What You Should Know About the Magic Kingdom

When people think of Walt Disney World, they think of the Magic Kingdom because it's the one with the castle. Some people incorrectly refer to it as Disneyland, which is confusingly the name of its sister park in California as well as the name of the entire Disney property in California. The Magic Kingdom is the original Florida park, just as the very similar Disneyland is the original California park, and it does take its playbook from that other park in California, except that it's bigger and newer. Many think of this is as the centerpiece of Walt Disney World, and even if you have different favorite parks, you may agree they aren't wrong. This park is where the magic seems to live.

How to Get There

Depending on your starting point, you can get to the Magic Kingdom by boat, bus, monorail, or car. The only Disney complimentary mode of transportation that does not serve the Magic Kingdom is the skyliner. If you are arriving by Disney transportation (boat, bus, or monorail), you will be let off directly at the entrance plaza. If you're coming by third party transportation (your own car, Uber, Lyft, or off-property shuttle or bus), you will park at the Transportation and Ticket Center, which is across the Seven Seas Lagoon from the Magic Kingdom, and then you may take either the ferry or the monorail to the park itself. There is no parking directly at the entrance.

The monorail serves three Disney resort hotels around the Seven Seas Lagoon as well as the Transportation and Ticket Center. You will encounter security before boarding the monorail. The same is true with boats in regards to security - You will typically encounter it before boarding the boat. A large ferry serves the Transportation and Ticket Center, and four Disney resort hotels also have smaller boat launches to the Magic Kingdom. Finally, if arriving by Disney bus, you will encounter security at the entrance plaza.

The closest Disney resort hotels to the Magic Kingdom are those on the monorail loop. Each of these is a deluxe resort. The very closest is the Contemporary Resort, which is literally across the service road from the Magic Kingdom and is also served by monorail. If you board the monorail at the Contemporary, you will have to make the whole loop, though, until you get to the Magic Kingdom because monorails only run in one direction. Or you can walk which is a 5-7 minute walk. The Grand Floridian which is the last monorail stop on the way to the Magic Kingdom, and is also walkable to the Magic Kingdom, is the second closest. The Polynesian Village Resort is the third closest and has the advantage of being only a 5-7 minute walk from the Transportation and Ticket Center for the ferry or monorail to EPCOT. We don't recommend walking here to board the monorail because you will return back to the Polynesian at the next stop, thus wasting a stop. You can also board the monorail directly at the Polynesian Village, or you can walk, though this is the longest walk to the Magic Kingdom. These three resorts are also the original resorts at Walt Disney World. Finally, the entire Wilderness Lodge and Campgrounds area is nearby and does offer boats to the Magic Kingdom, or you can take a bus. This final resort is not on the monorail loop.

A view of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, one of the trifecta mountain rides in the Magic Kingdom, looking across the Rivers of America from Liberty Square

Most Popular Attractions

The Magic Kingdom has more attractions than any other theme park at Walt Disney World, but only a handful of these are E-ticket attractions. Many other attractions fall into the category of "dark ride", such as those in Fantasyland, or "kiddie ride" such as carousels, and kiddie coasters.

Coming in at #1 in terms of popularity is Seven Dwarves Mine Train. This is the park's newest coaster (until the Tron Lightcycle coaster is completed, and then we suspect that will be the new #1). Seven Dwarves Mine Train is in Fantasyland, and is eligible for Individual Lightning Lane (not regular Lightning Lane). You can also rope drop this ride with some success, or try riding during the parade for fireworks.

We suspect when the Tron Lightcycle Power Run coaster is completed in Tomorrowland, Seven Dwarves Mine Train will be dethroned from its position as #1, and will likely also become a regular Lightning Lane ride in keeping with the current philosophy that each park only has one Individual Lightning Lane ride.

Other popular attractions include the trio of mountains: Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and Splash Mountain. The first two of those are coasters, and the last is a log plume ride. Splash Mountain is decidedly less popular when the weather is chilly, but that is seldom in Florida.

Also Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, and, inexplicably, Peter Pan's Flight are very popular. In fact, if you hope to ride Peter Pan's flight, it might be a good idea to either rope drop it or try to get your Lightning Lane for it if using Genie+ as soon in the day as possible because it is the first ride that runs out of Lightning Lane passes.

Gaston's Tavern in Fantasyland, a great place for meal-sized snacks

What to Eat

The Magic Kingdom has what we consider your typical amusement park food. While the food is good, there is rarely anything we would go out of our way to go to the Magic Kingdom to dine on. In practice, this becomes more of a snack park for us. This isn't to say there aren't a ton of choices. There are a lot of quick service opportunities and a few table service restaurants as well.

The hardest table service reservation to get is Cinderella's Royal Table, where you dine inside the castle with the princesses. Coming in second for hardest to get is Be Our Guest, in Beast's castle. At breakfast and lunch, this is quick service restaurant which turns into table service for dinner. It's quite good, but also quite busy at all times, and requires reservations.

The most varied and interesting table service restaurant is Jungle Skipper's Canteen, across from the Jungle Cruise, which has more inventive global cuisine. For Table Service, you can also find traditional American and Italian meals.

In the realm of quick service, we are fans of Gaston's Tavern, though the food here is again less like a meal and more like a snack. The stuffed pretzels or the cinnamon roll which is as big as your head will hold you over for quite a while, though. People also like Pecos Bill's for its burgers and tacos.

Like we said, though, we tend to rarely have a full meal at this park as we prefer the snacking. From your basic Mickey Premium Ice Cream bar, to the most beloved treat at Walt Disney World - the Dole Whip, the Magic Kingdom has snacking covered. You can also find popcorn, hot dogs, and turkey legs. And we love the Lefou's Brew at Gaston's Tavern which is a frozen apple juice with marshmallow whip.

If you are looking for a nicer sit down meal, either in a quieter setting, or with better food, or both, our advice is to get on the monorail and visit any of the three monorail loop resorts, each of which has several outstanding table service restaurants. This can be considered a general rule at Disney - dining at resort hotels is often better than dining inside the theme parks, with only a few exceptions.

Castle projections during the fireworks show

Parades and Fireworks

Seeing the fireworks over the castle is the quintessential Disney experience. Some sort of nighttime fireworks show happens on most nights at the Magic Kingdom and can be viewed from Main Street, the castle hub, or any other location in the park with a view of the castle. Lately, however, these shows are mixed with a fantastic projection display on Cinderella's Castle, and you will be missing out on half of the show (the projections) if you aren't on Main Street or the hub.

There is also typically an afternoon parade with large themed floats and lots of characters. Currently, the parade is at 2 o'clock most days. People line up for the parade well in advance, and this being the hottest part of the day, we suggest that you either find a spot well ahead of the parade (think an hour or two ahead) in a shaded area, or plan to walk up as the parade starts with an obstructed view but no wait in the heat.

Currently, there are also small productions throughout the day called cavalcades that include one or two floats and a smattering of characters along the parade route. These are less formal, and while people sometimes wait for them, most of the time, they are things you can catch if you happen to be in the right place at the right time. There is also sometimes a nighttime parade before the fireworks. This depends on the time of year you are visiting.

All parades in the Magic Kingdom run from near the firehouse at Main Street near the train station, to Frontierland along the Rivers of America, or the opposite direction. Hint: If the last parade came from Main Street to Frontierland, then it's likely the next parade will run in the reverse direction. This means that it will come through different parts of the park at different times, so even if it starts at 2 o'clock, it may be 2:15 before the parade is near you.

Cinderella's Castle and the hub bridge from the Liberty Square bridge

General Lay of the Land

The Magic Kingdom is laid out in a hub and spoke pattern, with the exception of Frontierland and the Storybook Circus land. You can get to Frontierland through either Liberty Square or Adventureland. You can get to the Storybook Circus land from Fantasyland or Tomorrowland. You can also get between all lands, except for Main Street, without returning to the hub.

When you approach the park, if you are coming from the monorail or boat and have already gone through security, you can proceed across the entry plaza directly to the turnstiles, which are in front of the large train station. If you are coming from buses, you will first go through security, then approach the turnstiles. Once past the turnstiles, you are by a floral mural of Mickey which is a popular picture spot. However, to get into the park proper, you must choose one of the two tunnels that go under the train station.

The train station tunnels are filled with movie posters, and emerging from the tunnel is like the curtains opening on a grand movie set. This is intentional. That first view of the Magic Kingdom should knock your socks off and you will feel like you are suddenly in a different land.

Main Street, U.S.A is the one path to Cinderella's Castle, which acts as the hub to the rest of the park. From the hub right in front of Cinderella's Castle, you can access Adventureland, Liberty Square, or Tomorrowland via bridges. You can also go through, or directly around, the castle to get to Fantasyland. Frontierland lies beyond Liberty Square and Adventureland. And the Storybook Circus lies beyond Fantasyland and Tomorrowland.

Below is a general overview of each land, moving clockwise from Main Street USA, and the hub. We'll dive into more details later.

• Main Street, USA - This is the first and last land you encounter at the Magic Kingdom. The train station and entrance are at one end, and Cinderella's Castle is at the other and shops and snack places in between. It is busiest around parade and firework time.

• Adventureland - Your first left from Main Street, around the corner from the Crystal Palace restaurant, is Adventureland which is kind of themed to Polynesia and the Caribbean. The main attraction here is Pirates of the Caribbean. This is also where you can get the legendary Dole whip. Near the end of Adventureland, you can either continue on a path to Frontierland, or take a shortcut through an open air building to Frontierland.

• Liberty Square - This land can be accessed from a bridge from the hub by Cinderella's Castle, or from Fantasyland. It consists of a square of buildings around a tree, and frontage along the Rivers of America. For those familiar with Disneyland, this land is where Disneyland's New Orleans Square would be.

• Frontierland - Frontierland is one of few lands with no bridge directly from the hub. Instead, you must pass through Liberty Square (stay to the banks of the river) or Adventureland. It is also a rather popular land with two of the three major "mountains" of Magic Kingdom side by side: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and Splash Mountain. This land has a Wild West frontier theme.

• Fantasyland - Some think of Fantasyland as having two distinct parts: Fantasyland and New Fantasyland. New Fantasyland came to be after a major expansion in 2012 and is also now called the Enchanted Forest. This is where you'll find your most quintessential Disney experiences with rides themed around Disney stories, movies, and characters. Almost every ride here will be enjoyed by children of all ages, though some might be a little scary, and one, Seven Dwarves Mine Train, might be a little rough. Fantasyland is almost always busy. It's where the kids want to be.

• Storybook Circus - If your child is only interested in riding Dumbo, meeting Mickey, and doing some kiddie rides, or is particularly small, Storybook Circus is where you want to be. The theme is that a circus has rolled into town, complete with circus tents and a train. Despite the name, there is no actual circus here.

• Tomorrowland- The best description we've seen of the theme here is that it is "yesterday's vision of the future". Despite that, something about the 70's future contemporary style ages well here, and perhaps the Tron coaster, when it opens, will update this vision.

The Beast's crest found near Beast's Castle (Be Our Guest) in Fantasyland

Our Biggest Piece of Advice About This Park

There are a few pieces of advice we have about this park in general:

• Check the park hours - the Magic Kingdom does close early from time to time for private events and hard ticketed events (meaning a ticket beyond your regular park ticket is needed to get in). Don't be disappointed by not checking the park hours before making your park reservations.

• Consider getting out of the park in the middle of the day. It is easy to monorail hop to three beautiful resorts around the park. They can offer you a quiet retreat from the crowds.

• Do not be angry that you can't be dropped off right at the entrance. We said before, the parking for this park, as well as the closest third party transportation drop off point, is across the lagoon. Ubers and Lyfts can't drop you off at the entrance either. This is for safety reasons, so do not be surprised and allow extra time to take the ferry or monorail to the park entrance.