Walt Disney World

• Location: Lake Buena Vista, Florida (20 miles southwest of Orlando).
• Phone #: 407-824-4321.
• # of Parks: 4
• # of Hotels: 25
• Other Activies: Downtown Disney shopping district, Pleasure Island entertainment district, golf courses, Wide World of Sports athletic complex, miniature golf, water parks, and water sports.

Park tickets are available from several sources and in many different combinations, from tickets good for just one of the parks for a single day up to tickets good for ten days of admission at either park.

The most popular tickets are the various flavors of Magic Your Way (MYW) tickets, which expire within 14 days of first use, unless the No-Expiration Option is purchased. Base MYW tickets provide admission to one park each day for the number of days purchased. The Park Hopper Option is available for a flat $50 charge, regardless of the length of the ticket, and allows the ticket to provide admission to all four major theme parks for each day of the ticket. The Water Park Fun & More Option, also available fore a flat $50 charge, allows additional admissions to the two water parks, Pleasure Island, DisneyQuest and/or the Wide World of Sports Complex, with the number of admissions depending on the length of the base ticket. The No Expiration Option, available on a sliding scale of $17 (on a 2-day pass) to $200 (on a 10-day pass), is pretty self-explanatory, eliminating the 14-day expiration on the ticket. Annual Passes allow 365 days of admission from first use to the four major theme parks, and the Premium Annual Pass is the equivalent of adding the Water Park Fun & More Option to the standard Annual Pass.

Buying tickets for Walt Disney World is surprisingly complex (though showing up and getting a one-day ticket for just one-park will run $75 plus tax). The following lists lay it out.

Annual Passes
Annual Pass - $489/$432
Annual Pass Renewal - $449/$397
Premium Annual Pass - $619/$546
Premium Annual Pass Renewal - $569/$502
Annual Pass (Florida Resident) - $369/$325
Annual Pass (Florida Resident) Renewal - $344/304
Premium Annual Pass (Florida Resident) - $489/$431
Premium Annual Pass (Florida Resident) Renewal - $454/$401
Seasonal Annual Pass (Florida Resident) - $249/$220
Seasonal Annual Pass (Florida Resident) Renewal - $221/$195

• On-Site Ticket Purchase: Ticket booths can be found at the main gates of Animal Kingdom, Epcot, and Disney's Hollywood Studios. The main ticket booths for Magic Kingdom are located at the Transportation & Ticket Center, though tickets can also be purchased at the Guest Relations window to the right of the main entrance gates of the park. You can also purchase park tickets at any of the resort hotels on property.
• Online Ticket Purchase: Tickets can be purchased online directly from Disney. Advance purchase discounts are available for tickets good for four days or longer. Orlando Fun Tickets is MousePlanet's official discount ticket broker.
• Other Purchase Locations: Just get to Florida and everybody will be trying to sell you tickets to Walt Disney World, though most of the "Ticket Discount Centers" are fronts for timeshare organizations and purchases will come with hard sells. Many hotels in the area of Walt Disney World also sell park tickets. You can also make your ticket purchases at any Disney Store (including annual passes).

Walt Disney World is located in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, just outside of Kissimmee and about 20 miles southwest of Orlando and Orlando International Airport.

From the airport you'll want to follow the directions to 417 and take that west until you have passed Interstate 4. Once in that area, you'll need to watch for the exit appropriate for your specific destination.

Parking at Walt Disney World is different depending on what you are doing. Parking at Downtown Disney is free. Parking at any of the on-property resorts is free for guests and anybody with appropriate business at the hotel (eating at one of the restaurants, for example). Parking is also free at the two water park, the Wide World of Sports complex and the golf courses. Each of the four theme parks has it own parking, which is free for guests of the on-property resorts and annual passholders but otherwise costs $12 for regular cars, $13 for RVs, and $16 for buses and tractor trailers. (Parking prices last increased on August 3, 2008.) Except for Magic Kingdom, the theme park parking is right in front of the gates. For Magic Kingdom you'll need to park at the Ticket & Transportation Center and take the monorail or ferry to the park.

Once on property, there is a resort-wide system of free buses. For the most part it is possible to get to every park from every hotel. If nothing else, every location with a bus stop connects to the hub at Downtown Disney from where you can connect to any other location. There is also a ferry that connects Epcot to the hotels in the Epcot area.

For additional information on getting around the parks with wheelchairs and ECVs – as well as discounted rentals from Scooter Vacations, MousePlanet's mobility scooter rental partner – see our Walt Disney World Mobility page.

• Disney's Animal Kingdom — As the ads say, this is not a zoo, but it does mix a zoo with a theme park.
• Disney's Hollywood Studios — Celebrate the history and wizardry of Hollywood.
• Epcot — One half explores science and the future while the other half presents the cultures of the world.
• Magic Kingdom — Modeled on the original Disneyland, Magic Kingdom is still its own unique destination.

• All Star Movies
• All Star Music
• All Star Sports
• Animal Kingdom Lodge
• Beach Club Resort
• Beach Club Villas
• Boardwalk Inn
• Boardwalk Villas
• Caribbean Beach Resort
• Contemporary Resort
• Coronado Springs
• Dolphin
• Fort Wilderness
• Grand Floridian
• Old Key West Resort
• Polynesian Resort
• Pop Century Resort
• Port Orleans French Quarter
• Port Orleans Riverside
• Saratoga Springs
• Shades of Green
• Swan
• Villas at Wilderness Lodge
• Wilderness Lodge
• Yacht Club Resort

• Downtown Disney — Shop, dine, or dance the night away.
• Golf Courses — Six premiere golf courses, two of which host the PGA's Funai Classic golf tournament.
• Wide World of Sports complex — Just about every type of playing field draws tournaments from around the country, including Atlanta Braves spring training baseball.
• Water Parks — Two water parks provide the chance to take in a sunny day from in the water.
• Miniature Golf — Three miniature golf courses provide fun for the full family.
• Richard Petty Driving Experience — Learn to drive a race car on a real racetrack.

• Flower & Garden Festival — Spring (Epcot)
• Star Wars Weekends — Spring (Disney's Hollywood Studios)
• Pirate and Princess Party — Winter/Summer (Magic Kingdom)
• Food & Wine Festival — Fall (Epcot)
• Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party — September/October (Magic Kingdom)
• Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party — November/December (Magic Kingdom)
• 2006 Holiday Season Celebrations — November/December (Resort-wide)

• The History of the World — Mark Goldhaber's continuing series detailing the history of Walt Disney World. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9.