Magic Kingdom - does order of rides matter?

[kohlby]

We're headed to Orlando in under 2 weeks with a 8 month old and a 3.5 year old. Our last visit was 6 months ago. (Yes, that means with a very young baby!) Last time we went in May, Memorial Day week. We made sure to do Dumbo and Peter Pan first and then the rest of the rides in that area. We beat the crowds and it was enjoyable getting so many rides done so fast - especially since baby could go on them too!

This time, we're thinking about going into the park and starting on the left and making our way around in a loop. Our thinking is that the crowds won't be anything like they were for our last visit, and there's so much that our son didn't get a chance to do last time. He is 42" so he is tall enough for many of the rides. (And fearless unless getting splashed is involved - he wants to do Tower of Terror but not Splash Mountain!)

Do you think the crowds will be low enough for it to work? The exact day that we plan on doing Magic Kingdom is Tuesday, Dec 12. We don't have to do every ride, of course, but we don't want to be stuck in long lines. We aren't concerned about getting on rides that our son can't go on. Last time we found it worked best to let our son take the lead and choose rides based on what he could do.

 

[Kick Save]

I would follow your same start point, mainly because Dumbo's line gets outrageous as the day goes on. (Takes longer to load/unload than actually ride.) Peter Pan, same thing, continuous load, but not a real high capacity like the Haunted Mansion or Buzz.

I've read where the early morning crowds seem to head towards Tomorrowland the most, so Dumbo, then Peter Pan and/or Pooh, then off to Frontierland should get you to Splash and Big Thunder with minimal waits there.

 

[tinkersmama]

I agree. I would start in Fantasyland and then follow around to Frontier land, and go that way. Same concept as doing every land to the left, just a different starting point. You should get quite a few rides in.

 

[kj2mom]

Our third day at MK last month we decided to take the train to Frontierland right from the park entrance. It was one of the best decisions we ever made. We started our fast pass routine from there filling in with the other less crowded rides when waiting for the window to open. We did start with Splash mountain though so not exactly sure how it will go for you. I will tell you though that Peter Pan had a long return time (we actually waited for it to be our last fast pass and we got a time for after Wishes) so be careful about getting a fast pass for that or you might blow your chances of getting other fast passes.

 

[MomofKatie]

We always do Fantasyland, then Toontown, then take the train to Frontierlandand and Liberty Sq. We usually do lunch, then head to Adventureland, and Tomorrowland and Main St in the late afternoon/evening with dinner thrown in there somewhere. It works really well for us, since we get the Dumbo/Peter Pan/Pooh trifecta done early.

 

[Eeyore2003]

You may hit a good day, but as a rule, I think you are going to find WDW more crowded than you think. December has gotten pretty popular in the last few years. If you want to avoid lines, I would hit the headliners first. Then go around and do the rest. It's much more relaxing to be ahead of the crowd than stuck in long lines for the day.