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5-Day Game Plan for Walt Disney World

Planning a trip to Walt Disney World soon? Some may tell you that you’ll need at least a full week to get the full experience. However, the truth of the matter is that any amount of time spent at Disney is better than none at all. Even just one day is nice, but hopefully you can find a way to get in more than that. Think you can get 5 days? If so, the plan below will allow you to see every park and explore your resort. Why not give it a try?

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Day 1: Magic Kingdom

The first day of any Disney trip should be spent at Magic Kingdom. Seeing this park first really helps you dive into the magic, setting the tone for the rest of your trip.

  • Dining Reservations to Make: Breakfast – n/a; Lunch – Be Our Guest; Dinner – Cinderella’s Royal Table or The Crystal Palace
  • FastPasses to Get: Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Peter Pan’s Flight, Space Mountain
  • Must-See Attractions:
    • Jungle Cruise
    • Pirates of the Caribbean
    • Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
    • Splash Mountain
    • Haunted Mansion
    • it’s a small world
    • Peter Pan’s Flight
    • The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
    • Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
    • Dumbo the Flying Elephant
    • Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
    • Space Mountain
  • The Plan: Arrive before opening and grab breakfast at Main Street Bakery. When the rope drops, head to the left and explore Adventureland and Frontierland first, making a point to see the headliner attractions before the crowds get too heavy. After that, hit up Haunted Mansion before heading to Fantasyland to enjoy lunch at Be Our Guest. Then, use your Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and Peter Pan’s Flight FastPasses, while also exploring the other things this land has to offer. Head over to Tomorrowland, use your Space Mountain FastPass, and check out the rest of the land. Have a delicious dinner at either Crystal Palace or Cinderella’s Royal Table, and get in some character interaction while you’re at it. Finish up anything you didn’t get to see and finish the night by watching the fireworks.

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Day 2: Animal Kingdom

Your second day could technically be spent at either Animal Kingdom or Epcot. However, since Epcot is such a huge place, and because Magic Kingdom is likely to have worn you out by now, we went with the smaller of the two options. That said, you shouldn’t expect any less excitement from this amazing park.

  • Dining Reservations to Make: Breakfast – n/a; Lunch – Tusker House; Dinner – n/a
  • FastPasses to Get: Avatar Flight of Passage, Kilimanjaro Safaris, Dinosaur
  • Must-See Attractions:
    • Na’vi River Journey
    • Flight of Passage
    • Kilimanjaro Safari
    • Festival of the Lion King
    • Expedition Everest
    • Kali River Rapids
    • Dinosaur
    • The Boneyard
  • The Plan: Get an early start, arriving well before rope drop. As soon as you’re allowed, head straight to Pandora and get in line for Na’vi River Journey. Explore the rest of Pandora and use your Avatar Flight of Passage FastPass. Next, head over to Africa. See “Festival of the Lion King” and use your Kilimanjaro Safaris FastPass. Have lunch at Tusker House before moving on. Check out Asia, making sure to use the single-rider line to ride Expedition Everest. Kali River Rapids is also in this area and is tons of fun, but will leave you soaked. Move on to Dinoland U.S.A. and use your Dinosaur FastPass. Let the little ones play at The Boneyard playground and be sure to catch a showing of “Finding Nemo the Musical”. Have dinner at Flame Tree Barbecue, watch the Tree of Life come to life after dark, and be sure to see “Rivers of Light” before you head out for the night.

Day 3: Resort Day

By day three, you’re probably going to be pretty darn tired. Obviously, you don’t want to waste an entire vacation day sleeping, but there’s no reason you can’t choose something a bit more relaxing. We recommend making this a resort day and checking out all the Disney resorts have to offer.

  • Dining Reservations to Make: Breakfast – n/a; Lunch – 1900 Park Fare; Dinner – Ohana
  • The Plan: Have breakfast at your own resort and spend the morning lounging around the pool. At lunch time, head over to the Grand Floridian for a character meal at 1900 Park Fare. Explore this resort as well as the other monorail resorts. If you have extra time, head over to Fort Wilderness for some pony rides or to try your hand at archery. Have dinner at Ohana in the Polynesian Resort, and enjoy the campfire on the beach or the outdoor movie before heading back to your room and to bed.

Day 4: Epcot

Now that you’re rested, it’s time to hit up the largest of the four parks. Epcot is a fabulous place that your family is sure to adore.

  • Dining Reservations to Make: Breakfast – Garden Grill; Lunch – n/a; Dinner – Biergarten
  • FastPasses to Get: Frozen Ever After, Mission: Space, Spaceship Earth
  • Must-See Attractions:
    • Spaceship Earth
    • Finding Nemo
    • Turtle Talk With Crush
    • Soarin’ Around the World
    • Test Track
    • Mission: Space
    • Frozen Ever After
    • World Showcase
  • The Plan: Once again, arrive early. Immediately get in line for Soarin’ Around the World. After Soarin’, have a big breakfast at Garden Grill. Next, head to The Seas with Nemo and Friends building to ride Finding Nemo and see “Turtle Talk With Crush”. Head back to the center of Future World to use your Spaceship Earth FastPass, and then keep moving to the other side of the park to use your Mission: Space pass, making sure to choose the milder (green, not orange) side if you suffer from motion sickness or tend to get headaches or an upset stomach. Test Track is next, and should be ridden using the single-rider line to save time. From here, you can head into the World Showcase, taking your time to really explore each pavilion. Make a point of seeing the various street performers, and if you have time, check out any attractions you come across. When you get to the Germany Pavilion, use your dining reservation to enjoy an early dinner at Biergarten, and don’t forget to head to the Norway pavilion to ride Frozen Ever After using your FastPass. By the time you finish exploring the World Showcase, it will be time for “IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth”. Be sure to watch this amazing performance before leaving the park.

Day 5: Hollywood Studios

Last but certainly not least, there’s Hollywood Studios. We saved this one for the end in order to allow you to close out your trip with the fabulous nighttime spectacular, “Fantasmic!”. Of course, the new attractions are also a great way to finish things up.

  •  Dining Reservations to Make: Breakfast – n/a, Lunch – Sci-Fi Dine-in Theater, Dinner – 50s Prime Time Cafe
  • FastPasses to Get: Slinky Dog Dash, Star Tours, Tower of Terror
  • Must-See Attractions:
    • Slinky Dog Dash
    • Alien Flying Saucers
    • Toy Story Midway Mania
    • Tower of Terror
    • Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster
    • Star Tours
    • Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular
    • Beauty and the Beast
    • Disney Junior Dance Party
  • The Plan: Just as you might have guessed, this last day of your vacation calls for yet another early morning. This time you’re going to arrive before opening and use the minutes right after rope drop to head directly to Toy Story Midway Mania. After riding this, hop in line for Alien Swirling Saucers and then use your FastPass to ride Slinky Dog Dash. From here, you’ll head over to the Sci-Fi Dine-in Theater for some lunch before using your Star Tours FastPass and seeing Muppet*Vision 3D. The “Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular” is next in line and is well worth seeing. From there, we recommend heading over to the Disney Junior Dance Party and then to see “Beauty and the Beast” before the show stops running for the day. After that show, you’ll be in the perfect position to use your Tower of Terror FastPass and then hop in the single-rider line for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster. Stop in for dinner at the 50s Prime Time Cafe next. Immediately after eating, and at least 45 minutes before showtime, be sure to grab your seats for “Fantasmic!”. This show is amazing and a great way to end your trip, but it does fill up quickly.

There you have it! The perfect 5-day plan that allows you to see all of the highlights Disney World has to offer. Sure, you’ll be tired by the end of it, but trust us when we say it’s totally worth it.

About Chelsea Gonzales