Spending a day at the Magic Kingdom

[IMGONNABE40!]

We will be in Orlando in July and my sister and brother in law would like to take their 7 year old son to MK for a day. DS has not been to MK since 1978. DBIL has never been. I am not much help either. What do the experts suggest they do? They will arrive by taxi or town car service, and will have a single day ticket in hand when they arrive. Other than that... ?

 

[Robo]

Right off the top of my head I'd suggest:

Walk down Main Street and turn right at the hub, then...
Space Mountain
Carousel of Progress
Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin
Tomorrowland Transit Authority
Stitch Encounter
Astro Orbiter Rockets
Adv. of Winnie the Pooh
Mad Hatter's Tea Party
Dumbo, the Flying Elephant
Snow White's Scary Adventure
Pinocchio
Mickey's Philharmagic
Peter Pan
it's a small world
Haunted Mansion
Liberty Square Steamboat
Country Bear Jamboree
Splash Mountain
Big Thunder Mtn. Railroad
Pirates of the Caribbean
Aladdin's Magic Carpets
Enchanted Tiki Room UNM
Jungle Cruise
Swiss Family Treehouse
Have a "Dole Whip",
then jog back to Mickey's Toontown Fair and see Mickey.

That ought to get them through the first couple of hours.
Then, take the Steam Train back to Main Street or Frontierland and have another "go" at it.

At 3pm or so, they can enjoy the "Sharin' a Dream Come True" Parade
and at some point see "Cinderellabration" on the Castle Steps
(but that might be a bit too much excitement).

Then stay after dark to see "SpectroMagic" Parade and "Wishes" fireworks.

That's about all there is to the MK these days.

(Except for "Character Dining" in the Castle, the Crystal Palace and Liberty Tree Tavern. The nice "strolling" shows like the Dapper Dans.
AND, the countless "little things" that make MK and all of WDW so MAGICAL.)

 

[Tammi67]

Make sure you are at the park prior to it opening!

 

[cyndibelle]

lets just say once they enter the park..they will have no problem on finding many things to do....they will wish they had more than a one day pass believe me.....

 

[IMGONNABE40!]

Thank you for your replies. Is all of that doable in a day, Robo? Seems like a lot. What can they expect in terms of lines for the attractions? Who can suggest a guidebook?

 

[Robo]

Is all of that doable in a day, Robo? Seems like a lot. What can they expect in terms of lines for the attractions? Who can suggest a guidebook?

I just listed (from memory) about everything in the MK.
No, this is NOT all doable in a single day.

But, nobody can judge what someone ELSE will enjoy.
The point was (because your question was so general) that there is SO MUCH to do, that it would be impossible not to FILL a day (or THREE) with fun.
Even if you can see everything ONCE... most folks want to "do it again" on favorite rides and shows.

(I just remebered that I left out "Tom Sawyer's Island".)

I have done every one of the things on my list (MANY times, in most cases) and am going, in just a few more days, to spend 11 days at WDW again.

Folks on their way for the first time (or after a long absence) should pick a book, read the descriptions and suggestions, and go at it.

There are countless travel guides for WDW. To pick one risks offending the many here who have their own favorites (or even write them) but here are some big ones:

Birnbaum's Walt Disney World: The Official Guide
and
The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World

 

[tzuhouse]

And, I would suggest that, if you are going to pay for a book, go to www.tourguidemike.com and pay for that instead. He gives you completely up-to-date information and changes it as necessary and he has sample touring plans that they can use and then fit the things they'd really like in and take the others out. His information is well worth the money.

Mary

 

[Grumpy_Disney_Dad]

I agree for a one day trip , I would recommend The Passporter Guide , it has a very doable plan for the MK and well worth the $$

 

[eblack0409]

Just have fun!!!!!

 

[Camping Griswalds]

Walk down Main Street and turn right at the hub, then...
Space Mountain
Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin
Tomorrowland Transit Authority
Stitch Encounter was alien for us
Astro Orbiter Rockets
Adv. of Winnie the Pooh
Mad Hatter's Tea Party
Dumbo, the Flying Elephant
Snow White's Scary Adventure
Pinocchio
Mickey's Philharmagic
Peter Pan
it's a small world
Haunted Mansion
Country Bear Jamboree
Splash Mountain
Big Thunder Mtn. Railroad
Pirates of the Caribbean
Aladdin's Magic Carpets
Enchanted Tiki Room UNM
Jungle Cruise
Swiss Family Treehouse
Mickey's Toontown Fair and Goofys Barnstormer

We have done these attractions in a day with 2 adults and kids 11 and 7. We stayed onsite though and did EMH, so got MOST of tomorrowland (buzz, space, alien,rockets) and fantasyland (peter pan, pooh,tea cups, etc) done before crowds. We have accomplished this in both Jan and Aug. Unofficial guide has a touring plan that fits most evryones needs. Of course if you go and are intent on seeing everything, I think you will mostly end up miserable. It is Way hot. Use fast passes religiously. Have fun planning!!

 

[btuftee]

Wow, they are gonna be tired...

Without a hotel to take refuge to, I would suggest having a mid-afternoon lunch at one of the MK monorail hotels, to get out of the park and relax for a bit. If they get burned out on this one day trip, they might never want to go back for a longer visit and see the rest of the World. Especially since they're going in July - massive crowds and high heat/humidity.

Suggest a mid-afternoon reservation at Ohana at the Polynesian, or Chef Mickey's in the Contemporary. The parks will be open late in July, so they can always go back in the evening and do some more.

With a 7-year old Boy, I'd skip a lot of Fantasyland, and not even step foot in Toontown. Expect them to spend a lot of time at the MK's three mountains, Haunted mansion, Buzz Lightyear, Pirates of the Caribbean, Jungle Cruise, and Tom Saywer Island.

Here's my suggested plan (assuming an early morning start, and lots of energy on the part of mom and dad).

Enter the park, head for Frontierland. Get fastpasses for Big Thunder or Splash Mountain, whichever has the longer wait. Get in line for the other. Ride the first one, then use the fastpasses. If the wait is short, go back and do it all again.

Head to Adventureland, do Pirates and Jungle cruise, maybe take in the Tiki room to kill time waiting for a fastpass.

Cross to Liberty square, get a fastpass for Haunted Mansion, and depending on the wait (if it's more than an hour), go to Tom Saywer's island for a bit. Grab a snack, then do Haunted Mansion.

Head to Tomorrowland thru the Hub, send a parent to get fastpasses for Space Mountain, then do either Buzz lightyear or Stitch's Great Escape to pass the time. Tomorrowland Transit Authority is also fun to do to pass the time. Go and use the fastpasses for space mountain.

By now everyone should be tired and hungry, head back to the monorail and go lunch somewhere at the Poly or Contemporary. If the timing permits it, grab another FP at space mountain, if you can make it back in time to ride it after lunch.

Once back at the park, it's time to mop up the smaller attractions. Grab another fp to either splash or big thunder (waits should be long at this point), and hit the short lines. Just continue this pattern of getting a fp, then hitting another nearby attraction with a shorter line. If you really get hot and tired, try Hall of Presidents for an air-conditioned, seated break.

As parade time approaches, stake out a spot on the East Side (tomorrowland side) of Main Street USA. After the parade, head for space mountain, you can probably ride a few more times before closing. If there are two parades that night, watch the first one, and ride stuff during the second one. After the fireworks, take your time in leaving. You're not going anywhere fast, so just walk leisurely towards the Hub, and have a seat in front of the castle. I'd take the ferry back to the TTC, it's usually less crowded at night (everyone crowds the monorail).