I hope you have enjoyed the Not to Miss Series, I have certainly enjoyed writing all of the posts! But sadly, the series is coming to an end today. I thought I would finish things off with what I believe is Not to Miss for the Walt Disney Fan. If you missed the previous posts, you can read what is not to miss for Little Ones, the Classic Disney Fan, Thrill Seekers, Character Lovers, Show-Goers, and First Timers. If you’ve never been to Walt Disney World before I also suggest checking out this post, it is the home page of all things related to planning a Disney vacation! Okay, let’s get on with the final list!
Magic Kingdom
This detail can be seen before you enter Magic Kingdom
Carousel of Progress- Walt created this attraction for the 1964 New York World’s Fair, and is one of the only attractions in Walt Disney World that Walt himself touched. This rotating theatre show is a nice break from the heat and generally has a short wait time. I personally love this attraction, and try to “ride” it at least once per trip. Fastpass+ is not available, but the wait time is only that of the first scene, as the next section of seating opens.
The Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover- This car systems takes you around Tomorrowland, and is powered by magnets! You go inside space mountain and see models of what Walt envisioned of EPCOT (in capitals because it stood for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow). The PeopleMover was created to be a way of transportation in EPCOT, which unfortunately never happened. The PeopleMover is continuously loading and rarely has a long wait. I definitely recommend this for a nice break!
Jungle Cruise- While the ride is a little outdated, the Skippers make it fun! I’m a big fan of puns, and this attraction has a bunch of them! Ride at night when there are less likely to be kids, for an even funnier version. Fastpass+ not needed, just check the My Disney Experience app and head over when wait times are short.
Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room- Also with a version in Disneyland, this classic attraction showcases bird AudioAnimatronics Walt engineered. I love the songs, the birds, the flowers and the tiki gods! The line for this isn’t usually long (usually only until the next showtime), so I suggest it for a break from the hot weather.
Walt Disney World Railroad- Take a trip around the Magic Kindgom on the railroad! With a few stops along the way you can get on or off wherever, or complete a full circle. Walt Disney loved trains, and wanted to have the presence of trains in his parks. Ethan and I went on the railroad for the first time last year, and had a lot of fun! It is very nice to take a slower pace in the parks once in a while.
Keys to the Kingdom Tour- Ethan and I took this tour last year and loved it. Still to this day I am so happy we did, because it helped us to notice the details in the park. I wouldn’t suggest this tour for your first trip to Walt Disney World, but if you’ve been a few times I would highly recommend doing it! It’s a half day tour, with a meal included. Seriously, I can’t say enough good things about it! I learned a lot about Walt Disney and his vision of Magic Kingdom, and the level of details that should be in the parks.
During the tour we talked about the history of this tree, I won’t spoil it for you!
Epcot
While the Epcot we see today was not the EPCOT Walt envisioned, the Future World section of the park is something I think was taken from his plans. Walt was always thinking about the future, and I think this area works with that. Walt didn’t have a direct hand in the creation of any attractions there, but I think it’s important to see what he wanted, and what Epcot could be.
Hollywood Studios
Hollywood Studios was not a park Walt had envisioned necessarily, but there is one attraction dedicated to his life.
One Man’s Dream- this walk through exhibit is near Toy Story Mania, and I found it very interesting. There is a lot of information about Walt’s life as well as the technologies he invented. Even just walking through it I’m sure you’ll learn something new! There are models of the different parks around the world which are really neat to look at, hopefully I can make it to some of them in my lifetime! There is also an optional film at the end about Walt, but I’m not sure if it is running right now. I’ve heard a Zootopia preview has been playing, but I’m not sure if once the movie is released the Walt film will return. I will try to update this post once I know!
Animal Kingdom
Again, Animal Kingdom was not a park that Walt had a direct hand in, but his respect for animals was something that was important to him. When he came into Florida to build Disney World, he made sure to dedicate 1/3 of the land to wildlife conservation. That’s true today, and that land will never be touched. It’s the little things that make a difference, and something so small to the company has such a big message.
This list was surprisingly hard to write, because unfortunately Walt died before Walt Disney World opened and didn’t get to create as much for Walt Disney World as Disneyland.
Did you enjoy the Not to Miss series? Is there something else you would like to see on the blog? Let me know in the comments!
As always, thank you so much for reading!
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