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Exploring Walt Disney World

On November 22, 1963, around the time President John Kennedy was embarking on his public motorcade in Dallas, Walt Disney was in a private jet, conducting his first flyover of some ignored Florida swampland. By the end of the day, as Disney decided this was the place he wanted to shape in the image of his dreams, America had changed in more ways than one.

While the country reeled, Disney snapped up land through dummy companies. His cover was blown in 1965, but the fix was in: His company had mopped up an area twice the size of Manhattan, 27,443 acres, from just $180 an acre. Disneyland East was coming. Today, it’s the most popular vacation destination on the planet, and its four theme parks receive 50.1 million combined visits a year.

It’s no accident that Walt, a seller of fantasies, enjoyed his peaks during two periods of profound malaise: the Great Depression and the Cold War. It’s also no coincidence that his theme parks flowered while America was riven with self-doubt—the Korean and Vietnam conflicts, the death of Kennedy, and Watergate. His parks are, by design, comforting. They tell you how to feel and where to go, and in reinforcing uncomplicated impressions of history and the world, they never make you feel left behind. Ironically, what made his reassuring message of simplicity work was a relentless drive for technological innovation and revolutionary civil engineering.

Why should it be so difficult to find straight talk about such an immensely popular place? Disney fans rhapsodize about the “magic”—that intangible frisson you feel when you’re there—but I think a case could be made that the energy doesn’t come from the place as much as it comes from the customers. Where else in your life will you be surrounded by people so elated to be there? Weddings? Graduations? Walt Disney World’s magic comes from the accumulated goodwill of strangers united in gratitude and togetherness. If you don’t believe me, sit on a bench for a while in Fantasyland and watch the children pass. Some 75 percent of Disney’s visitors are return customers. There’s just something about it.

But Walt Disney World, transporting it may be, is a business, and it’s brutally expensive. The average domestic overnight guest spends a total of $267 per day, and Disney plots to drive that even higher. Even people who love it agree it requires navigation.

Ticketing

Disney keeps hiking prices but the people keep coming, so don’t expect it to relent. This will be the biggest expense, so assess your needs before laying down plastic. All park tickets (excepting annual passes) are purchased by the day. You decide how many days you want to spend at the parks, and once you nail that down, you decide which extras you want to pay for. Both decisions are fraught with temptation and the risk of overspending. It’s possible Disney intentionally makes the process complicated so that customers spend more money than they have to.

Magic Their Way

We recommend visitors to Orlando spend the first 3 or 4 days of their weeklong vacations at the Disney parks, and by the fourth or fifth days, move on to Universal Orlando, SeaWorld, and the Kennedy Space Center. However, the Disney resort uses Magic Your Way, a scaled pricing scheme that appears to reward people who stay on Disney turf for more than 4 days. The delayed economy of Magic Your Way is a honey trap that locks in purchases and entices families to stay on Disney property longer, spending more money. It crowds out anything non-Disney.

Like on an airline, you add the options that you want. They are (including tax, rounded to the nearest dollar):

1. Base ticket. You must at least buy this. This is your theme park admission. With it, you are entitled to visit one park per day, with no switching on the same day. So the first, and most important, decision you’ll make is to select the number of days you want. The trick will be sticking to your plan, since after 4 days, the biggest per-day discounts kick in. (My take: When it’s all new to you, one park per day, or 4 days, is plenty.)

2. Park Hopper. Should you crave the privilege of jumping from park to park on the same day (I recommend it for seasoned visitors), you must add the Park Hopper option. With it, you can do the early-morning safari at Animal Kingdom, take a nap at your hotel, and then switch to the Magic Kingdom for the fireworks. As the chart below shows, this flexibility costs a total of $52 for 2- and 3-day tickets, but $64 for longer ones, no matter how many days of tickets it covers. This is a handy option to have, but you may decide you do not need it.

3. Water Park Fun & More (WPF&M). From here on out, willpower is crucial to saving money on Magic Your Way. Should you plan to visit a Disney water slide park, DisneyQuest, or see an event at the ESPN Wide World of Sports, then the Water Park Fun & More (WPF&M) option includes a set number of admissions. That add-on is $64 no matter how long you stay. The pitfall here is that too many people overestimate the amount of time and energy they are going to have, buy this option, and fail to use it. Think carefully about your own plans, and be realistic. During the course of 3 days of theme park going, and after miles of walking, are you really going to have enough juice for the water slides? Or are there other things to do in Orlando that you’d like to try (for example, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter or Kennedy Space Center)? If you don’t pre-add on WPF&M, you will always be allowed to buy separate admission to any attractions it includes, and you might save money by not adding it; if you’re realistically only going to visit Typhoon Lagoon once and do nothing else on the list of WPF&M inclusions, the walk-up ticket there ($56 adults/$48 kids 3–9) is cheaper for adults than buying this option. Here’s another way to lose money by using this option: On days you visit a water park, your visit there will likely consume the whole day and most of your energy—and on that day, you probably won’t set foot in a theme park, but you will have paid for a theme park because Magic Your Way is calculated by the number of days on your Base Ticket. So if you don’t go to a theme park on the same day you’re at a water park, you will be paying admission to two places in 1 day. This is the biggest reason to avoid WPF&M and just buy second-tier entry tickets separately once your allotment of Base Ticket days is over. You may add this to your ticket while you’re at Disney, but you’ll still pay the rate applicable to your total length of stay. If you plan to buy both the Park Hopper and the Water Park Fun & More options, they come bundled for an $86 add-on, no matter how many days you stay.

Walt Disney World & Lake Buena Vista

4. The No Expiration option. If you don’t buy this option, unused Base Ticket days are dead after 14 days of your ticket’s first use. If you buy it, they’re good until you use them up, no matter when. Disney hikes prices each spring like clockwork, but if you select this, your ticket can be used as long as there are days left on it. Assuming you bought 10 days of tickets, the maximum allowed for North Americans, you’d spend $739 for an adult no-expiration pass, which equals $74 per day ($80 with Park Hopper). Day-of tickets are currently $100 to $105—so there’s a savings, but only if you return later in your life and you don’t lose your ticket information or MagicBand. There’s a side benefit: Paying extra for No Expiration frees you to explore the rest of Orlando without guilt because you know there’s no ticking clock. So buying it actually buys you the freedom to have lots of other worthwhile experiences. For this reason, I recommend it.

Finally, very slight discounts on Magic Your Way are available. If you buy your tickets in advance (online or at a Disney Store), save the shipping fee by arranging to pick them up at the gates of one of the parks (long lines) or at Guest Relations in Downtown Disney Marketplace (short line). Florida residents are offered entirely different discounts (http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/florida-residents) that come with blackout dates, as do AAA members; if you’re one, call  407/824-4321 for the latest promotion. (See “Other Ticket ‘Discounts’ & Deals,” below, for a more on potential discounts.)

   Disney Ticket Options*

Days of Use	Base Ticket Age 10 & up	Age 3–9	Add Water Park Fun & More	Add No Expiration	Add Park Hopper
1	$105/100**	$99/94**	$59/$64 (2 visits)	N/A	$37/43
2	$200	$186	$64 (2 visits)	$43	$52
3	$292	$272	$64 (3 visits)	$53	$52
4	$313	$292	$64 (4 visits)	$107	$64
5	$324	$303	$64 (5 visits)	$170	$64
6	$334	$313	$64 (6 visits)	$224	$64
7	$345	$324	$64 (7 visits)	$266	$64
8	$356	$345	$64 (8 visits)	$288	$64
9	$377	$356	$64 (9 visits)	$314	$64
10	$339	$320	$50 (10 visits)	$325	$59

* Prices include sales tax of 6 to 7.5 percent. Prices accurate as of July 1, 2014.

** The higher price is for the Magic Kingdom, and the second price applies to the other three theme parks.

contacting Walt Disney World

Walt Disney World offers no toll-free numbers.

General information:  407/939-5277; www.disneyworld.com

Vacation packages:  407/934-7675

Room-only bookings:  407/939-7429

Operating hours, schedules:  407/824-4321

Dining reservations:  407/939-3463

Tickets:  407/939-1289

MagicBands, My Disney Experience, Fastpass+:  407/939-4357

Tour bookings:  407/939-8687

Lost and found:  407/824-4245

During some times of year, the park mounts special evening events, such as the ones around Halloween and Christmas (see the calendar on p. 233) that require a separate, expensive ticket. You will get less value out of your Magic Your Way ticket if you attend during the day before one of these parties because if you haven’t paid for the evening-event ticket, you’ll be rounded up and sent out in late afternoon.

The Peril of Disney Packages

If you don’t care about spending more than you have to, skip this section.

Disney lures you into overpurchasing. Anytime you call it and ask for reservations, operators will suggest adding perks. You’ll ask for tickets, and they’ll suggest they throw in, say, the meal plan (p. 23). The instant you accept, you’re purchasing a “package,” and that will often force you to pay more than you would have a la carte. Always, always know what everything would cost separately before agreeing to a Disney-suggested package. If you must, hang up the phone and do some math before deciding to accept or reject the offer. That’s the only way to ensure you’re not paying more. Yes, I know that means you’ll have to do lots of advance research, but this is the reality of visiting Walt Disney World today.

Here’s a hidden loophole that works against you: Disney “length of stay” ticket packages will begin the moment you arrive on the property and end the day you leave. Think about that. If you’ve just flown from a distant place, you are unlikely to rush to the Magic Kingdom on the same day. Likewise, on the day you’re due at the airport to fly home, you may not to be able to visit a theme park. Yet Disney will schedule your package that way. In effect, you will lose 2 days that you’ve paid for—at the start and at the finish of your vacation, when you’ll be resting or packing. Disney will do everything it can to sell you theme park tickets for every day that you’re on its property, regardless of if you plan to go across town to its competitors to see Harry Potter, the Space Shuttle, or some manatees.

How can you avoid this? You could 1) stay entirely at non-Disney hotels and just buy Magic Your Way tickets. You could 2) stay at a Disney hotel for your ticket days and stay off-site for the others. Or you could 3) insist on making one reservation per phone call. Arrange your tickets. Hang up. Call back and arrange your hotel as “room only.” It’s vital that you do not link your two reservations if you want the best price and the best cancellation policies. If you don’t plan on seeing anything but Disney, of course, then you won’t have to go through these lengths. But many people aren’t satisfied by only visiting the Mouse.

Disney’s reservationists are friendly but they’re sales-driven, and they are trained to answer only the questions that you pose. If you’re not sure about the terms of what you’re about to purchase, corner them and ask. Grill them about deposit and cancellation policies—they get stiffer if you’re on a package. And always ask if there is a less expensive option. They won’t lie and tell you there isn’t, but they will neglect to volunteer the information. TheMouseForLess.com, MouseSavers.com, and the messages at DISBoards.com will let you know about current deals that Disney won’t.

Other Ticket “Discounts” & Deals

A few businesses shave a few paltry bucks off multiday tickets; see the last chapter (p. 236) for those. International visitors are eligible for tickets good for longer stays and unlimited WPF&M admissions, but only if they are purchased from abroad. At recent exchange rates, non-Americans may find it’s cheaper to buy American-issued tickets with Park Hopper options at the gate; do the math. Really big fans carry a Chase Disney Rewards Visa credit card ( 800/300-8575; www.chase.com/disney), which grants points to be redeemed on all things Disney, a few discounts, and a character meet-and-greet area just for cardholders.

Eating on Site

Theme parks worldwide thrive on excited, sugared-up children and parents who are too worn out to say “no” to such things as $9 hot dogs and $3 Cokes. At least the budget algebra is easy. The cheapest combo meals are always from counter-service restaurants (called Quick Service in Disney-speak), and adults usually pay $9 to $12, including a side but not a drink, no matter the time of day. Kids’ meals (a main dish; milk, juice, water, or soda; and a choice of two items including grapes, carrot sticks, applesauce, a cookie, or fries) always cost around $6 at Quick Service locations. If you want to sit down for waiter-service meal—character meals are always in sit-down restaurants—adults pay in the mid-teens for a lunch entree and usually over $20 a plate at dinner, before gratuity or drinks, and kids’ meals are about half as much. Disney aggressively sells a Disney Dining Plan that takes away the need to pay a bill after each meal, but which comes with a lot of rules that dictate how and where you eat each day (see the sidebar “Why You Don’t Want the Disney Dining Plan”).

No longer is it easy to simply stroll into any restaurant that catches your eye and enjoy a meal. Oversubscription to the Dining Plan has spoiled the meal experience for everyone else. It’s that simple, and that sad. For table-service meals, always make reservations ( 407/939-3463) or you are likely to be turned away.

Semihealthy options are possible on even the lowest food budget: Disney limits saturated fat and added sugar to 10 percent of a counter-service dish’s calories; no more than 30 percent of a meal’s calories or 35 percent of a snack’s calories come from fat; and juice drinks have no added sugar. Trans fats are out. One way Disney seems to have accomplished this is by reducing serving sizes—you won’t feel stuffed. Kids’ meals come with carrots, applesauce, or grapes instead of fries, and with low-fat milk, water, or 100 percent fruit juice instead of soda. (Fries and Coke are still available by request—Disney knows kids are still on vacation and deserve a treat.)

It will always be cheaper to drive off property to feed your family, but particularly at the Magic Kingdom, that’s not always possible or desirable. Consult the list of restaurants located outside the theme park gates, which starts on p. 169, but also see the sidebar, “Saving on Park Munchies,” (p. 50) for ways to shave your food budget.

Why You Don’t Want the Disney dining plan

If you book at a Disney hotel, you will be offered the credit-based Disney Dining Plan, which prepurchases many of your meals. It is extremely complicated, with all kinds of rules, exclusions, and premium versions. Lots of people cave and buy it in the name of convenience, thinking it will make everything easier, but if you are a casual Disney visitor and not using it for things like character meals, it has other costs.

It’s not cheap enough. The least expensive plan, Quick Service, has a per-day cost of $42 adults, $16 kids, and includes two counter meals and one snack (like popcorn or ice cream), plus a refillable soft drink mug you can only use at a Disney hotel ($9–$18, based on how long you’re staying). Most adult quick-service meals cost $12 to $14 per meal using cash. Even if you spent $15, simple math proves that if you stick to two counter-service meals with no plan, plus one $4 snack, you’ll spend about $34 versus $42 using the plan.

It’s inflexible. You must buy the plan for every night you stay at the hotel even though you may be exploring off of Disney property for parts of your vacation. You are not permitted buy fewer days than your star. And everyone in your group must be on it. Having spent all that money, you’ll feel welded to Disney property (which suits Disney but restricts you). Also, some menu items and food locations are excluded. Only those marked with the DDP logo count.

It costs time. The forced use of sit-down restaurants clogs reservations months ahead of time. You’ll have to do hours of advance planning and stick to a schedule. And table service eats more time than grabbing meals to go would.

It’s impractical. The basic plan ($61 adult, $19 kids, per night) buys the equivalent of one sit-down meal, one Quick Service meal, and a snack. If you want all three meals covered, you’re looking at $110 adult/$30 kids each night. Few first-time visitors want that much daily table service at a theme park. Yet the plan has you doing that unless you use it for breakfast and buy dinner in cash.

It’s not any easier. You can pay using cash or a room key as quickly as using plan points. You must also make reservations with or without a plan.

It’s incomplete. The plan doesn’t include appetizers, tips (unless your party is six or more, in which case there’s a mandatory 18 percent tip), alcoholic beverages, souvenir cups, and don’t forget the basic plan also leaves out that third daily meal that you’ll have to pay for.

It wastes. Because it begins on the day you arrive, you’re bound to leave with some unused credits, resulting in a loss.

Well, then, who is the Disney Dining Plan for? For one, people who never intend to leave Disney property at all during their vacations—is that you? It’s also a boon if you get it for free as part of a vacation package, which happens during some sale periods.

Navigating Disney’s Parks

In summer and during other holidays, it’s wise to get to the front gates of the park about 30 minutes ahead of opening, partly because you can waltz right onto a marquee ride that way. Try not to leave any park as it closes, when crowds surge and waits for the parking tram become burdensome. Instead, depart early or linger awhile in the shops, which will be open a bit longer than everything else.

PARKING    Each park has its own parking lot ($17 a day; free for Disney hotel guests and annual passholders). As you drive in, attendants will direct you to fill the next available spot. This is probably the most dangerous part of your day, as the people around you will be distracted and you’re at risk of hitting an excited child or knocking off an open car door—take it slow. Parking lanes are numbered and given names; at the very least, remember your number. Don’t stress out if your row is a high number; at Epcot, for example, the front row is 27. (Tip for remembering where you parked: Open your phone’s mapping app, zoom in, and stick a pin in your location. If you still forget, at least remember what time you arrived; Disney tracks which sections are being filled minute by minute.) You’ll board one of the noisy trams (fold strollers during the wait), which haul you to the ticketing area. At the Magic Kingdom, you still must take either the monorail or a ferryboat to the front gates, but at the other parks, the tram lets you off near the doorstep.

SECURITY    Guests with bags larger than a small purse must queue at a checkpoint where they will open them for park security to probe with a stick. If you are not carrying a bag, there will be a faster entry portal for you.

TURNSTILES    To validate your ticket (see the box on MagicBands, p. 35), you must place a finger on a clear plate. That fingerprint is “married” to your ticket so that you can’t share it with anyone else. Disney swears your personal information is eventually expunged from the system, but what it doesn’t publicize is that if you do not wish for your fingerprint to be scanned, you may use standard identification instead, right there at the gate.

ORIENTATION    Once you get inside the gates at all the parks, be sure to grab two free things that are kept in conspicuous racks: a “Guidemap” and a “Times Guide” listing the day’s schedule (Animal Kingdom also has an Animal Guide). If you forget, you can pick both up at any shop or at the park’s tip board, which is a roundup of wait times found a short walk into all the parks (they’re marked on the maps). Also, cast members carry full schedules (it’s called the “Tell-A-Cast”), or you can ask at the park’s Guest Relations desk (marked on the maps, always near the front; Guest Services, outside the gates, is mostly for ticket issues). The estimated wait time for any attraction is posted where its line begins; this number is accurate, although Disney often pads it by 5 minutes to give guests the sense of exceeded expectations.

HEIGHT RESTRICTIONS    They’re on the maps. Take them seriously. They are always enforced. At Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Mission Space, and a few other major rides, kids who are sized out may be offered a card entitling them to jump to the head of the line when they finally grow tall enough. (At Space Mountain, it dubs them a “Mousetronaut,” at Splash Mountain, a “Future Splash Mountaineer.”) Do not fill in the date yourself; that’s for the ride attendant to validate on the day you return.

FOOD    Gone are the days when you could amble blithely and decide on a whim to have a table-service dinner wherever your fancy took you. The Disney Dining Plan (p. 23) wrecked that. Now you must plan ahead by racking up Advance Dining Reservations, called ADRs, or risk waiting for cancellations that may not materialize. Having a reservation does not mean you will sit down at that time. There is frequently a wait anyway. If you have no reservations, you’ll be eating from counter service spots.

Breakfast ends around 10:30am, and lunch service generally goes from 11:30am to 2:30 or 3pm. Prices for buffets and character meals shift according to the day of the week and time of year. Counter service locations, which Disney calls Quick Service, do not require reservations, and their listings can be found with each theme park’s chapter. To avoid lines, eat between 10:30am and noon (lunch) and 4 and 5pm (dinner). Kids under 3 may eat without charge from an adult’s plate, and high chair and booster seats are readily available.

   How FASTPASS+ Works Now

Your ticket entitles you to Fastpass+ (technically, it’s in all caps), which permits anyone to obtain a timed entry ticket to three attractions a day. You scan your ticket card or MagicBand to check in at the appointed hour, bypassing the main line and cutting out lots of waiting time. Until 2014, you obtained paper Fastpasses in person at each attraction. Now it’s a whole lot more complicated and it will require you to do some work ahead of time. Disney’s always tweaking the rules, but here’s the gist:

Before you arrive at the park (60 days ahead for guests of Disney-run hotels, 30 days ahead for day visitors and non-Disney hotel guests), you may book up to three Fastpasses for each day you’re touring as long as you have purchased tickets first. (Note that if your WDW hotel isn’t linked to your park tickets, you can only book 30 days ahead.) To schedule them, you must register your name, birthday, and tickets on the Disney website or the free My Disney Experience app (MDX). After you tell the system what you’d like to do, it comes up with a few options for timing your Fastpasses, usually spread throughout the day and of varying popularity. After you accept one of its plans, you may go back and individually revise each reservation—I recommend moving them toward the first part of the day, because you may not obtain any more Fastpasses until they’re all used up. You can’t Fastpass the parade, but you can create a spot for it in your day’s schedule. Once you’re at the park, you’ll find scattered stations where iPad-bearing cast members help you create a Fastpass plan (if you haven’t been able to yet), revise it, or add more Fastpasses after your original allotment is used. There are often lines for help.

Some die-hard Disney fans like Fastpass+ because it gives them a refined way to game the system. But if you’re a casual visitor, Fastpass+ has grave flaws that have junked up the Disney experience. It forces new visitors to pre-research attractions so much that when they finally arrive, the sense of unfolding surprise and spontaneity is spoiled. The system also turns day visitors into second-class customers since Disney hotel guests get the jump on booking times; it’s not uncommon for the best rides to run out of Fastpasses by the time day visitors start their planning. Inside the parks, guests spend their days hunched over mobile phones consulting MDX, anxiously checking the progress of their predetermined schedules. The in-park help stations have also added yet more lines where they were never designed to be any. Last, it used to be that only the major rides and shows were Fastpass-enabled, but now, Fastpasses are issued for attractions that are never crowded anyway. Use this guide to determine what’s worth Fastpassing. But please—don’t succumb to the temptation to get obsessive about planning.

What the Basics cost at All Four Disney Parks

Parking: $17 (waived for guests of Disney hotels)

Lockers: $7 per day (multi-entry)

Regular soda: $3 / Small water: $2.50 / Cup of beer: $6.25

ECV (electric convenience vehicle): $50 per day

Single strollers: $15 per day *

Double strollers: $31 per day *

Wheelchair: $12 per day *

Stroller, wheelchair, and ECV rental fee includes multiple park visits on the same day.

*Subject to discounts of $2–$4 if you prepay for the length of your stay.

Optional Park Services    As you roam, roving photographers may ask to take your picture. They’re here for convenience, not value. Let them snap away; you won’t pay anything if you don’t want to. They will give you a PhotoPass (mydisneyphotopass.disney.go.com) Web account that allows you to check your shots out later and order prints (or ornaments, albums, mugs, mouse pads—you name it) if you fall in love with them. Sometimes, they can enhance the picture with fun special effects, such as Tinker Bell flying from your child’s hands. You’ll have 30 days to make your decisions. Only when you decide to buy does money change hands. Buying costs much, much more than it would cost you to make them yourself: 5×7s are $13, 8×10s are $17, two 4×6s are $15, plus shipping and so forth. But now and then, you’ll find an occasion that you think is worth the expense, and the Disney photographers are excellent at what they do. PhotoPass is separate from those hilarious pictures taken on board rides, which are available to purchase (from $17) after you get off. Prices for those are similar, but you may purchase those right away. For $50, you can buy the Attractions plan, which allows you to download some of your ride photos later (you still have to check in after each ride so your pass can be married to your image). Spend $200 ($150 if you buy at least 3 days ahead of arrival) on Memory Maker and you can download all your photos, including restaurant and photos on some major rides (not standard with the PhotoPass without this purchase), as many times as you like for a month. Discs of all your images cost $169.

Guest Relations and some resorts sell Disney Dollars, a private scrip you can spend anywhere, even mixed with actual U.S. currency. These brightly colored notes (in declining use) are fun to use, but too often, people bring them home as souvenirs, which is an abject waste of money. There are some clever ways to use them to your advantage—say, by giving your kids $15 worth, and not a dollar more, as an allowance. My favorite trick: Instead of getting a cash advance from an ATM with your credit card, which racks up banking fees, buy Disney Dollars instead. They’re charged as a purchase (up to $50 a day), incurring no fees.

You can send cumbersome souvenirs to the pick-up desk by the park gates, but delivery will take 3 to 5 hours. You can also send them to your Disney resort room. You should make your purchase before noon to receive it the next day. If you make it later, be staying for at least another 2 nights or you could miss the delivery.

The Magic Kingdom

The most-visited theme park in the world (18.6 million visitors in 2013), the Magic Kingdom , opened on October 1, 1971, and is more than twice as large as the original Disneyland in Anaheim, California. Of the four parks in Walt Disney World, the Magic Kingdom is the one most people envision: Castle, Main Street, Space Mountain. It’s also the first one tourists visit.

The park almost always opens (the “rope drop”) about 15 minutes before the posted opening time, when there’s a cute musical show in the train station above the entry plaza. Characters sing “Good Mornin’” while Mickey and his pals arrive by train to greet them and open the park for the day. Closing time (often preceded by a 10-min. fireworks show) varies, usually from 7 to midnight. Hours change almost daily.

Keep your ticket card/room key/MagicBand safe. You’ll need it throughout the day.

GETTING IN    The proof that you’re about to experience a fantasy realm comes in the effort required to enter it. Designers wanted arrival to be a big to-do. Many guests brave three forms of transportation before they see a single brick of Main Street. Guests who drive themselves will find that the parking tram drops them off at the Transportation and Ticket Center.

From there, a mile away, the Magic Kingdom gleams like a promise from across the man-made Seven Seas Lagoon, but you still have to take either a monorail (after a 2009 accident that killed a pilot, guests are no longer permitted to ride in the cab) or a ferryboat to the other side. Transit time is more or less equal. I recommend doing one in each direction—the gradual approach of the boat is probably the most exciting for your morning glimpses of that famous Castle, and the monorail is probably better at the end of a long day because you’ll have AC. Ferries are named for execs who helped build Disneyland and this park. For getting off quickly, I prefer the bottom deck. Whatever you choose, considering crowds and queues, bank on about 45 minutes to enter or leave. (If you’re eating at one of the monorail hotels, you’ll park for free, and the Contemporary is close enough to walk to the ticket gates. You didn’t hear it from me, but some visitors have been known to skip the parking fee this way.)

   The Best of the Magic Kingdom

Don’t miss if you’re 6: Dumbo the Flying Elephant

Don’t miss if you’re 16: Space Mountain

Requisite photo op: Cinderella Castle

Food you can only get here: LeFou’s Brew, Gaston’s Tavern, Fantasyland (p. 49); Citrus Swirl, Sunshine Tree Terrace, Adventureland (p. 49); Pineapple Float, Aloha Isle, Adventureland (p. 49).

The most crowded, so Fastpass or go early: Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Splash Mountain, Peter Pan’s Flight, the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

Skippable: Swiss Family Treehouse, Tomorrowland Speedway

Quintessentially Disney: The Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress, “it’s a small world”

Biggest thrill: Splash Mountain

Best show: Wishes fireworks

Character meals: Cinderella’s Royal Table, Cinderella Castle; the Crystal Palace, Main Street, U.S.A.

Where to find peace: The Fantasyland-to-Tomorrowland railway-side trail; the park between Liberty Square and Adventureland at the Castle; Tom Sawyer Island; the cul-de-sac south of Space Mountain

The Magic Kingdom

Upon alighting, submit your bags for a hasty inspection and go through the ticket checkpoint. Take the requisite photo at the Floral Mickey in front of the train station, where the “population” sign indicates the rough number of guests who have come here over time. Then head through the tunnels of the mansard-roof train station. There, by the right-hand tunnel, you’ll find the only place in the park to rent strollers and wheelchairs. Note the stylized paintings of the big attractions, done like old-fashioned travel posters. They are a tradition in these tunnels.

STRATEGY    If you have little kids, troop without delay to Fantasyland, because the lines get heavy there. On hot days, schedule Splash Mountain Fastpasses for the peak heat of afternoon, when you’ll need the cool-down.

Main Street, U.S.A.

Out the other side of the train station in the Town Square, you’ll be greeted by your first few costumed characters and to a full view of Cinderella Castle at the end of Main Street, U.S.A. Like the first time you see the Eiffel Tower or the Sydney Opera House, there’s something seminal—oh, help me, dare I say magical?—about laying eyes on that Castle, and it can’t help but stir feelings of gratitude. This view is as American as the Grand Canyon. There’s a lot of Disney history to absorb if you’re paying attention.

The original Main Street, U.S.A., was created as a perfected vision of Walt Disney’s fond memories of a formative period of his childhood spent in Marceline, Missouri. To impart a sense of coziness, designers built the Main Street facades at diminishing perspective as they rise. Other subtle touches: Shop windows are lower than normal to enable children to see inside, walkways are pigmented red to accentuate both unreality and safety (it alerts walkers of shifts in levels), and buildings on both sides of the street inch closer to each other as you approach the Castle, subconsciously drawing your attention forward.

There are no nonstop rides or shows on Main Street, just the park’s best souvenir shops—call it Purchaseland. The 17,000-square-foot Emporium, the largest shop in the Kingdom, takes up almost the entire street along the left, and Le Chapeau (on the right, facing the square) is one of the only places where you can sew your name onto the back of one of those iconic mouse-ear beanies ($3–$7 per cap; also available at Fantasy Faire and Storybook Circus in Fantasyland). They resist stitching nicknames. Crystal Arts may have a small glass-blowing demonstration going. In the middle of Main Street, the east side has a little side street, Center Street, for caricaturists and silhouette artists, a Disney World institution since 1971 ($8 for two copies). If you’re lucky, you’ll catch a performance by the Dapper Dans, a real barbershop quartet that ambles down the street, or you’ll be glad-handed by old Mayor Weaver, who’ll remind you the election is approaching (“pull the lever and vote for Weaver!”); otherwise, you’ll hear recorded stuff from “The Music Man.” Those songs have a pedigree—at the opening ceremony of the Magic Kingdom, Meredith Willson, who wrote “Seventy-Six Trombones,” led a 1,076-piece band up Main Street. Strategy: Main Street is the only way in or out of the park, which fosters a sense of suspense, but just as surely creates bottlenecks at parade time. If you need to leave the park then, cut through the Emporium. A variety of free Main Street vehicles trundle up the road at odd hours and on odd days (you never know when) and you can catch a one-way ride on one: They include horse-drawn trolley cars—they wrap up by 1pm as not to overheat the animals—antique cars, jitneys, and a fire truck. They won’t save time, of course, but you’ll remember them forever. Pause at the end of Main Street, where the Plaza begins, for that snapshot of a lifetime in front of the 189-foot-tall Cinderella Castle. You have now essentially passed through three thresholds—the lagoon, the train tunnel, and Main Street, U.S.A.—that were designed to gently ease you into a world of fantasy. You have arrived. Welcome to Disney World! (Whew!)

Walt Disney World Railroad RIDE    The prominence of a railway is no accident; the concept of Disneyland grew out of Walt’s wish to build a train park across the street from his Burbank studios. The train, which runs all day, takes about 25 minutes and encircles the park, ducking through Splash Mountain (you’ll see its two-story riverboat through a window), stopping first in Frontierland and then passing through apparent wilderness to Fantasyland before returning here. The best seats are on the right, and you can go around as many times as you want without getting off. You’ll see a few robotic dioramas of Indian encampments and wild animals, and also some backstage areas—following the tunnel after the Main Street station (it’s the passage through the Pirates of the Caribbean show building), the train crosses a road; look right to find the yellow line painted on the ground. This is the border that tells cast members when they’re out of view and can safely come out of character.

Guest services cluster around the square. To the left of the park is City Hall. If you forgot to make reservations for sit-down meals or schedule other activities, this is the place for that. Out front, a cast member mans a street cart full of free badges for guests who are having a birthday, visiting for the first time, having an anniversary or a family reunion, or just celebrating something. Ask for a badge and you’ll receive bigger smiles (and maybe treats) all day.

A few people attend the daily flag retreat ceremony here at 5pm—no characters, just a brass band (the Main Street Philharmonic) and a member of the military or veteran selected from the guests—sometimes it works to volunteer at City Hall right after opening. Many guests find the ritual moving.

Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom ACTIVITY    In the Fire Station (Engine Co. 71, after the year the park opened) you’ll find the Recruiting Station for Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom, an innovative scavenger hunt-type adventure that relies on hidden sensors and advanced camera recognition technology. You can play it for 20 minutes as you explore the park or, like some people do, keep going for hours. In this firehouse, you’re given a card with a key printed on it, and when you hold it to a special Magic Portal, it comes alive with a short briefing video asking for your help in thwarting villains. From there, you’re given a free pack of 5 daily “spell cards” typed to Disney characters (Pinocchio’s Sawdust Blast, Bolt’s Super Bark), and a map to locations of Magic Portals spread throughout the park in shop windows, quiet corners, and so on. Each Portal senses where you are in the game, and when you hold up a spell card—the extent of the game’s degree of difficulty—it senses that, too, and your spell amusingly beats back the villains (it’s fun to watch, say, portly Governor Ratcliffe from “Pocahontas” get swamped by posies from Flower from “Bambi”). Some 95 minutes of new animation, using many of the original voice talent, was created for this adventure, and computers send players off on different paths chasing different villains, so Portal waits are short. There are 70 available spell cards in all, but if you pick some up, you must activate them or you won’t be given more on your next day’s visit. Although it is undoubtedly cool, it’s something best enjoyed after you have enjoyed everything else in the park. You’d hate to miss something iconic for it.

   Remembering Roy Disney

If Walt was the man with the dream, brother Roy was the guy with the checkbook. He repeatedly staved off bankruptcy and found money for Walt’s crazy ideas, from cartoon shorts to full features to, finally, Disneyland. Although Walt died in 1966, before he could finish his so-called “Florida Project,” Roy made it to the opening day, and he renamed it Walt Disney World in tribute. Having seen it through, he died only 3 months later. His statue is seated with Minnie Mouse in the middle of the square behind the flagpole, where he welcomes guests to Main Street in perpetuity.

Magic Kingdom: One Day, Three Ways

Magic Kingdom with Kids under 8

MAGIC KINGDOM WITH KIDS UNDER 8

Head to Fantasyland. Schedule a Fastpass for one of these busy rides to ease waits later: Peter Pan’s Flight, Journey of the Little Mermaid, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, or the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.

Ride Peter Pan’s Flight.

Do Enchanted Tales with Belle.

Ride in this order: Journey of the Little Mermaid, Dumbo the Flying Elephant (omit if your kids don’t care), the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, “it’s a small world.”

Visit Pete’s Silly Sideshow to meet Minnie or Goofy.

OR

Take the train from New Fantasyland to Main Street U.S.A. to meet Mickey at Town Square Theater.

Cross to Adventureland. Do Magic Carpets of Aladdin if you feel the urge. Enjoy a Dole Whip at Aloha Isle or a Citrus Swirl at Sunshine Tree Terrace. Ride Pirates of the Caribbean and the Jungle Cruise.

It may be hot by now, so if there’s patience among your party, see these two neighboring indoor shows: the Enchanted Tiki Room and the Country Bear Jamboree.

See the midafternoon parade from Frontierland or on Main Street, U.S.A.

At this point, littler ones may need to leave the park for a break.

Get to Tomorrowland via Fantasyland, and watch Mickey’s PhilharMagic, and (time permitting) meet the princesses at Fairytale Hall.

In Tomorrowland, ride Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin.

Ride the Speedway if your child meets the height requirement.

It’s evening. If your kids are willing, ride the Haunted Mansion.

If there’s time, hit rides you missed (perhaps the Carrousel and Astro Orbiter).

Watch the Main Street Electrical Parade, ride something you missed, and see the fireworks before departing.

MAGIC KINGDOM WITH TEENS

Make sure you have a Fastpass for Splash Mountain for early afternoon.

Ride Big Thunder Mountain Railway.

In Adventureland, ride Pirates of the Caribbean and Jungle Cruise. Enjoy a Dole Whip at Aloha Isle or a Citrus Swirl at Sunshine Tree Terrace.

Cross the park via Fantasyland (ideally, have a Fastpass for either Peter Pan’s Flight or the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train) to Tomorrowland and ride Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin.

Secondary option: See Monster’s Inc. Laugh Floor (it’s indoors and you’ll be seated).

Go to Fantasyland for the Mad Tea Party, Mickey’s PhilharMagic, and any rides that catch your fancy. You’ll be getting hot and tired about now, so something like “it’s a small world” might hit the spot.

Around the corner, ride the Haunted Mansion.

Take the raft to Tom Sawyer Island, where the kids can have free reign and, upon returning, shoot a few rounds at the Frontierland Shootin’ Arcade or maybe do a lap on the riverboat. (They close at dusk.)

Ride the train from Frontierland to Main Street, U.S.A.

See the parade and fireworks from Main Street, U.S.A., or in front of the Castle.

OR

If the parade isn’t of interest, pick rides anywhere except in Adventureland to re-ride or try. Lines will be dramatically shorter during the parade.

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START: BE AT THE GATE 20 MINUTES BEFORE OPENING TIME.

Grab food at a counter restaurant when it’s convenient to you—but having lunch at 11am saves time.

Obtain the must-have Fastpasses where indicated, but using additional ones will speed the day. If your kids want to meet characters, it’s vital to use Fastpass for character meet-and-greet venues.

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MAGIC KINGDOM WITH NO KIDS AT ALL

Schedule a Fastpass for one of these rides within 90 minutes of opening: Peter Pan’s Flight, Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.

Head to Fantasyland and ride Peter Pan’s Flight, “it’s a small world,” and the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. That’ll put you in the mood.

Head to Frontierland and ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Have a Fastpass for early afternoon for Splash Mountain, or if it’s warm, ride it now.

In Adventureland, ride Pirates of the Caribbean and Jungle Cruise.

Go Old School: See the Enchanted Tiki Room or the Country Bears Jamboree.

Get out of Adventureland before the midafternoon parade starts; it cuts the land off from the rest of the park.

Ride the Haunted Mansion. Repeat until spooked (or cooled off if it’s hot outside).

Stay indoors by seeing Mickey’s PhilharMagic.

Head to Tomorrowland and ride Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin and Space Mountain. Or get your fill of cheese at the Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress.

You’re probably getting a little tired by now, so sit down and enjoy the Tomorrowland Transit Authority.

Walk to New Fantasyland and take time to explore.

Enjoy the parade.

OR

If you have rides you missed or you’d like to repeat, the parade is a prime time for that, but don’t miss the fireworks just after.

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   Windows on Disney Legends Past

Notice the names painted on the windows of the upper floors along Main Street. Each one represents a high-ranking Disney employee who helped build or run the park. Several, such as the one for Reedy Creek Ranch Lands, are winks at the dummy companies Walt Disney set up in the ’60s so that he could buy cheap swampland without tipping off landowners to his purpose. Everyone’s window relates in some way to his or her life’s work. Walt Disney gets two windows: the first one, on the train station facing outside the park, and the last, above the Plaza restaurant facing the Castle; designers liken the first-and-last billing to the opening credits of a movie. Notice that former CEO Michael Eisner did not get a window.

Harmony Barber Shop ACTIVITY    The one-room shop on the square (haircuts: $19 adults, $15 kids 12 and under) trims some 350 pates a week and does special requests, such as shaving a Mickey onto scalps or combing in clear gel with either “Pixie Dust” or “Pirate Dust” (ssh—it’s the same thing, $5). It’s expert at first haircuts, which come with a baby mouse ears cap reading “My First Haircut,” a Certificate of Bravery, and wrappings of your child’s first trimmings for posterity ($18).

Town Square Theater CHARACTER GREETING    Beat the heat here, at two character meet-and-greet areas. On the right, meet Mickey Mouse dressed as a magician, and on the left, meet a selection of other characters (the cameos of the three that are available right now are pictured on the wait time sign). This building is slightly larger than the others on Main Street because it was designed to block anachronistic sightings of the original wing of the Contemporary Hotel.

Cinderella Castle LANDMARK    To the left as you face this icon, across from Casey’s Corner, is the tip board listing current wait times at all the major attractions, plus the schedule for parades and fireworks. The circular area before the castle, known as “the Hub,” is home to “Partners,” the statue of Walt and Mickey by the great Disney sculptor Blaine Gibson, ringed by attending statues of supporting characters; a clone stands in Disneyland.

Now look at the Castle. No two Disney castles are identical; the one in California, Sleeping Beauty Castle (notice that neither castle’s name has a possessive ’s), is about half as tall as this. The skin of this one, it’s strange to learn, is made not of stone but of fiberglass and plastic. The story there is that WDW’s builders, who based its profile on an amalgam of French castles, implored local lawmakers to let them try something experimental, and the structure, buttressed with steel and concrete, has survived decades of hurricanes and baking heat. Look at its top. Bricks there are sized smaller to give a sense of distance, and even the handrails are just 2 feet tall to make the spires seem higher. Within the breezeways (closed during shows on the forecourt), don’t miss the five expressive mosaics of hand-cut glass depicting the story of the glass slipper. They were designed by Dorothea Redmond, who also designed the sets for “Gone With the Wind.” Over each entrance, you’ll see the Disney family coat of arms. Genealogists contest whether they’re correct, but there is unintended accuracy here unbeknownst to Walt: His ancestor was imprisoned in a castle. Researchers recently found graffiti left by Disney’s English ancestor Edward Disney when he was imprisoned in Warwick Castle in 1642 for defending King Charles I. He survived. (Amusingly, that castle is now run by Disney competitor Merlin Entertainments, which runs Legoland.) Look for a wire that connects the Castle with a building in Tomorrowland; during the nightly fireworks, as she has done since 1985, that homicidal pixie Tinker Bell zips down the line, flying 750 feet at 15mph. There is no ride inside the Castle, but there is a massively popular restaurant, Cinderella’s Royal Table, and a sole overnight VIP suite, once an office for phone operators. Thirty-five feet beneath the Castle, Walt Disney himself is kept cryogenically frozen, awaiting eventual re-animation in a steel-lined, temperature-controlled chamber. (I’m just kidding about that. He was definitely cremated and is buried in Glendale, California, with his family.)

The MagicBand revolution

Disney paid a reported $1 billion (at the expense of new attraction construction) to develop a controversial guest identification system. It’s called MagicBand, the waterproof, removable bracelet that monitors your stay. They contain two types of embedded radio frequency transmitters that enable both short-range and long-range tracking. When you book a package for a Disney hotel, you are mailed MagicBands in preparation of your stay. If you’re not staying at a Disney hotel, you can buy one for $13 at Disney shops and have it linked to your ticket by the sales clerk

Here’s what MagicBand does:

Stores your ticket info to get you through turnstiles. Touch it to a lollipop-like scanner for entry, paired with your fingerprint for positive identification.

Records reservations for Fastpass, Disney’s Magical Express, and dining. (The expanded capability of the bracelets is technically called MyMagic+.)

Records PhotoPass details. Scan it with photographers and at post-ride photo kiosks to add new pictures to your portfolio.

Allows Disney resort guests to make purchases (with a PIN; day visitors cannot) and open hotel room doors by holding the band over a scanning point.

Allows Disney Parks to track your movements. The park claims it will use this to adjust your experience, although it is not forthcoming about precisely how.

Record adjustments to your plans using the free My Disney Experience smartphone app (Android or iPhone only), which relays the status of your reservations to your bracelet and sends you smartphone notifications if something changes. There’s free Wi-Fi in the parks to enable this.

Allows you to link your plans with those of friends and family.

There are six sassy colors from which to choose, plus a growing array of charms and accessories—available at a price, of course.

To use its benefits, you must register personal details, including your address and date of birth, with the Disney system. For this reason, the new technology has been plagued with privacy controversies, including from Washington when Congressman, now Senator, Ed Markey, lashed out at Disney for the scheme. Disney swears personal information is not encoded in the MagicBands by saying, “The MagicBand and card contain only a randomly assigned code that securely links to an encrypted database and are configured to not store any other information about you.” (Read more of its explanations at www.mydisneyexperience.com.)

If you have concerns, you may decline a MagicBand or simply not buy one; you will be given a plastic card that only contains a passive radio transmitter chip that’s used to tap for entry but cannot be used to track your movements around the parks. You may not simply buy a paper ticket anymore.

If you possess a MagicBand, brace yourself for the overspending potential of tapping a bracelet rather than taking out a wallet. Your weak willpower is a big reason the company decided it was worth sinking $1 billion into this.

Dream Along with Mickey SHOW    The chief Disney characters star in a 20-minute floor show in the Castle forecourt capped by a few fireworks explosions. See the “Times Guide” or the schedule posted by the stage. It’s hot, but the character costumes are extremely cool, having been mechanized so mouths open and close to the dialogue. Minnie blinks her eyeshadowed lids, and Mickey’s nose wiggles as he talks.

Adventureland

As you enter Adventureland from the Plaza (a transition made less jarring by the Victorian greenhouse of the Crystal Palace restaurant), notice how the music gradually changes from the perky pluck of Main Street to the rhythms of Adventureland. Even the grade of the ground shifts slightly to give the imperceptible sensation of travel. Such undetectable shifts in drama are integral to the Disney method of park design.

Swiss Family Treehouse ACTIVITY    The Swiss who? You’re forgiven if you don’t know “The Swiss Family Robinson” (1960), about a shipwrecked clan that survives using salvage, and you’re also forgiven if you lack the will to take 15 minutes to clamber up the 61 stairs and catwalks to inspect the ingenuity of their arboreal island home. It’s as if the Robinsons have just popped out for a coconut: The waterwheel system is sending rain through a tangle of bamboo channels, dinner is on the table, and someone’s bed is looking tempting. The tree is made of concrete and steel, and its 330,000 plastic leaves were attached by hand. Try doing this one at night, when you can enjoy the flicker of the lanterns and faint chatter of tourists far below.

Jungle Cruise RIDE    The delightful, G-rated excursion was one of the world’s first rides based on a movie. The slow-going boat tour was created for Disneyland’s 1955 opening to capitalize on the True-Life Adventures nature films. Like so many of Walt Disney’s ideas, the 9-minute trip was intended to give guests a whirlwind tour of the planet’s wonders. The ride no longer strives to teach you anything, hence vague descriptions of locals as “the natives” and a religious ruin identified as the Shirley Temple—great for kids, but not what you’d call documentary. This is the ride where over a dozen Indian elephants wash together in a pool, one of the seminal spectacles of a Disney visit. The jokes are unabashedly Eisenhower-era: Near the gorillas, you’re told, “If you’re wearing anything yellow, try not to make banana noises.” In 1971, the “New York Times” sniffed that what distressed it about the Jungle Cruise was “the squandering of so much effort and technical ingenuity on cheap tricks and an inane script.” Lighten up, Grey Lady; it’s a goof! Boats are safely guided by paddles that slot into a narrow channel in the stream. The water is dyed to keep you from spotting that. Seats in the middle are often exposed to the harsh sunlight. Strategy: Dinnertime seems to be a sweet spot for thinner crowds, and riding in the dark adds a lot.

classic Disney

Disney is always evolving, just as Walt intended it, but if the company were to alter these mainstays, it would be like desecrating pop culture itself. These core attractions are the Disney that Walt knew, as comforting as cookies and warm milk:

The Monorail

Dumbo the Flying Elephant, Fantasyland

Peter Pan’s Flight, Fantasyland

“it’s a small world,” Fantasyland

Walt Disney World Railroad, Fantasyland, Frontierland, Main Street U.S.A.

Pirates of the Caribbean, Adventureland

Jungle Cruise, Adventureland

The Enchanted Tiki Room, Adventureland

Country Bear Jamboree, Frontierland

Tom Sawyer Island, Frontierland

Liberty Square Riverboat, Liberty Square

Haunted Mansion, Liberty Square

Tomorrowland Speedway, Tomorrowland

Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress, Tomorrowland

Tomorrowland Transit Authority, Tomorrowland.

Main Street, U.S.A.—Don’t forget to stitch your name on a Mickey cap at Le Chapeau, Mouseketeer!

Magic Carpets of Aladdin RIDE    Cars raise and lower on metal arms as they go round and round. It’s a less-crowded alternative to Fantasyland’s Dumbo, but unlike Dumbo, a family of four can ride—there are two rows of seats on each “carpet.” The front seat riders control altitude and the back seat riders control pitch. One of the golden camels on the sidelines spits a thin stream of water. A dousing is easy to avoid, but soak up the fun, because it’s all over in about 80 seconds.

Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room SHOW    In the 1950s, Walt Disney developed a godlike obsession with developing robots to replace living actors, and as a first stab at lifelike technology, he had his staff create a little mechanical bird. The germ of this precious show, which takes 10 minutes, is the direct result—birds sang the catchy “In the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Room.” To 1963 crowds, it was the electrifying future, and today’s it’s merely endearing. Guests sit in the round, on benches, in an air-chilled Polynesian room and watch the ceiling and walls come alive with chattering, bickering, singing birds that fit several national stereotypes, plus animated flowers and magically singing totem poles, followed by a pleasing mist and rain outside the windows. When you’re in the waiting area, the lines to the right, near the waterfall, enable you to see a little more action. Though the roof looks like old straw, it’s actually shredded aluminum. Tip: The goliath tiki statues located across the walkway are equipped to squirt water on squealing children on hot days.

Pirates of the Caribbean RIDE    Housed in a tiled-roof building based on Castillo de San Felipe del Morro in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Disney’s technological prowess as of the 1960s is showcased here at its most whimsical. I call this indoor boat float the quintessential Disney ride, so it’s probably no coincidence that it was the last Disneyland attraction Walt had a hand in designing, even though he originally conceived it as a walk-through wax museum. With 65 Audio-Animatronic figures in motion, the more you ride, the more you see: the pirate whose errant gunshot ricochets off a metal sign across the room, the whoosh of compressed air when a cannonball is fired, and the sumptuous theatrical lighting that makes everything look as if has been imported from Jamaica. If you saw the Johnny Depp movies of the same name, you’ll see a few familiar scenes, including a slapstick sacking of an island port, a cannonball fight, and much drunken chicanery from ruddy-cheeked buccaneers. (Unsavory? Hey, even Captain Hook was obsessed with murdering a small boy.) There’s a short, pitch-black drop near the beginning but you don’t get wet—the concept, which you’d never grasp unless I told you, is that you’re going back in time to see what killed some skeletons you pass in the very first scene. Near the end of the 9-minute journey, there’s usually a pileup of boats waiting to disembark, which supplies more time to admire the pièce de résistance: A brilliantly lifelike Captain Jack Sparrow, having outlived his compatriots, is counting his treasure. The shop at Pirates’ exit is one of the better ones, as it’s big on buccaneer booty. Plastic hooks to cover your hand cost just $3, and a plastic cutlass is $7. The Pirates League salon (reservations:  407/939-2739) gives pirate makeovers (temporary tattoos, stubble) to kids from $30. It’ll also do empresses and mermaids for $43. On the stage across the lane, catch the intermittent Captain Jack Sparrow’s Pirate Tutorial, where a few volunteer children are taught by Sparrow (wobbly drunk, bleary with mascara) to parry with a Smee-like sidekick using a harmless, floppy sword—and then flee.

   Reign On, Parade

One of the tent poles of a day at the Magic Kingdom is the parade. Each one (and there different versions in daytime, after dark, and for holiday parties) is quite the memorable production, with dozens of dancers and characters and up to a dozen lavish floats. The daytime Festival of Fantasy Parade, devoted to characters who might live in Fantasyland, was the new addition of 2014, but the glittering, after-dark Main Street Electrical Parade has been a favorite for generations. Parades generally go at 3pm and just after dusk, although times for the evening parade vary, and they last for less than 15 minutes. While Main Street (especially its train station) has excellent viewpoints, I prefer to catch the parade from the western edge of Frontierland, where I’m closer to rides. Tips: If you want to catch only one, see the second one of the day, which is generally cooler and less crowded. During parades, the lines for many kiddie rides (especially those in Fantasyland) may thin out. Once it ends, attractions nearest the route tend to be inundated with bodies. Also, the route is essentially impassible from 5 minute before until just afterward, so don’t get trapped in Adventureland during one.

A Pirate’s Adventure: Treasures of the Seven Seas ACTIVITY    The success of Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom inspired the Summer 2013 installation of this Adventureland-only scavenger hunt, which begins in this shack. Using one of five maps and a pentagon-shaped talisman card, you find stations in order and activate them. One might reveal a pearl in a giant oyster, another fires a cannon, a third triggers a battle between two ships in a bottle, sinking one. It takes about 15 minutes and requires no skill.

Frontierland

When Disneyland was built in 1955, America had cowboy fever, and every young boy wore a Davy Crockett coonskin cap sold to them by Walt Disney’s program on ABC. It was in this spirit that Frontierland was conceived.

Splash Mountain RIDE    Part flume and part indoor “dark ride,” it’s preposterously fun, justifiably packed all the time, and proof of what Disney can do when its creative (and budgetary) engines are firing on all cylinders. You track the Br’er Rabbit character through some Deep South sets and down several plunges in Chick-a-Pin Hill—the most dramatic drop, five stories at 40mph (faster than Space Mountain), is plainly visible from the outside. You will get wet, especially from the shoulders up and particularly in the front seats, but are not likely to get soaked because boats plow most of the water out of the way. I never tire of this 11-minute journey because it’s so full of surprises, including room after room of animated characters (as many as Pirates has), seven drops large and small, a course that takes you indoors and out, and some perfectly executed theming that begins with the gorgeous outdoor courtyard queue strung with mismatched lanterns at many heights. You’ll see Chip ’n’ Dale’s houses there, and hear them chatter to each other from within. Strategy: Get a Fastpass early for this one, as it’s deservedly one of the most adored rides on the planet. The line can as much as double when things get steamy. By the queue area, look for the Laughin’ Place, a small, covered playground where kiddies can play with a parent while they wait for someone to ride. If your kid is too short to ride, cast members usually dispense free “Future Splash Mountaineer” cards that go a long way toward drying tears.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad RIDE    Here we have another Disney thrill mountain, a 2.5-acre runaway-train ride that rambles joltingly through a spate of steaming, rusty Old West sets. Consider it the closest thing to a standard adult coaster in the Magic Kingdom, although it’s really just a good time and not something that will make you dizzy or scared. Top speeds hit only 30mph, and there are no loops and no giant drops, but expect lots of circles and jiggles and humps. Listen carefully for the voice of the old prospector in the boarding area; generations of American kids have imitated him as he warns, “This here’s the wildest ride in the wilderness!” Tips: Seats in the back give a slightly wilder ride because front cars spend a lot of time waiting for the rear cars to clear the hills. Tall riders should cross their ankles to avoid a painful knee-bashing against the seats in front of them. Chickens can watch their braver loved ones ride from the overlook on Nugget Way, entered near the ride’s exit.

Walt Disney World Railroad, Frontierland Station RIDE    Between Splash and Big Thunder mountains is a stop for the trains, which are pulled by one of four steam engines built between 1916 and 1928 and operated in the Yucatan before coming here. They take you to Fantasyland, then the foot of Main Street, and back here in 20 minutes.

   Splash Mountain’s Uncomfortable Origin

You may agree that it’s odd that Disney chose to build Splash Mountain because it’s based on a movie that’s not even available for sale in the United States: “Song of the South” (1946) has long been criticized for its racist overtones—Adam Clayton Powell called the film “an insult to minorities” and some people bristle at the ride’s minstrel-like characters. Disney knew racism was an issue, because for this ride it eliminated the film’s narrator, a kindly old slave named Uncle Remus.

Tom Sawyer Island ACTIVITY    Across Rivers of America, you’ll find place to roam the step-free Old Scratch’s Mystery Mine without a guide, cross wooden suspension bridges, and pretend to defend Fort Langhorn with rifles rigged with weak recordings of gunfire. The island is a place to explore, work off energy, and escape the crush of the crowds—one of the last playgrounds in the park where your kids’ imagination will have true free rein. You can reach it only by taking the platform boats that leave from the vicinity of Big Thunder Mountain. Tips: Don’t be in a hurry, because you’ll wait for the pontoon in both directions. They only fit 50 passengers at a time and you have to stand in the sun, so it helps to have decent balance. The island closes at dusk. There is an ice cream-and-soda stand there, Aunt Polly’s, but it’s rarely open; sit on its porch and watch the Liberty Belle and Haunted Mansion across the water. You’ll find water fountains and washrooms but overall it’s pretty rustic.

Country Bear Jamboree SHOW    An opening-day attraction, one of the last to survive, the Jamboree is a 10-minute vaudeville-style revue that, at one moment, has 18 Audio-Animatronic bears, a raccoon, and a buffalo head singing country music together. Some kids, particularly pre-Ks, are enthralled by the dopey-looking robots, which appear for a verse or two of a saloon song, and then are retracted away. Other kids, and many adults, are powerfully bored. It’s nice to sit, but don’t wait more than 20 minutes for it unless you’re hankerin’ to see a vintage Disney museum piece.

Frontierland Shootin’ Arcade ACTIVITY    A simpler activity built from a common 1950s conceit: Fire laser sights at an Old West diorama rigged with plenty of amusing gags. Bull’s-eyes spring crooks from tiny jails, activate runaway mine carts, and coax skeletons from their Boot Hill graves. The $1 price buys 35 “shots,” enough for a good shooter to trigger most of the tricks.

Liberty Square

Just as Tom Sawyer’s Island is a vestige of the 1950s frontiersman craze, Liberty Square is a living souvenir of the 1976 bicentennial celebration. Check out the replica of the real Liberty Bell, under the Liberty Tree. This is a ringer in both senses; it’s a copy cast by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry in London, which made the original. Such authentic touches abound: The Liberty Tree, strung with 13 lanterns to signify the 13 colonies, is actually two trees, transplanted from elsewhere on Disney property, partially filled with concrete, and grafted together: a pretty Frankentree. Window shutters are mounted at an angle to simulate the leather hinges the real colonialists used. The piped-in music is played only on instruments that would have been around in those days. And guess what colors the flowers are?

   Catch a Furry Star

One thoughtful feature: areas where you can always find characters. They pose for snapshots, sign autographs, and exude good cheer for every child they meet. The names change, but Mickey is usually available somewhere at any time; ask any cast member. Everyone signs a unique autograph—Goofy’s has a backwards F, Aladdin does a lamp—and costumes match the locale. Locations are marked on maps with Mickey heads, and schedules are in the daily “Times Guide.”

The Haunted Mansion RIDE    One of the park’s largest and most intricate rides opened with the park in 1971, and fans are rabid about it—many of them can recite the script verbatim (“I am your host . . . your ghost host!”). The outdoor queue area passes funny gravestones, some of them interactive and some carved with in-jokes and the names of Imagineers—keep a close eye on the last one with the female face, near the door to the house, because it keeps a close eye on you. Once you’re inside, you enter the famous “stretching room.” This area freaks out small children (one of my earliest life memories is of begging my mother to take me out of the line and back into the sunshine, and there’s still an escape route if you need it), but it’s as scary as it will get. Be on the far side of the stretching room to be the first out to the boarding zone. As spook houses go, the 8-minute trip is decidedly merry: All the ghosts seem to want to do is party. Passengers ride creepingly slow “doom buggy” cars linked together on an endless loop, no seat belts required—the proprietary system is called OmniMover. Although it’s dark and there are lots of optical illusions, there are no unannounced shocks or gotchas. The climax, a ghost gala in a cavernous graveyard set, is impossible to soak up in one go (one fun tip: The singing headstone with the broken head is voiced by the same guy who did Tony the Tiger for Frosted Flakes), so you may want to visit several times to catch the murderous back story revealed in the attic scene. The warehouselike “show building,” where most of the ride is contained, is cleverly disguised behind the mansion’s facade. Strategy: On busy days, lines can be the scariest aspect, so try going—bwah-ha-ha-ha!—after the sun goes down.

The Hall of Presidents SHOW    Following a historical, wide-angle film, Audio-Animatronic versions of the U.S. presidents crowd awkwardly onstage, nodding to the audience, and several in turn spout homilies about democracy, unity, and other satisfying nuggets. It’s as lacking in substance as it was since wowing first-day visitors in 1971, pre-Watergate, although it has been newly outfitted with a likeness of Barack Obama (living presidents record their own monologues). Although audiences don’t realize it, figures were created with historical accuracy; if the president didn’t live in an era of machine-made clothing, for example, he wears a hand-stitched suit. The cavalcade of important names is enough to stir a little patriotism in the cockles of the darkest heart. If you’re thinking about it (most audiences aren’t), the technical wizardry required—Lincoln even rises from sitting positions to address the audience—impresses as much as it did when the show began with only Mr. Lincoln in 1964. Then, the sight of such a lifelike robot had audiences gasping. Nowadays, it’s an adorable chestnut. Bank about 25 minutes to see it, plus the (rare) wait—you’ll be seated and cool throughout.

Liberty Square Riverboat RIDE    The 17-minute ride around Tom Sawyer Island, which departs on the hour and half-hour, makes for a relaxing break, and it’s not unusual to see Florida water birds on the journey, which passes a few mild (and mildly stereotypical) dioramas of Indian camps. The top deck offers views but a deafening whistle, and mid-deck has a good look at that hardworking paddle. The bottom is where sailors work the levers that make the honest-to-goodness steam engine run. Fight the urge to praise them for their steering ability—the boat’s on a track.

Fantasyland

Fantasyland is the heart of Walt Disney World because it contains many of the characters that make the brand beloved, and it has received some TLC lately in the form of an expansion; the section through the interior arches is commonly called New Fantasyland. Most of its attractions are tame cart rides that wouldn’t be out of place at a carnival if they weren’t so meticulously maintained. But the energy is first class. A lot of people must agree, because lines are as long for these simple affairs as they are for multimillion-dollar coasters. For shorter waits, race here first thing in the morning or arrive after dinner, when little ones start tiring out. Fastpassing is also widespread.

“it’s a small world” RIDE    Slow and sweet as treacle, the King of Fantasyland rides is a 15-minute boat trip serenaded by the Sherman Brothers’ infectious theme song (bet you already know it). On the route, nearly 300 dancing-doll children, each pegged to his or her nation by genial stereotypes (Dutch kids wear clogs, French kids can-can), chant the same song, and everyone’s in a party mood. In the tense years following the Cuban Missile Crisis, this ride’s message of human unity was a balm, and in these rooms, millions of toddlers have received their first exposure to world cultures (including yours truly—and then I grew to be a travel writer). Those 4 and under love this because there’s lots to see and nothing threatening, but by about 11, kids reverse their opinions and think its upchuck factor is higher than Mission Space’s. The ride’s distinctive look came from Mary Blair, a rare female Imagineer. Walt originally wanted the kids to sing their own national anthems, but the resulting cacophony was too disturbing; instead, a ditty was written in such a way that it could be repeated with changing instrumentation, and so that its verse and chorus would never clash. It was whipped up in 11 months for the 1964 World’s Fair in New York as a partnership with Pepsi and UNICEF. Pepsi was about to reject the concept, but Joan Crawford, who was on the board of directors, halted the meeting, stood up, and declared, “We are going to do this!” After the World’s Fair, where it cost $1 for adults to ride, the original was moved to Disneyland. Strategy: If you’re not sure whether the sight of characters will wig out your kids, take them on this as a test run. Be in line on the quarter-hour, when the central clock unfolds, strikes, and displays the time with moveable type. No seat is better than another; you’re still going to be humming that song in your sleep, and possibly inside your grave.

Peter Pan’s Flight RIDE    This iconic ride is also unique because its pirate ship vehicles hang from the ceiling, swooping gently up, down, and around obstacles, while the scenes below are executed in forced perspective to make it feel like you’re high in the air. The effect is charming and—okay, I’ll say it—magical. This is the ride I loved most as a small child, a feeling that is by no means unique. The aerial view of Edwardian London is especially memorable, and it’s hard for tots not to feel a shimmy of excitement when they fly between the sails of a pirate ship. Strategy: The wait can be 2 hours and up, so considering it takes only 2 minutes and 45 seconds, I suggest hitting this one upon opening or arranging a Fastpass, otherwise you’ll suffer.

Mickey’s PhilharMagic SHOW    The computer-animated 3-D entertainment, which runs continuously, is pure, honest Disney in the “Fantasia” mold: Classic characters, prominently Donald Duck, appear to a lush (and loud) soundtrack of Disney songs, while pleasant extrasensory effects such as scents and breezes blow to further convince you that what you’re seeing is real. The pace is lively, and nearly everyone is tickled. You also get to enjoy air-conditioning for 12 minutes. The shop afterward specializes in Donald Duck merchandise.

Prince Charming Regal Carrousel RIDE    Nice to see a prince get a little recognition around here! It’s easy to enjoy one of the world’s prettiest carousels. The 90-second ride was handmade in 1917 for a Detroit amusement park and it spent nearly 4 decades in Maplewood, New Jersey, before Imagineers rescued it, refurbishing it and the original organ calliope (although you’ll hear prerecorded Disney songs instead). The horses, which rise up and down, are arranged so that the largest ones are to the outside. Cinderella’s personal steed has a golden ribbon tied to its tail.

Princess Fairytale Hall CHARACTER GREETING    The Snow White’s Scary Adventures ride, a Magic Kingdom mainstay since opening day, was demolished to make way for this meet-and-greet for the Princess characters, which opened in late 2013. Little girls eagerly wait in a reception hall that’s dressed in stained glass and portraits of our royal ladies, and when it’s time, they make their way, wide-eyed, to the individual meeting rooms. Cameras ready!

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh RIDE    Pooh makes for quite a joyous attraction, with vibrant colors, plenty of peppy pictures, and a giddy segment when Tigger asks you to bounce with him and in response, your “Hunny Pot” car gently bucks as it rolls (nothing your toddler can’t handle). The effects, such as a levitating dreaming Pooh, a room full of fiber-optic raindrops, and real smoke rings (front-row seats are best for experiencing that one), are the most advanced of the Fantasyland kiddie rides. The more I take this merry, 4-minute romp, the more I see poor Pooh as a junky for honey, since he spends much of his focus gorging himself and having psychedelic dreams about getting more of the sweet stuff. Will someone please stage an intervention for this poor bear? Tip: The line is usually one of Fantasyland’s longest, so it’s a good candidate for Fastpass.

Mad Tea Party RIDE    Its conceit—spinning teacups on a platter of concentric turntables—has given the name to an entire genre of carnival “teacup” rides. How much you’ll barf depends on whether you’re riding with someone strong who can turn the central wheel and get your twirl on within the 90 seconds allotted. This is now the most basic ride in Fantasyland.

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train RIDE    Disney’s newest mountain, circa 2014, is really more of a knoll, and a cute little ride. The mine cart roller coaster goes in and out of a hill containing the gem quarry dug by Snow White’s diminutive landlords, whom you’ll encounter bumbling through a day’s work. Each carriage gently rocks on pivots as you turn, much like a bassinette, but don’t worry—this is Fantasyland, so this ride is strictly family-friendly, with plenty of S-curves and humps but no loops or alarming drops. Near the 21⁄2–minute ride’s conclusion, look right and peek into the windows of the dwarfs’ cottage for a charming glimpse of their evening leisure.

Enchanted Tales with Belle CHARACTER GREETING    In 2012, Disney added this character meet-and-greet with a tech twist: In addition to the “Beauty and the Beast” heroine, who selects audience members to reenact one of her beloved stories, you encounter a brilliantly lifelike talking armoire, a fantastic Lumière figure, and a trick with a mirror that must be seen to be believed. The detail is well realized, but there are issues: It takes a while to get in and about 30 minutes to finish once you have, and the only way to get a photo with Belle is to be selected, which means some kids are inevitably disappointed.

Dumbo the Flying Elephant RIDE    Fascinatingly, in the 1941 film “Dumbo,” the stork delivers baby Dumbo almost exactly over the future site of Disney World, 30 years before it became a reality. The famous baby circus animal recently got a makeover, and now there are two copies of the ride, halving waits. After entering the Big Top, you get a pager (like the ones at the Cheesecake Factory!) and kids are let loose to wreak screaming havoc in an indoor play area until you’re summoned for your turn on board. Back outside, you go round and round in 16 aerodynamic pachyderms whose elevation kids control with a joystick. Each car fits only two adults across, or an adult and two small kids. I would rather stand here, witnessing the joy of ebullient little children being the most spirited I’ll ever see little children be, than ride. Tips: An original vehicle is on display in the Smithsonian, but there’s a spare between the two rides here so you can pause for that prize snapshot without slowing things down. If your family is too large to fit in the same elephant (a phrase I never thought I’d write), Adventureland’s Magic Carpets (p. 37) provide the same experience ride for four.

Time Is Money: reducing waits

For a 9-hour day, you’ll pay as much as $11 an hour to enjoy Walt Disney World. Maximize your time by minimizing waits with these 10 priceless tips:

1. Be there when the gates open. The period before lunch is critical. Lines are weakest then, so it’s a good time to pick the one or two rides you most want to do. Pitfall: Don’t go to the one closest to the gates. Instead, head as far into parks as you dare. In fact, at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, the best time for Kilimanjaro Safaris, in the back of the property, is first thing in the morning. The animals won’t have bolted for shade yet and you can get a good look at them.

2. If you don’t have kids, save the slow rides for after dinner. Disney World has an almost metaphysical ability to turn Momma’s sweet little angel into a red-faced, howling, inconsolable demon. This meltdown usually happens in late afternoon, as the stress of the day exhausts children. By dinnertime, parents evacuate their screaming brood. The lines at kiddie attractions such as Peter Pan’s Flight, as tough as 2 hours in midday, shorten after bedtime.

3. Fastpass first thing. The sooner your three are scheduled and used, the sooner you can get your next one. Revise the boilerplate schedule Disney offers and move your reservations to fall as early as possible.

4. Pray for rain. In Florida, it usually strikes in mid-afternoon and lasts for less than an hour, but that’s long enough for many guests to leave, which eases waits.

5. If your kids allow it, skip the parade. Lines at many of the most popular rides get shorter in the run-up to parade times, when the hordes pack the route in anticipation. Bank on thinner lines 30 minutes before and during showtime. It’s often possible to hit two or three rides during the show.

6. Come early or stay late. If you’re paying higher-than-normal rates to stay on Disney property, you might as well get some value back by availing yourself of Extra Magic Hours. Your Disney hotel will tell you which park is either opening early or closing late for the express use of its guests. Lines will be shorter during those hours.

7. If the weather will be hot, Fastpass the water rides. When it swelters, arrange a Fastpass (or, at Universal Orlando, an Express) for the water rides by midmorning, which should ensure a slot to ride when the heat peaks.

8. Eat early. Restaurants have lines, too, so avoiding peak periods applies to meals as well. Eat at 11am, when many places open, and there will be light traffic until noon or so. The same goes for dinner: Schedule a reservation for around 4pm. Eating late in the parks doesn’t work, as many restaurants close.

9. Baby swap. The parks have a system allowing both parents to ride with little additional waiting. After the whole family goes through the line, Dad can wait with Junior while Mom rides. When Mom’s off, Dad can ride without waiting and Mom takes a turn watching Junior. For many people, that cuts the old waiting times in half. It’s not available on kiddie rides because it’s weird to watch Daddy ride those alone.

10. Split up. If you don’t care if you all ride in the same car, a few attractions have lines for single riders. Use them and you’ll shoot to the head of the pack, fill spare seats left by odd-numbered groups, ride within minutes of each other, and be back on the pavement in no time flat. Even on rides without dedicated single lines, solo riders should alert ride-loading attendants to their presence—doing so could shave long minutes off a wait.

Under the Sea—Journey of the Little Mermaid RIDE    Traveling in slow-moving OmniMover shell vehicles, for 6 gentle minutes you retrace a simplified version of the film, including reprises of “Part of Your World,” “Poor Unfortunate Souls” (by an enormous Ursula), “Kiss the Girl,” and most spectacularly, a big room full of fish jamming out to “Under the Sea”. As rides go, it’s nice and the Audio-Animatronics are top-notch, but it’s not as transporting as you want it to be and it’s unlikely to hook adults as much as small children (although the queue area is interactive and fun). Nearby, kids get autographs from the gal herself at Ariel’s Grotto, and yes, there’s a separate wait for that, so make your choice if you must.

Pete’s Silly Sideshow CHARACTER GREETING    By the train station, meet four Disney stars under the big top, envisioned as carnival performers: Minnie Magnifique, Madame Daisy Fortuna, the Astounding Donaldo, and the Great Goofini. The waits to get autographs from the girls are often longer, but happily, it happens indoors in the AC. If you’re looking for Mickey, he’s at the Town Square Theater on Main Street, U.S.A.

The Barnstormer RIDE    Fantasyland’s kiddie coaster, which is all about giving small children a sense of excitement and accomplishment, invariably has a line. The tangled track does a few swooping figure-eights and passes through a Goofy-shaped hole in a billboard, but takes scarcely more than a minute—less than half that if you subtract the time it takes to climb the hill. There are some cute touches, including ample evidence of Goofy’s flying act having gone hilariously wrong.

Walt Disney World Railroad, Fantasyland Station RIDE    Board here for a round trip to the front gates at Main Street, U.S.A., then Frontierland, and finally back here in 20 minutes, all to a recorded narration that describes what you see along the way. Across the path, the train motif carries over to the Casey Jr. Splash ’N’ Soak Station, a honking, chugging, wheezing, ringing collection of animal-packed circus railway cars where monkeys squirt seltzer, locomotives steam, elephants sneeze water through their trunks, and camels spit.

Tomorrowland

Tomorrowland is lighter on character appearances than other lands. A fun exception is The Incredibles’ Super Dance Party, held in busier periods on the Rockettower Stage. It’s a chance for little ones to dance and mingle with Mr. and Mrs. Incredible and Frozone. To the right of Space Mountain, you’ll see a one-level bathroom structure that looks like it ought to contain something interesting. It once did: The Skyway, a gondola ride over the park, loaded here until 1999 (and unloaded in Fantasyland beside “it’s a small world”). There are quiet places for sitting around it.

Tomorrowland Speedway RIDE    Originally built in Disneyland at a time when freeways were considered the wave of the future and not a bane of life, this half-mile, self-driven jog of four-laned track is the first chance most kids will have had to drive a car. These are Go-Karts with no juice, although the late Tom Carnegie does call the race and the gas-fired engines reek and snarl. Each vehicle carries two people, steers poorly but is guided by a rail, and won’t go very fast (about 7mph) no matter how much pedal meets the metal. Though the queue can be blistering hot and the load process tedious, your cruise will be over in about 5 minutes. Strategy: Mind the height restrictions—kids shorter than 54 inches can’t drive alone, a rule that draws tantrums.

Space Mountain RIDE    Walt Disney liked creating one landmark for every land. He called it the “weenie” that drew people in. Tomorrowland’s weenie, and only 6 feet shorter than Cinderella Castle, is contained in that futuristic concrete-ribbed circus tent. Although it’s truly a relatively tame indoor, carnival-style, metal-frame coaster (top speed: barely 29mph), the near-total darkness and tight turns give the ride (duration: 21⁄2 min.) a panache that makes it one of the park’s hotter tickets. Other worldwide versions are more thrilling, but there’s something endearing about an original. Strategy: The wait is indoors. There are two tracks, although you may not be given the option to choose. The left-hand coaster (Alpha) and the right-hand one (Omega) are mirror images of each other, so there’s no difference that I can articulate except Fastpassers are sent to Omega. The front seat, however, has the best view.

Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin RIDE    The “Toy Story” movies provide inspiration for a rambunctious (and addictive) 3-minute, slow-car ride that works like a shooting gallery. Passengers are equipped with laser guns and the means to rotate their vehicles, and it’s their mission to blast as many targets as they can. That’s easier said than done, since the aliens are spinning, bouncing, and turning, and your laser sight appears only intermittently as a blinking red light, but that’s all part of the fun. You’ll think you did pretty well at 118,000 until you turn and see the kid who racked up 205,000. He must have know the secret: The farther away a target is, the more it’s worth.

Astro Orbiter RIDE    The gist is like Dumbo—a 90-second spin on an armature, with passengers controlling height—but from much higher, and with toboggan-style seating. Usually, it takes too long, partly because you have to use an elevator to board. At night, the view of an illuminated Tomorrowland makes it worth it. Tip: Beneath the ride, pick up the Metrophone for some gag messages.

Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover RIDE    The tramlike second-story track, which boards under the Astro Orbiter at Rockettower Plaza, uses pollution-free “linear induction” magnetic technology to take riders on a scenic overview of the area’s attractions. On a 13-minute round-trip with no stops, it coasts past some windows over the Buzz Lightyear ride and through the guts of Space Mountain, where you traverse the circumference over the Omega boarding area. You will also catch a too-fleeting glimpse of one of Walt Disney’s original 1963 models for Progress City. The ride itself is historic: Walt Disney envisioned this system, originally called the WEDway PeopleMover, as a principal form of transportation for the resort. We use buses instead. Tip: There’s almost never a wait. Do TTA at night, when Tomorrowland is illuminated in cobalts and greens.

   “An E-Ticket Ride”

Walt’s original system for admission was intended to accommodate people of all incomes. Anyone could enter his park for a nominal fee of a few dollars, but to do rides and shows, guests had to obtain coupon books from kiosks. There were five categories. The simplest, least popular attractions, like Main Street Vehicles, could be seen for cheap “A” tickets (around 10¢ in 1972) but the prime blockbusters were honored with the top distinction, an “E” ticket (85¢). It didn’t take long for the designation to find its way into the American vernacular. Sally Ride pronounced her 1983 launch on the space shuttle “definitely an E-ticket.” The coupon system was dropped in the early 1980s in favor of a high gate price, a system that has mostly replaced the per-ride payment system at theme parks across the world.

Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress SHOW    They know it’s corny: Attendants may welcome you by warning you not to fall asleep. But as a preboarding movie attests, Walt Disney loved this attraction—he created it with General Electric sponsorship for the 1964 World’s Fair. It was later moved here, and appropriate to its underwriter, the message is a banquet of consumerist overtones about how appliances will rescue us from a life of drudgery. Walt’s novel twist was that the stage remains stationery but the auditorium rotates on a ring past six rooms (four “acts” and one each for loading and unloading) of Audio-Animatronic scenes. You’ll see a modern person’s trivialization of daily life in 1904, 1927, and the 1940s, and an unspecified time that you could peg for 1989, what with Grandpa’s breathless praise for laser discs and car phones. While our very white, very middle-class narrator (voiced by Jean Shepherd, the narrator of “A Christmas Story”) loafs with his dog across the ages, his wife does chores, his mother festers, his daughter primps, and his son dreams of adventure. (Funny how a tribute to progress is riddled with obsolete gender stereotypes.) The repetitive ditty “There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow” is by the Sherman Brothers, who also wrote the songs for “Mary Poppins.” Set aside 25 minutes for the show, but it starts every 5 because the rotating theater allows endless refills, like the chamber of a revolver. As a relic from a more idealistic time, it’s priceless, and here’s hoping they never remove it, as is always the rumor. Another reason to see it: Despite the fact it has no living performers, it’s billed as the longest-running stage show in the United States.

Stitch’s Great Escape! SHOW    What begins with a hackneyed Disney set-up—you’re a “new recruit,” this time at an intergalactic prison—ends with an extrasensory sit-down presentation employing smells and rigged over-the-shoulder harnesses. Little kids get scared because of the pitch darkness, because the restraint is constrictive, and because they are alarmed to learn a dangerous alien is on the loose, even if it turns out to be their friend Stitch. Expect not menace but bawdy gags about spit, slobber, burping, and pee. Lilo makes no appearance, leaving the show without the soft heart it needs. To call this attraction reviled by many Disney fans would not be an exaggeration. The Audio-Animatronics are marvelous, though, and hilarious actor Richard Kind does a voice. The event takes about 12 minutes once you’re inside. Tips: Enter the theater last for the best sightlines. Top-row seating keeps you from having to crane your neck upward.

Lights after dark

A trip to Disney doesn’t seem complete if you don’t set aside time to catch the nightly fireworks show, Wishes, held when the park is open past dark; check the “Times Guide.” Although it’s technically at least partially visible from anywhere, the most symmetrical view is from the Castle’s front and Main Street, U.S.A. If you can see the wire strung to the Castle’s top, you’ve got a good viewpoint. The roughly 10-minute show is quite the slick spectacle—lights dim everywhere, even the ferry dock, and you can hear the soundtrack wherever you are. Areas around and behind the Castle are closed off during the show to protect guests from falling cinders. Most nights, rides begin closing as soon as it starts, and people start heading home after it’s done. You have the option of purchasing $24 illuminated “Glow With the Show” mouse ears that change color along with the show, but only about 5 percent of customers seem to do that.

If jockeying for a spot is not among your wishes—understandable, given your long day—the park throws a nightly Fireworks Dessert Party for 170 people starting an hour before showtime at the Tomorrowland Terrace. For $26 adults and $14 kids, you get all-you-can-eat pastries, ice cream, light beverages, and a primo vantage point of Tink afloat. Naturally, it books up early ( 407/939-3463).

Another can’t-miss nighttime attraction (check the “Times Guide”) is the Main Street Electrical Parade, bopping along to its signature synth-pop anthem. Its illuminated floats and light-studded costumes have mesmerized since the 1970s.

At the very end of the night (well, most nights, but not all), about 30 minutes after the posted closing time, Cinderella Castle flashes with a dazzling rainbow of light. This is a “Kiss Goodnight,” something that isn’t on the schedules, and it’s a little like the Sandman at the Apollo, sweeping you out the door. Stick it out until you see one (the last one is an hour after closing time), because by then, crowds will have thinned. Remember, you still have a monorail or a ferryboat and a parking tram to go.

Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor SHOW    Like Turtle Talk with Crush at Epcot, it’s a “Living Character” video show, about 15 minutes long, in which computer-animated characters on a giant screen interact with a theater full of people, singling out humans out with a hidden camera for gentle ridicule. The animation looks as fluid as in the Pixar movies and is drawn from a cast of some 20 characters, but the three you’ll see in your set will vary from day to day. The quality of the experience depends as much on the eagerness of the audience as on the improvisational skill of the (spoiler alert) hidden live actors doing the voices. Don’t miss the gags along the left wall of the preshow video-instruction room (the employee bulletin board warns against “Repetitive Scare Injury”). You’ll probably find yourself more impressed by the canny technology than by the quality of the jokes. Tip: Sit in the rear or extreme sides of the auditorium to avoid being picked on.

Where to Eat in the Magic Kingdom

Following are the main Quick Service choices, plus a few specialty kiosks you shouldn’t miss. All locations will have a few vegetarian options, kids’ meals, and if you identify yourself, special dietary requests can usually be accommodated, albeit often at diminished quality. For information on the table-service restaurants that usually require reservations, go to p. 51. Don’t go looking for a beer—there’s no alcohol served except for at Be Our Guest, and only at dinnertime.

The Magic Kingdom’s Quick-Service Restaurants

The park, being a mass-appeal crowd-pleaser, does not support an affordable menu that is as adventurous as its characters. Hope you like burgers.

Casey’s Corner AMERICAN    The hot dog-and-nachos joint facing the Castle is the only place to grab a counter-service meal around Main Street, U.S.A., but there is never enough seating. Dogs are nearly a foot long and piled embarrassingly high with choices including barbecue and chili. Main Street, U.S.A. Hot dogs $8 to $10 with fries, $2 less without.

Plaza Ice Cream Parlor ICE CREAM    Although hand-scooped sundaes are served, the specialty is ice-cream sandwiches made with fresh chocolate chip cookies. They’re warmest early in the day. Main Street, U.S.A. Desserts $4.50 to $5.30.

Aloha Isle ICE CREAM    Another only-at-Disney treat: “Dole Whip” soft serve in pineapple, vanilla, or orange. Or put your Dole Whip in a Pineapple Float. Or just get a spear of fresh pineapple. Adventureland. Dole Whips $5.

Sunshine Tree Terrace ICE CREAM    Disney fans beeline to this kiosk for the Citrus Swirl, a wonderful blend of frozen O.J. and soft-serve vanilla ice cream. The pomegranate limeaid is also gaining favor. It’s a historic spot: The doe-eyed mascot is Orange Bird, which Disney created for the Florida citrus lobby, which sponsored this stand and the Tiki birds back in the 1970s. Adventureland. Beverages and desserts $4 to $5.

Tortuga Tavern MEXICAN    Open at lunch, it does burritos and beef taco salads, and it has a large, sheltered seating area. Adventureland. Combo meal $8 to $9.

Turkey Leg Cart AMERICAN    These honking hunks of meat ($11) could feed a cavemen. Frontierland, across from Frontierland Shooting Gallery.

Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe AMERICAN    Get 1⁄3-pound cheeseburgers, and BBQ pork sandwiches, all with fries. The fixings bar has good stuff like sautéed onions and mushrooms, so it’s easy to make a meal of it. It also has spacious, air-conditioned seating. Frontierland. Combo meal $9.60 to $11.

Columbia Harbour House AMERICAN    At this indoor counter service spot, order fat sandwiches, lobster rolls, and couscous, plus sides like chowder ($5), then take them upstairs where it’s quiet. Liberty Square. Combo meal $9 to $11.

Pinocchio’s Village Haus AMERICAN/ITALIAN    Vaguely Italian food (flatbreads, meatball subs, and so on) adjoining “it’s a small world,” with a few tables in the AC overlooking the snazzy loading area. Fantasyland. Combo meal $9 to $10.

The Friar’s Nook AMERICAN    Window-service with no seating for mac and cheese with truffle oil, pot roast, or bacon; or hummus with veggies. Fantasyland. Snacks $3 to $8.20.

Gaston’s Tavern AMERICAN    In a small indoor counter service location behind the amusing fountain of Gaston, you’ll find some only-at-Disney treats. The Roast Pork Shank ($9.80) is big like the famous turkey leg, only in pig flavor. Le Fou’s Brew is Fantasyland’s (not nearly as successful) answer to Harry Potter’s Butterbeer: frozen apple juice with a lightly fruity foam. Get it in a regular cup for $4.50, or $10 in either a plastic stein or a goblet, suitable to gender roles. Fantasyland.

Saving on Park munchies

If you plan to buy all your food at the park, sticking strictly to counter-service meals is the cheapest way to go. But considering you’ll pay $8 to $11 each for a counter-service sandwich, plus at least $2.70 for a medium-size soft drink—the going rate in the Orlando parks—even that way, a family of four can easily spend $60 on every meal! Don’t be goofy—save money! Besides eating off premises, here’s how:

Subtract unwanted combo items. Although counter-service restaurants make the menu appear like it’s mostly combo meals, it’s an unpublicized fact that you may eliminate unwanted items from adult selections and save money. Dropping fries or other bundled side dishes can save about $2.25. For carrot sticks!

Pack a little food of your own. Park security usually looks the other way if you bring a soft lunchbag-size cooler (hard-sided Igloos will be rejected). Or just tote sandwiches in plastic bags. If your lodging has a freezer, put juice boxes in there; they’ll be thawed by lunch.

Economize with an all-you-can-eat meal. Character meals (p. 191) give good value because they serve limitless food. A big lunch can last you until after you leave the park.

Skip table-service meals, or plan them strategically. They can chomp as much as 90 minutes out of your touring time. Do that twice and you’ve lost a third of your day. A park that could be seen in 1 day would require 2, doubling costs. If you want a sit-down meal, do it at lunch, when prices are often lower than at dinner. Eat around 11am, when crowds are lighter. Also, if you don’t show up for Disney reservations, you’re docked $10—assess whether your kids will truly have energy for an evening table-service meal if you schedule one.

Adults may order cheaper and smaller kids’ meals. No one will stop them.

Snack on fruit. Each park has at least one fruit stand.

Seek out the turkey legs. They’re giant (11⁄2 pounds, from 45-pound turkeys), salty, and cost around $11. They taste so good because they’re injected with brine before cooking for 6 hours. Just don’t think about the hormones it takes to grow a 45-pound bird. Or a 5-foot-tall mouse.

Order drinks without ice. Soda is dispensed cold to prevent foaming. It’s chilling how much ice is in a standard Disney Coke.

Order water for free. It comes in a regular-sized cup.

Stretch meals. If there’s a double cheeseburger on the menu, order it and an extra bun for about $1. Then make two burgers and raid the fixings bar. Disney has eliminated double cheeseburgers, but Universal has still them.

Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe AMERICAN    The best choice for indoor Quick Service on this end of the park, it does burgers, sandwiches, and chicken (both sandwich and rotisserie) and has a toppings bar with freshly sautéed mushrooms and onions—choose the “bay” that serves your choice. It’s distinguished by regular lounge-act shows by Sonny Eclipse, a long-running Audio-Animatronic character. Despite Sonny, I’d rather eat on its outdoor terrace. The panorama of the Castle is sublime; it’s my favorite lunchtime view. That empty boat dock below is from the extinct Swan Boats, which plied the moat in years past. Tomorrowland. Combo meal $9 to $11.

The Lunching Pad AMERICAN    Window-service with exposed seating for hot dogs of several varieties. Tomorrowland. Hot dogs $8 to $9.

The Magic Kingdom’s Table-Service Restaurants

This is the most popular theme park in the world, so as you can imagine, getting a seat can be competitive (and it requires a credit card) and the wait staff is almost always running around. Some restaurants may accept walk-ins at 4pm, when they start dinner service, but ask early in the day. Taking them clockwise around the park:

Tony’s Town Square Restaurant ITALIAN    Loosely themed on the Italian restaurant scene from “Lady and the Tramp” (there’s a fountain of the two doe-eyed dogs), it’s loud, not romantic. To repeat Tramp’s spaghetti-and-meatball sharing gesture (kindly don’t use your nose like he did), you’ll pay $18 a plate. It also does chicken parmesan, cannelloni, and shrimp scampi. After lunch, sandwiches, pizzas, and flatbreads are swapped out for pork tenderloin and strip steak with potatoes and vegetables. Main Street, U.S.A. Tip: There’s free lemon water in the lobby if you’re on Main Street and want a free drink. Main courses $18 to $30.

The Crystal Palace, A Buffet with Character AMERICAN    Under an airy Victorian-style skylight canopy that emulates a hall from an 1853 New York City world’s exhibition, Winnie the Pooh greets diners at what’s probably the prettiest in-park restaurant in all of Walt Disney World. The refined air doesn’t stop Pooh and his buddies (Tigger, Eeyore, Piglet) from jamming the aisles with a conga line. Being slightly smaller than many other character dining locations, you’re likely to get some face time with the characters. This restaurant’s been open since Day One and offers three daily all-you-can-eat buffets of changing, crowd-pleasing standards from meats to vegetables. There’s a make-your-own-sundae bar for lunch and dinner. Prices are lowest at breakfast (the best time anyway, since you’ll have the rest of your day free) and scale up. Main Street, U.S.A. Buffet $25 to $38 adults, $14 to $18 children.

The Plaza Restaurant AMERICAN    What’s special about this one is its view. Situated at the end of Main Street facing Cinderella Castle, it focuses on sandwiches, burgers, and salads, which are served with broccoli slaw, homemade chips, or french fries. Add soup for $4.50. It also serves ice cream sundaes and cheesecake from the shop next door. Main Street, U.S.A. Main courses $11 to $18.

Liberty Tree Tavern AMERICAN    At lunch, this colonial-style place (stained wood and rung-backed chairs) facing the Rivers of America (no view) serves vaguely patriotic a la carte fare such as pot roast, turkey with stuffing, and “Freedom Pasta,” which is fusilli with chicken, vegetables, and mushrooms in a cream sauce. After 4pm, it shifts to an all-you-can-eat buffet including a beef carvery. Dessert is Johnny Appleseed’s Cake, or white cake filled with Craisins—just like in the colonies! Liberty Square. Lunchtime mains $14 to $20, dinner buffet $32 adults, $16 kids.

Cinderella’s Royal Table AMERICAN    This is the holy grail of character meals since it actually takes place inside Cinderella Castle where there’s a capacity of less than 200. The famous royal resident always appears (sometimes joined by her soul sisters Jasmine, Aurora, Snow White, and others), and little girls far and wide dress up like princesses to meet her. The interior is as lavish as you’d expect for the inside of the Castle, with mock medieval vaulted ceilings, a royal red carpet, stained glass, and stylized crest shields adoring the walls. Meals aren’t all-you-can-eat, but they are all prix-fixe, though the price shifts with the season. Bookings open 180 days ahead at 7am Orlando time (and must be prepaid by credit card) and are snapped up in moments. Food selections include swordfish and pork loin. Meals $58 to $73 adults, $36 to $43 children; price includes tip and five photos of your party.

freebies at Disney

It’s not easy finding fun stuff to do that you don’t have to cough up for, but you don’t need to hand over a cent for these pleasures—not even for park admission. Anyone off the street can enjoy these things:

Watch the Electrical Water Pageant on the Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake between 9 and 10:20pm. The illuminated floats, which twitter to a sound- track, make a circuit around the conjoined ponds after nightfall, and you can see it from the beachfront at any hotel.

Ride the ferries between the resorts, such as the one from Port Orleans Riverside to Downtown Disney along the meandering Sassagoula River, which passes the French Quarter resort and the Old Key West resort. You can even ride the one from the monorail-area resorts to the foot of the Magic Kingdom.

Take the monorail. Whiz round the Seven Seas Lagoon past the Magic Kingdom and through the Contemporary Resort as many times as you want without a ticket. You can also use it to make the 4-mile round-trip to Epcot, where you’ll do a flyover of Future World.

Hike at Fort Wilderness. The trail begins at the east end of Bay Lake and threads through occasionally muddy woods.

Spend a night by the pool. Most resorts keep them open ’til midnight. Technically, you should be a guest. But behave, and no one’ll care (except at the Yacht and Beach clubs, where bracelets are required). Each hotel’s parking lot has a gate, but if you park at Downtown Disney and take a free Disney bus, you’ll scoot right in.

See African animals at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. The gatekeeper will admit you to sit by the fire in its vaulted lobby, and out back, you can watch game such as giraffe and kudu from the Sunset Overlook. Sometimes, there are zoologists who answer questions.

For a marvelous view of the fireworks over the Magic Kingdom, stroll on the beach of the Grand Floridian or the Polynesian resorts. The sand is millions of years old and was recovered from under Bay Lake. Did you know Disney built a giant wave machine in the middle of the lake? It never worked.

Partake of the campfire singalong, which happens nightly near the Meadow Trading Post at Fort Wilderness, followed by a Disney feature on an outdoor screen.

Cuddle farm animals, including ducks, goats, and peacocks, at the petting farm behind Fort Wilderness’s Pioneer Hall. You can also see the horses used to pull streetcars up Main Street, U.S.A.

Ride the bus system. Park at Downtown Disney for free and take the buses to any theme park for nothing. That’ll save you $17 each day.

Be Our Guest Restaurant AMERICAN    It’s not so easy to be their guest here, since bookings fill incredibly quickly. As a 2012 newcomer to Fantasyland, it sports a few technical tricks to evoke Beast’s castle, including animated falling snow outside some false windows, a portrait that reveals a hidden Beast when illuminated by periodic lightning (that’s in the West Wing, in case it might scare your kids), and an animated rose under glass that slowly sheds its petals. Like a real castle, all those polished surfaces make things incredibly loud. Although the food is vaguely French (there’s ratatouille at dinner, croque-monsieur at lunch, and French onion soup all the time), the preponderance of pork chops, steaks, and salmon are really more American. You order by kiosk, pour your own beverages, and your food is wheeled to you when it’s ready. This is the only place in the Magic Kingdom where you can get alcohol, but only at dinner and only with that coveted reservation. Fantasyland. Main courses $10 to $14 lunch, $16 to $30 dinner.

Epcot

Epcot remains one of Walt Disney World’s finest achievements. More than any other park, Epcot changes its personality, decorations, and diversions by the season. Guests usually don’t learn much more than they already know (so as not to bore them or to insult their intelligence), but even though there isn’t much take-away information, that there’s plenty to soak up if you explore. There’s plenty to do here without having to wait in lines, and unlike other parks, there are lots of places to sit. The wide variety of foods and alcoholic beverages is also a big draw. Epcot’s genial personality has earned it a spot as the fifth-most-visited theme park on Earth, racking up some 11.2 million entries in 2013.

The 260-acre park is divided into two zones, Future World and World Showcase, laid out roughly like a figure eight. Both areas started life separately but, as the legend goes, were grafted together when plans were afoot. Future World is where the wonders of industry were extolled in corporate-sponsored “pavilions.” The companies had a hand creating them and they also maintained VIP areas in backstage areas for executives and special guests. At the back of the property, around a 1.3-mile lake footpath, World Showcase was the circuit of countries, each representing in miniature its namesake’s essence. These, too, received funding from their host countries. The expense of updating Future World’s exhibits has caused Disney to gradually phase out the educational aspects of the attractions. One by one, original pavilions have been replaced by sense-tingling rides, so that today, only two of the original rides, Spaceship Earth and Living with the Land, remain more or less as they originally were.

GETTING IN    The parking lot is at the ticket gates, although you can also catch the monorail from the Magic Kingdom parking area. If you park past the canal or near the monorail track, don’t bother with the tram; you can walk to the gates faster. Bags will be quickly inspected. As you enter the park, lockers are at the right of Spaceship Earth; wheeled rentals are to the left. Also on the left is Guest Relations, where last-minute dining reservations can be made, though often, you’ll just be deferred to the restaurant in question.

HOURS    Future World opens at 9am, and World Showcase opens at 11am. Future World often closes at 7pm, 2 hours before World Showcase. The nightly IllumiNations show usually takes place over World Showcase Lagoon at 9pm; at its conclusion, the hordes stampede for their cars en masse.

GETTING THE MOST OUT OF EPCOT

Epcot has so much to explore, and eat, and drink that you won’t feel like you’re racing from ride to ride (as you might in other parks). Just make sure you have a late-morning Fastpass for Soarin’.

Ride Test Track before the line gets crazy.

Ride Mission: Space.

By now, your Soarin’ Fastpass is probably valid. Ride it.

Visit The Seas with Nemo and Friends.

Ride Living with the Land for a glimpse at Epcot’s roots. Consider doing Soarin’ again. If you’re hungry, Sunshine Seasons, in this pavilion, is a terrific place to eat.

Ride Spaceship Earth and visit Innoventions.

Enter World Showcase at Mexico and ride Gran Fiesta Tour.

Ride Maelstrom at Norway. You have now enjoyed all the rides in World Showcase.

Continue along World Showcase at a slow pace, having removed the temptation to rush. The movies (in China, France, and Canada) are all worth seeing; the shops can be surprisingly good; and the street entertainment choices (noted on the Times Guide) are excellent.

Catch the American Adventure; the Voices of America perform about 15 minutes before show times, and they’re listed in the Times Guide.

Continue along World Showcase. Pause for a pint in the United Kingdom.

Remember Future World usually closes at 7pm, so if you have time before then, re-ride anything you loved (Spaceship Earth isn’t usually crowded late in the day).

Eat dinner in the land of your choice and catch IllumiNations. It’s best to secure a good viewing point at least 30 minute ahead.

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Future World

By the time Walt Disney World finally got around to opening its second park, EPCOT Center, on October 1, 1982 (11 years to the day after the Magic Kingdom and at a staggering estimated cost of $1.4 billion; America’s biggest construction project at the time), it was but a flicker of its original purpose. No one would actually live there, and few experimental endeavors would be undertaken. Instead, it turned out that the most economical course was to turn Walt’s legacy into another moneymaking theme park, heavily subsidized by corporate participation and sold by heavy promotion of “Walt’s dream”—a formula that prevails today. In truth, the final design wasn’t much different from the world’s fair that Walt’s father had helped construct in Chicago in 1893 or that Walt himself defined in New York in 1964: examples of how technology was ostensibly improving lives, plus some pavilions representing foreign lands for the edification of people unlikely to travel there themselves. In December 1993, the park name was simplified to Epcot. As you face the lagoon, the pavilions on the left side of Future World are generally about the physical and man-made sciences, and the ones on the right are more about the natural sciences. Behind Spaceship Earth, look for a park tip board, which posts wait times and the daily schedule. There are two more tip boards through the underpasses to the east and west sections of Future World.

Epcot

A history of Epcot

Although people think of Walt Disney as prototypically American, he had a communist streak. He long dreamed of establishing a real, working city where 20,000 full-time residents, none of them unemployed, would test out experimental technologies in the course of their daily lives. In vintage films where he discusses his Florida Project, his passion for creating such a self-sustaining community, to be called the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, was inextricable from the rest of his planned resort. He wanted nothing less than to revolutionize the world. Truck traffic would be routed to vehicle plazas beneath the city, out of pedestrians’ way, while PeopleMovers (like the ones of Magic Kingdom’s Tomorrowland Transit Authority) would shift the population around town. Between home and downtown, they’d take the monorail. Even on his deathbed, Walt was perfecting real plans for the city that would be his crowning legacy: one whose innovations would make life better for everyone on Earth. Had he lived just 3 more years, he would have made sure it happened.

Spaceship Earth RIDE    That gorgeous orb looks like a golf ball on a tee, but the 16-million-pound structure, coated with 11,324 aluminum-bonded panels and sheathed inside with a rainproof rubber layer, is supported by a tablelike scaffolding where its six legs enter the dome. Think of this 180-foot-tall Buckminster Fuller sphere as a direct descendent of the Perisphere of the 1939 World’s Fair or the Unisphere of the 1964 World’s Fair, which were the icons for their own parks. No mere shell, it houses an eponymous ride using the OmniMover system of cars linked together like an endless snake. The ride slowly winds within the sphere, all on the course of a shallow, sixth-grade-level journey (narrated by Judi Dench) through the history of communications, from Greek theater to the Sistine Chapel to the printing press to the telegraph. In a bit of unintended kinesthetic commentary, once you reach the present day, the ride is all downhill. Once you’re off it, I defy you to tell me what you learned from it. This, of course, makes it essential Epcot. This is the ride that still shows what the 1982 park was like—its robot-populated sister pavilions about transportation and the future were razed in the 1990s to make way for flashier thrills. Although some people don’t get it, I cherish it as a soothing sojourn not only through time, but also through air-conditioning. Since it’s the first ride that guests encounter in the park, lines, which move fast, are much shorter in the afternoon.

Innoventions ACTIVITY    The semicircular buildings facing each other behind Spaceship Earth are the domain of corporate-sponsored exhibits, as Walt had intended. Innoventions (originally Communicore) is under-patronized and ever-changing. There’s much here to divert you, but it may close at 7pm:

Sum of All Thrills: Lines are shortest in late afternoon for this slow-loading, 90-second ride from Raytheon, the weapons-tech manufacturer (!!). You design your own ride on a panel before testing it in a motion simulator at the end of a robot arm. You choose if you want your ride to go nearly upside-down or not.

Habit Heroes: Paid for by Blue Cross Blue Shield, this is an 18-minute, three-game motion-sensor course where you learn very vague health lessons by battling monsters that are somehow preventing you from getting nutrition.

VISION House: From Green Builder Media, a full-scale mock-up of a suburban home to demonstrate specific products that make a home more energy efficient—and then tells you how you can buy them.

StormStruck: In this 3-D movie to inspire storm-proofing your home, audiences are buffeted with wind and rain effects, and then vote on proofing methods, which are then tested on screen.

Where’s the Fire? Liberty Mutual teaches about fire safety.

Test the Limits Lab: Underwriters Laboratories shows how it approves products—expect lots of clanging and banging.

The Great Piggy Bank Adventure: Paid for by T. Rowe Price, the midway-game adventure teaches that apparently the best way to save is to catch floating coins with pedal-powered flying piggy banks. So you spend it on vacations. Whatever, it’s fun.

Also in the Innoventions buildings, you’ll find MouseGear, the largest souvenir shop in Epcot and opposite that, Club Cool, by the Coca-Cola Company, which lets you pour unlimited samples of eight soft drink flavors sold only in other countries. Beverly, a bitter aperitif from Italy, is not for faint tongues. If you’re an obsessive tightwad, you can keep coming back here instead of buying a real Coke (although most of it is dramatically sweet). Frozen Cokes are sold for $4. Between Innoventions, you’ll find the World Fellowship Fountain, which was dedicated by Walt’s widow, Lillian. At the opening ceremony, water from 23 countries was combined as a symbol of brotherhood. It can shoot 150 feet in the air, although it rarely does. There’s a 5-minute choreographed splash-up on the quarter hour.

Universe of Energy RIDE/SHOW    This attraction is highly emblematic of Epcot’s corporate-dictated content. The dated adventure begins with a movie, circa 1996, featuring Ellen DeGeneres being taught by Bill Nye the Science Guy about how oil is formed and then pulled out of the ground for the benefit of mankind. If that sounds lame, at least the ride system is more creative: The audience is seated in six 97-passenger slabs of mobile theater-style bench seating. Miraculously, the slabs organize themselves in a line and move from room to giant room, passing primeval forests full of realistic dinosaurs. When, at another movie stop, the issue of global warming comes up, Nye waves it away, saying, “It’s a hot topic with lots of questions” before reassuring us that “we’re far from running on empty.” Not surprisingly, the didactic venture was backed by ExxonMobil. The whole show takes between 30 to 50 minutes to see, depending on when you arrive at the preshow, which makes it a good cool-down. Outside, the roof is coated in 2 acres of solar panels, which generate 15 percent of the show’s energy appetite; the building site was chosen for maximum sunlight exposure. Strategy: Although all sections spend time waiting for the others to move or catch up, the two sections on the right wait in the most interesting spaces.

   The Best of Epcot

Don’t miss if you’re 6: Turtle Talk with Crush

Don’t miss if you’re 16: Test Track

Requisite photo op: Spaceship Earth

Food you can only get here: Rice cream, the bakery at Norway

The most crowded, so Fastpass or go early: Soarin’

Skippable: Journey into Imagination with Figment

Quintessentially Disney: Spaceship Earth

Biggest thrill: Mission: SPACE

Best show: Voices of Liberty, the American Adventure

Character meals: Akershus Royal Banquet Hall, Norway; Garden Grill, The Land

Where to find peace: Future World: the Odyssey Center catwalks; World Showcase: the gardens of Japan

Mission: SPACE RIDE    Behind the gorgeously swirling planetary facade is a ride that approximates, with intense accuracy, the experience of a rocket launch. Although technically a whirl in a giant centrifuge, the skillful design tricks the mind into believing the body’s actually lurching backward in a launch for Mars (although my eyeballs seem to know—they wag uncontrollably for the first 30 seconds). Gary Sinise, oozing gravitas, issues so many preshow warnings against motion sickness that I honestly think it psychs people out and primes them for illness, although sufferers of sinus problems have reported discomfort. Each passenger in the extremely tight four-person cockpits is assigned two buttons to press at given cues—it doesn’t matter if you don’t, but at least hold onto your steering joystick, because it gives force feedback as you travel. Ultimately, it’s a ride that’s all brains and no heart—I’m deeply impressed at what they’ve done, but I don’t feel like doing it twice. The Advanced Training Lab postshow area (through the gift shop) is worthwhile even if you don’t ride. There, you can play interactive group games and send free postcards home via computer. Strategy: Whereas Mad Tea Party makes me want to hurl, I do just fine on this ride. You’ll be given a choice when you enter the building: There’s a second version (color-coded green) with easy motion-simulator effects but no troubling centrifuge action, but in my opinion, the missing element renders the ride pointless.

Test Track RIDE    Cars thunder enticingly around the bend of an outdoor motorway at nearly 65mph, but that’s as good as it gets. Those passengers are experiencing the climax of a complicated, multistage ride that puts them through the paces of a proving ground of an automobile manufacturer (sponsor: Chevrolet). Before boarding, you use a touch screen to choose a car using the ill-defined factors of capability, power, responsiveness, and efficiency. Then, you go along for the ride in a minimally decorated warehouse on a series of diagnostic safety tests (don’t worry; you don’t have to actually do anything), while trackside screens ostensibly show you how your creation would perform under the same circumstances—in fact, it’s the same exact ride every time. Your six-passenger car brakes suddenly and careens through a mostly black room decorated by illuminated lines that seem to have been inspired by “Tron” (and a very low budget). Finally, you shoot outside the building and make an invigorating circuit around the circular track over the Epcot employee parking lot. (Hertz has a similar experience—it’s called a convertible.) The post-ride showroom features a few steering games plus samples from Chevy’s current fleet, which get constant rubdowns by an attendant with a rag. Ultimately, it’s pretty much been a boring ride since its 2012 renovation; it doesn’t make much sense anymore and it feels cheap. Strategy: Along with Soarin’, it’s the busiest ride at Epcot, so get a Fastpass. There’s a single-rider line that doesn’t let you skip much and invariably puts you in a right-hand seat, but cast members may grill you about whether you’re truly alone.

   The Death of “Life”

Between Mission: SPACE and the Universe of Energy, you’ll spot a golden dome. No, you haven’t been in the sun too long. That’s Wonders of Life, one of the great failures of modern Disney World. Opened in 1989 as a paean to all things biological, executives closed it when they couldn’t find a corporation willing to pony up continued sponsorship. Some of science’s greatest advances are being made in the biological realm, yet the topic is neglected at Epcot for want of a corporate bankroll. Among the casualties: Body Wars, a motion-simulator ride through the bloodstream; Cranium Command, addressing how a 12-year-old boy’s brain controlled his growing body; and “The Making of Me,” a film that gingerly addressed conception and pregnancy without stepping on ideological toes. The tarnished pavilion sits empty and decaying.

   Kid Stuff at Epcot & Animal Kingdom

Besides The Seas with Nemo & Friends, there aren’t many attractions for young children in Epcot. Disney addressed the problem with small, manned booths that it calls Kidcot Fun Stops, which offer crafty diversions such as coloring, stamping, or maskmaking—stuff kids do at the school fair. Epcot Passports, which can be stamped in every country, were once free but now cost $11, but attendants will stamp your kids’ crafts, such as the handle of the mask they made, for free instead. From the kiosk on the walkway to World Showcase from Future World, sign them up for the free Agent P’s World Showcase Adventure, in which they follow instructions on toy cell phones and punch codes to make tricksy things happen in at 7 stops in various countries. It’s so engrossing, in fact, that kids sometimes have a hard time paying attention to anything else. Animal Kingdom has a free paper scavenger hunt, Wilderness Explorers, in which kids college merit badges (stickers) for learning things about animals and conservation. Join that on the bridge between Oasis and the Tree of Life.

The Seas with Nemo & Friends RIDE/ACTIVITY    One of the world’s largest saltwater aquariums, it’s 27 feet deep, 203 feet across, holds 5.7 million gallons, and you can spend as long as you like watching the swimming creatures from two levels. About a third of the tank is reserved for dolphins and sea turtles, while reef fish, rays, and sharks dominate the rest. When the pavilion opened in 1986 as The Living Seas, sharks were the big draw and scientists answered questions everywhere; today, because of “Finding Nemo,” kids ask to see the clown fish and there’s nary an interpreter in sight. A visit begins with a 5-minute, slow-moving ride in OmniMover “clamobiles” through a simulated undersea world. Half the point of the ride is, of course, to find Nemo, who’s lost again; the other characters incessantly shout his name, which soon grates on adult nerves. The ride climaxes to the tune of “In the Big Blue World” (from the Nemo musical at Animal Kingdom) with a peek into the real aquarium as Nemo and his friends are projected into the windows, cleverly uniting the fictional world with the real animal universe, “Seabase,” with which you will now be acquainted. A few times a day, the giant tube dominating the hall is occupied by a diver—an unforgettable sight—to demonstrate how SCUBA works. On the second floor, which is quieter than the kiddie-clogged first floor, don’t miss the observation platform that extends into the mighty tank. The daily roster sign apprises you of the day’s dolphin talks and fish feedings (the schedule is busiest between 10am and 4pm), when there will be someone on hand to explain what you’re seeing. The dolphins live separately in the first space on the left. If human divers are swimming, they’ll communicate with guests by way of magnetized writing tablets. Also, check out the manatees, the sweet-natured “sea cows” that are threatened in Florida. Strategy: If the pavilion’s entry line is horrific, bypass the ride by entering through the exit, at the far left.

Turtle Talk with Crush SHOW    Inside The Seas with Nemo & Friends is an amusing 20-minute show in which a computer-animated version of the 150-year-old surfer-dude turtle interacts with audiences, making jokes about what they’re wearing and fielding questions. It’s part of what Disney calls its “Living Characters” program. There is the distraction of ray and jellyfish tanks in the waiting area. Next door is Bruce’s Sub House, a play area similar to any science museum’s.

Soarin’ RIDE    The Land pavilion takes up 6 acres, more than all of Tomorrowland, and this ride is a big reason why. In it, audiences are seated on benches and “flown,” hang glider–like, across enormous movies of California’s wonders while scents waft, hair blows, and the seats gently rock in tandem with the motions of the flight. The ride is highly repeatable and deeply pleasurable for all ages. It’s a facsimile of the one at Disney’s California Adventure park in Anaheim, hence the imagery exclusive to the Golden State, but there are rumors of brand new Florida images in the works. Strategy: Wait times can exceed 3 hours (yeah, I know—crazy!), so schedule a Fastpass. The best seats are in the middle sections on the top row, where there are no feet dangling in your field of vision. That means you should aim for position B-1, or at the very least A-1 or C-1. Those with height issues should request something ending in 3, the closest to the ground.

Living with the Land RIDE    The Land’s other ride, after Soarin’, is a 14-minute (wonderfully air-conditioned) boat trip that glosses over the realm of farming technologies. It’s one of the last Epcot rides to provide a semblance of education, especially when you pass some experimental growth methods (like a nutrient film technique and aquaponics). These methods are being explored, or so we’re told, to curb world hunger, but the hard fact is that GMOs, which are not mentioned, won industry dominance years ago, and the activity in Epcot’s labs is intermittent, not the hive of active research it was meant to be. They do some stuff here though: Annually, they grow some 5,000 pounds of fish, which are served in Disney restaurants. This ride is original to opening day, although the live narrators were disposed of in favor of a recording. For those interested in the topic, the info will be too thin, but for those who are bored green, it will seem to last forever. Strategy: Boats load slowly, so go early or late to escape the inevitable buildup.

The Circle of Life SHOW    Upstairs, in The Land, this minor, 13-minute movie stars “The Lion King” characters and concerns conservation (an Epcot-worthy message). It’ll keep you off the streets and seated in AC.

Captain EO SHOW    The minute Michael Jackson died, Disney yanked this trippy 1986 chestnut out of mothballs and re-installed it in its original home, the Imagination! pavilion, minus a few original special effects. For years, this 17-minute 3-D music video, starring Jackson as a Han Solo–type space pilot who is accompanied by creepy/adorable sidekicks, was a punch line for its excess and ego, but premature death and ’80s nostalgia have renewed it. It concerns a mean, dark-hearted diva whose grip on a bleak world is loosened by the sheer charm of Jocko’s performance—kind of like the climax of “The Wiz” if the Wicked Witch was Anjelica Huston.

Journey into Imagination with Figment RIDE    There’s no line for a reason. It feels like Disney ran out of money halfway through the ride—one section of this slow track-based ride is simply a room of black curtains and painted boards. Its daffy purple dinosaur, Figment, once figured as Epcot’s most prominent mascot and now strains to act cuddly in his last, forlorn outpost. The ride purports to be an open house of the Imagination Institute run by Prof. Nigel Channing (Eric Idle), but Figment seizes control of the tour and offends your senses—your sense of good taste, though, is the most violated. This is the third attempt to get an Imagination ride right since 1982. The ride dumps out into ImageWorks, once a high-tech playground sponsored by Kodak but now with little more to do than assemble a Figment using touchscreens or purchase fairground-style composite gag photos. Look above the roped-off spiral staircase for a glimpse of the glass pyramids atrium, now forbidden, and you’ll get a sense for how this pretty half-closed pavilion is now rotten with neglect. You might have gathered by now that Imagination! is not Epcot at its best. However, the fountain pods in front, which shoot snakes of water from one to another, are a firm favorite of children, who never tire of trying to catch one of the so-called “laminar flow” spurts.

World Showcase

The 1.3-mile path circling the World Showcase Lagoon is home to 11 pavilions created in the idealized image of their home countries—get your picture taken in front of a miniature Eiffel Tower (it’ll look real through the lens), or at the Doge’s Palace in Venice. The pavilions were built more to elicit an emotional response and not to truly replicate. Disney is diligent about the upkeep of this area, but it neglects development—the last “country” to open was Norway back in 1988, and without joint participation by foreign tourism offices, there are unlikely to be more. There also seems to be an emphasis on countries that Americans already know, and neither South America nor Australasia is represented at all. But World Showcase does have some of the most original restaurants in Disney World, and the shops are stocked with crafts and national products (you can buy real Chinese tea in China and sweaters in Norway), although the variety is slipping. It’s also the only area in Epcot in which alcoholic beverages are sold.

There is far more fascinating stuff to do in World Showcase than the free Disney map lets on. Pocket it and let your curiosity guide you. You should, though, keep the day’s Times Guide firmly in hand. The pavilions are crawling with unexpected musical and dance performances conducted by natives of each country. Seeing them makes a day richer and squeezes value from your ticket. Rush and you’ll miss a lot. I suggest going clockwise around the lagoon mostly because the only two rides in World Showcase will come quickly on the left; if you go counterclockwise, you’ll reach them after they accrue lines. After midafternoon, it won’t matter.

Tip: Anything purchased in World Showcase can be sent to the Package Pickup at the front of Future World; allow 3 hours for delivery (it’s not refrigerated, so chocolate melts). On some days—it depends how busy things are—two ferry routes cross the lagoon. One leaves near Germany and one from Morocco, and both land near the top of Future World. You will not save time using them; they’re merely a pleasant way to get off your feet.

Mexico

Skirting the lagoon clockwise, Mexico is your first stop. Everything to see is inside the faux temple, which contains a faux river (for the Gran Fiesta Tour ride), a faux volcano, and a faux night sky strung with lanterns. The Mexican Folk Art Gallery showcases whimsical carvings; “La Vida Antigua: Life in Ancient Mexico” is for artifacts and dioramas—one of Epcot’s fun secrets, the great stone medallion in its center seems to mysteriously fill with luminous color as you watch. In the main zócalo of Plaza de los Amigos from Tuesday to Friday mornings, look for Alba, who for more than a decade has hand-painted Oaxacan woodcarvings here; her brother Marco carves them on other days. Listen for the terrific Mariachi Cobre, which has performed here since the park’s opening day. There’s also a small tequila bar (chips and dip also for sale) and a crystal shop. Influences: A diplomatic mix of Mayan, Toltec, Aztec, and Spanish styles. Fun stuff to Buy: At the dusky La Cava de Tequila, knock back some of the house liquor or get a designer margarita ($11 to the mid-teens). Maracas ($6 each), Oaxacan woodcarvings (from $18), piñatas from $12, hand-painted pottery skulls ($26) and $7 mini sombreros. You can also buy a $28 “Hecho En Mexico” tee-shirt that was actually made in Pakistan. Oh, Disney.

   A Mini–United Nations

World Showcase pavilions are staffed by young people who were born and raised in the host country. Many of their contracts last for up to a year, and they chose to come to Florida as much to learn about America as to be ambassadors for their own nations, although many of them complain that most park guests don’t bother asking anything except where the bathrooms are. Be kind to them, speak slowly if you sometimes cannot immediately understand each other’s accent, and most of all, seize this unusual chance to ask questions about their cultures. These folks, despite the fact they’re zipped into silly costumes, are modern, intelligent people who are so proud of where they come from that they traveled halfway around the world to share their heritage with you. Help them do that.

Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros RIDE    It’s easy to develop a soft spot for the bland, 8-minute boat float that, for its cheesiness, has been nicknamed “the Mexican ‘it’s a small world.’” As you pass movie screens, jiggling dolls, and dancing Day of the Dead skeletons, you quickly realize you’re enjoying the product of Mexican tourist board input. A 2007 rehab imposed animated appearances by the 1940s characters the Three Caballeros—never mind that only Panchito Pistoles the rooster is Mexican (José Carioca the parrot is Brazilian, and Donald Duck is American). The experience is sweet, and it’s a worthy siesta break. Donald conducts autograph sessions outside, to the right of the pavilion.

Norway

Next along is Norway, the youngest pavilion (built 1988), which is home to the only other ride in World Showcase. Until the fall of 2014, that was Maelstrom, a 5-minute river ride past trolls and other Norse monsters. The success of “Frozen” took Disney by surprise, and now that ride has been closed so it can be converted to one based on the animated movie. Come early 2016, when that opens, there will also be a much-needed special area for meeting Elsa and Anna. Norway’s Akershus Royal Banquet Hall does princess character meals morning, noon, and evening. In the one-room Stave Church Gallery, check out a few genuine Norse artifacts (13th-c. bowl and spoon and 1828 tankard with a hollow branch for a spout) that are pegged to “Frozen.” Towering above it all, the wooden Stave Church is a Norwegian original; there were once around 1,000 in the country, but today, there are only 28. The Puffin’s Roost contains a 9-foot-tall troll—photo op alert. Influences: Town squares of Bergen, Alesund, Oslo, and the Satesdal Valley; the 14th-century Akershus castle on Oslo harbor. Fun Stuff to Buy: Laila body lotions (assorted prices) and foam swords ($11). At the bakery, try the $2.50 rice cream, a snack that those in the know are happy to make a detour for. I prefer the plastic horned Viking helmets ($12–17), bags of Daim candy ($15, even though it’s Swedish), and Olaf character T-shirts ($22).

China

Enter through the remarkable replica of Beijing’s Temple of Heaven. Make time to catch the Jeweled Dragon Acrobats, some of the most riveting street performers in the World Showcase. “Tomb Warriors: Guardian Spirits of Ancient China,” in the House of the Whispering Willow, is a miniature re-creation of a tiny portion of the legendary terra-cotta warriors of the Han Dynasty, scaled to the size of a hotel room (the original mausoleum is twice the size of Epcot). The Gallery also contains a few cases of figures dating as far back as 260 BCE. Influences: Beijing’s Forbidden City (Imperial Palace) and Temple of Heaven. Fun Stuff to Buy: Upon exiting the film, cross the hangerlike shop and enter House of Good Fortune, the main shop, which is particularly varied. It sells plum wine ($20), lots of Ts and teas, Chinese jackets ($50–$85 in silks, polyesters, and blends), jade bangles ($50), teapots ($50–$230), parasols ($14–$16), conical coolie hats ($12–$16), and paper lanterns ($3–$10).

“Reflections of China” FILM    The big thing to do in China is a 14-minute movie filmed entirely in Circle-Vision 360°. You wouldn’t believe the work it takes to make a film that surrounds you from all sides. The makers first had to figure out the optimal number of screens (nine—which enables projectors to be slipped in the gaps between screens) and then they had to suspend a ring of carefully calibrated cameras from helicopters so that the crew wasn’t in the shots. In 2002, the footage of Shanghai had to be reshot because the city no longer resembled the 1982 version that was being shown; this being China, it’s probably already time for another refresh. The result, which surveys some of the country’s most beautiful vistas, is ravishing, although the masses no longer seem to care.

Outpost

This area between China and Germany was once slated to contain a pavilion canvassing equatorial Africa, but that fell through for political reasons, so instead, we get a mushy catchall for all things African. The Mdundo Kibanda store has some Kenyan carvings (like positively adorable $12 pocket-size giraffes) and you’ll find occasional storytelling sessions. Several days a week, a craftsman is on hand, whittling and carving wares—they seem engrossed in wood and knife, but they like answering questions too. Fun Stuff to Buy: The too-easily overlooked Bead Outpost kiosk sells jewelry made from recycled Guidemaps and other outdated Disney park publications. The papers are sent to Uganda as part of the BeadforLife program to give impoverished women a sustainable income, and they return as water-resistant beads in every color. Necklaces are $20, bracelets $10, earrings $7, or you can pick your own beads to be sized right there.

Germany

Lacking a true attraction (a water ride based on the Rhine was planned but never completed), Germany is popular for its food. The Biergarten Restaurant does sausages, beer, and the like—accompanied by yodeling and dancing—while the adjoining shop is for crystal doodads. The Sommerfest is the counter-service alternative for brats and pretzels. On the hour, the Clock Tower above the pavilion rings and two figures emerge, just like at the Glockenspiel in München (Munich). The artist’s space in the window of Das Kaufhaus facing the lagoon is in tribute to Jutta Levasseur, the egg-painting artist who worked at Epcot since its opening day and died in 2012. She was a beloved fixture in this park for 30 years. The pavilion is otherwise a string of connected one-room shops selling steins (from $37, although Grumpy is $230), figurines, crystal, Christmas ornaments, cuckoo clocks, and other high-priced wares. Influences: Eltz Castle near Koblenz; Stahleck Fortress near Bacharach; Rothenburg (the Biergarten and the dragon slayer statue); facades from Frankfurt and Freiburg (the guildhall). Fun Stuff to Buy: The connected candy-and-wine shop, Weinkeller, is worth a gander: You’ll find such pick-me-ups as Gluhwein ($11 a liter), wine by the glass ($6–$10), by the flight (from $10), or by the bottle (spätlese, Auslese, Kabinett, Liebfraumilch, from $15). Der Teddybär sells toys, especially ones by Steiff and Haba. The Werthers Original shop does popcorns and candy ($4–$10).

Italy

The tiny pavilion for Italy lacks an attraction—the gondolas never leave the dock—so you must content yourself with the small-scale replicas of Venice’s Doge’s Palace and St. Mark’s bell tower. An appealing, if incongruous, attraction that’s not on the maps is the highly detailed model train display just between this pavilion and Germany. Influences: Piazza di San Marco, Venice; stucco buildings of Tuscany; a fountain reminiscent of the work of Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Fun Stuff to Buy: Noodle around in the Enoteca Castello shop for wine (from $15) and Quadratini hazelnut wafer cookies ($10 a bag). Il Bel Cristallo sells fragrances, handbags, football jerseys (are you sensing a theme here?), and pricey Venetian carnival masks.

U.S.A.

So much for being a generous host: The U.S.A. pavilion takes pride of place in an area that’s supposed to celebrate other countries. Inside, the superlative Voices of America singing group, which excels at thorny close harmonies, entertains guests waiting to attend the half-hour Audio-Animatronic show, The American Adventure. You’ll be impressed. Also in the lobby is the unfairly ignored American Heritage Gallery: See items from the Kinsey Collection pertaining to milestones in the African-American experience (an 1820 slave schedule, an 1832 bill of sale of an 18-year-old named Joe) and embellished with cool “story lanterns” narrated by luminaries including Whoopi Goldberg, Chandra Wilson, and Diane Sawyer. Influences: General Georgian/colonial Greek-revival buildings (Brits often snicker that its Georgian architecture style is distinctly English). Fun Stuff to Buy: Heritage Manor Gifts sells patriotic tat, such as presidential nursery blocks ($100), cookbooks, throw pillows, and tee shirts with the American flag that were actually made in El Salvador, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.

The American Adventure SHOW    Ben Franklin and Mark Twain are your Audio-Animatronic surrogates for a series of eye-popping (but ponderous) re-creations of snippets along patriotic themes. Moving dioramas of seminal events such as a Susan B. Anthony speech and John Muir’s inspiration for Yosemite National Park appear and vanish cinematically on a stage a quarter the size of a football field, leaving spectators marveling at the massive amount of storage space that must lie beyond the proscenium. It’s a literal jukebox for mythology. Indeed, all that homespun corn is brought to you by some immensely complicated robotic and hydraulic systems. When this attraction first opened, the scene in which Franklin appears to mount stairs and then walk across the room was hailed as a technical miracle. The Will Rogers figure actually twirls a lasso purely through robotic movements. Although heavy on uplifting jingoism, the show scores points for touching lightly on a few unpleasant topics, including slavery and the suffering of Native Americans, but in general, it’s not as deep as its stage. Don’t be the first to enter or else you’ll be marooned off to the left. The five-person Spirit of America fife and drum corps makes scheduled appearances outdoors in the forecourt.

   Epcot at Night

There are no parades anymore at Epcot, but usually at 9pm, the pulse-pounding IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth flames-and-water spectacular takes place over World Showcase Lagoon. Its central globe, which is studded with 15,500 tiny video screens, weighs some 350,000 pounds, and the show’s so-called Inferno Barge carries a payload of 4,000 gallons of propane. Crowds start building on the banks 2 hours before showtime, but I find doing that a waste of time, and therefore money, as a day’s admission is so steep. Any view of the center of the lake will be fine (some people find the islands obstructive, but I don’t), but take care to be upwind or you may be engulfed by smoke.

Japan

Japan has no giant attractions (like Germany, a show building was erected but never filled with its intended ride), but its shopping and dining are exemplary, and the outdoor garden behind the pagoda is a paragon of peace. Hopefully, you can be there during one of the shows (check your “Times Guide”): the spectacularly thunderous Matsuriza taiko drum shows, which are held at the base of the five-level Goju-no-to pagoda. (If you’re looking for longtime candy artist Miyuki, she recently retired.) At the back of the pavilion, go inside and turn left to tour the Bijutsu-kan Gallery. Its most recent show was about the Japanese affection for sprites, pixies, and cute characters. A red torii gate inspired by one in Hiroshima sits in the lagoon; the barnacles on its base are fake, and were glued on to simulate age. Influences: 8th-century Horyuji Temple in Nara (pagoda); Katsura Imperial Villa (Yakitori House); Shirasagi-Jo castle at Hemeji (the rear fortress); Hiroshima (torii gate in the lagoon). Fun Stuff to Buy: The Mitsukoshi Department Store, named for the 300-year-old Japanese original, is the most fun to roam of all the World Showcase shop. It stocks a wide variety of toys, chopstick sets ($4–$13), traditional wood sandals (from $50), linens, anime figures, and paper fans, calligraphy supplies, countless solar-powered hand-waving cute things, antique kimonos costing up to $2,000—but I love Japanese snacks, such as chocolate-dipped Pocky sticks ($3–$5).

Morocco

Morocco is another spectacular pavilion, if you’re inclined to dig in. It flies higher than its neighbors because the country’s king took an active interest in its construction, dispatching some 21 top craftsmen for the job. There’s no movie or show (although Aladdin, the Genie, and Jasmine make regular appearances), and the architecture is a cross-country mishmash drawn from Marrakech, Fes, and Rabat. Fez House is a tranquil, pillared two-level courtyard with a fountain and seating that recalls a classic Moroccan home; Moroccan Style, a mosaic-rich exhibition of hanging lanterns and colored glass, is unjustly ignored. Ask a cast member (almost always from Morocco) to write your name in Arabic for you—it’s free. Influences: Marrakesh (Koutoubia minaret), Rabat (Chella minaret), Fez (Bab Boujouloud Gate, Nejjarine Fountain), Casablanca. Fun Stuff to Buy: The middle courtyards are cluttered with the souklike Casablanca Carpets and The Brass Bazaar boutiques that blend one into another. They are perfumed with incense ($3.75) and are stocked with interesting finds, including footstools, tassled red fez caps ($23), glass tea cups ($10), thuya wood dice sets ($19) hand-painted tambourines ($18), Persian-style machine-made rugs (from $26), metal hanging lanterns (from $30), and belly-dancer outfits ($85).

France

France, done up to look like a typical Parisian neighborhood with a one-tenth replica of the upper stretch of the Eiffel Tower in the simulated distance (you can’t go up it), is popular mostly for its food, though the street act Serveur Amusant, an acrobat who does handstands on stacked chairs, is thrilling. Disney allowed Guerlain and Givenchy to open fragrance shops at Plume et Palette—turns out the smell of selling out is just like Shalimar. Influences: Various Belle Epoque Parisian and provincial streets; Château de Fontainbleu (the Palais du Cinema); the former Pont des Arts in Paris (the bridge to the United Kingdom). Fun Stuff to Buy: The cheesiest souvenirs ($10 5-in. Eiffel Towers) are available in Les Halles at Boutique de Cadeaux. Across the lane, in L’Esprit de la Provence, a kitchen shop, wooden spoons are $7 and patterned oven mitts are $12. Aux Vins de France sells wine tastings for $6.50 to $13, Epcot wine classes for $35, and bottles for much more than in Germany or Italy.

“Impressions de France” FILM    The 18-minute, 200-degree-wide movie is no longer the freshest example of a tourism film—mostly classical music and postcard-worthy shots of some 50 picturesque French places. It has been playing continuously since Epcot opened in 1982. Happily, it provides seating.

United Kingdom

United Kingdom, another wild mix of architectural styles, has no rides or shows, so few people know about the knee-high hedge maze in back. The U.K. is popular chiefly for its English-style pub, the indoor Rose & Crown Pub & Dining Room (which you can enjoy without a reservation or eating), and a counter-service fish and chips shop. That’s two fish-and-chips outlets in a block—far more than you’d find even in London these days. After 5:15pm, duck into the pub to catch Pam Brody or Carol Stein, longtime Epcot entertainers who both play piano here and lead the guests in song. Request their version of “Do Re Mi” (it’s clean). Influences: Anne Hathaway’s Cottage, Stratford-upon-Avon (the Tea Caddy); Queen Anne style (the middle promenade); Hampton Court, London (Sportsman’s Shoppe); Victorian, country, and traditional pub styles (Rose & Crown). Fun Stuff to Buy: Featured shopping in the conjoined Sportsman’s Shoppe, the Crown & Crest, and Toy Soldier includes Beatles merch, Pooh merch, and “Keep Calm and Carry On” tees. Across the way, Lords and Ladies does jewelry and the Tea Caddy sells Twinings tea and mugs and English candy bars at a high price of $3.50 each.

Canada

Like Japan, Canada’s gardens (inspired by Victoria’s Butchart Gardens, although the sign says Victoria Gardens) are a surprising oasis, adding a hidden artificial canyon delightfully washed by a man-made waterfall. Disney recently added a new lumberjack-themed show at the stage here, which performs several times daily (check your Times Guide). Influences: 19th-century Victorian colonial architecture (Hotel du Canada); emblematic northwestern Indian design and Maritime Provinces towns; Butchart Gardens, Victoria (Victoria Gardens). Fun Stuff to Buy: The shop, Northwest Mercantile, mostly hawks maple syrup ($25 for 17 oz.), stuffed huskies and bears ($15–$23), red tartan fleece vests ($32), and T-shirts themed to moose and hockey.

“O Canada!” FILM    Canada, like China, has a movie, but could its name be a little less stereotypical? It’s shot with nine cameras in Circle-Vision 360°, a process Walt Disney originally called Circarama. The 18-minute presentation (1982), which requires standing, was refurbished by adding newly shot bits with Martin Short as emcee. Most of its spectacular scenery (the Rockies, the Bay of Fundy) is timeless.

Where to Eat in Epcot

Epcot has the best dining choices of any Disney World park, and people come just for the food. All locations will have a few vegetarian options, kids’ meals, and if you identify yourself, special dietary requests can usually be accommodated, albeit often at diminished quality. Alcohol is served everywhere—even in Morocco, where it’s not so easy to get in real life. You can also drink the water in Mexico.

Epcot’s Quick-Service Restaurants

There are only two major counter-service choices in Future World, plus a Starbucks. The real casual eating action is in World Showcase.

Sunshine Seasons INTERNATIONAL    This fantastic place offers the best selection and freshest food of all Epcot’s counter-service locations, including salads, grilled items (seared tuna noodle salad, oak-grilled chicken and fish), and thai green curry shrimp—not a fried item, burger, or pizza in sight. The desserts are epic (cheesecake with berries, tiramisu; $4.40). You can also pick up snacks suiting dietary restrictions. The Land. Breakfast $4 to $6, lunch and dinner Combo meal $8.60 to $12.

Electric Umbrella AMERICAN    Future World’s most central counter-service locale. Expect burgers, nuggets, and meatball subs (snooze). Innoventions East. Combo meal $8 to $11.

La Cantina De San Angel MEXICAN    Mexico’s counter-service option will give you beef or chicken tacos, cheese empanadas, nachos, and margaritas (from $9.50). It’s outside but on the water. Mexico. Combo meal $11 to $12.

Kringla Bakeri Og Kafé SCANDINAVIAN    Some of the selections in Norway’s bake shop can’t be found elsewhere at Disney, including rullekake (a rolled swirl of berries and yellow cake). More than one person claims the smooth, strawberry-topped rice cream pudding snack to be their favorite sweet in Walt Disney World. You can also get sandwiches, heated to order. Norway. Desserts $4, sandwiches $7 to $8.

Lotus Blossom Café CHINESE    China’s quick-service choice, with covered seating, is basic, serving beef noodle bowls, shrimp fried rice, pot stickers, and the like. Mango smoothies are sweet but delicious. China. Combo meal $8.50 to $12.

Sommerfest GERMAN    When you can’t get into Biergarten, settle for this kiosk to get your bratwurst, sausage, and beer. Germany. Sausage rolls $7.

Tutto Gusto ITALIAN    The excellent vaulted bar attached to the Tutto Italia Ristorante serves grown-up cocktails and also a fast-service selection of cheese and meat plates for two or three ($24–$27), plus cannoli, tiramisu, and panini. Italy. Panini $9 to $13, desserts $4 to $9, wine flights $14–$18, by the glass $9–$15.

Liberty Inn AMERICAN    Cheap burgers, hot dogs, chicken, and salads. Outside, the Fife & Drum Tavern is for turkey legs and beer. The American Adventure. Combo meal $8.50–$11.

Katsura Grill JAPANESE    Japan’s small counter-service location is by the gardens, and it supplies Japanese curry, teriyaki chicken, sushi ($5 for four pieces), and edamame. Facing the lagoon under the pagoda, the Kabuki Cafe kiosk (closed in cold weather) serves shaved ice with syrup (including honeydew and cherry flavors) for $3.75, and plum wine for $6.50. Japan. Combo meal $9 to $13.

Tangierine Café MOROCCAN    The indoor counter-service location is a great place to dodge crowds. It serves shawarma with hummus, couscous, bread, and tabbouleh; and meatball platters with yellow rice. Accent it with Casa Beer, from Casablanca, or Moorish coffee (espresso spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg), and add baklava for $3.50. Kids can get burgers or chicken fingers for $8. Morocco. Combo meal $12 to $15.

Boulangerie Pâtisserie FRENCH    Grab a fast, bready bite in the back of Les Halles, such as a chocolate croissant or a ham-and-cheese croissant (both around $4.75—decent bargains), tarts, Niçoise salad, croque-monsieur, or baguette sandwiches. A cash-only kiosk on the lagoon griddles up hot crepes (with sweet fillings, not meat), also for $4. Salads and sandwiches $7.50 to $8.50.

Yorkshire County Fish Shop BRITISH    Snag walk-up fish-and-chips and eat it al fresco. You get two strips of fish with chips (fries)—make sure to put vinegar, not ketchup, on the fries the way the English do. Ale costs $8.25. United Kingdom. Combo meal $9.

Epcot’s Table-Service Restaurants

Book ahead if your heart is set on something, particularly for a nighttime lagoon view—if you’re going to spend this kind of money, get a view out of it. The host will not guarantee seating location, but it helps to politely ask. Objectively, there are very few meals that would rate highly if I ate them outside of the park gates, and as with all mass-produced meals, quality varies greatly from day to day; the lion’s share of the enjoyment is just being there. Lunch entrees are generally $3 to $5 less expensive than at dinner. Taking them as you encounter them, going clockwise around World Showcase:

The Garden Grill AMERICAN    As Farmer Mickey, Pluto, and Chip ’n’ Dale press the flesh in this slowly revolving, two-tiered circular restaurant, you’re served all-you-can-eat family style “Harvest Feast” platters of meats and vegetables, some of which were grown in the greenhouses downstairs. This is the only character meal in Future World, and it’s only at dinner, but it’s a good choice because it’s mellow and small enough so that the characters can spend quality time with you. The Land. Combo meal $37 to $42 adults, $18 to $20 kids.

Coral Reef Restaurant SEAFOOD    Call it See Food: Through windows into the 27-foot-deep aquarium, admire the friends of the fish on your plate. You’re even given a cheat sheet to identity what’s swimming by. Only about half the menu selections are fish, and the rest are things like short ribs or strip steak. It’s about the cool view, not the cuisine. The Seas with Nemo & Friends. Main courses $19 to $27.

San Angel Inn Restaurante MEXICAN    Epcot’s most atmospheric restaurant is set beneath a false twilight sky at the base of an ancient pyramid, with the boats from the Gran Fiesta Tour steadily passing. The fare isn’t Tex-Mex as much as it is Mexican: chicken mole, chili relleno, grilled wahoo fish, and caramel dulce de leche for dessert. If you can’t get in (a likelihood), try La Hacienda de San Angel, across the main path on the lagoon. Its food is similarly Mexican. Mexico. Mains $25 to $30.

La Hacienda de San Angel MEXICAN    By day, it’s a sunny place to get your tequila on. By night, this villa-themed restaurant (vaulted ceilings, hanging lanterns) is a fair place to sit for IllumiNations, but only if you’re lucky enough to score a window seat. Margaritas are $14. The La Hacienda mixed grill with steak, chicken al pastor, chorizo, and veggies serves two ($56). Mexico. Main courses $24–$28.

Princess Storybook Dining at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall AMERICAN    Although it’s Norway, you won’t have to eat raw fish at this storybook buffet (although once upon a time, you did). Instead, it’s Epcot’s meet-the-princesses extravaganza for all three “feasts” daily, in a castlelike setting of vaulted ceilings and banners. Someone always stops by, be it Belle, Aurora, Jasmine, Snow White, Mulan, or Mary Poppins, who must be lost. If your own princess forgot her gown, they sell them for $65 at the shop across the path. This is the only character dining in World Showcase. Norway. Meal $41 to $55 adults, $25 to $30 kids, including five photos of your party.

Nine Dragons Restaurant CHINESE    When you can’t get a reservation anywhere else, you end up here. The food here is not much more daring or spicy as in the cheaper Quick Service option, Lotus Blossom Café, except here, there are more choices and they’re more expensive. The decor is handsomely geometric, but nothing memorable, although some tables face out toward the water. China. Mains $13 to $27; three-course dinner sets $24.

Biergarten Restaurant GERMAN    Toddlers lurch forward to polka, dads dive into mugs of Radeberger pilsner, and strangers make friends with their neighbors at this rowdy, carb-loaded party, an all-you-can-eat stuffer featuring sauerbraten, schnitzel, spaetzle, rotisserie chicken, and an oompah band for about 20 minutes at a time. It’s popular. Germany. $28 adults, $15 kids.

Tutto Italia Ristorante ITALIAN    Proclaimed authentic to Italy mostly by people who have never been there, this dusky environment of chandeliers and murals nonetheless packs ’em in. Pasta of this low caliber should not be $23, but that doesn’t stop patrons from buying $25 hunks of lasagna. Italy. Main courses $20 to $30.

Via Napoli Ristorante E Pizzeria ITALIAN    The more enjoyable of Italy’s two table service restaurants features lots of light, three-story vaulted ceilings, and three amusing wood-fired ovens shaped like the open mouths of giant mustachioed men named after volcanoes. Into those are thrust $17 individual pizzas and $9.50 kids’ pizzas made with flour imported from Naples (not that you could tell a difference). There’s also some lasagna and spaghetti at around $22–$30 a plate. It’s operated by Patina Restaurant Group, which runs eateries in Macy’s, the Hollywood Bowl, and other tourist spots. Italy. Main courses $12 to $30.

Teppan Edo JAPANESE    Above the Mitsukoshi store (which runs it), a chef-cum-swordsmith slices, dices, and cooks at the teppanyaki griddle built into your table. It’s fun to watch, and although it’s not a great choice if your kids are too young to keep their hands to themselves, it’s a good way to meet your neighbors. Ask to see the smoking onion volcano. The food? Oh, it’s fine, but you really come to see the fancy knife work. Japan. Main courses $18 to $32.

Tokyo Dining JAPANESE    On the second floor of the Japan pavilion, the decor is modern and stylish, the waitstaff subdued, and the menu offers both tempura/grills and sushi in modest portions at inflated prices. Some tables have a view of the lagoon through nearly floor-to-ceiling windows, which comes in handy around IllumiNations time. Japan. Main courses $25 to $31, sushi $6 to $11 per order.

Restaurant Marrakesh MOROCCAN    Tucked in the back of the souk, this lesser-known restaurant, lit theatrically with hanging lanterns, is known most for its belly dancer, who appears (in a chaste costume) at 10 minutes before the hour at lunch and 10 minutes after the hour during dinner. The fare is approachable North African, heavy on the shish kebabs, lemon chicken tagine, and couscous. Thinner crowds allow it to serve a good value at lunch: appetizer, entrée, and dessert until 3pm for $20. Morocco. Main courses $18 to $29.

Spice Road Table MOROCCAN    Serving small plates (lamb sliders, skewers) and powerful sangria and cocktails, it has Lagoon views ideal for IllumiNations spectators, so it fills up by 8pm. Morocco. Small plates $7–$16.

Chefs de France FRENCH    In a glassed-in dining room recalling a typical French bistro, dine on flatbreads and sandwiches (at lunch) or prototypical French food like crepes, duck breast, and steak haché. It offers a $26 prix-fixe, three-course meal until 3pm ($40 at dinner). France. Main courses $16 to $32.

Monsieur Paul FRENCH    Epcot’s most thoughtful food (and also its most expensive) is served here, and it starts with napkins that are folded like a chef’s jacket. This is special occasion stuff: an oxtail soup with black truffle for $29, roasted duck à l’orange, red snapper in rosemary sauce with scales made of roasted potato slices, plus all the amuse-bouches and long preparation explanations you’d expect of a fine establishment. The theme is classic French cuisine using fresh American ingredients, and the menu is overseen Jerome Bocuse, son of the restaurant’s namesake, the heavily Michelin-starred Chef Paul Bocuse, who oversaw the first restaurant at this location. There’s also a prix-fixe menu that’s $89 if you want wine pairings. Although it faces the water, the windows are small so not every table has a view of IllumiNations. You’ll find the entrance tucked around the back door of Chefs de France, under a green-and-white striped awning. France. Main courses $39 to $44.

Rose & Crown Pub & Dining Room BRITISH    The interior is fairly similar to a country pub—big wooden bar serving whisky and lots of British and Irish draught beers ($9, or twice as much as London’s most expensive pubs), tough patterned carpet underfoot—although most of the seating is outdoors unless it rains. You get bangers and mash (sausage with mashed potatoes), Scotch egg (fried hard-boiled egg wrapped in sausage meat), cottage pie (ground beef with onions, carrots, mushrooms, and mashed potatoes) and that standby that finds its way onto every Disney menu, no matter how errant, New York Strip Steak. You can just have a drink in the pub if you choose. After 5pm, family-friendly songs are sung for the drinkers getting off their feet after a long day. United Kingdom. Main courses $15 to $32.

Le Cellier Steakhouse STEAKS    It takes the Canadian-themed restaurant to deliver the most all-American menu of filet mignon, rib eye, snapper, pork, and chicken, but it also Canucks it up with sides such as poutine fries (not truly poutine with gravy, but topped with cheddar, truffle salt, and red-wine reduction). Specialties include a popular cheddar cheese soup and pretzel bread. True to its name, the restaurant is windowless and vaulted, like a very clean version of a wine cellar. It’s so dark and cool, in fact, that the menus are high-tech and light up when opened. The lunch and dinner selections are the same, and it can command deadly lunchtime prices because it’s a tough reservation to secure. Canada. Main courses $34 to $46.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Just as Epcot celebrates idealized industry and Animal Kingdom honors fauna, the 154-acre Disney’s Hollywood Studios strives to evoke the romance of the movies. Not just any movies, of course, but mostly that pastel-hued fantasy of the Hollywood of 60 years ago, where gossip columnists ruled the radio and starlets could be discovered at Schwab’s. It’s the least popular of the four Disney parks.

While it was originally conceived as a single pavilion about show business for Epcot, Universal’s announcement of its invasion of the Florida market prodded Disney executives to hastily expand the concept into an entire park. In 1989, the Studios opened with just two rides (the Great Movie Ride and the Backlot Tour) to head off the competition. The Studios have never quite recovered from its half-baked genesis. Disney is working to sexy it up by changing its name (its original one, Disney–MGM Studios, was abandoned in early 2008) and adding attractions (Toy Story Midway Mania opened a few months later), it’s no one’s favorite Disney World park, which is why I think it’s the one you should do last.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios

There are a few reasons why it’s not one of Disney’s most transporting endeavors. One is that its design is not symmetrical, which makes it harder to navigate. Another problem: When you look at the slate of attractions, you’ll notice it’s light on rides and heavy on shows, especially ones for small children, which, for my money, isn’t enough. Still, every park is lacking in comparison to something as revolutionary as the Magic Kingdom, and the dearth of activities is balanced by the fact that two of its rides are among Disney’s best: the Tower of Terror and the Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster.

The park possesses a fraction of the attractions the Magic Kingdom has—so guests often combine its highlights on the same day with Disney’s Animal Kingdom, or they allow themselves a more leisurely pace, perhaps lingering long enough to catch the dazzling pyrotechnic-and-water curtain evening show, Fantasmic!

Guests arrive by the usual car/tram combo, by bus, or by free ferry, which sails from the Swan and Dolphin area and continues on to Epcot.

Hollywood Boulevard & Echo Lake

As soon as your bag is approved and you’re through the gates, take care of business (strollers, wheelchairs, lockers) in the plaza before proceeding down Hollywood Boulevard. There are no attractions here, only shops and restaurants.

Hollywood Boulevard culminates with the 122-foot-tall Sorcerer Mickey Hat, the park’s central icon that is from, ironically, Walt Disney’s assault on typical Hollywood movies, “Fantasia.” There is nothing exciting in it. Where Hollywood Boulevard and Sunset Boulevard meet, you’ll locate the park’s tip board, where wait times and show schedules are posted.

The Great Movie Ride RIDE    Behind the hat, which was added in 2001, is the park’s original focal point: the replica of Grauman’s Chinese Theater (Disney calls it “the Chinese Theater”), which has a forecourt graced with actual handprints and footprints of movie stars who visited in the park’s early years at the behest of Disney execs. There are no prints past 1999, around the time the park gave up the dream of being a center for important film production. Ye Olde Movie Ride, as I call it, was a showpiece in 1989, but now feels like a mechanized waxworks. Aided by a human guide reciting a hoary script, audiences slowly cruise in traveling theater slabs past Audio-Animatronic reproductions of scenes from famous movies, including “Singin’ in the Rain,” “Alien,” and a Munchkin-crammed “The Wizard of Oz” (its Wicked Witch figure was a landmark because it was the first time Imagineers figured out that the key to lifelike action was compensating for sudden movements with minute return movements). This is really the only place where the park’s original MGM licensed imagery comes much into play these days. At one point during the 22-minute journey, which concludes with a viewing of a fast-paced and expertly edited movie montage, cars experience one of two possible plotlines—for example, getting caught in the crossfire of a James Cagney gangland classic or a John Wayne western, with guns that shoot sparks. The robots have looked fresher and kids won’t get the references (Busby Berkeley, for example), but the production is endearing. Lines are never very long, but they do tend to spike just after the parade.

Hollywood Studios: One Day, Two Ways

START: BE AT THE GATE FOR OPENING TIME.

Grab food at a counter restaurant when it’s convenient to you—but having lunch at 11am saves time. The must-have Fastpass for this park is Toy Story Midway Mania.

HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS WITH kids Fastpass within 90 minutes of opening: Toy Story Midway Mania. If your kids are very young, Voyage of the Little Mermaid. When the gates open, ride Toy Story Midway Mania even if you have a Fastpass for later; it’s worth re-riding. OR If your child wants to participate in the Jedi Training Academy, reserve a slot first (ask a cast member where; it changes). See Voyage of the Little Mermaid. See Disney Junior—Live on Stage! Meet Mickey at the Magic of Disney Animation. Do The Great Movie Ride. Take the Backlot Tour (it might shut down by late afternoon). Target a performance of Beauty and the Beast—Live on Stage for around now. At this point, littler ones may need to leave the park for a break. See Muppet*Vision 3-D. See the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular. If you think the whole family can handle them, slot in the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster. See Fantasmic! (if it’s performing tonight). People stake out their seats as long as an hour ahead, but 30 minutes will do.

HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS WITHOUT KIDS When the gates open, ride Toy Story Midway Mania even if you have a Fastpass for later; it’s worth re-riding. Head to the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster and ride them. See Voyage of the Little Mermaid (it’s fun even without kids). Nearby, do the Great Movie Ride. Take the Backlot Tour (it usually shuts down by late afternoon). Target a performance of Lights, Motors, Action! to fall around now. Ride Star Tours. See the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular. See Muppet*Vision 3-D. Tour Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream (you can also do this anytime lines seem intolerable elsewhere). If you’re so inclined, make a pass to the final show of American Idol Experience. See Fantasmic! (if it’s performing tonight).

   The Best of Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Don’t miss if you’re 6: Voyage of the Little Mermaid

Don’t miss if you’re 16: Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster

Requisite photo op: Sorcerer Mickey Hat

Food you can only get here: Grapefruit Cake, the Hollywood Brown Derby, Hollywood Boulevard; Peanut Butter and Jelly Milkshake, 50’s Prime Time Café, Echo Lake

The most crowded, so Fastpass or go early: Toy Story Midway Mania

Skippable: Studio Backlot Tour

Quintessentially Disney: Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream; the Great Movie Ride

Biggest thrill: Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

Best show: Voyage of the Little Mermaid

Character meals: Hollywood & Vine (breakfast, lunch)

Where to find peace: Around Echo Lake

Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular SHOW    The 30-minute, bone-rattling tour de force of hair-raising daredevilry—rolling-boulder dodging, trucks flipping over and exploding—simultaneously titillates and, to a lesser degree, reminds you how such feats of derring-do are typically rigged and filmed for the movies. They try hard to convince you that they’re really filming these sequences—you may need to explain to young children why they’re lying about that, and about calling the lead actor “Harrison Ford’s stunt double,” but most kids understand the violence is fake. The acrobats and gymnasts who do the stunts, fights, and tumblers are skilled, and the production values are among the highest of any show at the Disney parks. The outdoor amphitheater is sheltered, and you can bring drinks and food. Strategy: Arrive about 20 minutes early, as there’s a warm-up and volunteers are selected before showtime. It’s mounted about five times daily.

Star Tours—The Adventure Continues RIDE    Before Disney bought “Star Wars,” it made, and later upgraded, this popular, 40-person motion-simulator capsule that has you riding shotgun with an ineffectual droid named RX-24 (voiced by Pee-Wee actor Paul Reubens) on an ill-fated and turbulent excursion. In 5 minutes, you manage to lose control, go into hyperdrive, dodge asteroids, navigate a comet field, evade a Star Destroyer, get caught in a tractor beam, and join an assault on the Death Star. The video is well matched to the movements, which cuts down on reports of nausea. In May and June, the park mounts Star Wars Weekends, when actors from the movie arrive for signings, parades, Q&As, and brief workshops (p. 234). Fans of the franchise come out in force, so to speak.

Jedi Training Academy SHOW    Up to 15 times daily (see the “Times Guide”), about a dozen kids are lent robes, telescoping “light sabers,” and some gentle training in the Force by a “Jedi master” before a final defeat of Darth Vader and some stormtroopers. It’s cute and takes 20 minutes. Recruits (ages 4–12) are selected by 10:30am, tops, at the ABC Sound Studio, so get there early if your young Padawan wants a shot at carrying home the diploma.

Sunset Boulevard

The prime items in the park are on this street, which peels off not from the hub with the hat, as you might expect, but from the middle of Hollywood Boulevard.

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror RIDE    The tallest ride at Disney World (199 ft.) is one of the smartest, most exciting experiences there, and it’s the best version of the ride at any Disney park. It shouldn’t be missed. Guests are ushered through the lobby, library, and boiler room of a cobwebby 1930s Los Angeles hotel before being seated in a 21-passenger “elevator” car that, floor by floor, ascends the tower and then, without visible tracks, emerges from the shaft and roams an upper level. Soon, you’ve entered a second shaft and, after a pregnant moment of tension, you’re sent into what seems to be a free fall (in reality, you’re being pulled faster than the speed of gravity) and a series of thrilling up-and-down leaps. The fall sequence is random and you never drop more than a few stories—but the total darkness, periodically punctured by picture-window views of the theme park far below as you become momentarily weightless, keys up the giddy fear factor. It’s impossible not to smile. Strategy: In the preshow “library” room, move to the wall diagonally across from the entry door and you’ll exit first, saving you time. In the boarding area, the best views are in the front row, numbered 1 and 2, although you may not be given a choice. Chickens can bail before the ride boards.

Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith RIDE    Twenty-four-passenger “limousine” trains launch from 0 to 57mph in under 3 seconds, sending them through a 92-second rampage through smooth corkscrews and turns that are intensified by fluorescent symbols of Los Angeles (at one point, you dive though an O of the Hollywood sign). The indoor setup is a boon, as it means the ride can operate during the rain, and it makes the journey slightly less disorienting for inexperienced coaster riders. Cooler yet, speakers in each headrest (there are more than 900 in total) play Aerosmith music, which is perfectly timed to the dips and rolls. Strategy: The Fastpass line is absorbed quickly. There’s also a single-rider line, though it’s not always quick.

Beauty and the Beast—Live on Stage SHOW    The kid-friendly, 30-minute show is advertised as “Broadway-style,” but it’s really not. It’s theme park–style, simplified with the most popular songs from the movie. The story is highly condensed (you never find out why Belle ends up at the Beast’s castle and Gaston’s fate is not shown) and many characters inhabit whole-body costumes, speaking recorded dialogue with unblinking eyes—to the benefit of timid kids, the Beast looks more like a plush toy than a scary monster. Its intended audience cheers like it’s a rock concert and hoist smartphones during the ball scene, and because of that, most performances are jammed. The metal benches are numbing, but at least the amphitheater is covered. Strategy: Arrive 20 minutes early unless you want to be in the back, where afternoon sun can seep in.

Fantasmic! SHOW    The super-popular 25-minute pyrotechnics show featuring character-laden showboats, a 59-foot man-made mountain, flaming water, and lasers projected onto a giant water curtain, takes place in the 6,500-seat waterfront Hollywood Hills Amphitheatre. Although it’s a strong show by dint of its uniqueness, it doesn’t play nightly. I’m always stunned to see people start arriving at the theater as much as 2 hours before showtime. The seating is hard on the derriere. Most people will be satisfied taking their chances and showing up within 30 minutes of showtime. Strategy: On nights when there are two performances (not common), do the second one, as it’s always less crowded. Sit toward the rear to avoid catching water from the special effects and to the right to make exiting easier. You can get reserved seats if you book the Fantasmic! Dining Experience and eat dinner in the participating restaurants.

Streets of America & Commissary Lane

Streets of America is a confusing zone of backlot-style city blocks, mostly facades, made to look like aging versions of New York City and San Francisco. Its primary attraction is photo ops. Look around for a few tricks, like the umbrella affixed to a lamppost in the square a la “Singin’ in the Rain.”

Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show SHOW    Loud, brawling, and moderately exciting enough to see once, it’s a showcase for stunt driving dressed up like a film shoot for a car chase/action scene. The engaging 38-minute show, which uses a fleet of specially built, extra-nimble cars (plus a jet ski or two) and tells lots of lies about filming an actual movie scene while you’re there, was imported from Paris’ Walt Disney Studios Park (hence the set that looks like a Mediterranean port), but it seems tailor-made for American audiences. Strategy: Because the stage is so wide, I suggest taking a seat in the middle or near the top of the grandstand. You won’t wrestle for a spot—the stadium seats 5,000. It only happens 2 or 3 times daily.

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set Adventure ACTIVITY    Turn kids loose on a high-concept playground that simulates the sights and sounds of the average backyard—if your kids were the size of an ant. In addition to giant insects, cargo nets, and a slide that was once Kodak film but has been disguised with paint, there’s a giant Super Soaker that sprays the unsuspecting, plus giant Play-Doh and Tinkertoy product placements. It’s the only playground in the park.

Muppet*Vision 3-D SHOW    Behind the fabulous rotating fountain depicting Miss Piggy as the Statue of Liberty, the 17-minute movie features various tricks such as air blasts to make you feel like what you’re seeing is actually happening. The doors on the right lead to the back of the 600-seat auditorium and the ones on the left lead to the front; for the fullest view, I suggest sticking in the middle, since the theater’s walls become part of the show, and both live and Audio-Animatronic figures will appear on either side and even in the back. The preshow is amusing in that Muppet way (says Sam the Eagle about seating procedures: “Stopping in the middle is distinctly unpatriotic!”), and while the movie contains a few missteps (Waldo, a CG character, lacks creativity), it’s fast moving and includes lots of beloved “Muppet Show” (but no “Sesame Street”) favorites, such as Miss Piggy and Kermit. The Muppets, too, lend themselves very nicely to Audio-Animatronic technology. Strategy: Lines are longest just after the Indiana Jones show lets out.

Pixar Place & Animation Courtyard

Toy Story Midway Mania! RIDE    The plotless indoor ride is the most popular in the park, and rightly so. Wearing 3-D glasses, passengers shoot their way through a series of six animated midway games (a Buttercup egg toss, a Little Green Men ring toss) based on the Pixar toy box characters. Along the way, air puffs heighten the reality. Your cannon is easy to work and easy on the hands—you just tug a cord and it fires. Scoring points is harder; both accuracy and intensity count. The queue area, stuffed with outsize toys such as Tinkertoys and Barrel of Monkeys, makes waiting a delight: A 6-foot-tall, lifelike Mr. Potato Head entertains with live interaction and hoary jokes (“Is this an audience or a jigsaw puzzle?”). Across Pixar Place, Woody and Buzz meet kids in air conditioning. Tip: This is your top Fastpass contender because the wait can jump to an hour just 15 minutes after the park opens.

The Studio Backlot Tour RIDE    Once a centerpiece of the park, it has been whittled away to nearly nothing. It has been more than a decade since anything of note was produced here—leaving the guides to fib about how busy employees are. New tours start every 15 minutes and take about 35 minutes. It’s less crowded early in the day and closes by late afternoon.

The first segment is the Special Effects Water Tank Show, which accepts four volunteers (adults only; raise your hand for duty in the queue). There, standing guests watch how the bullet impacts, explosions, and deluges of a ship-attack movie sequence are shot and cut together to look real. Tips: For the best views from the front row of the audience section, join the right-hand row in the queue area. Be among the first people out of there, because the next section finds you in yet another queue, this one in a warehouse full of old movie props (a few of which you may recognize), which feeds the boarding area for a tram; the seats on its left are best.

Although the canned narration refers to active movie production, it’s faking. Disney bulldozed most of the area, including Residential Street, a little village for exterior shots (the “Golden Girls” and “Empty Nest” house facades were here), to make room for the Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show. When drivers perform, the shriek of the engines and the funk of burning rubber make the tram miserable and the narrator inaudible. The 20-minute trip loops past some old prop vehicles (poor Herbie the now-unloved Love Bug, plus some from “The Rocketeer,” “Pearl Harbor,” and other movies Disney wanted to do better) in the scaled-down Boneyard; through “glamorous” wardrobe houses (the staff is darning theme park uniforms, not movie costumes). Then you pass through Catastrophe Canyon, where, seated safely, you’ll witness a simulated earthquake, the heat of an exploding oil tanker, and a flash flood—all in the space of seconds. The wizardry, which resets for every batch of guests, is heart-pounding fun—although no thinking person believes the bald lie that the special effects crew is testing this rig for a shoot. Those sitting on the left might get a tad wet, and you’ll need sunglasses in the afternoon. On the way out, you’ll spot a Gulfstream jet Walt Disney used on his real estate–grabbing missions to Florida. Finally—some actual history!

The Voyage of the Little Mermaid SHOW    This bright, energetic, condensed version of the animated movie has high production values (puppets, live actors, mist, and a cool undersea-themed auditorium) and is a standout. This show is a top contender for the best show to see in the heat of the day, and Fastpass is available. Strategy: In the preshow holding pen, the doors to the left lead to the back half of the theater; because the blacklight puppetry of the marvelous “Under the Sea” sequence can be spoiled if you see too much detail, I suggest sitting there. Consider putting very small kids in your lap so they can see better.

   Hidden Hollywood History

What if I told you that the original marionettes from “The Lonely Goatherd” in “The Sound of Music” are stashed somewhere in Disney’s Hollywood Studios? You’d never find them unless I told you: Don’t miss the American Film Institute Showcase exhibition hidden at the disembarkation area of the unpopular Studio Backlot Tour attraction. The trove of artifacts is startling: those famous Bil and Cora Baird carved marionettes, the whip that dragged Indiana Jones behind a Nazi Jeep in “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” Superman’s flying cape, a “Titanic” lifeboat, Batman’s costume, the shooting script of “Platoon,” and more. To find it if you’re not taking the Backlot Tour, go through the shop opposite the Studio Catering Company, keep walking back, and go through the back of the second store you encounter.

Disney Junior—Live on Stage! SHOW    For those of us who obediently rise and dance when commanded by Mickey Mouse, there’s this breezy, 25-minute show with a lots of excellent puppets (warning, adults: You sit on the ground). It inspires such fervent participation from under 5s that it feels like a meeting for a cult that you’re not a member of. If you don’t know the names Doc McStuffins, Sofia the First, or Jake and the Never Land Pirates, this sing-along revue is still pretty to look at, and Mickey, Minnie, and friends make appearances. The parental units won’t be too bored, as this de facto Disney Channel ad is fast paced, like changing the channel every 4 minutes. Obviously, anyone old enough to do a book report can skip it.

The Magic of Disney Animation ACTIVITY    This tour is, in my opinion, the most telling evidence that Disney’s Hollywood Studios stumbled. Originally it provided a firsthand look at the labor-intensive work that produced all those famous Disney movies. Guests could watch live animators perfect their upcoming release—“Mulan” and “Lilo & Stitch” were made right here. But Disney fired its Florida-based animators, so there’s nothing more to see except fake empty workstations dressed with fake family photos and fake cups of tea. Instead, you get a hokey 9-minute show highlighting only the ideas stage of the process, followed by an ad for whatever computer-animated film will be released next. Then you’re dumped in an area of paltry interactive exhibits where kids determine which Disney character their personality is most like (me: Tarzan). The biggest benefit of exploring is the chance to meet major characters (Sorcerer Mickey, plus the latest ones from Pixar and other films) in the AC. At the top and bottom of each hour, you can take a worthwhile 22-minute group crash course in drawing a popular character (such as Olaf or Minnie) with a guide, and you can bring your artwork home for free. Otherwise, the art of handmade animation, through which the Disney empire was built, cel by cel, is barely discussed. You receive no more information than you could find in a 2-minute DVD extra. Strategy: Skip the show and enjoy the character greetings by entering through the back door, through the Animation Gallery, where you’ll pass 13 Oscars (all won for hand animation, it bears noting). If you love Disney history, this may bring you down.

Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream ACTIVITY    The only historic focus on Disney history here on resort property, it’s mostly overlooked, but the display is a requisite stop for anyone curious about the achievements of this driven man. Here, you (and a few other stragglers) learn the basic tenets of the Disney catechism, such as his boyhood hero was Abe Lincoln and he got the idea for Mickey on a train ride. (That oft-repeated myth has been disputed, with some evidence, by several historians.) You don’t hear about his passion for quality over money-grubbing, his sharp eye for merchandising opportunities, or anything else that would put the modern, publically traded Disney in a comparatively bad light. There are a few authentic artifacts, plus explanations of the revolutionary “multiplane” camera that enabled animators to reproduce the sliding depth of field normally seen in live-action films (you can see the fruit of the process in “Snow White” as the camera seems to move through the forest). Worth special scrutiny is the re-creation of Walt’s surprisingly banal Burbank office as it appeared from 1940 (shortly before he became a propagandist during World War II) to 1966; note the bulletin board of Disneyland developments and also the four ashtrays, which contributed to his death from lung cancer. The end of the exhibition chronicles the theme parks, including lots of scale models and an Audio-Animatronic skeleton from the 1964 World’s Fair. Most people take about 20 minutes for the museum, and then there’s a good 15-minute movie (you may skip it), culled mostly from archival footage and audio, so you hear the man himself speak. The feature scores points for mentioning Disney’s 1931 breakdown, but it also tries to prove Walt was a patron of the Disney Company’s current efforts, implying he approved of Epcot’s final design and worse, elbowing poor Roy virtually out of the story. But maybe it can be re-edited. “Disneyland,” he promises in it, “is something that will never be finished.”

   Go on Safari—for Mice

A favorite pastime for longtime fans is spotting Hidden Mickeys, which are ingeniously camouflaged mouse-ear patterns that can be secreted just about anywhere. You’ll find the three circles signifying a Mickey profile embedded in an arrangement of cannonballs at Pirates of the Caribbean; flatware in the dining room at the Haunted Mansion; and woven into carpeting, printed on wallpaper—it was once snuck into the souvenir photo on Test Track using hoses. Many sightings are up to interpretation, but sharpen your observational skills first at HiddenMickeysGuide.com.

Where to Eat at Disney’s Hollywood Studios

All locations have a few vegetarian options, kids’ meals, and if you identify yourself, special dietary requests can usually be accommodated, albeit often at diminished quality.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios’ Quick-Service Restaurants

Starring Rolls Café AMERICAN    The faster, cheaper, quieter alternative to Quick Service does stupendous baked goods such as chocolate Butterfinger cupcakes and banana split cake, plus a few sandwiches with chips or fruit. Around the corner, Sweet Spells tops it in the confection department, selling creative candy apples that look like Kermit and Olaf. Coffee is just $2, not $3.40 as at the kiosks. Sunset Boulevard. Sandwiches $11.

Rosie’s All-American Cafe AMERICAN    In the Sunset Ranch Market riff on L.A.’s famous Farmer’s Market, you’ll find outdoor-only counter service serving the typical burgers and chicken nuggets. Sunset Boulevard. Combo meal $9 to $10.

Catalina Eddie’s AMERICAN    Outdoor counter service for bready personal pizzas, hot Italian deli sandwiches, and Caesar’s salad. Near it is Anaheim Produce for fruit ($1.70 a piece). Sunset Boulevard. Combo meal $8 to $10

Fairfax Fare AMERICAN    Grab the richest, deadliest food, served outside: half-slabs of spareribs, barbecued pork sandwiches, and mac ’n cheese with truffle oil. Nearby is the Toluca Legs Turkey Company kiosk for those crazy big turkey legs drumsticks. Sunset Boulevard. Combo meal $9 to $16.

ABC Commissary AMERICAN    You get the same old food (burgers, couscous quinoa, and fried seafood platters), but it’s a good choice because the air-conditioned, uncrowded space is fashioned after a ’30s Deco backlot cafeteria. Commissary Lane. Combo meal $8 to $11.

Backlot Express AMERICAN    Bacon cheeseburgers, hot dogs, southwest chicken salad, served in AC with self-serve soda machines. Echo Lake. Combo meal $8 to $11.

Studio Catering Co. AMERICAN    In a sheltered seating area, order take-away chicken Caesar wraps, Greek salad, and Sloppy Joes with chipotle barbecue sauce. To the left, the High Octane Refreshments stand sells $9 cocktails (frozen margaritas and the like), draft beer and wine for $7. Streets of America. Combo meal $9 to $10.

Pizza Planet Arcade AMERICAN    Bland pizza, bready subs, dull salads, but kids like spending more of your money on the arcade games, so it’s often busy. Streets of America. Combo meal $9.50 to $11.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios’ Table-Service Restaurants

The highest-concept reservation restaurants in Disney World are found here. The food isn’t legendary, but some of the settings play on entertainment greatness.

The Hollywood Brown Derby AMERICAN    With interior design based on the after-hours industry hangout of Hollywood’s Golden Age (not the place with the big hat—the classier one), this airy post-Deco hall shoots for the upscale. Caricatures of film legends line the walls—those in black frames are copies while those in gold frames are relics from the original Brown Derby—and while the original Brown Derby was noted for its Cobb salad, this version is a bit of a caricature as well, often soggy. Other choices, all invoking that midcentury California spirit at the park’s highest prices, include crispy duck, cioppino, maple-glazed Scotch salmon, and beef filet. Its grapefruit cake is a specialty. Hollywood Boulevard. Main courses $29 to $43.

Hollywood & Vine AMERICAN    At breakfast and lunch, costumed Disney Junior characters (such as Doc McStuffins and Jake) greet kids, sing, and dance in a dinerlike setting for Disney Junior Play ’n Dine at Hollywood & Vine. The food is always an all-you-can-eat buffet. Echo Lake. Buffet $25 to $32 adults, $14 to $17 kids.

50’s Prime Time Café AMERICAN    Dine atop Formica in detailed reproductions of Cleaver-era kitchens while TVs play black-and-white shows from the era. Waitresses gently give lip to customers as they sling blue-plate specials, meatloaf, pot roast, chicken pot pie, and other momlike dishes, but the favorite here is its peanut butter and jelly milkshake ($5.60). Attached is the Tune-In Lounge, a TV room for adults serving beer and cocktails “from Dad’s liquor cabinet.” Echo Lake. Main courses $16 to $22.

Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano ITALIAN    Items cost two-thirds of what they do at Epcot’s Italy, and the atmosphere recalls the brick-walled, red-boothed family restaurant you’d find in any big American city. As expected, you eat pastas, steaks, flatbreads, and brick oven–baked chicken dishes. Streets of America. Main courses $17 to $25.

Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant AMERICAN    Disney World’s most unusual restaurant arranges mock-ups of ’50s automobiles before a silver screen showing a loop of B-movie clips and trailers. Couples sit side-by-side, like at a real drive-in movie, stars twinkle in the “sky,” and families get their own booths. It’s a brilliant idea, well realized and memorable, making it a top choice despite very iffy food quality. Dishes include burgers, fried dill pickles, pork ribs, and salmon BLTs. Commissary Lane. Main courses $14 to $30.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Although it’s the largest Disney theme park in Florida (500 acres), Disney’s Animal Kingdom , which opened in 1998 at a reported cost of $800 million as a competitor to Busch Gardens, actually takes the least amount of time to visit, because most of that land is used up by a menagerie of exotic animals. Instead of cages, they’re kept in paddocks rimmed with cleverly disguised trenches that are concealed behind landscaping. Most attractions are given a mild environmentalist message (ironic, considering how much Florida swamp was obliterated to build this resort, but never you mind). Because animals become inactive as the Florida heat builds, a visit here should begin as soon as the gates open, usually around 8am. To help gird your resolve, there are coffee carts ($3.40 outside the gates, $2.20 inside) along the entranceway. Tips: Schedule your nighttime shindig, such as that dinner show you’ve been dying to catch, for your Animal Kingdom day. Check the weather before you come, because if it’s excessively hot or wet, you might be miserable. Only three major attractions take place indoors. There is currently no parade at Animal Kingdom.

GETTING IN    Staples such as locker and stroller rental are just past the gates, in what’s called the Oasis, a lush buffer zone that gradually acclimates guests to the world of the park. Pick up a free “Guidemap,” a “Times Guide,” and an “Animal Guide.” The locations of animal enclosures are noted on the map by black-and-white paw prints, so if you’re most interested in seeing wildlife, follow those.

Generally speaking, the biggest animals and the most astute design collects at the back of the park (Africa and Asia), the thrills to the right (Asia and DinoLand U.S.A.).

The first thing you should do, like everyone else, is beeline it to the back of the Africa section. That’s where the Kilimanjaro Safari is, and first thing in the morning is the best time to do it. Crowds grow more ferocious than the lions.

Discovery Island

Like the Plaza of the Magic Kingdom, Discovery Island is designed to be the hub of the park. It’s the main viewing area for the daily Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade, which circles it (the route is denoted on the maps by a red dotted line) and guests can touch down here to change lands. The park’s tip board, with current wait times and upcoming showtimes, is also here, just to the right past the bridge from the Oasis, by the Disney Outfitters shop.

   The Best of Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Don’t miss if you’re 6: Festival of the Lion King

Don’t miss if you’re 16: DINOSAUR

Requisite photo op: The drop at Expedition Everest

Food you can only get here: Frozen chai, Royal Anandapur Tea Company

The most crowded, so Fastpass or go early: Kilimanjaro Safaris

Skippable: Rafiki’s Planet Watch

Quintessentially Disney: It’s Tough to Be a Bug!

Biggest thrill: Expedition Everest

Best show: “Finding Nemo—The Musical”

Character meals: Tusker House Restaurant, Africa

Where to find peace: Discovery Island

The Tree of Life RIDE    Instead of a castle or a geosphere (or, uh . . . a hat), the centerpiece here, Animal Kingdom’s “weenie,” is an emerald, 14-story-high arbor (built on the skeleton of an oil rig) covered with hundreds of carvings of animals made to appear, at a distance, like the pattern of bark. Some 102,000 vinyl leaves were individually attached—which is why its shade of green is more lurid than the surrounding foliage—to some 750 tertiary branches. That the best way to enjoy it is to slowly make a circuit of it, looking for and identifying new animals, is perhaps proof that the best way to experience this park is to slow down and open your eyes.

Discovery Island Trails ACTIVITY    The self-guided paths encircle the Tree of Life. Here’s where you’ll find giant red kangaroos, flamingoes, storks, otters, lemurs, macaws, and the lappet-faced vulture; some are removed from view when it’s hot. It takes only about 15 minutes to enjoy.

Adventurers Outpost CHARACTER GREETING    Mickey and Minnie, wearing explorer garb, meet kids, and sign autographs here, on the east side of the path toward Asia. It is the only place in the resort where they appear as a couple.

It’s Tough to Be a Bug! SHOW    Hidden in the flying roots of the Tree of Life, in a cool basementlike theater, you’ll find a cleverly rigged cinema showing a sense-tricking 10-minute 3-D movie based on the animated movie “A Bug’s Life.” When the stinkbugs do their thing or the tarantula starts firing poison quills, you’ll never quite be sure what’s an image, what’s cutting-edge robotics, and what’s clever rigging in the theater. As one of the newest sense-tricking movies at Disney World, it’s one of the best. Little kids who can’t distinguish fantasy from reality may be scared by the marvelously realized Hopper figure; sit in back (the first doors after you get your glasses) and to the left to be far from him. The indoor preshow area is decorated with posters for some funny entomological variations on Broadway shows (my faves: “Web Side Story” and “My Fair Ladybug”). Strategy: Upon exiting, go left to explore the trails (above) or right for the bridge to Asia.

Africa

You might see a bit of upheaval in this section of the park while a new theater is built to house Festival of the Lion King. Because of its star attraction, Africa is mobbed in the morning, but by afternoon it gets more manageable.

Kilimanjaro Safaris RIDE    Easily the bumpiest ride at Disney World, the 20-minute ride is the crown jewel of Animal Kingdom. Climb into a supersize, 32-passenger Jeep—an actual one with wheels, not a tracked cart—and be swept into what feels like a real safari through the African veldt, with meticulously rutted tracks and all, only on Quaaludes. Be quick on the shutter, because drivers speed fleetly, passing through habitats for giraffes, elephants, wildebeest, ostrich, hippos, lions, antelope, rhinos, and other creatures that made safaris famous. Considering the quality and quantity of animals on display—and the cleverness of the enclosure design, as there are never bars between you and them—it’s easily the best animal attraction of the park, and the queue only builds during the day. Some people say that the second-best time to see the animals is in midafternoon because they get antsy with the foreknowledge that they’re about to be led to their indoor sleeping quarters. Ride twice if you want—the free will of the animals means it’s never the same trip twice. Strategy: Photographers who want clear shots should jockey toward the back, away from the cockpit. They may not have control over that, so at the very least, they should negotiate with their companions for a seat at the end of their row.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Animal Kingdom: One Day, Two Ways

ANIMAL KINGDOM: ONE DAY, TWO WAYS

Animal Kingdom With Kids

When the gates open, head straight to Africa for Kilimanjaro Safaris.

Find the gorillas and hippos on the Pangani Forest Exploration.

Go to Asia to spot tigers on the Maharajah Jungle Trek.

Ride Kali River Rapids to cool down.

See Flights of Wonder.

Have lunch at Yak & Yeti.

See the next performance of Finding Nemo—The Musical, seated and indoors.

Ride Primeval Whirl and TriceraTop Spin.

Go see It’s Tough to Be a Bug!, and walk the Discovery Trails to look for animals embedded in the Tree of Life.

Go to Africa to see Festival of the Lion King.

If you have time or energy, take the train to and from Rafiki’s Planet Watch for a 20-minute walk-through (budget 45 min. total).

Re-ride anything you loved and head out before closing.

Pangani Forest Exploration Trail ACTIVITY    Upon exiting Kilimanjaro Safaris, begin this trail, which focuses on African animals. It wends past a troop of lowland gorillas (very popular), naked mole rats, okapi, meerkats (yes, like Timon), and hippos you can view through an underwater window; the nocturnal animals start waking up at around 3:30pm. The circuit takes about a half-hour, but you can spend as long as you want. The gorillas come near the end, so budget your time.

“Festival of the Lion King” SHOW    If this lavish, colorful, intense spectacle can’t hold your attention for 30 minutes, you might require prescriptions. Audiences sit on benches in four quadrants (front rows are good for engaging with performers), and the event comes on buoyant and boisterously, like an acid trip during a rock concert. Four huge floats enter the room, topped with soft-looking giant puppets of Timon, Pumbaa, and African wildlife and attended by acrobats, stilt-walkers, flame jugglers, and dancers, all of whom get their turn to dazzle you with their acts, which are performed, of course, to the hit songs of the movie. Strategy: Shows are scheduled, and they can fill up, so arrive 30 minutes early. Unfortunately, although the theatre was just built in 2014, the seating is bleacher-style and lacks backs.

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START: BE AT THE GATE FOR OPENING TIME.

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ANIMAL KINGDOM WITHOUT KIDS

Have a mid- to late-morning Fastpass for Expedition Everest or an early afternoon one for Kilimanjaro Safaris.

When the gates open, head straight to Africa for Kilimanjaro Safaris. It’s fine if you have a Fastpass for later; each trip yields different animals.

Watch the gorillas on the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail.

OR

Go to Asia to ride Expedition Everest before the line gets too crazy.

Walk to Asia and ride Expedition Everest (if you haven’t already!).

Explore the Maharajah Jungle Trek to see tigers.

If it’s hot by now, ride Kali River Rapids.

See Flights of Wonder.

Have lunch at Yak & Yeti.

See the next performance of Finding Nemo—The Musical. Enjoy the air-conditioning.

Ride Primeval Whirl.

Ride DINOSAUR.

See It’s Tough to Be a Bug!, and walk the Discovery Trails to look for animals embedded in the Tree of Life.

If it’s quiet and you’re interested, re-ride Kilimanjaro Safaris to get a different experience than before.

Go to Africa to see Festival of the Lion King.

If you have time or energy, take the train to Rafiki’s Planet Watch (budget 45 min. total).

Re-ride anything you loved. You will probably depart before closing time, so this may be a great night to make evening plans in Orlando.

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Rafiki’s Planet Watch ACTIVITY    Its elements are listed separately on the park maps, but everything is of a piece. The only way to reach this educational veterinary station is using the Wildlife Express Train. Waits are generally no longer than 10 minutes. The trip takes 7 minutes and you’ll get glimpses of plain backstage work areas and maybe a white rhino in its indoor pen, but not much else. Habitat Habit!, the path that leads to the main building, is another “discovery trail,” this one with cotton-top tamarins (endangered monkeys about the size of squirrels). Conservation Station is a quasi-educational peek at how the park’s animals are maintained—you’re not seeing the true veterinary facilities, but a few auxiliary rooms set up so tourists can watch activities through picture windows. There’s not always something going on (early mornings seem to be most active), and the Times Guide doesn’t help, so you might get all the way here and then find yourself with only some tanks of reptiles and amphibians to poke at, although Rafiki and Chip ’n’ Dale make appearances all day. There’s nothing earthshaking—enter a dark, soundproof booth and listen to the sounds of the rainforest—but the pace is much easier than in the park outside. The Affection Section is a petting zoo hosting, in addition to your typical petting-zoo denizens—donkeys, goats, sheep. Next to that; there’s an animal presentation on the bottom of the hour between 11:30am and 2:30pm. Tip: Try to visit by noon, when the vets are more likely to be treating animals; Guest Relations, at the front of the park, keeps a schedule.

Asia

Asia is the park’s showcase, and its ingenious decor (rat-trap wiring, fraying prayer flags) is so accurate it could easily be mistaken for the real Nepal or northern India. Make a stop at Bhaktapur Market, which sells Asian souvenirs that are a cut above the usual theme park stuff—kimonos, Manga toys, beautiful sarongs. It makes me long for the years when all of Disney World’s shops were this interesting and site-specific.

Expedition Everest RIDE    The lavishly themed and abundantly hyped roller coaster is mostly contained in the “snowcapped” mountain looming nearly 200 feet over the park’s east end (if it were any higher, Florida law would require it to be topped by an airplane beacon). The queue area is a beautifully realized duplication of a Himalayan temple down to the tarnished bells and weathered paint, although portions of it are exposed the sun, so drink something before you pony up. The coaster itself is loaded with powerful set pieces that get you your money’s worth: both backward and forward motion, pitch-black sections, and a fleeting encounter with a 22-foot Abominable Snowman, or Yeti. As with all Disney rides, the most dramatic drop (80 ft.) is visible from the sidewalk out front, so if you think you can stomach that, you can do the rest. There are no upside-down loops; the dominant motion is spiral. Strategy: This coaster is a top candidate for Fastpass. The seats with the best view, without question, are in the front rows, although the back rows feel a little faster. The single-rider line is in one of the resort’s fastest-moving and most fruitful.

Kali River Rapids RIDE    The 12-passenger round bumper boat shoots a course of rapids, and sometimes you can get soaked—it depends on your bad luck—but it’s generally milder than similar rides. Your feet, for sure, will get wet. The worst damage is usually done by spectators who shoot water cannons at passing boats. Lots of guests buy rain ponchos ($7.50–$8.50 at nearby stores, or $1 for two at your local dollar store), but there is a water-resistant holding area in the center of each boat. To be safe, there are free 120-minute lockers available, $7/hour if you go over. Strategy: Lines build considerably when it’s hot, so this is another prime Fastpass candidate.

Maharajah Jungle Trek ACTIVITY    Too few people enjoy this self-guided, South Asian–themed walking trail featuring some gorgeous tigers (rescued from a circus breeding program), flying foxes, komodo dragons, and a few birds frolicking among fake ruins. The tigers are most active when the park opens and near closing time. Grab a bird information sheet after entering the aviary; there’s a bat display, too, that you can bypass if you’re squeamish.

   The Chilling Tale of Disco Yeti

Expedition Everest’s original effects were too complicated to function for long. The Yeti suffered the most ignoble fate. Although it was the most complicated Audio-Animatronic creature ever commissioned, and the sight of it lunging for your train was meant to be the ride’s scintillating climax, its repetitive motion reportedly cracked its supports, which were too integrated with the structure of the mountain to repair. The solution: A strobe light now makes it appear as if the motionless Yeti moves. Disney fans deride it as the “Disco Yeti.”

Flights of Wonder SHOW    At the canvas-sheltered Caravan Stage, the 25-minute show (the schedule is posted) showcases birds such as hawks, vultures, bald eagles, and parrots—20 species; the mix changes—that swoop thrillingly over the audience’s heads. Standard, if beautiful, nature-show stuff. After the performance, handlers usually present a few of the birds back on stage for close inspection.

DinoLand U.S.A.

When it rains, come here, where two attractions and one big counter-service restaurant are indoors.

“Finding Nemo—The Musical” SHOW    One of the best shows at Disney right now is a fast-forwarded version of the movie by the songwriters of the Oscar-winning tune “Let It Go.” The story was heightened with such catchy added songs as “Fish Are Friends, Not Food” and the infectious, Beach Boys–style “Go with the Flow.” Just as in the Broadway adaptation of “The Lion King,” live actors manipulate complicated animal puppets in full view, which allows the fish to appear as if they’re floating in the sea. It’s remarkable how quickly you stop paying attention to the humans—at least, until they start flying, with their puppets, through the air on wires. Then you’re just amazed. Sprightly, bright, colossal, and energetic, this winning 40-minute show is a good choice for taking a load off (the bench seating is indoors), and even those who know the movie backward and forward will find something new in the vibrant vigor of the delivery. Strategy: Because some scenes (including the introduction of Dory) happen in the aisle that crosses the center of the theater, sit in the rear half of the auditorium.

Chester & Hester’s Dino-Rama ACTIVITY/RIDE    Kids run loose in this miniature carnival-style amusement area with a midway, Fossil Fun Games (Mammoth skee-ball races, “Whac-a-Packycephaolosaur”) and two simple family rides. TriceraTop Spin , for the very young, is yet another iteration of the Dumbo ride over at Magic Kingdom and is designed for kids to ride with their parents. Cars fit four, in two rows. Primeval Whirl is a pair of mirror-image, family-friendly carnival-style coasters (FYI, Walt hated carnivals) that start out like a typical “wild mouse” ride before, mid-trip, the round cars begin spinning on an axle as they ride the rails. Think of it as a roller-coaster version of the teacup ride. You can plainly see what you’re in for, although you may be surprised at how roughly the movements can whip your neck. Don’t feel bad if you give it a miss, too, because it’s not a Disney original; it was made by a French company that sells similar rides to other parks. Keep the kids in control by swinging them across the path to The Boneyard , a hot, sun-exposed playground where the very young can dig up “prehistoric” bones in the sand and work off energy on catwalks, net courses, and slides.

DINOSAUR RIDE    A good rainy-weather option is this 3-minute indoor time-travel ride in which all-terrain “Enhanced Motion Vehicles” simultaneously speed and shimmy down an unseen track, all as hordes of roaring dinosaurs attempt to make you dinner and an approaching asteroid shower threatens to do everyone in. Some kids, and even some adults, find all those jaws and jerky movements rather intense, and it’s extremely dark and loud, but ultimately, it’s a fun time, even if the perpetual darkness makes me wonder how much money Disney saved in not having to build more dinosaurs. Like many modern rides, well-known actors perform in the preshow video; this one’s got Phylicia Rashad, fiercely overacting, and Wallace Langham, in a horrific tie. The line never seems to be as long as this ride deserves. On the path to the ride, don’t ignore Dino-Sue, the 40-foot-long, full-scale T. rex skeleton—it’s a replica of Sue, the most complete specimen man has yet found. The original, unearthed in South Dakota in 1990, is on display at Chicago’s Field Museum. The Cretaceous Trail, at the head of the path, showcases ferns and American alligators extant in that period.

PACKING IT IN: TWO PARKS, ONE DAY

START: BE AT THE GATE FOR OPENING TIME.

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You really don’t have to pay for 2 days’ worth of park tickets to visit Animal
Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. As long as you have the Park Hopper option, you can see the highlights in 1 action-packed day. You will miss some lesser attractions, but not enough to lose sleep over.

Which park you do first is a toss-up. The animals are most active first thing in the morning at Animal Kingdom, but the line at Hollywood Studios’ Toy Story Midway Mania gets crazy by noon. You can start with Animal Kingdom, where Fastpasses are mostly unnecessary, if you have pre-arranged an afternoon Fastpass for Toy Story Midway Mania at Hollywood Studios.

Begin your day at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. When the gates open, head straight to Africa for Kilimanjaro Safaris.

Animal people: Enjoy the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail.

Coaster people: Ride Expedition Everest. If the wait’s bad, use the Single Rider line.

Explore the Maharajah Jungle Trek.

Ride Kali River Rapids.

If you enjoy live musicals, see the next performance of either Finding Nemo—The Musical or Festival of the Lion King. This will take nearly an hour, so cut this if it’s too close to lunch.

Ride DINOSAUR. (Maybe you can do this while waiting for the Nemo show to start?)

Go see It’s Tough to Be a Bug!, and afterward walk the Discovery Trails and look for animals embedded in the Tree of Life.

Switch parks. On the way, you could lunch on U.S. 192, where food’s cheaper. Reach that quickly by following the signs to the Animal Kingdom Lodge and turning left at the light before its entrance. That’s Sherbeth Road, and it winds to U.S. 192. After lunch, drive east on 192 a few miles and follow the signs back to Disney.

Enter Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Use your Fastpass for Toy Story Midway Mania at Pixar Place.

Ride Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster.

Do The Great Movie Ride.

Take the Backlot Tour (it usually shuts down by late afternoon).

Ride Star Tours.

If you have time, see Muppet*Vision 3-D.

If you have time, see the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular.

See Fantasmic! (if it’s performing tonight).

Go back to your hotel and collapse.

   Opening Pandora

The next big Disney addition, slated for a 2017 opening, is currently clanging and hammering its way into existence on the site of the former Camp Minnie-Mickey section. It’s a bizarre choice to co-opt a franchise that was not created by the company, and it’s made more bizarre that there are a dozen other Disney-owned brands that are far more beloved, from “Star Wars” to the Muppets. No doubt Disney was spooked into greenlighting it by the mad success of Universal’s Harry Potter lands, but Avatar Land, as it’s nicknamed right now, will be the largest expansion in Animal Kingdom’s relatively short history. Imagineers will draw inspiration from the bioluminescent plants, “floating mountains,” and wildlife of the fictional planet Pandora, and although Disney Parks is mum about specifics, it’s rumored that the lynchpin attractions will be a flying ride simulator and a boat ride.

Where to Eat at Disney’s Animal Kingdom

All locations have vegetarian options, kids’ meals, and if you identify yourself, special dietary requests can usually be accommodated. Because plastic straws choke animals, paper ones are provided. Frozen drinks spiked with booze have become a big thing at Animal Kingdom, which helps combat heat in this exposed park.

Disney’s Animal Kingdoms’ Quick-Service Restaurants

Guests will dietary restrictions should seek out the new Gardens kiosk near Flame Tree Barbecue on Discovery Island, where special snacks are sold and cast members can help you find more suitable dishes around the park.

Flame Tree Barbecue AMERICAN    If you don’t mind gorging on meaty dishes such as ribs and baked chicken when you’re supposed to be appreciating animals, it has some terrific eating areas with cushioned seating on the Discovery River, and its pulled-pork barbecue is a favorite. This is where you get those honking turkey legs. Discovery Island. Combo meal $9.50 to $16.

Pizzafari AMERICAN    A vibrantly colored restaurant with lots of rooms to spread out, Pizzafari has a special contraption in the kitchen for cranking out fresh pizzas. It also does Italian-style subs and pasta with chicken. Discovery Island. Combo meal $9 to $10.

Yak & Yeti Local Food Cafes ASIAN    Although there is a table-service location indoors by the same name, the outdoor windows do counter-service Mandarin chicken salad, sweet and sour chicken, beef lo mein, and greasy pork egg rolls. Across the path on the water, the Royal Anandapur Tea Company kiosk does something unique: teas and slushy chai ($5.40). Asia. Combo meal $9 to $11.

Tamu Tamu Eats & Refreshment INTERNATIONAL    With a small selection (pulled beef or chicken-salad sandwiches, quinoa salad) and no indoor seating, it’s not usually too crowded. Best of all, it serves the beloved Dole Whip frozen pineapple dessert, but here, it’s spiked with a shot of rum. It’s near Dawa Bar, a relaxing spot mimicking a fortress on the water where cocktails are served. Africa. Combo meal $9–$10.

Restaurantosaurus AMERICAN    As American as DinoLand U.S.A., the kitchen pumps out burgers, hot dogs, chicken BLT salad, and nuggets. The Dino-Bites kiosk nearby sells desserts. DinoLand U.S.A. Combo meal $9 to $11.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom’s Table-Service Restaurants

Because you’re probably going to be up early to see the animals at their best, this park is a good candidate for a character breakfast. There are very few places to get out of the heat and have a waiter-service meal.

Rainforest Cafe AMERICAN    In a lush, junglelike, theatrically lit setting, robotic animals roar and twitter over your cheese sticks, burgers, and rum cocktails in souvenir glasses. This is not a Disney original, but one of two outposts of the established brand at Disney World (the other is at Downtown Disney Marketplace). Oasis, at the park turnstiles. Main courses $13 to $33.

Tusker House Restaurant AMERICAN/AFRICAN    Under multicolored banners in an ancient souklike environment, Donald, Daisy, Mickey, and Goofy greet families in safari garb for “Donald’s Safari Breakfast” and “Donald’s Dining Safari” lunch, both all-you-can eat buffets. By dinner, character-free, the buffet dares more than most Disney dos, featuring Cape Malay curry chicken, spiced tandoori tofu, couscous, seafood stew with tamarind BBQ sauce, and other pleasingly aromatic choices. Africa. Meals $29 to $35 adults, $16 to $19 kids.

Yak & Yeti Restaurant ASIAN    Themed like a Nepalese mansion stocked with souvenirs from across Southeast Asia, the menu is just as geographically varied, serving Kobe beef burgers with mushroom compote, ahi tuna, Malaysian seafood curry, fried honey chicken, and stir fry. The Quick Service counter outside offers a shorter, but similar, menu for less, but at Animal Kingdom, air conditioning is the most rare and delicious treat. Main courses $19 to $27.

   Fitting into the Disney Culture

Walt Disney World’s employees have a culture all their own that visitors must learn to respect. Working at Disney World isn’t like getting a job at the bank. WDW is billed as the Happiest Place on Earth. Many cast members live and breathe its way of life, and quite a few moved from other parts of the country to be a part of it. Be alert to the fact that many of them identify personally with the Disney Way (it exists) and they take exception to comments that carry a hint of being argumentative. Try not to bicker with Disney employees or put them in a position of having to defend or explain their company. And for heaven’s sake, no cussing! That code is technically meant to apply only to cast members, the unspoken cultural expectation is that you follow it, too. The flip side of this is that if something goes wrong with your visit, cast members will often work to make it right and make your vacation a positive memory.

Disney Water Parks

The big question: Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon? Both can fill a day. So it depends on your mood. Typhoon Lagoon’s central feature, a sand-lined 21⁄2-acre wave pool, is an ideal place for families to approximate a day at the beach. If your kids have a need for speed, then head to Blizzard Beach, which has wilder water slides.

Both water parks, similar in size, have free parking and are less busy early in the week, probably because folks tend to start their vacations on a weekend and don’t get to the flumes until they’ve done the four big theme parks. They tend to be busier in the morning than in late afternoon. They also sell everything you need to protect yourself from the sun, including lotion (should you have forgotten) and swimsuits (should you lose yours in the lather). Most lines (many rides have two: one for a raft and one for the slide) are exposed to the sun, so it’s important to keep hydrated, as you won’t always be aware how much you’re sweating. Both parks sell refillable mugs for endless soft drinks (otherwise, soft drinks start at $3). They also rent towels for $2. Lifeguards usually make you remove water shoes on slides that don’t use a mat or raft, and swimsuits with rivets or zippers are forbidden because they may scratch the flumes.

A day at a water park isn’t as stressful as one spent among the queues of the theme parks, and if you’re paying attention, the sights and sounds of a day here are pretty heartwarming. Every time the wave machine roars into gear, for example, dozens of kids shriek with delight and scamper into the water. Because they’re chilling out, people tend to be happy at these parks.

LOCKERS    An average locker is $10 but you get $5 of that back after you turn your key in. They allow multiple access, are about 2 feet deep, and the opening is about the size of a magazine.

PREPARATION    Thoughtfully, parking is free. There are bulletin boards past the park entrances that tell you what the sunburn risk is and what the wait times are for the slides, as well as what times the parades run at Disney parks that day. If there are any activities (scavenger hunts are common), they’ll be posted here. Kids’ beach toy sets, for the sand around the lagoon, are sold in the gift shop for $10.

FOOD    There are only counter-service choices. Eat promptly at 11am when they open because lines get crazy quickly. Don’t plan on eating dinner at the water parks, as the kiosks tend to shut down well before closing.

TIMING    If you’re coming to Florida between November and mid-March, one of these parks will be closed for its annual hose-down. The other will remain open. Most water features are heated, but remember that you eventually must get out.

Blizzard Beach

Of Disney’s two water parks, Blizzard Beach is the more thrilling, possibly because it opened 6 years after Typhoon Lagoon and had the benefit of improving on what didn’t work there. It also has a wittier backstory that is perfect for a hot day: A freak snowstorm hit Mount Gushmore, and Disney was slapping up a ski resort when the snow began to melt, creating water slides. So now, a lift chair brings bathers most of the way up the 90-foot peak, and flumes are festooned with ski-run flags and piled with white “snowdrifts.” Best of all, at this park, no one has to tote rafts uphill—there are conveyors to do it for you.

Surely the most exhilarating 8 seconds in all of Walt Disney World, Summit Plummet is the immensely steep, 12-story-tall slide that commands attention at the peak of the mountain, which incidentally, offers one of the best panoramas of the Walt Disney World resort. A slide down this one is for the truly fearless, as the first few seconds make you feel weightless, as if you’re about to fall forward. By the end, the water is jabbing you so hard that it’s not unusual to come away with a light bruise, and it turns the toughest bathing suit into dental floss. This is a fun one to watch; just ask the young men who are glued to it for the aforementioned reason. Slush Gusher , next to it among the Green Slope rides and slightly lower, is a double-hump that gives the rider the sensation of air time—not a reassuring feeling when you’re flying down an open chute.

The enormous chute winding off the mountain’s right side is Teamboat Springs , a group ride in a circular raft; just about everyone gets a chance to enjoy the top of a banked turn, and after the inevitable splashdown, another minute is spent in a comedown floating on a river. It’s highly re-rideable, but if you go alone, you’ll be paired with strangers for some slippery awkwardness.

Snow Stormers (Purple Slope) is a trio of standard raft water slides, but the twin Downhill Double Dipper is a simple slope of two identical slides with a good embellishment: It times runs so you can race a companion down. Toboggan Racers multiplies the fun to where eight people can race at once down an evenly scalloped run. At the base of these is Melt Away Bay , a 1-acre wave pool in which waves create a gentle bobbing sensation. It could stand to be larger since it gets very crowded.

At the back of the mountain (the Red Slope; reach it by walking around the left or via the lazy river), the three Runoff Rapids flumes comprise two open-air slides and a totally enclosed one—you only see the occasional light flashing by. (These are the only ones for which you must haul your own raft up the hill.)

The park is circled by the superlative lazy river (for the newbie, that’s a slow-flowing channel where you float along in an inner tube) called Cross Country Creek , which is probably the best of its kind, passing a cave dripping with refrigerated water and a slouching shack that, every few seconds, gushes as you hear the sound of Goofy sneezing. Tip: It’s easier to find a free inner tube at a ramp far from the park entrance; try the one at the base of Downhill Double Dipper or the one to the left past Lottawatta Lodge, the main food building.

There are two kiddie areas, one for preteens, Ski Patrol (short slides, a walk across the water on floating “icebergs”) and for littler kids, Tike’s Peak (even smaller slides, fountains, and jets). The latter is a good place to look if you can’t find seating.

Tip: The miniature golf course Winter Summerland (see “Join the Club” on p. 150) shares a parking lot with Blizzard Beach, so it’s easy to combine a visit.

 407/560-3400. www.disneyworld.com. $53 adults, $45 kids 3–9. Hours vary, but 10am–5pm is common in summer.

Typhoon Lagoon

Despite the petrifying imagery of the shrimp boat (Miss Tilly) impaled on the central mountain (Mt. Mayday), the flumes at Typhoon Lagoon are less daunting than the ones at Blizzard Beach or Wet ’n Wild. Typhoon Lagoon is extremely well landscaped (most of the flowers are selected so that they attract butterflies but not bees) to hide its infrastructure, but its navigation is not always well planned. For example, you tote your own rafts. Also, the paths to the slides ramble up and down stairs—the one to the Storm Slides actually goes down eight times as it winds up the mountain. It’s also not always clear where to find the slide you want. Help guide little ones.

The Surf Pool divides its time between “surf waves” (at 5 ft., they pack a surprising punch, and they are announced by a whoompf that draws great peals of delight from kids) and mild “bobbing waves”—times for both are noted on the Surf Report chalk sign at the pool’s foot. The slides are generally shallow, slow, and geared toward avowed sissies. That will frustrate some teenagers, but little kids and mothers with expensive hairdos think Mayday Falls , which sends riders down a corrugated flume, is just right (adults come off rubbing their butts in pain). It’s very tough to find a vantage point to watch your kids ride, but there’s a spot near the entrance of Gangplank Falls , a family-sized round raft, where you can see a little, and there’s a lovely hidden overlook trail with a suspension bridge and waterfalls that passes under the Miss Tilly. The leftmost body slide of three at Storm Slides is slightly more covered; otherwise the slides are much the same. The Crush ’n’ Gusher “water coaster” flumes use jets to push rafts both uphill and downhill; the gag is that it used to be a fruit-washing plant, and now you’re the banana—appropriate since it’s sponsored by Chiquita.

One highlight is Shark Reef , a 101⁄2-foot-deep tank stocked with tropical fish, nonthreatening leopard and bonnet sharks, and mock coral. Everyone gets a mask, snorkel, and, if wanted, a floatation jacket, and then swims 60 feet across the tank (no dawdling permitted) under the eye of lifeguards who’ll spring into action at the slightest hint of trouble—or even if you kick your feet. (If you want a tank where you can dawdle with fish, try SeaWorld’s Discovery Cove, p. 136.) You needn’t meet a high standard beyond an ability to paddle across a pool. If you don’t care for that setup, descend by stairs into a submerged “shipwreck,” which has portholes allowing a lateral, murky view of the same tank. Strategy: Shark Reef gets busy, so do it early or late.

For the best shot at finding an inner tube for the lushly planted lazy river, Castaway Creek , pick an entry farther from the entrance, such as in front of the Crush ’n’ Gusher area. That’s also a good place to find a lounger if the Lagoon is packed, which it usually is; otherwise, try the extreme left past the ice cream stand. That’s near Ketchakiddee Creek , the geyser-and-bubbler play area for small children. Funny how the water’s always warmer there.

“Learn to Surf” lessons are held in the Surf Pool 2 hours before park hours and, sometimes, after it closes ( 407/939-7529; $150 for all ages, minimum age of 5). The lessons come with 30 minutes of preparation followed by 2 hours of in-pool instruction, always with lifeguards scrutinizing your every twitch.

 407/560-3400. www.disneyworld.com. $53 adults, $45 kids 3–9. Hours vary, but 10am–5pm is common in summer.

Minor Disney World Diversions

Also see “Join the Club” on p. 150 for details on the two Disney miniature golf areas.

DisneyQuest PLAY PARK    Most Disney fans thought this five-level virtual reality playground would close a half decade ago. It’s shabby and past its prime, if it had one, and if you pay full price for it, you’ll wish you hadn’t. Standout stuff includes Cyberspace Mountain, in which you design your own coaster from a palette of options and then board a motion-simulator capsule in which you can test out your creation—360-degree loops and all. The ride vehicles actually go upside-down, making it one of only two Disney World rides to do so. Virtual Jungle Cruise has you on inflatable rafts, using paddles to float down a river on a screen in front of you; and Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for Buccaneer Gold puts you on the deck of a mini pirate ship, with screens on three sides, that has members of your party simultaneously steering and blasting rival ships by yanking on ropes that trigger cannons (like the ones on Toy Story Midway Mania). Sadly, most of the animation feels badly dated. Not everything is screen based: The rowdy Buzz Lightyear’s AstroBlaster is like a bumper-car game where your vehicle scoops up balls and fires them at competitors, causing them to spin momentarily; it’s best for two riders at a time. Throughout the building are arcade games, old and new (try the playable Wreck-It Ralph arcade machines), that need no quarters. During the weekdays, you pretty much have your run of the place. Hit Orlando’s more compelling attractions before getting around to doing this one—if you want technology, how about Kennedy Space Center? Still, it’s fine if you have an extra Water Park Fun & More visit to burn on my Magic Your Way ticket. Sometimes 50 percent discounts are available 2 hours before closing.

Downtown Disney West Side.  407/828-4600. www.disneyquest.com. $46 adults, $39 kids 3–9. $6–$8 cheaper online. Kids 9 and under must be accompanied by someone 16 or older. Sun–Thurs 11:30am–10pm; Fri–Sat 11:30am–11:30pm.

ESPN Wide World of Sports ATHLETIC COMPLEX    Most visitors don’t stumble onto the 220-acre grounds, which are essentially a souped-up stadium complex, by accident. They go there intentionally, for a son’s wrestling tournament, a traveling sports exhibition game, or to see the Atlanta Braves in spring training. Unfortunately, it’s not a place to roll up and pitch a few balls, although you can check its website to see if there’s something ticketed that you might enjoy attending (and paying extra for).

Victory Dr., I-4 at exit 64B.  407/939-1500. www.disneysports.com.

Richard Petty Driving Experience RIDE    Heaven knows how it secured a matchless location in the Magic Kingdom’s parking lot, but there it sits, selling 150-mph ride-alongs in 600 horsepower Winston Cup–style stock cars on a 1-mile track with 10-degree banking. A mere 3 laps start at $105, and if you want to be behind the wheel, packages zoom up to $449 for 8 laps. All riders pay another $39 in insurance. Petty has some 20 other locations; so don’t feel wrecked if you miss this one.

3450 N. World Dr., Lake Buena Vista.  800/237-3889. www.drivepetty.com. Minimum age 16. Daily 9am–4pm.

Downtown Disney & Disney’s BoardWalk

The no-admission shopping and entertainment district currently known as Downtown Disney comprises nearly a pedestrianized mile of event restaurants and shops along a small lake, away from the major theme parks in a traffic-plagued eastern reach of the resort grounds. Its West Side is home to the DisneyQuest virtual playground (p. 93), a 24-screen cinema, and “La Nouba,” the Cirque du Soleil show (see below).

Characters in Flight RIDE    You’ll see it from miles away: A huge, round helium balloon that rises from a pier, lingers 400 feet up for a spell, and then descends back to earth within about 10 minutes. Although it’s safely tethered and the circular observation platform is securely enclosed with mesh, it lists and drifts with sudden breezes and that may disturb some guests. If you’re adventurous, though, the trip is good fun, and of course the view rocks. It’s known to summarily shut down for weather that may seem calm from the ground, so if it’s flying and you want to ride it, don’t procrastinate.

Orlando after dark with Kids

Although on some nights, one could argue that the people drinking at the clubs and bars are infantile, you still can’t bring your kids to hang out in them. Don’t worry—Orlando is a family city, so there’s much for kids to do.

Magic Kingdom parade: Most nights, there are one or two parades through the park. When there are two, the second is less crowded.

Fireworks: The Magic Kingdom is open until 9pm or later on most nights. There’s usually an evening parade, and the nightly fireworks display, “Wishes,” happens around Cinderella Castle. Hollywood Studios mounts “Fantasmic!,” a pyrotechnics-and-water display, a few times a week, and Epcot is famous for its “IllumiNations” fireworks-and-electronics show over its lagoon. In summer, when they’re open past dusk, Universal Studios does something (a spectacle on its lagoon) most nights, SeaWorld not so much. Check with each park for showtimes, as they change. Given that they’re theme park shows, they’re all designed to wow kids, but Magic Kingdom’s display is the classic.

The Electrical Boat Parade: It’s a tradition going back 40 years—a string of 14 40-foot-long illuminated barges floats past the Disney resorts on Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake starting at 9pm, accompanied by music. Lower key than the fireworks shows, you can see it for free from any resort hotel in the area or, if your timing is good, from the ferry that goes between the Magic Kingdom and the Ticket and Transportation Center.

Special event evenings: From September through March, the Magic Kingdom schedules irregular special-ticket evenings (Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, his Very Merry Christmas Party, and the Pirate and Princess events) for kids with free candy, character meetings, dance parties, and extended hours. The calendar of events can be found on p. 233, online at www.disneyworld.com, or you can call Disney at  407/939-7679.

Dinnertainment: Every night, there are more than a dozen dinner banquets accompanied by a kid-friendly show. See p. 189.

Character meals: Early bedtime? Very young kids will be sent to sleep dreaming if they meet their favorite character over dinner. See p. 191 for a list.

Downtown Disney West Side.  407/824-4321. www.disneyworld.com. $18 adults, $12 kids 3–9. Daily 8:30am–midnight.

House of Blues MUSIC CLUB    One of the principal nightspots on the West Side has a 2,000-person, three-tiered venue (standing space only) hosting regular performers along the lines of B. B. King, One Republic, the Charlie Daniels Band, and Norah Jones. Big talent is ticketed at concert prices, and operator Live Nation piles on the fees, but mostly, it’s a place to get Southern food. On Sundays, it hosts a somewhat desanctified Gospel Brunch (p. 191).

Downtown Disney West Side.  407/934-2583. www.hob.com. Sun–Thurs 11:30am–11pm; Fri–Sat 11:30am–1am.

La Nouba SHOW    All those taut, athletic bodies, wearing precious little, flexing and writhing across each other with acrobatic virtuosity—it’s as close to sex as Disney’s gonna get. That said, Cirque du Soleil’s 90-minute permanent production at Walt Disney World is perfectly acceptable for kids, too—it could end up being the most memorable theatrical experience of a young person’s life. The arty, hyper, clownish French-Canadian spectacular, a kaleidoscope of stunts and tricks, overloads senses 10 times a week in a 1,600-seat theater that looks like a postmodern version of a big top. Although it’s second-rate Cirque, it’s still first-rate compared to most stuff you’ve ever seen, and the talent is extraordinary. So are prices, starting at $67 for adults and $55 for kids ages 3 to 9, and rising according to where you sit. Cheaper seats are better because they have higher vantage points, but seats on the extreme side may miss some of the action taking place far upstage. Arrive at least a half-hour early or they’ll sell your seat to someone else.

Downtown Disney West Side.  407/939-7467. www.cirquedusoleil.com/lanouba. $67–$146 adults, $55–$120 kids. Tues–Sat 6 and 9pm.

Splitsville Luxury Lanes BOWLING ALLEY    Giving families something to bond over, this Florida-based franchise charges by the hour, which might make you feel rushed, and it charges high prices at that, but its souped-up ’50s decor, two cavernous floors of bowling, and copious cocktails have charm to spare. The food’s better than it should be; it even sells sushi.

Downtown Disney West Side.  407/938-7328. www.splitsvilledowntowndisney.com. Daily 10am–2am. $15/hr. per person before 4pm, $20/hr. per person after 4pm and weekends. Rates include shoe rental.

Walt Disney World Tours

Walt Disney was unquestionably a visionary. When he started out, he was mostly interested in animation as an art form. But as his fame and resources grew, his dreams became infinite, and by the end of his life, he was obsessed with building a city of his own. In fact, he intended to build that city on a chunk of his Central Florida land. His dream of an Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, or Epcot, in which residents, many of them theme park workers, could try out new forms of corporate-sponsored, minimum-impact technology in the course of their daily lives, emerged 16 years after his death as nothing more than another world’s fair, and not the city to save us all. But because the Magic Kingdom was built by his most trusted designers, it incorporated several idealistic innovations.

One is the utilidor system. The bulk of the Magic Kingdom that you see appears to be at ground level. But in fact, you’ll be walking about 14 feet above the land. The attractions constitute the second and third stories of a 9-acre network of warehouses and corridors—utilidors—built in part to guard against flooding but mostly so cast members could remove trash, make deliveries, take breaks, change costumes, and count money out of sight, in a catacombs accessed through secret entrances and unmarked wormholes scattered around the themed lands. Clean-burning electric vehicles zip through the hallways, some of which are wide enough to accommodate trucks, and all of which are color-coded to indicate which land is upstairs.

Among the other engineering feats and innovations of the Kingdom:

Trash is transported at 60mph to a central collection point by Swedish AVAC pneumatic tubes in the ceiling of the utilidors.

Fire, power, and water systems are all monitored by a common computer, and the robotics, doors, lighting, sounds, and vehicles on the most complicated attractions are handled by a central server called the Digital Animation Control System (DACS), located roughly underneath Cinderella Castle.

The Seven Seas Lagoon, in front of the Magic Kingdom, was dry land. It was filled to create a new body of water.

Bay Lake, beside Fort Wilderness, was dredged, and the dirt used to raise the Magic Kingdom. Underneath the lake bed, white, ancient sand was discovered, cleaned, and deposited to create the Seven Seas Lagoon’s beaches.

Energy is reused whenever possible. The generators’ waste heat is used to heat water, and hot water runoff is used for heating, cooking, and absorption chilling for air-conditioning. Waste water is reclaimed for plants and lawns, and sludge is dried for fertilizer. Food scraps are composted on-site. The resort produces enough power to keep things running in case of a temporary outage on the municipal grid. This will keep you up tonight: Disney even has the legal right to build its own nuclear power plant, should it care to.

Some 55 miles of canals were dug on resort property to keep the land drained. Most of these canals were curved to appear natural.

The resort was the first place to install an all-electronic phone system using underground cable—so guests don’t see ugly wires. It was the first telephone company in America to use a 911 emergency system.

The rubber-tired monorail system, designed by Disney engineers, now contains nearly 15 miles of track. Walt had intended monorails, and vehicles akin to the Tomorrowland Transit Authority ride, to be the main forms of transportation to and through his Epcot. In 1986, the monorail was named a National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

The Walt Disney Co. of later years showed little interest in advancing these remarkable innovations. Epcot has only a small network of utilidors, located under Innoventions and Spaceship Earth in the center section of Future World, and the other Disney parks were built without them at all. The monorail has not been expanded since 1982, so it was back to buses and cars.

But even if the company now pays scant attention to developing “Walt’s dream”—that Talmudic totem that the company’s marketing department invokes to sell souvenirs—it will, fortunately, grant a backstage gander at the resort’s ingenuity and the mind-boggling challenge of its scale. The superlative Walt Disney World tours ( 407/939-8687; www.disneyworld.com/tours) require tons of walking and quality depends on the ability of the guide, but they’re also well organized, with coach transport, snacks, plenty of comfort breaks, and sometimes, a special pin souvenir. Not all of them all go daily, so check to see what’s running. These are the standouts.

Backstage Magic TOUR    If you can swing it, this is the awe-inspiring king of all Disney explorations, and one of the few tours to require no park admission, because you spend your time plumbing infrastructure. Every minute is fascinating—you start at Epcot, where you go backstage to see the mechanized miracle of the American Adventure robotics; then, by motorcoach, the 40-odd group goes to Hollywood Studios for the wardrobe sewing shops; then it’s to Animal Kingdom for a how-to there. Lunch is barbecue at the Wilderness Lodge. At the Magic Kingdom, you thrillingly dip into the utilidor, which for fans is alone worth the price. Behind that park, you’ll see Central Shops, a 280,000 square-foot facility where ride vehicles are power washed, greased, and repainted in the blocks-long, 30-foot-tall Assembly Alley, and nearby in the Animation Shop, the Audio-Animatronic figures are repaired. For fans of theme parks, to say nothing of systems design, there is no more comprehensive and worthy splurge in Orlando. You’ll appreciate the World in a new light.

$249, including lunch, minimum age 16. 7 hr.

Backstage Safari TOUR    You learn more about animal care than the made-up storytelling of the park. The itinerary may change according to which animals are in social moods and which ones are in the clinic, but white rhinos and elephants are often on the menu. The climax is a slow turn on the Kilimanjaro Safari ride, only with a special narration that gives away the design secrets that keep animals and humans on their respective sides. Expect a lot of info about how diets are prepared. Mickey would be sick if he knew what the snakes eat.

$72 per person; park admission required. Minimum age 16. 3 hr.

Behind the Seeds TOUR    Because it runs repeatedly every day, it’s one of the few tours that can be booked on the fly. Epcot’s original altruistic intentions are given a rare spotlight: You learn about the research conducted at the Land’s experimental greenhouses, insects lab, and fish farm, and guests are filled in on the park’s joint efforts with botanists to advance growing technologies. How much you learn depends entirely on your guide’s engagement, so butter ’em up—and little children are usually given ladybugs to release, seeds to plant, or crops to taste. You can reserve ahead or you can book at the desk beside the entrance to Soarin’.

$20 adults, $16 kids 3–9; park admission required. Daily; 45 min.

Disney’s Dolphins in Depth TOUR    The water’s knee-deep, and after education about Epcot’s dolphin rescue program, the interaction lasts about 30 minutes. The climax: You tentatively hug one of the mammals as your free souvenir photo is snapped. No theme park admission is required. It only accepts 8 guests a day.

$199, including photo; no park admission required. Minimum age 13. 3 hr.

Disney’s Keys to the Kingdom TOUR    The least expensive way to peek at the utilidors, this half-day morning excursion provides a good overview of the Disney design philosophies that will satisfy both newbies and hard-core fans. It includes a long explication of Main Street, the Hub, the Castle, and a pass through Frontierland and Adventureland, where the group kills a little time (and finally gets to sit) riding two rides, after which your guide discusses the technology behind them. The real appeal is the brief time spent in forbidden backstage areas: the parade float storage sheds behind Splash Mountain and a quiet cul-de-sac of the utilidors beneath Town Square—my group entered in the Emporium and resurfaced in a parking lot behind eastern Main Street. This is a tremendous value.

$79 per person, including lunch; park admission required. Minimum age 16. Daily. 5 hr.

Epcot DiveQuest TOUR    Bring your open-water scuba certification and your swimsuit, and you’ll be qualified to swim with the fishes in the saltwater tank at the Seas with Nemo & Friends—the range of life is unparalleled in the wild. You’ll learn a little about the aquarium’s upkeep, but the true attraction here is the chance to dive in it for 30 minutes and to wave at your fellow tourists from the business side of the glass. It’s fun, but whether it’s $175 worth of a good time is up for debate.

$175, including diving gear; park admission not required. Minimum age 10. Daily. 3 hr.

Epcot Seas Aqua Tour TOUR    If you can snorkel, you can do this—you’re equipped with an air tank and with flotation devices that keep you on the surface, where you spend a half-hour swimming face-down above the fake coral in the 5.7 million-gallon aquarium at The Seas. You wrap up, ironically, with a shower. No theme park admission is required.

$140, including equipment and photo; park admission not required. Minimum age 8. Daily. 21⁄2 hr.

Wild Africa Trek TOUR    The animal paddocks are your personal adventure playground on this crowd favorite. You’ll board a vehicle for a private view of the animals on Kilimanjaro Safaris, and most spectacularly, strap into a harness for a harrowing tethered trip over a cliffs and a rope suspension bridge that passes over crocs and hippos. The included African-inflected meal has a view of the savannah, and a CD’s worth of professional photos of your experience is mailed to you a few days later.

$249 per person, park admission required. Minimum age 8. 9 times daily. 3 hr.