Seeing all of Magic Kingdom in one day is impossible. I always recommend two days if you’d like to see and do everything but if you only have one day to spend at the Magic Kingdom I can help you to work through some of the best attractions with my one-day touring plan for “Ride Lovers” or one-day touring plan for “Families with Small Kids”.

My touring plans work to move you around the park in a timely manner while also not having you dart back and forth between the lands.  You will easily put in 10,000 steps a day at Magic Kingdom and eliminating any unnecessary walking is crucial to park survival!

For those of you with two days to tour Magic Kingdom use one of the two touring plans mentioned above and then add on the second-day plan.

In order to get started, you will need to prioritize which attractions are the most important to you and then strategically go about seeing them.  If I haven’t listed an attraction you MUST SEE while here, swap out one you’re less interested in.   The idea is to cover as much as possible but still stay flexible if there’s something you really want to do or a shorter than expected wait time pops up.

You can expect to average one attraction per 45 minutes or an hour based on just how busy the park is on the day you visit.  Having this in mind will help you to understand how much you’ll be able to cover in a days time.

If you’ve never visited the Magic Kingdom and you’re not sure what you want to ride I’ve got you covered!

Hang on friends, it’s time to visit Magic Kingdom like a pro!

Touring Plans – Why you need one.

Standing inside the Magic Kingdom, or any other Disney park can be quite overwhelming for anyone, especially a first or second-time visitor.  Staring at a map and trying to orient yourself while the kids all put in their two cents about what they’d like to do next can derail any Disney day.   Families do much better with a plan in place.  Having a plan up front can help to ease frustration and also ensure you cover the maximum amount of attractions possible on your park day.

There are over 38 attractions and character meet and greets at any given time and this doesn’t even include the parades, fireworks, and stage shows.  Knowing what you’d like to do ahead of time will ensure you leave the park knowing you did what you came for and reduce stress about what you might have missed!

How FastPass+ Works

Each guest with a valid park ticket can select up to three FastPass experiences per day prior to park arrival, at no additional cost.

• On property and good neighborhood guests will be able to select them 60 days prior to arrival
• Guests staying off property will select them at 30 days prior to arrival.

For each FastPass you have, you’ll be able to skip the “stand-by” line by entering through the “FastPass line”.  Upon arrival to the attraction, you will tap your MagicBand at the FastPass line entrance and then proceed to the front of the line.

Cast Members intermix the number of FastPass guests and standby guests at the merge points and magically keep each line moving.  Ultimately this means you will skip the line for at least three attractions each day.

Once you have tapped your MagicBand on your third FastPass attraction you are then able to login to your My Disney Experience app (or visit a FastPass kiosk) to select additional FastPass attractions, one at a time.

Each attraction has a limited number of FastPasses per day and once they run out you won’t be able to select that attraction as a FastPass option.  This is why it’s so important to select the first three FastPasses based on your highest priority attractions combined with the typical wait time these attractions have.  More on this in the FastPass table below.

For example: Maybe your highest priority attraction is Under the Sea – Journey of a Little Mermaid.  You can tell from the table below that this is a low priority Fast Pass selection.  The reason this attraction is in the third tier is that it consistently has a shorter wait time in comparison to most other attractions.  Trust me on this!  Choose all three of your original FastPass attractions from Tier One if possible, or Tier Two if necessary.  You will still be able to ride Under the Sea – Journey of a Little Mermaid.

Fast Pass Selection Day

Be prepared to login to your My Disney Experience account the morning of your FastPass selection day (either 60 or 30 days prior to arrival) and select your desired FastPasses.

• FastPass selection opens at 7 am EST each day.
• FastPasses are chosen in hour-long increments meaning you have one hour to use the FastPass you’ve selected.
• The times can not overlap even by a minute.
• Upon arrival at the park, you can check in up to 5 minutes prior to your arrival time and up to 10 minutes past your arrival time.  This is NOT a rule written in stone and is at the Cast Members discretion so try to be on time.

FastPass+ Choices – How to Choose

Magic Kingdom has more than 25 attractions, shows and character greetings that offer FastPass+.  Some of these are not ideal selections for your first round of FastPass+.  Use the table below to help decide which FastPasses you should be choosing.

When selecting FastPasses choose your top three priorities, from the top tier of the FastPass chart below.  These are the most popular attractions that consistently have the longest wait times.

I personally choose the three mountains; Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, and Big Thunder Mountain. BUT if your priorities are not the “mountains” adjust accordingly from the top tier.  If Seven Dwarfs Mine Train or Peter Pan are a top priority then choose one of those to replace one of the “mountains”.  We’ll talk more about how to cover the remainder of the top tier attractions below.

If you are not able to get all three of your top tier FastPasses you can select one from tier two.  But I caution you to choose from tier two only if you don’t want to ride what’s listed in tier one.

Don’t stress yourself out that if you don’t have a FastPass for an attraction in Tier Two you won’t get to ride.  This is not the case.  We are simply maximizing our time in the parks by using FastPasses to skip the lines that are consistently the longest.  Make sense?

Need me to just handle this for you?  My team and I take care of all of these details and more for our clients at no additional cost to you.

 

 

 

Prior to Arrival

• Have your FastPass selections in place.
• Download the My Disney Experience app to your phone and log in.
• Screenshot your day’s plans. This alleviates any issues you might have with the My Disney Experience app once inside the park.  This does happen!
• Choose your touring plan below – this ideally happens prior to you selecting FastPasses.  It will act as a guide for the ideal time slots you select for your FastPasses.
• It is imperative that you check the park hours prior to going.  Hours are always subject to change and looking 6 months prior to arrival is not sufficient planning.  Double checking the week before or the day before is best.

Arrival to Magic Kingdom and Rope Drop

On your Magic Kingdom day, you’ll want to arrive 45 minutes to an hour prior to park opening time.  We will use the early morning hours to cover a few attractions prior to the park becoming crowded.  But you must be in place and ready to go when the park officially opens.

Cast members will admit guests into Magic Kingdom and down Main Street to the Castle Forecourt stage approximately 45 minutes prior to the listed park opening time.

All of the Main Street shops and dining locations will be open for you to wander through and grab your morning coffee but I highly suggest you resist temptation and move on towards the castle!

Cast Members will be standing at each of the four “spokes” holding a rope to keep guests from accessing the lands prior to the official park opening.   This is where we get the term “rope drop”.

After the morning opening show on the castle stage, Cast Members will drop the rope and allow guests to move to their land and attraction of choice.

The crowds will gather at these ropes to wait in the hopes of being first in line at their desired attraction. This is where strategy comes into play.

• You should be standing near the rope closest to your land of choice ready to go at rope drop.
• This is when you will ride the Top Tier attraction that you were NOT able to get a FastPass+ for.
• And hopefully, ride one other top tier attraction prior to moving on to your selected FastPasses.

Park Map

To see all Magic Kingdom has to offer go here.

Touring Plans – How to choose the best one for you.

Choose from my Family Touring Plan or Touring Plan for Ride Lovers.

The family touring plan has attractions that everyone can ride (based on height) and the touring plan for ride lovers includes more thrilling attractions that have a height requirement. Keep in mind that Magic Kingdoms “thrilling attractions” are still very mild in comparison to intense coasters elsewhere. This will change when Tron opens. (opening date not yet announced as of June 2019).

For guests that have more than one day to spend at Magic Kingdom, and this is highly suggested that you do, please add on the second day’s plan to your chosen “one day plan”.

One Day – Touring Plan for Ride Lovers 

*Suggested FastPass selections and times are in red.

Arrive at Magic Kingdom 45 minutes to an hour prior to park opening and proceed down Main Street and to the “spoke” of the land, you’ll be starting in.

At park opening:

• At Rope Drop go directly to Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (or the Top Tier attraction you did NOT get a FastPass+ for)
• Peter Pan (if high priority and wait time is less than an hour)
• Small World
• Haunted Mansion
• Lunch
• Big Thunder Mountain – FastPass suggested time 12:30 – 1:30 pm for a 9 am opening.  Plan to arrive at Big Thunder near the end of your FastPass time so that you are immediately able to use your Splash Mountain FastPass once you’re off Big Thunder.
• Splash Mountain – FastPass suggested time 1:30 – 2:30 pm  
• Pirates of the Caribbean
• Space Mountain – FastPass suggested time 2:45 – 3:45 pm
• Select next FastPass from the app – choose your highest priority based on what’s still available.
• Tomorrowland Transit Authority – People Mover
• Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin
• Under the Sea – Journey of a Little Mermaid – if time.
• Dinner
• Dumbo – if time.
• Meet Characters as time allows.
• Happily Ever After Fireworks – see times guide for time.  Arrive at Main Street 45 minutes to an hour prior. Sit on Main Street from Casey’s Corner forward to just behind the Hub for the best views of both the fireworks and the projection show.

*The Ride Lovers Touring Plan does not list any Character Meet and Greets.  Please fill in characters where you see fit.  

One Day – Touring Plan for Families with Small Kids (under 40″) 

At park opening:

• At rope drop go directly to Princess Fairytale Hall – meet Cinderella & friends. Characters subject to change.
• Enchanted Tales with Belle
• Prince Charming Regal Carousel
• It’s A Small World – if time, if not do after Peter Pans Flight
• Peter Pan’s Flight – FastPass suggested time 10:00 – 11:00 am
• The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
• Dumbo the Flying Elephant – FastPass suggested time 11:00 – 12:00 pm 
• Lunch
• Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid
• Meet Ariel in her Grotto
• Festival of Fantasy Parade – find a spot on Main Street 45 minutes prior to start time; typically 3 pm.
• Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin – FastPass suggested time 3:30 – 4:30 pm
• Select next FastPass from the app – choose your highest priority based on what’s still available.
• Tomorrowland Transit Authority – People Mover
• Jungle Cruise
• The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
• Dinner
• Happily Ever After Fireworks – see times guide for time.  Arrive at Main Street 45 minutes to an hour prior. Sit on Main Street from Casey’s Corner forward to just behind the Hub for the best views of both the fireworks and the projection show.

*If you’d like to rest mid-day plan to leave the Magic Kingdom after the Festival of Fantasy Parade which typically happens at 3 pm.  Then come back to Magic Kingdom for a late dinner and evening fireworks. 

*If you don’t think late fireworks is ideal for your family, consider staying at one of the three monorail resorts, Disney’s Contemporary, Polynesian or Grand Floridian with a theme park view room to watch the evening fireworks from your room.

2 Day – Touring Plan for Ride Lovers

For our two day touring plans we’re essentially going to split the park in half and cover more of the attractions that Magic Kingdom has to offer.

Day One:  Fantasyland & Tomorrowland

• At rope drop go directly to Peter Pan’s Flight
• It’s a Small World 
• Princess Fairytale Hall – meet Cinderella & friends
• Enchanted Tales with Belle – if time
• Seven Dwarfs Mine Train – FastPass suggested time 11:30 – 12:30 am
• The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
• Meet Pooh & Tigger – if time
• Lunch
• Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid
• Festival of Fantasy Parade – find a spot on Main Street 45 minutes prior to start time; typically 3 pm.
• Space Mountain – FastPass suggested time 3:00 – 4:00 pm
• Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin – FastPass suggested time 4:00 – 5:00 pm 
• Select next FastPass from the app – choose your highest priority based on what’s still available.
• Tomorrowland Transit Authority – People Mover
• Tomorrowland Speedway
• Dumbo
• Goofy’s Barnstormer
• Dinner
• Meet Mickey Mouse & Tinker Bell – Town Square Theater on Main Street
• Complete the remaining attractions and character meets in both Tomorrowland and Fantasyland that you have not done or would like to repeat.
• Happily Ever After Fireworks – see times guide for time.  Arrive at Main Street 45 minutes to an hour prior. Sit on Main Street from Casey’s Corner forward to just behind the Hub for the best views of both the fireworks and the projection show.

Day Two: Adventureland, Frontierland & Liberty Square

• At rope drop go directly to Pirates of the Caribbean
• The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
• Jungle Cruise – FastPass suggested time 10:00 – 11:00 am
• Enchanted Tiki Room – if time
• Splash Mountain – FastPass suggested time 11:00 – 12:00 pm (arrive near the end of the FastPass time so you can immediately get on Big Thunder after you’ve ridden Splash Mountain
• Big Thunder Mountain- FastPass suggested time 12:00 – 1:00 pm
• Select next FastPass from the app – if Haunted Mansion is an option or something you’d like to repeat from the day before, choose your highest priority based on what’s still available.
• Lunch
• If you’d like to see the Festival of Fantasy parade again, view it in Frontierland or Liberty Square.
• Haunted Mansion
• Tom Sawyer Island (closes daily at 5 pm)
• Liberty Square Riverboat
• The Hall of Presidents
• fill in characters and the few remaining attractions you have not experienced: Country Bear Jamboree, Swiss Family Tree House.
• Choose to see the fireworks again or repeat your favorite attractions.

2 Day – Touring Plan for Families

Day One:  Fantasyland & Tomorrowland

*This is a really full plan for small children.  Use at your discretion.  Skip what doesn’t feel exciting and nap in the middle of the day if needed!

• At rope drop go directly to Princess Fairytale Hall – meet Cinderella & friends
• It’s a Small World 
• Princess Charming Regal Carrousel
• Enchanted Tales with Belle 
• Peter Pan’s Flight – FastPass suggested time 11:00 – 12:00 pm
• Lunch
• The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
• Meet Pooh & Tigger – if time
• Goofy’s Barnstormer – 35″ tall to ride – FastPass suggested time 1:30 – 2:30 pm
• Dumbo – or FastPass for Dumbo if you dont’ want to ride Goofy’s Barnstormer
• Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid
• Meet Ariel in her Grotto
• Festival of Fantasy Parade – find a spot on Main Street 45 minutes prior to start time; typically 3 pm.
• Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin – FastPass suggested time 3:20 – 4:20 pm 
• Select next FastPass from the app – choose your highest priority based on what’s still available.
• Tomorrowland Speedway
• Tomorrowland Transit Authority – People Mover
• Dinner
• Fill in attractions you missed, want to do again or characters you still want to meet or REST!  You will be exhausted!
• Happily Ever After Fireworks – see times guide for time.  Arrive at Main Street 45 minutes to an hour prior. Sit on Main Street from Casey’s Corner forward to just behind the Hub for the best views of both the fireworks and the projection show.

Day Two:  Fantasyland, Frontierland & Adventureland

• Meet Mickey Mouse & Tinker Bell at Town Square Theater – at park opening
• Meet Jasmine & Aladdin
• Swiss Family Treehouse
• The Magic Carpets of Aladdin – FastPass suggested time 10:00 – 11:00 am
• Enchanted Tiki Room – if time
• Jungle Cruise – FastPass suggested time 11:00 – 12:00 pm
• Pirates of the Caribbean – FastPass suggested time 12:00 – 1:00 pm
• Select next FastPass from the app – choose your highest priority based on what’s still available.
• Lunch
• Tom Sawyer Island 
• Country Bear Jamboree
• Liberty Square Riverboat
• If you’d like to see the Festival of Fantasy parade again, view it in Frontierland or Liberty Square.
• Ride the Walt Disney Railroad to return to Fantasyland for the remainder of the day.
• You probably did not complete day one.  Use the afternoon of the second day to complete day one or meet characters.
• Dinner
• Fill in the attractions you missed, want to do again or characters you still want to meet.
• Happily Ever After Fireworks – see times guide for time.  Arrive at Main Street 45 minutes to an hour prior. Sit on Main Street from Casey’s Corner forward to just behind the Hub for the best views of both the fireworks and the projection show.

*If you’d like to rest mid-day plan to leave the Magic Kingdom after the Festival of Fantasy Parade which typically happens at 3 pm.  Then come back to Magic Kingdom for a late dinner and evening fireworks. 

*If you don’t think late fireworks is ideal for your family consider staying at one of the three monorail resorts, Disney’s Contemporary, Polynesian or Grand Floridian with a theme park view room to watch the evening fireworks from your room.

Characters at Magic Kingdom

• Mickey Mouse & Minnie Mouse together – Town Square Theater, Main Street USA
• Tinker Bell – Town Square Theater, Main Street USA
• Main Street characters – schedule and appearances vary
• Belle – Enchanted Tales with Belle – Fantasyland
• Peter Pan – Fantasyland
• Ariel – Fantasyland
• Pooh and Friends – Fantasyland
• Cinderella & Elena – Fantasyland
• Rapunzel & Tiana – Fantasyland
• Gaston – Fantasyland
• Donald, Daisy, Goofy & Minnie – Fantasyland
• Buzz Lightyear – Tomorrowland
• Stitch – Tomorrowland
• Merida – Fantasyland
• Woody & Jesse – Frontierland
• Tiana – Liberty Square
• Aladdin & Jasmine – Adventureland
• Captain Jack Sparrow – Adventureland

*Character appearances subject to change.  Often times characters will appear at the Flag Pole or in undisclosed locations.  Keep your eyes open to see some of your favorites!

Touring Plan for Other Parks:

• Epcot Touring Plans
• Hollywood Studios – Coming Soon
• Animal Kingdom – Coming Soon
• Blizzard Beach – Coming Soon
• Typhoon Lagoon – Coming Soon

Rider swap

Rider swap is available at the following Magic Kingdom attractions:

• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
• Space Mountain
• Splash Mountain
• Goofy’s Barnstormer
• Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
• Tomorrowland Speedway

How rider swap works

Rider Swap is a great way to get all willing and tall enough guests on the attractions together when one member of the party is either too short to ride or does not want to ride.

When you approach the Standby or FastPass entrance simply let the Cast Member know that you’d like to rider swap.

The Cast Member will give you a paper FastPass that can be used for up to 4 people. The first group will ride while one adult and unwilling/too small participants stay behind. After the first party returns the adult that stayed behind will be able to use the FastPass entrance to ride the attraction along with the other members who just rode.

This system is a fantastic way for everyone to get to experience the attraction together even when some aren’t able too. It’s also a great way for the kids to be able to experience many of the attractions twice!

Single rider lines

Unlike Disneyland and a select few attractions at Disney World, Magic Kingdom does not have any single rider lines.

Additional Planning Resources

Find out about all current and upcoming refurbishments here and new attractions coming soon here.

For additional help planning your Disney World vacation email hello@LOTMV.com