If you’re planning a Disney World vacation, you’re probably on the step where you need to actually plan each day.
What park are you going to? How are you going to get there? The typical logistics. If you’re on that step, or you’re just a curious person like me, you’re probably wondering: How big is Disney World?
It is obvious to everyone, even the people who aren’t deep in the weeds of planning a trip, that Disney World is bigger than Disneyland. But the comparison between the two is staggering.
I said it in my Disney World vs. Disneyland comparison article, think of it this way: Disneyland is a theme park inside a city. Walt Disney World is a city.
How big is Disney World?
Walt Disney World is the biggest park in the world, but that is because WDW refers to the entire place. That is all of the parks, the resorts and Disney Springs.
This means Disney World covers 27,520 acres of land in Orlando, which equals about 43 square miles. That is the size of Paris and almost twice the size of the city of Manhattan.
Now, to be clear, one single park is not that big. Walt Disney World isn’t like Disneyland. It isn’t just one park, there are many parks and other elements that make up Disney World.
That 40+ mile radius includes over 25 Walt Disney World resort hotels, four theme parks, two water parks and an entertainment district. Plus, the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
On top of the actual theme parks, each park has a massive parking lot, there is the trusty Transportation and Ticket Center (aptly called the TTC), the Walt Disney World Monorail and the Skyliner. There’s even a bay and a lake inside WDW.
Disney’s official resorts take up a hefty chunk of that square footage. There are over 29,000 room offerings between all of the hotels. Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa is the largest official Disney World resort, while Disney’s Pop Century Resort has the most rooms.
Disney Springs, formerly known as Downtown Disney (but it was actually originally called Lake Buena Vista Shopping Village in 1975), also takes up about 120 acres. It all starts to add up!
There are even Disney homes that fall into this space. Disney Golden Oak, a realty property that has homes that offer “resort-style living defined by legendary Disney Service,” with homes currently available for around $7 million.
What is the largest Disney World theme park?
Now, you’re probably thinking that the biggest park at Disney World is Magic Kingdom, where Cinderella’s Castle is, with all of those classic Disney World rides. But you’d be wrong!
Animal Kingdom is the largest Walt Disney World theme park by a huge margin. In fact, Hollywood Studios and EPCOT are also bigger than Magic Kingdom.
The sizes of the Disney World theme parks are:
Magic Kingdom (142 aces)
EPCOT (305 acres)
Hollywood Studios (154 acres)
Animal Kingdom (580 acres)
Animal Kingdom has a large footprint due to the Kilimanjaro Safaris ride. The park has significant space that is required to create realistic and expansive habitats for its 5,000 animals. Did you know that Animal Kingdom is actually the world’s most-visited zoo? Disney World also has 7,500 acres set aside for conservation.
Since I mentioned Disneyland, you’re probably wondering how big that park is in comparison. Disneyland is roughly 500 acres; this includes just two theme parks, three hotels and one entertainment district.
Can you do all of Disney World in one day?
Based on the sheer size of Disney World, you might worry about whether or not you can do it all in one day. The short answer is technically, yes. But you’ll need to become a master of Disney park hopping to do so.
If you get a park hopper ticket, you can attend all four Disney World theme parks. Disney Springs is completely free to visit and is a great place to go for dining options that aren’t in the parks. Disney Springs is typically open later than any of the theme parks, too. If you want to squeeze in the water parks, you technically can do this for free if you’re staying at an official Disney World resort, as your check-in day gives you a free visit to either Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard Beach.
Staying at a Disney resort gives you complete access to Disney’s transportation, which is the only way you can truly park hop efficiently and enjoy yourself, because trying to drive & park at all four parks or Uber to them is a nightmare when you can just hop on a bus, boat, Skyliner or Monorail.
How many steps do you do in Disney?
The number of steps you do in a day at Disney World wildly varies depending on your itinerary and personality type. If you’re a “go with the flow” kind of person, you are probably not going to get over 20,000 steps. But you’re still going to do a lot!
It looks like the average step count per day is very wide, with people online saying they get anywhere from 5,000 steps to 30,000 steps when visiting Disney World.
My personal record was at Disneyland, not Disney World. I once did 48,000 steps in a day, but this was a day where I did a half-marathon, went to Disneyland and and ended my day in Disney’s California Adventure. Typically, in Disney World, I get between 20,000 and 30,000 steps per day (you can see my top steps in the photo above).
If you’re planning to walk around Disney World, you’ll want a good pair of shoes, like the HOKA Bondi 9. Personally, I recommend a few things for anyone planning to travel to Disney World, including:
The best sneakers to wear
A trusty pair of Crocs to change into mid-park day
The best socks to prevent blisters
A MagicBand+, if you’re staying on property
And 25+ other Disney World essentials you need to pack