Hiya, Carla! Welcome to planDisney!
A first visit to
Walt Disney World Resort is always a special experience, Carla. You’re in for such a great time! There’s so much to see and do at the resort that even a full week is not enough to see and do it all. Having said that, I do have some recommendations to maximize your day in the parks!
In terms of which day to visit, this will be whatever works best for you and your travel party. Any day is a great day to visit the parks. When it comes to tickets, I recommend the
Park Hopper Option. This will allow you to visit two, three, or all four theme parks in a day if you’d like! I would also recommend
Lightning Lane Multi Pass. This will allow you to make three Lightning Lane selections before your visit. If you’re staying at a
Disney Resorts Collection hotel, you’ll be able to make your selections 7 days before your check-in day. If you’re staying elsewhere, you’ll be able to make them 3 days before your park visit. You’ll need to make those initial three selections at whatever park you start your day at, but after that, you’ll be able to book Lightning Lanes in whichever park you find yourself in.
In terms of your itinerary, I highly recommend beginning your day at Magic Kingdom. It’s the quintessential park at Walt Disney World Resort. When you round the corner onto Main Street, U.S.A. and catch your first glimpse of
Cinderella Castle, it’s truly an awe-inspiring moment. Some of the most popular attractions in the park are Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, TRON Lightcycle / Run, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Space Mountain, Haunted Mansion, and many more! If you’re feeling hungry, one of my favorite snacks is the Warm Cinnamon Roll from
Gaston’s Tavern in Fantasyland. It's delicious!
Around midday, you could hop to EPCOT. It’s easy to get to with the
Monorail. Once there, I highly recommend riding Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. In my opinion, it’s currently the best attraction at Walt Disney World Resort. The EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival will be on during your visit. There will be plenty of delicious eats and sips at the various Global Marketplaces throughout the park. Outside of that, some of the standout attractions here are Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, Frozen Ever After, Test Track, Soarin’, Spaceship Earth, among many others.
To close out the evening, I recommend either heading back to Magic Kingdom for Happily Ever After, or to Disney’s Hollywood Studios for Fantasmic! Both are phenomenal nighttime spectaculars, and you can’t go wrong with either. You can easily access Disney’s Hollywood Studios via the Disney Skyliner if you choose to head there. Or, you can take the Monorail back to Magic Kingdom instead. One day is simply not enough time to experience everything Walt Disney World Resort has to offer. But I hope you’ll find these recommendations helpful as you plan your magical day at The Most Magical Place on Earth!
If you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to come back and see us here at
planDisney. We’re always happy to help!
See you real soon!
Olivier