View from the plane?

[Minderbelle]

Just wondering . . . will we be able to see any of the World from the plane? Landmarks?

 

[Millie12591]

I wish I could tell you yes, but leaving from MCO, going towards Texas I didn't see a thing. Sorry.
Getting there I didn't see a thing, it was like 10:30 at night, we had been on a plane since around 1:30 I wish I could say that I did.

 

[ckotcamp]

I've never been able to see any of the parks from the plane but maybe I haven't been fortunate enough to be on the right side of the plane, who knows. I think the parks are a little far to be able to see anything though.

 

[DOOM1001]

I was on a plane from Los Angeles to Ft.Lauderdale and at 9:29pm I was flying over Anaheim,CA since it had been like 10+ minutes since we took off and I look out the window and see fireworks going off,I couldn't believe it, was I seeing the Disneyland fireworks from over a mile up in the air,so I made sure I got the time (9:29pm) so I could check to scheduled time for the fireworks that night.Well the next day I saw that they were supposed to start at 9:25 pm,so it confirmed that they were indeed the fireworks.

 

[pampam]

I personally have never seen WDW, but I remember one flight the pilot announced that those on the other side of the plane could see the castle. We of course were strapped in for landing, so there was no rushing over to take a look. It probably matters what runway they use to determine the flight path as well.

 

[biolabetty]

We couldn't see it when we landed last time, but I thought it was fun that the last space shuttle landing (which was at night), the guys said they flew over WDW and could see the castle. I'm surprised they could see it since they go so fast.

 

[jjpenguin]

I've seen the Epcot Ball once when flying out towards Houston

 

[safetymom]

Only one time did I get to see MK as I was flying north from Orlando. I can't tell you how many flights but it has to be over 100.

 

[of2dbeach]

I thought DW was a no fly zone ? I have lived here my entire life and never seen a plane go over "The most magical Place on Earth" maybe I am wrong but I thought i read it somewhere ???

 

[Bobo912]

I fly to Orlando at least twice a year and I've never seen WDW from the plane. I have seen the fireworks at Epcot and MK from the 12th floor of the Doubletree at Universal though, so I bet you can see that from the plane if you happen to arrive/depart at the right time.

 

[buzzgirls&dad]

Believe me I'm no expert but I think seeing some of WDW from a plane might be on how they have to configure the runways for the day with say wind. We have come from Milwaukee and they usually say we fly over Ocala then Orlando. Twice we have seen the Mk. Since you are very close to landing as a PP stated you can only see from one side of the plane. As another poster mentioned WDW is a no fly zone believe me were no were near being over WDW. We could only see land marks. Castle, SM, Contemp, Poly, GF, WL. It was very exciting but it goes by really fast as you are trying to find where attractions are, is the monorail moving, can I see HM etc. HTH

 

[shellybaxter]

In all of our trips - I think its eight now - we've only been able to see Epcot once from the plane. We were headed home so we were probably going to Salt Lake City. I can't be sure because I don't remember exactly which flight we took that time; we usually go through Salt Lake

 

[siouxi31]

I'm a bit of a map freak and I always carry my pocket atlas with me when I fly. I fly often for work and if the weather is clear, I sometimes track the route from the west coast all the way back to Chicago (it's not good for the neck) but I can't seem to help myself.

My point in saying that is you have to have some idea of what you're looking for. WDW isn't very obvious from the sky but if you know the landmarks to look for, it helps. For example, I usually look for that World Villiage building that's kind of rusty/orange colored. It's easy to spot and right next to WDW. Then I start to look for the Swan or Dolphin or Spaceship earth. Soon enough, I'm noticing the Contemporary and Carribbean Beach Resort.

I've never noticed Cinderella's castle, Tree of Life or ToT.

I've probably flown in/out of Orlando 35 times. I've seen parts of WDW 5 times. Other than that, we either took off/landed from an area where I couldn't see it, or it was dark, or it was cloudy.

It's very difficult to get your bearings during take-off since you usually have no idea what direction you're flying. It's easier for me to see WDW upon arrival because leaving my home airport, I can immediately notice roads/buildings and know where I am in order to track the remainder of my flight.

OK, now I've shared my own private nerdiness.

 

[OKW Lover]

As others have said, it is possible. But not likely. It depends heavily on the weather, direction of take-off/landing and where you are headed. The few times we've been able to see WDW has been when we leave. In those cases we were taking off to the south and the plane made a long right hand turn to head north.

 

[Sandy Fisher]

We've flown in and out of MCO many times. Only one time when there was a storm in the area and they literally rode around in a circle and came in a totally different direction (we flew in from PA), we not only saw parts of WDW (including the Carribbean Beach Resort) but we saw one of the runways at the space center. That was the only time. We recognized the CBR because we usually stayed there and had aerial views of it on our computer.

 

[Luv4Disney]

We fly from NJ and have never seen anything. Wish we could though!

 

[Bill From PA]

For the first time ever, this March on a JetBlue flight from EWR, sitting on the left side of the plane, we clearly saw Dolphin and Spaceship Earth as we approached for landing. Surprisingly, it was the turquoise form of Dolphin that caught my attention first, then I found SE.

Bill From PA

 

[hawkrn]

We always catch an Air Tran connection in Atlanta and fly in about 1030AM and ALWAYS see WDW on the right side of the plane. We know to look for it. The easiest landmark to spot for us is actually the Contemporary. So we are flying east of MK and must be right on the edge of the no fly zone because we can see cars in the lots! Never see anything on the way home though

 

[Piglet Fan]

I'll echo the above comments that seeing WDW from the plane is pretty rare. Usually I can figure out the right spot to search (assuming I'm on the correct side of the plane, which can be either depending on the direction the planes are using the runway), but often it's too cloudy or dark to see far enough. I fly into Orlando a couple of times a year on average and I've seen WDW only twice. Once was a really sunny and clear day where I was able to spot SE and then other things around it. The other time was when I was landing at night and was able to see Wishes over the MK, which was pretty nifty. Both of those were really at a distance though.

 

[VMK_Mouse]

I have never been able to see anything. I have seen what I believe is a resort, but I cannot tell for sure.