Whenever I used to think about Walt Disney World, the Magic Kingdom immediately came to mind. I didn’t know to separate all the parks as part of the package, I thought of the big castle, Mickey, and Minnie. For those familiar with Disneyland, the Magic Kingdom is pretty much the same thing…with some extra features. On our 5 day trip, we spent 1.5 days at the Magic Kingdom, just because there were a few things we wanted to do that we didn’t get to the first day. One might say, it’s the most…Magical of all the parks.
{If you missed my original post, this is a segment of a 5 part series all about Walt Disney World, see the first post by clicking on the link}
I like maps–a lot, so before I share my top ten list, I’m going to share a map of the park:
{source}
It may seem overwhelming, but off of Main Street, it is broken up into 4 main parts. Clockwise: Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland. I kept hearing from people about the NEW Fantasyland, as it has added a bunch of new attractions with The Little Mermaid, Beauty & the Beast, and almost done with a Snow White attraction.
Lets get to it, my top ten MUST SEE attractions at Magic Kingdom
1. Dream Along with Mickey–This 20 minute show in front of the Castle happens about 5 times throughout the day. I hadn’t heard about it from anyone, not on my list, and I just happened to catch the tail end of the second to last show. I knew I had to get my girls to come with me for the final show. My main reason was because the princes were there! My youngest kept asking where the princesses princes were, and I assumed they weren’t at the park, but they were dancing in this show with their princesses. That’s what drew me in, but this singing, dancing, and Mickey speaking show was SO much fun! My daughter still chants, “Dreams. Come. True.” as Mickey asked the crowd to, one of my favorite attractions of the day! (see my first picture above).
2. Town Square Theater Character Meeting–Another little tip I didn’t know about, but a friend of mind texted it to me the day before we went. Just inside the park entrance, turn RIGHT and head to the Town Square Theater. Inside, you can stand in one line to meet Mickey and stand in another line to meet THREE Princesses (Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, & Rapunzel). We went to meet Mickey right when we got to the park at 8am and there was NO wait. The princess line was already pretty long (poor Mickey getting overlooked). We got a great group picture with Mickey, and I even got some individuals with my kids. Gotta love this group of 13 squeezing in with Mickey! He was so great and (silently) friendly!
Though I took the girls the next day to visit the Princesses with a FAST PASS, I’ll include a few pics here since it is the same attraction. If I had known about this princess option, I might not have done the Character Lunch at Epcot (I’ll tell you more tomorrow) but still glad we did both. After 3 days of touring around, I told a lady in line that we’d hoped to see Rapunzel, and she told me we could see her here—I was SO excited, and she was SO sweet. Really, all of the princesses were great and interested and sweet with me AND my girls. It must get tired to keep that smile plastered all day.
My 7 year old daughter wasn’t as into it as the 3.5Â year old was…somewhat skeptical, but still had fun with it.
3. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad–This is a classic ride, and we decided the longest time for on a roller coaster the whole week. It’s a bit bumpy, but fun for all ages. This was pretty much a favorite for my 3 oldest kids, and they went several times. Though my youngest (nearly 4 year old) was tall enough, she wasn’t interested in the ride. We saw, but didn’t take pictures with Woody & Jesse from Toy Story near this ride in Frontierland.
4. Be Our Gust Restaurant (Beasts Castle)–This is a restaurant, but in my opinion an attraction in and of itself. It’s new to the park (sandwiched in between Gaston’s Tavern and Enchanted Tales with Belle that we never saw but heard was great). You must have reservations for dinner, but it’s open for all for lunch. We got in line at around 11 and had to wait in the outdoor line for about 25 minutes before we got inside to order. The menu was short (not good for my picky eaters kids) but it was as if we were in the castle the entire time we stepped inside the door, even the wilting ROSE in one wing. I left my “big camera” in the stroller, but grabbed this image online. (better pictures here and more scenes with food pictures here)
{source}
5. Main Street Electrical (night) Parade–This is the only time we stayed late at a park for the evening festivities. The electrical parade sounded fun, though it started at 9pm, and we got to the park early that day at 8am. I loved how it was different in the evening (we saw several parade’s during the day at different parks).
After the night parade is a very cool projector show called WISHES where different scenes are projected onto the Castle (as if it is a movie screen) which changes the look of the castle. It shows early images of Walt Disney, with a firework even after. It’s a 3 part show in the evening.
6. Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom–My son’s teacher told us about this hidden adventure at the park. Upon entering the park, turn LEFT to go to the Fire station to collect your free pack of FREE sorcerer cards (one pack per park ticket per day). It was a fun adventure to “capture” the bad guys all throughout the park. I thought this was SUCH a fun idea, and my boys LOVED it, but only if you go to the park a second day, or have been before and not as rushed to go on rides for the first time. It is time consuming, as you jump from one secret location to another, but it was frustrating when the boys wanted to follow the game, and we were trying to fit in rides. The second day we went back, my husband took them around for a good 3-4 hours just for the game. (more info here)
7. Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor–This was a comedy show in a theater. Cameras are planted around the room and the Monster characters on the screen are “talking” to the audience and addressing certain people. Jokes can be texted in and possibly used in the show. My kids thought it was pretty funny, and I may have laughed a bit myself.
8. Peter Pan’s Flight–This was a classic ride I wasn’t sure I needed in my day, but it was very cute, and we rode in a flying pirates ship. Great for kids of all ages.
9. Space Mountain–Though it was a bit too jerky for me, and dizzying for my husband, it was a favorite among the kids, and a classic as well. A dark, indoor roller coaster.
10. Splash Mountain–Sadly, this ride was closed while we were there, but I know my kids and I love it from Disneyland, and it would have been on my top 10 if it were open. Watch out–you’ll get wet!
A few other favorites that didn’t quite make the top 10: Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin (though I thought the Toy Story ride was better at Hollywood Studios), Swiss Family Robinson’s Treehouse, and the Jungle Cruise. My husband also enjoyed Tom Sawyer’s Island, though the kids didn’t like it as much as they did a similar attraction at another park. My mom loves It’s a Small World, Dumbo was cute, The Little Mermaid ride I got to sing, and many love the Pirates of the Caribbean. My boys were not impressed with the Haunted Mansion.
Other Magic Kingdom Highlights:
We had a princess sighting from afar with Tiana and Merida–they have certain hidden spots they are stationed, and you can wait in a line anytime during the day to snap a picture with them. Thankfully, my girls were ok with a picture from a distance.
We also spotted Cinderella’s Wicked Step Mother and Step Sisters roaming the park “bickering” at each other
My favorite food was the waffle sandwiches in Sleepy Hollow in Liberty Square. Waffles with nutella and fruit inside were so delicious (there was also a chicken waffle sandwich and funnel cakes there). Pastries and a sweet frozen drink (frozen apple juice, a hint of toasted marshmallow and topped with passion fruit-mango foam) in Gaston’s Tavern were delish, too.
Minnie’s Sweet Shop was fun to browse in (eye and mouth candy). Though I didn’t get a giant “chocolate dipped rice krispie treat” as seen below, I did get several smaller ones…and brought some home.
I couldn’t pass a chance to get a frozen fruit bar, reminiscent of my childhood trip to Walt Disney World. The pineapple was delish.
Allow me to share a few more pictures, favorite family shots of the 2 days at Magic Kingdom:
Have you been to the Magic Kingdom before? Is one of my top 10 your favorites? Didn’t make the list? I’d love to hear in the comments!!
{Not compensated for this post at all. If you missed my original post, this is a segment of a 5 part series all about Walt Disney World, see the first post by clicking on the link, in this parenthesis}
