Magic Kingdom
Magic Kingdom opened on the 1st October 1971. In 2021 it celebrated its 18 month long 50th Anniversary. We were fortunate to visit twice in this time, however this was also during the period of reopening after the Covid closures. There were many changes to how Disney World operated to cope with Covid and some of these changes have remained and continue to impact the planning of your Disney World trip. We talk about Genie+ in other articles.
In the Magic Kingdom you will find Cinderella Castle the ‘Park Icon’. This is where you will be able to watch the nighttime fireworks and projection show currently ‘Enchantment’, however this will change to ‘Happily Ever After’ from April 3rd. You can also walk through the castle during the day to access Fantasyland. Inside the castle you will find the restaurant ‘Cinderella’s Royal Table’. Which is a Fine/Signature Dining experience featuring your favourite Disney Princesses. There is also a hotel room at the top of the castle which is only accessible by competition winners.
On entering the park the first thing you see isn’t actually the castle, but the Walt Disney World Railroad. These beautifully restored and maintained steam trains will take you on a scenic tour of the Magic Kingdom with stops in Frontierland and Fantasyland. The train has only recently reopened with a new tunnel under the new Tron coaster in Tomorrowland.
Once you pass under the railroad bridge you enter Main Street USA. Here you will find City Hall (Guest relations) on your left and The Town Square Theatre on your right where you can meet Mickey & Minnie Mouse. Walking along Main Street you will find the Emporium, to help with crowd levels this store, even though from the front it looks like multiple stores, are actually all connected inside and it is possible to walk the length of Main Street in the air conditioning. Just be careful as you may come out with a Spirit Jersey at the other end.
At the end of Main Street is the hub and the beautiful Cinderella Castle. From here you can access Adventureland to your left or Tomorrowland to your right.
If you turn left from the hub infront of Cinderella Castle you enter Adventureland. Here you will find the world famous ‘Jungle Cruise’. Take a cruise along exotic rivers and see the 8th wonder of the world, “The backside of water!”.
This beautiful land is also home to ‘Aloha Isle’ home to an extremely popular Disney snack, the Dole Whip. This vegan soft ice cream desert comes in many flavours and toppings and there is always a speciality version somewhere in one the parks or resorts.
You can also find the ‘Enchanted Tiki Rooms’, a replica of the opening day attraction at Disneyland and fan favourite bird sing-a-long. As you pass through the land towards Frontierland, don’t forget to stop off at ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ to experience the ride that spawned the movie franchise!
Frontierland is home to in our opinion the best pin trading shop on property at ‘Frontier Trading Post’. This is where you will find Phillip spending all of his money. We talk about Pin Trading in this blog.
The family friendly roller coaster ‘Big Thunder Mountain Railroad’ can be found at the back of Frontier Land. The coaster regularly has over an hours wait time, however you could purchase Genie + to avoid the queues.
Frontierland also played host to the recently closed ‘Splash Mountain’ which is being re-themed to ‘Tiana’s Bayou Adventure’ due to open in 2024.
Our next stop on our tour of Magic Kingdom is ‘Liberty Square’.
Here you can visit the ‘Hall of Presidents’ an impressive animatronic filled history of the good old US of A. Each President is represented and the current President always voices a section of the show. It’s a great place to enjoy some air conditioning. In the foyer you can find personal items from former Presidents and First Ladies.
After brushing up on your history, hop on the ‘Liberty Bell’ the steam powered paddle boat for a gentle tour around Tom Sawyer island giving you fantastic views of ‘Big Thunder Mountain’.
‘Sleepy Hollow’ is your snack stop of choice in this land for those speciality treats and drinks.
In Fantasyland you will find rides such as ‘Peter Pans Flight’ (Sarah’s favourite) and ‘It’s a Small World’ (Definitely not Phillip’s favourite). Mickeys Philharmagic, a 3D movie inside an air-conditioned building is perfect for escaping the afternoon Floridian heat.
If you always wanted to dress as a Prince or Princess (and are under 12) you can visit ‘Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique’ to make your dreams come true. For everyone else you can visit ‘Fantasy Faire’ and ask for some pixie dust.
In Fantasyland there are multiple quick service and snack locations including ‘Gastons Tavern’ and ‘Storybook treats’, however the most impressive dining can be found at ‘Be Our Guest’ a Beauty and the Beast themed restaurant.
Dining reservations are highly recommended for this restaurant and you will want to book at your 60 day point to guarantee eating from this prix-fixe menu.
Fantasyland is home to the largest amount of attractions in Magic Kingdom and can therefore get quite busy. Also be prepared for your path to be blocked through the castle in the evenings as they prepare for the fireworks display.
This brings us finally to Tomorrowland. Walt Disney’s view of the future, and the home to ‘Carousel of Progress’ an attraction that featured at the New York Worlds Fair in 1964. This history of the home through the years is fascinating to watch and you won’t be able to stop humming the song as you leave.
The ‘Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover’ is a gentle tour around the land on an elevated platform with detours through ‘Space Mountain’ the fast paced roller coaster and ‘Star Traders’ your one stop shop for futuristic merchandise. If you time it right you can ride the people mover and get a beautiful view of the sunset or fireworks over the castle.
Now you have completed your tour of the Magic Kingdom, grab yourself a drink from Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea booth to help pick you up as your step count passes 15,000!
Magic Kingdom is the iconic theme park. Every time I see that castle for the first time I smile from ear to ear. The feeling of joy that surrounds you when you are at Walt Disney World is like no other, and when everyone applauds and cries at the end of the fireworks after a long day you know “you’re just where you belong”.