Who’s up for a challenge?
Whether it is your first time visiting Walt Disney World or if you are a seasoned passholder, there’s nothing like a quest to breathe some fresh life into a trip to the Most Magical Place on Earth. We’ve talked about popular Disney challenges before—marathon riding, drinking/eating around the world, hitting four parks in one day… These are all fun things to try on your next Walt Disney World vacation, but there is one challenge that stands a hair above the rest if you want to properly gamify your visit.
Have an ultimate Walt Disney World scavenger hunt.
Some years back, my husband and I put together a Walt Disney World scavenger hunt (complete with an interactive Google Map) for a couple we knew who were having their honeymoon at Walt Disney World. For this introductory article, we’re going to operate under the assumption that this is a photo scavenger hunt. No one needs another dull picture of the whole family looking tired and confused in front of Cinderella Castle. Instead, take the challenge and see if you can find these ten spots to kick off your ultimate Walt Disney World scavenger hunt. Feel free to use these as a launch point to make your own! This is a great activity to keep kids occupied during a trip.
Like this challenge and want more? Share this article with your friends and respond in the comments and on our Facebook! If we hear back from enough readers, we’ll post a part two! Want to share your conquests from the hunt? Tag your pics with the hashtag #mostmagicalhunt so we can see how you did!
1. Take a bite out of the future
Image: Jett Farrell-Vega (@mykingdomforamouse Instagram)
While we included a “holding up Spaceship Earth” pic on our original scavenger hunt list, that’s too simple. Instead, find one of the rare spots in Epcot where you can get a perfect pic of someone in your party taking a bite out of Spaceship Earth. Mmm, delicious science.
2. Find the pin trader’s motherlode
If you don’t know what Disney pin trading is, get ready to have your world rocked and your wallet emptied. Disney parks and resorts host a not-so-secret game where guests can trade Disney-themed pins (you don’t have to buy them at Walt Disney World) with cast members for any pin on their lanyards. Some of these pins are cast member exclusives that cannot be bought (indicated by a small hidden Mickey in the design), and some cast members get really into pin trading—to the point they forego lanyards completely and display pins on massive corkboards.
During your next vacation, see if you can track down the pin trader’s motherlode—a gigantic bulletin board covered with pins. There’s no telling where one of these will show up, from outdoor kiosks to resort shops. Keep your eyes open! As a bonus, get a pic of a hidden Mickey pin-of-the-day you traded for!
3. There can only be ONE!
Image: Disney
Got a competitive streak? Are you the type of guest who challenges Gaston to push up contests and secretly tries to force choke Kylo Ren? Put that fighting spirit to use by capturing a pic (or a series of pics) of you or a party member challenging various statues and characters in Walt Disney World to single combat. I do emphasize—this means a POSE (Wookies are known to rip people’s arms off when they lose, after all). The possibilities are endless. Lay down a challenge pose against the Vikings in Norway, the statue of St. George in Germany, Kylo Ren, the Pandora giant robot, and even Gaston himself. Do you dare?
4. Expand your sweet horizons
Image: CKFromtheD, Flickr (license)
The food is sometimes the best part of a Walt Disney World visit, especially if you like candy. Don’t just plan to play it safe though. World Showcase alone is full of dozens of unique candy varieties many guests have never heard of from Canadian Coffee Crisps to German Haribo gummies. Get a reaction shot of you or one of your party members trying a foreign candy variety you’ve never tried before. The more adventurous, the better! You can seriously find choices in every single World Showcase pavilion. Mitsukoshi in Japan has some particularly unique choices!
5. A taste more bitter than defeat
Most Epcot veterans are familiar with the… unique experience of trying Club Cool’s most infamous aperitif, Beverly. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, just have your camera ready when you try this truly singular concoction. You can thank me (or hate me) later.
Already familiar with the enigmatic elixir that is Beverly? Your mission is to get someone in your party to try the drink and get a shot of their reaction. Bonus points if you drink it yourself first without flinching to convince them all is well.
6. To the crow’s nest with you
Did you know there is a spot in Magic Kingdom where guests can capture a 360-degree panorama of the park? It’s not the Astro Orbiter or the coveted view from the elusive Cinderella Castle suite…
On your next trip, see if you can find your way to the highest point in Adventureland’s Swiss Family Treehouse. If you can conquer the attraction’s 116 steps, you can score one of Magic Kingdom’s most magnificent views at over 6 stories above the park. Bonus if you take a Dole Whip float with you.
7. Nature gone wild
Image: Jett Farrell-Vega
From the rich exhibits of Disney’s Animal Kingdom to Florida’s lush native wildlife, Walt Disney World is full of animals. Most of these are majestic specimens, like local cranes and the beautiful tigers of the Maharajah Jungle Trek.
Nature, however, cannot be completely tamed, and sometimes animals at Walt Disney World have a mind all their own.
Your challenge is to capture a pic of an animal “misbehaving” at Walt Disney World. Maybe it’s the hippo who decides to unload its lunch as your Kilimanjaro Safari jeep is passing. Maybe you catch pesky seagulls ninja-stealing fish and chips from unsuspecting guests at Epcot’s United Kingdom pavilion. Maybe it’s a gorilla who decides to pick his nose, or the jungle trek’s famous fruit bats casting propriety to the wind. Either way, go for the shot everyone else lowers their cameras for!
8. Drenched
Image: Disney
Walt Disney World is no stranger to water rides. Splash Mountain and Kali River Rapids are the two most famous water rides at the resort, and both can leave guests completely soaked under the right circumstances.
See if you can score a pic of yourself or a party member completely drenched after a ride on one of these two “You Will Get Wet” attractions!
9. I think I’m going to be sick
Did you know there is actually a Walt Disney World attraction where guests have access to vomit bags?
The intense G-forces that make Epcot’s Mission: Space Orange Team so captivating leave many guests with stomachs churning. Brave enough to try the Orange Team mission? The next time you take your mission to Mars, get a selfie with one of the famous vomit bags! If you want to be clever, bring your own from the plane signed, “I survived Mission: Space”.
10. The force is strong with this one
Image: Disney
Are you a fan of Star Wars? On your next visit to Disney’s Hollywood Studios, we have two photo challenges for guests swinging by Star Wars Launch Bay (don’t skip it!). First, snap a pic of the lengthier Aurebesh inscriptions hidden throughout the exhibit. Before your trip is over, look up an Aurebesh lexicon and see if you can translate them!
The second challenge is similar. Somewhere in the Launch Bay (we’ve mentioned this before in previous articles) is a Star Wars Easter egg motherlode in the form of a very special closet. Find this closet, snap a pic, and see how many of the carefully disguised props you can recognize from the films.
