The magic of Disney World and Animal Kingdom Lodge

We visited Disney World for eight nights and stayed at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge (Jambo House). This was our first time staying on property; my only prior Disney World experience was 25 years ago when we stayed on International Drive. I am happy to say that all the magic I experienced as a teenager was again there in abundance now I am an adult. The excitement I felt was only amplified by the constant magic, excitement and enjoyment my eight year old daughter experienced every single day of our trip. TLDR: despite the high costs and competition from the impressive offering Universal have recently created, Disney still has it and this was the best holiday I have ever had.

This post looks at our wonderful accomodation at Disney's Animal Kingdom lodge. I share some tips and practical information, alongside my thoughts on each park and the attractions we visited. You can use the links below to skip to a particular section (this is a big post!). Infact it got so big I decided to only briefly mention our food and drink experience- the detail will follow in a separate Disney World food and drink post. If you have any queries I am happy for you to reach out via the contact details at the top of the page e.g. Bluesky.

• Animal Kingdom Lodge - our accomodation
• Lightning Lanes
• Travel around Disney World
• Highlights, lowlights and tips
• Animal Kingdom Park
• Magic Kingdom Park
• Hollywood Studios
• EPCOT
• Disney Springs

Animal Kingdom Lodge

We stayed eight nights at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge Jambo House in a Savannah view room. Jambo House is a breathakingly beautiful hotel with an almost unbelievable attention to detail. This was undoubtedly the best hotel I have ever stayed at. The unique smell hits you as you walk into the large and impressive lobby area; the staff are all nice and friendly (including many originally from Africa who organise many of the activities), the pool is great, etc. For someone who often finds fault, I cannot find anything worth complaining about. Basically: if you can afford it, it's amazing.

One question you might ask is whether the Savannah view room is worth the extra cost? For us it absolutely was - the sight of six giraffes often metres away from your balcony is a memory that will last foever. I would recommend Jambo House over Kidani Village: the size is larger and the hotel feels more impressive and imposing. But both are amazing places. We visited restaurants and bars at the Grand Floridian, Caribbean Resort, Riviera and Contemporary during our stay; but no hotel matched the detail and immersiveness of Animal Kingdom Lodge. A complaint about Animal Kingdom Lodge, that I read a few times, is that it's too far from the parks - but the Disney bus service leaves from just outside the entrance. And if you use the My Disney Experience app that shows the buses arrival time, I doubt you will experience any issues getting to the parks. We were at Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom Lodge within 15 minutes, with Epcot and Magic Kingdom taking no more than 20 minutes. I could appreciate this is somewhat far if you want to head back to the hotel for midday naps, but even then I think the setting, sense of wilderness and the uniqueness of Animal Kingdom Lodge means it is worth the commute.

We asked for a room away from the lobby, as we like it quiet. It was an approximate 5 minute walk to main area of the hotel which wasn't a problem for us. If you're prepared to use the steps (going backstage as we called it, as the theming stops in the stairwells) then you can save some time and burn some calories! Generally our room was quiet, but I don't think the soundproofing is amazing, so your mileage may vary depending on who your neighbours are.

If staying at Animal Kingdom I would recommend participating in some of the daily actitivies (advertised in the lobby or just ask at guest services). Our favourites were the bead activities. There are seven activities a day (10am - 5pm) and each runs for one hour. They are split between Jambo House and Kidani Village. Typically each activity takes no more than 15 minutes. We managed to complete all of them and get a memorable souvenir bead (see the picture above). Activities include preparing a feeding device for the animals, guessing where some African wonders are located and observing flamingo behaviour. A big shout out to the staff here who make the activities fun, enjoyable and immersive. Even the brass rubbing on the floor in Jambo's house lobby was enjoyable; more so because of the engaging staff members who are very willing to share stories and actively demonstrate their love of learning languages and cultures.

Practically speaking:

• The Victoria Falls Lounge bar is on the middle level and is first come first served. We always managed to secure a seat, which was surprising given how busy everywhere else was. I enjoyed drinking some African draft beer here
• The Mara quick service restaurant provides a solid breakfast to start the day e.g. scrambled eggs, waffle, bacon. It's a good pit stop before a day at the parks
• We used the refillable mugs at the Mara (included with the dining plan). Though, just off the lobby there is a station for anyone to fill up water bottles, which can save the trip to the Mara
• There are laundry facilities on the ground floor, which are $3.50 per wash. You pay via QR code on your phone
• The kids club is on the ground floor too and has a range of games and activities for kids. To make jewellery it's $1.50 per inch, though I don't think the jewellery looked very African; infact the beads were more what you would find at Walmart. The staff were great though
• If you book Uber or Lyft they are allowed right to the main entrance. This is extremely convenient for getting to dining reservations (as taking the bus to a park and then another bus to a hotel would be time consuming)
• There is a shuttle bus that runs on a loop between Jambo House and Kidani Village. You can walk, but when it's hot the bus seems an attractive option. Pay attention when the bus takes you back from a park - normally they stop at Kidani Village first and it's easy to hop out by mistake
• At check-out you can leave your luggage with the bell service at the hotel. You can also use the pools for the whole day - both Jambo House and Kidani Village have changing facilities with showers; we used these before heading to Orlando airport

Disney Dining Plan

Our package included the Disney Dining Plan. Before your stay starts I would recommend having a plan on how you will use it, as some experiences (like Cindarella's Royal Table) use two of the table service meal credits (and you have to work out if it's worth it or not). I can't say if the dining plan would be worth paying for separately, but I was happy it was included with the package we booked via disneyholidays.co.uk. Here are some other tips if you are using the Disney Dining Plan:

• Watch the tips. Disney restaurants generate so much paperwork; the first receipt shows the price of the meal and makes no mention of the dining plan. You can, and should, add a tip here based on how much the entire meal would have cost. But watch the next receipt the server brings, as it suggests more gratuity on the final amount. You should just sign this and not add more. It's very confusing, especially after a few drinks. After speaking to one of our servers he showed all the miles of receipts he had collected during his shift - this is definitely an area Disney should go digital with, but maybe the paperwork works to Disney's advantage; in terms of amount of gratutity collected
• Not all snack credits are created equallly, so be cautious how you use them e.g. a soup was approx $5 but bread 99 cents. If you put it all on the Dining Plan that would be two snack credits! You can ask the server to charge snacks like the bread as cash. There's a little symbol next to menus which shows what qualifies as snacks; generally items which are $6 to $9 seem like a reasonable use of a snack credit. For example at the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor in the Magic Kingdom a $9 brownie sundae, qualifies as a snack. And, let's face it, a brownie sundae is substantially more enjoyable than a couple of slices of bread to toast.
• Some drinks are excluded from the alcoholic beverage that is included with the dining plan's sit-down meal but all beers, most cocktails and sparkling wine are included. There was a reason people were drinking bellinis at Topolino's Terrace with their breakfast! You can ask your server to explain what is and what isn't included and, of course, if one of your party isn't drinking alcohol you can order an extra drink instead.
• The refillable mugs are part of the dining plan. After check-in we picked ours up in The Mara (the quick service restaurant at Jambo house). The refillable mugs are not usable in parks, only resorts. This is a bit painful if you have a breakfast and want to jump straight on the bus - so I often ran with them back to the room. Disney have ready made coffee and teabags available (just help yourself to the tea bags, as they're included if you have the refillable mug). There are automated machines with coke, sprite (including sugar free versions). Caribbean beach had more modern digital machines than Animal Kingdom Lodge. Coffees like cappucinos or more exotic drinks (like the pog juice) are not included with the refillable mug.
• In the My Resort section of the Disney Experience app you can see your dining plan balance and also view how your credits were used. It's a good idea to check this regularly to make sure your dining credits have been used as intended. If you see a mistake guest services at your resort should be able to fix it. The screenshots below show what to expect:

Lightning Lanes

Our original booking was for six nights at Disney, as we planned to spend two nights somewhere else in Florida. But after checking out the 7 day lightning lane availability at Thrill Data we realised that booking lightning lanes seven days in advance would not guarantee a good time (still often called return time) on rides like Slinky Dog Dash. So we called Disney and it was possible to extend our stay, at the same rate, to eight nights (the included dining plan also extended with our stay). We spent the first day of our holiday at Disney Springs and the second at Kennedy Space Center. This meant that our first park day was two days into our stay; which meant we could book the Lightning Lanes for it nine days in advance. So at 7am Florida time I logged into the My Disney Experience app and could choose any ride at any time including Slinky Dog Dash for our first park day. Lightning Lanes are not cheap and you're not guaranteed to get some of the popular attractions once you're able to book more. However, apart from a few rides (like Guardians of the Galaxy and, surprisingly, Dumbo the flying elephant) we waited typically no more than 10 minutes to board a ride when using a lightning lane pass.

Of course planning what 3 rides you will do at what time a week or more in advance isn't ideal, as you can't change plans because of the weather or mood. But that's just the way it is. I also spent over 600 USD on Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Lightning Lane Single pass for the three of us (6 park days). But what's the alternative? Join a queue for early entry rope drop or spend literally hours in standby queues. As this was our first family Disney World experience we chose Lightning Lanes.

In terms of tactics, I think best would be to book three rides in the morning. Some people also advocate a throwaway choice, which expires as early as possible so you can try and find something better for later in the day. But generally if you use your selections in the morning I think the chances of getting fairly big rides (e.g. Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Smugglers Run) for later in the afternoon are high. We had a park hopper pass but never used it, so we only experienced multi pass selections within the same park. It worked ok e.g. after going on Na'vi's river journey I could book Kali river Rapids for a couple of hours later, or after riding Tiyana's Bayou Adventure I could book The Barnstormer, then Dumbo, then Buzz Lightyear's Ranger Spin. For rides like Slinky Dog Dash or Seven Dwarves mine train, you'll need to be lucky and hope some availability is added during the day and you're able to take it before someone else does; in my experience, for these, you really need to have selected them well in advance. We had Lightning Lane Multi Pass for two separate days at Hollywood Studios. On one day we used the single tier one selection for Slinky dog Dash and on the second day the tier one selection for Smugglers Run - this meant a 45 minutes queue for Runaway Railway (as it's also a tier 1 attraction) which was fine.

Travel around Disney World

We wanted a professional transfer from Orlando Airport to Animal Kingdom Lodge and back, so we booked Tiffany Town Car for $90 each way, plus a 20% cash tip. I cannot fault their service - courteous drivers who drove well, helped with the luggage and large modern cars. They also provided a booster seat and were extremely punctual.

The scale of Disney World is incredible, as are the included transport options. We used the bus service the most. The My Resort section of the My Disney Experience app accurately showed us the departure times from Jambo House, so we could time the departure from our room just right. Generally they were every 15 minutes. The buses are comfortable and air conditioned. We always got a seat going to the parks, but were sometimes stood coming back. The times of the buses coming back from the parks is not available, but we never had to wait longer than 15 minutes and often it was less than 10.

This was our first time (ever) using Lyft. We chose that because it's the exclusive provider of the Minnie Vans in Disney World. These vans are not cheap (see below for fare breakdown). But what a great experience. The Minnie Vans are allowed to drive right up to the Magic Kingdom meaning it's only a very short walk to the entrance; with Lyft and Uber you can only get to the transportion centre. The Minnie Vans are driven by Disney World cast members (staff members) so it was great to get some stories and tips from the relaxed and friendly driver. I wouldn't use the Minnie Vans often, but for your first visit to the Magic Kingdom they're a very good choice.

The buses were more than good enough for getting to and from the parks, but for dinner reservations we used Lyft extensively. I wouldn't bother with the priority pick-up option, as other than a short delay the app creates, the time to get a driver didn't really vary. Generally drivers arrived in about 10 minutes, irrespective of where we were. Lyft and Uber drivers are allowed to drive right up the entrance at the hotels, which was extremely handy. All of the cars were large and the drivers were friendly; one of them even showed our name on a scrolling neon sign in the front window! We tipped generally 20% using the app. On property we always felt safe when taking a Lyft ride. Normally the traffic was moving well, apart from our last Saturday when a competition at ESPN World of Sports led to gridlock. Some typical ride fairs (exclusive of tip) and timings were:

• Disney Riviera Resort to Kidani Village - $14, 34 minutes (exceptional because of ESPN traffic)
• Caribben Beach Resort to Jambo House - $11, 9 minutes
• Minnie Van Jambo House to Magic Kingdom - $53, 22 minutes
• Jambo House to Contemporary Resort - $15, 14 minutes
• Jambo House to Grand Floridian - $14, 12 minutes

We enjoyed taking the Skyliner from Hollywood Studios to the Caribbean Beach resort where we enjoyed a quick service dinner one evening. And we loved seeing all the skyliner cars decorated with different Disney characters. We didn't ride the Monorail, but it is truly a thing of beauty; especially when you see it gliding around EPCOT or entering and leaving the Contemporary Resort. We also took the boat from EPCOT to Hollywood Studios, which was a fun journey - I enjoyed seeing how enthusiastic the crew were and how much they enjoyed driving a boat around Disney World. If you have longer on property a transport day, where you sample everything that is available, would make a fun activity.

A word on Disney technology

I found the entirety of Disney's technology unbelievably good. It starts before your visit when you make the dining reservations, lightning lane reservations and observe the wait times in the My Disney Experience app from thousands of miles away. This deep technology integration continues throughout your entire stay. My daughter loved receiving her characters message on the Hey Disney app (a Disney themed Alexa in the hotel rooms) each day; the app knows when it is your last day so the message is tailored to that. At Quick Service restaurants the mobile ordering worked flawlessly and saved us significant time. The app shows you what will be deducted from your dining plan before confirming the order. At other restaurants you check in using the app and receive a notification in the app (and SMS if you provide a numnber) when your table is ready. Disney have built a very very good integrated IT system. As a software engineer myself, I was impressed.

One topic is whether you need a Magic Band or not. In the parks you will only find Magic Bands+ now, which are going to cost you at least $45, unless you want a plain one for $35. I think if you visit the Charcacter Warehouse in Orlando you can get the older models for less. I don't think a Magic Band is essential, as you are issued a card which can be used for park entry, etc. However it is easier with a Magic Band, because Disney integrate them so well e.g. tap your band and scan your finger print to enter the parks, tap to pay for food or mechandise, tap to open your room, tap to get your Photopass photos added to the Disney app.

If you are going to get a Magic Band you should get some fasteners, as they do easily fall off. I saw one just avoid flying into the water on the It's a Small World ride. For the price Disney should provide a slide on fastener themselves!

Disney World Highlights

• Cast members going out of the way to make a day special e.g. the bus driver to Hollywood Studios performed some some magic tricks and gave my daughter a disney travel token. It was like he knew this was her first ever trip to a Disney park. I don't recall any staff member who wasn't nice, courteous and pleasant
• All of the character interactions whether scheduled in the park or at character dining were fantastic. The energy, enthusiasm and joy these characters bring to children is unparalleled. They do an amazing job, especially when you consider the temperature they are working in
• Generally people in the parks were friendly and there were lots of pleasant interactions and sporadic conversations. Most of the time it does genuinely feel like the happiest place on earth. This is reinforced when you are pixied dusted by a stranger e.g. when someone hands out stickers or even a bracelet to your child
• Disney have Photopass photographers in all of the parks and some hotels like the Grand Floridian. The photos you get are fantastic, with some even being dusted with some digital Disney magic. All of the photographers were friendly and, similar to the characters, despite doing this every day they retained bags of enthusiasm
• The detail, history, scale and variety is amazing. Disney have strong IP and they deploy it brilliantly to create an experience that just works. The biggest highlight is seeing the constant joy, intrigue and happiness of your child while working their way around the whole of Disney World e.g. just seeing the Monorail or the buses adorned with different Disney characters is an experience

Disney World Lowlights

• This is a very expensive holiday; especially if staying in a deluxe hotel like Animal Kingdom Lodge. It's fantastic, but it's undoubtedly expensive.
• The overwheleming majority of people in parks are great, but there are some undesirables you will encounter e.g. someone took my daughter's character headband. Luckily it was a very distinctive and we spotted the person in a queue with it. They gave it back when challenged. There were some other people putting their legs wide apart and spreading their feet out during the parade time to reserve an excessive amount of space.
• Planning dining reservations in advance meant we got the times we wanted at the more popular experiences like Cindarella's Royal Table. And planning lightning lanes in advance meant we got to do a lot without massive queues, but the business of Disney means you're not able to just turn up and be spontaneous if you want to enjoy many of their most popular activities

Top Tips

• Familiarize yourself with Disney Experience app before you visit; the wait times, maps, etc. are invaluable. If staying on property, orientate with the My Resort part of the app after check-in (here you can see the bus times, dining plan credits and what is being charged to your account)
• If using lightning lanes, which are a must unless you want to rope drop or/and spend a lot of time in queues, be on the Disney Experience App when the booking window opens (for us it was 7 days before the first night of our stay at 7am Florida time). Have a rough plan of what you want to book for what time and use Thrill Data to work out what the likely availability will be (e.g. you won't get Slinky Dog Dash in the morning 3 days before, probably not even 7 days before for some times of the year)
• Get the Memory Maker - it was included in the package we booked. The Photopass photographers are throughout the parks and they do a truly amazing job. Sometimes there is no queue at all - but the most we waited was 15 minutes. You will treasure the photos they take on their Digital SLR cameras forever. Work out the locations of the Super Zoom magic shots and get these too, especially the shots at the side of the Millenium Falcon and inside the Magic Kingdom. Some rides like Seven Dwarfs mine train even captured a video which appeared a few minutes later in the app
• If you have the Memory Maker (or have purchased a Lightning Lane Multi Pass) you get access to Disney PhotoPass Lenses in the My Disney Experience app. Many of these are location based, so only work in the parks. I think these are the modern equivalent of sending postcards, where you can create a themed film reel or use augmented reality to make you look like a Disney character. My daughter loved the shots with Minnie Maus popping up behind her.
• Always have a plan, but accept you will not be able to do everything. We saw a lot of very unhappy children in the parks, presumably because they had been there too long and, sometimes, literally dragged onto rides against their will
• One or two rest days (depending on the length of your stay) is a good idea, especially if staying in a hotel like Animal Kingdom Lodge with so many activities and things to do
• In terms of park essentials, I would consider a UV umbrella, as shade is not always available. We purchased a lightweight Knirps umbrella before travelling, but you can also purchase one a slightly heavier version from the Uniqlo shop at Disney Springs. A portable fan is also a good idea. And a battery pack for your phone is a must. Also consider bringing your own water bottle and holder, as there are numerous places in the parks to refill. You need somewhere to put everything and I was very happy with the Pacsafe sling back I purchased just before our trip
• I debated whether I should bring my Digital SLR camera before the trip and decided not to. I think it was the right decision as it's too sunny and fiddly to use often in the parks. I also appreciated the weight I saved and if you want professional photos use the Photopass photographers, then you're in the photo too
• The Disney wifi mostly worked well and you could manage with it alone for the whole holiday. However, there were a few times I was grateful for the coverage and reliability of a 5G cellular connection. Just before the trip I purchased an eSim from Tello, which offered a lot of data and U.S. number (which proved useful) for $25. I cancelled this after one month.
• Items like glasses cases and umbrellas can trigger a bag search going into the parks. To avoid a search take these out and hold them forward as you go through the scanner
• Get an autograph book if you're doing character dining. The characters always signed the book (whether at character dining or with the scheduled meets in the parks) with the exception of Sulley, whose hands were too big so he handed out a pre-printed autograph card
• If you're staying on property phone Disney at least a couple of weeks in advance to add a room preference to your booking. Disney are still a good company to have personal interactions with over the phone. Their online support was good too - I caused an issue with the accounts on the My Disney Experience app and the person I spoke to using the online chat in the app was able to fix it quickly

Animal Kingdom

Animal Kingdom is a beautifully themed park: the tree of life is spectacular from every angle, Pandora is stunning, Everest looks wonderful. The detail in all corners of the park is as impressive as it is beautiful. Animal Kingdom is often called the most immersive Disney park and that designation is deserved. It has animals, but it's not a zoo - it's too absorbing, flowing and, dare I say, naturally presented for that. The landscaping, dense vegetation, streams, buldings, music, entertainment is all, somehow, perfect. Just one example: I was wandering back to my family with a Mickey cinnamon roll in hand, when a flock of red parrots raced low and fast right infront of me.

Despite Animal Kingdom being busy, it still feels relaxing. It's a place you can happily wander through and explore. And just to say once more: the tree of life is amazing. From every angle it's amazing. Every carving is amazing. There's a few different Photopass photographers who can help you get wonderful family photos with the tree of life as the backdrop.

There's no doubt that Animal Kingdom needs a full day; we used Lightning Lane but still didn’t go on all of the trails or take the train to Rafiki’s planet watch. If we'd have been there from opening to close we could have probably squeezed it all in, but then we'd have been tired, hot and exhausted. Honestly, I think you could easily spend 1.5 days at Animal Kingdom - this would be adequate time to really saviour it.

We had lunch at Tusker House, which was extremely entertaining with the characters dancing in the aisles in their safari outfits. Even though character meets are not as popular as in the other parks, seeing Russell and Kevin from Up crossing one of the park's many bridges was entertainment enough.

Animal Kingdom is another park that Disney are investing heavily in to compete with the strong competition Universal Studios are serving up. I can see why Dinoland has been sacrificed and I am sure the Encanto and Indiana Jones attractions which will take its place will be great; it's just somewhat frustrating that this means at least 2 years of construction in that area. And Dinosaur is by no means a bad ride - in my opinion, it's also appropriate that Animal Kingdom has dinosaur representation.

Animal Kingdom Rides & Attractions

Magic Kingdom

There's so much history, tradition and imagination in Magic Kingdom that, despite its age in parts, it is hard to fault. Before visiting I read the Realityland: True-Life Adventures at Walt Disney World book, which helped describe the history, vision and challenges the park has overcome. You are literally stood on land which used to be a swamp and now it's home to rides like the Jungle Cruise and a huge pink Cindarella castle.

The popularity of the Magic Kingdom, of course, comes at the cost of people. So many people. And so many parked strollers.

If you're at Magic Kingdom you must see the Festival of Fantasy Parade. For this we stood near the start in Frontierland - an area that I can't help but feel will lose some of that wonderful history and theming, once the water and riverboat are removed to make way for the Cars area. Anyhow, if you’re here about 25 minutes before the parade start you’ll be able to get seated in the shade. We took our place about 15 mins before the start and we were still able to stand behind those seated and had a very clear view. Obviously the parade is more popular at the sections which have the Cindarella castle in the background.

The Festival of Fantasy Parade is colourful and entertaining - epsecially Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs dancing in the street and the final float showing Mickey and Minnie in a hot air balloon. Earlier in the day we were lucky to see the Mickey’s Magical Friendship Faire show at Cinderella’s castle. The show was entertaining with Elsa, Anna, Olaf and everyone else providing dance and dialogue with the magnificent castle as the backdrop.

We participated in breakfast character dining with Winnie the Pooh and friends at The Crystal Palace, which was excellent. We also ate inside the castle at Cinderella's Royal Table with many of the Disney princesses. I'll detail these in the follow up post about our food and drink experience. But both are definitely worth it if you haven't done them before. And the quality of the Crystal Palace breakfast buffet would justify a return trip.

For shopping I would recommend Big Top Souvenirs in Fantasyland and the very large Emporium on Main Street.

A lot of the rides in Magic Kingdom (and in Disney in general) are over very quickly. However, because of lightning lane multi pass we were able to find enough selections after our initial selections had been redeemed e.g. all the smaller rides like The Barnstormer, Dumbo the Flying Elephant and Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin had good on the day availability. However, if we had queued for all of these for 30-60 minutes only to find the ride was over after a few minutes, maybe we would have been disappointed.

Magic Kingdom Rides & Attractions

Hollywood Studios

Overall, I think my daughter enjoyed Hollywood Studios the most. There's many character meet possibilities. Sulley (that is James P. Sullivan) on Hollywood Boulevard was amazing - I have no idea how the cast members sustain their enthusiasm, energy and zest, especially in the boiling Florida temperatures - but they manage it and I am thankful for that. Nearby was Donald and Daisy Duck, who were happy to sign the autograph book I hastily ran and purchased from the Mickey’s Of Hollywood shop. The wait times for the character meets were about 20-30 minutes; apart from Olaf and Mickey and Minnie on the red carpet, whose wait times were around 50 minutes.

What's not to like at Hollywood Studios? Well there's little shade. Whyever Toy Story Land, an area that appeals to young children, is totally exposed to the intense sun is beyond me- they should have the toy soldiers with their parachutes out to create some cover! It's also more discrete and scattered around than the other parks. And there's the lack of real movie studio content - I fondly remember my previous visit where there was an actual tour of movie sets and special effect demonstrations. The Studio Backlot Tour is long gone and it is disappointing that Hollywood Studios offers little in terms of how movies are made.

But what's to like? Well Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge is amazing. The detail is fantastic - one moment you're in the First Order encampment with patrolling Stormtroopers and the next you're in the Resistance camp after having escaped on Rise of the Resistance. There's droids, an X-wing, a TIE fighter - even the coca cola is served in a droid shaped bottle. Every cast member in Galaxy's Edge is in character, including the Photopass photographers. There's also the Millenium Falcon - you can meet Chewbacca right next to it. It's just brilliant.

In terms of rides and experiences I think Hollywood Studios is the best of all the parks. It's not the best designed park, but it has so much happening that, despite the two half days we spent here, there was a lot we still did not do. Given the long queues though (especially for Slinky and Rise of The Resistance) it's beneficial to use Lightning Lanes. On our first day at Hollywood Studios I had Slinky Dog Dash, Rise of the Resistance, Toy Story Mania and Alien Swirling Saucers booked. Note: Millenium Falcon Smugglers Run seems to have a large capacity, so, at least when we visited in May, it was possible to book on the day after using one of your initial Lightning Lane selections.

It's sad that Muppet*Vision 3D and everything else around Grand Avenue is being removed. Again, I see why and I am sure the Monsters Inc. area will be amazing. But having pizza at PizzeRizzo, a photo next to Miss Piggy's statue and watching Muppet*Vision 3D (especially when the canon starts firing and holes get blown in the theatre) are brilliant and timeless experiences. My daughter went on Muppet*Vision 3D twice and loved it. Before the trip she didn't even know who the muppets were. The future for the muppets seems to be on an inverted rollercoaster, which doesn't have the same whole family appeal as the theatre show.

The Disney Skyliner (cable cars/gondolas) leave from right outside the entrance to Hollywood Studios. After leaving the park we took a Skyliner ride to the Caribbean Beach Resort for a quick service dinner. Seeing the sun setting over Hollywood Studios from the Skyliner was another great memory to add to the ever growing list.

Hollywood Studios Rides & Attractions

EPCOT

We visited EPCOT for one day and spent about six hours exploring the park. Lightning Lane reservations were made in advance for Frozen Ever After, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, Spaceship Earth, and The Seas with Nemo & Friends. Immediately after using the pass for Spaceship Earth at 10am, I was able to secure a spot for Soarin’ later in the day. At the time of booking, this had been impossible, as Soarin’, like Frozen Ever After, is a Tier 1 attraction.

We didn’t manage to make it all the way around the World Showcase. We reached the German Pavilion on the left side to meet Snow White and made it as far as the UK Pavilion on the right side for a very nice encounter with Winnie the Pooh, in Christopher Robin's bedroom.

Our visit coincided with the Flower and Garden Festival in early May. EPCOT looked stunning, with vibrant topiaries offering dozens of photo opportunities—especially the iconic display of Mickey, Minnie and Pluto with the EPCOT dome in the background. Once again, the PhotoPass photographers were excellent, capturing countless memories we’ll treasure forever. The Seven Dwarfs topiaries at the German Pavilion were another standout.

I highly recommend researching the various food stalls and outdoor kitchens at the Flower and Garden Festival ahead of time — TikTok proved especially helpful. With so many options available during the Flower and Garden Festival, it was thanks to a few pre-trip videos that I discovered the liquid nitrogen cheesecake and S’mores bar, both of which were fantastic. I’ll share more about what we ate in a separate post.

EPCOT is a bit of a mixed bag these days. With the addition of several major attractions, the park has drifted away from its original vision as the “Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow.” And some elements, such as the games at the end of Spaceship Earth, now feel somewhat dated.

That said, I think you could easily spend two full days at EPCOT—one focusing on the rides near the main entrance, and another dedicated to enjoying the World Showcase, with its food, entertainment, and drinks from different countries. Due to the park’s size, having a plan is essential; without one, walking back and forth in the Florida heat can quickly become exhausting and unenjoyable.

EPCOT Rides & Attractions

Disney Springs

Disney Springs is a very pleasant place to spend a late afternoon and evening. We went here after check-in to Animal Kingdom Lodge, which I think was a good choice. We could pick up some merchandise and enjoy a lovely relaxing dinner. We found Disney Springs gets extremely busy, especially later on. You'll definitely want to reserve restaurants in advance - we went to The Boathouse which was excellent and sitting outside gave us amazing views of the boats entering the water and the volcano exploding at the Rainforest Cafe. Next time I would go for a drink in Jock Lindsey's Hangar Bar, which had ample outside seating overlooking the water.

For shopping, Disney Style is a great store for buying the headbands with detachable characters. World of Disney is good for clothing, though be aware there are no changing rooms - I picked up a nice Disney World T-shirt there. You can only buy MagicBand+ onsite at Disney World - Disney Pin Trading has a good selection but they are not cheap with the most popular ones costing $45 (there are some others at $35 or $55).

The Lego shop gets a huge queue both outside just to enter and inside for making custom characters. Outside they have some impressive Star Wars and Frozen characters made entirely of lego. We unfortunately missed out on Gideons Bakery as we ran out of time, but I would have loved to try their cookies - I wish they would open a location in one of the parks too. For more affordable options, Uniqlo has some good Disney branded clothing like nice Toy Story T-shirt which are a bit cheaper, and they also have Disney themed UV umbrellas.