Walt Disney World Parks Overview: A Guide to All 4 Orlando Theme Parks

Walt Disney World in Orlando covers about 110 km² (43 square miles) – bigger than Paris and roughly one-sixth the size of Seoul. Pretty incredible, right? With that much space, it packs in a huge range of facilities: four theme parks, two water parks, a shopping and dining district, dozens of hotels and several golf courses. It really does earn the name “World.”

There’s too much to cover in one go, so I’ll take it one piece at a time. This first post is all about the four theme parks.

1. Magic Kingdom (MK)

Magic Kingdom is the park with the famous Cinderella Castle.

Cinderella Castle, the symbol of Magic Kingdom

2. Animal Kingdom (AK)

Animal Kingdom is the animal-themed park.

The Tree of Life, the symbol of Animal Kingdom

3. Hollywood Studios (HS or DHS)

Hollywood Studios is the park themed around movies, Pixar and Star Wars.

The Hollywood Tower Hotel, the symbol of Hollywood Studios

4. EPCOT (EP)

EPCOT is the park that brings together themes from around the world.

Spaceship Earth, the symbol of EPCOT

That’s the short version. (I use the abbreviations because that’s what people do in English-language fan communities – nobody wants to type out “Magic Kingdom” every time, so it just becomes MK.)

Magic Kingdom in more detail

Magic Kingdom is made up of Main Street, U.S.A., Tomorrowland, Fantasyland, Liberty Square, Adventureland and Frontierland. It’s the home of Cinderella Castle and the park with the most attractions. It also sells separate event tickets each season: a Halloween party in the Halloween season and a Christmas party in the Christmas season.

Headline rides:

• Seven Dwarfs Mine Train – a roller coaster that races through a mine, themed to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
• TRON Lightcycle / Run – a roller coaster where you ride a motorbike-style vehicle, themed to the movie TRON (which, I confess, I still haven’t seen).
• Tiana’s Bayou Adventure – a log-flume-style ride themed to Disney’s The Princess and the Frog (Tiana).

Magic Kingdom’s Halloween party and Christmas party

Animal Kingdom in more detail

Animal Kingdom is made up of Oasis, Pandora, Discovery Island, Africa, Asia and DinoLand U.S.A. It’s a unique park that combines a zoo with a theme park. Since Pandora – The World of Avatar opened, based on the movie Avatar, it has become a must-visit park at Disney World.

This is also the park that opens earliest and closes earliest. Because its operating hours are short, I recommend starting early in the morning if you’re visiting. And because animals live so close by, it’s the only park without fireworks (a thoughtful touch from Disney ❤).

Headline rides:

• Avatar Flight of Passage – a simulator where you become an Avatar and ride a banshee (ikran).
• Kilimanjaro Safaris – like the safari at Everland in Korea, you ride a big bus-sized jeep and look around at the animals.
• Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain – a roller coaster themed to the yeti that lives on a snowy Everest mountain.

Pandora at Animal Kingdom (night view)

Hollywood Studios in more detail

Hollywood Studios is made up of Hollywood Boulevard, Echo Lake, Commissary Lane, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Toy Story Land, Pixar Plaza and Sunset Boulevard. It has Star Wars and Pixar areas and is built around a wide variety of movie themes.

With so many thrill rides, it’s sometimes called Disney World’s “grown-up” park – if you love thrill rides, this is the one you can’t miss.

Headline rides:

• Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance – a trackless ride (no visible rails) where you escape from an enemy base in a Star Wars story. It has animatronics that move like real people, and it’s the most popular ride in the park.
• Slinky Dog Dash – a Toy Story–themed roller coaster where you ride around on Slinky Dog.
• The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror – a drop-tower ride where you board the elevator of a haunted hotel and plunge.

The Star Wars and Pixar areas at Hollywood Studios

EPCOT in more detail

EPCOT is made up of World Celebration, World Nature, World Discovery and World Showcase. Each section is decorated with themes from countries around the world (sadly there’s no Korea pavilion yet 😢). You can taste food and drinks representing each country, so there’s a huge variety of things to eat.

In spring the Flower & Garden Festival fills the park with pretty gardens and floral displays, and in autumn the Food & Wine Festival lets you enjoy food and wine from around the world.

Headline rides:

• Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind – a Guardians of the Galaxy roller coaster where your vehicle rotates as you travel through space.
• Test Track – a car simulation ride where you design your own vehicle and then race at speeds close to 100 km/h.
• Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure – a 4D trackless ride themed to Pixar’s Ratatouille. You scurry around a French restaurant kitchen from a rat’s point of view.

Country pavilions at EPCOT

My ranking and a planning tip

That’s a quick introduction to Disney World’s four theme parks! 🎢✨

My personal ranking as a theme park:

Hollywood Studios >>> EPCOT > Animal Kingdom > Magic Kingdom

(That said, Magic Kingdom is still a park you absolutely can’t skip, because of Cinderella Castle and the fireworks!)

Each park is bigger than Everland (a major theme park in Korea), so I recommend one park per day. You’ve come all the way to Orlando – you should enjoy everything!

I’ll be writing separate posts with every ride and my best tips for each park, so if you’re planning a Disney trip, be sure to check those out too! 💫