Have you ever thought about what literature selections might be appropriate for your homeschooling program while visiting the Disney Parks in Florida? Using literature that ties into Walt Disney World and its magical parks is a great way to get students of any age interested in reading
I’ve gathered up some ideas for each of the four Disney World parks that you and your kids are sure to love. They’re easy to pair with a fun activity or coloring sheets as well.
Walt Disney World literature selections for homeschoolers
Magic Kingdom
With classic favorites like Tom Sawyer’s Island and Peter Pan’s Flight, there are lots of great literature options that tie into the rides and attractions at Disney’s Magic Kingdom Park.
- Sleeping Beauty based on “Sleeping Beauty” by Charles Perrault
- Seven Dwarfs Mine Train: Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs is based on “Snow White: A Tale from the Brothers Grimm” by Brothers Grimm
- Pinocchio based on “Pinocchio” by Carlo Collodi
- Dumbo the Flying Elephant: Dumbo based on “Walt Disney’s Dumbo of the Circus” by Helen Aberson
- Prince Charming Regal Carrousel: Cinderella based on “Cinderella” by Charles Perrault
- Alice in Wonderland based on “Alice in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass” by Lewis Carroll
- Winnie the Pooh loosely based on “The Complete Tales of Winnie-the-Pooh” by A.A. Milne
- The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Wyss
- Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
- The Princess and the Frog based on the fairy tale, The Frog Prince by The Brothers Grimm
- Tom Sawyer based on The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
- The Magic Carpets of Aladdin: Aladdin is loosely based on a version of the story in The Book of The Thousand Nights And One Nights
- Tangled bathrooms: Rapunzel by the Brothers Grimm
The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods
Snow-White and Rose-Red / by Brothers Grimm, Illustrated by Marjorie CooperPinocchio (Sterling Unabridged Classics)Cinderella (illustrated)Alice in Wonderland: The Original 1865 Edition With Complete Illustrations By Sir John TennielThe Complete Tales & Poems of Winnie-the-Pooh.[Winnie-the-Pooh/ The House at Pooh Corner/When We Were Very Young/Now We Are Six]Swiss Family Robinson (Illustrated Classic): 200th Anniversary CollectionPeter Pan by J. M. Barrie Leather Bound Illustrated CollectibleThe Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales: An Illustrated ClassicThe Adventures of Tom Sawyer: Original IllustrationsTales from the Thousand and One Nights (Classics)Rapunzel: Based on the Original Story by the Brothers Grimm
![The Complete Tales & Poems of Winnie-the-Pooh.[Winnie-the-Pooh/ The House at Pooh Corner/When We Were Very Young/Now We Are Six]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51OaqJeJaDL._SL500_.jpg)
Epcot
With so many interesting countries and areas of innovation in Disney’s Epcot and the World Showcase, finding interesting literature is easy.
- France’s Beauty & the Beast Sing Along: Beauty and the Beast loosely based on the fairy tale by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve
- United Kingdom: Mary Poppins based on “Mary Poppins” by P.L. Travers
- Mexico: Coco based on “Coco” by Lee Unkrich and Adrian Molina
- Norway’s Frozen Ever After: “The Snow Queen” loosely based on Hans Christian Anderson’s The Snow Queen
- China: Mulan based on the ancient Chinese ballad, “Legend of Mulan.”
Beauty and the Beast, The (MinaLima Edition): (Illustrated with Interactive Elements)Mary Poppins Boxed SetCoco Coloring Book: Great Coloring Book for Kids and FansThe Snow Queen (Illustrated)Mulan: A Story in Chinese and English
Animal Kingdom
Many details of these book selections can be seen by just looking around at the different rides in Animal Kingdom.
- The Festival of the Lion King: The Lion King by William Steig. It’s also an easy read since the story is well known and many details can be gleaned from just looking around at the different rides in Animal Kingdom or watching clips of The Lion King movie.
- The Jungle Book based on the stories by Rudyard Kipling
- Kilimanjaro Safaris: based on “Born Free” by Joy Adamson and George Adamson
- Hamlet by Shakespeare is also the inspiration behind Disney’s Lion King Movie.
Hollywood Studios
- The Voyage of the Little Mermaid: Little Mermaid loosely based on “The Little Mermaid (With Original Illustrations)” by Hans Christian Anderson.
- Toy Story Land: Toy Story was inspired by “The Velveteen Rabbit” written by Margerie Williams.
- Star Wars Land: Star Wars Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker is a novel of the 1977 film Star Wars, ghostwritten by Alan Dean Foster, but credited to George Lucas.
The Little Mermaid (The Classic Edition)The Velveteen Rabbit: Original 1922 Collector’s EditionStar Wars From The Adventures Of Luke Skywalker First Edition December 1976
Ways to enjoy these literature selections about Walt Disney World
The stories can be used as a read aloud, individual reading, or even listened to via the audio version. Jim Dale does an amazing audiobook for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Peter Pan. I highly suggest audiobooks as a fun way to learn while you are driving to Disney or on a long road trip.
After reading several literature selections, we watched the Disney movies to see how they compared. The next time we visited Walt Disney World, we sought out those characters or rode the ride it pertained to and did another comparison between the actual story and the Disney version.
Walking through the Swiss Family Treehouse was more fun and so interesting, as was playing on Tom Sawyer Island, now that the children had a new appreciation for the attractions. It added an extra level of magic in each park now that they understood the background of the different areas and attractions better.
Disney World literature selections are easy to find! Pick one of these books and enjoy an afternoon going through it with your kids or the whole family!
The learning opportunities are endless with hands-on activities, unit studies, and printable worksheets to go with the books. I have several pinned on to my Homeschooling Using Disney Parks board. Hop on over and check them out.
See the whole series here:
