The Magic Kingdom is the most like Disneyland of the theme parks at Walt Disney World and is home to Mickey Mouse and the other Disney animated characters. The park’s layout is something like a wheel, with seven themed lands radiating out from Cinderella’s Castle and the central hub. The Walt Disney World Railroad circles the park.
     Entry to the park is up Main Street USA, an idealized re-creation of a small American town in the early 1900s. Shops line the street offering a variety of merchandise including Disney character clothing, toys, and candy. There’s even a real, working barbershop where you can drop in for a trim and possibly catch a performance by the barbershop quartet. At the end of the street you’ll find an ice cream parlor, restaurants, and the First Aid and Baby Care centers.
     Adventureland, the next land to the left of Main Street U.S.A., is a mixture of exotic destinations, blending the jungles of Africa, the rainforests of South America, the Polynesian Islands, the Caribbean Sea, and even a touch of Arabia. Here you can take a Jungle Cruise on the rivers of the world past threatening (though mechanical) animals, fly on Aladdin’s Magic Carpet, and set sail with the Pirates of the Caribbean.
     Frontierland represents the historic American West, with a bit of the antebellum South thrown in, too. Splash Mountain is a journey through scenes from Disney’s animated film Song of the South that features a drenching drop at the end, and Big Thunder Mountain next door is a fast roller coaster ride through mines, unstable caves, and a flooded mining town. You are also invited to a musical hoedown by performing bruins at the Country Bear Jamboree, and the kids will enjoy exploring caves and climbing rocks on Tom Sawyer’s Island.
     A walk towards the next land takes you back in time, and back down east, to the colonial period as represented by Liberty Square. Here you can take a leisurely riverboat cruise, or visit a gaggle of grim, grinning ghosts at The Haunted Mansion. At The Hall of Presidents, all of the United States’ chief executives come alive through Disney’s art of Audio-Animatronics.
     Fantasyland is sometimes called The Magic Kingdom’s “Happiest Land,” for it is here that Disney’s classic animated films come alive in rides and shows based on Snow White, Peter Pan, The Lion King, Winnie The Pooh, and more. It’s A Small World is a musical journey around a world of colorful dolls representing the children of all nations. And, centered in the courtyard of the castle, prancing steeds gallop on the beautiful carousel.
     Mickey Mouse and all of his cartoon friends have summer homes surrounding Mickey’s Toontown Fair, where you can tour Mickey’s house and meet the big cheese himself for an autograph and a photo. Mickey’s long time girlfriend Minnie Mouse lives right next door, and you can visit her house, too. Across the way children can play on Donald Duck’s boat The Miss Daisy, and there’s also a child-sized roller coaster, Goofy’s Barnstormer.
     Then it’s off to Tomorrowland, where you can fly through space on the Space Mountain Roller Coaster, fight an alien invasion on Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, and almost get eaten by an alien in the ExtraTerrorestrial Alien Encounter.
     Epcot, the second theme park to open at Walt Disney World, is like two theme parks in one, as it is divided into two distinct halves. The first half, Future World, is a showplace for science and technology as interpreted by the various attractions corporate sponsors.
The huge geosphere Spaceship Earth, the park’s main symbol, houses a ride through scenes representing the development of communications. Ellen’s Energy Adventure is a humorous presentation on the origins of energy supplies complete with a ride through a land of dinosaurs. On the General Motors Test Track guests ride through the process of testing a new automobile, from braking tests to crash tests. The Life Pavilion offers several attractions, including a simulator ride, Body Wars, that shrinks guests and injects them into the human body for an inside look, and Cranium Command, a show that lets guests see what it’s like to be inside the mind of an adolescent boy.
     In The Land, guests ride through greenhouses for a look at innovations in the way we grow food. The Living Seas takes visitors underwater for a look at life under the sea. And Journey Into Your Imagination tests your own creative potential. At the center of Epcot is Innoventions with changing displays of new products and future technologies.
     The other half of Epcot, World Showcase, features pavilions representing the attractions, foods, and shopping of various countries, all gathered around World Showcase Lagoon like a sort of permanent World’s Fair.
     In Mexico you can take a fanciful river ride through time in a celebration of Mexican music and dance. Another boat ride, in Norway, carries you back through legends of trolls right up to modern oil platforms in the North Sea.
     You can tour Canada and China through films that surround you on all sides with images of those lands, or take a widescreen journey through France. The United States is represented by The American Adventure, a multi-media American history lesson featuring some of the most advanced special effects Disney has produced, including a mechanical Benjamin Franklin that walks up stairs, who co-hosts the show with a cigar smoking Mark Twain.
     The architecture, shopping, and cuisines of Germany, Japan, Morocco, and Italy are also featured in individual pavilions, along with the United Kingdom.
     The magic of movie making is featured at Walt Disney World’s third theme park, The Disney-MGM Studios, which is both theme park and active film production facility. Here you can tour one of Disney’s animated film units, where working animators have produced scenes for Mulan, The Emperor’s New Groove, and other Disney films. There’s also a walking tour of the live action soundstages and a tram tour of the backlot, where outdoor sets can be seen.
     Here Disney’s animated films come alive in musical shows based on The Little Mermaid, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Beauty and the Beast. A new show, based on the American version of television’s Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, gives the audience a chance to compete for prizes (but only pins, caps, and jackets, alas, not real money – although the grand prize for a million point winner is a trip to New York to attend a taping of the TV show).
     Elsewhere in the park you can take a simulated space flight through the Star Wars Universe, watch Indiana Jones vanquish the bad guys in an elaborate stunt show, and spend time with Jim Hensen’s Muppets in a 3-D film that refuses to stay just on the screen.
     Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Walt Disney World’s newest theme park, showcases the natural world with innovative animal exhibits – but it’s more than just a zoo. Like all of the Disney theme parks it’s an elaborately themed experience.
     An African village leads to Kilimanjaro Safaris, an attempt to re-create the experience of a real photo safari, with encounters with lions, elephants, and other wild animals. A walk-through jungle trail leads through aviaries and a colony of gorillas.
     Over in the Asia section there’s a wild (and very wet) rafting trip, Kali River Rapids, as well as an ancient temple guarded by majestic tigers.
     In Dinoland U.S.A. you can travel back in time to the era of the dinosaurs in a wild ride to bring one back before extinction, or rock and roll with a swinging Tarzan. Mickey Mouse and all of his friends are getting back to nature at Camp Minnie Mickey, where musical shows feature Pocahontas and celebrate The Lion King.
     At the center of the park stands the elaborately carved The Tree of Life, featuring more than 325 intricately carved animal images. Inside the tree is the 3-D film It’s Tough To Be A Bug, starring characters from Disney and Pixar’s A Bugs Life. A short train ride carries visitors backstage where a glimpse may be had into how the animals are fed and cared for.
     At all of the Walt Disney World theme parks you’ll find wheelchair and stroller rentals and rental storage lockers near the entrances. Guest Relations at each park is the place to go for information (including show schedules and maps of the park), for assistance for disabled travelers, reservations, and any other matter you may need help with.
     Walt Disney World offers a bewildering number of ticketing options, offering various numbers of days of theme park admission, admission to waterparks and other entertainments, and park hopping privileges (the ability to visit more than one park in the same day on one pass). It’s best to plan out what you would like to see and do before you purchase tickets so you need pay for only what you’re going to use.
     Travelers Cheques and major credit cards (Amex, Visa, and Master Card) are accepted most places within Walt Disney World, although snack stands in the parks can only accept cash. Foreign currency exchange in limited quantities is available at Guest Relations and there are Automated Teller Machines scattered throughout the parks.
     Walt Disney World also features three different waterparks. River Country, the oldest of the three, offers the laid-back feel of a backwoods swimming hole. Typhoon Lagoon is a bit more active, offering a wave pool, twisting waterslides, and a chance to swim with real sharks. Blizzard Beach is the most imaginative of the three: imagine a ski lodge built to take advantage of a freak Florida snowstorm, complete with ski-jump and daring downhill courses. What do you do when the sun comes out and all that snow begins to melt? Why, turn it into a waterpark, of course, transforming bobsled runs into waterslides and using the ski lift for transportation to the top of the “snowcapped” mountain.
     Walt Disney World’s nightlife has been expanding in recent years, with two dining and entertainment areas to choose from.
Disney’s Boardwalk, in the Epcot resorts area, offers the relaxed pace of a seaside resort along with the Jellyroll’s Sing-along Bar, the sports oriented ESPN Club, and the Atlantic Dance Hall.
     Downtown Disney is much larger and more hectic than the Boardwalk and is divided into three distinct sections, each with their own personality.
     The Disney Marketplace is a large shopping area where you can find just about any Disney character merchandise that exists, from toys and clothing to books to sheets and Christmas decorations. The Lego Imagination Center stocks those colorful building blocks and other educational toys, and there’s always something mysterious going on at Magic Masters.
     It’s always New Year’s Eve at Pleasure Island, the center and adult oriented section of Downtown Disney. Here there are comedy clubs and a variety of dance clubs for any taste in music.
     The West Side offers an eclectic collection of restaurants, including Bongos Cuban Café and the Wolfgang Puck Café. The House of Blues features regional American Southern cooking along with blues and rock and roll concerts.
     A giant AMC movie theater boasts 24 screens of the latest films. DisneyQuest is an elaborate video arcade and virtual reality attraction with interactive experiences including Virtual Space Mountain where you can design your own roller coaster track, then hop in a simulator to try it out.
     That huge tent-like building is home to Cirque Du Soleil, part circus, part performance art and modern dance; their unique productions have to be seen to be believed.
     For the sports enthusiast, Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex is home to state of the art facilities where various amateur and professional sports competitions are held throughout the year. American football, baseball, soccer, track and field, tennis, and other sporting events may be seen depending on season. There’s also an Indy class motor raceway where, when races aren’t being held, guests may take a high-speed ride in an actual racecar at The Richard Petty Driving Experience.
     For the more active sportsman, Walt Disney World offers championship golf courses, tennis, boating, fishing, water skiing, horseback riding, and many other outdoor activities. Looking for more mental than physical stimulation? Tucked away into a quiet corner of Walt Disney World is The Disney Institute, where guests can learn the Disney way of business management in professional development programs, or just relax at the spa.
     There are more than twenty-five resorts and hotels on the Walt Disney World property, ranging from the posh, full service Grand Floridian Resort Hotel and Spa to the more motel-like All Star Resorts. In between are a variety of styles and prices. The hotels near the Magic Kingdom offer monorail service to the park – the monorail runs right through the atrium of the Contemporary Resort. The Animal Kingdom Lodge is situated within its own private animal preserve; you can watch giraffe and other African plains animals right from your balcony. At the Fort Wilderness campground you can rent a rustic cabin or bring your own Recreational Vehicle or even tent.
     The Walt Disney World resort is more than just a theme park; it’s an entire world of vacations in a single destination. For more information, visit www.themeparks.about.com, or the resort’s official website.

About the Author
Robert H. Brown is an avid visitor to theme and amusement parks. He can be found at www.themeparks.about.com.