The four parks that make up Disney World are Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom. Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach round out the collection as the two water parks. Each of the parks has a unique theme and different rides, restaurants, and other attractions including meet and greets and live shows.
It’s hard to talk about Disney without talking about Disneyland. Disneyland was Walt’s original dream realized. When local businesses figured out how lucrative it was to be close to the park, they snatched up real estate faster than Donald loses his temper. Disneyland didn’t have space to expand.
Disney World is another story. Walt and his associates bought huge swaths of land under fake business names while they were developing what they referred to as “the Florida project”.
The first Orlando Disney park is the classic Magic Kingdom — the Florida equivalent to Disneyland Park. This is where the stereotypical Disney experience happens. Dumbo, Dole Whip, Pirates of the Caribbean, Space Mountain, Haunted Mansion, Small World — it’s all in Magic Kingdom. If you can only hit up one park for your trip, this is the one we recommend as it’s THE Disney experience people know and love.
Magic Kingdom consists of four lands: Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland. Main Street USA is another section of the park, but instead of rides and attractions, Main Street consists of shopping and dining, the entrance to the park, and guest services.
EPCOT was the second park in Florida in 1982. People identify the “Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow” most often by the golf ball — a geodesic sphere with a slow-moving dark ride inside it called “Spaceship Earth”. EPCOT has two main sections, “Future world” and the world showcase. The world showcase is the other iconic part of the park, where a lot of people go to “drink around the world”, especially during the park’s annual festivals . The showcase has international alcoholic offerings all year round.
Hollywood Studios (formerly MGM), joined the Disney family in 1989. This park opened as a working studio lot and used to fit much closer to that theme. Now it’s a more eclectic “movies” themed park with thrill rides and live shows peppered throughout. Florida’s version of the brand new Star Wars: Galaxies Edge will live here when it opens in the next year. The park is currently a little lackluster as it makes way for the Star Wars expansion.
The newest park, Animal Kingdom, celebrated its twentieth anniversary last year. This park is a giant zoo plus some amazing extras. There are two huge wilderness trails, a safari ride, conservation station and petting zoo…and that’s just the beginning. The safari ride alone offers nighttime walks and private tours.
Animal Kingdom has a variety of rides, from the classic “mountain” roller coaster to the cutting-edge 4D experiences in Avatar’s Pandora. The live shows at Animal Kingdom are phenomenal. “Finding Nemo” is a short broadway-style musical and “The Festival of the Lion King” features unmatched acrobatics.
