There are SO many park plans and tips out there, and sometimes it can be hard to find what will best suite YOUR needs and wishes for a “perfect day at the Magic Kingdom.” Here with The Kingdom Insider we have noticed a few tips and tricks to navigate your day to get the best use of your time, have shorter waits and still take time to enjoy the sights and sounds of the park! Here are some Insider tips on just “how to have a great day at Magic Kingdom.”
Arrive Early
I cannot stress this enough, be early as you can. If the park opens at 9am – be there between 7am and 7:30am.
Have payment ready
Don’t be “that person” who has to dig through 4 different backs for ID, tickets and payment. Have all the necessary forms of ID, valid entry and payment along with putting on your mask to interact with the toll attendant! Have a “passenger seat pal” prepare it all for you to give to the Cast Member! Teamwork makes Disney dreams work!
Take the bus to get to Magic Kingdom’s front gate
This form of transportation is only available in the morning hours at the Ticket and Transportation Center. But it cuts your time to the park in half on most mornings.
Editor’s Note: Transportation is always subject to change, our second form of transport we suggest is the Ferryboat if the boat is just about to dock!
Go Left
This goes against everything I believe in when it come to park traffic at this park, normally in pre-pandemic days I’d say to hit Mine Train because you would probably would not have a FastPass and then head to Frontierland for both mountains. In this day and age where FastPass is no longer an option for the time being, I say head to SPLASH MOUNTAIN. Why? This ride has a habit of spiking at 80 minute wait and never lowering until closing time…so get that done first, if you can. Be aware that sometimes this ride is closed in the early hours and opens maybe 30 minutes after the other attractions in this area, so if Thunder Mountain is listed at 10 minutes or less, ride that first and then head to Splash. If splash is still closed, head directly to Pirates of the Caribbean and Jungle Cruise as these rides typically stay at a higher wait time for the majority of the day. My general rule here is try your best not to back track unless the ride you wanted was closed temporarily or is at a lower wait later in the day!
Slow Your Roll After Morning Rides
Remember that time I said to take time to relax? Here is your chance! Around 1-2 hours after park opening, the rides will spike in wait times and some will lower, this will tempt you to get on more rides and forget to breathe and take a moment to enjoy each other’s company! So, grab a mobile order breakfast – or wait for Starbucks, the line shouldn’t be more than 20-30 minutes by that time – and take a seat on the Hub grass for a late morning snack and coffee! Oh, don’t forget to drink water ok?
Filler Rides
After maybe 30 or so minutes of relaxing, it’s time to go looking at the My Disney Experience App! This is where you can find some great ideas for what to do next! Take a gander at Carousel Of Progress, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Little Mermaid and Mad Tea Party! If any of these attractions are under a 30 minute wait – you found the next side of the park you are heading to!
Your Next Big Attraction
The next suggestion is to start eyeing Haunted mansion and Thunder Mountain (If you haven’t done them yet) around 2pm, this is when park hopping begins and a transition of wait times begin! Those two attractions will spike again in wait times and won’t lower until roughly sun -down.
Eat and Observe
Grab a snack (mobile order or a snack cart) and maybe watch some cavalcades pass by! This can be done from Frontierland, or if you feel like hiking back to Main Street, you can do that as well! The point is to stop moving, refuel and get your character fix! If you are still doing alright energy wise, it’s a good time to shop as well.
My Disney Experience App Check
Now is a time to look at those filler rides again and consider getting in line for Peter pan or Small World. These rides are continuously loading and unloading and sometimes see a slight dip in wait times in the afternoon.
Time To Head To Tomorrowland
Around this part of the day, Space Mountain can either see a heighted wait or slightly lowered, regardless, a chuck of the wait is indoors and with the Florida heat, you won’t mind a slight wait in air conditioning. Buzz lightyear (And Carousel of Progress) are right next door and you can go ahead and make your way onto either one of these rides to continue traveling through space and time!
Dinner
I will usually suggest you plan your dinner ahead of time if eating inside the park. If you don’t mind “winging it” hop onto the My Disney Experience app and start forming a plan for dinner. Sometimes you can get on a waitlist for a sit down location, but for the most part quick service will be the most accessible option!
The Last Rides of the Day
Another thing that totally goes against everything I have ever said about a day at Magic Kingdom…your last rides of the evening should include – Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. The end of the night in the parks will see the lowest wait time. Of course, if this was your ONE must do in the entire park, I’d say risk it all and head there as your very first ride of the day. Otherwise, save this ride for the end of the night. The posted wait time is sometimes 10-15 minutes less in real time and waiting in a mostly outdoor que won’t feel quite as hot!
Ending Your Evening
By this time of night you could do a few things. Maybe you have a ride you would love to get on one last time? Great! Go get on as many as you can before closing time, just know you will probably be waiting a little bit longer to leave on transportation. My husband and I actually ended our evening the other day walking the mostly empty park and taking photos. After waiting a bit, the line for the monorail to get back wasn’t so bad. Or you could choose to exit the park earlier rather than later, grab a transport back to parking to avoid most of the exit traffic and get to your hotel to call it an early night!
The most important thing about any day at the parks is to HAVE FUN and find moments to RELAX and ENJOY TIME WITH YOUR FAMILY. Another way to ensure you have a great time is making your TOP 3 priority list of attractions. These tips will come in handy while YOU get to decide what is most important on your to-do list!
I hope you found this little guide informative and helpful! Everyone has their perfect park schedule and this is just one of the many ways to enjoy your Disney vacation!
Ready to book that Disney Cruise Line vacation? Here at the Kingdom Insider we have plenty of resources for you just a click away! We have an incredible team of dedicated Disney experts and Travel Planners at Academy Travel who are ready to help you plan out every detail of your vacation so you don’t have to worry!
