First of all, depending on how much time/how many days you are able to spend in Disney, and the ages of those you're travelling with, this will vary greatly. Regardless, you should spend at least one FULL day in Magic Kingdom. If you have kids, I would spend less time at Epcot and more at Animal Kingdom, and the opposite if you have an older group. Hollywood Studios I would only spend a half day at. If you have extra time, then Downtown Disney AKA Disney Springs is a good place to spend an afternoon shopping.
As far as timing goes, I know this usually depends on scheduling - your kids school schedules, your own school schedule if you're a young adult, and when you can get time off of work. If you have free rein then I would definitely recommend going in the fall, all September, the first 3/4 of October, and all of November except for Thanksgiving. My personal favorite time was mid October because you have the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Parties, Food & Wine Festival at Epcot, and the crowds are minimal. Other times when the crowds aren't too bad are early December, late January, all of February, the first week or two of March, and the end of August. I would personally go for fall/winter/early spring because you will have cooler weather.
On to park recommendations!!
Magic Kingdom
Must-Do: Again, these all depend on age groups and amount of time available. I'll go ahead and assume two full days of Magic Kingdom.
- Space Mountain
- Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor (great for when you start getting tired or hot!)
- Haunted Mansion
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- Journey of the Little Mermaid
- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
- Splash Mountain if the weather is nice, or you don't mind getting wet
- Get a LeFou's Brew at Gaston's Tavern
- Get dinner at Be Our Guest (if you can't get a reservation, always check the morning that you're in Magic Kingdom!)
- Most people will recommend that you get a Dole Whip, I'm not actually a fan but it's worth mentioning
- Mickey's Philharmagic (great for when you start getting tired or hot!)
- Meet a character or two if your crew really wants to. Ariel is great and always has a reasonably short line!
- Watch the Festival of Fantasy parade
- Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
- Watch Celebrate the Magic
- Watch Wishes
- Window shop (and actually shop) up and down Main Street U.S.A.
- Get a picture in front of the castle
Do If You Have Time: Go ahead and check these out if you have more time in your schedule.
- Winnie the Pooh
- Peter Pan's Flight
- Dumbo
- Astro Orbiter - must not be scared of heights for this one!
- The Carousel
- Bippity Boppity Boutique to give your little ones the full princess treatment
- Watch the Electrical Parade - this one is fun for your first time, but the music will never get out of your head
- Meet more characters - Mickey Mouse and Tinkerbell at the front of the park, the Princess Fairytale Hall always has good ones, and Stitch by Space Mountain is fun.
- Stay in the park until a Kiss Goodnight (AKA until they kick you out politely)
- Get there early to see the morning show before park open
- Get dinner at Tony's Town Square Restaurant
- Watch the castle show - this appears intermittently throughout the day (Dream Along with Mickey)
- Eat at Cinderella's Table (the restaurant in the castle)
- It's a Small World - it's a classic
Can Skip: Personal opinion, these are things that I would avoid.
- Stitch's Great Escape - AVOID AT ALL COSTS
- Aladdin's Magic Carpets - if you want to do a ride like this, Dumbo is essentially the exact same but in a better location.
- Turkey legs. Some people are all about these, but definitely not me
Epcot
Must-Do's: Keep in mind that this park is better aimed toward adults, so if you have an older group (ESPECIALLY during Food & Wine Festival) I would spend more time here.
- Go to Club Cool to try all the sodas from across the world
- Test Track
- Soarin'
- Walk the World Showcase (there's also a couple ferry options - it's a mile to walk the whole thing)
- Stop at the Karamel Kuche in Germany and get the freshly-made caramel popcorn
- Get dinner Le Cellier in Canada
- Get lunch in Mexico
- Get snacks in France - either the pastries or the gelato! You can't go wrong.
Do If You Have Time: These ones can be added into the must-do's if you have young kids.
- Finding Nemo
- Figment
- Spaceship Earth
- Mission Space (only do the intense one if you don't get motion sick easily!)
- Watch Illuminations, the Epcot firework show. Try get there early so you can all see the globe in the middle of the lagoon!
- Meet characters! They have anyone and everyone all across the park.
- Get snacks in Norway
- Get dinner at Biergarten in Germany AND EAT THE BEER CHEESE SOUP
- Living with the Land
- Walk around the aquarium
- Buy a tiara from Germany and walk around like a princess
Can Skip: I don't have any strong opinions here, I absolutely love Epcot.
- Ellen's Energy Adventure
- Mission Space intense track if you ever get motion sick
Animal Kingdom
Must-Do:
- Festival of the Lion King
- Expedition Everest
- Kilimanjaro Safari
- Go see the gorillas on the Pangani Trail
- Get a frozen chai from Joffrey's
- Get dinner at Yak & Yeti
Do If You Have Time: Add more of these to must-do if you have kids and want to spend more time in this park.
- Finding Nemo: The Musical
- Wilderness Explorer's
- Kali River Rapids if you're ready to get soaked
- Dinosaur
- Go check out the monkeys and all the animals on the Pangani Trail
- Wild Africa Trek
- Meet Mickey and Minnie
- Primeval Whirl
Can Skip: Again, these are my opinion as a 21-year old female. Kids might really enjoy these!
- Rafiki's Planet Watch
- Meet characters - Baloo, Chip & Dale, Pocahontas, and King Louie to name a few!
- Flights of Wonder
- A Bug's Life
Hollywood Studios
Must-Do's: Remember that this park is under construction and in the middle of a transition period, so it's probably the best park to avoid if you need to cut a park out of your trip.
- Rockin' Rollercoaster
- Tower of Terror if you're okay with big drops
- Fantasmic!
- Star Tours
- Toy Story Midway Mania if the line isn't, you know, 300 minutes long
- One Man's Dream if you have older kids/adults (it's basically a Walt Disney museum)
- The Great Movie Ride
- Frozen Sing-A-Long if you have Frozen crazed kids
- Get a cobb salad and grapefruit cake from the Brown Derby for lunch or dinner
Do If You Have Time: These basically fall under "okay" but not too memorable.
- Voyage of the Little Mermaid
- Beauty and the Beast show
- Ice cream from the dinosaur ice cream shop
- Animation Pavilion
Can Skip: I don't think I have anything to add here because there's so few things to do in the park anyways.
- I would put character meet and greets here just because its characters like Princess Sofia and Jake the Pirate, and that's not my era. But it might be good if your kids are into that!
I think that's all I have for parks and park advice! I would recommend (ideally) 2 days of Magic Kingdom, 1 day of Epcot, 1 day of Animal Kingdom, 1/2 day Hollywood Studios (maybe when you need a nap, or have an evening flight).
Food wise I would recommend bringing bagel or sandwiches if you're really set on saving money, and getting a nice dinner. Otherwise, the kids meals are a great meal for the amount of food they give you, and they will sell them to people of all ages! I'm 21 and I still get the kids meal. Also never buy a water bottle unless you're THAT family, you can get a free cup of water from any quick-service restaurant! Some have Florida water, but most have normal tasting extra filtered water :)
Honestly, if you're going to do Disney World, just go in with the expectation of spending a lot of money. It's a more complete way to vacation at Walt Disney World anyways!
If you're planning a vacation, enjoy a magical time at my home <3 If you're just reading this for fun, do you have anything to add? I'm sure I forgot stuff :)
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