A Magical 7 Day Disney World Itinerary (2025)

We are huge Disney fans and have visited the parks in Florida (and around the world) many times as adults.

For Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, a week is our typical length for a trip. It’s enough to visit all four parks, some several times, and have a rest day (although Simon could always stay longer).

There are infinite ways to plan a 7 day Disney World itinerary, but in this post, I share ours from our last trip in November to give you ideas on how to structure a week (plus lots of our expert tips).

I also advise you on how to create your own perfect Walt Disney World itinerary.

We are a couple without kids. This itinerary could work for families with older kids, but if you are travelling with toddlers, you’ll likely have different priorities.

We had park hopper tickets, which I recommend for maximum flexibility, especially if you are staying onsite and want to take breaks during the day (after the break, you can go to a different park).

If you don’t have park hopper tickets, you can still adapt this itinerary by matching the days and nights in a park and combining them in one day.

Contents

• Our Walt Disney World 7 Day Itinerary
• How to Plan Your Ideal Disney World Itinerary
• Final Thoughts
• More Disney Posts

Our Walt Disney World 7 Day Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival and Epcot (Tuesday)

Dolphin Hotel

We arrived at our hotel around 3pm after a relaxing beach stay at Baker’s Cay Resort and a five-hour drive up to Orlando from Key Largo.

We dropped our rental car at the airport and Ubered to the hotel as Disney has free transport and it’s easier and cheaper without a car.

I recommend staying onsite at a Disney World resort for valuable perks like early entry into the parks and advance booking of restaurants and Lightning Lanes (for line skipping).

The cheapest resorts are the All-Star resorts, which are simple but fine. On a budget, this is what I would go for (and we have before).

In the last few years, with a higher budget, we have loved staying at a Deluxe resort in the Crescent Lake/Boardwalk area.

Being able to walk to both Epcot and Hollywood Studios is a major advantage for us (and the reason we were able to pop into those parks so often on this itinerary).

For Simon’s 40th, we splurged on the Yacht Club and loved it. On this trip, we decided to save some money by staying at the Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel, which (along with its sister Swan Hotel) is the most affordable option in this area.

While the Dolphin is not owned by Disney (and doesn’t have Disney theming), it’s a partner hotel with all the perks of a Deluxe hotel, including early entry and extended evening hours.

While we prefer the Yacht Club (nicer rooms, more charming atmosphere, lower rise buildings), the Dolphin has the same great location and saved us thousands.

We also walked over to the Yacht Club to use the buses to Magic Kingdom, which have a better drop-off location and seemed more frequent.

Epcot

We didn’t have any plans for our arrival evening, but as we had a 14-day ticket (not much extra than a 7-day ticket when booking from the UK via Disney Holidays), we strolled over to Epcot for dinner.

If you don’t have a park ticket on your arrival day, I would go to Disney Springs instead. This free area has lots of restaurants, shops, and live entertainment.

The Epcot Food & Wine Festival was held during our stay, and a weekday is the best time to graze around the stalls.

We enjoyed delicious small plates from the Greek and Forest and Field stalls and a classic orange slushy from Les Vins de Chefs de France (a permanent stand).

After wandering around the World Showcase (with 11 pavilions representing different countries), we needed a proper sit down and went to Tutto Gusto, the bar in Italy.

We got a table immediately and shared some tasty Italian dishes (including Gnocchi Sorrentina) and a wine flight. It was quite pricey and busier with kids than Disney lounges usually are, but we enjoyed it.

It was just a quick stop for us in Epcot this evening. For many more tips, see my guide to the best things to do in Epcot. We’ll also visit later in this itinerary.

Day 2: Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom (Wednesday)

Party Season Tip

We were at Disney during Christmas party season (November and December) when Magic Kingdom closes early for a paid event several times a week.

Magic Kingdom is much quieter during the day when a party is happening, so we planned to do most of the rides on Friday (a party day) and visit in the evening today (a non-party day) to see the fireworks and enjoy the night atmosphere.

As Magic Kingdom is extra busy on non-party days, it meant that Hollywood Studios was a little quieter than usual, so this strategy worked well for us.

This also works during the Halloween party season (August to October).

A park hopper ticket is well worth it at this time of year.

Lightning Lane Multi Pass

For our first full day in the parks, we had a Lightning Lane Multi Pass for Hollywood Studios, which we bought eight days in advance. We could book three rides initially.

As we had a park hopper ticket, we could also use it in any other park once we’d tapped into our first ride.

It was the only day we had Multi Pass, and you could skip it with a week at Disney World as you’ll have more time.

This line-skipping system is complicated, so read my guide to Is Lightning Lane Multi Pass Worth It? for everything you need to know.

Hollywood Studios

As we were staying onsite, we had 30-minute early entry from 8.30am (with official opening at 9am), but they always let people in early at Hollywood Studios, so we arrived at 7.45am and at 8am the gates opened.

Here are the rides we rode in the first 2.5 hours, all with waits of under 10 minutes.

• Millennium Falcon (we would usually start with Rise, but it was closed at first) – A Star Wars-themed interactive flight simulator.
• Rise of the Resistance – An incredibly immersive Star Wars ride and one of our favourites.

• Toy Story Mania! – A fun interactive shooting experience.
• Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster (with Lightning Lane) – We love this rollercoaster with inversions and a super-fast start. As soon as we tapped in with our Lightning Lane (which saved us 30 minutes), we booked another for Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway at 2pm.
• Tower of Terror – Ride the elevator of a haunted hotel and wait for the plunge!

We actually had Lightning Lanes booked for Toy Story and Tower of Terror, but wait times were so low that we just rode them standby and changed our bookings for other rides.

At 10.45am we headed to Ronto Roasters (making a mobile order on the way) for our favourite vegan breakfast wrap (one of the best restaurants for vegetarians at Disney World).

By 11am, all lines were over 30 minutes long, so Simon rode Star Tours with a Lightning Lane (usually, you don’t need one for this). I skipped it as the motion simulator makes me nauseous.

We wandered the brilliantly themed Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge and took photos.

At 12.15pm we took a break in BaseLine Tap House for an IPA, margarita, and delicious pretzel.

The afternoon at Hollywood Studios is best for shows as all rides have long lines. My top pick is the impressive Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular but look out for a new villains show in summer 2025.

See my guide to the best things to do at Hollywood Studios for many more ideas.

At 2pm we used our Lightning Lane to ride Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway, a cute family-friendly attraction.

As we used up our Lightning Lanes and had spare slots (you can hold three bookings), we booked rides in Magic Kingdom for the evening: Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, and Buzz Lightyear.

We could not get an elusive Lightning Lane for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure (and spent too long on our phone checking for refills).

At 2.45pm we left the park and took the boat back to the Dolphin Hotel for a break.

Magic Kingdom

At 5pm we left our hotel and strolled over to the Beach Club Resort to admire their impressive gingerbread carousel and catch the bus to Magic Kingdom (anyone can use the free Disney buses).

We arrived at 6pm and were immediately overwhelmed by the crowds, but this was expected (see note above on party season).

We went straight to Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn for dinner. Despite our mobile order, we had a long wait, and the restaurant was busy and loud. On party season evenings, booking Skipper Canteen would be a more relaxing (if more expensive) option.

I don’t think we could have done any major rides without our Lightning Lanes as waits were long. Here’s what we did:

• Big Thunder Mountain (with Lightning Lane Multi Pass) – A fun Wild West-themed rollercoaster (closed in 2025).
• Tron – We purchased a Lightning Lane Single Pass for $21 8 days in advance (they sell out) so we could guarantee riding at night, and it was worth it! Magic Kingdom’s newest ride is exhilarating, and the lights look amazing at night. The standby line was 90 minutes, and we waited 15.

• 8pm Fireworks – We could not deal with the crowds in front of the castle, so we watched it from behind in Fantasyland. You can’t see the projections here, but you are in between the fireworks, so it’s a unique and low-key experience (just turn up at the last minute).
• Space Mountain (with Lightning Lane Multi Pass)- We rushed to use our Lightning Lane in time on this high-speed dark rollercoaster.
• Buzz Lightyear (with Lightning Lane Multi Pass)- An interactive laser shooter ride. After the fireworks, lines were extremely long everywhere. We had a Lightning Lane for this and managed to tap in 10 minutes late, but even the LL queue was long, so we bailed on it.

We left the park at 9pm (the park was open until 11pm but still very busy) and were back at our hotel by 9.30pm via a crowded bus to the Yacht Club.

You can see my guide to must do rides at Magic Kingdom for more ideas (we’ll be back on Day 4).

Day 3: Epcot and Animal Kingdom (Thursday)

I got up at 6am for a run around the Boardwalk area—gorgeous at sunrise!

At 7am we attempted to get a virtual queue for Guardians of the Galaxy at Epcot (the only free way to ride). But they were gone in seconds!

This is the only time we’ve been unsuccessful with a virtual queue—usually, it works if you are ready to refresh the page on the app at 7am exactly.

We panicked that we wouldn’t be able to ride our favourite rollercoaster, so we booked a Lightning Lane Single Pass for Monday night (four days later was the earliest we could get).

Epcot

Usually we take advantage of early entry at Epcot by entering via the International Gateway (the back entrance near the Boardwalk and Crescent Lake hotels).

This is the best strategy if you want to ride Ratatouille in France before heading to Frozen (and Test Track when it reopens in summer 2025).

On this trip, we decided to focus more on experiences than rides at Epcot, so we entered the park at a leisurely 9.15am.

Here’s what our morning looked like after we walked over to the front of the park:

• Journey into Imagination with Figment – Cute but rather dated and not a must-do unless you love Figment.
• Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana – A beautiful trail where you interact with water and learn about the water cycle. We did get a little wet, but we appreciated it in the heat.
• Club Cool – Another refreshing stop where you can sample free unusual soft drinks from around the world.
• Shopping at the large Creations shop.
• Macatizers – A mac and cheese stall in Communicore Hall as part of the Food & Wine Festival.

At 11.30am we had a booking for Behind the Seeds, a one-hour tour ($39) that takes you behind the scenes at Living with the Land, a lovely ride through Epcot’s greenhouses where they grow vegetables and experiment with efficient growing methods (they don’t use any soil).

The tour was interesting and a nice bonus for us as we’ve been on the ride many times. If it’s your first time at Epcot, you could skip it.

After the tour, we headed to the World Showcase for part two of lunch at La Cantina de San Angel, a quick service restaurant in Mexico with outdoor seating overlooking the lagoon.

The cheese empanadas were pretty good and elevated by the self-service salsas.

While we ate, we watched the first video in the DuckTales World Showcase Adventure game, which you can find in the free Play Disney Parks app.

This is the best-kept secret at Epcot! We had great fun going on quests in Mexico, Norway and China this afternoon (and will complete it on Day 7). Read more about it in my Epcot guide.

While we played the game, we took breaks for tasty treats and drinks. La Cava del Tequila in the Mexico pyramid is our favourite bar in Epcot, and it has excellent margaritas—it’s worth the wait to get in.

We also loved the Frozen Viking Coffee from the Kringla Bakery in Norway. Yep, day drinking is the Epcot way.

We got so caught up in our World Showcase Adventure that we didn’t have time for a break at our hotel (usually a must for me) so at 3.30pm we took the bus from Epcot to Animal Kingdom.

Animal Kingdom

Animal Kingdom is usually the only park we visit just once, but on this trip, it was open for very rare Extended Evening Theme Park Hours (for deluxe resort guests).

Usually, evening hours are at Magic Kingdom, but during party season, it changes to alternate between Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios (Epcot evening hours stay consistent on Monday nights).

Check the calendar two months ahead to check for your visit.

If you don’t have evening hours at Animal Kingdom (most people won’t), spend this evening at Epcot.

Animal Kingdom closes earlier than the other parks, and in summer, it’s impossible to see it after dark, so it was a special treat to have the extra opening from 6-8pm.

We arrived at 4pm and did this in the first two hours before the park closed:

• Kilimanjaro Safaris – Just a 10-minute wait for this real safari where we saw rhinos, hippos, zebras, giraffes and more.
• Harambe Fruit Market – We grabbed a spicy corn on the cob and ate it at nearby Dawa Bar with an African margarita.
• Dinosaur – 2025 is the last year you can ride this classic!
• Satu’li Canteen – Most restaurants aren’t open for evening hours, so we ate just before with our favourite crispy tofu bowl in this cool Pandora restaurant.

By 6.30pm the park had emptied out. The Expedition Everest rollercoaster was a walk-on (Simon rode it twice). It’s extra spooky after dark!

The park felt so quiet—such a treat!

Back in Pandora, we were in awe of how stunning it looks after dark.

At 7pm Na’vi River Journey was a walk on. I love this dark boat ride through the world of Pandora. It’s so relaxing!

We left the most popular ride, Avatar Flight of Passage, until last. At 7.15pm the standby wait was listed as 25 minutes, but after walking through the long line, we only had a short wait.

This is a gorgeous, epic ride where you fly on a banshee over Pandora.

Unfortunately, the 3D motion simulator makes me nauseous. It’s usually not too bad when I ride first thing (after a light breakfast), but after a day of drinking in the sun, I felt awful.

At 7.45pm we left the park and took the Yacht Club bus. We were at our hotel by 8.20pm. It was a long but very fun day and we were exhausted!

We’ll be back in Animal Kingdom, but in the meantime, you can read my post on the top rides at Animal Kingdom.

Day 4: Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios (Friday)

Taking advantage of party season crowd dynamics (see above), we did the same as Day 2 but in reverse.

We started in Magic Kingdom as it was a party day, so most people avoid it (as it closes early), and it’s much quieter than usual during the day. No Lightning Lanes are needed!

Magic Kingdom

It’s well worth taking advantage of early entry on a party day, especially when the park opens at 8am as it did today.

We could enter from 7.30am but it’s always worth arriving earlier.

We left our room at 6.30am and got the bus from the Yacht Club at 6.43am. The Yacht Club had put their Christmas tree up overnight, and it was so magical to see it suddenly appear!

We got off the bus at 7am. Bad timing as that’s when the virtual queue for Tiana is available. We got lucky with a group 23 slot.

They were just letting people in as we walked over to the gates. Early entry guests head to Fantasyland (Seven Dwarves Mine Train is the big draw) or Tomorrowland.

We were at the rope entrance to Tomorrowland at 7.08am with just a few rows in front of us. They did not let anyone past until exactly 7.30am when cast members escorted us in a big group to Tron.

Space Mountain is another option for early entry, but it had a delayed opening. Usually, you’ll get on quickly.

The problem with Tron is that it doesn’t actually open for early entry. So you can use early entry to join the queue, but the ride won’t run until park opening.

Unless you are near the front of the pack, as we were, it makes sense to ride it later and ride something else during early entry.

As we weren’t bothered by the Fantasyland rides, we chose Tron. Ultimately, we waited 38 minutes, which was a win for us. Tron doesn’t look as cool by day, but we were happy to have another ride.

By the time we were off at 8.10am, the line was up to 75 minutes, but it dropped to 40 minutes at 8.40am, so it may make sense to wait for the early rush to die off.

Here’s how the rest of our morning played out:

• Jingle Cruise – The Christmassy version of the pun-filled boat ride Jungle Cruise is very popular. We waited 10 minutes.
• Haunted Mansion – A 5-minute wait for this classic dark ride.
• Tiana’s Bayou Adventure – This replaces Splash Mountain with The Princess and the Frog theming. It’s a long, relaxing water ride with impressive animatronics and a fun drop. Our virtual queue group was called up at 8.40am and we had to ride within an hour.

• Big Thunder Mountain – 15-minute wait. (Now closed in 2025).
• Pirates of the Caribbean – A 5-minute wait for this dark boat ride.
• Casey’s Corner – After an early start, we were starving, so we had a vegan hot dog. We caught the 10.30am fun opening ceremony and got a seat outside with a view of the castle and pianist entertainment. It was a lovely, relaxing break.
• Castle photos, shopping, caught the end of the morning parade.
• Country Bear Jamboree – This singing bear show is one of our favourite park breaks.
• Tom Sawyer Island – We took the raft over to say goodbye to our beloved oasis of green space before they pave over Rivers of America (likely in 2025).
• Railroad – We took the train from Frontierland to the front of the park and left at 1.40pm.

As always, visiting Magic Kingdom on a party day was an uncrowded delight.

There is much more to do at Magic Kingdom, and on this visit, we skipped some lower-key attractions that we’ve experienced many times. See my guide to the best rides and attractions at Magic Kingdom for more ideas.

Hollywood Studios

After a couple of hours of rest at the Dolphin, we took the boat to Hollywood Studios for dinner.

As Magic Kingdom closed early for the Christmas party, Hollywood Studios felt much busier than the other day.

We had ridden everything we wanted on Day 2, so we had a two-part dinner sharing the falafel and yuca fries at Docking Bay 7 (an excellent quick service option) and the messy plant-based lobster roll at Rosie’s (not fans).

We watched the Christmas tree light up and then walked back at 6pm as we needed a night off.

Day 5: Animal Kingdom and Epcot (Saturday)

Animal Kingdom

We always do early entry at Animal Kingdom, so we took the 6.40am bus from The Dolphin and arrived 15 minutes later.

At 7am there were many people in front of us at the gate, and they started letting people in at 7.12am (early entry starts at 7.30am).

Avatar Flight of Passage is the best ride to do in early entry so we headed towards Pandora. They kept us outside the world until 7.27am.

Simon went straight to Flight of Passage, but after my nausea-inducing ride on Day 3, I skipped it and rode Na’vi River Journey instead.

I was able to ride Na’vi twice (walking on) plus wander around while Simon waited 35 minutes to get on Flight of Passage. It’s a long ride and by the time he got off at 8.30am, lines were long everywhere.

Usually, we get on Flight of the Passage much quicker and then can ride Na’vi, Kilimanjaro Safari, Expedition Everest, and Kali River Rapids with minimal waits.

That was not to be today. Perhaps because it was a Saturday, or there was an issue with the ride (it didn’t seem to be running at full capacity).

We headed to Kilimanjaro Safari and waited 25 minutes. We saw plenty of wildlife again.

Animal Kingdom is a great place to wander, although it does get hot. Luckily, today was a cooler day, so we were able to enjoy the Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail, where we saw gorillas, hippos, and more.

At 10am we turned up at the last minute for the Festival of the Lion King show and managed to get a seat (later in the day you should arrive 30 minutes early). This is an impressive 40-minute stage show with acrobatics, animal puppets, music, and dance.

By the time we came out, Nomad Lounge was open—our favourite place for a break. As we’d gotten up so early, it felt entirely reasonable to have cocktails at 10.40am!

We managed to get a seat at the bar by walking up (all the tables filled up at opening). Most of the day, you’ll likely need to join a virtual waitlist on the app, but it’s worth it.

We very much enjoyed our Night Monkey and Tempting Tigress cocktails, bread service, and mushroom bao buns. It’s such a peaceful oasis.

By midday, I’d hit my Disney wall and was exhausted. It had been a busy three days and I was overdue for a rest day.

I went back to the hotel while Simon stayed on until 4pm.

He used the single rider line to get on Expedition Everest twice in under 15 minutes (vs 40 minutes standby) and rode Kali River Rapids, a water ride where you can get drenched (so lines were short all day on this slightly cool Florida day).

He strolled the Maharajah Jungle Trek, our favourite of the trails, but the tigers were hiding in the afternoon.

My guide to the best things to do at Animal Kingdom has lots more tips.

Epcot

After a long rest for me and a short one for Simon, we walked over to Epcot for dinner and entertainment.

We knew Epcot on a Saturday night during the Food & Wine Festival would be rammed, and oh my, it was. We’ve never seen such long queues for the booths.

Luckily, we’d planned ahead and booked a table at Spice Road Table in Morocco. We walked past the long queue of tipsy Drink Around the Worlders at the bar into the tranquil oasis of the restaurant.

We enjoyed delicious Mediterranean small plates in a comfy booth with a lagoon view. See my guide to vegetarian food at Disney World for more details.

Back out in the crowd, we continued determinedly around the World Showcase and embraced the bustling atmosphere.

In Japan, we picked up gifts in the excellent shop and sampled Violet Sake (the queue at the Garden House kiosk was long, but they redirected Simon to the restaurant upstairs for no wait).

During Food & Wine, you can enjoy live music on an outdoor stage on certain nights as part of the free Eat to the Beat concert series.

Last time, we enjoyed Hoobastank; this year, we watched Smash Mouth (remember All-Star, 90s kids?). It was a lot of fun!

Continuing to Germany, we bought ornaments in the Christmas shop (nicer than those at the Disney shops, in our opinion).

On our way out of the park, we caught the end of the Atlas Fusion band in Morocco and then got sucked over to the UK pavilion by Command Performance, a classic rock cover band.

Hearing Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin at Disney was surprising and the perfect end to a lively evening at Epcot.

Day 6: Hollywood Studios (Sunday)

It was Simon’s birthday, so we had a much-needed lie-in and an easy day with no rides but a few fun activities and dining.

Boardwalk

Disney’s Boardwalk is a lovely promenade of shops and restaurants that evokes the turn of the century in Atlantic City.

It’s within walking distance of the Dolphin Hotel, between Epcot and Hollywood Studios.

We’d hoped to get breakfast at Trattoria al Forno, but it was fully booked.

Instead, we ate a tasty vegan breakfast sandwich at Boardwalk Deli on a table outside overlooking Crescent Lake. It was a long wait, so mobile orders are recommended here.

The new Cake Bake Shop is next door, and as it was Simon’s birthday, we thought we’d splurge on the expensive cake ($23 a slice!) in the elegant restaurant.

Unfortunately, we’d have had a long wait for a table, so we got takeout instead (still a bit of a wait to get in the bakery side). The Millionaire cake was massive and pretty good, but it was nothing special for that price.

Hollywood Studios

We took the rest of the day easy before heading to Hollywood Studios for our 3.25pm reservation at Savi’s Workshop, where Simon designed a lightsaber!

It was a short (about 30 minutes) but cool experience, and the lightsaber was of excellent quality. I was able to observe the process for free.

For the rest of the day, we had fun taking photos with it around Galaxy’s Edge.

At 4.20pm, we managed to get a walk-in spot at the outdoor Brown Derby Lounge. You can get food from the posh restaurant here, but we just had drinks—an old-fashioned and a margarita flight.

We had a 5pm booking for Roundup Rodeo BBQ, a Toy Story-themed restaurant where you dine family-style. The food was delicious, with fantastic vegan alternatives, but it was too much food for us. Read more in our guide to vegetarian dining at Disney World.

At 7pm, we had another reservation at Oga’s Cantina, the fun Star Wars bar with some interesting cocktails.

The Fantasmic show was at 8pm and we arrived at the outdoor arena just a few minutes before it started. It was not the best strategy as it was absolutely packed, and we had to sit far back without a good view.

I recommend arriving at least 30 minutes ahead (some people advise an hour). The later show (at 9.30pm when we visited) is usually quieter, but we didn’t have the energy to wait.

It was still a fun way to end the day, and we snuck out just before the end to avoid the exodus.

Day 7: Epcot (Monday)

On our last full day in the parks, our focus was Epcot, which has Extended Evening Hours for deluxe resort guests on Mondays.

As the park would be open until 11pm for us (9pm for non-deluxe guests), we decided to have a morning off.

Hollywood Studios

Of course, Simon couldn’t manage it, so he nipped over to Hollywood Studios at 9am opening and rode Tower of Terror and Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster with short waits, before breakfast at Ronto Roasters.

I relaxed at the Dolphin Hotel pool before Simon joined me for a hot tub (the pool water was warm enough for me in mid-November, but not for most people).

Epcot

Simon headed into Epcot before 1pm to join the virtual queue for Guardians of the Galaxy.

He had a pint at the Rose and Crown, watched the Canada Far and Wide show, and got an Impossible slider from the Flavors From Fire food festival stall.

I joined him later in the afternoon, and we strolled the World Showcase, grabbing an excellent espresso martini from Tutto Gusto in Italy and a giant pretzel from the cart in Germany (good but not as good as the BaseLine pretzel).

We also completed the rest of our DuckTales World Showcase Adventure game in the Japan, France, and UK pavilions. So fun!

At 6pm we joined the virtual queue for Guardians. This is a major perk of Evening Hours as it’s the only time you can join the virtual queue twice in one day. Simon still hadn’t been called for his 1pm slot, so he was waiting for two rides.

At 6.05pm his first virtual queue was called and he went straight over while I strolled the Moana garden (beautiful at night) and sampled more drinks from Club Cool.

After 25 minutes in the line, Simon gave up as he had at least another 25 minutes to go, and we had Lightning Lane Single Pass for Guardians booked. I have no idea why the virtual queue line was so long today.

We only had to wait 10 minutes with our Lightning Lane Single Pass and got to ride our favourite Disney rollercoaster. It’s so smooth, has great visuals and a fun soundtrack.

At 7.30pm, we had a reservation at Shiki-Sai: Sushi Izakaya, a superb Japanese restaurant with many vegan options. We asked to wait for a table by the window, which only took 20 minutes and gave us a view of the 9pm fireworks.

At 8.50pm our Guardians virtual queue was called. I didn’t have the energy, so I walked back to the hotel after dinner, while Simon only waited about 15 minutes this time.

Afterwards he rode Soarin’ with a 10-minute wait and by 10.30pm everything had low waits but he called it a night.

Day 8: Epcot and Departure (Tuesday)

Departure day! Our flight wasn’t until 6pm and check out was at 11am so we had some time to kill.

If we hadn’t had the 14-day ticket, we would have gone to another resort (we were tempted to have lunch at Wilderness Lodge if their Christmas tree had been up, but it wasn’t on November 19) or Disney Springs or hung out at the hotel pool.

As we had tickets, Simon joined the 7am Guardians of the Galaxy virtual queue successfully, then popped over to Hollywood Studios just as they were letting early entries in at 8am.

He rode Rise of the Resistance and Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster one last time.

Then he raced to Epcot when his Guardians virtual queue was called at 10am (just a 5-minute wait today).

We checked out at 11am and went to Epcot for lunch at Connections Eatery and an ice cream in France.

Then we returned to the hotel, changed into warmer clothes, and got an Uber to the airport ($36 plus tip), which took 30 minutes.

Sadly, another Disney trip was over.

Back to Contents

How to Plan Your Ideal Disney World Itinerary

Hopefully, our Disney itinerary above has given you some ideas on how you could structure your trip.

The best itinerary for Disney World is subjective, though, depending on your preferences and needs.

Here are some tips for planning your own itinerary:

If you don’t have a Park Hopper ticket

Assuming you have six full days, I would buy a five-day park ticket and allow one day in each park plus an extra day at Magic Kingdom.

Use the extra day as a rest day at the pool, visit a water park, have lunch at another resort, or shop at Disney Springs.

Or buy a six or seven-day ticket to give you the flexibility to pop into a park for dinner on arrival day or on a rest day.

If you have Park Hopper

You’ll have much more flexibility with a Park Hopper ticket.

Follow the basic structure above, but mix it up. Rope drop at one park in the morning, return to your hotel to rest in the afternoon, then visit a different park in the evening.

Plan for a day off (or at least a morning off)

Ideally, after three full park days, take a rest day at your hotel pool or water park. Trust me, Disney can be exhausting.

Are there any special events?

Check the Disney calendar two months ahead (and again nearer the time as it can change). Note park hours and any special events.

If a party is happening at Magic Kingdom, this is the perfect day to visit in the morning for low crowds.

Is there a festival at Epcot? Any concerts you want to see on specific days?

If you want to eat at the food stalls during the Epcot Food & Wine Festival, avoid weekends when it’s extra busy.

Are you staying in a Deluxe Disney Resort?

Check Extended Evening Hours. Usually, this is Monday nights at Epcot and Wednesdays at Magic Kingdom, but it changes sometimes (especially during the Christmas season).

Check the Queue Times website

The Queue Times website has useful information, including the average crowd levels per day of the week for each park.

Check crowd calendars

Sites like Undercover Tourist have calendars to give you an idea of the busiest days in each park. They aren’t always accurate, but they give you a rough idea.

Or see this guide on the best and worst days to visit each park.

Book Dining 60 Days Ahead

If there are any table service restaurants you definitely want to eat at, book 60 days in advance at 6am EST. Resort guests can book 60 days before check-in for their whole stay.

If you can only get into a restaurant on a particular day, this will affect your park itinerary.

Book Lightning Lanes 7 Days Ahead

You can manage without them, but if you want to skip the lines, purchase passes as soon as you are eligible.

Resort guests can book seven days before check-in for their whole stay.

See my Lightning Lane Multi Pass guide for tips.

Choose your priority rides for each park

Make sure you know which rides are busiest and start with those (if you arrive at park opening).

Be flexible, though, as sometimes rides go down or have longer lines than expected.

See the links below for our detailed park guides.

Back to Contents

Final Thoughts

I hope our Disney World itinerary for adults has helped give you ideas for your own wonderful trip.

Just remember that there is no perfect itinerary. You don’t need to go on every ride or rope drop every day to have an amazing time.

Choose the rides and attractions that interest you most, have a rough plan, and then try to go with the flow and enjoy the little magical moments as they appear.

Back to Contents

More Disney Posts

Plan your Disney World Orlando itinerary with our other guides:

Disney World Park Guides

• 27 Best Things to Do at Disney World
• 21 Must Do Rides at Magic Kingdom Orlando
• 24 Best Things to Do at Hollywood Studios
• 25 Best Things to Do at Epcot
• 22 Best Things to Do at Animal Kingdom

Other Disney World Tips

• Vegetarian at Disney World: 16 Best Places to Eat
• Is Lightning Lane Multi Pass Worth It?
• Planning a Trip to Disney World on a Budget

If you’re looking for a beach break before or after Disney, check out our Baker’s Cay Key Largo Resort review.

If you enjoyed this post, pin it!