Two weeks at Walt Disney World: our favourite rides

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Lucy and I flew from Gatwick to Orlando on 27 August 2022 for thirteen nights at Disney World. It was our first time in the USA, and we didn't really know what to expect. We'd been to Disneyland Paris before, so Walt Disney World was the second Disney resort we'd visited.

We stayed at All-Star Music, with nearly a fortnight to make our way around the four parks. That gave us time to go back to our favourite rides, fit in proper meals and spend an evening at the cinema as well. Guardians of the Galaxy turned out to be my favourite ride of the whole trip, while a glitch in the Disney app helped us fit in an extraordinary number of goes on Everest.

Our booking included Genie+ and Memory Maker. The latter explains the number of photographs of us standing in front of things, pretending to use the Force, or being caught halfway down a ride. We made good use of it.

Starting at Magic Kingdom#

Our first park day began on Main Street, with Cinderella Castle ahead of us. It was still dressed for Disney World's fiftieth anniversary, with gold decorations around the blue turrets and a big "50" above the entrance.

If I had to pick one ride at Magic Kingdom, it'd probably be Space Mountain. I really like Haunted Mansion as well, so that deserves a place alongside it among my favourites here.

We also rode Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and Pirates of the Caribbean, and took on Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. With several visits to the park, the ride photographs became a record of us turning up again in different clothes and trying different poses.

Lunch on that first day was plant-based bratwurst from The Friar's Nook. Later we sat down for dinner, with big bowls of food and time away from the rides. There was plenty of that over the fortnight, including another Magic Kingdom lunch at Pecos Bill with rice, nachos and guacamole.

We returned to Magic Kingdom several times, including an evening beneath the illuminated castle. It looked completely different in blue and purple, with Main Street still full of people after dark.

Hollywood Studios, repeatedly#

My favourite at Hollywood Studios was Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith. It was the fastest ride in the park, and the combination of speed, twists and going upside down was so much fun. I really liked the old-school cars and the eighties-and-nineties feel of the theming too. We went on it more than once.

Tower of Terror got return visits as well, and we rode Slinky Dog Dash and Alien Swirling Saucers. There is a fairly clear progression in the ride photographs towards putting our hands up.

I wore my Sulley shoes to meet Sulley, so we were matching. The trainers have the same blue and purple as his fur, and my T-shirt was the right colour too.

Meeting Sulley in my matching Sulley shoes.

Galaxy's Edge took up a good chunk of our visits. On Rise of the Resistance, we walked into the enormous hangar facing rows of stormtroopers. We stopped for a photograph together there, then took more outside by the Millennium Falcon. The very serious Star Wars setting didn't stop us doing some very unserious posing.

We both ordered the Felucian Kefta and Hummus Garden Spread at Docking Bay 7: plant-based kefta, hummus, vegetables and flatbread. Other evenings ended with burgers at ABC Commissary or back at All-Star Music's Intermission Food Court. Having the hotel food court there was useful after a park day.

Kefta, hummus and flatbread at Docking Bay 7.

EPCOT and Cosmic Rewind#

Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind was the best ride of the whole holiday for me. It was still very new when we visited, having only opened that May. I think I managed to ride it three times, and I'd happily have done more.

Part of the fun was finding out which song we'd get. The ride picks a song at random from six tracks. Even when I knew the ride, there was still that little bit of anticipation about the music. Three rides weren't nearly enough to work through all the possibilities.

EPCOT also gave us Frozen Ever After, Test Track and Spaceship Earth. We designed a bright green car at Test Track, while Spaceship Earth put our faces into its little vision of the future. Cosmic Rewind was my clear favourite, but we fitted plenty else around my goes on Guardians.

We walked around World Showcase, stopping in Japan, Canada and Italy, and taking photographs beside the lagoon. In Japan, we posed under the red torii gate. Back across the park, dinner included plant-based poutine and a plate to share between us.

We stayed into the evening. Spaceship Earth glowed pink and purple, and the lights of World Showcase reflected across the water. We had arrived in bright sunshine and were still walking around after dark.

Animal Kingdom#

Expedition Everest was my favourite at Animal Kingdom, and we managed to get rather more rides on it than on Guardians. We found a glitch in the Disney app that let us ride it about ten times in a row. It was incredible to be able to keep going back on something I liked that much.

Expedition Everest, my favourite ride at Animal Kingdom.

Between the rides, we spent time watching the animals: a tiger walking along the edge of its enclosure and then swimming, and the gorillas among the trees. We also took the train out to Rafiki's Planet Watch.

There were photographs with the Tree of Life behind us and a very large pretzel between stops. Lunch at Harambe Market was hot link bowls and chips. On another visit, we stopped for rice bowls between rides.

We sat down for dinner before heading back into Pandora, where Na'vi River Journey took us through glowing plants and the blue and purple light of the forest.

Meals, movies and the Skyliner#

One morning started with Mickey waffles, and another food stop produced a Mickey-shaped chocolate dessert. Even breakfast was getting in on the theme.

On 3 September we went to Disney Springs to see Top Gun: Maverick. We had a late showing at the AMC cinema, with enormous drinks in hand. A straightforward movie night fitted rather well into a holiday full of elaborate attractions.

Movie night at Disney Springs.

We also took a ride on the Skyliner, looking out over the water and the resorts from our yellow cabin. Later came dinner at Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater, sitting in a car-shaped booth facing the big screen. Between that and the AMC, we managed two quite different versions of dinner and a movie.

We flew home overnight on 9 September. Before that, there was time for more rides and another photograph in front of the Tree of Life, with the two of us smiling beneath it.

One more photograph by the Tree of Life.

We'd arrived not really knowing what to expect from our first visit to the USA, and left wanting to come back and see more of the country. Having now visited Disneyland Paris and Walt Disney World, we'd also love to work our way around the rest of the Disney parks.

Universal came up a lot when we got talking to people in the queues. It sounded like quite a different vibe from Disney, but one that would definitely appeal to us. We're already looking at going to Universal Studios Singapore next year.