An Idiot’s Guide to WALT DISNEY WORLD

if you've never been to Disneyworld you're  probably aware that it's expensive has a   big castle cool rides some insufferably cheesy  promos but there's a lot more to it than that   to understand exactly what is Disney World hi  I'm the frugal Britain for this video I'm gonna   provide an introduction to Walt Disney World that  is aimed mainly for first-timers who know very   little about Walt Disney World or anyone that's  looking for a bit of a refresh and as part of   that I'm going to clarify some misunderstandings  provide a brief history and give a guide at all of   all the main elements that make this incredible  holiday destination if you're headed to Disney   World soon don't forget to subscribe if you want  Disney World tips tricks reviews and other Orlando   vacation content to start with let's clarify  some misunderstandings and apologies in advance   if any of this is super obvious so Disney World  or Walt Disney World as its officially named is   not the same thing as Disneyland Disneyland is the  theme park and resort area in Anaheim California   whereas Walt Disney World is the name of a much  bigger resort complex in Orlando Florida you've   also got parks and resorts named Disneyland  around the world but there's only one Walt   Disney World another misunderstanding is that  Disney World is the name of the theme park with   the castle which is technically not correct the  name of that particular park is the Magic Kingdom   which is located inside the Walt Disney World  entertainment complex another thing that some   people misunderstand is Universal Studios and  islands of adventure with its Wizarding World of   Harry Potter as being part of Disney World which  is not the case these are independent attractions   owned by Universal and are completely separate to  the competing Walt Disney World but many people   especially my fellow Brits will visit theme parks  from both on longer vacations if you've never been   to Disney World you may be under the impression  that you have to book a hotel resort within Disney   World and through Disney's website this is not the  case there are tons of offsite hotels available   for all price ranges you typically get more for  less in terms of luxury but miss out on some   of the on-site which I'll touch on later in the  video there are pros and cons to staying off site   it polarizes a lot of people but as someone who's  done both it can be the right choice depending on   your circumstances the last thing I want to cover  is that regardless of whether you were booked   to stay off site or on site you do also need to  factor in paying for your theme park tickets more   on that towards the end of the video all right  so here's my brief history of Walt Disney World   so in 1955 Walt Disney decided to open Disney's  first a theme park named Disneyland in California   his motivation fit Disneyland which became a  huge success was to provide a theme park that   would entertain both children and adults which is  something that an amusement park rarely provided   at the time also what was very passionate about  technology and American history which heavily   influenced its design about a decade later Walt  had even more ambitious plans in store having   become frustrated with the lack of space and these  surrounding hotels and businesses taking advantage   of the park Walt began to secretly acquire 30,000  acres of land in Central Florida however Walt   didn't just want to build a theme park instead  Hugh originally intended to build a futuristic   city known as the experimental prototype community  of tomorrow unfortunately the board didn't share   what enthusiasm for building a city of tomorrow  and instead believe that they should be focusing   on a theme park resort in the end to please the  Board of Directors Walt did agree to building   a theme park in the northmost corner of the park  which you could only access by the futuristic city   today the idea of Disney building a futuristic  city seems kind of crazy but this was a uniquely   optimistic time in terms of technology in the  20th century with wall having Elon Musk levels   of success and ambition at a time tragically Walt  Disney died on the 15th of December 1960 six weeks   after he had presented his florida project a  reality sets in for the board of directors who   decided that maybe it's probably better to not  be responsible for the creation of a giant and   futuristic city so the Disney company now led  by Walt's brother opened up Walt Disney World   on the 1st of October in 1971 this included the  Magic Kingdom theme parks with a few on-site   hotels including a camping ground these original  hotels have somewhat increased a little bit in   price since then as mentioned what plans for his  progress city were abandoned after his death but   the concept it evolved into what we now know  as Epcot Center which opened in 1982 however   whilst this park did showcase a new technology  the path was almost more of a World's Fair than   a community of tomorrow in the late 80s Disney  had become quite concerned about the prospect   of Universal opening a theme park in Orlando  and Disney's CEO at a time decided to copy the   concept of Universal Studios by building a theme  park known as MGM Studios which we now know today   as Disney World's Hollywood studios this is fourth  theme park which is animal kingdom opened in 1998   that's the end of part two if you want to know  more about Disney Park history I can recommend   this illustrated book which has some really cool  vintage maps and artwork I'll provide an affiliate   link in the description so I've introduced you to  the names of the four theme parks in Disney World   but now I'll provide you with a brief overview  of each park including its two water parks in   chronological order starting with a thirst and  most famous you have Magic Kingdom which was   based largely on the original Disneyland theme  park and dedicated to the fairy tales and Disney   characters this of course is the park represented  by the huge Cinderella Castle inspired by the   movie in 1950 is divided into six themed lands  circled by the Walt Disney World railroad the   first land is Main Street USA which has been  described as the parks opening credits it's   fouled as a turn-of-the-century small American  town lined with shops selling merchandise and   food with Disney's iconic turn-of-the-century  music playing throughout there's even a working   barbershop over here the second land here  is Adventureland which aims to give you the   feeling of mystery in exploring foreign lands  resembling remote jungles all around the world   with an extension resembling a Caribbean town  square it contains the classic attractions such   as Pirates of the Caribbean and Jungle Cruise next  up we have frontier land where guests can relive   the American Old West from the romanticized  cowboys and Native Americans to exploring the   mysteries of the rivers of America it contains  classic attractions such as Big Thunder Mountain   Railroad Splash Mountain and country Bear  Jamboree moving towards the center of the park   you have a Liberty Square which is inspired by  a colonial American town set during the American   Revolution this has the Liberty Bell riverboat  which travels down the parks rivers of America at the top end of the park you have a fantasy land  which is themed in a Medieval Fair carnival-style   and is the biggest land at Magic Kingdom with  several sections to quote Walter's named self   Fantasyland is dedicated to the young at heart  and those who believe that when you wish upon   a star your dreams come true so then from this  land you have the castle courtyard the storybook   circus the enchanted forest the final land  at Magic Kingdom is Tomorrowland which used   to be all about future technology but Disney  soon realized that it was quite expensive to   keep up with the technology of tomorrow  year after year so they instead decided   to rethink to a 1950s idea of the future  so lots of rockets UFOs and robots etc the second theme park in this list is Epcot  inspired by the unrealized futuristic city   that never came to be that I touched on earlier  this is the second largest in Walt Disney World   and twice the size of the Magic Kingdom and is  dedicated to the celebration of human achievement   namely technological innovation and international  culture and has been referred to as a permanent   World's Fair if you've never heard of this park  you probably will have seen the gigantic golf   ball building that is known as spaceship earth  which does actually feature a ride inside Epcot   is divided into two main themed areas the first  being future world which serves us in parks   main entrance and contain spaceship earth and  features a variety of avant-garde pavilions that   explore innovative aspects and applications  including technology and science with each   pavilion featuring self-contained attractions and  distinct architecture in its design the second   area at Epcot is World Showcase which contains 11  World's Fair pavilions each theme and dedicated   to represent a specific country and so I'll give  you a snippet of each country that gets a look in the third theme park is Disney's Hollywood Studios  dedicated to the Golden Age of Hollywood this park   is divided into seven themed areas inspired  by fantasized versions of either existing   locations found in Hollywood and Los Angeles  or imagined worlds from Hollywood stories   first we have Hollywood Boulevard inspired by  the real street of the same name and services   and parks main interests and operates in the  same vein as Main Street USA at Magic Kingdom   next we have the Echo Lake land influenced  by suburban Californian architecture from   Hollywood's golden age and anchored around  the area's namesake Lake the third land is   Grand Avenue which is themed as a gentrified  historic district inspired by the real location   of the same name downtown Los Angeles moving  on to what is probably the most popular land   at this park is Star Wars Galaxies edge this is  unsurprisingly set in the Star Wars universe on   the remote planet of Batou the attractions here  includes star wars rise of the resistance and   Blenheim Falcon smugglers room next stop is Toy  Story land inspired by the movie series of the   same name themed to Andy's backyard with three  different rides and attractions this is another   very popular part of the park the second to last  line of this park is animation courtyard home to   attractions based on films and characters  created by Walt Disney Animation Studios   the entrance is marked by a square studio arch  and was originally the starting point for the   studio backlot tour the final land that Disney's  Hollywood Studios is Sunset Boulevard inspired by   the real thoroughfare of the and was the first  expansion of the park that opened in 1994 this   is where you'll find one of my favorite rides  of all time the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror we've also got a very popular rock and roller  coaster theme to the music of Aerosmith the   fourth theme park on offer within Disney World  is Disney's Animal Kingdom which is a zoological   theme park that happens to be the largest in the  world covering 580 acres this park is dedicated   and themed entirely around the natural environment  and animal conservation which Walt had a keen   interest in the park is distinguished from the  rest of Walt Disney World's themed box in that   it features traditional attractions whilst  also exhibiting hundreds of species of live   animals Disney's Animal Kingdom is divided into  seven themed areas to start with I'll cover Oh   a cies which is the parks equivalent to Main  Street USA and provides a transition for the   parks entrance to the world of animals the  main paths feature animal exhibits and dense   vegetation and trees Lee deep it into the  park and then on to the next area Discovery   Island located right in the center of the park  situated within the parks discovery waterway   this serves as the central hub connecting the  other sections of the park by bridges over here   you'll also find the tree of life surrounded  by trails and animal enclosures over to the   southwest is the pandora the world of Avatar  area themed to James Cameron's Avatar series this lands marquis attraction is avatar  flighted passage afridi flying simulator   that allows guests to fly on a banshee across  the pandora and landscape heading north of the   park you'll find a mini africa area which is  one of the original areas of the park set in   the fictional east african port village of  Harambee this area contains several animal   exhibits a safari adventure as well as some  imaginary creations such as a Zanzibar inspired   fortress there's also another smaller section of  the park called rafiki's planet watch connected to   the Africa section on the east side you have the  Asia section which is set in the fictional kingdom   of Ananda Pau which means place of many delights  this place aims to evoke the traits of Cambodia   India Indonesia Mongolia Nepal and Thailand the  visual focal point of Asia is Expedition Everest   legend of the forbidden mountain which is a steel  roller coaster ride through the forbidden mountain   of the Himalayas the last area to cover our animal  kingdom is Dino land USA which is themed around   dinosaurs and other extinct prehistoric life the  area is anchored by the Dino Institute which is a   fictitious paleontological facility moving on now  to the water parks first up is Disney's Typhoon   Lagoon which opened in 1989 plume to one of the  world's largest outdoor wave bulges the theme   of the park is a tropical paradise that has been  ravaged by a typhoon it's centerpiece is mistily   a shrimp boat impaled upon a mountain that erupts  a 50-foot geyser of water every hour the second   water park within Disney World which opened in  1995 is Blizzard Beach the story of this park   is that a freak snowstorm in the area led to  the development of Florida's first ski resort   as the snow didn't last long this left behind  a collection of waterlogged yet snowless ski   jumps and chairlift the majority of the major  attractions at the park are host to the top of   Mount Goshen which is an artificial hill with an  elevation of 90 feet so what ticket should you   buy if you want to go to Walt Disney World where  should you buy them well there's lots of different   places you can buy them including directly  from Disney but my advice is that it's usually   cheaper to purchase from an authorized third  party seller but just be careful that they are   authorized I provide a link in the description for  any authorized sellers that I would recommend so   what type of ticket is right for you well that's  we pretty much every theme park the longer you   stay the less you pay if you're just looking to  head to Disney World for one day it can be super   expensive and the cost per day substantially it  decreases with each day you add Disney really   tries it's best to discourage people from heading  to Disney World just for one day probably the best   tip I can give with part tickets is to make  sure you purchase several months in advance   mainly because it's a lot cheaper but also because  this allows you to book fast pass selections up   to 60 days before your trip assuming you are  staying on site Fast Pass Plus is a free of   charge all digital ride reservation system that  when used allows you to skip the main queues on   some of the popular rides so basically you make  a fast pass at reservation for a particular time   say 11:40 to 12:40 then you enter through the  Fast Pass line with a minimal wait in line the   idea is obviously to get people out of lines and  allow them to do other things while waiting for   their ride reservation window so how do you book  a Fast Pass well there's two ways to do this you   can book via the my Disney experience app or the  website before each visit or you can do it via in   park kiosks for guests who don't have smartphones  or those who didn't purchase tickets in advance   do make sure you're not in that category the Fast  Pass is then stored on the Magic Band or your park   tickets using the app you could book 60 days in  advance if you're staying on-site but otherwise   you have 30 days to do so booking fast passes is  super important so I would advise that you spend a   lot of time researching how best to use it so the  results at Walt Disney World are classified into   three main categories then being deluxe moderate  and value here are some of the things to expect   from the value resorts so these resorts will  typically have double beds rooms that open to the   outside that sort of Motel Slough a large Center  pool food court dining and the valley resorts have   more of a focus on the fun deeming rather than  luxury and culture and you'll find more Disney   characters at these resorts here's what to expect  at the moderate resource you can expect bigger   queen beds themed rooms large central pool areas  with water slides a kiddy pool smaller quiet pools   near each section for the big resorts and both  food core and table service dining off the top   of my head portal ins of French Quarter is annex  section two some of these rules in a nutshell that   moderate resorts are suitable for those who want  a little bit of luxury slightly larger rooms and   some extra amenities the theming is a bit more  cultured with large lakes rivers and overall just   a lot more effort put into the landscaping whether  the looks resorts you can expect this need to turn   up the theme in quite a few notches whether  that's the African safari style and the animal   kingdom lodge or being whisked away to a tropical  island that Disney's Polynesian Village Resort   you benefit from all the extras that we moderate  resorts get which I won't repeat and also a few   extra luxuries such as internal rooms accessed rly  inside of the hotel resorts unlike the motel style   from the other two categories you have more  variety and dining options so you're not just   relying on a buffet restaurant or a food court  in most cases you will get a food core a fancy   table service restaurant and also signature and  character dining deluxe results have a few other   amenities such as on-site gyms salons and valet  parking I would say one of the main appeals of a   deluxe resort is the extra transportation options  which I'll cover in more detail in a later section so in Disneyworld you're certainly not short on  choice when it comes to dining options throughout   the parks and the resorts whether that's  quick service fast food or upscale table   service restaurants there's too many to mention  in this introduction to Disneyworld one thing   you may want to consider for your vacation is  the Disney Dining Plan which is a prepaid meal   package that allows guests to eat at Disney  World restaurants without needing to use cash   it can be cost-effective for families who intend  to eat many meals at table service restaurants or   character dining restaurants but it's certainly  not for everyone as there are pros and cons I'll   provide a link in the description outlining this  one popular area within Walt Disney World is   Disney Springs which is an enormous shopping  dining and entertainment complex within Walt   Disney World which you don't need any tickets  for do check out my top ten restaurants in Disney   Springs if you're headed this way for a bite to  eat what visible provides many different means   of transport like buses ferries boats mana rails  the sky liner and one of the cool things about   Disneyworld transport is that it's entirely free  to use if you did want a bit more flexibility you   do have the option to bring your own vehicle  as there's plenty of parking lots but it's   definitely non-essential and keep in mind that  it will cost you twenty five dollars per day   to park so now I'll provide a brief overview  of the main forms of transport starting with   the least interesting is the extensive Disney bus  transportation this is pretty solid and covers all   the resorts and everywhere you'd want to go but  depending on what time of year you're traveling   the accusing crowds can be quite annoying the next  form of transportation to cover is Disney's iconic   monorail system with over 150,000 daily riders  makes it one of the most heavily used monorail   systems in the world there's three specific  monorail rides at Disney World all originating   from the transportation and Ticket Center you have  a few different boat services in Disney World for   various purposes so guests of select Disney Resort  Hotels can embark on a complimentary boat rides   throughout Disney World you have ferries water  taxis and other Disney water transportation   bringing passengers to and from parks resorts  and business brings in 2019 Disney introduced   its skyline at transportation allowing you to  travel by aerial gondola that connects Epcot   Hollywood studios and four of the Disney resorts  which are Disney's Caribbean Beach pop century   art of animation and the Riviera Resort another  thing that I should mention is that whilst the   transportation is free in Disney World it is quite  common for people who want a bit more flexibility   to book an uber lift or a taxi to travel between  different locations well that's it for this video   thank you for watching please hit the like button  if you found it useful and check out some of my   other videos and if you're interested in future  Orlando vacation content don't forget to subscribe

Channel: The Frugal Brit - Orlando

Views: 110,023

Keywords: GUIDE TO DISNEY WORLD, GUIDE TO WALT DISNEY WORLD, DISNEY WORLD, WALT DISNEY WORLD, WHAT IS DISNEY WORLD, HISTORY OF DISNEY WORLD, DISNEY WORLD THEME PARKS, MAGIC KINGDOM, EPCOT, DISNEY’S HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS, DISNEY’S ANIMAL KINGDOM, TYPHOON LAGOON, BLIZZARD BEACH, TOUR OF DISNEY WORLD, DISNEY PARKS, DISNEY WORLD HISTORY, DISNEYLAND VS DISNEY WORLD, Disney world 2020

Id: Iy5TIl-X48I

Length: 22min 18sec (1338 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 24 2020