The ultimate three days at Walt Disney World® in Orlando

On the monorail after dinner with Mickey Mouse, my four-year-old son and a little girl were bonding. She didn’t speak English, and he didn’t speak Portuguese, but they were having the most amazing time. And here’s the thing: nearly everyone at Walt Disney World® in Orlando is having the most amazing time. It's hot, the lines are long, bodies are abundant and still, smiles, properly formed queues and manners abound. 

Disney World is a world unto itself. There is a culture (everyone is welcome), mythology (Mickey is a god and pixie dust makes everything better), fashion (wear your fave Disney brand loud and proud and don’t forget your mouse ears) and social norms (stand in line, have fun, be kind), and once you enter under that arched sign, you’re part of it too. The cast members call little humans "your highness" or "captain" or whatever suits their clothing or costume. Everyone is helpful and ready to answer your questions. And the guests rise to the occasion, taking on the ethos because they want to. It feels good to believe in magic for as long as you can, because at the end of the day, everyone speaks Disney.

But as I quickly learned, even magical days can be busy and overwhelming. So I'm sharing my notes and tips with you so you can plan your ultimate Disney World trip.

When to arrive: I would suggest visiting on weekdays if you can swing it. We arrived on a Wednesday morning and it was perfect.

How to get from the airport: Once you are in the Disney complex, you do not need a car, so book a shuttle with Mears Connect. It has a huge presence at the Orlando airport, making the transfer extremely easy.

Getting around town: Use the buses between the parks and the resorts. But there is also the monorail, friendship boats and sky gondola to help you get you around.

Where to stay: We loved Animal Kingdom Lodge, but if you’re looking for a more affordable stay check out Art of Animation. 

What to pack: Pack your Disney-themed t-shirt. I love dressing the part. We packed two each for our three days. Also, pack an extra pair of comfortable shoes. You are on your feet all day, and switching it up the next day is nice. Rain ponchos are also useful. Some people wore them on the water rides, but rain is a thing in Florida so they come in handy. Finally, I regret not packing more. I packed just enough for three days, which was fine, but we got so sweaty. I would have loved to return to the hotel and change at some point. Our clothes were gross.

What I learned: Make friends with the Disney app. This itinerary is very tight and might be better over at least four days. Also, my little one wasn't super into this trip. He did it all. He was a trooper and we had fun, but he has no connection to anything Disney (except he loves the Incredibles and has a thing for Buzz Lightyear), so it was all a little overwhelming. His favorite rides were Ratatouille at Epcot and Slinky Dog Dash at Hollywood Studios, and he loved playing at the Boneyard Playground in Animal Kingdom. He would have preferred to spend most of the time in the pool at the resort. 

Day 1

Park visited: Magic Kingdom

Pass: Just Magic Kingdom, no Park Hopper, no Lightning Lane passes

Rides taken: Pirates of the Caribbean, Big Thunder Mountain Rail Road, Tomorrowland Speedway, Mad Tea Party, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, Under the Sea Journey of the Little Mermaid

Characters met: Peter Pan

Morning: Our flight landed at about 10 am and we made our way straight to Animal Kingdom Lodge. The check-in time was 3pm, but our room was available. If you can't get in your room, you can leave your bags while you head to the park.

How to spend the day: We grabbed a bite to eat at the Mara, the quick-service restaurant at Animal Kingdom Lodge. There was a variety to choose from, and it was a perfect pick-me-up. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the chermoula-spiced shrimp bowl. I do recommend fueling up before heading to the park where the lines for food where much longer and it felt more crowded. We took the bus straight from there to the Magic Kingdom.

The best tip I can give you is make friends with the Disney World app. It is so helpful. There are wait times (always a bit of an over-estimate), locations of all the rides and times and places to meet the characters. You can also use it to pre-order food or make reservations, which I did. 

We hopped from ride to ride with no problem at all. We would look at the app and see which ride that we wanted to do had the best wait time and that’s where we would head. It was so fun to bounce around the park that way. If we saw a character we wanted to meet or if we saw an attraction we wanted to do, we did it. No pressure, all fun.

Dinner: We were exhausted, so we headed back to Animal Kingdom Lodge around 6:30 p.m. for dinner. Again, we just hit up The Mara. Everyone had a cheeseburger and fries. But this was a great opportunity to have made a reservation at the nicer restaurants at the resort. I did wish we had a reservation for Sanaa.

After dark: Swimming! Well maybe not exactly after dark. Dusk swimming. Just before eating and then after for a little while we relaxed in the pool, got out the kinks from the flight and the excitement of our first day at Disney and just had a chance to connect. 

Day 2

Park visited: Animal Kingdom & Magic Kingdom

Pass: Park hopper with three lighting lanes at each park

Attractions visited: Lots of animals, The Boneyard, Expedition Everest, Gorilla Falls, Kali River Rapids, Kilimanjaro Safari, Maharaja Jungle Trek, Na’vi River Journey, Haunted Mansion, Small World, Peter Pan, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure 

Characters met: Moana, Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pluto, Goofy

Morning:  We got bagels and cream cheese from The Mara before heading to Animal Kingdom. We did not push ourselves to be super early. We were there by 9. You can absolutely get there earlier to take advantage of cooler temps and longer days. I recommend going straight to the Kilimanjaro Safari because the animals are most active in the morning. This was the ride my daughter was most excited about and we were not disappointed. We spent the rest of the morning exploring all the different animals.

How to spend the day: The Wilderness Explorer program is one of those Disney things that is interactive,  engaging and makes the whole experience sparkle. The kids got a pamphlet and went from kiosk to kiosk, learning about different animals from the cast members and earning stickers for their books. The cast members gave us messages for each other, such as, “Go visit the Gorillas next and tell them Javi sent you; they may have a surprise for you.” The cast members moving around the park remembered my kids’ names, making them feel incredibly special. 

We ate popcorn and ice cream and wandered around Pandora. Holy Moly, it is so beautiful. Incredibly well-created and the Na’vi River Journey is just so gorgeous. I am embarrassed to tell you that we didn’t eat much lunch but we did have an early dinner reservation at Chef Mickey’s. We booked it to Magic Kingdom because we had a pass for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure (a great remake of Splash Mountain, we all thought it was just perfect), and then we had reservations with Chef Mickey!

Dinner: We took the monorail from Magic Kingdom to Chef Mickey’s for dinner with the crew. The buffet was mostly traditional American food, except I had a wonderful tofu curry and rice which really made me very happy. The kids cut a rug with Minnie, I cried with delight when Goofy made my whole family get up for the photo and we just had the best time. 

After dark: FIREWORKS! And rides. The Happily Ever After Fireworks are amazing. The show is full of all your favorite characters, incredible music and a light show on the Cinderella castle. It's like a dream. The kids danced and sang, then at the end when Tinker Bell makes an appearance and flies into the crowd, the audible gasp made everyone laugh and cry happy tears. 

After the fireworks we rode three more rides, can I say that I’ve always dreamed of riding rides at Disney after dark and never have? It was so much fun. We hightailed it to Haunted Mansion (a popular choice) and I’m so glad we had the lighting lane for it. Our usher was so perfect that my son leaned over and whispered, “Mom is he a vampire?". Then we did It's a Small World. The people who shared our boat with us had done it 26 times that day! It's a lot, but that ride is a classic. And we squeezed in Peter Pan’s Flight because it's a joint favorite in our house.

Regrets: Because this day was so packed, we didn’t do any of the shows at Animal Kingdom. I think my son would have loved to go to either Lion King or Finding Nemo, both of which I’ve heard are fantastic.

Day 3

Parks visited: Hollywood Studios, Epcot

Pass: Park hopper with three lightning lanes at each park

Attractions visited: Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, Muppet Vision 3D, Slinky Dog Dash, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, Mickey and Minnie Runaway Railroad, Remy’s Ratatoullie Adventure, Frozen Ever After, Guardians of the Galaxy, The Seas with Nemo & Friends, 

Characters met: Frozone, Joy, Buzz Lightyear, Daisy Duck

Morning: Another day another breakfast at The Mara. It was the easiest and cheapest option and that’s what we were after. We got to Hollywood Studios early because we wanted to ride the Star Wars rides. I will be honest, we would not have done these without the lighting lanes. The lines were incredibly long. They are truly interactive experiences that go beyond ‘ride’. In Rise of the Resistance, I absolutely felt liked I walked into the rebel camp and was ready to sign up. So worth it.

How to spend the day: We spent the day crisscrossing Hollywood studios in search of our favorite rides and characters. Toy Story Mania is such a cool area of the park. The army guy drum line echoes through the park and we followed them as they marched around (we’re suckers for a drum line). Slinky Dog Dash was my kids favorite ride of the trip. They both loved it. We watched the Muppets 3D because we are muppets fans and the interactive 3D technology is great. I do feel sad that we missed the Disney Jr Dance Party because I feel sure my four-year-old would have loved it. 

But the highlight of Hollywood Studios is definitely Galaxy’s Edge. It is incredibly well-designed, from the droid prints on the ground to the torn sails as shades. We bought cokes in round bottles with unfamiliar writing and wandered through Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo, which made the kids kind of nervous. There were strange animals roasting on spits and a giant oven furnace. It was exactly what I would imagine heading to Batuu would feel like. 

We ate lunch at The ABC Commissary (this is my fault, I made a lunch reservation at the wrong place). I actually really enjoyed the shrimp tacos I got and the kids gobbled up their grilled cheese sandwiches. I wanted to go to the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater, where you sit in cars and watch B-sci-fi movies. But alas. Always something to save for next time. 

We made our way to Epcot in the late afternoon and I was shocked by how much I liked wandering around and looking at all the architecture and design. Seeing all the examples of the different countries close together is really very fun and while I was worried about cultural appropriation and kitsch, its actually charming and informative. We would have liked to spend more time popping into the little museums. As it was we checked out the Viking Gods, ate some German snacks and rode as many rides as we could. 

Dinner: It was Food & Wine at Epcot, which I recommend. It's fun to stop at all the different kiosks and buy small bites to try. We got Fish & Chips because they were huge, and there was a wonderful place to sit right on the lake. 

After dark: The Epcot light show called Luminous, The Symphony of Us was pretty fantastic. It's a little heavy-handed, but it pulls on all the heartstrings, and it is stunning to watch. I loved that it was on an island in the lake; I loved the idea of people gathered all around the perimeter enjoying it just as I was. We were going to leave before the light show, and I’m so glad we decided to stay. Not to mention Disney put on a desert spread for the press as only Disney can, and we finally got to try the grey stuff. It's delicious.

Sarah Stocking traveled to Disney World with help from Disney Resorts. Lonely Planet does not accept freebies in exchange for positive coverage.