It’s no surprise to followers of the blog that we are huge fans of Disney Parks – we try to visit at least one of the resorts per year (or at least, that was the case pre-pandemic). We’ve obviously been on a bit of a Disney hiatus, but even prior to this trip, we’ve most recently visited Disneyland; it had a been a few years since we’d gone to Walt Disney World in Florida, and Lily had never been. To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of WDW, we made it a priority to go this year – and the first of the four theme parks we visited was the Magic Kingdom!
Alright, so our Disney posts deserve a bit of a disclaimer: there are a ton of factors that play into a trip to Disney, so for us to say that this is an “all-encompassing perfect guide to spending a single day at the Magic Kingdom” just simply isn’t possible. The Disney Parks are ever-evolving and have something for everyone, and every trip we’ve taken has been significantly different than the last. When you visit, you’ll be likely traveling with people of different ages, different interests, and in groups of different sizes, and those things may all change with every trip you take. If some of these tips don’t apply to the needs of your upcoming trip, no worries – perhaps some of our other theme park posts will!
For this trip, there were a few identifying things that made it unique from our other trips. For this trip, Karen was in the second trimester of pregnancy, and it was also our first time taking Lily to Disney as a toddler (she went to Disneyland as an infant, but those dynamics could not have been more different). This was also a trip to Walt Disney World during a very specific time: the 50th Anniversary Celebration (which featured some seasonal events, food, etc.), the Halloween season (for which the Magic Kingdom has a ticketed event), and of course, Labor Day weekend in September. That last point was the most interesting: it made for way lower-than-normal crowds, but also meant that the days were at peak heat/humidity. Honestly, it was our first Disney trip in years during which the weather was unpleasant, but in the highs of the afternoon, it was tough to deal with at times. We definitely made a trade-off for the lower crowd levels, but we got a ton done in the parks for that very reason!
Which Rides to Ride?
Of the four parks at Walt Disney World, the Magic Kingdom has by far the most rides, and because of that, has the widest variety of rides as well. For ages that are looking for more thrills, the largest rides make up what is known as “the Mountain Range” – Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, and Big Thunder Mountain (and we consider Seven Dwarves Mine Train, the most popular ride in the park, an “honorary member” because it essentially goes in and out of a mountain as well). We found out very quickly in the trip that at her age, Lily did not enjoy “drops” of any kind. Even though she was tall enough for many of those, with her not enjoying them and Karen being pregnant, a lot of the larger rides were out of the equation for us. There is no better park for that scenario, though, than the Magic Kingdom – it took us two days in the park to get to all of the rides that Lily could ride, even at only 3 years old.
For riders that are looking for something a bit calmer, Lily’s biggest recommendations were those often called “spinner” rides – Aladdin’s Magic Carpets, or arguably the most well-known Disney ride, Dumbo. In our previous trips (pre-having kids), we would have never bothered with these. Now, with Lily, we definitely see their appeal. For one reason or another, our walking path took us by the Magic Carpets multiple times in one day… and every time, Lily insisted that we ride them. The best part for us, though, was that there was never a line to ride them – everyone else considered them throwaway rides like we had previously!
What to Eat?
The real question is: what not to eat?!?! One of our favorite things to at Disney Parks is to snack, and this trip was no exception. The Magic Kingdom is known for certain snacks, so we made sure to revisit some of our favorites while also trying some new ones as well. Among the standouts:
The best meal we had at the Magic Kingdom, though, was at Be Our Guest. It’s one of the busiest restaurants in the park, and since it has opened, it seems to have lost favor among the Disney fan community. We hadn’t eaten there since our honeymoon, but honestly, it’s difficult to figure out why it has fallen out of favor with the fans – the food we had was delicious, and the ambience can’t be beaten at the Magic Kingdom (or at almost any Disney park for that matter). While all of our entrees were great (with Karen’s pork being the standout), the favorite of the table was Lily’s dessert – an entirely edible paint-it-yourself white chocolate “Chip” cup. Make no mistake, it is an absolute mess, but Lily loved the interactivity of it, and it also kept her occupied while we finished up our meal.
Which Shows to Watch?
While there are countless rides for all ages, and food to try of all different varieties, there are still other types of entertainment to enjoy: shows and parades. For this particular trip, we attended every type of show that we could – more often than not, they provided a very welcome respite from the September afternoon heat and humidity (or shelter from the sporadic but sudden Florida rain storm). Lily’s particular favorites? Mickey’s Philharmagic (she’ll take every opportunity she can to watch Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck), the Carousel of Progress (she’s still singing ‘There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow’), and the Enchanted Tiki Room (which is absolutely sensory-overload for Lily – in the best way!) She loved each of those shows, but for the record, they’re favorites of the entire family!
On the flip side of that, the primary parade at the Magic Kingdom right now is the Festival of Fantasy parade (which runs twice each afternoon). If you haven’t seen it before, it’s definitely worth doing so; the costumes and floats are beautiful, and the songs are great. With that said, on a September afternoon with no cloud cover, we made it a priority because of how much Lily enjoyed parades during our Disneyland trip… and I don’t think any of us were able to truly enjoy it because of the heat and sun. For us, this really emphasized the need for a return of the night-time parade to the Magic Kingdom (which has been talked about within the fan community for years now), and ultimately, I’d rank this lower on the priority list of things to do during the hotter seasons – but it’s great to watch if the weather allows for it.
Ultimately, we spent two days total at the Magic Kingdom – the first day of our trip, and the last day of the trip. This park definitely warrants it; there is so much to do (even with us being unable to ride some of the larger attractions) that we really needed that second day to get it all in. Overall, this visit to the Magic Kingdom was the perfect way to both start and end Lily’s first trip to Walt Disney World!
