Disney World: The Good and the Bad

It is frequently hard to find a good place for families or individuals to vacation. Prices are typically very high and it is not enjoyable or worth the price. Recently, I visited Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. While the prices are extremely high, the attractions, food, and entertainment were well worth the price. Today I will be doing a deep dive into the positive and negative characteristics of Walt Disney World.

The first positive aspect of Disney World that I would like to highlight is the app. Prior to visiting, I downloaded the My Disney Experience app and through there I was able to link my park tickets, meal vouchers, etc. Thanks to this, it made the park entrance way easier. Rather than looking for my physical card, I could just scan it on my phone. Not only did it help in that sense, but it was also very simple to use. You could check wait times on the map for every park which was very beneficial. You could also filter the map to find certain things such as attractions, restaurants, stores, etc. Even beyond this, you could purchase a fast pass each day through the app and make reservations using their Genie+ feature. You could also utilize the app for different experiences such as scavenger hunts around the parks and special music that goes along with different parts of the park. This makes the whole Disney experience much more magical and efficient.

Another positive attribute to mention would be the attraction lines. I, personally, purchased a Lightning Lane pass, so the lines were even shorter. I did, however, ask a peer who did not have a fast pass how the lines were, and they stated that the lines were fairly short even without it. One thing that I appreciated was the efficiency of the app updates. I noticed that every few minutes, the app would update the wait time on the lines so it was pretty much accurate the whole time. Sometimes, the app and in-person displays of the wait time were shown as more than the actual time, but since the lines were so efficient, we never really had to wait that long. One ride that I would recommend getting on early is the Hollywood Studios Tower of Terror ride. I noticed that throughout my day at Hollywood Studios, the line continually got longer and longer, which is why I chose to get on it first thing in the morning and last thing at night when the wait times were shortest. I will also note that the Mickey and Minnie Runaway Railroad Experience ride also had a very long wait. As I mentioned before, I had Lightning Lane, so I only waited about 10-15 minutes in the line which was usually about 90 minutes long. Other than those rides, the longest I waited in a line even without a fast pass was about an hour. Besides the Hollywood Studios rides that I mentioned, the rest of Disney’s rides were very efficient and worth the wait.

The final positive trait that I would like to emphasize is the attractions themselves. As I mentioned before, the lines added to the positive experience of the attractions overall, but the rides themselves were also very entertaining. Disney World is unquestionably a family-friendly park with rides ranging from “It’s a Small World” for the little ones to “Expedition Everest” for adrenaline junkies like myself. The variety of rides throughout the park increased the experience by a ton. I would now like to do a deep dive into some of my favorite rides. Starting with my all-time favorite, Expedition Everest, which is located in the Animal Kingdom park. This ride is probably not for everyone considering the fact that it contains fast speeds, a backward drop, sharp turns, etc. However, for anyone looking for a ride that will give them an adrenaline rush, this ride is perfect. Moving on to a ride for anyone, there is the Haunted Mansion ride located in the Magic Kingdom park. Out of the rides at Magic Kingdom, this ride probably has one of the longest lines. When I went, the line was about 45-50 minutes long. This attraction is about an eight-minute experience where you sit in a car called a “doom buggy” and go through a mansion full of ghosts. It is a great ride if you are tired of walking or standing and just want to sit down for a few minutes in a cooler place. Lastly, I would like to highlight the “Tower of Terror” ride located in the Hollywood Studios park. As I mentioned in the previous paragraph, the best times to go on this ride are early in the morning or late at night, seeing how those are the times when the lines are shortest. Again, this ride is not for everyone and I would recommend not going on it after eating. This ride is pretty short, so if you don’t want to wait in a long line for something short, this ride is not for you. The attraction queue is part of the experience and you can walk through the haunted hotel where you enter one of the elevators and a video of the backstory plays. After that, there is another short line and then you get on the second elevator which you actually strap into. You then go on a small track, then it brings you up like a real elevator and then you drop a few times. It is very fun for anyone who enjoys adrenaline and likes the dropping feeling in their stomach.

The final thing I will be talking about is the only bad thing that I can recall about Disney. That would be the price. Especially as an out-of-state traveler going to Disney World, it is certainly not cheap. Starting with the entry prices. I went for 3 days to 3 different parks. A one-day ticket for one person ranges from $108-189. The average family size in the U.S. is 4 people meaning that for a 3-day vacation to Disney World, you would be paying from $432-756 for park entry alone. This is still not including food prices and fast pass prices if that is what you choose to get. Personally, I spent around 103.85 for food alone and this is still not including lighting lane, nor does it include souvenirs and merchandise. I also purchased Minnie Mouse ears and a Winnie the Pooh stuffed animal. The ears alone cost me $37 and the bear cost me $47. Lightning Lane costs $20 per day and I purchased it for 2 days. In total, Disney World cost me $794.85 for one person alone, still not including the price of airplane tickets as an out-of-state traveler. While Walt Disney World was and still is one of the best experiences of my life and truly does bring out the joy that was definitely needed, it is extremely expensive and many people can not afford it. If the prices were lower, I would go all the time because there are simply no other negative aspects of this place. If you or your family have been saving up and are willing to go somewhere where you can empty your pockets, Walt Disney World is the place to go. I hope this helped give some perspective on Disney World. Happy Travels!