North America

Walt Disney World Complex: theme parks and aquatic parks

Magic Kingdom

Walt Disney World complex has 6 parks, 4 theme parks and 2 aquatic parks. Each one of them is a world. Actually, the proper features of each park are exploited to the most and you will not have to make any effort to see the difference. We will see once again how the parks are divided: Magic Kingdom, Epcot, MGM Studios and Animal Kingdom are the theme parks, and Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach are the aquatic parks. This article is not reviewing Disney resorts for more information visit Experience the Benefits of Staying at a Walt Disney World Resort. Next, we will make a brief description of them. We will point out that all parks have facilities to transport kids and people with impaired mobility.

 

Magic Kingdom:

It is the complex’s insignia and the first one that was built. As its name indicates, this park is characterized by having a dream, magic and fantasy world inhabited by all the famous characters of Disney’s movies. Magic Kingdom is divided into 7 «countries» which are very different from one another. Of all the parks within Disney World Complex, this is the one that has the greatest variety of games and the one which adjusts the best to the traditional idea of a amusement park, though it goes beyond that. Within the most important attractions of the park, we can mention the worldwide known Splash Mountain and Space Mountain and, obviously, the traditional Walt Disney’s castle, which represents the park all over the world.

Magic Kingdom

In Magic Kingdom we can spend all day long watching outdoors shows —such as the famous parade— as well as indoors shows. Undoubtedly, Magic Kingdom is the park where the essence of Disney lies at its purest state. For kids, this is the most convenient park for them, since they can interact with their favorite characters and play with them, visit their homes and the like. In Magic Kingdom you feel inside an animated picture, just like in MGM Studios we feel inside a movie with actors in the flesh. The playful and childish environment makes children choose it from the rest. However, all Disney’s parks have in mind all ages and you will be able to find entertainment in Magic Kingdom just like your kids will find it in the other parks.

Epcot Center:

It was built after Magic Kingdom. Epcot center has a pedagogic concept. The park is divided into two «worlds». Future World where you will find the latest technological attractions, simulators, robots, virtual reality and any kind of attraction related to futuristic themes; and World Showcase where there is a travel through all the most important cultures of the world. In this cosmopolitan travel you will find cultural aspects from Canada, Great Britain, France, Japan, Morocco, the United States, Italy, Germany, China, Norway and Mexico with their corresponding restaurants and local meals.

Orlando Epcot Center

There are three things that characterize Epcot —the variety of restaurants with the local meals from different places in the world, the Globe, and the incredible fireworks and laser display called IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth. This park has the greatest number of visitors after 4 pm. This is due to the fact that the park offer increases during the night — the restaurants and the IllumiNations show that is done during the night due to obvious reasons. In Epcot there are not many games —it focuses on pedagogic interactive attractions, and on shows and cultural shows which try to satisfy the thirst for knowledge rather than the need for fun.

MGM Studios:

This is the third park that was built at Walt Disney World complex. In MGM Studios you and your family will feel inside a movie. This is due to the fact that the park’s concept is not to get far away from a real filming set. You will be able to be at the time when a movie or a TV show is shot by Disney Studios as well as be present at shows with songs of famous movies where the awe and adrenaline will be the main condiment.

Orlando universal studios
Orlando universal studios

These live shows which represent classics from the studios, have real explosions where you will feel the real heat of the flames on your face, where you will see the actors really close to you and where you will be able to interact in the movie you watch so many times as an spectator. Undoubtedly, the most famous show in here is Indiana Epic Stunt Spectacular, where there are a lot of explosions and adventures until the glorious moment when tension increases and makes you grab to your seat when seeing the main character being chased by a giant rock. Now, all this does not exclude amusement games. One of the most famous and amazing games of the complex is at MGM. The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is a game that consists of going up in an elevator of an old building in Hollywood until reaching the 13th floor. Once there, a window will be opened and a great view of the complex will be seen; then, unexpectedly, the elevator falls from the 13th floor and everybody starts screaming.

Animal Kingdom:

Of all the theme parks, Animal Kingdom is the biggest and the newest in the Walt Disney World Complex. This park is divided in three —Real Zone, Imagination Zone and Extinction Zone. The Real Zone imitates a safari introducing animals in their natural environment. Of course, the idea of the safari is extended only to the point of taking pictures of the animals and under no circumstances people are allowed to hunt them. The Imagination Zone is full of animals in fantastic places, which will make your trip a wonderful dream.

orlando animal kingdom

The Extinction Zone, as you can imagine, tends to relive the times of dinosaurs making us travel through time millions of years to feel inside a world where the native fauna is composed of the most extraordinary creatures we can dream of. In the section called Discovery Island, we have the opportunity to take pictures and interact with a great variety of friendly animals from different regions in the globe in a unique experience for kids and adults. Among these animals, we can mention the majestic Galapagos tortoises, lemurs, and titi monkeys. This may be, surely, the place kids like the most since they will have the opportunity to be face to face with beautiful animals and play with them.

Typhoon Lagoon:

This is one of the aquatic parks of the complex. Typhoon Lagoon’s concept is the tropical landscape. This park has a 1 hectare lagoon, which is located in the middle of it, in which the biggest and most amazing artificial waves are produced. In this powerful swimming-pool, you can practice extreme water sports, such as Surf —obviously this can be done at certain moments, since the general public cannot share the swimming pool with the surf boards.

Orlando Typhoon Lagoon

Among the most important attractions of this park, you will have 9 water slides in order to have fun and refreshing times. Humunga Kowabunga is the name of one of the most amazing attractions. This consists of a boat stranded at the top of a volcano, from which we slid from three slides and we go down like 5 stories in a few seconds. The combination of water and speed makes this aquatic park an amazing place which will make you and your family or friends have a great time while refreshing under the Floridian heat.

Blizzard Beach:

This is the newest park and it is bigger than Typhoon Lagoon. In Blizzard Beach you will feel as in a ski center that has been melt, and that has a new and amazing way to find fun through many slides everywhere. The park’s concept does not lie in diving as in Typhoon Lagoon; the idea in Blizzard Beach is sliding. In order to achieve great speeds, many of the attractions of this park use mats to do it.

Orlando Blizzard Beach

There is not as much water as you may think an aquatic park has, but this has to do with the fact that water is not used as something to dive into but to achieve high sliding speed, and safe and fun reservoirs to place at the end of the trip. For example, Mount Gushmore is a 91-foot tall slide which will take you to the snowy center of a mountain going through fun ups, downs and curves at great speed.

Practical information: For your perfect vacation you will need hotel or resort reviews: go to www.luxury-resort-guide.com. For more information on Orlando attractions visit Orlando official tourist site. For Florida travel information go to Florida official travel portal. For more Disney World news visit Disney official site.

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