10 Can't Miss Things at Magic Kingdom
Previously, I shared 10 things to skip at Magic Kingdom. Now that you know what NOT to spend your time on, here are the things I wholeheartedly recommend doing at Disney's Magic Kingdom.
As the park with the most attractions (and the most attractions for which you can use FastPass +), you are not lacking for choices. But given you don't have unlimited vacation time, these are the things I think your time is best spent doing.
10. Let the Magic Begin!
This is the castle show they do first thing in the morning at rope drop. All the characters come out to help open the park, and there is a blast of fireworks at the end. But really this is me encouraging you to be at the hub at rope drop.
Here's how it works: Main Street USA opens about an hour before the rest of the park. This lets you get nice castle pics and maybe do a little shopping, and really just lets you get into position at the hub in front of Cinderella Castle for official park opening time. At official park opening time, ropes drop at the bridges to Adventureland, Liberty Square, Frontierland, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland. If you are trying to ride a major attraction first thing in the morning without a fastpass (which I recommend wholeheartedly), you are going to want to be as close to where the rope drops as possible. This puts you on the hub.
The "Let the Magic Begin" show happens right before rope drop, with the firework blast corresponding to the rope drop. It's great. Even if you can't see the show head-on, it's nice to hear Mickey's voice, and the "Bibbiti bobbiti boo!" of the Fairy Godmother, then that firework blast and off you go.
9. Arrive or Leave via Monorail
The Magic Kingdom is served by the monorail. There are two routes that can get you there: the resort loop monorail which stops at the Transportation and Ticket Center, the Polynesian, The Grand Floridian, Magic Kingdom, and the Contemporary, OR the express monorail which just goes between the Magic Kingdom and the Transportation and Ticket Center. When arriving by car, you must park at the Transportation and Ticket Center, so you will have a choice between taking the ferry or the monorail. I strongly believe that at least once, you must take the monorail. It's unique to Walt Disney World to ride the "highway in the sky".
8. Pirates of the Caribbean
Some Disney classics do not stand the test of time, like the Carousel of Progress, or the Enchanted Tiki Room. Pirates of the Caribbean, however, has not only stood the test of time, but has incorporated Jack Sparrow from the recent movies now. This is just a nicely themed classic ride that's a lot of fun.
7. Seven Dwarves Mine Train
This is the newest of the coasters at the Magic Kingdom, and is a tame and smooth ride for a coaster, a notch tamer than Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Kids who meet the height requirement will probably like it. It's very well themed.
My only warning on this one is you need to either head for this immediately first thing in the morning at rope drop or have a FastPass + reservation. Wait times at the Magic Kingdom are the longest for this ride.
6. Festival of Fantasy Parade
Once you see a Disney parade, no other parade looks the same. The floats tower over you. You'll think you're on the Disney Christmas special.
If you've never seen the parade, then you simply must. You can either stake out a spot about an hour before it starts and defend it as the time nears or you can make a strategic advanced dining reservation at Liberty Tree Tavern or Tony's Town Square, both of which are on the parade route, show up 45 minutes or so early, and make clear that you are willing to wait for a table with a view of the parade. My favorite strategy, and a tradition we've done every single time I've been there, is to watch the parade from Tony's Town Square. It's a great view, and you're not jostling for space when you are dining at a table.
If you have seen the parade before, then I will totally let you off the hook. There are difficult decisions to be made during the parade such as "Do I really want to be in the park at 3 o'clock in the afternoon when it's as hot and muggy as can be?" and "If I am in the park at 3 o'clock, should I take advantage of this time to ride rides since everyone is watching the parade?" Decisions, decisions! I often fall into the "not in the park at all" camp during this time of day.
Despite all that, everyone must see this parade once.
5. Meet a character
I'm not one for standing in long lines to meet characters, so I skip the Princess lines. At least... I do now that my daughter is no longer a teeny little girl who needed to meet Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. But even when we did stand in line for Sleeping Beauty it was so worth seeing my little princess with her favorite princess.
These days, I'm more likely to linger around in front of Gaston's Tavern waiting for the man himself. He's a really fun character to meet!
The Magic Kingdom is character central. This could involve as much effort as you choose depending on who you want to meet. If you want to meet a princess or main character like Mickey, then there are designated meeting places where the lines can queue up quite long. Or, you could choose to wait around where characters are likely to pop up where a line typically doesn't get very deep until the character actually does appear (about 20 minutes off, 20 minutes on between appearances). You can use your MyDisneyExperience app to find where characters typically appear. If a spot is marked on a map, chances are you will not wait for long to see that character. If you wonder when they'll show up, you can ask a Cast Member.
4. Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin
Before there was Toy Story Mania, there was Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, which actually, I enjoy even more than Toy Story Mania. This is basically like riding through an arcade game. Two sit to a car and each person gets a laser gun. Your job is to shoot at the Evil Emporer Zurg's battery and power packs. Your car will keep score and at the end you will see a leader board for that and surrounding cars (so you can play as a family). I like it better than Toy Story Mania because the laser gun's trigger is much easier on the finger than the pull string, and the scenes are more cohesive.
3. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
It's a roller-coaster, exciting enough to be fun for all ages, but tame enough to take your kids who meet the height requirement on. No loops or huge drops, just a lot of bucking and twisting through an "abandoned mine". This remains my favorite coaster at Magic Kingdom over Seven Dwarves Mine Train (and I'm not a huge fan of Space Mountain, hence no mention on this list even though it's a headliner attraction). Right before the ride starts, you will hear "It's the wildest ride in the wilderness!". Extremely scientific studies of a small sampling of people (my family) indicate that if you shout "YEEEHAAAAA!" upon hearing this, you're going to have an awesome ride.
2. Splash Mountain
Splash Mountain has a little bit of something for everyone. A catchy tune, a nicely themed, adorably animated ride down a river in a floating log, and a huge thrilling drop at the end with a good chance of getting wet. Basically, it's a log drop ride, but once you've gone on this, any other log drop ride is minor league. This is the best log drop ride ever. Watch for the dancing chickens on the riverboat toward the end. They just might be my favorite animatronics in Walt Disney World.
1. Happily Ever After
If you are at Walt Disney World and you DON'T see the fireworks over the Cinderella Castle, then I don't know what to say to you. You haven't done Disney until you've seen the nighttime castle fireworks show, whatever iteration it might be in at the moment. Thankfully, Happily Ever After is THE BEST version of this show I have ever seen. So, on a busy day, park about an hour early. On a not so busy day, you can usually park about 25 minutes early. Try to find an unobstructed spot by the hub where you can clearly see the castle. Enjoy the perfect cap to a perfect Disney day.
