The digital revolution hasn’t just changed how guests enjoy a trip to Walt Disney World—it’s also changed how we remember them! Whereas rolls of film and tapes for video cameras used to be precious commodities, smartphones now allow us to capture more of our time at the Most Magical Place on Earth than ever before and share it with family and the world.
Particularly if you are bringing a loved one to Walt Disney World the first time, one of the best ways you can capture your Walt Disney World experience is through filming reaction videos. Most visitors don’t want to have a camera out the whole time you’re at the park, so more often than not, many of these magical moments pass unnoticed.
Want to make sure you don’t miss your moment? Here are eight of the best reaction videos you’ll want to have your camera ready for next time you visit Walt Disney World.
1. We’re going to Disney World!
Image: Disney
You can’t go wrong with the most classic Walt Disney World reaction video of all. Particularly if you have kids, the moment when everyone realizes the family is headed to the Most Magical Place on Earth is one you’ll want to save forever.
How you break the news is entirely up to you. Maybe it can be a big reveal during a birthday or Christmas morning. Maybe you can take the dry humored approach and convince the kids they’re getting a pillowcase full of gym socks but if they look far enough, they find a copy of the tickets. For the romantics, maybe you can reveal the news during a fancy date (mmm, fondue). However you deliver the magic words, make sure you have a phone ready to capture the moment.
If you really want to make things epic and you’re an oak at keeping secrets, you can even plan a complete surprise trip where the kids don’t realize what’s happening until you arrive at the airport. My parents did this for me once as a kid—I thought I was on the way to school! I did the same thing for my husband years later when he thought we were traveling to Phoenix. You’ll definitely want to capture that reaction video!
2. First time in the parks
Image: Disney
Similarly, you won’t want to miss your loved ones’ first reaction to arriving at the parks. This could start as early as passing under that iconic archway on Disney’s Magical Express, but especially if you have kids, have your camera ready when your little one gets their first glimpse of the inside of a Disney park.
Magic Kingdom in particular makes the experience of “opening the gate” in the morning extra magical, often with a show to start off the day. I’m not a particularly emotional person but seeing my four-year-old niece’s reaction to Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and gang pulling up on the Main Street train totally squeezed waterworks from my shriveled tear ducts. The same goes for first rides on iconic attractions. Don’t assume this tip is just for kids either! These are moments you won’t be able to recreate again.
3. That first sip of Beverly at Club Cool
What’s a good exploration of reaction videos without a bit of friendly trolling?
Possibly the most famous series of reaction videos among Walt Disney World guests is the first time you trick—encourage—your loved ones to sip that iconic Italian brew, Beverly, at Epcot’s Club Cool. Disney has been pulling this prank on guests for decades, and it seriously never gets old.
The set up is easy for a great Beverly reaction video. The trick is to get your friend/family member/frenemy to try all the other sodas first. One or two are a bit odd, but generally, all the sodas at Club Cool fulfill what we expect from our carbonated sugar elixirs.
Enter Beverly—a non-alcoholic aperitif with a taste more bitter than defeat.
You almost can’t fail capturing a reaction video of someone trying Beverly the first time (even if they like the foul stuff like one peculiar friend of ours). The taste is best described as concentrated grapefruit pith with playful notes of turpentine. The last time we took two teenagers there—both of whom were aware of Beverly’s acrid profile—they ended up taking turns seeing who could drink the most cups. The fun just never ends. Cameras up!
4. Seeing the Rockin’ Roller Coaster blast off
On a similar subject of friendly trolling, one of Disney’s best mini-pranks is actually found in the queue for the Aerosmith Rockin’ Roller Coaster at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. It’s also one of the easiest ones to miss.
After the pre-show, you’ll want to have your smartphone on standby as your party approaches the chain link fence that separates the queue from the ride track. Wait for one of the ride cars to pull up under the retro light-up sign. Everything seems calm for first timers until Stephen Tyler shouts, “3…2…1!”.
People’s nervous reactions to the ride vehicle blasting into the abyss are classic. It’s inevitable that some people start asking their party what they’re getting into. It involves a little subtlety and good timing, but you won’t regret capturing this magic moment next time you’re at Walt Disney World.
5. Just you and the fruit bats
Image: Greg Goebel, Flickr (license)
Another of our favorite playful reaction videos is found on the Maharajah Jungle Trek at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. During the trek, you have the option to detour into a small building filled with bug and reptile exhibits. Beyond the wooden pillars of the room lies a great open window looking out into the jungle. In that jungle, giant fruit bats hang lazily from the tree branches.
Make sure you have your camera ready when you ask someone from your party to go touch the glass.
There is no glass. We are in the Matrix and the fruit bats are our digital masters. All hail the fruit bats who lured you into their trap.
I kid, of course. Despite their scary dragon wings, beady eyes, and total abandon for propriety, the fruit bats are basically just puppies who can fly. They’re far more interested in mangoes than that tasty blood coursing through your neck. They happily stay on their side of the enclosure and are just fine avoiding the people who come to visit every day. Still, it is extremely common for guests to assume that Disney just keeps the cleanest pane of glass in the world in between us and the preening dragon-foxes beyond. In any case, you can get a pretty good reaction for your trip memories if you have your camera ready when you enter this area!
6. Geeking out over the March of the First Order
Image: Disney
We’ve talked a lot about sentimental or mild-pranking reaction videos thus far, but if you have a Star Wars fan in your family, you won’t want to miss their reaction to one of the geekiest Star Wars extravaganzas of all.
Hollywood Studios’ March of the First Order.
This may be an underwhelming item on the list for the non-Star Wars fans, but for those who’ve grown up dreaming of that galaxy far, far away, there is almost nothing in Walt Disney World that sparks a full geek-out like the sound of the Imperial March resounding through the park while Captain Phasma leads a well-trained company of stormtroopers down Hollywood Boulevard, accosting guests as she goes. I’ve seen the march at least four times and still get excited every new visit. Whether you have a little Jedi in the family or a full grown superfan, you’ll want to have your camera ready not just for the show but for their reaction too!
7. First banter with Gaston
Image: Disney
We can’t go on about how much we love Gaston—even if saying that does make me want to gag a little.
Tucked in the far corner of Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom, right next to his namesake tavern, guests can wait in line for the honor—nay, the privilege—to meet Gaston. Why would anyone want to meet Gaston you ask? Because no one fights like Gaston, gives sound bites like Gaston, no one’s teeth shine so marvelously bright as Gaston. He’s especially good at intimidating (male guests), and no one loves your camera more than Gaston.
Though it defies all logic, Gaston has become social media and reaction video gold to rival Mickey Mouse himself. He broke the internet well before Ralph (who certainly couldn’t beat Gaston in a push up contest). He argues with little girls. He butts in on honeymoons and proposals. He bribes children to stop crying. You never know what to expect with Gaston, and if you’ll be bringing a loved one to meet him for the first time (or second or third or fourth), you’ll definitely want to have your camera ready for their encounter with the man, the myth, the legend that is Gaston.
8. First reaction to Disney’s VR Experiences
Image: The VOID
We tried not to focus on too many ride reaction videos (though a video immediately after Mission: Space Orange can certainly prove entertaining!), but there is one category of Disney attractions that will definitely merit having your camera ready after the ride is over. That would be to capture the first moments after you and a loved one have completed one of Disney’s phenomenal virtual reality experiences.
Disney currently has three VR experiences: Avatar, Flight of Passage in Disney’s Animal Kingdom and two hyper-virtual reality experiences at The VOID in Disney Springs– Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire, and Ralph Breaks VR.
Avatar: Flight of Passage is one of Disney’s most immersive attractions to date. For a ride that focuses on the thrill of flight above an alien world, it’s surprisingly accessible to all ages and even those who don’t care for roller coasters. We’ve seen some awesome reactions from everyone from children to seasoned adults who can’t believe how realistic the experience was. Especially if you have kids, you will definitely want to catch their reaction the first moments after you exit the ride (though don’t block the exit queue while doing this).
However, we’ve mentioned before that Disney has a VR experience even more immersive than Flight of Passage—oh, and now it has two.
Image: The VOID
We’ve written before about how Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire might be one of Disney’s finest attractions to date (and you don’t even need a park admission for it). No, they are not paying us to say that. I have no shame wanting to keep this attraction open for as long as possible, and I can safely say I have probably never had more fun on a Walt Disney World attraction that I did taking on the mission in Secrets of the Empire. Families who enjoyed the attraction now have access to double the fun with a new hyperreality experience from the geniuses at The VOID—Ralph Breaks VR.
Both Secrets of the Empire and Ralph Breaks VR are virtual reality experiences where guests can move freely through the VR world thanks to a giant maze that exactly matches the digital world. You can pick up props, interact with buttons with physical touch, and duck behind real obstacles to avoid fire. The experience is stunningly realistic, to the point your brain convinces you to be extra careful crossing that tiny catwalk across the boiling lava pit because the floor REALLY IS lava.
Naturally, you cannot film inside The VOID. You can, however, capture your family’s reactions immediately after the experience is done. In many cases, these are the stuff of reaction video gold.
Similar to stepping off of Mission: SPACE Orange Team, it takes some guests a little bit of time to remember how to walk in the real world. We were stunned by the transition, and we couldn’t stop gaping about it. Kids who are old enough to participate regularly come out smiling ear to ear. No matter what your family’s reactions are to Disney’s awesome VR experiences, don’t miss the chance to capture that moment to remember forever.
What are some other great reaction videos guests can capture at Walt Disney World?
