50 Tips for Disney’s Magic Kingdom to make the most of your day in the park:
Opening
1. Guests are let into the park between 7:45 AM – 8:00 AM.
2. If you want to ride 7 Dwarfs Mine Train without a Fastpass+, you’ll need to leave your resort by 7:15 AM. Once you get to the park, line up on the Fantasyland Bridge (it is on the right side of the castle).
3. The welcome show is at 8:55 AM but you won’t be able to see it if you are in line for 7 Dwarfs Mine Train.
4. Book a breakfast reservation at Be Our Guest before 9 AM and you’ll be allowed to visit the restaurant at anytime between 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM. Finish your breakfast quickly and leave. They start allowing Be Our Guest and Cinderella’s Royal Table Guests onto the ride at 8:45 AM. It is a great way to ride with a minimal wait.
5. Great choices to ride before 11 AM: Pooh, Peter Pan, Little Mermaid, Barnstormer, Dumbo, Tomorrowland Speedway, Haunted Mansion, Pirates, Big Thunder, Splash Mountain, 7 Dwarfs.
6. Great afternoon choices: Carousel of Progress, Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover, Dumbo, Mickey’s Philharmagic, Prince Charming’s Regal Carousel, Enchanted Tiki Room, Country Bears Jamboree, Tom Sawyer Island, Liberty Belle
7. Great Fastpass+ choices: Seven Dwarfs, Big Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, Peter Pan’s Flight, Space Mountain, Meet Cinderella, Meet Rapunzel, Meet Mickey Mouse
Fantasyland
8. Prince Charming’s Regal Carousel rarely sees a long line (and even if there is one, it doesn’t mean you won’t get to ride…there are 90 horses!). Ride this one later in the day.
9. Take a turn trying to pull the sword out of the Sword in the Stone located by the carousel.
10. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh used to be home to Mr. Toad’s Wild Wide. Turn around and look behind you when your cart enters Owl’s house. You’ll see Mr. Toad handing a deed to Owl.
11. Just before you enter the nursery in Peter Pan’s Flight, your ship is dusted with Pixie Dust so that it can fly. Many people miss this special moment and don’t realize that they are flying high above the scenes in a pirate ship.
12. Look for Ariel is the Mermaid’s lagoon on the attraction, Peter Pan’s Flight.
13. After Mickey’s Philharmagic, look behind you. You will see where Donald landed after he got shot out of the cannon!
14. At the end of Enchanted Tales with Belle, your child will be introduced to Belle and will get to pose for a picture. She does not autograph at this event so be sure to let your child know ahead of time.
15. Seven Dwarfs Mine Train offers incredible views of the fireworks if you are able to time your ride with the show.
16. On Under the Sea – Voyage of the Little Mermaid, Sebastian pops up in almost every scene.
17. Ariel’s Grotto is the only place you can meet Ariel in her mermaid form.
18. The playground on Dumbo – The Flying Elephant is a great place to head mid day. There are benches for the parents to sit and relax while the children run around and burn off energy.
19. On Barnstormer, if you are a tall adult ask that they do not place you in one of the carts that have the white hood. They are hard to get out of.
20. On Mad Tea Party, the teacup will spin faster if you limit your party to 3 or less in the teacup.
21. Have you spotted the beanstalk spilling in and out of Sir Mickey’s in Fantasyland? Head inside where you will find the giant trying to peek into the shop!
22. Located inside Castle Couture behind the registers is Sleeping Beauty’s dress. Watch the dress closely because it does something very magical. If you don’t notice it right away, ask a Cast Member.
23. Rapunzel’s Tower is an enchanting restroom complete with items inspired by the movie. Definitely plan to make a pit stop here.
24. Look for Cinderella’s Wishing Well and check out the base. This is different from Cinderella’s Fountain. It is located on the path on the right side of the castle near Fairytale Gardens.
25. Just behind Cinderella’s Castle is Cinderella’s Fountain. If you bow down in front of the fountain you will see a crown magically appear on Cinderella’s head!
26. Stop in Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique and ask the cashier to sprinkle your little girl’s head with Pixie Dust. You do not need an appointment to get sprinkled!
27. If you are eating in Cinderella’s Royal Table, be sure to look up in the room where you meet Cinderella. You should see the Disney Family Crest and you might even spot Cinderella’s Mice in the rafters!
Tomorrowland
28. While waiting at Monsters Inc Laugh Floor, there will be a number with a code word you can text a joke too. Your joke might just be read by one of the monsters during the show.
29. On Buzz Lightyear after passing the “Rock ‘Em, Sock ‘Em Robots” pivot your car around and see if you can hit the target on the back of the robot’s wrist for 100,000 points.
30. On Carousel of Progress, try to sit about 4 rows back and in the middle.
31. During the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover, you can see an up-close view of the model of Progress City, a “Community of Tomorrow” that inspired plans for Epcot.
32. There are 2 almost identical tracks on Space Mountain named Alpha (left; it’s only difference is it is 10 feet longer) and Omega (right).
33. Once you finish your race on the Tomorrowland Speedway, ask a Cast Member for a driver’s license for the kids.
Liberty Square
34. In the attic of Haunted Mansion, all of the paintings are of Constance, the very bride you see at the end of the trip through the attic. Each painting shows her marrying up and is displayed with more lavish wedding gifts. Notice she is in the same dress in every picture.
35. When your hearse tips backwards on Haunted Mansion, you are actually falling out of the attic window and you die. You’ll notice the ghosts don’t acknowledge your presence until this happens.
36. Take a ride on the Liberty Square Riverboat for a chance to see the outskirts Tom Sawyer Island, the backside of Big Thunder Mountain and different things along the banks of the Rivers of America.
37. The brown pavement that runs down the center of Liberty Square represents the raw sewage that ran in the street in Colonial days.
Adventureland
38. On The Magic Carpets of Aladdin, the riders in the front of the carpet control the height of the carpet. The ones in the back control the tilt of the carpet.
39. One of the Jungle Cruise “natives” says, “I love Disco.”
40. The Enchanted Tiki Room can be scary for little ones. Watch it on You Tube before your trip to see if it will scare your kids or not. You don’t want your kids to get scared because it will be hard to get them onto other attractions.
41. In Pirates of the Caribbean, look for the mermaid skeleton in the boat on the island.
Frontierland
42. My favorite restaurant for lunch is Pecos Bill. The portions are huge. Get one entree and get a snack of tortilla chips. Visit the toppings bar to load them up like nachos then split both between the 2 of you. Great way to stretch your money.
43. On Big Thunder Mountain, look on the second floor of the saloon for a party thrown by the residents who are celebrating their gold.
44. If you have younger kids who don’t want to ride, you can take them to the playground located under Splash Mountain at the exit area of the Walt Disney World railroad.
45. On Splash Mountain you can wear rain ponchos if you are worried about getting wet.
46. On Tom Sawyer’s Island find Harper’s Mill and look closely at the wood gears. Between the clogs is a blue bird.
Main Street
47. My favorite place to watch the parade is in front of Harmony Barber Shop.
48. Walk into Le Chapeau and go up the ramp to where they monogram the hats. You should see an old fashioned telephone on the wall. Pick it up and listen to a party line call from the past.
49. Visit Center Street located on your right as you approach Cinderella’s Castle. Look for a window that advertises private voice and singing lessons. If you pause for a moment, you will hear them conducting a lesson!
50. The best viewing location for the fireworks is in front of the train station. You can grab a spot on the street about 20 minutes prior to the start of the show. As soon as it is over, you can quickly exit the park.
Learn more about the Walt Disney World Parks including attractions, secrets, tips and more. Plus my friends at Destinations in Florida can help you plan your perfect Walt Disney World vacation.