Intro
Disney and sports go together like Mickey and Minnie! From the Super Bowl champs “going to Disney World” every year, to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Disney World, Disney and sports are basically forever intertwined. If you are planning a trip to Disney with a sports obsessed friend or family member, look no further! This week on the blog we are planning a Disney trip that doubles as a sports themed vacation.
Breakdown
- Theme: Sports
- Length: 3 days
- Price: $
- Guests: One adult and one child
Check-In
It is probably no surprise that for this sports themed vacation, you will be checking in to All Star Sports. The All Star resorts are a group of three value resorts that each have their own unique theme. Each resort is so fun and features larger than life decorations at every turn.
All Star Sports is the perfect spot for any sports fan!
Different areas of the resort focus on various sports, like baseball, football, basketball, surfing, and tennis. Look at the map ahead of time and you can even request a specific area! Your sports-fan can enjoy the Surfboard Bay Pool, the giant football field, and the End Zone Food Court.
For this sports themed vacation, you are going to purchase the Water Park and Sports Option for your park tickets. These tickets will give you access to one park per day and a certain number of visits to other fun areas at Walt Disney World! This includes Disney’s Water Parks (Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach), ESPN Wide World of Sports, Oak Trail foot golf or regular golf, Fantasia Gardens Mini Golf, or Winter Summerland Mini Golf. In short, you can go to one of the four Disney World parks each day, then hit up a water park, golf, or ESPN!
Day 1: Magic Kingdom & Oak Trail
To start off your fun-filled sports vacation, you will be heading straight to my personal favorite park, Magic Kingdom. While this park might not have a ton of ways to stay on theme, it is always the best place to begin your Disney vacation!
The day will begin with a quick breakfast at the End Zone Food Court. I always love getting breakfast at the resort in the morning. What better way is there to start your day than with Mickey Waffles?! It is also very convenient and often easier than finding food once you are at the park, especially when rope dropping.
You were lucky enough to get in the Virtual Queue for Tron: Lightcycle / Run right at 7:00am and got a great boarding group! This is the newest ride at Walt Disney World and a must-do if you can get in the Virtual Queue or purchase an Individual Lightning Lane.
Magic Kingdom
Once at Magic Kingdom, you head to Adventureland for Pirates of the Caribbean first. I love starting my Magic Kingdom days with classic attractions, like Pirates. This line can also get pretty long, so it is good to get there early!
Next, you will head towards Tomorrowland for a bit to enjoy a few rides, some food, and the atmosphere! First, hop in line for Tomorrowland Speedway. This is a great ride for anyone, but especially those sports fans out there. You can pretend you are racing along with your NASCAR favorites and even create your own Driver’s License after the ride!
Lunch at Magic Kingdom will be at the newest dining location, Energy Bytes. This new kiosk, found over by Tron: Lightcycle / Run, features dumplings, fun dessert, and unique drinks. It is the perfect place to grab a quick bite before or after you ride Tron: Lightcycle / Run!
Finally, it’s time to enter the grid! Tron: Lightcycle / Run is the newest ride at Disney and understandably a hard ticket to get. Guests can either join the Virtual Queue or purchase an Individual Lightning Lane (or both). You are very lucky to have gotten assigned a boarding group through the Virtual Queue and it is now time to ride!
Riding Tron: Lightcycle / Run is a great way to close out your time at Magic Kingdom, before heading to our next fun, sports themed activity!
Oak Trail Golf Course
Oak Trail is a beautiful golf course located right behind the Grand Floridian and Polynesian Resorts. Your Water Park and Sports ticket option will allow you to visit this course and play a round! From Magic Kingdom, head to any monorail resort and ask about transportation to Oak Trail at the front desk.
The coolest thing about this golf course is that in addition to a standard 9-hole course, it offers a family-friendly golf option, called Foot Golf! This unique sport is essentially a mix between golf and soccer and is perfect for kids.
After golf, you will head to the Polynesian to enjoy dinner at Kona Cafe. This relaxed restaurant located in the main building of the Polynesian, will be a great way to unwind after a busy day! Then, head down to the beach to close out the night with a viewing of Happily Ever After, Magic Kingdom’s nighttime show.
Day 2: EPCOT, ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, & Disney Springs
Your second park day will be an action-packed adventure to various locations around Disney World!
EPCOT
The day will start at EPCOT to explore everything this exciting park has to offer. Now, I don’t know about you, but I cannot survive a long Disney day without a coffee from Joffrey’s! EPCOT has a handful of Joffrey’s locations around the parks, so you will find one easily. Grab a coffee and donut before starting your busy day!
You were lucky once again and got a boarding group through a Virtual Queue, this time for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. Typically, I will do both the Virtual Queue and Individual Lightning Lane for Guardians, because that is just how good this ride is! Plus, the more you ride, the more chances you have to get a new song during your ride.
Next, grab a spot in line for Test Track. Similar to the Tomorrowland Speedway, this ride is perfect for your sports fan! This ride is a little bit more thrilling, which they should love. They will also get to design their own car and see how it does through various tests during the ride!
Following your speedy ride on Test Track, it’s time to explore World Showcase for a while before sitting down for lunch. No matter who you are, I think taking at least one lap around World Showcase is a must-do during your EPCOT day! There are things for kids to do, amazing snacks and drinks, and cultural experiences to take in.
Now that you got your steps in around the World, order some lunch at Connections Cafe and Eatery. This location is fairly new and has some amazing food options. The Cafe side is the Starbucks location at EPCOT and the Eatery side will have more substantial meals. You can’t go wrong with their Liege Waffle, which often has a seasonal twist to it!
Your last ride at EPCOT will be Soarin’, over in the Land Pavilion. This ride is always a can’t miss for me! I love flying over some of the most famous places around the world and how immersive the experience is.
Finally, it’s time to move on to the next activity for the day!
ESPN Wide World of Sports
The ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex is a little known secret of Disney World! This location hosts competitions, games, and expos that will truly be heaven for your sports fan. You will want to check the event schedule to see if you can catch a game or event while you’re there!
However, if not, you can still come and explore the area. There is so much to see and do, it’ll be such a cool experience for this sports themed vacation! To get to and from the ESPN Complex, first, I would suggest checking with your resort to see if those buses are running at the time of your visit. If not, a ride share is probably your best bet!
Disney Springs
Finish out your night with a stop at Disney Springs! There is so much I love about Disney Springs (mostly Gideon’s, but there is some other cool stuff too). To stay on your sports theme, you will be heading to Splitsville for bowling and dinner! You can book your lanes and table for dinner ahead of time, to be sure you get right in.
Day 3: Blizzard Beach & Hollywood Studios
The last day of you sports themed vacation will include a refreshing stop at one of Disney’s amazing water parks, Blizzard Beach. This fun day at the water park will be followed by an evening at Hollywood Studios!
The beauty of starting the day at one of Disney’s water parks, is that they typically don’t open as early as the parks. Which means, you can have a slow morning at the resort before heading out!
Enjoy a relaxing breakfast at the End Zone Food Court to start. You can even bring your food to your room, if you want to have a more quiet meal.
Blizzard Beach
When you’re finished with breakfast and all ready for the waterpark, hop on the bus for Blizzard Beach. It could sometimes include a transfer, so be sure to ask at your resort if you are unsure of which bus to get on.
Blizzard Beach is my favorite of the two Disney Water Parks, because I think the theming is so cool! I especially love that you can ride a ski lift to get to a few of the attractions at this park. There is something to keep everyone entertained at Blizzard Beach, from extreme water slides to splash pads for younger kids!
You will surely work up an appetite from running around Blizzard Beach, so you stop for lunch at Lottawatta Lodge. This quick service location will have your classic options, such as hamburgers, flatbreads, and salads. After lunch, you will head back to the resort and get ready for your last trip to the parks!
Hollywood Studios
All of the parks are extra magical at night, but Hollywood Studios really is something special after it gets dark. So, ending your night and your vacation here is perfect!
Enter Hollywood Studios and stroll down Sunset Boulevard! I love the ambience of this area and always try to take some time to enjoy it while at Hollywood Studios. You will make your way towards Rock n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith. While this might be geared more towards music fanatics, sports fans will love the excitement of this rollercoaster!
Galaxy’s Edge is the next stop for your Hollywood Studios evening! Even if you aren’t a Star Wars fan, this area is so immersive and really a can’t miss experience. Plus, you don’t really need to fully understand the Star Wars characters and universe to appreciate the rides. So, your next stops are Rise of the Resistance and Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run. These rides can have extremely long lines, so if you don’t have Disney Genie+, be prepared!
A favorite meal on the planet of Batuu are the infamous Ronto Wraps from Ronto Roasters. This unique dining location mainly focuses on Ronto Wraps, but does have a few variations for different dietary restrictions. There are also some fun sides and drinks to try!
Hollywood Studios has one of the best nighttime shows out there, Fantasmic! This show features amazing water and fire effects, along with all of your favorite characters. You and your family will not want to miss this show, which just returned to Disney’s Hollywood Studios not too long ago. The seats in this outdoor amphitheater fill up quickly, so I recommend either getting there early or purchasing a Fantasmic! dining package, to ensure prime seating.
Check Out Day
Sadly, the final buzzer has sounded on your sports themed vacation and it is now time to check out! This short trip is perfect for anyone who wants to experience all of the sports that Disney has to offer. You could also time this trip around a runDisney race, MLB Spring Training, or some other fun athletic event to add even more sports for your sports fanatic!
Would you go on a sports themed vacation to Disney World? Let me know in the comments!
Overview
- Check-In Day: All Star Sports
- Day 1: Magic Kingdom & Oak Trail Golf Course
- Rides: Pirates of the Caribbean, Tomorrowland Speedway, Tron: Lightcycle / Run
- Food: End Zone Food Court, Energy Bytes, Kona Cafe
- Extras: Foot Golf at Oak Trail
- Day 2: EPCOT, ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, Disney Springs
- Rides: Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, Test Track, Soarin’
- Food: Joffrey’s, Connections Eatery, Splitsville
- Extras: Bowling at Splitsville
- Day 3: Blizzard Beach & Hollywood Studios
- Rides: Rock n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith, Rise of the Resistance, Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run
- Food: End Zone Food Court, Lottawatta Lodge, Ronto Roasters
