A Disney Lover’s Guide to Holiday World
My name is Alli and I am a Disney Fanatic.
I go multiple times a year to Disney World and we do at least one week-long trip as a family each year.
We love the rides. We love the food. We love the entertainment.
That being said, it isn’t always feasible to fly down to Florida to visit my buddy Mickey in a spur-of-the-moment decision.
Finding the Disney in Holiday World
So the best place for my family to get our theme park fix is Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari.
From the start of the day to the finish, I can find ways to experience some of my favorite Disney activities right at Holiday World.
The first theme park rush I get when I’m at Disney World is “rope dropping.” That’s when you get to a theme park as soon as it opens and making it as far into the park as you can before you are blocked by a rope. Once official “park open” happens, the rope “drops” and you can proceed straight to your favorite ride.
The benefit to this is likely experiencing a very low wait time for a ride, relative to what it would be later in the day. In the spirit of the holidays, imagine rope dropping as a Black Friday rush to your favorite ride, right when the park opens! Not only is it exciting, but it is a great way to get a ride done that may typically have an hour or more wait.
Character Meet & Greets
My son’s favorite thing to do at Disney World is meet the characters!
At Disney, we’ve waited literally hours to meet my son’s favorite characters, Woody and Buzz Lightyear.
Two times this year we walked into the park and were able to immediately meet all four Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari mascots. Whet it’s Holidog, George the Eagle, Kitty Claws, or my son’s personal favorite, Safari Sam. Both times we had very little, if any wait to see them!
Moving Between Parks
At Disney you usually pay extra for the Park Hopping option. This allows you to leave one theme park and go to another later in the day.
It involves leaving one park, getting some form of transportation, and going to the next park, going through security and park ticketing again.
One thing we LOVE about Holiday World is that we can “park hop” at no additional cost by simply walking into Splashin’ Safari. Once we are done at the water park, we can seamlessly go back to Holiday World.
It’s a Park Hopper’s dream!
Food & Snacks
My husband’s favorite thing at Disney is the snacks and treats.
His favorite treat at Disney is located in Adventure Land and is a Pineapple Dole Whip!
He was so happy to see that the same treat is available in the 4th of July area, by the outdoor theater, at Holiday World! It’s a fun, refreshing treat, and a nice way to beat the heat!
Entertainment
To end our evenings as Disney World, we gather by the castle and prepare for the fireworks.
At Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari, they have a similar party going on for Holidays in the Sky Drone & Fireworks Spectacular.
Just like Disney World, this show celebrates all the theming enjoyed throughout the day at the park and is the perfect nightcap to a great day.
I love my trips to Disney World, but it is so great to have a theme park so close to home that provides great entertainment and enjoyment to my family.
