What to See in Walt Disney World - Top Sights and Attractions

Disney rocket ride with galactic effects. Space Mountain is an outer space-themed, indoor roller coaster in Tomorrowland located at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom theme park in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. The dark ride, which opened on January 15, 1975, is the original version of the iconic attraction that has since been replicated at other Disney theme park locations worldwide, with the exception of Shanghai Disneyland Resort. Space Mountain is also the oldest operating roller coaster in the state of Florida. RCA helped fund construction and sponsored the ride from 1975 to 1993. FedEx assumed sponsorship from 1994 to 2004.

Walt Disney originally conceived the idea of a space-themed roller coaster for Disneyland following the success of Matterhorn Bobsleds in 1959. However, technological limitations and planning for Walt Disney World led to the project's postponement in the late 1960s. After the early success of Magic Kingdom in the early 1970s, Disney began planning its first thrill ride at the new theme park. After determining that a duplicate of Disneyland's Matterhorn was not feasible, Disney opted instead to re-visit the Space Mountain concept following advances in technology that made the project more feasible.

Space Mountain has undergone a number of changes since its opening, including new ride trains in 1989 and 2009, as well as incremental upgrades to incorporate modern roller coaster technology. It has also seen a number of cosmetic renovations to its entry, queue, and post-show elements, many of which were necessitated by changes in its corporate sponsorship over the years.^[1]

Indoor ride with animatronic dinosaurs. Dinosaur, formerly known as Countdown to Extinction, is a dark ride EMV attraction at Disney's Animal Kingdom in Walt Disney World, Lake Buena Vista, Florida. The ride features a turbulent journey through the late Cretaceous period, featuring prehistoric scenes populated with dinosaur audio-animatronics. Originally named Countdown to Extinction when the park opened on April 22, 1998, the ride's name was changed to Dinosaur in 2000 to promote the Disney animated film of the same name. However, the two dinosaurs most prominently featured in the ride have always been an Iguanodon and Carnotaurus, which were both featured prominently in the film. Scenes from the movie also appear in the pre-show, to help the guests identify the Iguanodon as the film's protagonist, Aladar.^[2]

Theme park in Bay Lake. Stitch's Great Escape! was a "theater-in-the-round" attraction based on Disney's Lilo & Stitch franchise. A non-canon prequel to the original 2002 film that detailed Stitch's "first" prison escape, it was located in the Tomorrowland area of Magic Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort, as the fourth attraction to occupy the building and theater space that was previously used for Flight to the Moon, Mission to Mars and the ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter. Designed by Walt Disney Imagineering, many of the animators who worked on Lilo & Stitch were directly involved with the attraction's development. The attraction, which struggled with a mixed reception from park guests and Disney fans during its existence, was the only major permanent attraction based on Lilo & Stitch to have operated in the United States; all other such major attractions since have been exclusive to non-American Disney Parks resorts.^[3]

Tourist attraction in Bay Lake, Florida. The Universe of Energy was a pavilion on the eastern side of Future World at Epcot, a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. One of Epcot's opening day attractions in 1982, it explored the world of energy through four large-format film presentations and a slow-moving dark ride through a jungle diorama filled with audio-animatronic dinosaurs. In 1996, it was updated as Ellen's Energy Adventure, starring Ellen DeGeneres and Bill Nye.

The Universe of Energy pavilion was first sponsored by ExxonMobil (formerly Exxon) from 1982 through 2004. After years of dwindling popularity, it closed permanently on August 13, 2017 and was replaced with Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, which reused its show building.^[4]

Tourist attraction in Bay Lake, Florida. Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple is a guest experience based on the Jedi teachings found in the Star Wars series, located next to Star Tours – The Adventures Continue in the Echo Lake area at Disney's Hollywood Studios, at the Tomorrowland Terrace in Disneyland, inside Videopolis in Discoveryland at Disneyland Park Paris and at the original UFO Zone area in Hong Kong Disneyland.

The original version, Jedi Training Academy, closed at Walt Disney World on October 5, 2015, and reopened as Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple on December 1, 2015, with new characters from Star Wars Rebels. The Disneyland version closed November 15, 2015, and reopened as Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple on December 8, 2015. The premiere at Hong Kong Disneyland opened on June 25, 2016, as part of its 10th anniversary celebration.^[5]

Theme park in Bay Lake, Florida. Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park is a zoological theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. Owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division, it is the largest theme park in the world, covering 580 acres. The park opened on Earth Day, April 22, 1998, and was the fourth theme park built at the resort. The park is dedicated and themed around natural environment and animal conservation, a philosophy once pioneered by Walt Disney himself.

Disney's Animal Kingdom distinguishes itself from the rest of Walt Disney World's theme parks by featuring traditional attractions as well as hundreds of species of live animals. Due to these sensitive conditions, special designs and provisions were incorporated throughout the park to protect the animals' welfare. The park is located on the western edge of the resort, and is isolated from the other theme parks and properties to minimize external disruptions to the animals; as a result, the park's nighttime show doesn't feature fireworks that would otherwise disturb the animals. In efforts to be more eco-friendly, the park uses biodegradable paper straws and prohibits plastic straws, lids, and balloons. Disney's Animal Kingdom is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums, indicating they have met or exceeded the standards in education, conservation, and research.

In 2019, Disney's Animal Kingdom hosted 13.888 million guests, ranking it as the third-most-visited theme park in North America and the sixth-most-visited theme park in the world. The park's icon is the Tree of Life, a 145-foot-tall (44 m), 50-foot-wide (15 m) artificial baobab tree. The park is the second-most-visited at Walt Disney World Resort, behind Disney's Magic Kingdom.^[7]

Theme park in Bay Lake, Florida. Toy Story Midway Mania! is an interactive 4-D theme park attraction, located at three Disney theme parks: Disney's Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort, Disney California Adventure at the Disneyland Resort and Tokyo DisneySea at Tokyo Disney Resort.

Designed by Walt Disney Imagineering and inspired by Disney·Pixar's Toy Story franchise, the attraction was first unveiled during a press conference at Walt Disney World in January 2007. The Florida version opened officially on May 31, 2008, on the same date that the Buzz Lightyear action figure launched onboard Space Shuttle flight STS-124 (whose objective was to deliver the largest module of the space station - Kibō, the Japanese Experiment Module pressurized section, developed by JAXA), while the California version officially opened on June 17, 2008. The Japan version of the attraction opened on July 9, 2012.^[8]

Amusement ride. The Wildlife Express Train is a 3 ft narrow gauge African themed heritage railroad at Disney's Animal Kingdom in Walt Disney World. Its route is 1.2 miles long and takes guests from Harambe Station in the Africa section to Conservation Station in the Rafiki's Planet Watch section. During the ride, portions of the Animal Kingdom backlot can be seen, including animal holding buildings for rhinos and elephants, among other animals, as well as the roundhouse where the trains are stored. It takes about twelve minutes for each train to complete a round trip on the line: seven minutes from Harambe Station to Conservation Station, and five minutes from Conservation Station to Harambe Station. The railway is built to a 3 ft narrow gauge, which is smaller than the 1,000 mm metre gauge currently used on East African railways. The full journey is a 1.2-mile round trip.

The railway is part of the fictitious Eastern Star Railway, running from Lusaka to Nairobi and Kisangani. Despite the dated and weathered appearance of the trains, they are actually brand-new models built by Severn Lamb in Alcester, England.^[9]

Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular is a nighttime show at Disney's Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World. The show is based on the Star Wars film series and features fireworks, projection mapping, fire, lasers, fog effects, and searchlights. During the show, Star Wars imagery is projected onto the park's Chinese Theater facade and surrounding buildings around the park's hub on Hollywood Boulevard. The show had its celebrity-filled World Premiere on Friday, June 17, 2016, replacing the park's similarly-themed display, Symphony in the Stars: A Galactic Spectacular.

A second incarnation of the show debuted at Walt Disney Studios Park in Disneyland Paris on January 14, 2017, where the imagery is projected onto The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror on Production Courtyard. It is shown seasonally during the "Season of the Force".^[10]

Exotic encounters, thrill rides and shows. Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park is a zoological theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. Owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division, it is the largest theme park in the world, covering 580 acres. The park opened on Earth Day, April 22, 1998, and was the fourth theme park built at the resort. The park is dedicated and themed around natural environment and animal conservation, a philosophy once pioneered by Walt Disney himself.

Disney's Animal Kingdom is distinguishes its self from the rest of Walt Disney World's theme parks by featuring traditional attractions as well as hundreds of species of live animals. Due to these sensitive conditions, special designs and provisions were incorporated throughout the park to protect the animals' welfare. The park is located on the western edge of the resort, and is isolated from the other theme parks and properties to minimize external disruptions to the animals; as a result, the park's nighttime show doesn't feature fireworks that would otherwise disturb the animals. In efforts to be more eco-friendly, the park uses biodegradable paper straws and prohibits plastic straws, lids, and balloons. Disney's Animal Kingdom is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums, indicating they have met or exceeded the standards in education, conservation, and research.

In 2019, Disney's Animal Kingdom hosted 13.888 million guests, ranking it as the third-most-visited theme park in North America and the sixth-most-visited theme park in the world. The park's icon is the Tree of Life, a 145-foot-tall (44 m), 50-foot-wide (15 m) artificial baobab tree. The park is the second-most-visited at Walt Disney World Resort, behind Disney's Magic Kingdom.^[12]

Tourist attraction in Bay Lake, Florida. The American Adventure is the host pavilion of the World Showcase within Epcot at Walt Disney World in Bay Lake, Florida, United States. It is also the name of the Colonial American-themed pavilion's main attraction, an Audio-Animatronics stage show of American history. It is located between the Italy and Japan pavilions.

The pavilion includes a quick service food location named Regal Eagle Smokehouse, a Muppet-themed location focused on barbecue. Additionally, there is a merchandise location known as Heritage Manor which, as of February 2020, is currently closed for renovation. It will be merged with the former Art of Disney store that was located in Future World as a part of Epcot's transformation.

In 2021, Epcot announced that a new exhibit called "THE SOUL OF JAZZ: An American Adventure" will open inside of the attraction. Based on Disney and Pixar's animated film, Soul, the exhibit is part of Epcot's transformation. Guests join Joe Gardner, the star of Soul, and will be taken to New Orleans, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, and Puerto Rico.^[15]

The Fantasia Gardens Miniature Golf complex is a miniature golf course located at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, United States. Located across from the Swan and Dolphin resorts, it has two 18-hole courses themed after the movie Fantasia and opened on May 20, 1996.

• Fantasia Gardens, is easier and more child-friendly (it features characters and objects from the movie integrated in each hole).
• Fantasia Fairways, the more difficult of the two, is designed with hazards of a real golf course such as sand traps and rough terrain. Fantasia Fairways was voted the longest and most challenging mini golf course in the world by Golf Digest. Par is 72 for the fairways course.
• Confirmed by Walt Disney World, the record for the fairways course is 50 (22 under par) and was shot by Bubba Watson.
• The course record was subsequently broken on 7/6/14 with a 45 (27 under par) and was shot by Lorcan Morris

Pirates of the Caribbean is a dark ride at Disneyland, Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland, Disneyland Park at Disneyland Paris, and Shanghai Disneyland.

The ride tells the story of a band of pirates in the West Indies islands around the Caribbean Sea in the 17th and 18th centuries with the saga of their voyages, troubles, and exploits. The original version of the ride was opened at the original Disneyland, in Anaheim, California, near Los Angeles, in 1967, and was the last ride whose construction was envisioned and personally overseen by Walt Disney, who died three months before it opened. After immense popularity, the ride was replicated seven years later at the Magic Kingdom of Walt Disney World, near Orlando, Florida, soon after it opened, in 1973. Versions followed at Tokyo Disneyland in 1983, and at Disneyland Paris in 1992. Each of the initial four versions of the ride has a different façade but a similar ride experience. A reimagined version of the ride influenced by the visitors' familiarity with the worldwide success of the feature film series, Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure, opened at the Shanghai Disneyland Park in 2016.

The ride gave rise to the song "Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me)" written by George Bruns and Xavier Atencio, and performed on the ride's recording by The Mellomen. The ride became the basis for the Pirates of the Caribbean film series, which debuted in 2003. Since 2006, Disney has incorporated characters from the film series into the Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris versions of the rides.^[19]