Disney Parks Fan Bucket List – 21 Experiences For Ultimate Disney Fans
For Disney fans, there are more experiences to explore at the various Disney theme parks across the world than imaginable. Beyond spending a trip enjoying the theme parks' incredible attractions and entertainment, there are countless Disney Parks offerings that fans dream of experiencing. You may have already completed some of these Disney bucket list items, while others are rare experiences that require some luck to enjoy.
For this list, we will be covering some items that you can complete over the course of multiple trips, some that are pie-in-the-sky dreams, and some that are special experiences you can access. We'll also include some Disney-related experiences outside of the parks that you can add to your bucket list.
We will take you through the top bucket list items for Disney Parks fans that would be amazing to experience!
Disney Parks Bucket List
While every Disney fan’s bucket list is going to be different, for this list, we chose a mix of fun challenges you can try in the parks, exclusive experiences you can access, and Disney destinations or activities beyond the parks that Disney fans dream of experiencing. We will also share our guides and helpful tips that can come in handy if you want to try any of these items.
There are so many Disney experiences to be excited about, and you may find a new idea from the list below! Let’s dive into our top Disney bucket list items for fans.
1) Be Chosen as the Rebel Spy
This particular Disney Parks bucket list item boils down to pure luck, but every Disney fan dreams of being chosen as the Rebel spy in the attraction Star Tours – The Adventures Continue. This ride takes you on a wild journey through a galaxy far, far away, where you'll encounter familiar locations and characters from the Star Wars universe as you brave several perils and dodge Imperial (or First Order) forces to deliver the Rebel spy aboard your Starspeeder to safety.
At the start of the ride, one of the guests in the Starspeeder is chosen to be the Rebel spy, and a picture of their face pops up on the screen at the front. To be chosen as the Rebel spy is a highly sought-after honor and an item that is on the Disney Parks bucket list of many!
Disney just announced more details about the new scenes coming soon to Star Tours—see everything you need to know in our guide.
2) Participate in a runDisney Race
RunDisney gives you the unique opportunity to race through the Disney parks. A variety of challenges are available, including marathons, half marathons, 10Ks, 5Ks, kids races, and even multi-race challenges. During a runDisney race, you can see favorite Disney characters and enjoy special photo ops, receive commemorative medals, and more. You can see the remaining runDisney events for 2024 and the announced events for the 2024-2025 runDisney season in our guides, including a new Disneyland Halloween Half-Marathon Weekend!
Gavin recently ran in the first runDisney race at Disneyland since 2017, and you can read about his experience and the highlights of the event. Participating in a runDisney race is a great way to soak in the Disney magic by experiencing the parks in a whole new light!
3) Visit Every Disney Park Around the World
A particularly ambitious but incredible experience would be to visit every Disney park around the world. Each park, from Tokyo DisneySea in Tokyo to Disneyland Paris in France, offers incredible experiences and attractions. You can explore attractions unique to each park, like Journey to the Center of the Earth in Tokyo DisneySea and Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast at Tokyo Disneyland. Or, you can even come up with a secondary bucket list of experiencing every park's unique take on certain popular attractions, like the versions of the Haunted Mansion in international parks like Phantom Manor at Disneyland Paris or Mystic Manor at Hong Kong Disneyland.
There are also several incredible new additions that have been recently added to Disney Parks around the world, including World of Frozen at Hong Kong Disneyland, a Zootopia land at Shanghai Disney Resort, and a huge upcoming expansion introducing Peter Pan, Tangled, and Frozen to the parks as part of the new Fantasy Springs port at Tokyo DisneySea opening this summer.
For Disney fans, getting to experience several different versions of iconic rides and enjoying the attractions unique to all of the Disney parks worldwide is a huge bucket list item they dream of.
4) Go to an After-Hours Event
Beyond the magic you can experience at the parks during the day, you can also enjoy special, separately ticketed events that allow you to enjoy certain parks after their closing time.
Disney World offers Disney After Hours events at the parks that allow you to enjoy popular attractions with shorter wait times as well as seasonal parties like Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, and Disney Jollywood Nights that offer special entertainment, character meet-and-greets, specially themed foods, and more.
At Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure, you can enjoy Disneyland After Dark parties with themes like Sweethearts Nite, Star Wars Nite, and Pride Nite with special offerings and rare character meet-and-greets, or you can attend the Oogie Boogie Bash parties during Halloween at Disneyland.
These after-hours events give you a unique experience at the parks beyond the attractions and entertainment that you can experience regularly!
5) Get a Picture with Mickey in 10 of His Different Outfits
Mickey Mouse sports a variety of looks throughout the year beyond his iconic red pants and yellow shoes outfit. At Disneyland, you'll find Mickey dressed up for certain special events like Lunar New Year, donning festive outfits during Halloween and the holidays, appearing in fun attire for certain Character Dining experiences and after-hours events, and much more.
Mickey's attire is always evolving and changing, so it's a fun goal to try to capture pictures with him in several of his different dazzling outfits.
6) Stay in the Cinderella Castle Suite
While this is another bucket list item that boils down to pure luck, getting the opportunity to stay in the Cinderella Castle Suite at Magic Kingdom is every Disney fan's dream. Disneyland offers the Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough (one of our favorite secret spots at Disneyland), but there is no place to actually stay overnight inside of the castle like there is for the Cinderella Castle at Walt Disney World.
The elegant space sleeps up to 6 and features a salon, bedchamber, and bathroom, with details like an antique limestone fireplace, stained glass, and more royal touches. This coveted suite is not bookable and the opportunity to stay here is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. There will sometimes be contests or sweepstakes offered that give the lucky winner and their guests the opportunity to stay a night here in this gorgeous space.
7) Try 20 Mickey-Shaped Foods
Food is taken to new heights when it is shaped like our favorite mouse! There are countless Mickey-shaped treats to try, from Mickey (or Minnie) caramel apples to Mickey ice cream bars, pretzels, waffles, beignets—the list goes on! It's a bit of a never-ending challenge to eat every Mickey-shaped food out there, but it's a fun goal to see how many you can try. Maybe 20 is a good bucket list number, or perhaps you want to go for even more! The sky is the limit.
Some Mickey-shaped foods appear on our lists of the best Disneyland foods ranked and best Disneyland desserts ranked—be sure to check these lists out for our top recommendations. Some of our favorite seasonal foods, like the famous Mickey-shaped gingerbread cookie, also come Mickey-shaped.
8) Eat at a Premier Dining Destination
Getting a reservation at some of the most coveted dining locations at the Disney Parks like Space 220 at EPCOT, the Blue Bayou at Disneyland, and Be Our Guest at Magic Kingdom can be a challenge, as these are gone in a flash. However, there is a good reason they are so popular with guests—iconic locations like these offer a meticulously themed, top-notch dining experience. For many Disney fans, dining at one of these locations is a top bucket list item.
Getting reservations as soon as the booking window opens is key! If you don't end up getting reservations, see our guides to Disney World last minute dining reservations and our tips for getting Disneyland dining reservations for guidance.
9) Win One of Disneyland's First-of-the-Day Secret Prizes
Some Disneyland guests have never heard of some secret prizes for guests who are first-of-the-day for certain experiences, like the first pickle prize that you'll win if you are the first person to buy this snack. The first pickle prize comes with a celebration pin with “First Pickle of the Day” written on it with the date to commemorate the occasion (along with the pickle itself).
If you aren't a fan of pickles, you can also try for the honor of signing a secret guest book if you are the first party of the day to ride Storybook Land Canal Boats in Fantasyland. If you're the first person in the queue, the Cast Member at the attraction will bring you a guest book to sign that has the signatures of the other first riders of the attraction before you. See our Instagram video on the experience below:
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For both of these experiences, you'll need to be ready bright and early at rope drop to be one of the first people in the parks and have a little bit of luck on your side. Even if you don't win one of these honors, you can still use this time to ride popular attractions with shorter waits using our Disneyland morning strategy.
Trying to secure these secret prizes at Disneyland is super fun, and they make for great Disney bucket list items!
10) Go on a Disney Cruise
Another Disney bucket list item is enjoying a vacation on a Disney Cruise. Going on a Disney Cruise is a great way to experience the Disney magic outside of the theme parks and enjoy beautiful destinations around the world.
There are a variety of itineraries offered, whether you are looking to relax in the Bahamas or soak in the beauty of Alaska. Disney cruises offer magic every step of the journey, including pools and recreation, entertainment including Broadway-caliber musicals and fireworks, youth clubs for kids, nightclubs and lounges for adults, character experiences, and even Disney's private island Castaway Cay. You can see our top tips for enjoying your Alaska Disney cruise in our guide!
If you are planning your next vacation and are torn between a Disney World trip and a Disney Cruise, see our Disney World vs. Disney Cruise comparison for everything you will want to consider.
11) Visit on a Holiday
Visiting the Disney Parks is magical at any time of year, but it can be extra fun to spend a holiday at the parks! You can visit on holidays like Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Year's, or the Fourth of July. For these holidays, there will be some special offerings at the parks. For example, you can enjoy a fireworks show and limited-time patriotic foods (see our guide to Fourth of July at Disneyland and Fourth of July at Disney World for everything you need to know), and there will also be special Thanksgiving meals offered on the holiday during Thanksgiving at Disneyland (including Goofy's Kitchen Thanksgiving Day Dining that was offered last year) and Thanksgiving at Disney World.
Spending a holiday at one of the Disney Parks is a bucket list item that will add even more magic to an already special day. Holidays at the parks do tend to be more crowded, but if you arrive with a flexible mindset and a solid strategy, you will be able to have a great time!
12) Visit Club 33
One of the biggest bucket list items on any Disney fan's list is visiting the exclusive Club 33. Entry to Club 33 is limited to members, their guests, and high-level Disney executives. The initiation fees are said to range from $25,000-$50,000 and annual dues from $10,000-$30,000, and the club is said to have a decades-long waiting list, so it is needless to say that entry to Club 33 as a member is not easily accessible for the average Disney fan. The only other way to get into Club 33 is to have a member make a reservation for you.
Click here to see our FULL photo tour of Club 33!
For many Disney fans, it would be a dream to be able to go inside the exclusive location, explore all of its beautiful details and history, and enjoy the food and drink offerings here. You can see our full article on Club 33 for a look inside, all of your questions answered, and everything else you need to know!
13) Stay at a Walt Disney World Resort Hotel (or every one of them!)
There is a huge selection of Walt Disney World Resort Hotels that you can stay at in value, moderate, and deluxe categories, with each one offering unique theming. Whether you choose to enjoy the beauty of the savanna and the animals inhabiting it at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge or have fun at Disney's Pop Century Resort, you can stay immersed in the Disney magic during your entire trip and also enjoy the perks that are available to guests of the Disney World Resort hotels.
For those who do not frequent Walt Disney World or whose home base is Disneyland in California, getting to stay at a Walt Disney World Resort hotel is a bucket list item they dream of. For frequent visitors, this bucket list item may be more ambitious—some may have the goal of staying at every single Walt Disney World Resort Hotel over the course of several trips!
See the pros and cons of each Walt Disney World Resort Hotel for everything you need to know.
14) Ride All of Disneyland Park's Attractions in One Day
A particularly cool (but challenging) bucket list item would be going on all of Disneyland Park's rides in a single day. To do this, you would need a really solid strategy (especially during those valuable morning hours for the popular attractions!) and would ideally want to plan this during one of the less crowded seasons at Disneyland. Checking this bucket list item off the list would be a huge accomplishment!
Of course, there will almost always be some rides under refurbishment, so that is something to keep in mind for this challenge, along with the possibility that certain rides may break down. See our Disneyland 1-day itinerary for the order we would recommend going in for rides if you only have one day at Disneyland.
15) Ride All of Disney California Adventure's Attractions in One Day
On a similar note, you can also try riding every Disney California Adventure ride in one day. Because Disney California Adventure has fewer attractions than Disneyland, this should be more doable than the bucket list item above! This would be a fun bucket list item to accomplish, from riding the Incredicoaster (one of the best Disneyland roller coasters) to exploring Monstropolis in Monsters, Inc. Mike and Sulley to the Rescue! (see our secret way to skip the line for this ride).
See our 1-Day Disney California Adventure Itinerary for the order we would recommend going in for rides if you only have one day at the park.
16) Visit All Four Walt Disney World Parks In One Day
On the other coast, a similar bucket list item would be visiting all four Walt Disney World parks in one day! You can experience your favorite attractions at Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, EPCOT, and Hollywood Studios all in one day with a Park Hopper ticket. You could start the day rope-dropping Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at Magic Kingdom, head over to EPCOT for lunch at World Showcase, enjoy a ride on Flight of Passage at Animal Kingdom, end the day with Fantasmic! at Hollywood Studios—whatever you would like!
Of course, there would be a good chunk of travel time needed to navigate the Walt Disney World Resort, but this would be a fun challenge for a Disney fan to accomplish. See our guide to park hopping at Walt Disney World for everything you need to know, as well as our guide to Walt Disney World transportation for traveling between the parks.
17) Go on a Disney Parks Tour
There are so many interesting Disney tours offered at the parks, from Disney World tours like Disney's Keys to the Kingdom Tour which allows you to learn about the history of the park and access hidden backstage areas to Walt's Main Street Story Tour at Disneyland which lets you go inside of Walt's private apartment above the Town Square Fire Station. If you're looking for an experience beyond a normal day at the parks, these special tours are a fantastic bucket list item for Disney fans.
Whether you want to experience a Starlight Safari at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge or enjoy the Happiest Haunts Tour at Disneyland that includes a photo op with the Hitchhiking Ghosts, you are bound to find something that piques your interest. These tours are a great way to deepen your knowledge and appreciation of the parks!
18) Visit Walt's Hometown
For fans who are passionate about Disney history, visiting Walt Disney's hometown of Marceline, Missouri would be a really special bucket list item. The town's Main Street served as inspiration for the iconic Main Street U.S.A. that greets guests at several Disney Parks around the world. Walt Disney had a deep connection to this small town where he spent his formative years, which is detailed in Gavin's article about his experience visiting Marceline, Missouri.
During a visit to Marceline, Disney fans can walk down Main Street, visit the Walt Disney Hometown Museum and the Walt Disney Family farm, and more. This experience is a priceless opportunity to deepen your appreciation for Walt Disney and his brilliant imagination.
19) Go to D23
Another great Disney bucket list item is attending D23, the biggest Disney convention in the world held in Anaheim that celebrates all things Disney! D23 takes place every two years and is the place to hear about major announcements regarding Disney, Marvel, Pixar, Star Wars, and news about upcoming Disney Parks projects. The event features special panels, exhibitions, presentations, and more. You can see our full guide to D23 for a schedule of the last event's offerings for an idea of what to expect and our tips on navigating D23.
20) Visit Aulani Resort
The next item on our Disney bucket list is visiting Aulani, the Disney resort located on the island of O'ahu in Hawaii. This particular bucket list item is a dream come true for fans who want to enjoy a relaxing vacation at one of the most beautiful places in the world while soaking in Disney magic. At Aulani, you can enjoy character experiences, a wide variety of activities and entertainment (from ‘ukulele lessons to Mo‘olelo Fire Pit Storytelling), impressive pool areas, and much more. You can see our review of the Aulani Luau for everything you need to know and our thoughts on the experience!
21) Visit the The Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco
Our final bucket list item is visiting the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco. Here, you can learn about the life and legacy of Walt Disney through different galleries.
From getting a glimpse of Walt’s youth in Marceline, Missouri to exploring the pivotal moments throughout Walt's life and career and witnessing a beautiful model of the original Disneyland Park, guests seeing the galleries can get an in-depth view of the man behind the mouse and celebrate his extraordinary legacy.
The Walt Disney Family Museum also has special rotating exhibitions as well for guests to enjoy as well. This museum was founded by Walt Disney's daughter Diane Disney Miller. She worked to create exhibits that trace Walt Disney's life from his birth in Chicago, Illinois to his death. The museum is home to incredible artifacts from Walt's life and a unique perspective on each chapter of his life. Diane Disney Miller said that this museum was her “book” on her father's life.
We love the museum and are impressed by the additional details that it has brought to the conversation around Walt's life. This is a must-do bucket list item for Disney fans.
There is an endless list of things that Disney fans dream of doing or experiencing both inside and outside of the parks. Let us know if you have completed any of the items on this Disney bucket list and what your top bucket list item is!
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