rides are available during the party and what activities, stores, and restaurants close early.

Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween party at the Magic Kingdom and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas party at the Magic Kingdom are both very popular and allow again for shorter wait times for rides as well as some special treats, shows, and parades that are not viewable during the regular park hours. These holiday parties allow park entry 2 hours before the park closes and 6 hours after the park closes to enjoy the actual party.
Jollywood Nights at the Hollywood Studios during the Christmas season is a fairly new party offered as a special ticket event allowing for some special entertainment, lower wait times for rides, and PhotoPass service at Hollywood Studios. Guests can enter 1 hour before park closing and get around 5.5 hours to enjoy the Jollywood Party after the park closes.

So far, I have only been to the Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party special event and I really have enjoyed it! Personally, I probably wouldn’t do the other special event parties unless they were offered during a time when crowd levels were too high during the day to really enjoy being at Disney World or if I wanted to ride only the rides at a specific park. I am a big fan of park hopping, so I know that for me, focusing on one park wouldn’t be as nice as being able to go from park to park and being able to ride all of my favorite rides throughout the day. So far for my visits to Disney World I have been able to do all the things I enjoy with park hopper and lightning lanes. If it ever gets too busy, I think I would reconsider and look more seriously into the special events. With that said, I do hope to try some of the After Hours parties someday if the timing works out for another time I am near Disney World. I recommend doing your own research online, maybe watch a video of someone going through the events and see if it looks like something you would enjoy.

No matter how you decide to spend your Disney vacation and even how much preparation you put in ahead of going there, some things you will just have to experience first hand to know what ultimately works best for you. It could be casually visiting each park one at a time, it could be using park hopper, it could be purchasing and using the lightning lane passes, or it could be trying a little bit of everything. What works for me may be different for you. In giving you some ideas, you can choose what works best for you. Just remember to keep a calm perspective and have a magical time!