Where To Take A Break In Walt Disney World

When the heat and crowds make you want to ROAR!

Disney World is great! It’s fun, it’s exciting, it’s magical! It can also be hot and crowded. Sometimes you just need a little break from the crowds and Florida sun. I’ve compiled a list of a few places in each park (Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, EPCOT and Hollywood Studios) to cool down, take a break and recharge during the day - All without even leaving the park!

Magic Kingdom - This park has some great sit down rides that can take a load off. Here are my favorite options when you need a break:

Carousel of Progress - Like the ride or not, it’s a great sit down, air conditioned break. Maybe you’ll even get stuck on it for a moment and you can rest your eyes. If you need an even longer break, pop over to my second choice right after (they are very close to each other)

Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover - Part of this ride is outside so not as AC blasting of a break as some others on this list, but it offers stunning views of Cinderella’s Castle, great people watching around Tomorrowland, you can check on the construction progress of Tron and possibly get to see inside Space Mountain with it’s lights on (I haven’t managed to catch this yet). This ride has a cult following and rightfully so.

Honorable Mentions for this park go to literally any dark ride (Small World, Peter Pan’s Flight), The Hall of Presidents - seriously take a nap in here, or one or more of the indoor shows - Country Bear Jamboree, Enchanted Tiki Room, Mickey’s PhilharMagic. There are plenty of places to tuck away out of the sun and just rest for 5-20 minutes. If you’re getting grouchy I don’t recommend picking anything with a long wait.

Animal Kingdom - This is my favorite park, but all the outdoor attractions and walking paths make it difficult to really cool off. There are plenty of walking trails with benches and places to sit, but if you’d like rest in some air conditioning here are my choices:

The Wildlife Express Train to Conservation Station - If you take the train out to Rafiki’s Planet Watch you can hang out in the Conservation Station building which is air conditioned. I recommend taking part in the Animation Experience for an extended sit down time there. Pet some goats and pigs over at the Affection Section before heading back to the main park on the train.

Na’avi River Journey - This slow moving boat ride is a soothing rest. Some call it boring, but I truly don’t need everything to be a thrill ride. This ride can have VERY long waits so I don’t recommend it just to take a rest, but if you were planning to ride or it has a low wait time, it’s a great option to rest on. It is dark with glow in the dark plant life and animal sounds, but nothing scary and no drops so littles should be just fine here.

Honorable Mentions for this park go to some dining spots that offer a good indoors option - If you can get a reservation at Yak and Yeti or Tiffins or get on the walk up list for Nomad Lounge, these are all fabulous sit down table service options for a longer lunch or rest at Animal Kingdom. If reservations are not available, I’d highly recommend Satu’li Canteen in Pandora. It has a great air conditioned seating area and the food has some of the best quick service options around. Additional options are the Festival of the Lion King stage show and opening back up June 13th a modified version of Finding Nemo: The Big Blue…and Beyond!

EPCOT - There is SO MUCH to see and do in EPCOT. I always underestimate how much time I need there. I honestly recommend splitting it into two days. World Showcase for one full day and another day for the rest. With that in mind my two choices are for the top option in each section. There are several honorable mentions as well.

Living With The Land - I remember finding this boring when I was younger. I now understand it’s essential place in the EPCOT landscape. Just stay in your seat and enjoy the ride.

Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros - Over in the Mexico pavilion is a great little ride that dare I say rivals It’s A Small World (don’t let my daughter hear me say that). Take in the sights of Mexico with some friendly feathered amigos on a gentle boat ride. Grab some chips and queso while you’re over there.

Honorable Mentions in World Showcase would be Frozen Ever After, though there is a backwards part and a bit of a drop in this ride, so not for everyone. Try Canada Far And Wide movie or catch Voices of Liberty over in the America pavilion instead. There is also a ton of indoor spots to shop and look at various art and exhibits at each country. Morocco also has a great out of the way spot toward the back of the pavilion to sit down. While not in air conditioning it is usually shady back there and maybe more important, fairly quiet.

In Future World (or whatever it will now be known as) Journey Into Imagination with Figment, Spaceship Earth (though I’m not a huge fan of the backwards part on this one) and SeaBase are great options. SeaBase isn’t exactly a sit down break, but you can just check out the Aquarium area in the air conditioning for a bit and hop on The Seas with Nemo and Friends if you really want a sit down ride (some dark parts and a little scary moment on this one that some littles might not like, but no drops or tilts).

Hollywood Studios - This park actually has a lot of indoor rides, so while I always feel like i’m in the cement desert over in Toy Story Land, the rest of the park doesn’t feel too bad. Shady outdoor areas by Echo Lake are a great spot to meet up and have a quick snack. My daughter loves the Disney Junior area over by their Dance Party and while Voyage of the Little Mermaid and Star Wars Launch Bay are closed it’s a pretty quiet outdoor corner to hang out in. However my indoor AC blasting favorites are:

For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration - It’s actually VERY funny for adults and your favorite Frozen fan will adore it. My son who was very much Elsa’d out from his sister even had a great time. An icy good time!

Muppet Vision 3D - I’m an enormous Muppets fan but even if you’re not this is a fun sit down 3D movie with some fun extras. It rarely has a long wait and is nice and cool inside. Take a load off and have some laughs.

Honorable Mentions would be to snag a reservation at the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant where you dine in tables made to look like old cars and watch clips of Sci-Fi movies while you eat. The food is okay but the atmosphere is top notch. Any kiddos that don’t like the dark might find some parts a little spooky - but it’s nothing scary more Mystery Science Theater 3000 goofy Sci-Fi than anything else. Another kid friendly option would be Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy. The bench style seating is not my favorite, but it is a good break. The standby wait is never too bad and if you have a big Cars fan they will LOVE it!


NOTE: If you are traveling with small children and/or babies that need feeding and diapering options, I highly recommend taking breaks in the Baby Care Centers located in each park. I will highlight their amenities in a later blog post.