My One Day Comprehensive Guide to the most magical place on Earth, Walt Disney World! You can watch my Instagram story highlight I saved from the day to see more of the magic, and if you’re going to be in Orlando, also check out my One Day Guide to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – another absolute must-visit!

Disney Magic

Disney was a significant part of my childhood – I’m guessing you can relate! I watched all the classic films, knew the Disney songs by heart, regularly watched Disney Channel, and day dreamed of being a Disney Princess. Even as an adult, I’m still always up for a Disney film night, and Disney music is often on my playlist – those tunes are my jam.

I had the privilege of visiting Walt Disney World for a week when I was about 7 years old. Though I don’t remember everything from the trip, I do remember it being a wonderful experience. Over the years there have been many developments and additions to Disney World. So I was incredibly excited for the chance to go back with my family last May. We had one day and this is how we tackled it!

My Day at Walt Disney World

Animal Kingdom: Pandora – The World of Avatar

We woke up extra early on the day to get to the park about an hour before it opened. Our plan was to prioritise the new rides at Pandora – The World of Avatar. We had heard amazing things about these rides, and knew that the queues were meant to get insane (up to 5-7 hours long kind of insane). My sisters and I took one car to get there earlier, arriving around 8am. The Animal Kingdom Park officially opened at 9am for non-Disney resort visitors. We secured a good spot in the queue, and literally ran for the ride, The Flight of Passage, the second the rope dropped to let us in. Just a note of caution, be careful if you run! We actually passed a number of people who fell down on the way to the ride queue (it can get intense), so be safe.

Top Tip: Arrive at Animal Kingdom an hour early to get in the queue. When the rope drops, get to the queue for the Flight of Passage as quickly (and safely) as possible!

Flight of Passage

Despite running, we were far from the start of the queue. But we only ended up waiting for about an hour, and honestly the time flew by. The queue was constantly moving, and as we went through there was so much to see and engage with. There was stunning scenery outside to capture, and once inside, there were also scenes from the film. I almost wanted the queue to move slower just so I could appreciate all of the richness around me.

The ride itself is like nothing you have, or likely will, experience in your life. It is absolutely INCREDIBLE! You climb onto the back of a banshee, get linked to your avatar, and then proceed to fly through Pandora in the most realistic simulation. You can literally feel the banshee breathing beneath you, the spray of waves as you narrowly miss diving whales in the water, and soar through the world of Pandora. It truly feels like flying. The imagery is absolutely stunning and is remarkably realistic. But what I love about this kind of ride is that you get all of the thrill without any of the danger of actual roller coasters. Technology is an astonishing thing. If there was only one ride to do at Disney World, this would definitely be it.

Top Tip: Experience the Flight of Passage ride! It really is an absolute must and I promise it will change the way you look at theme park rides forever.

Na’vi River Journey

Coming out of the Flight of Passage, we were all on quite a high! As we had made good time, we decided to queue for the Na’vi River Journey, which is the other main attraction in Pandora. It’s not as thrilling of a ride, but it is truly beautiful. It was a nice calming experience in contrast to the excitement of the Flight of Passage. We had another lengthy wait in the queue, but again it’s so interactive and visually engaging that it didn’t feel that long. The ride itself involved getting on boats that move through a bioluminescent environment. I think you would appreciate this ride even more if you’ve seen the film Avatar (I hadn’t, but did shortly afterwards). The environment they create is remarkable.

Lunchtime at Nomad Lounge

After finishing up at the World of Pandora, and grabbing lots of photos of the surroundings, we made our way to lunch. Just in time, as it began to pour with rain. To get out of the downpour, we ducked into the Nomad Lounge.

I had received advice (from Instagram!) to try out this restaurant, and knew they had a Pad Thai on their menu which could be made vegan. I ordered a serving, but the dish was extremely spicy – as I’m already a wimp with spice I couldn’t even finish it. The staff was incredibly kind, and actually whipped up another vegan meal for me which wasn’t even on the menu: falafels with a tomato based dipping sauce. These were absolutely fantastic! The falafels were perfectly crispy on the outside, soft in the middle, and the tomato sauce was the perfect complement.

Top Tip: Go out to eat for lunch or dinner – it is more expensive, but a real treat and fun to experience what Disney World has on offer. Don’t be afraid to ask them to accommodate for special dietary requirements!

The Magic Kingdom

After lunch, my sisters and I headed back to the car and then drove over to the Magic Kingdom. 

Rainy Day Cavalcade Parade

As it was still pouring with rain, the normal Festival of Fantasy Parade was cancelled. But in its place the Rainy Day Cavalcade came down Main Street, with lots of classic characters dancing and engaging with the bystanders. We spotted many old favourites, including Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Donald and Goofy, lots of Disney Princesses, and more.

Top Tip: Whether rain or shine, catch one of the parades going down Main Street – they’re fun and showcase lots of familiar characters.

Mickey’s PhilharMagic

After watching the parade, we then decided to find an indoor ride to go on and get out of the rain. This is where the My Disney Experience app came in very handy, as we could see updated wait times for every ride in the park. We noted that Mickey’s PhilharMagic had a short wait. My sisters and I are all musicians as well, so we thought it could be a fun one to do. Soon we were seated in a large theatre watching Donald Duck in 3-D working his conducting skills. The show was fun, especially having grown up watching Disney cartoons as a kid. But the technology isn’t super advanced, so I wouldn’t prioritise this ride unless you love music and are craving a bit of childhood nostalgia.

Ferry to Epcot

We then made our way to Epcot to meet my parents (they’d taken off the afternoon to rest in our hotel). They generously brought over packed food for our dinner, and some rainy-day essentials for us too: towels, a change of clothes, and flip flops. These were real life savers! I would advise packing them in advance if you suspect rain is in the forecast.

The usual monorail, the quickest mode of transportation between parks, actually closed right before we were going to get on – perhaps because of the weather. So instead we hopped on the free ferry which took us straight from Magic Kingdom to Epcot. Despite the rain, it offered us a beautiful view of Magic Kingdom. The ride itself only took about 5-7 minutes, so if you have the chance I would recommend it. We also took it back after dinner, and it’s pretty magical to sail across the lake and see the Cinderella Castle getting closer on the horizon as you approach Magic Kingdom.

Top Tip: Use the ferry to get to Magic Kingdom at some point during your visit. It takes more time than the monorail, but offers a lovely view of the Cinderella Castle and Magic Kingdom.

Back to Magic Kingdom

Feeling refreshed, our family split into groups. My youngest sister and I went back to Magic Kingdom to soak in the final bits of our Disney World experience. We stopped at the Cinderella Castle, and tried to get a few photos, though they were a bit windswept and rainy so it wasn’t the greatest success. We had to try though, you can’t go to Disney World and not get a classic photo with the Castle!

Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin

This is when we finally took advantage of our Disney FastPass+. FastPasses let you reserve three rides in advance and then go through the FastPass+ queue, which is considerably quickly than regular wait times (more on FastPass+ in the Resources section below). We had booked the ride Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin earlier that day, so headed straight there.

My sister had ridden this ride in Disneyland Shanghai, and assured me it was a fun time. And it was! With Buzz Lightyear as guide, you ride through a video game blasting bad guys with laser guns to try to save the universe. I don’t quite understand the scoring system for this game. I was well in the lead (you accrue points by blasting different alien beings along the ride), until the very end. My sister must have shot one special alien because her score multiplied exponentially to steal the win.

Cinderella Castle

Coming out of Buzz Lightyear, it was still slightly drizzling, and we thought our plan to spend the evening watching the Fireworks seemed unlikely. We even asked some Disney employees if the fireworks would get cancelled due to the rain. They assured us the show rarely got cancelled, but they would announce soon before if that were the case. We were skeptical, but left to find another ride. We had booked FastPasses to Pirates of the Caribbean, but had a bit of time to kill before then.

This is when something SO incredibly magical happened, that I still can hardly believe it.

We made our way past the Cinderella Castle again, and as we arrived, the rain stopped. We thought we’d take advantage of the opportunity and grab a few more shots without our umbrellas and ponchos this time. And then it appeared.

The clouds parted to show brilliant streaks of gold and pink, a sunset to the left of the Castle. I began snapping away with my camera, and as I turned around, I saw the most brilliant double rainbow. A double rainbow! We couldn’t believe our eyes.

Can you picture how glorious this moment was?! In case you can’t, don’t worry – I took about a billion photos and videos to capture it as best I could. It honestly was so intensely stunning. Especially given how miserable the weather had been all afternoon, it was a special gift to be given this amazing sight.

Pirates of the Caribbean Ride

We hung around as long as we could taking in the moment, and then ran over to Pirates of the Caribbean so as not to miss our FastPass+ time period. With minutes to spare, we got into the FastPass+ queue. This was what queue dreams are made of – we ran all the way through with literally no people. We got all the way up to the very front, and stepped right onto an upcoming raft for the ride.

I had been nervously anticipating this ride. I’m a big fan of the films! But I had heard this ride had a slight drop and did not feel super secure in the old-fashioned raft. However, my fears were unwarranted, and there ended up being no drop at all (it must be the ride in Disneyland that has the drop). This one features audio animatronic pirates, and it’s so much fun! There’s lots of detail, familiar scenes and characters, and the classic movie soundtrack playing in the background.

Happily Ever After Fireworks Show

We came off the ride in high spirits, and made our way back to the Cinderella Castle to end our evening in the best way possible – with the Happily Ever After Fireworks Show. They didn’t get cancelled after all! We got there about half an hour before they were due to start at 9pm, and the area was already quite crowded. We managed to secure a great location that gave us an optimal view of the castle. Then the show began.

Honestly, those were 17 of the most magical minutes of my life. From the very start, with the tune ‘Happily Ever After’ by Jordan Fisher and Angie Keilhauer (which I proceeded to play on loop for weeks afterwards) playing and projected images on the Castle walls, we were transfixed. The show proceeded to go through all of the Disney classics and favourites. There were songs from: The Princess and the Frog, The Little Mermaid, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Brave, Moana, Aladdin, The Jungle Book, Toy Story, Frozen, Tarzan, Tangled, Pirates of the Caribbean, Hercules, Peter Pan. The list goes on! And of course, there were even more cameos of all of our beloved characters.

The show wasn’t just a fireworks display, but cleverly took you on a journey. It pulled on all of the heart strings from the very start; it presented the villains in a dramatic sequence, then all of the heroes in a beautiful montage, and ended in a spectacular display of visuals and fireworks. I of course, being me, got quite emotional. Even watching back the videos we took of the show still gives me all of the feels all over again. It’s SO GOOD, and you absolutely cannot miss it.

Top Tip: Stay for the Fireworks! I promise it’s worth it. Stake out a location 45 minutes in advance if you want the best viewing possible – Magic Kingdom Fireworks Viewing Guide

Once Upon a Time Fireworks

The show left us feeling completely satisfied. But it was an amazing bonus to find out that there would be another fireworks show starting up soon after this one finished. We obviously had to stay and watch that too.

This show was titled Once Upon a Time, and it featured Mrs. Potts from Beauty and the Beast telling bedtime stories to little Chip. Once again it’s a montage of sentimental Disney classics. There had been some notable Disney songs and scenes missing from the Happily Ever After show, which my sister and I had been surprised about. This show more than made up for those little gaps. It was sweet and lovely and was the perfect ending to our Disney World experience.

Top Tip: Stay for the Once Upon a Time Fireworks show as well. This may start either immediately before or after Happily Ever After, depending on when the park closes, and is definitely worth the watch.

After the show we wandered out of the park – which is stunning all lit-up at night – and said good-bye to Disney World. There’s so much more I would love to do in Disney World. But I have to say the rides and the shows I did see made for quite the magical day!

Additional Walt Disney World Resources

Walt Disney World is split into four different theme parks. If you only have one day, you definitely need to go in with a plan of attack. Here are some additional resources that were invaluable in helping us get the most out of our day in Disney World:

Website: 

• Disney World
• Tickets

FastPass+ – What You Need to Know:

The FastPass+ (FP+) concept can take a minute to wrap your head around. I find it helpful to think of it like making a reservation for a restaurant, but for rides instead. It’s also free to everyone with a park admission, so is worth taking advantage of!

You can make up to three FP+ ride reservations for each day you spend in Disney World. These can be made up to 30 days in advance (60 days in advance for those staying in Disney resort hotels), and can be changed anytime. All three reservations need to be made in the same park (i.e. all used in the Magic Kingdom).

Your FP+ reservation gives you an hour window to enter the attraction from the time you booked. For example, if you book a ride for 11am, you can enter the queue anytime between 11am-12pm. When you arrive at the ride/attraction you booked, you’ll enter the FP+ queue (which is much shorter than the normal queue) by validating your reservation. That involves touching your ticket or MagicBand to the reader at the entrance.

You can change your FP+ reservations anytime, and new ones are constantly becoming available. It’s worth checking and refreshing the app while you’re at the park to see if any desired rides become available for you to use a FP+.

Apps:

My Disney Experience mobile app – Everything you need for your time at Walt Disney World, in a handy mobile (free!) app. You can view wait times for rides, manage your FastPass+ reservations, navigate the parks with GPS-enabled maps and more. Definitely download in advance and take advantage!

Maps:

Disney World

Animal Kingdom Park

Magic Kingdom Park 

When to Visit:

My family went to Disney World on a Saturday – it was the only day we could go while we were in Florida. But if you have the option to go any other day of the week, I’d highly recommend it! The park can get incredibly crowded on the weekends. Here’s a link to a calendar which forecasts how busy the park can get every day of the year, which can help you plan the best day to go.

What to Pack:

There are a number of items that may be useful to pack for a day out in a theme park. These are some that I recommend:

• A rucksack/backpack to carry everything
• Camera – trust me, you’ll want to capture the magic
• Portable battery to recharge your phone (my battery never lasts the day, especially when you’re using it so much; my sister also had a phone charger in her car which was helpful)
• Jumper/Sweater – if you stay late into the evening (it gets cold after dark)
• Food/Snacks – check out my Guide to Healthy Vegan Travel for lots of packed lunch/portable snack ideas
• For rainy weather:
  • Umbrella and Poncho – it ended up pouring rain so we were extremely grateful for these!
  • Flip flops to change into – great especially for rainy weather
  • A change of clothes (great for if you get soaked but want to enjoy the evening fireworks show in dry clothes)

Overview of My Day Plan:

Animal Kingdom:

• Ride: Flight of Passage
• Ride: Na’vi River Journey
• Photos in the World of Pandora
• Lunch: Nomad Lounge

Magic Kingdom:

• Rainy Day Cavalcade Parade
• Ride: Mickey’s PhilharMagic

Ferry to Epcot:

• Dinner: Packed
• Ferry back to Magic Kingdom

Magic Kingdom:

• Ride: Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
• Photos of Cinderella Castle Photos (and the Sunset/Double Rainbow!)
• Ride: Pirates of the Caribbean
• Happily Ever After Fireworks Show
• Once Upon a Time Fireworks Show