Planning a visit to Disney World’s main theme park? Are you on a tight schedule? Worry not, this post shares with you the best plan for touring Magic Kingdom in one day.
Welcome again to this strategy series of Magical Day Tips. In this opportunity, I share tips and hacks to plan your Magic Kingdom visit and cover the most important rides in only one day.
I will share a strategy without purchasing Disney Genie+ for groups with or without children. This post is all about Magic Kingdom in One Day.
Magic Kingdom in One Day
Let’s Cover The Basics: 1-Day Itinerary for Every Park
Before we dive into the specific park, let’s review essential tips for making time-efficient in the parks.
- Download My Disney Experience app and check opening, closing, and show times there. You should also check the app throughout the day to know wait times. I also recommend checking the app from your home before you arrive, so you know what to expect for each attraction.
- For 1-Day itineraries, you need to be at the gates during rope drop. You should arrive 30-60 minutes before the park opens.
- If you’re staying in a Walt Disney World Hotel, you will have the Early Theme Park Entry benefit included. You should always take advantage of this precious time, as the parks are way less crowded.
- If you’re on a tight schedule, always choose Quick Service food spots and Mobile Order when possible. If you want more tips on Disney Dining, you can read this article.
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- People tend to walk to the right. If you’re rope-dropping always aim left as soon as you enter a park unless this itinerary tells you otherwise.
- Use rider switch. This is a free service theme parks offer so that families do not have to stand in line twice when the little ones can not ride due to height requirements. Here are the details for height requirements in Walt Disney World. The whole group should go to the ride entrance and let the Cast Member know you will be using rider switch. They will scan your ticket or magic band and part of the group can wait outside while some of you stand in line. When the first group comes out of the ride, the ones that were left outside will access through a lightning lane. They usually allow you to ride with someone else, so if someone loved the attraction, this is a great chance to do it a second time without standing in line all over again!
[DISCLAIMER] In this itinerary you need to arrive 30 to 60 minutes before the park opens, so your breakfast should be before that time, or while you’re waiting for the rope to drop. You can bring your own snack and enter the parks with some food in your backpack. I recommend this cooler bag for you to bring whatever you want.
The first three hours are crucial for you to succeed in this 1-day Itinerary. You will also get some beautiful pictures before the parks are crowded.
Magic Kindgom in one day: Where should I go first?
The longest waits are usually at the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and Peter Pan’s Flight. The first part will be the same for groups with or without children. The recommendation when accessing the park is to go to Seven Dwarfs Mine Train first to save time later. If there are little ones in the group, you can use rider switch. Coming off the roller coaster, walk through Fantasyland to Peter Pan’s Flight if you like the classics. If you were at the park gate by rope-drop, you will definitely tackle these two rides by your first hour.
As this post is to tour the Magic Kingdom in just one day, I’m sorry to tell you that we can’t stay and walk around the areas. From now on, we will divide the day according to your group type.
Groups with Children
Noon
After the first two attractions, you will go for a classic: It’s a Small World. Kids for some reason love it (some adults too) and It doesn’t have long lines. On the way out, you will go to Liberty Square and visit Haunted Mansion. This ride is a bit dark for small children, so it all depends on the preferences of your little one.
After that, you’ll roam through Fantasyland: start with Under The Sea: Journey of The Little Mermaid, then move on to The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh, and after that, your can pay a visit to Prince Charming Regal Carrousel.
With kids, I suggest you sit down for lunch and get some rest. I would go to Pinocchio’s Village Haus: it has options for all tastes and plenty of seats available.
Afternoon
After lunch, you will head towards Tomorrowland for Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin and Tomorrowland Speedway. Mad Tea Party is in the area and It can be fun, but some people may get dizzy, so you choose your fate. Dumbo The Flying Elephant is a classic and there is usually a short wait. Also, the line has a playground for toddlers, so they will love it.
If you need a snack, you can stop by Gaston’s Tavern or Chesire Cafe. After that, I highly recommend you assist an Enchanted Tales With Belle show. You won’t regret it.
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For the rest of the day, you canl go towards Adventureland and ride Pirates of the Caribbean and The Magic Carpets of Aladdin. You will find the Enchanted Tiki Room nearby, and kids often enjoy this 10-minute show.
With this itinerary, you pretty much covered all the must-sees for children in just one day! Now you can choose any ride until it’s time for the fireworks show or just walk around the park.
Groups of (young at heart) Adults
Noon
After Peter Pan, you should head to one of the other mountains. In this itinerary, I suggest you go to Space Mountain in Tomorrowland. The wait shouldn’t be long as it’s still the AM. If you are a Toy Story fan, you can stop by Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, which is very close and usually has a short wait in the morning. By doing these two attractions we already have the priorities of Tomorrowland covered, so we can cross that area off our list.
Then, as one of the tips I mentioned before is that people walk to the right, we are going to cross the entire park to get to Frontierland and stand in line for Big Thunder Mountain or Splash Mountain (your choice). After the thrill ride, I suggest stopping by Pirates of the Caribbean and then Jungle Cruise.
Around this time you could have lunch. I recommend having lunch close to 12 since the peak lunch hour is at 1 PM and the lines are a bit shorter.
Afternoon
After lunch, you will go to Liberty Square for one of my favorite rides: Haunted Mansion. After noon, wait times will be longer, but you have already taken care of the most popular rides, so you can pat yourself on the back and congratulate yourself.
When you exit Haunted Mansion, you will go to the most magical land in the park: Fantasyland. Now it’s time for you to have the It’s a Small World jingle in your head all day.
Then you should visit Under The Sea: Journey of The Little Mermaid and if you want the full Disney classic rides experience, I suggest you go to Dumbo the Flying Elephant.
Congrats! You just completed the must-do checklist for Magic Kingdom! Now you may have a few more hours until fireworks come. You can tackle a ride you haven’t visited, or just roam the park and feel all the magic.Personally, I would try to go to Astro Orbiters only because the view is awesome, and if there is still some time to spare, I would have some laughs at Mad Tea Party.
