Disney Vacation Guide to Magic Kingdom

Last but not least in my guide to Disney Parks series is none other than Magic Kingdom. I am not going to lie to you I have really been putting this off for quite a while just because I know that there is an obscene amount of information I am going to have to share, but I am going to do it anyways lol. Magic Kingdom is truly a massive establishment, there is no possible way to do everything in that park in one day. I think it would take 3 days of hard core planning to get through everything in that park. Unlike the previous guides where I just gave you a few suggestions this one is going to be much more in depth, depending on family size and ages (to get you the best possible MK trip). Let’s get started:

Attractions:

  • The Barnstormer
  • Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
  • Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
  • Dumbo the Flying Elephant
  • Enchanted Tales with Belle
  • The Haunted Mansion
  • it’s a small world
  • Jungle Cruise
  • Mad Tea Party
  • The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
  • The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
  • Meet Ariel at Her Grotto
  • Meet Cinderella & Elena at Princess Fairytale Hall
  • Meet Mickey Mouse at Town Square Theater
  • Meet Rapunzel and Tiana at Princess Fairytale Hall
  • Meet Tinker Bell at Town Square Theater
  • Mickey’s PhilharMagic
  • Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor
  • Peter Pan’s Flight
  • Pirates of the Caribbean
  • Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
  • Space Mountain
  • Splash Mountain
  • Tomorrowland Speedway
  • Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid

MK has the MOST fast pass options of any other Disney park, also unlike the other parks there is no tiered system. Which means that you can pick which ever three rides you would like, and after those fast passes have been used you can select one more (use it), and keep doing that until you run out of options or they run out of fast passes. Because there are so many rides to choose from I’m going to start this by listing the rides you will NEVER need a fast pass for:

  • Barnstormer
  • Dumbo
  • It’s a Small World
  • Mad Tea Party
  • The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
  • The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
  • Mickey’s PhilharMagic
  • Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor

Ok now with that being said, If it is your sole purpose in life to ride Dumbo as many times as possible then maybe grab a fast pass. But these rides generally are all under 30 minute waits and are usually pretty quick.

Another thing that makes MK a little more complicated than other parks is the quantity of meet and greet fast passes. If you want to meet characters than some of these are definitely worth while options:

  • Meet Mickey Mouse at Town Square Theater
  • Meet Tinker Bell at Town Square Theater

The princesses are usually under 30 minutes but again, if that is something you really want to do it would not be a total waste to grab one.

OK, so now I am going to break down the rides into the age range that it would be most appropriate for. Obviously I have rode all of these so if you are adults doing Disney you can literally ride anything and have a good time. Also this doesn’t mean you need fast passes for these rides it’s just some suggestions for the day!

Younger than 3:
  • Mickey’s PhilharMagic
  • Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor
  • It’s a Small World
  • Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid
  • Dumbo the Flying Elephant
  • Enchanted Tales with Belle
  • The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Ages 4-7:
  • Dumbo the Flying Elephant
  • it’s a small world
  • Jungle Cruise
  • Mad Tea Party
  • The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
  • The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
  • Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor
  • Peter Pan’s Flight
  • Pirates of the Caribbean
  • Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
  • Tomorrowland Speedway
  • Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid
  • Enchanted Tales with Belle
  • Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
Ages 8-12:
  • The Haunted Mansion
  • Jungle Cruise
  • Mad Tea Party
  • Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor
  • Peter Pan’s Flight
  • Pirates of the Caribbean
  • Tomorrowland Speedway
  • Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid
  • Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
Ages 13-15:
  • The Haunted Mansion
  • Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor
  • Pirates of the Caribbean
  • Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
  • Space Mountain
  • Splash Mountain
  • Tomorrowland Speedway
  • Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
  • Jungle Cruise
Ages 16+:
  • Jungle Cruise
  • Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor
  • Peter Pan’s Flight
  • Pirates of the Caribbean
  • Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
  • Space Mountain
  • Splash Mountain
  • Tomorrowland Speedway
  • Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid

So that covers attractions, lets move onto shows:

Shows:

So there are 3 main shows that I think are do not miss.

*** There are tons of little shows that go on throughout the park that are really neat as well but these are the big ones that I think make the best use of your time***

Move It! Shake It! Dance & Play It! Street Party

  • This is a street party that takes place everyday on main street! It is super fun and it full of characters and music and dancing. It is also awesome because you don’t really need to save a seat you can kind of just walk up and see it

Disney’s Festival of Fantasy

  • The festival of fantasy parade is pretty amazing. I definitely would not miss it. It requires you to sit down maybe 45 minutes prior just to ensure you get a good seat but it is worth it if you have people in your party that love parades. My favorite spot to enjoy it is right in front of the Country Bears, the single best ride in all of Magic Kingdom.

Happily Ever After

  • Happily Ever After is the night time fireworks spectacular that replaced Wishes! It is an amazing show, the projections on the castle are amazing. If you want a good seat I would recommend arriving 1 hour before show time. I can’t believe I am giving out all of my secrets but the best place to watch it is directly to the left of the castle a good distance back in between the partners statue and the castle.

Honorable Mentions:

  1. The Tomorrow Land Terrace Dance Party
  2. The Country Bear Jamboree
  3. The Trolley Show
  4. The Flag Ceremony
  5. The Captain Jack Sparrow Show
  6. The Hoedown

So that is that when it comes to shows, lets move onto food!

Food

So there are so many food options in Magic Kingdom I have to break this down into categories again (jeez this post is long).

Snack: 

  1. Breadsticks from Pinocchio Village Haus
  2. Dole Whip
  3. Citrus Swirl
  4. Jalapeno cheese stuffed pretzel
  5. Churro (not unique but I love them)
  6. Ice Cream from main street
  7. Nutella Waffle (sleepy hallow)

Quick Service: 

  1. Pecos Bills (mexican) Is the best quick service unless you want a hamburger and nugs
  2. Cosmic Reys (hamburger and nugs) legit has the best ranch idk why its so good but it is unreal
  3. Caseys Corner (hotdogs) has awesome corn dog nuggets

Table Service: 

  1. Cinderellas Castle (obviously it is notable it is INSIDE the castle lol) It is a character meal with a wide variety of princesses. It books up so fast it is unreal.
  2. Skipper Canteen usually has availability, doesn’t have characters, food is above average
  3. Be our Guest, is dining with belle and beast, it is a quick service by day and table service by night, try the grey stuff it’s delicious!
  4. Crystal Palace, character dining with Winnie the Pooh and friends!

Dessert Parties:

Magic Kingdom has a ton of dessert parties. Essentially you pay a flat rate for unlimited desserts and reserved seating for Happily Ever After. I would recommend that you skip this and do a different event at a hotel (which I will go into more detail in my hotel tours!!!). The seating is great and the desserts aren’t worth it.

So there you have it, a comprehensive guide to Magic Kingdom. It was pretty dang long so I hope you use some of this information, but the best piece of advice I can give you is that Magic Kingdom is HUGE. You will not be able to do everything in one or two days (it took me 9 months to do everything haha). I see so many families stressed to the max because they are rushing to a dinning reservations or to there next fast pass or to get a spot for the fireworks, that they don’t pause to enjoy the trip.

I get a lot of crap about how I love Disney so much, and honestly I could write an entire post on this but I think the reason why people don’t love Disney as much as I do is because they are stressed. Some of my best days at the parks were spent dancing in tomorrowland, Singing the entire soundtrack to Happily Ever After nowhere close to the castle and getting an Olaf Popsicle and laying in the hub grass. When I think about Disney and what I miss the most, that’s it.

So I think that is a good place to stop. As cheesy as it sounds all of these guides are not the key to a magical vacation. It is the little moments in between that are. So start planning but don’t overthink it, your dream vacation is closer than you think and probably can’t be scheduled!

 

 

 

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