Introduction

When you first walk through the main entrance of any of the Disney Parks, Water Parks, Disney Springs, ESPN Wide World of Sports, and even at the Disney Resorts, odds are you will be able to spot a kiosk with a bunch of park maps in them!  Typically these kiosks are just inside of the park gates and the park maps are there for your convenience and even come in many different languages!  Over the years, I've come to really enjoy seeing which attractions are featured on the front of the park maps, and I started a collection that I cherish greatly!  I've even used these park maps to make drink coasters that I use throughout my house that I can enjoy daily!  In this article, I'll be describing just why I started my park map collection and share some of the valuable information that is included in the park maps so that maybe next time you enter one of the Disney Parks, you'll be excited for the maps just as much as I am!

The Front

One of my favorite parts of the Disney Park maps has to be the front of the maps.  The front of the park maps are always changing depending on the event that day or if there are new rides or lands coming out or if there's a specific celebration going on!  In the case of Animal Kingdom, the new Pandora land opened up earlier in 2017 and since then there have been several different images on the front of the Animal Kingdom park map, and my favorite has to be the inaugural opening day map (image to the left).  

Other special maps that are released are maps for the festivals that happen at Epcot.  Typically, the festival maps don't have images from the park on them, but they have artistic designs.  Epcot is one of the only park maps where artistic designs are featured on the front of the park map instead of a photographic image for normal entry into the parks.  And not only do they offer park maps for the festivals at Epcot, they also have passports that guests could use to track different events, foods, drinks, and other activities that they did that day at the specific festival!  The passports are also complementary and usually have a sticker section in the middle for you to use to track the different activities that you have completed.  Other artistic designs on park maps (opposed to photographic images) are for the after hour parties at the Magic Kingdom such as Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party and Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party.  

The Map

Once you open the park map all the way and look at the inside part, you'll find the actual park map and details!  The Map part of the inside section is a birds eye view of the park and you'll notice many different numbers, letters, and symbols all over the map.  And what I really like about the Disney Park maps is that the details are not organized by category such as attractions, food, shops, etc..  Instead, it's organized by the different section of the park that you are in.  For example in the map above of the Magic Kingdom, you'll notice that there are several different "Lands" that are in a spoke pattern all around Cinderella's Castle in the middle.  And each land has a section that shows all of the attractions, shops, shows, restaurants, and anything else that happens in that land detailed in the right section.  This is very helpful so that you don't bounce around the whole park all day looking for different places to eat and rides to go on.  Instead you could cover as much as you want in the specific lands, and then move on to the next land!  

In addition to the name of the attraction/store/restaurant/etc. and a short description, you'll notice that there are several symbols listed next to the bold name.  Those symbols represent a wealth of information, and each symbol is described in the legend at the bottom of the page in the section labeled "Symbols in List."  The other symbols are located directly on the map and also show you a bunch of additional information such as restroom locations, first aid, equipment rentals, and so much more!  Whatever you are looking for, if it exists at the park you are at, it'll be pinpointed on the map!

Other Information

The inside of the park map provides a wealth of other information as well besides just the actual park map and details.  There is a section called "Tips & Information" that explains what Guest Relations are for, provides some standard Park Rules, and also gives information on transportation options on how to get to the other Disney Parks and Resorts! 

In the other sections within the park map include items may change at times.  Examples of other information provided in the map includes information about Disney PhotoPass, Disney Vacation Club, the My Disney Experience mobile app, VIP Tour services, and other information about dining and shopping experiences that you may have. 

Is English not your heart language?  Well you're in luck, the Disney Park maps at the 4 theme parks are printed in multiple languages!  You can find a park map in French, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese, and even Japanese!  These park maps are typically located at the top of the park map kiosks, and if you can't find one, simply ask the nearest cast member for help!

Park Map guides are also printed specifically for guests with Disabilities as well!  These park maps provide information for guests with mobile disabilities, visual disabilities, hearing disabilities, and guests that bring service animals into the parks.  Within this park map, information is provided on amenities available for rent or deposit to help your experience, complimentary amenities and services that the parks offer, as well as other options offered!  So no matter what your disability may be, Disney strives to provide an abundance of help and accessibility to make your experience magical! 

My collection

Check out the slideshow below to see the fronts of all of the park maps that we have collected over the years! 

Interested?

If you are interested in starting your own collection and like a specific map that we have, we have a limited quantity of extra park maps available for purchase! Soon we will have the ability to purchase directly from our website, but until we get that functionality, please email us at [email protected] or fill out the form below for more information and pricing! We also have an option to turn one of the park maps into a 5-tile coaster set as well (see slideshow below for example) that you can purchase too!!