Blog

When visiting the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, every guest gets a picture in front of the castle. Not everyone, however, goes beyond the basic to capture better pictures on their vacation. There are tons of hidden locations and secret photo spots in Disney World parks, from which pictures can be taken that offer better views, more excitement, and less crowds to get in the way. This article will help guide you on some lesser-known areas in all four Disney Parks to take pictures that are sure to capture lasting memories. Keep in mind that the Florida weather often makes beautiful sunsets. This means that when the sun is going down, the sky often lights up with pink and orange, which offer a great background to whatever pictures you take!

Magic Kingdom

To start, lets improve on that normal castle picture taken from the hub. There are multiple areas in the park that offer better views with better scenery. To start, just near the entrance near the flagpole, there’s a bench with a statue of Roy Disney on it. Though this spot sometimes has a line for pictures, it’s a great way to pay tribute to the founders of the Disney company. While you’re at the park entrance, try walking up the stairs to the train station to take a picture directly down Main Street from above. You’ll be able to capture some of the park with the castle in the background! Lastly, instead of taking the picture from the front of the castle, try taking it from its sides. There are small paths just to the left and right of the castle that have great views – especially the one on the right. It’s the least traveled path in the park and is where you can find Cinderella’s Wishing Well. The well is a great spot for pictures!

Another must-do spot for pictures is along the Rivers of America in Frontierland. The background of Tom Sawyer Island and the Haunted Mansion are great spots, and the whole thing is also really beautiful at night. During the fireworks, you can get an awesome picture of the light from the show reflecting in the water!

Finally, the area between the Haunted Mansion and Fantasyland is an awesome spot. This is where Rapunzel’s tower (and bathrooms) is located! If you snap a picture along the fence in this spot, you’ll have a unique fairy tale backdrop that many others never thought of!

Epcot

The entirety of Epcot is just one big picture-taking opportunity. The park is the most beautiful in the world, especially during the Flower and Garden Festival in the springtime. Though a picture with the “ball” is a must, there’s another spot near the front of the park that’s a great option. Just before you get to the World Showcase, look to the right to see the glass pyramid of the Imagination Pavilion. Snapping a picture of you family with the pyramid and a nice sky background is a great way to commemorate the park!

In the World Showcase, you absolutely have to walk all the way through the country pavilions to see everything they have to offer. There are tons of hidden details and secret nooks to explore! For example. The bonsai garden in the top left corner of the Japan Pavilion is a relaxing scenic spot to take a break from the crowds and get a few good pictures. In Morocco, try a picture in the bathhouse located through the doors on the left of the pavilion. Pictures taken in the back of the Morocco pavilion in the streets also look very exotic! In China, there are plenty of awesome spots to snap a picture around the pond and bridges that head up to the main theater building. The first room of the building also has an ornate pattern in the ceiling which offers an opportunity for some more creative photos. Finally, one of the best spots across the entire Disney property is in Canada. Walking up the stairs into the pavilion takes you to an overlook of the waterfall. Exiting the “O Canada” show drops in you into the beautiful Victoria Gardens. Both spots are sparsely traveled and extremely photogenic!

Finally, keep in mind that Epcot at night offers a whole different opportunity for photos. China, in particular, really shows up great at night with the combination of interesting architecture, natural elements, and lighting. The geodesic sphere hosting Spaceship Earth also lights up with LEDs! Grabbing a picture with the ball at night near The Seas pavilion gives you the chance to capture a reflection of the lights in the standing water nearby, which can turn into an amazing photo!

Hollywood Studios

Overall, Studios is the least photogenic of the four Disney parks, so don’t go too crazy with trying to find the perfect spot. The two main icons the park should be your focus: the Chinese Theater and the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. Due to their size, they’re both relatively simple to capture photos with. The more “hidden gem” types of spots to get a unique picture are located in Star Wars’ Galaxy’s Edge and in Toy Story Land.

In Galaxy’s edge, try getting a photo in the market area. This spot is slightly less busy than the rest of the land and feels the most all-encompassing “Star Wars” to me. There are tightly packed shops, a central fountain, and the classic overhead wiring of Star Wars locations like Mos Eisley. To enhance your Star Wars pictures, be sure to be holding a Star Wars prop! If you don’t want to drain your bank account purchasing the uber-expensive droids or lightsabers, grab a Blue Milk (which is surprisingly good!) before snapping your pics.

Over in Toy Story Land, try walking down the edges of the paths around Slinky Dog Dash. There are tons of hidden details in the land, including important dates and such in the domino’s numbering. It’s relatively simple to get a great picture with no one in the background except the Toy Story characters!

Animal Kingdom

When you’re thinking about photos in Disney, you probably weren’t considering Animal Kingdom to be a top spot. You should reconsider. The park offers tons of amazing photo spots of the natural and man-made elements in the park. Though the area may not be quite as recognizable as “Disney” to others, you shouldn’t let that stop you from snapping away.

To start, the Tree of Life offers tons of great angles for your photos. One of the best is along the Tree of Life Gardens trails around the base of the tree. Most guests don’t even know about the trails, which wind around the base of the tree and offer a few animal exhibits and close views of the thousands of intricately carved animals on the tree. If you enter these trails on the path just to the right of the bridge which enters Africa from Discovery Island, you can get some awesome pictures in front of a waterfall under the tree!

You can also head toward the back of the park to get better pictures of the Tree of Life. On the pathways between Africa and Asia, there are multiple spots where you can get amazing photos of the Tree of Life across the water. There are even boat-landing areas you can walk down to that have great views!

Expedition Everest also offers amazing photo opportunities. One of the best spots to get a photo of it, and a lot of the rest of the park, is the dining area behind Flame Tree Barbecue. You can just walk down behind the restaurant straight to the water to get panoramic photos of the amazing backdrop. It’s another spot that’s away from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the park, so it’s an easy spot to organize a family photo.

Finally, you can’t forget about the amazing scenery of Pandora: The World of Avatar. The floating mountains are breathtaking and offer all sorts of awesome photo opportunities. As a couple of unique spots, try walking along the pathways in the middle of the land. These paths are less busy and can get you some interesting views of the mountains. Another great spot to snap a picture is just under the waterfall between Navi River Journey and Flight of Passage. With a shot angled upwards, you can capture photos with the mountains above you!

Summary

There are a lot of amazing hidden spots to take photos in all 4 of the Disney World parks. This article should give you some ideas of more creative spots to get some unique photo ops Disney World parks – but be careful not to go overboard with the pictures! Remember that you’re there to experience it for yourself and create great memories – not just to take photos. Don’t exhaust your family with too many! Lastly, you don’t need to record the nighttime shows. It ruins the experience for you and others. I promise there are plenty of 4k ultra-HD multi-angle recordings of every show that you could find online if you want to re-watch!