Magic Kingdom in the Evening

[Joshuy]

Hi all,
Going to Disney World on Sunday and can't hardly concentrate on my work because I'm so excited! We're staying at Bay Lake for 6 nights (very excited about that too!). I have 3 little kids so staying in a park all day is out of the question. But since we're so close to Magic Kingdom, we can always hop over there after dinner. I'm wondering how busy Magic Kingdom is in the evening? Is it worth going over there after dinner for 2 hours or so if we were at another park (we'll have park hopper tickets)? I'm worried the lines to Fantasyland stuff will be long and we'll have no fast passes. It would still be fun to see the parade, celebrate and wishes. I'm just being curious! Thanks!
josh

 

[Robo]

Hi all,
Going to Disney World on Sunday and can't hardly concentrate on my work because I'm so excited! We're staying at Bay Lake for 6 nights (very excited about that too!). I have 3 little kids so staying in a park all day is out of the question. But since we're so close to Magic Kingdom, we can always hop over there after dinner. I'm wondering how busy Magic Kingdom is in the evening? Is it worth going over there after dinner for 2 hours or so if we were at another park (we'll have park hopper tickets)? I'm worried the lines to Fantasyland stuff will be long and we'll have no fast passes. It would still be fun to see the parade, celebrate and wishes. I'm just being curious! Thanks!
josh

Go.
Enjoy!

 

[natfrac]

Fantasyland lines are usually long all day until closing. But some attractions will have low wait times, like Philharmagic and IASW. Do the headliners in the morning and less popular rides at night. MK is beautiful at night, so it will be enjoyable.

 

[cvjw]

We enjoy staying at BLT for the very reason you mentioned - being so close to the MK. We stayed at BLT for 8 nights in June, and went to the MK at least once per day, even if we spent the majority of the day at a different park. Yes, the lines will be long at the MK in the evenings, and for the most part, FP will be long gone. There are still things that you can enjoy - ride the People Mover, ride the driving cars (if they have all sides open, the line moves quickly), ride Dumbo (seems to move faster now that there are 2 of them), or Pirates. Also, keep in mind that as you get closer to closing time, we have found that the posted wait times don't match the actual wait time. We were able to ride the Aerial ride the other night with almost zero wait, even though the posted wait time was 30 minutes.

 

[mm1971]

Hi all,
Going to Disney World on Sunday and can't hardly concentrate on my work because I'm so excited! We're staying at Bay Lake for 6 nights (very excited about that too!). I have 3 little kids so staying in a park all day is out of the question. But since we're so close to Magic Kingdom, we can always hop over there after dinner. I'm wondering how busy Magic Kingdom is in the evening? Is it worth going over there after dinner for 2 hours or so if we were at another park (we'll have park hopper tickets)? I'm worried the lines to Fantasyland stuff will be long and we'll have no fast passes. It would still be fun to see the parade, celebrate and wishes. I'm just being curious! Thanks!
josh

Lines may be longer on weekend days. During the week, not so much at this time of year. I say go to the park and enjoy it with your children. If the lines are too long for certain rides, there is always something else to do while there.

 

[Joshuy]

Great advice! I think our kids (and my wife and I) are going to have a blast just being there and walking around! Can't wait!!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

I would recommend going in the evening. Crowd levels will vary depending on which day of the week you're heading over but they're all still January low crowd levels. You should be able to find enough attractions with low wait times. Plus since you can just walk back to the hotel from the park, won't have to worry about the crush of crowds headed towards the monorails and boats after Wishes!

Once thing we did during our last trip in April when we stayed at the Poly. We spent most of the day at the resort and by its pool. In the evening after dinner, we decided to hop over to MK just to watch MSEP! Found a nice spot in front of the Barber Shop. The kids got to play with hoola-hoops with the CMs while waiting. Watched the parade, then left before Wishes. Very relaxing way to watch MSEP!

 

[Joshuy]

My kids are 6/4/1. Last time we went, I didn't realize this but my daughter thought we had moved there (she was 3). When we got home and she saw our house she started crying and refused to get out of our van, asking for us to take her back to her new home at Magic Kingdom. She was crushed! Her dream went poof and my wife and I felt bad for her. She can't wait to go back! She has been asking every day if we are going tomorrow.

 

[ttintagel]

I LOVE the Magic Kingdom at night. The lights are beautiful, and you don;t have to wait for your eyes to adjust on dark rides.

 

[MickeyCanada715]

I would definitely go for the evening.

 

[Herfnerd]

LOVE the MK at night, but not sure if I would go this Sunday - EMH until midnite and three day weekend would make the park somewhat crowded....

 

[GenevieveRaqs]

I LOVE the Magic Kingdom at night. The lights are beautiful, and you don;t have to wait for your eyes to adjust on dark rides.

Yes! Peter Pan, especially, is a much more enjoyable experience at night! That ride is so dark and so short that my eyes haven't really adjusted by the end if I ride during bright sunlight. But no problem at night!

If you're lucky enough to have two showings of MSEP on your night at MK, plan to ride during the first and see the parade for the second. Lines will be shorter for rides during the first parade, and parade crowds will be smaller during the second.

 

[katt789]

I would just go! You've got the hoppers, your super close, if it's too crowded for you, you can just go back to the room.

MK usually is really nice at night, during the parade & fireworks the attraction wait times drop a lot since everyone's watching the entertainment. If you choose to be watch things instead, that's awesome too. MK at night is always fun!

 

[Herbie]

Mornings and evenings are the best times to be in the MK.

 

[DSLRuser]

the only problem with this is, Disney has a castle show, a parade, fireworks, and sometimes a second parade stacked up pretty close together. it tends to draw people to main street.

So depending on the schedule, and when you arrive, it can be a tough ask to get fro the main turnstyles to fantasyland. Everyone has their spot staked out on the sidewalk and castle stage area.

Make your way left, and travel the length of main street inside the shops. Exit caseys corner and keep left by the crystal palce. cut thorugh by haunted mansion and up the hill into fantasy land.

 

[Bearybear]

Depending on how late in the evening you plan on staying, some lines may be very short. We were in the MK at 9:00PM last Feb. and there was only one family in front of us to meet the fairies. It was the shortest line we were ever in to meet characters.

Go and have fun. Since you won't have to wait for a bus or monorail back, if it feels too crowded you can get back to your room pretty quickly.

 

[jmclester]

My kids are 6/4/1. Last time we went, I didn't realize this but my daughter thought we had moved there (she was 3). When we got home and she saw our house she started crying and refused to get out of our van, asking for us to take her back to her new home at Magic Kingdom. She was crushed! Her dream went poof and my wife and I felt bad for her. She can't wait to go back! She has been asking every day if we are going tomorrow.

Welcome to the DISboards!

 

[AuroraRora]

I would absolutely do it! When my family goes to WDW, we usually spend our evenings at MK or Epcot, regardless of which park we were at during the day, so that we can see fireworks every night. Heading to MK for the evening and seeing the parade and Wishes sounds like my idea of a perfect evening - its one of the main reasons we get park hoppers.

 

[DisneyMim]

Our favorite time in the MK. We LOVE it at night!! Just this past Christmas we did the extra magic hours at MK and went on the Little Mermaid ride with no wait at all. I didn't think we would be able to ride it during the Christmas/New Year's week, and I was thrilled. Yes, go to the MK at night. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!!

Enjoy The Magic!!

 

[Joshuy]

the only problem with this is, Disney has a castle show, a parade, fireworks, and sometimes a second parade stacked up pretty close together. it tends to draw people to main street.

So depending on the schedule, and when you arrive, it can be a tough ask to get fro the main turnstyles to fantasyland. Everyone has their spot staked out on the sidewalk and castle stage area.

Make your way left, and travel the length of main street inside the shops. Exit caseys corner and keep left by the crystal palce. cut thorugh by haunted mansion and up the hill into fantasy land.

Ooh, I hadn't thought about how to get from the front to the back. Thanks! I'll definitely look at the map!