Like many children, I have strong memories (and emotions) tied to Disney World. My 1st visit to Disney World in Orlando, Florida took place in the Fall of 1991. I was 11 years old and not only was there the excitement of experiencing Disney for the 1st time, but it was my 1st airplane ride as well (Nia doesn’t believe it when I tell her that). I returned to Orlando in the summer of ’95 at age 15, in between my Freshman and Sophomore years of high school. That trip was also quite memorable, as I went with 60 of my high school pals and we had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of marching in the Disney World parade. I haven’t returned since ’95 though, so it’s been 24 years since my last visit. I was curious to see what had changed and how I would experience Disney as an adult.
My Favorite Park: Animal Kingdom
My favorite park was the only one that wasn’t open 24 years ago – Animal Kingdom. I’m sure the newness of the experience contributed to liking it so much but I also just genuinely liked the vibe of the park. We felt so at home in the Asia and Africa sections and the Pandora/Avatar area was truly other-worldly.
Pandora, the world from James Cameron’s Avatar movie, opened in May 2017. You can see from the photo below how unique the landscape was. Even if you can’t get on the rides (the waits were 2+ hours), a walk through the area is well worth it.
Another highlight at Animal Kingdom was coming across this African band. Nia jumped right in with the dancers and Nick got a call-out from the singer for the South Africa shirt he was wearing. The upbeat tunes brought back very sweet memories of Africa.
Favorite Themed Area: Toy Story Land at Hollywood Studios
While Animal Kingdom was my overall fave, the one-year-old Toy Story Land at Hollywood Studios was my favorite themed section of all the parks.
As you can see in the picture below, the theme was carried out brilliantly. Even the line queues were interesting! It had a bit of a “Honey I Shrunk the Kids” feel to it, but Toy-Story-style. Very fun and worth battling the crowds.
Even the entertainment in this area was carried out perfectly on theme! Imagine my surprise when we ran into these guys!
My Favorite Ride: Epcot’s Test Track
But don’t write Epcot off either. Of all the rides we tried, I’d have to say that Test Track at Epcot was the most memorable. Our family enjoyed creating a customized car and then “testing” it against the cars of the other two parties in our group. The technology aspect of the ride was really impressive and the “power” test run at 60+ mph was ridiculously fun.
The Hottest Rides by Park
These were the 3 most popular rides per park while we were there (Hint- Try to get as many of these as you can for your Fastpasses):
Magic Kingdom: Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Splash Mountain, Space Mountain
Epcot: Test Track, Soarin’ Around the World, Frozen Ever After
Hollywood Studios: Slinky Dog Dash Roller Coaster, Rock’n’Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror
Animal Kingdom: Avatar Na’vi River Journey, Avatar Flight of Passage, Expedition Everest Roller Coaster
My Favorite Experience: Magic Kingdom’s Villains After Hours
Our first day at Epcot was a huge success and we were expecting a similar experience at the Magic Kingdom on our second day. We couldn’t have been more wrong. Things started going South as early as the parking lot. We were far, far away (no lie, there was a lake between us and the park). So we park the car and head to the tram which would take us to the ferry boat or monorail that would deliver us to the park entrance. It was 10 AM when we arrived and the sun was beating down intensely. There was no queuing mechanism for the tram and too many people to fit in one, so you can imagine the chaos that ensued. We eventually decided to scrap the tram and walk 15 minutes to the bag check queue. This line was ALSO entirely in the sun and very SLOW. In fact, we saw someone have a heat stroke right by us. We were shocked at how poorly it was laid out. And we weren’t even close to the end of the check-in process yet!
Once we were through the bag check line 30 minutes later, it was time to queue for the transportation to the park entrance. We initially went toward the monorail but were tipped off by an employee that the ferry would be faster. So we changed courses and spent another 30 minutes waiting for and riding the ferry. At this point, we had invested and hour and 15 minutes and hadn’t even reached the entrance yet. Thank God we had our tickets in advance or that would have been another 30-60 minutes!
So back to the story. We waited for 15 more minutes in the line to beep our bands to FINALLY get into the park. We were soooo hot and crabby by this point that we seriously debated just turning around and leaving. But we had 3 Fastpasses, so we agreed to go do those and then leave.
The park was insanely more crowded then any of the other parks we visited. There were all these family groups wearing matching shirts (which I would have found cute if I wasn’t in such a bad mood) and I was shocked by the number of parents with kids on backpack leashes. And the damn strollers. They were EVERYWHERE. You could not walk 2 feet without tripping over a stroller. Our moods had reached a new low. Even Nia wanted to leave. So we did our 3 rides and promptly left the park with big frowns on our faces.
I swore I’d never go back. But then we saw this promo for Villains After Hours and it looked so cool that we decided to give the Magic Kingdom another chance. The premise was simple – stay in the park from 10 PM – 1 AM with a limited number of people, walk on to 20 of the most popular rides, enjoy unlimited popcorn, soda and ice cream treats, and watch a special live show featuring 5 of the villains.
Our gamble paid off and I’m so glad we gave the Magic Kingdom another shot. Turns out it’s much more pleasant when the sun is down, lines are non-existent and you can get front-row seats to the shows. :)
The event definitely had a scarier adult vibe to it but there were a fair amount of kiddos there too. We absolutely loved seeing the fire-breathing Maleficent dragon coming at us down the street.
And the show, while having a bit of a corny theme about the villains uniting, had some great moments with fire-twirlers, acrobats, dancers, cool projections and fireworks. And we easily grabbed a front-row seat, as there were 3 different show times.
The featured Villains included Jafar from Aladdin, Hades from Hercules, The Wicked Queen from Snow White, Dr. Facilier from the Princess and the Frog and Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty (of course). Was a nice mix overall.
Surprise Hit: Disney Springs’ Raglan Road
Just going to throw in one more fun thing we stumbled upon in Orlando. It’s an Irish Restaurant called Raglan Road. Each night from 4:30 to 10 PM they do 3 – 90 minute live shows with music and dancers.
It felt very authentic & Nia loved it. There were ample opportunities for kids to participate. Definitely a fun change of pace from the parks.
Sorry for the length – turns out I had a lot of thoughts to share on Disney! And perhaps not surprisingly, Nia gave it a big thumbs up! :) As for me, I’d give it a 5 out of 10. The magic of childhood wasn’t there and the crazy-long lines, beating sun and masses of humanity sucked the joy out of the experience pretty quickly.
What I’d Do Differently In the Future:
IF we were to return (and that’s a big if), I’d make the following changes…
- Not go in summer when the heat is so extreme.
- Stay at a Disney Resort. The added expense is worth the bonuses you get: better pick of Fastpasses, bonus hours in the parks, speedier entry.
- Get a 3 day multi-park pass (instead of a 5 day single-park one) and use it for Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom from 9-3 PM.
- Buy an after-hours ticket for Magic Kingdom or take advantage of the bonus hours available at Magic Kingdom for those who stay at a Disney Resort. I would not enter Magic Kingdom any earlier than 7 PM on future visits.
