How To Make The Most Out Of Your Day At Magic Kingdom

Welcome to the Magic Kingdom!

Planning for a Disney vacation can be extremely stressful for those who are not familiar with the parks. You have spent so much money to be there and want to make the most of your time. So how do you navigate 4 giant parks you are unfamiliar with? Today I want to talk about how to make the most of your day in Magic Kingdom. For those of you who do not have the entire Magic Kingdom layout memorized down to the nearest bathroom (working there will do that to you), here is what I recommend.


Magic Kingdom is comprised of 4 lands and Main Street  U.S.A. A map can be found at the entrance to every park and at merchandise stores once inside. The best strategy I have found is to walk down Main Street when the park opens and head left into Adventureland. It is natural instinct for people to start off by going right and I have experienced walking right on to rides if you start by going left. You can knock out a whole land in just an hour this way. From Adventureland you can make your way to Frontierland, then Fantasyland and finally Tomorrowland, creating a giant circle. Thankfully the castle is nestled in the center of all four lands, so if at any time you want to stop for a castle picture, you can!

Download the My Disney Experience App

The first thing I tell guests who are visiting the parks to do is download the My Disney Experience App. This app can help you plan your entire trip before you even get to Florida. Features include maps of the parks, current wait times for rides, fastpass selection capability, previews of your photos taken by Photopass, dining reservation booking and so much more.

Fastpass Fastpass Fastpass

Fastpasses are a life saver when it comes to Disney. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term, fastpass is the virtual queue system Disney uses to help skip ahead of the line. Essentially just pick the fastpass for the time you want, show up within the hour after the selected time, scan your ticket and your wait time is drastically reduced. You can make fastpass selections 30 days in advance if you have an annual pass or park ticket and if you stay at a Disney resort you can select them 60 days in advance. Take advantage of this because they go quick! Disney enthusiasts make reservations as soon as they are available and there are only so many allotted fastpasses per day, so you want to make sure you get one. Click here if you still have questions about how to use them! They are completely free to access through the My Disney Experience App and you can chose up to three at a time. Tip: Choose three fastpasses earlier in the day and then make more for later in the afternoon. You can only have three at a time but after those three are used you can chose more. There are kiosks located in each park with cast members to assist you if help is needed.

There are certain rides at Magic Kingdom that, no matter how long they have been around, will always be busy. Each vacation is different depending on if you have kids, grandparents, etc. in your group but my personal favorites that I recommend to have fastpasses for are Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain and 7 Dwarfs Mine Train. All three of these are roller coasters ranging in low to high intensity so plan ahead for small ones with the height requirement. However, 7 Dwarfs Mine Train's line is almost always over 60 minutes and even during off season. Having fastpasses for these rides will definitely cut some wasted time off your day. A few alternatives to the roller coasters that typically always have long wait lines are Peter Pan's Flight, Buzz Light Year Space Ranger, Splash Mountain, and Jungle Cruise.  Most of the remaining rides typically have shorter wait times and are not necessary to have fast passes but keep in mind this could vary depending on the time of year you visit. Lastly, fastpasses are also available for character meet and greets but these are a part of your 3 that you can chose, so you can opt to meet characters instead of cutting down on the ride lines. This is based solely on your preferences.

Top Left: Big Thunder Mountain

Top Right: 7 Dwarfs Mine Train

Bottom: Space Mountain

Plan Your Meals

Magic Kingdom has a plethora of dining options to choose from. They have outdoor carts, fast food restaurants and full service restaurants available to eat from, all with varying food menus. If you're the type of family that wants something quick so you can continue on with your day, try choosing one of the quick service restaurants such as Cosmic Rays or Pecos Bill. If you think that your party would prefer a sit down restaurant to take a break, I recommend picking a restaurant that is going to be along the way for you instead of having to run from one side of the park to the other to get to your reservations; and yes you will need a reservation to eat at a sit down restaurant in the parks. You may get lucky and be able to get a walk in table but the chances are slim and I wouldn't encourage that approach.

Two restaurants I recommend are Crystal Palace ONLY for breakfast and Tony's Town Square. Crystal Palace is a character dining experience so if you are a fan of Winnie the Pooh and friends you get to eat and meet characters at the same time. Heads up, this experience takes 90 minutes to completely meet everyone. However, you can also book breakfast before the park even opens, which gives you more time to enjoy the magic! Tony's Town Square is themed from Disney's Lady and the Tramp movie and is Italian cuisine. The chicken parmesan is pretty delicious and if you make a reservation during the parade (see next paragraph), you should be able to request a table on the patio which offers a great view of the Festival of Fantasy parade while still being able to sit. You can make dining reservations 180 days in advance on the My Disney Experience App. If you haven't caught on by now, this app can do it all. It is such a blessing!

Crystal Palace for breakfast.

Me with my chicken parmesan at Tony's Town Square

Watch the Festival of Fantasy parade

The Festival of Fantasy parade is a relatively new show that runs through the park once a day. It showcases all your favorite princesses in one parade and is a great way to bypass character meet and greets. Belle and the Beast, Naveen and Tiana, Anna and Elsa, Rapunzel and Flynn, Ariel, Merida and a few more can all be found in the parade including a special appearance from Maleficent in her dragon form. The Festival of Fantasy parade route and time can be found on the park maps that are available to guest upon arriving at the park. If you care about sitting for the viewing, make sure you allow yourself an hour to find a seat and wait. My favorite place to view the parade is in front of the castle but for obvious reasons that fills up pretty quickly.

Stay for the Fireworks

Happily Ever After and Once Upon a Time are two truly awe-inspiring entertainment shows that close out the night at Magic Kingdom. Depending on the time of the year, the shows go on at different times but they are always within the hour of each other. Once Upon a Time is a spectacular projection show on the castle that highlights scenes from Disney classic films as told by Mrs. Pots and Chip. Whereas, Happily Ever After is an 18 minute long firework and projection show which made its debut earlier last year in 2017. Both are incredible (I still tear up when the cover of Love is an Open Door plays in Happily Ever After). Again, I would recommend that you get seats for these shows pretty early since they tend to get crowded, so about an hour before or less. If you sit in front of the castle near the partners statue, you can get some pretty sweet pictures as well.

Happily Ever After 

To anyone reading this, all positive and constructive opinions are welcome! Disclaimer: I am by no means a professional at writing or vacation planning so if you read my blogs or take my advice do so with a grain of salt.