The Complete Idiot's Guide to Walt Disney World, 2012 Edition

by Doug Ingersoll

  • The second location of the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique store/ salon is located within Cinderella Castle. Read more about this store in the chapter on Downtown Disney.

  Child Care at the Park

  The Baby Care Center is located by the Crystal Palace, right off the central hub of the park. The center features changing tables, nursing rooms, high chairs, and a play room with a TV and comfy seating—all complimentary. A limited selection of baby items is available for sale.

  Park Touring Strategies

  The park is usually crowded. Surprise! That being said, you can certainly navigate through the maze of people to find the rides you want to enjoy. Consider the following basic plans.

  • FASTPASS your way to happiness. Use these passes to secure seating later in the day for a ride that your group simply can’t miss.

  • If Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, or Big Thunder Mountain Railroad are high on your list, pick up a FASTPASS early, before they run out.

  • Most traffic early in the day flows back to Fantasyland, especially with all the new sights to see. Visiting that area in the mid- to late-afternoon might serve you well, although FASTPASS vouchers for select rides might be gone by then. Consider sending one adult to gather vouchers and then join the rest of the group in another land.

  • Split your visit to the Magic Kingdom into two or more days if your party includes small children. This will help you pace yourselves, and you can FASTPASS different rides each day.

  DID YOU KNOW?

  Magic Kingdom FASTPASS rides include:

  • Space Mountain

  • Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin

  • The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

  • Peter Pan’s Flight

  • Mickey’s PhilharMagic

  • Splash Mountain

  • Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

  • Jungle Cruise

  • Stitch’s Great Escape!

  Transportation to/from the Park

  If you’re staying at a Disney resort hotel, you’ll take a bus, boat, or monorail to get here.

  By Monorail or Boat:

  • Contemporary Resort

  • Grand Floridian Resort

  • Polynesian Resort

  By Boat:

  • Wilderness Lodge and Villas Resorts

  • Fort Wilderness Campgrounds

  By Bus:

  • All other Disney resorts

  Parking for guests driving to the park costs $14.

  Main Street, U.S.A.

  This idyllic first land in the Magic Kingdom is based on Walt Disney’s childhood home of Marceline, Missouri. This walk through an America of our past has colorfully painted storefronts brimming with bright lights and filled with Disney-themed products all ready for your purchase. But there’s more to do here than just spend money.

  Some of your best memories will take place right here, from parades to your first pair of Mickey ears, to the first time you saw Cinderella Castle.

  HIDDEN MAGIC!

  A lot of fun things to do on Main Street, U.S.A., don’t officially qualify as an attraction:

  • Buy your own set of personalized Mickey ears at Le Chapeau, a store located to the right as you enter the park. Now you can build custom ones, even choosing the ears and other parts that you want to have on your hat. Nobody should leave the Magic Kingdom without their own set of ears—nobody!

  • Get a haircut at the Barber Shop on the left of the square as you enter the park. It runs just under $20, and you can include some particularly magical highlights. And how cool is it to say that you got your hair cut in the Magic Kingdom?

  • Mail a postcard from City Hall. They’ll stamp it as coming from the Magic Kingdom before posting it, if you ask.

  • Check out the horses. The stables are located to the left as you enter, and often one of the Main Street Vehicles horses is there with a handler.

  • Leave your badge. Firemen and women can post their department’s badge in the firehouse, on the left as you enter the park. You can also buy some good pet memorabilia for that Dalmatian back at your firehouse.

  Main Street Vehicles

  Attraction Type: Carnival attraction

  A wide array of vehicles can transport guests up and down Main Street. Some are horse drawn, others are powered, but all are slow.

  These wonderful diversions are here not for moving people, but for adding to the ambiance. They are a pleasantly relaxing way to see the street and catch some quiet moments with your traveling partners. Note that they’re not always available, especially around parade times.

  SpectroMagic Parade/Main Street Electrical Parade

  Attraction Type: Parade/fireworks

  All the Disney parades are good, but the evening ones are the best. The historic Main Street Electrical Parade recently returned to the Magic Kingdom, reportedly only as a seasonal replacement for the SpectroMagic Parade. Regardless of which of these is the parade running the evenings you are there, you are sure to enjoy either one. The extensively lit parade cars and characters (covered head to toe with bright white lights) make these nighttime shows ones that light up the eyes of kids as much as the parade route. All the classic characters are included, along with many of the newer ones. On select nights, a parade is run more than once. The first one is typically overcrowded, but I think the second showing can seem anticlimactic, so I like to brave the larger crowd. As a final note, when the parade is over, the rush of humans making for the exit is more than annoying; it’s downright scary. Make sure you have a hold on your kids, and consider doing some window shopping while you let the crowds clear out ahead of you.

  Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade

  Attraction Type: Parade/fireworks

  The Magic Kingdom’s daytime parade is a great show with a variety of classic and new characters. Well worth the time for the little ones, it’s a great way to take a break in the day without having to totally stop “seeing things.” This is not as special as the SpectroMagic parade, but it’s a great parade nevertheless.

  And, of course, if you are not interested in parades, it provides a great diversion that shortens lines at attractions, so go hit the rides while the crowds line the parade route!

  Move It, Shake It, Celebrate It Parade

  Attraction Type: Parade/fireworks

  This daytime parade is another move by Disney to make things more interactive. The parade, comprised of float-sized gift boxes manned by different Disney movie characters, stops periodically for an impromptu street party. During these parties, most notably in the hub area in front of Cinderella Castle, the gift boxes open up for more surprises, and characters draw members of the audience into the party. Very fun, if your kids are comfortable with characters.

  Wishes Nighttime Spectacular

  Attraction Type: Parade/fireworks

  This nighttime extravaganza uses the castle as a central prop to a show that is rife with photo opportunities. The fireworks, projected lights, and coordinated music combine for a show that’s hard to beat. While it’s best to see the show from inside the park, also consider watching it from sites outside, like the California Grill at the top of the Contemporary Resort, the beaches of the Polynesian Resort, or the public areas behind the Grand Floridian Resort.

  HIDDEN MAGIC!

  Where should you watch the fireworks and parades? While many will tell you that the best place to see the parades is in Frontierland or Adventureland because the crowds are smaller, I think it’s well worth the time to have someone stake out a spot on Main Street. This could be one of your most iconic memories of your trip, and the setting makes watching the parade worth the 30 minutes (perhaps an hour during the busy season) that someone has to sit there and people watch. For the fireworks, being in the central hub in front of the castle is essential to enjoying the spirit of the crowd and seeing the show the way it was intended. It can get crowded, so keep an eye on the little ones.

  Walt Disney World Railroad

  Attractio
n Type: Carnival attraction

  Walt Disney was an avid railroad enthusiast. That’s why this and many other railroad lines play such a pivotal and noticeable role in the park. This one takes guests around the park in a slow, scenic, and relaxing ride that stops at the park’s entrance, as well as in Frontierland. This train can also be an enjoyable treat if you find yourself finishing your day back by one of the other stops and can take the train back to the front of the park rather than having to hike out.

  Adventureland

  Welcome to the land of pirates and jungle adventure, home to two of the oldest and still most popular rides at the Magic Kingdom. Recent upgrades to long-standing classics have done a good job of freshening up the Adventureland experience while staying true to the original kitschy, exotic environment. The fun here is of the kind that’s not too scary for little kids but with plenty of adult fun factor, too. This can be the best land to hit first because it sets your imagination going, though thrill-ride fans will flock this way to get onto the two mountains early.

  Disney has really spiced up the atmosphere in Adventureland with a pirate training camp. A pirate with a cart of swords and other swashbuckling attire will set up an impromptu training camp somewhere in the streets of Adventureland for would-be pirates. Ask a cast member when the next one will be held.

  DID YOU KNOW?

  Opened in the Summer of 2009, kids can get a pirate makeover in a decidedly boy-themed answer to Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique at the Pirate’s League. There are boy- and girl-themed makeovers, making this a great place to inspire the little buccaneer in your family.

  Pirates of the Caribbean

  Attraction Type: Theme ride

  The ride has been updated to add the Captain Jack Sparrow character from the recent Pirates of the Caribbean movies. It remains a great, somewhat politically incorrect show, with audio-animatronic pirates looting and pillaging a Caribbean port town. Consider this boat ride a loud but air-conditioned Must Do! when you visit the Magic Kingdom, if only because you have to say you rode it! Warning:

  Some with very small children don’t like it for the noise factor.

  MICKEY-SPEAK

  Audio-animatronics refers to robotic characters in numerous attractions throughout the Disney parks. These figures, originally conceived by Walt Disney, are more than mannequins being moved by a small engine; they’re intricate robotic characters that mimic many of the mannerisms and movements of the living characters they imitate. They can be so lifelike that some guests actually think they’re actors on stage.

  The Magic Carpets of Aladdin

  Attraction Type: Carnival attraction

  This is the first of many Dumbo-style rides around all of the parks where you ride in circles while going up and down. In this one you ride a magic carpet, and the nearby bazaar-themed stores really make kids feel like they are in Arabia. Keep an eye out for the spitting camel!

  The Enchanted Tiki Room—Under New Management

  Attraction Type: Theater/movie/show

  This classic Disney attraction is a personal Must Do!, and the inclusion of Iago from Aladdin and Zazu from The Lion King as the new management hosts makes it more fun for kids. Sit in a small Hawaiian chamber filled with audio-animatronic birds on perches that sing and swing to the music. Some special effects, a great deal of humor, and some catchy songs make this a fun sit-down theater experience that offers fairly short lines. Some smaller children may be a bit frightened by a simulated storm, but for the most part, it’s a charming show.

  Jungle Cruise

  Attraction Type: Theme ride

  This was one of the first rides built at the park, and it remains overwhelmingly popular to this day. Jump aboard a jungle river steamer that takes you past audio-animatronic animals, natives, and other jungle sights. Corny gags and stale humor don’t seem to miss the mark, and while you may think that you won’t enjoy the ride, you’ll still find yourself disembarking with a chuckle.

  Jungle Cruise. Photo © Disney.

  Swiss Family Treehouse

  Attraction Type: Experience area/playground

  This attraction might have inspired the StairMaster exercise machines. Explore the tree home of the Robinsons, climbing from landing to landing as you make it around the tree complex. I prefer Tom Sawyer Island for exploring, but this is a great place to wear out kids who have a bit more energy than you can handle.

  Frontierland

  The worlds of foreign adventure merge very easily into the Old West. More adult-targeted thrill rides, with a coaster and a log ride, help make the fun more evenly distributed across all age groups. Grab a FASTPASS for either attraction early; they get booked up quickly.

  Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

  Attraction Type: Thrill ride

  This roller coaster takes you on a rickety set of mining tracks in and out of a series of Southwestern mesas. As a roller coaster, it’s moderately tame, but the setting is fun and it’s not a kiddie roller coaster by any means. Thrill-seeking teens will find it too tame, but it’s still popular. Guests must be 40 inches tall to enjoy this ride.

  Splash Mountain

  Attraction Type: Thrill ride

  This traditional log flume ride is themed to the story of Brer Rabbit. There are brief moments of darkness, but nothing too scary. The wet factor at the end isn’t too bad, so although you will want to protect valuables, you don’t have to waterproof yourself completely before taking the plunge. Guests must be 40 inches tall to enjoy this ride.

  Country Bear Jamboree

  Attraction Type: Theater/movie/show

  Audio-animatronic bears tell jokes, sing songs, and entertain the crowd in an Old West saloon theater. This show remains popular because it provides G-rated entertainment and air-conditioning. If you saw the movie based on this attraction, I’m sorry, but please don’t use that as an excuse not to see this show.

  Frontierland Shootin’ Arcade

  Attraction Type: Carnival attraction

  This is one of the few pay-as-you-go attractions remaining in the parks. All it takes is a little loose change, and you’ll be shooting a rifle at a Western scene filled with humorous targets. Hit any of the targets, and your reward is some kind of show, like making a snake’s tail rattle or causing wolves to bay at the moon. The rifles fire light, not bullets, at the targets, so they’re completely safe.

  HIDDEN MAGIC!

  Shrunken Net’s Junior Jungle Boats gives you a chance to steer your own miniature boat by flaming torches, stone temples, and other boats in this Adventureland locale. You have to pay to play, much like with the Frontierland Shooting Arcade, but it can be a nice distraction.

  Tom Sawyer Island

  Attraction Type: Exploration area/playground

  Take the pontoon boats across to this two-island play area and let the kids loose! These islands provide rustic exploration trails complete with caves, a fort, barrel bridges, and other surprises, all themed to the tales of Mark Twain. Fort Langhorne on the far island has rifles that you can actually fire (sound only) at passing steamboats, and it also has a fun escape route. Be careful with little ones; the caves are very dark, narrow, and can be both disorienting and scary.

  Liberty Square

  The world of the American frontier gives way to a Revolutionary War–era East Coast city that mixes in the out-of-context fun of a haunted house and a riverboat. It just doesn’t seem to matter that the decades get mixed, and open-air entertainment such as the fife and drum corps makes it a lively land.

  Liberty Square Riverboat

  Attraction Type: Carnival attraction

  Hop aboard a steam-powered riverboat and tour the Frontierland and Liberty Square lands via waterway. This is by no means a thriller, but it’s a relaxing 20-minute ride. Be aware that there are no restrooms on the riverboat. Overall, this is a pretty sleepy experience, but if you needed sleep, you would have gone back to your hotel room, right?

  The Hall of Presidents

  Attraction Type: Theater/movie/show
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  This is one of the original attractions at the Magic Kingdom, and it’s regularly updated whenever we elect a new president. The stage is filled with an audio-animatronic figure of every president. Although few have speaking parts, they all move independently, and they certainly have fooled many over the years into thinking they were live actors. The show is brief and a bit dry for kids, but it’s undoubtedly patriotic. For me, it is a personal Must Do! attraction, but not everyone agrees, so it all depends on your interest.

  The Haunted Mansion

  Attraction Type: Theme ride

  This perennial favorite is a great ride for almost everyone in your family. While it borders on being a thrill ride (it can be scary for some kids), the cars move on a straight track and it is in no way a roller coaster. The ride takes you through various scenes of a haunted house, trying to portray ghosts and goblins as more funny than frightening. A fun twist at the end puts a ghost in your seat, and a recent refurbishment makes it really come to life.

  I will say that most kids are more scared by the thought of a haunted mansion than by the ride itself.