Planning Your Best Day At Magic Kingdom

When you think of Walt Disney World, you probably imagine a big beautiful castle and a magical day spent around your favorite characters. Riding relaxing rides like Peter Pan’s Flight or dashing into space on a more daring adventure like Space Mountain. Grabbing a Mickey shaped ice cream and watching the parade go by with your most favorite people can be your treasured memories for years to come. All this is possible, BUT it does take planning and a bit of strategy. Don’t worry, I’m here to guide you to the most magical getaway ever. Keep reading to learn some ins and outs of Magic Kingdom OR skip the hard part and schedule a time to chat today! My services are completely complementary with all Walt Disney World Resort Vacation Packages!

To plan your Magic Kingdom day, we need to do a little reverse engineering…

I want you to imagine that you have already been on your trip and now you’re at home reminiscing.
How did you feel? What rides did you enjoy? What characters did you meet? Write those down so we can go back and add them to your Magic Kingdom plan. If you want a cute place to organize this day and have a list of everything in Magic Kingdom you can grab one here (if you already have access to the Free Resource Library it’s already in the planning section).

Understanding the tech is essential.

To best plan your Magic Kingdom day, you must know how to implement the tools, technology, and on-site guest perks Disney has. Understanding things like Multi Pass and Single Pass will give you that pro edge that you need in order to accomplish your goals and taking advantage of those Early Theme Park Entry minutes are pretty valuable when you know where to spend them.

Let’s talk about those line skipping tools. Single Pass, Multi Pass, and Premiere Pass are paid skip the line services. We’ll talk about each individually, but their similarity is that they give you access to the Lightning Lane (the fancy word for the much shorter line as opposed to the Standby Queue).

First up is Single Pass. Single Pass is for those new or high demand attractions. At the time of this post, the Single Pass attractions at Magic Kingdom are TRON Lightcycle / Run and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. Your Single Pass purchase is good for one entrance to the Lightning Lane at the attraction you choose to purchase. You can purchase up to 2 Single Passes per day per guest, so in theory, you could purchase a spot in the Lightning Lane for both of these attractions. Purchases can be made 7 days before your check-in day if you are a Walt Disney World Resort guest or 3 days before your park visit if you are an off site guest. Purchases open at 7 am on your eligible day giving an advantage to those staying at a Walt Disney Resort. To get an idea of how much a Single Pass may cost (it varies by day and season), you can check out the Lightning Lane Passes section on the My Disney Experience app.

Multi Pass is similar to single pass in that it gives entrance to the Lightning Lane. However, it can be used for multiple experiences and photo perks. It has the same purchase window as Single Pass, but instead of choosing which experience you want, you choose 3 to start. There are two tiers of attractions, you can choose one for Tier 1 and two (or all 3) from Tier 2.

Once you choose your first 3 Lightning Lanes, you really have the best idea of what your day could look like. To best select your first 3, take a look at your must-do’s you wrote down. If one of the Tier 1 attractions is on your list, I would recommend grabbing that first and try to get the earliest time available for all 3 selections. The earlier you use your first Lightning Lane, the longer you have to use it for the day. For example, if you choose The Barnstormer for 9:30am, Haunted Mansion for 11:45 am, and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure for 6 pm- as soon as you scan in for The Barnstormer you will be eligible to select your next Lightning Lane. Don’t wait until you’re off the ride. If you have time while you wait in the Lightning Lane go ahead and grab another reservation. Once you use the first Lightning Lane, you can choose an attraction from either tier. Don’t feel like you have to use the Lightning Lane for every attraction, if a Standby Queue time is under 30/45 minutes just hop in line, especially if it’s for a Tier 1 attraction you weren’t able to snag a Lightning Lane for. You will also receive ride photos to your My Disney Experience App complementary with your Multi Pass purchase, just make sure you give the app permissions so you get those ride photos automatically.

Premier Pass is the most expensive form of Lightning Lane. It gives the guest the most flexibility for line skipping throughout the day. Each guest with Premier Pass will be able to visit each Lightning Lane attraction (even Single Pass attractions) one time without the need of a reserved time. There are no time slots, just visit the attraction, scan your MagicBand or Key to the World card, and that’s it! To find prices for Premier Pass, search ‘Premiere Pass’ on the My Disney Experience App.

While we’re on the subject of skipping lines, I do want to mention VIP Tours. These private tours are lead by informative Cast Members. They offer tons of knowledge and you get those awesome skip the lines benefits. They can also transport you to other parks if you have park hopper tickets. The awesome tour guides will plan your day efficiently and effectively. Prices start at $450- $900 per hour with a minimum of 7 hours and a maximum of 10 hours. Your group can be up to 10 people.

Let’s start planning your Magical Day

Step 1: Know What You Want to Do

Use the worksheet and checklist to familiarize yourself with the rides, characters, and shows at Magic Kingdom. With so much to do in this park you may not be able to do every single thing, this is why prioritizing is so important.

Step 2: Arrive Early

If you are a Walt Disney Resort guest you are eligible for Early Theme Park Entry. To take full advantage of this 30 minutes, arrive early (before the 30 minutes start) so you aren’t wasting time going through security and walking down Main Street. And on that note, don’t spend those precious minutes in line at Main Street Bakery (Starbucks). Grab your coffee from your room or pack some caffeine and granola bars to go.

Once you are in, you can head towards the land you want to start your day in. If you want to get through some rides during that 30 minutes, you’ll want to go to Tomorrowland or Fantasyland. These two lands have rides that operate in those 30 minutes. If you really want to prioritize a ride that doesn’t operate in those extra minutes, you can head straight to that ride to start queuing early. For example, if you really want to ride Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, but you weren’t able to get a Lightning Lane, you can head straight to Frontierland to be one of the first guests on the ride.

Step 3: Make Sure You Are Leveraging Lightning Lanes

Like we talked about before, as soon as you scan in to a Lightning Lane grab your next one. You can always have 3 at one time. Try to do everything you want to do in each land instead of criss crossing the park multiple times a day. It may not always work out that way depending on Lightning Lane availability, but if you can do all the rides you want in Tomorrowland, then to Fantasyland and so forth it will save you a lot of extra time and steps. Also, once the park officially opens to everyone, starting in Adventureland and going clockwise may help somewhat with crowds since most people will start in Tomorrowland and go counter clockwise.

Step 4: Make Sure You Are Keeping Your Eye On Shows and Character Times

There are several shows and parades throughout the day. If you want to check those out, make sure you note the times in the My Disney Experience App so you don’t miss them. Character meet and greet times are also in the app. Characters have various start and stop times, you can find those times in the My Disney Experience App.

Step 5: Use Mobile Order and Plan to Eat at Off Times

Utilizing Mobile Order on the My Disney Experience App will save you loads of time standing in line for food. You can even plan ahead and order for a future pick up time. Eating before or after normal meal times will also save a bit of time and you will have better luck finding a table inside or under shade to rest and relax while you eat.

Step 6: Know What To Bring With You

Staying comfortable and hydrated on your Magic Kingdom day is so important. Don’t be afraid to pack some snacks and a filtered water bottle like a Brita bottle to save some money on water bottles. There are fountains and fill up stations, you can even get free ice water from Quick Service restaurants. However, the Florida water has a certain taste to it so those filtered bottles really help out.

Throw some moleskin and a chafe stick like Megababe in your park bag to keep you from blisters and rashes, and of course, don’t forget the sunscreen. You can find a park bag essentials list in the Free Resource Library in the Prep section.

Step 7: Stay Flexible

Heading in to your Magic Kingdom day with an idea of what you want to do with the flexibility to be spontaneous is how you win. Don’t feel like you have to stick with a stringent schedule. Leave room for magic and fun.

I Could Go On and On

There is so much to say about Magic Kingdom- pictures, outfits, favorite snacks, but I don’t want to overwhelm you. If you are feeling excited but maybe a little anxious about planning your Disney trip- that’s where I come in! As I said earlier, my services are completely complementary for all Disney World Vacation packages. Schedule a stress-free chat with me today and we’ll start planning your most magical vacation ever!

Talk to you soon!