If you’re looking for the best Disney World non ride experiences then you’ve come to the right place! Whether you don’t enjoy rides, can’t experience them for medical reasons, or they just aren’t your thing, you don’t need to worry! There are still tons of experiences for you at Disney World.
We’ve seen all the shows, experienced the nighttime spectaculars, and eaten at some of the best places, and we know these are great ways to pass the time at Disney – especially when you don’t have to wait in lines! So keep reading and take notes for some of the best Disney World non ride experiences!
Disney World has tons of unique experiences that are perfect for those who don’t plan on riding anything while there. You don’t need to feel excluded from the fun because you cannot, or do not, ride any kind ride. There’s no shortage of fun, Disney-themed things to do if you don’t plan on getting on any rides. Here are our favorites:
Enjoy Live Shows and Entertainment
Disney World has tons of entertainment, from live music around the parks to Broadway quality shows. Each park offers unique shows and entertainment, and watching these are a great way to enjoy Disney – and to get a little air conditioning sometimes! These are all the shows, and if you want to know our favorites, check out the best shows at Disney World article.
Magic Kingdom Shows
- Country Bear Musical Jamboree
- Mickey’s PhilharMagic
- Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress
- Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room
EPCOT Shows
- The American Adventure
- Awesome Planet
- Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along
- Canada Far and Wide in Circle Vision 360
- Disney and Pixar Short Film Festival
- Impressions de France
- Reflections of China
Animal Kingdom Shows
- Feathered Friends in Flight
- Festival of the Lion King
- Finding Nemo: The Big Blue…and Beyond!
Hollywood Studios Shows
- Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage
- For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration
- Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular
Meet Characters
There are lots of characters to meet at Disney World, and getting photos and autographs with them are always fun! Character interactions can make your day, and it’s one of the best Disney World non ride experiences. I definitely recommend meeting Mickey at every park – especially since he’s in different outfits at each one – as well as meeting park-specific characters.
If you have lovers of the princesses in your group, then EPCOT is a must do, because so many of the princesses meet in the World Showcase. You can also meet Russell and Kevin from UP at Animal Kingdom, the Mandalorian and Kylo Ren from the Star Wars universe at Hollywood Studios, and Figment at EPCOT.
Interactive Attractions & Scavenger Hunts
You can’t skip the interactive attractions and scavenger hunts when looking for things to do at Disney World without rides. Each park, and even some of the resorts, offer these experiences, and they are a great way to see a lot of the park and learn as well.
Animal Kingdom offers Wilderness Explorers, where kids can go to different stations throughout the park to complete challenges and earn badges in order to become a Wilderness Explorer. Both Hollywood Studios and EPCOT have games that utilize the Play Disney Parks app, where you can play in the Star Wars world and interact with DuckTales characters, respectively.
EPCOT also has the Kidcot Fun Stops, where kids (and adults!) can go to each station at the different countries within the World Showcase to receive a fun activity and interact with cultural ambassadors from that country. This is one of the best Disney World non ride experiences, and even as an adult, I loved doing this one!
Both Disney Springs and EPCOT offer seasonal scavenger hunts, like the Christmas Tree Trail at Disney Springs, and the EPCOT festival hunts. Plus, Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom Lodge have scavenger hunts that lead you around the resorts to learn about them and find hidden details.
Behind the Scenes Tours
Disney World also offers many tours of varying price ranges that will help you see the parks differently, and are a wonderful way to experience Disney World for non riders. The Keys to the Kingdom Tour at Magic Kingdom will help you see Magic Kingdom through new eyes, and you’ll learn secrets and go behind the scenes at the iconic park.
Animal Kingdom maybe has the most unique and best Disney World experiences without rides, because you can get up close and personal with many of the animals there. You can do the Caring for Giants tour and visit the elephants, get Up Close with Rhinos, or even do the Savor the Savanna Tour – where you enjoy a private safari with tapas and beverages included.
You can also take part in the Behind the Seeds tour, which takes you into the greenhouse of the Living with the Land ride. You’ll learn about how they grow and take care of the plants there, and the science that makes it all happen.
Unique Dining Experiences
This could be my favorite way to enjoy Disney World – eating! There are hundreds of places to eat at the parks and resorts, and enjoying the unique dining could be some of the best Disney activities without rides.
Character meals and signature dining are great choices for this, because they sometimes take up a little more time and when you are rushing to get to a ride, they aren’t the best option. But if you have the time, then you can sit down and really enjoy fun and unique dining at Disney World. We even have our favorite character meals here, if you’re looking for the best ones.
Cinderella’s Royal Table at Magic Kingdom is probably one of the most popular and iconic character meals, and being able to eat inside of the castle is an amazing experience! Space 220 at EPCOT is another totally unique experience where you dine in space! Nomad Lounge at Animal Kingdom is an extension of the expensive and popular Tiffins, but you can enjoy the food with a better view and a lower price point, which is perfect if you want to relax. And you can’t forget Oga’s Cantina in Galaxy’s Edge in Hollywood Studios – eat and drink amongst the fellow scoundrels and visitors to Batuu.
One of the most unique dining experiences, and definitely the choice if you are into splurging at Disney, has to be eating at Victoria & Albert’s at Disney’s Grand Floridian resort. This is a Five Diamond Award winning restaurant, which has a multiple course tasting menu, complete with a matching price and dress code requirement. This can be an amazing option for dining when looking for the best Disney World non ride experiences.
We can’t mention eating at Disney World without bringing up drinking and eating around the world at EPCOT. This is a great way to experience each country in the World Showcase, and you don’t have to get an alcoholic beverage at each country – but you can! We have an article all about our favorite drinks, and how to enjoy one of the best Disney activities without rides.
Enjoy the Resorts
The Disney World resorts are fun, well-themed, and beautiful, and you can absolutely spend the day resort-hopping. This is definitely one of the best Disney World non ride experiences, because there’s so much to do at each one. Each resort has unique shopping, restaurants, and landscaping/theming which make them worth visiting.
One of the best ways to see the resorts is to do either the monorail crawl or skyliner crawl. Use Disney provided transportation to go to multiple resorts, and eat or drink something at each one! You can check a few resorts off your list in a small amount of time, and see how different they are from each other.
Experience Nighttime Shows
If you’re looking for the best non ride attractions at Disney World, the nighttime shows at the parks are it. They are beautiful, exciting, and a wonderful way to end your park day.
Hollywood Studios has Fantasmic!, where you watch Mickey battle villains with the help of his famous friends and his powerful imagination. This takes places in the theater down Sunset Boulevard, off to the side of the Tower of Terror.
EPCOT has a newer show, Luminous The Symphony of Us, which uses Disney music to bring us together and show us how we are all connected. This show happens over the World Showcase Lagoon, and can be watched from just about anywhere around the lagoon.
The most popular nighttime show is Happily Ever After at Magic Kingdom. Music, fireworks, and projections on Cinderella Castle are the perfect ending to a wonderful park day. I suggest doing one of the dessert parties as well, because you will get reserved seating for these fireworks, desserts and snacks, and adult beverages for those over 21 too!
Go Shopping
One of my personal favorite ways to experience Disney without rides is definitely going shopping! There’s great shopping at each park and resort, and you can’t miss World of Disney at Disney Springs – the world’s largest Disney store! Disney Springs also offers lots of unique shopping experiences as well, like The Art of Disney, Basin, the Coca-Cola Store, and the LEGO store.
You also don’t want to miss out shopping around the World Showcase in EPCOT. Each country offers unique shopping experiences and items, including souvenirs, clothes, and packaged snacks to take home and try. One of our favorites is Mitsukoshi, the department store in the Japan Pavilion. You cannot skip this store when looking for Disney World non ride experiences.
Visit the Animals
Disney World has animals all around the parks and resorts that you can visit and learn about, and it’s worth taking the time to see them. If you, or anyone in your group is obsessed with animals, these are must do Disney World non ride experiences for you!
EPCOT has a massive aquarium, and it could be the best non ride attraction at Disney World. The SeaBase Aquarium has manatees, dolphins, sea turtles, and tons of fish within the 5.7 million-gallon aquarium. This is a can’t miss, and a great way to learn about sea life and marvel at them while being surrounded by them.
You can visit the horses Disney World uses in their parades and that pull the carriages at Tri-Circle-D Ranch at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort. You can even take part in horseback riding here, or pony rides for the little ones.
Animal Kingdom also offers the Maharajah Jungle Trek, where you can see tigers, and the Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail to see gorillas, hippos, and more. You can always walk around the Oasis and Discovery Island close to the Tree of Life, and see animals from all over the world as well. And if you want to feed and touch some animals too, you can head to the petting zoo over at the Affection Section at Rafiki’s Planet Watch.
Enjoy the Water
Disney resorts have great pools but that’s not the only way to keep cool, enjoy the water, and take part in Disney World non ride experiences.
You can enjoy the pools at your resort (sorry, you can’t pool hop at Disney), and if that’s important to you, pick a resort with a great one – we have our favorites here!
Or visit the two water parks that Disney offers – Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach. And even if they have rides, you can enjoy those without those as well, and just take advantage of wave pools and splash pads.
And speaking of splash pads, Magic Kingdom has the Casey Jr. Splash ‘N’ Soak area, where little ones can cool off, get sprayed, and splash around on warm days. EPCOT has Journey of Water inspired by Moana, where you learn about the water life cycle, play and interact with water, and get a little wet too!
We hope that our list of Disney World non ride experiences helps you plan your next trip! You don’t have to ride any attractions to have a great time, and in fact, you might learn more about the parks than those that do. Enjoy the shows, good food, and great shopping and you won’t miss out on anything.
Do you always ride attractions at Disney? Or have you had a ride-free trip before? Let us know in the comments!
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