Walt Disney World
Magic Kingdom
The most-visited theme park on earth, and still the one built for kids first.
44 attractions7 height limits41 tracked snacks
Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida
Walt Disney World
Four theme parks, a full week of planning, and the biggest ride roster in the country.
Walt Disney World is not a theme park. It is four of them, plus two water parks, a shopping district, and more than twenty hotels, spread across a chunk of Central Florida roughly the size of San Francisco. The practical consequence is that transportation between the pieces takes real time — budget 45 to 75 minutes door to door between any two points and you will rarely be wrong.
The four parks are deliberately different from one another. Magic Kingdom is the classic castle park and the one small children come for. EPCOT is the eating-and-drinking park with two genuine world-class thrill rides bolted on. Hollywood Studios has the highest concentration of modern headliners and the most brutal height requirements. Animal Kingdom is a working zoological park that happens to contain the best ride Disney has built this century.
The single most useful thing to understand before you book anything: Walt Disney World is a multi-day destination. A one-day visit to a single park is a legitimate trip, but the resort's pricing, transportation, and ride-reservation systems are all built on the assumption that you are here for four days or more. If you have two days or fewer, Disneyland in California is usually the better use of your money — and we say so in detail on our comparison page.
The practical bits
- Getting there
- Orlando International Airport (MCO) is about 30 minutes from the resort. Orlando Sanford (SFB) is cheaper to fly into and a longer drive. There is no longer a free airport shuttle — you need a rental car, a rideshare, or the paid Mears Connect service.
- Getting around
- Monorail, boat, Skyliner gondola, and buses connect hotels to parks. Which you get depends entirely on which hotel you book, and it materially changes your day. Skyliner and monorail hotels are worth paying for; bus-only hotels on the far side of the property are not.
- How many days
- Four park days is the honest minimum for a first visit that does not feel rushed. Five to seven with a rest day in the middle is better. Two days is not enough to justify the airfare.
- When to go
- Late January through mid-February and the first half of May are the reliable low-crowd, low-heat windows. Summer is hot, crowded, and rains every afternoon. Late December is the single hardest week of the year.
The 4 parks
Walt Disney World
EPCOT
Two parks in one: a science campus up front, eleven countries around a lake.
42 attractions5 height limits43 tracked snacks
Walt Disney World
Disney's Hollywood Studios
The thrill park of Walt Disney World, and the one with the most height sticks.
31 attractions7 height limits45 tracked snacks
Walt Disney World
Disney's Animal Kingdom
A working zoo with a Disney budget - and the shortest, hottest day at Walt Disney World.
31 attractions3 height limits38 tracked snacks
The question everyone asks first
Height requirements across the resort
Every ride at Walt Disney World with a minimum height, shortest first. Sort any column.
Lightning Lane here
Walt Disney World sells Lightning Lane Multi Pass, Single Pass, and Premier Pass. Each is purchased per park, per day.