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| Even under construction and on a cloudy day it's still the place where dreams come true. |
We have only been visiting Walt Disney World since 2015, and are just beginning to scratch the surface of all the amazing things to see and do there. Early promotional materials loved describing how the Disney property in Florida was "twice the size of Manhattan".When they layed out Walt Disney World they placed the Magic Kingdom theme park at the top of the property farthest from the entrance to the resort to act as a draw that would pull folks through the rest of the property. If you have only been to Disneyland in California it is probably hard to wrap your head around how enormous the Walt Disney World Resort is. It is made up of 4 theme parks, 2 water parks, several hotels, several golf courses, 2 miniature golf courses, a sports recreation area, and an expansive waterside shopping center.
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| "We'll put the theme park in the top corner...that way they have to go through the rest of it to get to it!" |
Walt Disney World is organized around 5 "Resort Areas", these are the collections of hotels grouped together around a major destination. So the farthest north resort area is the "Magic Kingdom Resort Area". Moving south through the property you will encounter the "EPCOT Resort Area" & the "Disney Springs Resort Area". The 2 southern most resort areas are the "Animal Kingdom Resort Area" and the "Wide World of Sports Resort Area". Lakes are such a big part of the charm of Walt Disney World and many of the resorts are built around bodies of water. This essay will cover the Magic Kingdom & EPCOT Resort Areas.
Magic Kingdom Resort Area
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| Welcome to the Magic Kingdom |
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| Magic Kingdom Theme Park on the shore of Seven Seas Lagoon |
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| Arriving at the Magic Kingdom dock via ferry boat |
At the heart of this resort area is the Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake which are linked via a water bridge. The Magic Kingdom theme park is on the shore of Seven Seas Lagoon which is also flanked by the the Grand Floridian Resort, the Polynesian Village Resort and the Contemporary Resort.
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| The Victorian seaside splendor of Disney's Grand Floridian Resort |
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| Escape to the mid-century tiki paradise of the Polynesian Village Resort |
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| The future is always today at the Contemporary Resort where monorails pass through the Grand Canyon Concourse |
Next to the Polynesian Village Resort is the Transportation & Ticket Center where you can board a ferry to the Magic Kingdom or take monorails to the Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, or the hotels around the lagoon. The main parking lot is at the Transportation & Ticket Center. Behind the Grand Floridian is Shades of Green Armed Services Resort and adjacent to that are some of the Walt Disney World Golf Courses. The Contemporary Resort sits in between the Seven Seas Lagoon and the Bay Lake at the water bridge that connects them. Also on the shore of Bay Lake is the Wilderness Lodge Resort and the Fort Wilderness Campground.
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| Sometimes it gets really cold in Florida! |
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| Catch a monorail from the Transportation & Ticket Center |
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| Ferryboat dock of the Transportation & Ticket Center |
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| Take a monorail from the Transportation & Ticket Center to the Polynesian Village & Grand Floridian Resorts beyond |
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| Across the Seven Seas Lagoon from the Magic Kingdom you can see the Ferryboat dock of the Transportation & Ticket Center, the Polynesian Village & Grand Floridian Resorts |
The Resort Areas are connected by roadway open to vehicles and by "Disney Transportation", a fleet of busses, boats, and monorails. All resorts have complimentary bus service, some resorts have boat and/or monorail service.
EPCOT Resort Area
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| Welcome to EPCOT |
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| Monorails to and from EPCOT |
EPCOT theme park is the center of this resort area. It is connected to the Magic Kingdom Resort Area by monorail service and to all other resort areas by roadway. Directly adjacent to EPCOT's second entrance is "Crescent Lake", a body of water that links EPCOT and Disney's Hollywood Studios Theme Park.
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| Disney's Boardwalk Inn on Crescent Lake next to EPCOT |
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| Disney's Boardwalk Inn |
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| Dolphin Hotel beyond |
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| Disney's Yacht & Beach Club across Crescent Lake from the Boardwalk Inn next to EPCOT |
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| Disney's Beach Club Resort |
The lake is flanked by several hotels: Disney's Yacht & Beach Club Resort, Disney's Boardwalk Inn Resort, and The Swan & Dolphin Hotels. The Crescent Lake hotels have boat service between each other and to EPCOT & Hollywood Studios. Behind EPCOT and connected to the resort area by roadway is Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort. Caribbean Resort is contained in it's own area around it's own lake, soon an aerial tramway system will be connecting the Caribbean Beach Resort to EPCOT directly.
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| A twilight walk at Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort |
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| Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort |
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| Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort |
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