Despite being one of the top travel destinations on the planet, Walt Disney World in Florida still remains the subject of many popular misconceptions.

In the age of social media and online travel resources, you would think many false assumptions about The Most Magical Place on Earth would have long died out, but it’s still pretty common for Disney fans to hear some crazy stuff in conversations about their favorite vacation destination. I’m not even talking about batty urban legends like that Cinderella Castle can be dismantled during a hurricane (it can’t) or that the Walt Disney company owns The Villages senior living community (they don’t)…

I’m talking about the sort of broad misconceptions that can completely bust a potential Disney trip-- things like that Disneyland and Walt Disney World are essentially the same or that both parks essentially center around Fantasyland. It’s the assumptions that Disney parks are only for one type of person or that Epcot, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios are skippable extras at best.

Some of these misunderstandings are totally understandable—Disney parks aren’t necessarily everyone’s thing, and that’s all right. Some of these misconceptions are so engrained in the cultural conscience that it’s hard to break them when the topic of a potential Disney vacation comes up. However, if left addressed, these misconceptions can skew the narrative around why people keep returning to Disney parks year after year…

The good news is a little research can quickly set the record straight. How many of these misconceptions have you heard before?

1. Disney World is the name of a park

“You just won the Super Bowl! What are you going to do next?”

“I’M GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!”

You don’t have to have the foggiest familiarity with Disney parks to know this statement—it’s become so familiar to our culture that Disney actually has an official Super Bowl parade every year the day after the big game to celebrate the winners. There’s only one problem with the sentence…

People often assume that Disney World is the name of a park.

The assumption makes perfect sense—after all, Disneyland is the name of Disney’s original California park. Isn’t Disney World just slightly bigger Disneyland on the East coast? This perception is even more understandable when you consider what people think when we say “Disney World”. Just type the phrase into Google Images and you’ll be immediately greeted by twenty pictures of Cinderella Castle before you even scroll down. To the average person not familiar with Disney parks, the logical conclusion is that Disney World, like Disneyland, is a theme park surrounding a castle.

The issue is that the park with the castle isn’t Disney World—it’s called the Magic Kingdom.

Walt Disney World isn’t actually a park—it’s a resort and entertainment complex the size of San Francisco that includes four theme parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios), two water parks, a massive shopping/dining district, three golf courses, two mini-golf courses, a sports complex, conservation wetlands, and more than 25 resort hotels. That’s a lot to do in one travel destination!

The Magic Kingdom is definitely Walt Disney World’s signature park, as well as its most popular, but it’s only one park in the sprawling destination known as Walt Disney World, which leads us to another common misconception…

2. You can see it all in a day or two

Disneyland Resort in California covers two parks (Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure) and a shopping district. While some occasions could merit a week-long visit, on most occasions, you can experience both parks in full over a 3-4 day trip.

That is definitely not the case with Walt Disney World.

Considering all that the Walt Disney World resort has to offer, a five day vacation can feel like a squeeze. The reason for this is that most of the parks really need more than one day to fully experience. Even Disney’s Hollywood Studios, which many people used to write off as a half-day park, is now a full day (or multi-day) experience thanks to the arrival of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and the hit-or-miss boarding pass system surrounding Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. Adults, families with teens, or repeat visitors who don’t have the nostalgia-bug might be able to experience Magic Kingdom in less than a full day but that wouldn’t necessarily work for a first time family.

In truth, six days is about the minimum that experts recommend for a Walt Disney World vacation—seven to nine days is even better since it will allow you breathing room to explore at a less frantic pace. Each family’s itinerary will prove different depending on what you enjoy, but a general guideline will be two spend at least a full day at each park with extra days spent returning to the parks you enjoyed the most to experience things you missed. Families with kids will likely need two days at Magic Kingdom. Star Wars fans will probably need two days at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Foodies will likely want park hopper access to Epcot, and many fans consider Disney’s Animal Kingdom their favorite park, easily meriting two days. Each vacation is different, but either way, you will need some breathing room on your schedule to really experience Walt Disney World to the fullest.

3. Magic Kingdom is the only park that matters

Tying into the idea that Disneyland and Walt Disney World are essentially similar, we find another popular misconception that can definitely bust a Disney vacation if left unchecked.

I cannot tell you the amount of times I’ve had to convince people that Magic Kingdom is not the only Walt Disney World park that matters. Even among Florida residents, this is a commonly held belief, and I’ve seen it result in a lot of lousy Disney trips.

Six to nine days seems like an awfully long time to spend at Walt Disney World, and the budget required to pull off a week-long epic Disney vacation can give even the most stalwart travelers sticker shock. Can’t you just simplify a Disney trip down to a day or two at Magic Kingdom? Why even bother with Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, or Disney’s Animal Kingdom? This paradigm usually gets justified by people insisting that the other three parks are skippable: Epcot is written off as boring, Disney’s Animal Kingdom is assumed to be a simple zoo, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios might look too small or teen-focused.

Magic Kingdom is a great park, but it suffers from one fatal flaw—its appeal heavily relies on nostalgia and appeal to kids. People flock back to Magic Kingdom year after year because they want to experience classic Disney magic again and again and share that with their families.

The problem is that if you don’t get the warm-fuzzies from Disney nostalgia, you probably won’t get quite as much out of Magic Kingdom. On the other hand, many Disney fans will quickly chime in that one of the three other parks is easily their favorite.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom is probably the resort’s most well-rounded park, offering some of Disney’s best rides paired with excellent dining and ever-changing wildlife experiences (that feel nothing like a zoo). Epcot definitely holds great appeal for adults with their excellent dining selections and the mature appeal of World Showcase, but it’s also a great park for kids thanks to top notch attractions like The Seas with Nemo and Friends and Frozen Ever After. As for Disney’s Hollywood Studios, it was already a great park for some of Disney’s most innovative attractions, but the arrival of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Toy Story Land, and the incoming Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway have turned it into an absolute must-visit family destination.

In short, it’s a major mistake to visit Walt Disney World and only visit Magic Kingdom— you’ll be missing out on Disney’s best attractions, themed lands, and experiences for all ages.