Disney World is truly one of the happiest places on earth for me and this last trip was even more magical than usual!
The reason why is because it was my 30th birthday (a great big hug to you if you wished me a happy belated birthday!) and it was just me and my mom.
This was my 8th trip to Disney World and I’ve got so many wonderful photos as memories.
What I love about these photos is that there aren’t throngs of people in view. Sometimes I was even able to capture just my mom with no else around because of the secret spots we were able to find!
We’ve scoped out these spots over the years and today I’m sharing photos from my absolute favourites. Be sure to scroll to the end because I’ve been working on a special project and when it’s complete, I’ll be sharing a magical offer with a special few of you.
See what I did there? Magical Offer!
So cheesy..
Oh man, I’m on a roll. Let’s just move on shall we?
TOP 20 PHOTO SPOTS IN DISNEY WORLD
Some of these photos are really great perspectives that are a little more unique than what you usually see for Disney pictures. Others are photos that have been taken with no one in them at all.
All the more memorable to add to your wonderful Disney photo album at the end of the day!
Alright, let’s dive in and start with the trickiest of the bunch to be able to capture those moments with no one in them at all!
MAGIC KINGDOM
Oh man, yes this park is the most magical, but if you’ve ever been to Magic Kingdom, you know that it feels like this all the time:
Don’t worry, that wasn’t an example of a secret photo spot… That’s just a representation of the sea of people you can expect to surround you.
If you make your way over to the right spot though, you can capture a moment like this:
1 // CINDERELLA CASTLE
This spot is most spectacular in the evening when you can catch the colors from the sunset. What I love most about photographing Cinderella Castle in the evening is that Disney lights it up! See the beautiful pinks on the castle? I just love how it looks with the blues and purples in the sky.
2 // TOM SAWYER ISLAND
We really lucked out with this one! It was right after a short thunderstorm while the sun was setting in the distance.
This water wheel is always a favourite for me to capture no matter the time of day because of the reflection in the water.
This time I framed it with some greenery in the foreground and when I look at it, it just pulls me into the photo even more!
3 // ARIEL’S CASTLE
I love love love this photo so much! The contrasting reds and greens just make me so happy!
Plus, with the rollercoaster tracks in the foreground, you’re often treated to seeing giant smiles on the little (and big) kids as they fly through on the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.
Who am I kidding, I was gripping on for dear life the first time I rode this ride! I’m sure the family who bought the photo that had me in it from this rollercoaster ride had a good laugh at the expression on my face.
4 // THUNDER MOUNTAIN RAILROAD
Up until this trip, I haven’t been able to capture a photo that I was happy with from Thunder Mountain. This one changed all that!
I love how you can even see the rollercoaster train heading into the tunnel. Fun Fact – this was the first rollercoaster I ever went on. I was 12 and I screamed my lungs out. I know because my mom and dad have it on camera.
My screams mixed with their laughs make for a pretty funny memory I have to say!
5 // BEAST’S ENCHANTED CASTLE
Super ominous and moody, am I right? This is another shot that we took just after the storm.
I sure love this castle though! The right angle was a little tricky to find but I was sure happy when we came across this spot!
Alright, that covers my favourite spots from Magic Kingdom.
Onto the next park, which just happens to be my new favourite thanks to Pandora, the new World of Avatar!
ANIMAL KINGDOM
Animal Kingdom is an awesome park to visit on the second day in Disney World because it’s so big that it doesn’t feel nearly as crowded as Magic Kingdom. It’s almost as if it gives you a moment to catch your breath again after the craziness of Magic Kingdom.
Plus, now it has the most incredible sight I’ve ever seen at Disney:
6// FLOATING HALLELUJAH MOUNTAINS OF PANDORA
How is this even real!?! Well it’s not real I guess. But when you’re there, it sure feels real!
We walked Pandora for about half the day. Good thing we had two days in Animal Kingdom.
Honestly, between the sights and sounds, never mind the amazing food and rides, we just couldn’t get enough!
Out of all the places in Animal Kingdom, this was by far the most crowded, but we were able to find a few special spots to make it feel like we had the place all to ourselves!
7// TREE OF LIFE
A bit more tricky to find but totally work the hunt is this spot right here! What I love about it is the detail that you can see in the tree of life. If you can believe it, there’s over 300 animals carved into this massive 145 foot tall tree! This is the shot you usually see of it though:
The reason why, is because it’s the first of the tree that you see in the park. But it’s so much better from the back!
8// ASIA
Okay, I have a confession… I have two favourite spots to shoot Expedition Everest from. Expedition Everest is the mountain you see in the background and it’s my absolute favourite rollercoaster!
This spot is located in the Asia section of the park. There’s usually a Disney Photographer nearby but that spot isn’t as awesome as this one I find… Yes, Disney has something called Photopass and it’s where Disney Photographers take photos of you and your family so you can actually be in the shot! You have to pay extra for the photos of course but sometimes if you ask nicely the lovely Disney folk will take a picture with your camera instead.
9// EXPEDITION EVEREST
This is my other favourite perspective of Expedition Everest and I love this shot for a couple of reasons. One, because the boat leads your eye to the magnificent mountain in the distance. Two, because you can faintly see the rollercoaster heading up the tracks in the distance and my excitement to get on that ride again just makes me smile!
It’s such a great ride and the Yeti gets me every time!
10// GORILLA FOREST
There are so many magnificent creatures in Disney’s Animal Kingdom and my favourite has to be the gorillas. Disney’s conservation program is amazingly extensive and if you’re curious, there’s some details on it here.
In Animal Kingdom there is a Gorilla Falls Exploration trail that is not to be missed, but you can’t see this side with the beautiful waterfall from the trail. This was actually taken just after getting off one the rides in a little corner just off the beaten path!
This brings us to the end of some of my favourite Animal Kingdom photo op spots. Next up, my mom’s favourite park!
EPCOT
If you’ve never been to Disney World before, give yourself at least two days to spend at EPCOT. It’s a mix of both futuristic technologies and an integration of cultures from around the world and it’s huge!
EPCOT features 11 countries from around the world and each country’s pavilion has enough food, shopping and entertainment to keep you busy for days! Here’s a little taste of what you can expect to see:
11// FRANCE
Yup, that’s my lovely mother in the photo.
You can’t help but be enamoured with the sheer beauty of the France Pavilion. From the Parisian music they have playing in the background to the delicious scents coming from Les Chefs de France restaurant, you just want to spend a few moments taking it all in!
I think September has to be one of my favourite times to go. The timing that we hit with all the beautiful sunsets was just perfect. Plus, the crowds weren’t too bad for what we’re typically used to either!
12// NORWAY
Normally, a view like this is just filled with people, but because we went at the right time of day, there was just no one there!
Because of the lack of crowds, I was able to step back and use the leaves to frame the scene. What I also love about this photo is how the curved walkway leads your eye to the entrance of this Norwegian themed piece of architecture.
13// ITALY
To make this trip even more magical, we saw a rainbow over my favourite pavilion in EPCOT. For this photo, we stood in just the right spot on the bridge leading from the UK Pavilion to France.
14// MOROCCO
The Morocco Pavilion is so stunningly beautiful from the front that it seems not many people venture into the back. If you do however, you’ll get a view like this!
Oh, and you’ll get to meet Aladdin too. But that’s not Aladdin, that’s my mom again!
15// EPCOT BALL
The story of this photo is similar to the Animal Kingdom Tree of Life where if you just go to the back of the ball, you’ll get an awesome view like this instead of seeing thousands of people in your shot.
By the way, the Food and Wine Festival is amazing! So many delicious treats to sample that it could also be a full day event in itself!
This brings us to our final Disney World park. It used to be my favourite park, but now it’s full of Star Wars themed parades and shows is okay but I miss the animation side this park used to have.
But, it still has my favourite fireworks show… Fantasmic! And it almost brings me to tears it’s so good!
HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS
This park is now filled with a Star Wars theme. Plus, coming in 2019, there will be a whole Star Wars land expansion. I’m still getting used to the new look of this park but it has some of my favourite rides all the same… like number 16 on our list:
16// TOWER OF TERROR
This perspective is a little tricky to get because of the location you have to be standing in but I just love the view!
Plus, this time was the best sequence of drops I’ve ever experienced on the Tower of Terror! Such a thrill! In case you’re wondering, the drop sequence for each elevator changes at random so if you ride it a few times, it could be different every time. Amazing right?!
17// SLINKY DOG
This was my first time experiencing the new Slinky Dog rollercoaster and it was adorable! If you go on this ride, do it in the dark because it adds such an incredible dimension to the ride!
For this photo, I set my camera up in a bit of a precarious spot but it allowed me to take a long exposure so you can see the Slinky Dog car zooming through the scene!
18// MARCH OF THE FIRST ORDER
Okay, I know I said I wasn’t a big Star Wars fan but I thought this shot was super tasty. I just loved the repetition of the masks with a shallow depth of field.
To get this shot I had to stand just in the right spot because they only line up for a few moments before marching back to the park entrance.
19// TOY STORY LAND
This new land is so amazing! You literally feel like the size of a toy… nuff said.
To get this shot, all you have to do is look up! You won’t be able to help but smile.
This brings us to the last photo in our top 20. Remember when I said Fantasmic is so good I almost cry? Well this one just tops it all off for me:
20// FANTASIA TOPIARY
Hollywood Studios is usually the last park we visit on our trip because it’s so amazing to finish off an awesome vacation with the show Fantasmic.
As you’re walking out of the park for the last time and heading to the Disney busses or parking lot, keep an eye out for the Fantasia topiary. It looks awesome at night because how they’ve lit it up too!
There we have it friends! My top 20 photo spots in Disney World! I love how many of these don’t even have anyone in them at all so when I add these to my Disney photo album, I’ll just remember it as if I had the park all to myself!
Oh and I can’t forget your magical offer!
THE MAGICAL OFFER!
Disney World is such an incredible place with so much to see. It can be tricky to get it all in one trip but if you know where to go, you’re golden!
Now that my family and I have been there multiple times, we’ve now got our favourite spots. Some of which you can see from the photos above, but it takes time to find all these spots.
I think we probably missed about 50% of what there was to see on our first trip because we simply didn’t know how massive this park was!
So, I’m putting together an eBook of the Top 100 Disney World Photo Op Locations to help others get the most magical memories out of their trip too!
Here’s what the eBook will include:
- X marks the spot – maps outlining where exactly to go to get that perfect shot!
- Camera tips – whether you’re bringing a point and shoot or DSLR camera (yes, we’ve seen people carry their DSLRs around the park), we’re sharing our best camera tips to help you get the most out of each shot and make sure you can capture those candid moments as they fly by!
- Timing it right – sometimes areas of the park are little more empty at certain times of day. We’re sharing our secret of which parks to visit at certain times of day so you can get virtually no one in your photos too!
And the best part?
You can sign up today to be notified as soon as the eBook becomes live and if you’re one of the first 100 people to do so, you’ll receive a 70% discount on the Top 100 Disney World Photo Op Locations eBook!
Between all the years of Disney vacations that my family has taken, I’ve carefully curated our top 100 favourite spots and cannot wait to share these secrets with you!
If you sign up above, here’s what you can expect to see from us:
- Monthly updates letting you know what photo number we’re on.
- Plus, you might even see a couple of sample pages fully of magical Disney Photo Op Location info!
- Of course you’ll be the first to be notified when this eBook becomes live and if you were one of the first 100 to sign up, you’ll receive a 70% discount!
- We Disney pinky swear that we won’t send you spam and just to put your mind at ease, we never share our subscribers personal information with any 3rd parties.
Thanks so much for reading guys. Have a wonderful rest of your day!
Carmen
Thanks for give me a part of your talent!
Claire
My pleasure!