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Walt Disney World Parks: The Basics

Are you planning a trip to Walt Disney World? Or just want to learn more about the parks and don't know where to start? Disney Darling breaks down the basics for you! Disneyland vs. Walt Disney World Disneyland and Disney World are two different parks, located on opposite sides of the country. As mentioned in this post , it is a common misconception that Disneyland and Disney World are the same thing.  Disneyland is the first Disney theme park ever, opening in 1955. It is located in Anaheim, California, near Los Angeles.  Disneyland has two different parks: Disneyland Park (with the castle), and Disney's California Adventure (or DCA). Disneyland also has three hotels and the Downtown Disney shopping district.  Walt Disney World is located in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. It opened in 1971, after Walt's passing. Walt Disney World has 4 different theme parks, 2 water parks, 28 hotels, and the Disney Springs shopping district.  There are quite a few more differences, but lo

Disney Darling's Top Pins of 2022

Did you know that Disney Darling has a Pinterest ? We post pins of our latest posts, aesthetically pleasing pictures, and inspirational quotes. To wrap up 2022, Disney Darling is recapping our top pins: 5. Peter Pan Wallpaper As always, I re-watch several Disney movies throughout the year. This year I watched Tarzan, Frozen, The Three Caballeros, and Fantasia, among others. When re-watching Peter Pan I took this screenshot of a particularly beautiful moment when the Darling kids arrive in Neverland. People must also adore this moment, as it is one of the most popular pins of this year for Disney Darling.  4. DCP Tips: Living The Disney College Program is a topic that draws much interest throughout the year. 2022 was no exception. Last year, Disney Darling published some tips for upcoming CPs. And - good news! With the next batch of College Programmers starting soon, more of this series will be posted. Follow Disney Darling on Pinterest and look for updates of new posts! 3. Doing Disne

Chapek is GONE!!!

Well, to say that being a Disney Parks fan over the last couple of years has been disappointing would be...an understatement. Plans have been cancelled, prices have been raised, perks have been taken away, and there seems to be nothing new or exciting on the horizon. There is a LOT I could get into. But I need to stop myself or this post will never get published. Since the pandemic, Bob Iger smartly stepped down as CEO and was replaced by Bob Chapek. Paycheck, as I so lovingly refer to him as, could not have inherited the Disney kingdom at a worse time. Iger was still facing public backlash and financial setbacks from his purchase of Fox for Disney+. Plus, there was the pandemic, which came with its own slew of issues. Of course, some happenings were out of Paycheck's control. And maybe his reputation could've just been a little hiccup, a tiny whitehead on the face of the company that could be easily squeezed out, healed over, and forgotten about. But he decided to open his dam

My Ranking of All the Epcot World Showcase Pavilions

Now, the dreaded World Showcase part in my Land Ranking Series. This is the most difficult to rank. This list is definitely not definite. What's your favorite pavilion? 11. American Adventure As the focal point of the World Showcase, the American Adventure pavilion is gigantic. Not only does it have an animatronic show, restaurant, gift shop, and cute outdoor seating area, but it also contains an amphitheater, which hosts the Candlelight Processional every year, among other musical shows. This pavilion was clearly designed to be the greatest in the World (Showcase). But it automatically goes to the bottom of my list because as an American...I've already seen it. I love me a good funnel cake stand but every single county fair across the nation has one, too. The World Showcase is all about exploring other cultures, and the American Adventure is all too familiar to me.  10. Norway I gotta be honest...Norway just doesn't do it for me. I know lots of other bloggers adore this pa

My Former Misconceptions About Walt Disney World

Nobody is just born automatically knowing everything and anything about Walt Disney World. Are you confused about the differences between the Walt Disney World parks? Or Disneyland vs. Walt Disney World? What about which parks are skips or must dos? How big is Walt Disney World, anyway?  I myself didn’t visit the park until adulthood. And even though I did piles of research beforehand, there was still much I learned during my first trip. Here are five misconceptions about Walt Disney World I previously had:   1. Disneyland and Walt Disney World are the same thing One of my earliest memories is sitting around the TV at daycare, watching morning cartoons with the other kids. Suddenly, a Disney park commercial came on. We all started excitedly yelling "I wanna go to Disneyland!" One kid brought up Disney World. "What's the difference?" we asked. One kid said with the air of authority that only a 4-year-old could have "Disneyland is inside of Disney World"

My Ranking of All the Epcot Future World Neighborhoods

  As I continue my "Ranking of the Lands" series,  I need to approach Epcot a bit differently. Historically, Epcot has been broken up into two sections: Future World and the World Showcase.  Ranking the World Showcase Pavilions deserves its own post, as there's just too many of them.  But breaking up Future World into "lands" is tricky. Recently, Epcot has divided Future World into three different "neighborhoods" (why they wouldn't just continue the tradition of calling them "lands" is beyond me): World Nature, World Discovery, and World Celebration. Alright. Well, for the sake of simplicity, let's just rank these three Future World neighborhoods for now before going on to the much more overwhelming World Showcase.  (Just kidding. Ranking anything in Epcot is difficult because Epcot is awesome).  3. World Celebration As the entrance to the park, World Celebration sets the tone for your day at Epcot. And I must say, it looks so much be

Walt Disney World Without Genie+

Last year, Disney introduced its new Genie+ system. Basically, Genie+ is the replacement for FastPass, except you have to pay to use it now. The FastPass system has been a staple in many Disney trips for 20 years. I myself was a huge advocate. But doing Disney without Genie+ or Lighting Lane is totally possible. Many people have reported on forums that Genie+ is definitely a bonus and not at all a requirement. Here are some tips for a Walt Disney World vacation WITHOUT Genie+: Check Wait Times Walt Disney World's app is a must for every trip. On the app, you can check wait times for every attraction across the resort. You many want to download the app a few weeks before your trip and take note of the wait times throughout the days leading up to your visit to get an idea of when the parks are the most crowded.  Some rides like The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train will have a permanent hour-long wait no matter what.  Some rides like Splash Mountain (Tiana's Version) hit their peak during