A Day at the Magic Kingdom
I’ve been to Walt Disney World quite a few times. Growing up, my family would take a trip down every couple of years at Thanksgiving with other random jaunts thrown into the mix. Additionally, I was a Walt Disney World Cast Member for six months during the summer of 2016 while I participated in the Disney College Program. I wanted to share some insight on the best approach to spending one single day in the Magic Kingdom (especially for Guests that are not staying on Disney property):
Go on a Weekday
If you can go on a weekday, do it. Weekends will always be busier because annual passholders will come into the parks since kids don’t have school and parents don’t have work. My family went on a Thursday and I was pleasantly surprised with the size of the crowd. Certain attractions such as Space Mountain and the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train had wait times near two hours at certain points of the day, but that will happen no matter what time of the year or day you go to the park. We were able to get onto the Haunted Mansion with only waiting about 30 minutes and we didn’t have lines for any of the restaurants we wanted to eat at.
Leave Early
My family drove in from Siesta Key, which is just about two hours away from the Magic Kingdom. The park opened around 9am and we wanted to arrive fairly close to that time. After stopping for our morning caffeine at Starbucks, we hit the road right near 7am. If you’ve never been to the Magic Kingdom before and you are driving to the park, it is very important to know the parking situation. Once you are parked, Guests can either walk or take a tram to the Transportation and Ticket Center. Disney recently revamped its security measures so once you arrive at the Transportation and Ticket Center all Guests will have their bags searched and will be asked to walk through metal detectors. When you’ve cleared security, you can either take the Express Monorail straight to the Magic Kingdom or hop the ferry that crosses the Seven Seas Lagoon. It took my family about 30 minutes to enter the Magic Kingdom once we had parked.
Dress Accordingly
Gym shoes (aka tennis shoes, sneakers, etc.) are necessary! If you are opposed, at least wear comfy sandals. Dress for comfort. Personally, I need socks to absorb sweat and shoes with lots of support because I walked 10 miles in my one day at the Magic Kingdom. I wore my trusty Brooks 2016 London Adrenaline GTS16 running shoes. I opted to wear crop yoga pants to avoid chub rub (such a real struggle) in the 95 degree heat and I wore a light colored tank top. Dark colors will not be your friend in the summer heat! While there is a lot of shade and plenty of shops to enter, do yourself a favor and avoid a black shirt (unless it is designed for a workout).
Reunited with friends from my Disney College Program! Check out my comfy outfit!
Make FastPasses
FastPasses are a genius invention. Before you arrive, you can make up to three FastPasses for one park. These give you access to a much shorter queue than the general standby line. You will be assigned a one-hour timeslot per attraction that you choose. Once you complete all your prearranged FastPasses you can then use the My Disney Experience app to make more for the day (based on availability). My little sister, Leslie, made FastPasses for Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. We had completed all of our FastPasses by about noon and then had time to make another one for Pirates of the Carribbean later in the day!
Take Photos
Smartphone photos work perfectly for one day in the parks. If you want better photos, bring your personal camera. During my College Program, I would take my Nikon into the parks to take photos of Cinderella Castle or the different pavilions at World Showcase in EPCOT. If your one day trip is in the middle of summer like mine was, I recommend getting some photos at the beginning of the day. I wanted a few pictures with my hair down and makeup on before I sweated it all off and had to put my hair up. We took a lot of photos on our iPhones and also utilized Disney PhotoPass.
PhotoPass photo by Cinderella Castle.
PhotoPass photographers can be found all around the Walt Disney World Resort. They line Main Street USA and are at all character meet and greets. Disney offers a service called Memory Maker that I highly recommend if you are going to the Resort for at least four days. Memory Makes run at $199 in the parks or $169 if you preorder (which personally is too much to justify for one day at the Magic Kingdom). It allows you to have digital downloads of ALL of your photos taken by PhotoPass photographers during your stay. Once a photographer takes your photos, you would just need to tap your ticket or MagicBand with the handheld device the photographer will offer to you. It is a great way to have professional photographs taken during your trip. A friend that joined us is an annual passholder so she has Memory Maker included and was able to give us our professional photos!
Stay Cool and Hydrate
Don’t let the crazy Florida heat stop you from going to the Magic Kingdom in the dead of summer. While it will be very hot and humid, Disney is well-equipped to help Guests handle the heat. Most attractions are actually indoors so you are guaranteed to be in air conditioning for a few minutes. Attraction queues are generally in the shade and some tend to be indoors as well. If your party is getting tired and hot, I recommend the following attractions to sit down and get out of the heat for a while: Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor in Tomorrowland, the Carousel of Progress in Tomorrowland and Mickey’s PhilharMagic in Fantasyland. These attractions are all quite different. I prefer Mickey’s PhilarMagic and the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor but people of the older generation (I look to parents for this) might prefer the Carousel of Progress because it truly is a Walt Disney classic.
As for hydration, you can find drinking fountains near all the restrooms and then some free standing fountains as well. You are welcome to bring your own drinks into the parks so I recommend bringing a water bottle and refilling it as you need. Additionally, any restaurant or food stand with fountain drinks will provide you with a complimentary cup of water!
Go with the Right People
A day at Disney is a lot like a day traveling to a new city. Make sure you are with people who can go with the flow but who also have told you their expectations. I went with my sisters and we each brought along our best friend. Tying back to making FastPasses, if you plan ahead, your group can ensure that needs are met. Also, know that attractions break and sometimes there is nothing that can be done. My little sister desperately wanted to ride Splash Mountain and we had a 9:30pm FastPass. However, around 8:30 the ride broke and was closed for the rest of the night. It was a really sad moment but we had thankfully done other attractions she loves earlier in the day.
Bring your best friend with you!
What Do You Want to Know?
Any questions or recommendations on how my family planned our day at the Magic Kingdom/ I've been to all of the Walt Disney World theme parks and I would be happy to give recommendations on attractions at other parks as well!
#PeaceLoveEd
