Travel Diary: Hollywood Studios, Epcot, and Magic Kingdom for Disney's 50th Anniversary and Halloween

As someone who once dreamed about being a Belle or Snow White face character at Disney's Magic Kingdom, it's probably no surprise that I'm an adult who still loves visiting theme parks.

I was lucky to have grandparents who lived in Celebration, Florida (a community actually originally developed by Disney!) and to have lived in South Florida myself for a few years -- both of which meant that I was able to visit the theme parks multiple times.

However, I hadn't been back to Orlando since 2016 (when one of my best friends had her bachelorette at MK and Universal!). So when my family planned a visit to Orlando over Halloween weekend 2021, I jumped at the chance to go.

tips and advice:

  • Orlando offers plenty of options for theme parks! Here's a breakdown of the most well-known:
    • Walt Disney World: 
      • Theme parks: Magic Kingdom; Epcot; Hollywood Studios; and Animal Kingdom
      • Water parks: Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach
    • Universal Orlando: 
      • Theme parks: Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure
  • When I'm planning a trip to Orlando, I always choose Magic Kingdom -- which means I hadn't been to Hollywood Studios since I was a child, and I honestly can't remember if I'd ever visited Epcot. My husband and I were initially just going to do MK and HS but decided to do Park Hopper at the last second in order to add Epcot, and I'm very glad we did: My husband says he's "not really a theme park person" (I know :-( I'm still trying to process that), but Epcot was definitely more his style, from the food and drinks to the space exhibits. (With Park Hopper, you can visit a second park beginning after 2pm.)
  • Universal Orlando contains the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which is split between Diagon Alley at Universal Studios and Hogsmeade at Islands of Adventure. You do have to purchase 2 park tickets in order to visit both, and the Hogwarts Express connects the two areas. As a Harry Potter fan, I wanted to visit this park, but the cost of our trip was adding up, so we (sadly) decided not to.
  • Before our trip, I read that college students in Florida sometimes drink at Epcot on Fridays and Saturdays since they can purchase more affordable passes as Florida residents and there are often fun festivals taking place. Something worth considering when you're planning your park days!
  • You can bring your own food and drinks! My sister brought snacks for my 7- and 5-year-old niblings, and I wish I'd brought a bar or something in my fanny pack.
    • However, be sure to read the bag policy at the park. For example, Disney prohibits bags, backpacks, and coolers that are larger than 24" long x 15" wide x 18" high. (And use reusable ice bags if you bring a cooler, since loose ice isn't allowed.)
  • While selfie sticks are prohibited, tripods are allowed (as long as they don't exceed 6'). I brought a tripod/selfie stick (affiliate link) that I only used as a tripod, which worked great!
  • We stayed at an Airbnb approximately 15 minutes from the parks. My husband and I didn't join for the parks the first two days, so we were able to drop off my family -- saving them from the hassle of dealing with parking! We dropped them off at the Contemporary Resort on the MK day and at the Uber/Lyft drop-off area at Epcot.
    • FYI, there is a parking lot at the Contemporary Resort that does not have the guard gate. (The guard let us through on Wednesday but not on Sunday, which is when we realized there was a parking lot entrance a few feet away where we could pull in and drop people off.) And it's 500 yards from the MK entrance!
    • When we were leaving MK around 9pm on Sunday, an earlier issue with the Monorail had caused a backlog of people waiting. So we walked to the Contemporary instead and boarded the Monorail in the hotel, after some people got off. This saved us a lot of time and stress with 2 tired little kids!
  • While at HS on Saturday (and then Epcot), my husband and I split up from our group a few times to take advantage of the single rider line, since we were okay with riding separately and waiting for the second person if it meant getting through lines faster. This enabled us to hit several rides within 30 minutes, rather than waiting 30+ minutes to ride one ride together. And since the seats would have been empty anyway, we didn't feel as though we slowed down the rides by doing this.
    • If you have little ones who don't meet the height requirement, Disney's Rider Switch service allows an adult to wait with the child(ren) while the rest of the group goes on the ride and then ride by themselves without waiting in line again. So ask the greeting cast member at the ride about it!
  • My family didn't pay for Genie+ on Wednesday (when the crowd was rated 2), but we opted to do it on Sunday (when the crowd was rated 5). It definitely seemed worth it if the crowd rating is 5 or higher! We were able to run through the line for 4 or 5 rides. (My sister recommended Touring Plans for a crowd estimate, which independently guesses what the crowd will be like based on certain factors.)
  • The best ways to get an early start at Magic Kingdom are to stay at a Disney resort (as of 10/1/2021, resort guests are allowed to enter the park early); book a breakfast at a restaurant inside the park before it opens; or arrive early enough to be outside your desired attraction when it opens (the "rope drop"). I usually don't spend a lot of time on Main Street, so I wanted to arrive early and explore Main Street with smaller crowds and without stressing that my time would be better spent in line for rides, but unfortunately we got a later start than I'd planned.
  • When we were there, the fireworks (and projection!) show started at 8pm, so my mom and younger sister left at 6:30pm to grab a good viewing spot. By that time, people were already staking out the best spots! We wanted a spot on one of the railings parallel to Cinderella Castle (so that no one would be immediately in front of us), but they were all taken, so they grabbed spots near other railings.
    • If you're outside the park for the fireworks show, the Undercover Tourist recommends the California Grill balcony in the Contemporary Resort or the beach at Polynesian Village.
  • We rode Snow White's Seven Dwarfs Mine Train immediately after the fireworks show ended (the line took us under 15 minutes), and I think it was the best roller coaster of the day.
  • There is free Wifi in the parks, but it can be pretty slow because so many people are accessing it.
  • Adults are normally not allowed to wear costumes at Magic Kingdom (I think so as not to confuse the kids) -- BUT they're allowed on Halloween! I didn't realize this in time or else I would have dressed as a Disney princess FOR SURE.
  • It sounds obvious, but make sure your shoes are comfortable! We walked more than 20K steps both days, and you'll stand in many lines. Some people in my group bought new and more comfortable shoes after the first day!
  • FYI, if the park is offering after-hour access while you're there, be sure to check what time you can enter the park -- while the Halloween After Hours Boo Bash technically didn't start until 9pm, guests with tickets could enter the park starting at 7pm -- and you'll definitely want to maximize your time for the cost of those tickets!

    Note: This post contains affiliate links. That means that if you make a purchase after clicking on a link, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

    itinerary:

    • At the time of our visit, parks were limiting capacity and the Disney Park Pass System required reservations in order to access the parks. Click here for more details.
    • I visited Orlando with my husband; my parents; my older sister, brother-in-law, and 7-year-old niece and 5-year-old nephew; my older brother and his fiancée; and my younger sister -- so there were 11 of us total.
    • The rest of my family visited Magic Kingdom on Wednesday and Epcot on Thursday, with a rest day on Friday, and then my husband and I joined them for Hollywood Studios (and Epcot) on Saturday and Magic Kingdom (again) on Sunday. The kiddos made it from 7am wake-ups until 9pm every night!
      • I'm not sure who appreciated Friday's rest day more -- the adults in my family or my niblings!
    • We left Hollywood Studios on Saturday around 5:30pm and took the gondola to Epcot, where we stayed until after the fireworks show around 8pm.
    • We visited Disney Springs on Wednesday and Thursday nights, where we walked around, shopped, ate, and people-watched. We parked in the Orange lot and thought it was very conveniently located.
    • The weather was nearly perfect at the end of October! There were a few times it was cold in the shade or hot in the sun if no wind was blowing, but I was mostly comfortable in what I wore. (I did steal my dad's long-sleeved shirt one night, and my niblings wore light jackets early in the morning and at night.)

    photo diary:

    We got to Hollywood Studios at 8:30am, 30 minutes before official park opening at 9am.

    Once the park officially opened, we immediately ran to the Rise of the Resistance ride -- we were in line by 9:10am. I think our wait was no more than 30 minutes -- but by the time we exited the ride, the wait had jumped to 90 minutes.


    Sunglasses: Illesteva (affiliate link) | Shirt: Etsy (affiliate link) | Fanny pack: Walmart (affiliate link, also available at Amazon) | Shorts: BLANK NYC | Shoes: Adidas (affiliate link) | Scrunchie: Amazon (affiliate link)

    And my husband says he's not a theme park person... Just look at that smile!

    One of my favorite photos from the trip. (And my niece is dressed as Rey!)

    While she refused to give up information to the First Order commanders on Rise of the Resistance, she immediately admitted to working with the Resistance when questioned by a stormtrooper.

    My nephew's shirt is of Baby Yoda (Grogu) and says "protects, attacks, take naps" haha!


    Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge was very well done, and we all agreed that Rise of the Resistance was our favorite ride of the weekend. However, my brother and his fiancée weren't entirely satisfied with Oga's Cantina -- so FYI be sure to check the menu because it's a bar, not a restaurant!




    My husband carried an iPhone charging battery in his pocket both days, even though it fit in my fanny pack (as did my tripod, chapstick, and mini sunscreen!).

    Proof that we visited more attractions in Hollywood Studios than just Galaxy's Edge.



    Made it to Epcot! We got engaged in Paris so anything France always makes us smile.

    Heading for France ;-)

    Dinner at Epcot -- we did the prix fixe menu at Chefs de France.

    I LOVE French food. Here's a photo of my escargot!

    We did single rider for several Epcot rides, too. Helped us hit several rides very quickly!

    My ears were hurting at this point, so I forced my husband to wear them... turning him into a Disney husband one day at a time!

    We're heeere!!!

    At Magic Kingdom on Sunday (Halloween)!
    Sunglasses: Illesteva (affiliate link) | Shirt: Etsy (affiliate link) | Shorts: BLANK NYC | Fanny pack: Walmart (affiliate link, also available at Amazon) | Shoes: AllBirds (affiliate link)






    I love Christmas so much, so obviously I needed a photo with this shop.

    Look at my Mickey Mouse-eared ice cream :-)



    Can you see my nephew peeking over the steering wheel of the white car? ;-)

    I wanted a photo with my nephew (he's my godson so the reason for my "Fairy Godmother" shirts!) in front of the castle but... this was the best we got, haha!

    With Princess Jasmine :-)



    I don't think I'd ever stayed for the fireworks show on any of my previous visits... but it was incredible!! I'm usually not one for fireworks, but this was so well-done. One of the highlights of the trip!






    where to eat and drink:

    • In the parks, we tended to snack at whatever restaurant happened to be closest to us when we got hungry, but the best restaurant we ate at at Magic Kingdom was Pecos Bill, in Frontierland.
    • We ate dinner Saturday night at Chefs de France and thought it was phenomenal. 
    • And we ate dinner in Disney Springs twice.
      • The Edison was a fantastic experience all around -- the food was delicious, there was live entertainment (three women singing contemporary music with a Roaring 20s twist), and the Halloween decorations were fantastic.
      • We also really enjoyed Frontera Cocina, and the outside area overlooks the water and offers a pretty view.
      • We wanted to try the Boathouse, but it was busy and we were too late trying to make a reservation.
    • If you can get a reservation at Be Our Guest in Magic Kingdom, I definitely would -- it's one of my regrets that we weren't able to snag a reservation.
    • If you want more recommendations, the Disney Tourist Blog has a post about the best outdoor dining at Disney World.

    what to do:

    This section seems fairly obvious for theme parks (go on rides! find face characters! etc), so I'll just list my favorite attractions.

    Hollywood Studios:

    Magic Kingdom:
    Epcot:
    Slinky Dog Dash (HS roller coaster) and Remy's Ratatouille Adventure (Epcot) were highly recommended, and my family loved the Monsters, Inc Laugh Floor at MK.

    links I used or recommend:

    There are many Disney sites out there, but here are a few:

    All in all, it was an incredible weekend. While I'll always love Magic Kingdom, it was great to visit Hollywood Studios again (one of my earliest memories of a theme park was riding the Tower of Terror several times in a row), and I didn't realize how much fun Epcot could be! And it was awesome being at the parks over Halloween weekend -- I loved seeing all the kiddos in their costumes! I definitely want to go for Halloween again someday so I can dress as a princess and pretend I got to live out my dream of being Belle or Snow White (even though I can't sing or dance). 

    My husband and I are driving to Florida for Christmas in December 2021, so I'm hoping we'll be able to stop in Orlando to visit Harry Potter (my husband has never been) and the Disney parks over Christmas. (I think I end every travel diary by saying I want to return in December for the holidays, but December is truly my favorite time of the year because everything is better with (fake) snow and evergreens and twinkle lights and tartan!)

    love from


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