Florida’s Walt Disney World: why the world's largest theme park is fun for adults - and worth the cost

That swathe of former Florida swamp land has been converted into four main parks - Magic Kingdom (the original hub of Disney World, opened in 1971 - think the big Magic Castle, Main Street), Hollywood Studios, EPCOT (Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow - self-styled as a ‘permanent World’s Fair - you may know it notionally as the giant golf ball building), and Animal Kingdom. These four main parks only account for 1000 acres of the Disney World footprint. The rest? 31 official hotels, of differing levels of luxury (and price), 2 water parks, an entertainment hub called Disney Springs, a monorail, and a network of roads. 

It is, as I said, big. 

Unmanageable? I don’t think so, if you’re judicious and exercise a little forward planning. The individual parks within the resort are easy enough to schlepp around on foot, and the monorail that joins them is frequent, clean and easy to catch. Though talking about logistics as an opening salvo for discussing the House of Mouse feels contrary to the spirit of the place. This is a monument to fun, to imagination. So is it fun? Or does the relentless cheer of the employees and pronouncements on how magic everything is start to grate? Reader: I had a blast.

Disney: more than a child's paradise?

Most children, from toddler-sized up, are easily catered for at Disney World. Spinning teacups, Mickey Mouse, dozens of brightly coloured, iconic princesses and heroes walking the avenues, delightful rides that will enthral (they also have multiple contingencies to help children on the Autism spectrum or those with cognitive disabilities, including break areas for the over stimulated and disabled entrance to rides). But what can adults get out of it?   

Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge: better than your imagination

The park is a waking dreamland for a certain kind of film-goer: as an avid lover of sci-fi and science fantasy, I found myself holding back tears on multiple occasions. The Star Wars themed area of the park (Star Wars: Galaxy Edge in Hollywood Studios) was a million childhood play sessions bought to better-than-my-imagination life: look, there’s a landspeeder, oo, a droid repair shop, oh, my god - is that - yes - the Millennium Falcon. The two feature rides - Rise of the Resistance and Smuggler’s Run - (in which you pilot the Millennium Falcon - be still my Han Solo adoring heart) are an ingenious mixture of simulators, videos, animatronics, all of which immerse you utterly in a Galaxy Far Far Away - at one point I literally screamed with delight, but I’m loath to reveal details so if you do go you can be similarly exhilarated. It was utterly joyous. 

Similarly I laughed like a loon for the entirety of their latest attraction Tron: Lightcycle Run, an indoor roller coaster in which you straddle the titular ‘lightcycle’ and careen through the fluorescently lit, futuristic landscape of the Tron universe while Daft Punk thumps on the soundtrack. At just under 90 seconds ride time, it’s a short ride but a thrilling one. (It behoves me to add that a companion said the seats - in which you are hunched over your lightcycle and strapped in from behind - felt like a breast screening, so the more generously endowed lady passenger should be fore-warned).