The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2024 - Brossura

Sehlinger, Bob; Testa, Len

Brossura

ISBN 10: 1628091436 ISBN 13: 9781628091434

Casa editrice: Unofficial Guides, 2023

Riassunto

Save time and money with in-depth reviews, ratings, and details from the trusted source for a successful Walt Disney World vacation.

How do some guests get on the big, new attraction in less than 20 minutes while others wait for longer than 2 hours—on the same day? Why do some guests pay full price for their visit when others can save hundreds of dollars? In a theme park, every minute and every dollar count. Your vacation is too important to be left to chance, so put the best-selling independent guide to Walt Disney World in your hands and take control of your trip.

The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2024 explains how Walt Disney World works and how to use that knowledge to stay ahead of the crowd. Authors Bob Sehlinger and Len Testa know that you want your vacation to be anything but average, so they employ an expert team of researchers to find the secrets, the shortcuts, and the bargains that are sure to make your vacation exceptional! Find out what’s available in every category, ranked from best to worst, and get detailed plans to make the most of your time at Walt Disney World. Stay at a top-rated hotel, eat at the best restaurants, and experience all the most popular attractions.

Keep in the know on the latest updates and changes at Walt Disney World. Here’s what’s NEW in the 2024 book:

• Learn when to visit Walt Disney World to get lower crowds and bigger hotel discounts
• Find insider coverage of the Magic Kingdom’s new TRON Lightcycle/Run coaster, including how to save time in line
• Read a review of EPCOT’s new Journey of Water, inspired by Moana
• Get tips on playing EPCOT’s new DuckTales World Showcase Adventure game
• Take in the latest on Disney programs such as Early Theme Park Entry
• Successfully navigate Disney’s ridiculously complicated admissions, transportation, and Genie+ and Lightning Lane reservations systems
• Uncover the newest, best places for ticket and hotel deals
• Save more with information on discounted stroller rentals, car rentals, and vacation homes
• Preview the new tower building at Disney’s Polynesian Resort
• Utilize new touring plans to save the most time in line at every Disney park
• Discover the highest-rated rooms and buildings to ask for at every Disney resort

Make the right choices to give your family a vacation they’ll never forget. The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2024 is your key to planning a perfect stay. Whether you’re putting together your annual trip or preparing for your first visit, this book gives you the insider scoop on hotels, restaurants, attractions, and more.

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Informazioni sull?autore

Bob Sehlinger, a Lowell Thomas Award-winning journalist, is best known as the creator and producer of The Unofficial Guide series.

Len Testa, a lifelong Disney theme park fan, is also coauthor of The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland and The Unofficial Guide to the Disney Cruise Line. Len leads the team at Touring Plans, a research arm of The Unofficial Guides.

Dalla quarta di copertina

What’s NEW in The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2024:

• Coverage of the Magic Kingdom’s new TRON Lightcycle/Run coaster, including how to save time in line
• A review of EPCOT’s new Journey of Water, inspired by Moana
• Tips on playing EPCOT’s new DuckTales World Showcase Adventure game
• How to navigate Disney’s ridiculously complicated admissions, transportation, and Genie+ and Lightning Lane reservations systems
• Preview of the new tower building at Disney’s Polynesian Resort
• New touring plans to save the most time in line at every Disney park
• The highest-rated rooms and buildings to ask for at every Disney resort
• Where to find the best ticket and hotel deals in 2024

Estratto. © Ristampato con autorizzazione. Tutti i diritti riservati.

What Is Disney World?

We may be biased, but we think Walt Disney World (WDW), in Orlando, Florida, is the best collection of theme parks on Earth. Its combined size, quality, and ambition go far beyond that of any other amusement park or theme park you may have seen.

If this is your first visit, you’re probably familiar with Disney World through Disney’s theme park advertising. It’s great at showing families enjoying exciting rides and meeting its famous characters. But 30-second ads don’t convey where to find those rides and characters, how long you’ll stand in line, or how much money the visit will cost.

Walt Disney World has four theme parks. If you’re familiar with any of them, it’s probably the Magic Kingdom—the first one built and the one most people think of when they hear the words Disney World. The other three theme parks are EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

Walt Disney World also contains two water parks, Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon. But there’s more: over three dozen hotels and a campground; more than 100 restaurants; a massive year-round sports center; an outdoor mall/entertainment/hotel complex called Disney Springs; six convention centers; four golf courses; and an array of spas, recreation options, and other activities.

How Big Is Walt Disney World?

Walt Disney World is huge—around 43 square miles, about double the size of Manhattan and slightly smaller than Miami.

For easy reference, we (and Disney) use the theme parks as rough guides to locations within Walt Disney World. For example, the Magic Kingdom Resort Area is about 7 square miles and contains the Magic Kingdom theme park and nearby hotels, restaurants, golf courses, and entertainment. The EPCOT Resort Area is roughly 1.5 square miles and contains EPCOT and nearby hotels, restaurants, and so on. Most of these areas are separated by miles of barely developed Central Florida swampland.

The areas are so far apart that it’s not possible to walk between them. Instead, you’ll usually get around via the Walt Disney World transportation system’s fleet of buses, boats, vans, monorail trains (monorails), and aerial trams. Disney World’s bus system is the third largest in Florida, behind Jacksonville’s and Miami’s. Its transportation system is so large that Part 9 of this book is dedicated to it.

Because of Walt Disney World’s size, it would probably take around two weeks to explore most of it. Most families don’t have two weeks to spare, so we’ll tell you the best things to see in the time you have.

The Major Theme Parks

The Magic Kingdom

When most people think of Walt Disney World, they think of the Magic Kingdom, opened in 1971. It consists of Cinderella Castle and adventures, rides, and shows featuring the Disney cartoon characters. It’s only one element of Disney World, but it remains the heart.

The Magic Kingdom is divided into six “lands” arranged around a central hub. First you come to Main Street, U.S.A., which connects the Magic Kingdom entrance with the hub. Arranged clockwise around the hub are Adventureland, Frontierland, Liberty Square, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland. The Magic Kingdom has more rides, shows, and entertainment than any other WDW theme park. A comprehensive tour takes two days; a tour of the highlights can be done in one full day.

Six hotels—Bay Lake Tower, the Contemporary and Grand Floridian Resorts, Polynesian Village (and an upcoming, separate tower wing), and The Villas at the Grand Floridian—are connected to the Magic Kingdom by monorail and boat. Three other hotels—Shades of Green (for the US military and their families), Wilderness Lodge (incorporating the Boulder Ridge Villas and Copper Creek time-share units), and Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground—are located nearby but are served by boat and bus instead of monorail.

EPCOT

Opened in October 1982, EPCOT is twice as big as the Magic Kingdom and comparable in scope. The “front” (southern) part consists of three areas (World Discovery, World Celebration, and World Nature) holding giant pavilions concerning human creativity, technological advancement, the natural world, and—increasingly—cartoon characters; World Showcase, the “back” (northern) part, is arranged around a 40-acre lagoon and presents the architectural, social, and cultural heritages of almost a dozen nations, each country represented by replicas of famous landmarks and settings familiar to world travelers.

The EPCOT resorts—the BoardWalk Inn & Villas, Dolphin, Swan, Swan Reserve, Yacht & Beach Club Resorts, and Beach Club Villas—are within a 5- to 15-minute walk of the International Gateway, the World Showcase entrance to the theme park. The hotels are also linked to EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios by boat and walkway. EPCOT is connected to the Magic Kingdom and its hotels by monorail. An elevated ski lift–like gondola system called the Skyliner links EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios to Disney’s Pop Century, Art of Animation, Caribbean Beach, and Riviera Resorts.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Opened in 1989 in an area a little larger than the Magic Kingdom, Disney’s Hollywood Studios (DHS) has two main sections. One area, occupying about 50% of the Studios, is a theme park focused on the motion picture, music, and television industries. Park highlights include a recreation of Hollywood and Sunset Boulevards from Hollywood’s Golden Age, several rides and musical shows, and a movie stunt show.

The other half of DHS is two immersive lands based on popular Disney film franchises: Toy Story Land opened in 2018 with three highly themed rides for children. Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, opened in 2019, has two state-of-the-art, large rides for older children, teens, and adults.

DHS is connected to other Walt Disney World areas by highway, boat, and Skyliner but not by monorail. Guests can park in DHS’s pay parking lot or commute by bus; guests at EPCOT resort hotels can reach DHS by boat, on foot, or by Skyliner.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

About five times the size of the Magic Kingdom, Disney’s Animal Kingdom combines zoological exhibits with rides, shows, and live entertainment. The park is arranged in a hub-and-spoke configuration somewhat like the Magic Kingdom. A lush tropical rainforest serves as Main Street, funneling visitors to Discovery Island, the park’s hub. Dominated by the park’s central icon, the 14-story-tall, hand-carved Tree of Life, Discovery Island offers services, shopping, and dining. From there, guests can access the themed areas: Africa, Asia, DinoLand U.S.A., and Pandora. Discovery Island, Africa, and DinoLand U.S.A. opened in 1998, followed by Asia in 1999. Africa, the largest themed area at 100 acres, is home to free-roaming herds in a recreation of the Serengeti Plain.

Pandora—The World of Avatar, based on James Cameron’s Avatar film franchise, is the most significant recent expansion. Its biggest draws may be the animals and scenery—including “floating mountains” and glow-in-the-dark plants—which Disney has replicated from the movie. See Part 13 for full details.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom has its own parking lot and is connected to other Walt Disney World destinations by the Disney bus system. Although no hotels lie within Animal Kingdom proper, the All-Star Resorts, Animal Kingdom Lodge & Villas, and Coronado Springs Resort are all nearby.

Dettagli dell'edizione

• Editore: Unofficial Guides
• Data di pubblicazione: 2023
• Lingua: Inglese
• ISBN 10: 1628091436
• ISBN 13: 9781628091434
• Rilegatura: Copertina flessibile
• Numero di pagine: 744
• Contatto del produttore: non disponibile
• Persona responsabile: non disponibile