While there is no shortage of activity in Walt Disney World’s four park offerings, sometimes it’s just nice to find a spot to relax and take in the magic.  Here are four of my favorite spots to take a load off and soak it in.

Tom Sawyer’s Island, Magic Kingdom

Hop a raft and sail over to Tom Sawyer’s Island for a little lazy afternoon fun.  Sure, you can climb around the island, twist your ankle on the barrel bridge or look for hidden gems, but this is also a great place just to grab a seat and enjoy the sights and sounds of Frontierland and Liberty Square.  While the island can get more popular during peak times, it’s often a forgotten favorite or unknown to newbies, so it’ll almost always be one of the more deserted areas of the park.

Festival of Fantasy from Tom Sawyer's Island
Festival of Fantasy from Tom Sawyer’s Island

Get Park Wise: Head over the the island around 2:30, and you’ll get a nice, un-sardined view of the 3:00 parade.

The Magic of Disney Animation, Hollywood Studios

One of my favorite corners of Hollywood Studios resides in the Magic of Disney Animation.  Boasting climate control and benches around every corner, this is a nice spot to take shelter in a downpour or scorching afternoon.  Even better, if you’ve got little ones in tow, there are lots of hands on activities in the area with character meets, touch screen games and often you’ll even find a real live cast member with tangible coloring pages and crayons.  Grab some bench, and let the kids get their creative juices flowing.

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Rafiki’s Planet Watch, Animal Kingdom

Another spot that veteran WDWers tend to skip and newbies don’t know exist (I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had even seasoned travelers ask where we met Rafiki), the Planet Watch is another relatively uncrowded space in Walt Disney World’s largest park.  With a relaxing train ride to and from the area, there are plenty of spots to get off your feet and watch live animal interactions or even take part if you’re not too relaxed.

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Get Park Wise: Do you have a future veterinarian in the family?  This is a great spot to see animal medical care in action!  Each time we’ve visited, we’ve been able to catch a bit of the animal care center staff working with an animal.

Japanese Gardens, Epcot

While it doesn’t feature ample seating and is vulnerable to the elements, the gardens in the Japan pavilion of the World Showcase always bring a sense of calm for me.  Whether it’s watching the koi drift back and forth across the pond or wandering the bridge, this green corner of Epcot is a nice spot to stop for a bit and enjoy the serenity.

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Get Park Wise: This spot gets even more relaxing with a glass of, well, anything found around the Showcase.

What are your favorite spots to relax at Walt Disney World?

Jessica Ma'ilo
Jessica is a special education teacher by day and blogger and Fairy Godmother Travel agent by evening. When not supervising play dates or sleepovers, she can be found creating, sewing or singing. She loves hitting the Disney Parks, and she and her family escape to the World and Land as often as they can. She can be contacted at [email protected], and you can also check out her family blog, Magic, Memories, Mayhem.