To be perfectly honest, I was a bit disappointed in Disney World. I estimate that I've been to Disneyland somewhere between 40 and 50 times and have become accustomed to certain standards. A Disney park is supposed to be conveniently located, full to the brim with exciting and classic attractions, and of course, coated with that certain Disney magic that is hard to describe.
First of all, it was miserably hot and humid (which I'm willing to admit probably influenced the amount of fun I was able to have). I have great sympathy for the performers in costume in the park. I've worn a character costume like those and I was dying of heat in an air conditioned building. It was so humid and miserable that is was hard to enjoy yourself. In addition to the heat, the parks are located miles from one another unlike California Adventure and Disneyland who live right across from one another. We spent a couple hours a day on buses, taxis, monorails, and ferries trying to even get to the parks.
Epcot was by far the biggest letdown. When I was doing some research before we left and read about the history and content of the park, I was excited because there would be plenty of attractions that are exclusive to Florida. I was right. Epcot has its own feel- boredom. While it is the home of "Soarin'" (the exact same setup and video as "Soarin' Over California" in Anaheim), it was definitely of a lesser quality than the one in California Adventure. Other than that, we went on a twenty minute slow-moving boat ride through some gardens and a lab where they were growing some tomatoes or something. In addition, Epcot has a really cool section where they have representations of different countries. You can walk through adaptations of China, the US, Mexico, England, and many others. While this was somewhat interesting and clearly took a lot of money to create, there was nothing to do but look! You could eat and of course each country had plenty of merchandise available, but I came to Florida to ride Disney rides!
Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom were much more enjoyable. There were classic rides like Space Mountain, Peter Pan, Splash Mountain, Small World and Haunted Mansion. While they were close to the originals in Disneyland and California and Adventure, the only ride that was better than its predecessor was Tower of Terror. I had a blast on the Florida interpretation of the free-falling elevator. The Rockin' Roller Coaster in Hollywood Studios was a really great ride but it was incredibly short.
I am a huge fan of the Aladdin show in California Adventure. So when I found out that Hollywood Studios had a Beauty and the Beast show, I was ecstatic. There aren't words to describe my disappointment. They took my favorite story, my favorite movie, and my favorite characters and made hands-down the worst on-stage production I've seen in my life. They cut the show to half an hour so most of the transitions made no sense whatsoever. The leads had wonderful voices but they simply weren't good for the parts.
However, there were some pleasant surprises. The Monsters Inc. show was actually really funny, Downtown Disney was superior to the one in California, and the light show on the castle at the closing of Magic Kingdom was nothing short of spectacular. I was very impressed by the character performers in both Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. Like I said, I can't imagine how miserably hot it must be in those suits and they, along with the face characters like the princesses and such, performed with enthusiasm and were very fun to watch. However, the number one thing that was better in Florida was the food. I'll admit that Anaheim's cuisine is less than great for the most part, but the restaurants in Florida, specifically in Downtown Disney were fantastic. I never once had a bad meal.
Overall, I was left a bit unsatisfied. But as I think about it, I would have been disappointed had a not been disappointed. I'll explain. If I'd loved Disney World with all my heart and thought my beloved Disneyland couldn't hold a candle, I would have been devastated. Disneyland is another home to me and knowing there was a better option in Florida would have ruined it for me. As it is, I'm glad we went to Florida because we of course had a good time despite some disappointments, I love visiting new places, and now we know that we have no reason to go back (unless I get an internship there which would be fantastic). In short, if you love Disney and you haven't gone, you have some extra money laying around, and you don't mind REALLY long bus commutes, I'd say go. It's worth seeing and Magic Kingdom definitely has that magical Disney quality to it. However, I'm glad that Disneyland's light hasn't been dimmed for me and I look forward to many more years of Disney magic to come in Anaheim.
P.S.- Oh and by the way, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was FANTASTIC. If they weren't building one in California, I'd be back in Florida very soon :)
