Here Are Some of My Favorites at Disney!
Hi, I’m the person who writes a couple of Disney articles a day at MickeyBlog. It’s my privilege and honor to inform you of Disney happenings.
As a few critics have noted, I’m so focused at times on providing you the news of the day/week that I’m guilty of making the conversation feel impersonal.
For that, I apologize, and I hope to make it up to you a bit today. This is gonna be one of those rare occasions where I tell you what I like instead.
Here are some of my favorite things at Walt Disney World. I hope that after you read it, you’ll share a few of your own.
My Favorite Park
I grew up in a one-company town, more or less. The employer provided a staggering percentage of jobs in this city.
Since they’d industrialized the place, they created an employee center complete with a movie theater and discount shop.
I have a vivid memory from childhood of my parents walking into that shop and buying a discounted ticket package for the opening year of EPCOT.
Moments from that vacation still linger in my mind 40 years later. It was that impactful.
I recall riding on World of Motion and being in awe of the way the ride went from indoors to outdoors to indoors again.
Similarly, that first moment when I walked into the giant silver ball and experienced Spaceship Earth imprinted on me.
I think I became obsessive about tech and futurism at that moment, and the obsession never went away.
I’m an EPCOT person to the core. If I had to rank Walt Disney World’s other three parks, Magic Kingdom would be second and Disney’s Hollywood Studios third.
Sorry, fans of Disney’s Animal Kingdom. I think it’s an amazing accomplishment, but it doesn’t move me like the other three parks.
My Favorite Attraction
You can probably guess the answer from what I just said. Riding on Spaceship Earth changed me when I was young.
When I returned to EPCOT as an adult, the park felt just as magical. Even better, Dame Judi Dench was providing the narration.
Also, Disney gamified the attraction by adding a kind of Choose Your Own Adventure element at the end.
Now, you can pick your future, something I have done – no joke – more than 100 times.
A few years ago, I thought I was riding Spaceship Earth in its current form for the last time.
The ride broke down twice, and my wife fell asleep after about 60 seconds. I laughed that a meaningful ride had ended in such an anticlimactic fashion.
Thankfully, Disney delayed (or canceled?) plans to plus the attraction. So, it remains as it always has been…and I’ve had MUCH better rides since that one!
My Must-Do Attractions
I have Spaceship Earth, while my wife has Haunted Mansion. We’re both acutely aware of this fact and kind of do a barter system.
I’ll make sure to ride her attraction two or three times if she’ll ride mine once. Is it a fair trade? Actually, yes.
I love Haunted Mansion, while she likes or maybe just tolerates Spaceship Earth.
These are the kind of trades that couples make at Disney. Then, there are other attractions that both of us adore.
Here’s that list of attractions I simply MUST do at Walt Disney World:
- Alien Swirling Saucers
- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
- DINOSAUR
- Expedition Everest
- Frozen Ever After
- Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros
- It’s a Small World
- Jungle Cruise
- Kilimanjaro Safaris
- Living with the Land
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
- Mickey’s PhilharMagic
- Na’vi River Journey
- Peter Pan’s Flight
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure
- The Seas with Nemo & Friends
- Slinky Dog Dash
- Soarin’
- Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
- Test Track
- Toy Story Mania!
- Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
- WEDWay PeopleMover
- Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid
As you can tell from the length of this list, we are VERY aggressive during our park visits.
My Favorite Restaurant
I’m happier eating at Walt Disney World than I am when I pick restaurants in my own area.
Seriously, I’ll pull up DoorDash or GrubHub and agonize over the choices, none of which excite me.
When I plan a Disney vacation, my eyes light up because I know that I’m about to eat like royalty.
Also, I’m acutely aware that as long as I snag an Advanced Dining Reservation – which won’t be easy – I can eat at my favorite place.
I don’t just mean at Disney, either. My favorite spot on the planet is Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant.
As a movie lover who grew up on bad sci-fi movies, I’m actively obsessed with this place.
You give me some French fries and a milkshake from here, plus some Cat-Women on the Moon clips, and I’m a happy human being.
This place suits my style staggeringly well. It feels like Disney constructed an entire restaurant just for me. I love everything about it.
My Must-Do Restaurants
So, I’ll start with a confession, something I haven’t shared here.
I haven’t had a cheeseburger or a steak in a couple of months. That’s nearly the equivalent of my saying that I’ve chosen to die.
Due to dietary constraints and finicky taste, I’ve lived off meat almost to the exclusion of everything else.
I’ve heard tales of things called fruits and vegetables, but I’m pretty sure those are myths like dragons, unicorns, and well-themed Universal Studios rides.
I’m saying all this because my must-do restaurant list may need to change. What could I even eat at Regal Eagle at this point?
For this reason, I’m prioritizing theming and character meals a bit more than usual.
Even if I don’t find much to eat at these places, I know I’ll still have a good time.
Here are the places I choose when I get a reservation or a Mobile Order:
- ‘Ohana
- Akershus
- Be Our Guest
- Boma
- Cook’s
- Chef Mickey’s
- Connections Eatery
- Contempo Café
- Coral Reef
- The Edison
- Hollywood & Vine
- Primo Piatto
- Satu’li Canteen
- Space 220
- T-REX
- Whispering Canyon Cafe
- Woody’s Lunch Box
I’ll add that 1900 Park Fare would make this list if it were open.
A cast member swore to me that it would reopen by Spring 2023. I dunno what’s happening there.
Also, I historically would have said Kona Café, but it’s another place where I’m not sure I can find something to eat now.
To Disney’s credit, it offers plant-based food at many restaurants. As a super-taster, I haven’t found anything that works for me yet, though.
So, that’s me. Please take a moment to tell me in the comments about your favorite things at Disney.
Thanks for visiting MickeyBlog.com! Want to go to Disney? For a FREE quote on your next Disney vacation, please fill out the form below, and one of the agents from MickeyTravels, a Diamond Level Authorized Disney Vacation Planner, will be in touch soon!
Feature Photo: DIsney