We went over Thanksgiving week in 2021. Also, we went for 6 days: 2 at Magic Kingdom, 2 at Epcot, 1 at Animal Kingdom and 1 at Hollywood Studios. To be honest, I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought we would and we are planning to go again this January.

Additionally, see below for some details on the individual parks, whether to stay on or off-site, dining options and suggestions for your visit.

Magic Kingdom

Magic Kingdom is the most iconic of the Disney World parks and usually the “must visit” for most people. It is probably the park that would need a second day to see and do it all.

Magic Kingdom is segmented into multiple areas including Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland, Tomorrowland, Liberty Square and Main Street.

There are so many rides and what you do depends a lot on the age of your children. However, the more iconic rides include Space Mountain, Seven Dwarves Mine Train, It’s a Small World, The Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Jungle Cruise and Pirates of the Caribbean.

Some other fun areas include exploring the Swiss Family Treehouse and Tom Sawyer’s Island. You can also find themed areas, such as Cinderella’s castle, Belle’s village, Rapunzel’s lanterns, etc.

There are a lot of extras here, such as a princesses meet-and-greet and a big parade that goes through the park twice a day. Lastly, there is a full fireworks show every evening just before the park closes.

Epcot

All of our kids said that Epcot was their favorite park. I think that is partly because that is the first park we visited. Be aware it is one of the larger parks, so you can easily do a lot of walking.

Our first day was the last day of the Food and Wine festival. It seems more geared towards locals with season passes. The lines are long and we didn’t want to spend all our Disney time waiting in line for food samples.

The two main sections are the front area surrounding the giant Epcot ball and the back area where you can walk around the different countries. Guardians of the Galaxy ride was under construction while we were there.

The World Showcase includes rides such as Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure and Frozen Ever After. We were able to book time slots for Remy’s first thing in the morning. It incorporates 3-D glasses with the ride.

There is also an aquarium and Soarin’, where you can fly over different parts of the world. Test Track and Mission Space are some other high-thrill rides.

Animal Kingdom

Animal Kingdom is a mix of rides and animal exhibits. The center “Tree of Life” includes a 4-D clip of “A Bug’s Life”.

Animal Kingdom also includes Kilimanjaro Safari where you can ride and view animals, including giraffes and lions. Additionally, there are various animal shows and we saw a bird demonstration.

If you have never seen the Lion King musical, they have a shortened version, which includes fun set design.

The main roller coasters at Animal Kingdom are Expedition Everest and DINOSAUR. Expedition Everest is one of the more thrilling roller coasters at Disney World. 

There is also a Pandora area from the movie Avatar. It is fun to walk around and take in the scenery from the movie. The ground glows at night.

There are two main rides in Pandora. The first is Flight of Passage, where you ride a Banshee and fly through the Avatar world. It is a lot of fun. The second is Na’vi River Journey, which is a much tamer ride on a boat through the forest world.

Hollywood Studios

Are you a Star Wars fan? I like Star Wars too!

I think that Disney could have made an entire park dedicated to Star Wars. Instead, it is a section of Hollywood Studios that has a lot of visuals and 3 main rides.

First, is Rise of the Resistance. The wait time was pushing 3-4 hours while we were there, so it pays to get to the park early and get in line quickly. Or book the lightning lane first thing if you like. It is a really cool ride and runs close to 10 minutes.

The other two Star Wars rides are Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run and Star Tours. The first one lets you and your family pilot the Falcon. The latter has been around a long time, before they added the Star Wars area.

Additionally, you can pay to build your own droid at Droid Depot or your own lightsaber at Savi’s Workshop. They look very cool, but our girls aren’t really into Star Wars so we opted not to spend the money.

The Tower of Terror, Slinky Dog Dash, Rock n’ Roller Coaster, and Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway are some of the other notable rides at Hollywood Studios.

To Stay On-site or Off-Site?

It is much less expensive to stay off-site, even with the price of parking. We decided to stay on-site since it was our first time as a family. Additionally, we chose the Dolphin, since it is a Marriott property. Also, they are one of the few hotels that allow 5 people in a room, which was less than the cost of 2 rooms at other resorts.

There are some perks to staying on-site. Primarily, you are closer to parks and don’t need a car. We were a boat ride away from Epcot and Hollywood Studios. And a short tram from Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom. Lastly, on-site guests get early access to enter the parks and are able to book dining earlier (see more below).

Dining Options

People get excited about the Disney dining! You can start booking 60 days in advance and they go really quick. On-site guests can book their entire trip dining at the 60 day mark, which is helpful if you are trying for those hard-to-get places. Research the process, get on-line early in the morning at 60 days out and just start reserving (you can always cancel them later).

If you are unable to get something, you can check back closer to your visit for cancelations. Additionally, there are phone apps that will notify you when a cancelation occurs.

Be ready for the Weather

Don’t let some rain or cold weather ruin your fun. We forgot to bring the raincoats the one day it rained. Our kids made the best of it and shared my one poncho!

Also, it is a good idea to always check the weather forecast each morning. It was great weather all week and then it dropped about 25 degrees overnight. We had to stop in and buy sweatshirts that day. 

Pass on the Disney Photopass

To be honest, I was disappointed in the photopass. I had read a lot of people recommend it and it is not inexpensive. There were not a lot of opportunities and when we passed them they had long lines.

At the end of our 6 park days, I’d say that we got less than 10 photos that I would call “keepers”. Sometimes a kid’s eyes are closed. The one I’ve shown in front of the Tower of Terror might have been a funny family picture if it weren’t overexposed and out of focus. Also, a lot of the ride photos only have two of us in the picture (and Covid-era masking was required indoors at the time).

I was expecting more and I think passing would be a good way to save money if you are on a budget. Especially if you prefer to spend more time riding rides and less time waiting for pictures.

ALSO CONSIDER VISITING THESE NEARBY AREAS

Check out Universal Studios, Sea World, The Kennedy Space Museum at Cape Canaveral or some of the other Southeast Region attractions.