5 Disney World rides that are better during the day

Some attractions are better experienced at night, while others are better during the day. Here are 5 Disney World attractions you need to make sure you experience during the day!

WDW Railroad

A classic Disney World attraction is the WDW Railroad. The Walt Disney World Railroad is an attraction truly inspired by Walt Disney himself. Walt had a love for trains and even built a small train in his backyard named the Carolwood Pacific Railroad in 1950, five years before the opening of Disneyland!

This love of trains translates into a great fan-favorite attraction at Disney World: The Walt Disney World Railroad. Guests board a vintage steam train and can enjoy a 20 minute, 1.5 mile trip around the Magic Kingdom. Guests can board and disembark at various lands around the park, making the train an excellent choice for scenic and practical transportation!

The railroad has been closed since December 3, 2018 due to the construction work on the upcoming Tron coaster. Disney Cast Members recently began training in order to prepare for the return. We sure hope it returns soon, but with TRON not opening until the Spring of 2023, we may have a few more months to wait.

So, why is the railroad better during the day? Since it provides a scenic look over Magic Kingdom, you will catch glimpses of Main Street, U.S.A., Frontierland, and Fantasyland! It such a unique vantage point from the trains, and viewing at night may mean you miss on some of the beautiful details throughout the park.

Jungle Cruise

Take a campy cruise through the different waterways of the world in only 10 minutes. Your river guide, swimming trainer, and dance instructor will expertly guide you natives throughout various scenes – you will even observe the only back-side of water!

Steam past lush foliage, butterflies and waterfalls on the Amazon in South America. Glimpse an abandoned camp overrun by curious gorillas on the shores of the African Congo. Watch for angry hippos, hungry lions and “sleeping” zebras along the Nile and be on the lookout for a missing Jungle Cruise vessel and its helpless passengers.

While the jokes remain the same whether you ride the attraction during the day or at night, I would definitely recommend experiencing Jungle Cruise during the day. By doing so, you will be able to see all the different animatronics that are part of the attraction.

Kilimanjaro Safari

Located in Animal Kingdom, the Kilimanjaro Safari is a must-do attraction for many Guests. The experience takes guests on an 18 minute tour of the Harambe Wildlife Reserve. Here, guests can encounter a variety of animals. During the ride, they might spot lions, giraffes, zebras, hippos, warthogs, rhinos, giraffes, okapi, and dozens of other species of threatened and endangered animals.

The first few hours of the day are usually the best time to ride on the Safari due to animal activity. The animals are usually more awake and active in the morning versus later in the day or after dark. Plus, you want to be able to see those amazing creatures! That can be pretty hard to do after the sun goes down.

Mahajarah Jungle Trek and Gorilla Falls Exploration Trails

Traipse down mystical trails at Animal Kingdom to discover a wonderland of tigers and other wild animals. Other animals you may see on the Mahajarah Jungle Trek include:

• Gibbons
• Elds deer
• Blackbuck
• Komodo dragon
• Malayan flying fox
• Water buffalo
• Over 50 species of birds

In much the same way, the Gorilla Falls Exploration Trails gives you the opportunity to see wild animals up close and personal. Trek through a lush tropical forest and spot gorillas, hippos, zebra and more in their natural habitats.

As you can imagine, the animals on these trails will be much more active (and visible!) during the day, so be sure to head over during daylight hours to catch a glimpse of these beautiful creatures.

The Skyliner

Introduced in the fall of 2019, the Disney Skyliner became one of the best ways to travel around The Walt Disney World Resort. While you have to wait for other transportation options like the monorail and bus, the Skyliner is a continuous loading process. You can get from Caribbean Beach to Hollywood Studios in less than 5 minutes!

These individual gondolas take you and your party up into the sky as you see Disney World like never before! One of my favorite views is seeing the France Pavilion as my gondola heads into the International Gateway at Epcot. Many consider it an attraction that must be experienced just like any other ride at Disney.

You can read more about the Skyliner in this guide.

So, you may be wondering why I put a transportation option in a post about attractions. The Skyliner provides very unique views of Epcot’s International Gateway, Disney’s Riviera Resort, and Hollywood Studios. It is definitely beautiful seeing Spaceship Earth lit up at night from the Skyliner, but I personally prefer to see everything during the day.

What about at night?

Let’s face it. Some rides are just better at night! When the sun goes down and the lights twinkle, that Disney Magic really goes a long way for Guests wanting to experience their favorite attractions at night.

Rides like Slinky Dog Dash and Tower of Terror are so much more fun at night. You can see more attractions in Donna’s post HERE.

What are your favorite attractions to ride during the day? Did we leave any out? Let us know in the comments below and on Facebook.