The Parks

Magic Kingdom

Magic Kingdom opened on October 1, 1971, as the first of the four theme parks in Disney World. The design and attractions in Magic Kingdom are based on Disneyland in California, with Cinderella’s Castle as the central focal point. Magic Kingdom consists of six areas: Main Street USA, Adventureland, Frontierland, Liberty Square, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland. Magic Kingdom is the park with the most attractions and the most child-friendly attractions. The newest attraction in Magic Kingdom is “Tron – Lightcycle Coaster,” a motorcycle roller coaster based on the Disney movie Tron. The renovation of “Splash Mountain” (log flume), with a new theme from the Disney movie “The Princess and the Frog,” was completed in the summer of 2024. The new name of the attraction is “Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.” In late summer 2024, Disney announced that Magic Kingdom would be expanded with two new lands, namely “Cars Land” and “Villains Land.” “Cars Land” will be located in Frontierland, where it will transform the areas of Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island. Construction is planned to start in early 2025. Villains Land will be located behind Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Construction is also planned to start in 2025. Exact opening dates have not been provided, but the projects are part of the largest expansion in Magic Kingdom’s history.

Epcot

Epcot is the second oldest of the four parks in Disney World and opened on October 1, 1982. EPCOT stands for “Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow” and was originally a futuristic city planned by Walt Disney himself. His original vision for EPCOT was a community that would be home to twenty thousand residents and serve as a model for future city planning and organization. The original model of EPCOT can be seen if you take the “PeopleMover” attraction in Magic Kingdom. After Walt Disney’s death in 1966, the project was changed to a theme park that would appear as a permanent world’s fair. Epcot is dedicated to celebrating human achievement, technological innovation, and international culture. After recent renovations, the park is now divided into four sections: World Nature, World Discovery, World Celebration, and World Showcase, which together have 11 pavilions representing as many countries. The park’s newest attraction is “Guardians of the Galaxy – Cosmic Rewind,” a “backwards launching” roller coaster with impressive effects. The attraction is said to have cost Disney around five billion to build. A walk-through attraction based on the movie Moana (Vaiana) opened in the fall of 2023.

Hollywood Studios

Hollywood Studios opened on May 1, 1989, under the name Disney-MGM Studios. The park drew inspiration from the golden age of Hollywood, and when it opened, its theme was film, TV, music, and theater. Hollywood Studios originally opened as both an amusement park and an operational production studio with active film and television production services, an animation studio, and a functioning backlot. Over time, the park transitioned to become a more conventional amusement park, and in 2008, it received its current name. The park had relatively few attractions for a long time, but in recent years, there has been significant construction activity in the park. In 2018, Toy Story Land opened. In 2019, a dedicated Star Wars land called “Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge” opened, featuring two new attractions: “Millennium Falcon – Smugglers Run” and “Star Wars – Rise of the Resistance.” The latter is a very elaborate and impressive attraction, perhaps the most impressive in all of Florida. It is not a “thrill ride,” like a roller coaster, but rather what is called an “immersive experience,” where you are taken deep into the Star Wars universe. In the spring of 2020, the park’s newest attraction, “Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway,” opened. In 2024, Disney announced that a brand-new land based on the Pixar film “Monsters, Inc.” would become part of Hollywood Studios. This new area, known as Monstropolis, will include an exciting new attraction: Monsters Inc. Doors Coaster, which will be the first suspended roller coaster in a Disney park. Construction of this new area is planned to start in 2025.

Animal Kingdom

Animal Kingdom is a zoological theme park. In terms of area, Animal Kingdom is the largest amusement park in the world, covering an area of 2.3 square kilometers. One of the park’s attractions, “Kilimanjaro Safaris,” actually covers an area larger than the entire Magic Kingdom. The park opened on April 22, 1998, and was the fourth and most recent park in Disney World. The park’s theme is animals, nature, and the environment, and its icon is the “Tree of Life.” In May 2017, after a six-year planning and construction process, a new land called “Pandora – The World of Avatar” opened in Animal Kingdom. Everything is based on James Cameron’s 2009 film “Avatar.” Pandora’s main attraction, “Flight of Passage,” is very popular and considered by many to be one of the best attractions in all of Disney World. A new area, initially referred to as Tropical Americas, will soon replace Dinoland USA and include attractions based on both Indiana Jones and Encanto. This new area will be named “Pueblo Esperanza” and will include a large hacienda that will be one of the largest quick-service restaurants in the Walt Disney World Resort. Construction of this 11-hectare area in the park is set to begin in the fall of 2024 and is planned to open in 2027.

THE WATER PARKS

After the pandemic, Disney has alternated to have only one of its two water parks open, something they previously did only in the winter half of the year. Currently, Blizzard Beach has been open in the fall/winter and Typhoon Lagoon in the spring/summer. Disney has not yet given any signals about whether or when they will return to having both water parks open in the summer half of the year.

Typhoon Lagoon

Typhoon Lagoon was the second water park to open in Disney World (after River Country which closed in November 2001.) Typhoon Lagoon opened on June 1, 1989. The backdrop for the park’s theme is a typhoon that has caused chaos and destruction in a tropical paradise. Ships, fishing gear, and surfboards are scattered about where the storm threw them. In the middle of the park, we find “Miss Tilly”, a shrimp boat that has stranded on top of the mountain “Mount Mayday” and where a 5-meter high geyser of water sprouts every half hour. In Typhoon Lagoon, you will find a variety of different slides of different intensity, a quiet river, as well as one of the world’s largest outdoor wave pools. In 2017, the park’s newest attraction, a family slide named “Miss Adventure Falls” opened.

Blizzard Beach

Blizzard Beach opened on April 1, 1995, and is the newest water park in Disney World. According to legend, a snowstorm in the area led to the development of Florida’s first ski resort, but of course, the snow quickly melted again and left a collection of water-driven, but snow-free ski jumps and chair lifts. The center of the park is the artificial mountain Mount Gushmore. Except for the wave pool and two areas dedicated to children and young people, most of the attractions are on and around Mount Gushmore, which is divided into three colored slopes, green, red, and purple, to help guests navigate around the park. The biggest attraction in the park is Summit Plummet, a water slide that is 37 meters high and where you achieve a speed of just under 100 km/h. This makes it one of the highest and fastest water slides in the world. Around the mountain, there is also a quiet river.