Magic Kingdom Guide

The Resorts Gal Guide to

Magic Kingdom

This guide shares our most popular planning articles for Disney’s Magic Kingdom. We start with a brief overview, highlighting Magic Kingdom’s history. Then, we look at lands, attractions, and other planning aspects.

After the initial specifics, we’ve listed every article for Magic Kingdom. These articles detail each land and what to expect regarding rides, dining, and shopping. Magic Kingdom is a significant park, and we make it simple by breaking it down into areas.

Our attraction articles come next. These articles provide specifics for each attraction, including eligibility for early theme park hours, extended evening hours for deluxe resort guests, and height requirements. We also provide tips and walk-through experiences with photos for each ride.

Lastly, we have our entertainment, character, and planning articles for the Most Magical Place on Earth. We hope you’ll find these resources helpful in planning your Walt Disney World vacation.

the entrance to Magic Kingdom with the yellow train cars and wildflowers in the Springtime

Magic Kingdom History

Magic Kingdom opened on October 1, 1971, as the first theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort. Disney’s Contemporary Resort and Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort opened simultaneously with the park. At the time of its opening, Magic Kingdom had twenty-three attractions, with the promise that more would debut in the years to come. Walt Disney World celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2021. Some notable events over the years include:

  • The Pirates of the Caribbean attraction opened in Adventureland in 1973.
  • In 1975, Space Mountain and the Carousel of Progress opened as part of a Tomorrowland Expansion.
  • The Main Street Electrical Parade made its Florida debut in 1977.
  • Big Thunder Mountain Railroad opened at Magic Kingdom in 1980.
  • The first-ever Christmas party (Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party) was held in 1983.
  • Splash Mountain opened in 1992. It closed in 2023 to be re-imagined into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.
  • Walt Disney World celebrated its 25th anniversary in 1996. To celebrate, Cinderella Castle was covered in a giant pink birthday cake.
  • New Fantasyland and Storybook Circus opened with new attractions and restaurants, including Be Our Guest, in 2012.
  • Seven Dwarfs Mine Train opened in 2014.
  • Walt Disney World celebrated its 50th anniversary on October 1, 2021. An 18-month-long celebration was held in its honor.
  • Tron: Lightcycle /Run opened in Tomorrowland in April 2023.
  • Tiana’s Bayou Adventure opened in Frontierland in June of 2024.
a view down Main Street USA at Magic Kingdom

Magic Kingdom Lands

Magic Kingdom is home to multiple lands with attractions, dining, entertainment, and shopping. Those lands include:

  • Adventureland
  • Frontierland
  • Liberty Square
  • Fantasyland
  • New Fantasyland
  • Storybook Circus
  • Tomorrowland
  • Main Street U.S.A.

Further down, you’ll find our Magic Kingdom by Land series. It details specific attractions, entertainment, dining, and shops in each park area.

Magic Kingdom Attractions List

Here is a list of attractions and entertainment Disney highlights on the park map.

  • Astro Orbiter
  • The Barnstormer
  • Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
  • Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
  • Casey Jr. Splash ‘N’ Soak Station
  • Casey Corner Pianist
  • Cinderella Castle
  • Cinderella Castle Mural of Memories
  • Country Bear Musical Jamboree
  • The Dapper Dans
  • Disney’s Adventure Friends Cavalcade
  • Disney Enchantment (After Hours Only)
  • Disney Character Statues
  • Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade
  • Dumbo, the Flying Elephant
  • Enchanted Tales with Belle
  • The Hall of Presidents
  • Happily Ever After
  • Haunted Mansion
  • Horses
  • “it’s a small world”
  • Jungle Cruise
  • Let the Magic Begin
  • Liberty Square Riverboat
  • Mad Tea Party
  • The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
  • Main Street Vehicles
  • The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
  • Meet Ariel at Her Grotto
  • Meet Aladdin Characters (Adventureland)
  • Meet Cinderella and a Visiting Princess at Princess Fairytale Hall
  • Meet Daring Disney Pals at Pete’s Silly Sideshow
  • Meet Dashing Disney Pals as Circus Stars at Pete’s Silly Sideshow
  • Meet Mickey at Town Square Theater
  • Meet Mirabel at Fairytale Gardens
  • Meet Peter Pan in Fantasyland
  • Meet Princess Tiana and a Visiting Princess at Princess Fairytale Hall
  • Meet Winnie the Pooh and Tigger at the Thotful Spot
  • Mickey’s Magical Friendship Faire
  • Mickey’s Philharmagic
  • Monster’s Inc., Laugh Floor
  • Peter Pan’s Flight
  • A Pirate’s Adventure (Treasure of the Seven Seas)
  • Pirates
  • Pirates of the Caribbean
  • Prince Charming Regal Carrousel
  • Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
  • Space Mountain
  • Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse
  • Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
  • Tomorrowland Speedway
  • Tomorrowland Transit Authority People Mover
  • TRON Lightcycle / Run
  • Under the Sea Journey of the Little Mermaid
  • Walt Disney World Railroad (Fantasyland)
  • Walt Disney World Railroad (Frontierland)
  • Walt Disney World Railroad (Main Street U.S.A.)
  • Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress
  • Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room

*Our Magic Kingdom Rides Guide provides a brief description of each ride in the park. It will tell you the need-to-know details without all the extras for each ride. But if you want to learn specifics about a ride, our individual attraction articles are a good place to start. They are listed further down.

Looking for a cheat sheet? Make sure to get a copy of our free Magic Kingdom spreadsheet. It has a tab for the other three parks and will help you with the planning process.

Happily Ever After is the evening fireworks performance. Times for each night’s performance are listed in the entertainment section of the My Disney Experience app. Let the Magic Begin is the castle stage show held on the Cinderella Castle stage each morning before the park opens to regular rope drop guests. Walt Disney World Resort and select other hotel guests can participate in early entry each day at Magic Kingdom. The park opens 30 minutes before the scheduled opening time. We have a list of eligible hotels for early theme park entry.

Click Here for Disney’s Ride Refurbishment Calendar

Town Square Theater at Magic Kingdom

Attractions with a Height Requirement at Magic Kingdom

The following Magic Kingdom attractions have a height requirement.

  • Tomorrowland Speedway (32″ to ride and 54″ to drive.)
  • The Barnstormer (35″)
  • Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (38″)
  • Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (40″)
  • Space Mountain (44″)
  • Tiana’s Bayou Adventure (40″)
  • Tron Lightcycle / Run (48″)

Attractions with Lightning Lanes

The following attractions are individual Lightning Lane (Single Pass) purchases.

  • Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
  • TRON Lightcycle / Run

*If a virtual queue is required, you must obtain one to ride Tron Lightcycle / Run via the standby queue. Disney has a list of current virtual queues on their site. We recommend checking the status of any virtual queues before your visit. They are subject to change.

The following attractions are part of Lightning Lane Multi Pass:

  • Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
  • Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
  • Dumbo the Flying Elephant
  • Haunted Mansion
  • “it’s a small world”
  • Jungle Cruise
  • Mad Tea Party
  • Mickey’s PhilharMagic
  • Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor
  • Peter Pan’s Flight
  • Pirates of the Caribbean
  • Space Mountain
  • Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
  • The Barnstormer
  • The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
  • The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
  • Tomorrowland Speedway
  • Under the Sea ~ Journey of The Little Mermaid

Learn More>> Everything You Need to Know About Lightning Lanes at Disney World

Resorts Gal Ride Selector

Our ride selector tool simplifies the process of choosing Lightning Lanes and desired time ranges. You’ll have a plan formed for each park day in minutes!

Where Should We Head First?

This is a tough question, and your first ride choice will largely depend on the composition of your group. Most guests head straight to Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at rope drop. Others visit Space Mountain and Peter Pan’s Flight as soon as the park opens. As of this update, Fantasyland and Tomorrowland are the only lands open during early entry for resort guests.

Characters

We cover character meet-and-greets extensively at Magic Kingdom in our Magic Kingdom Character Guide. That guide lists every character who meets in the park regularly. We update it often. With so many character meets, we can’t list them all here. But a few highlights include:

Again, these are only a few of the characters who meet in the park. Make sure to check our guide listed above for in-depth details. Characters can also be seen in the daily Festival of Fantasy Parade, and many participate in Mickey’s Magical Friendship Faire, the castle stage show offered multiple times per day.

Dining at Magic Kingdom

This is my least favorite subject at Magic Kingdom. The dining options are pretty generic throughout the park, and many places have reputations for selling cheap food. We usually leave the park to dine at one of the resorts on the monorail. However, that is not feasible for most guests. When we do eat in the park, we often enjoy Columbia Harbor House for quick service.

Table service restaurants include:

  • Tony’s Town Square Restaurant (Town Square)
  • Jungle Navigation Co. LTD Skipper Canteen (Adventureland)
  • The Crystal Palace (Main Street USA, Character Dining)
  • The Plaza Restaurant (Main Street USA, Casual)
  • Be Our Guest (New Fantasyland)
  • Liberty Tree Tavern (American Thanksgiving)
  • The Diamond Horseshoe (Same Menu as Liberty Tree Tavern)
  • Cinderella’s Royal Table (Character Dining in the Castle)

We have reviews of the following restaurants:

*We used to enjoy dining at Skipper Canteen reasonably often. However, our last experience was overly salted, so we haven’t returned. But I wouldn’t necessarily let that deter you from trying it.

A seafood boil from Columbia Harbor House at Magic Kingdom.

Tickets, Transportation, and Parking

Tickets for Magic Kingdom can be purchased online or through an authorized travel agent or reseller. We use Firefly Travels for all of our reservations. If you’re staying at a Walt Disney World Resort Hotel, you might prefer to book a room + ticket package instead of purchasing individual tickets.

Bus, monorail, or boat transportation is provided from Disney World Resort Hotels to Magic Kingdom. Bus service is also offered from Magic Kingdom to the other theme parks (Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disney’s Animal Kingdom) after 10:00 a.m. For Epcot, you will need to take the Express Monorail to the Transportation and Ticket Center. Then, you’ll transfer to the Epcot monorail.

You cannot take a bus from Magic Kingdom to Disney Springs. We would take the monorail or walk to Disney’s Contemporary and then take a bus to Disney Springs.

Annual Passholders and guests staying at a Walt Disney World Resort can enjoy complimentary parking at Magic Kingdom. Other guests will have to pay for parking. You can read more in our guide to parking at Walt Disney World.

When visiting Magic Kingdom by car, you will have to park at the Transportation and Ticket Center. Courtesy trams are provided from the parking lot to the Transportation and Ticket Center. From there, you’ll have the option to board the monorail or the ferryboat to Magic Kingdom. If you’re staying at a Disney World Resort, taking a bus to Magic Kingdom is much easier than dealing with parking.

If you park at the Transportation and Ticket Center, you’ll want to remember the row where you parked. The My Disney Experience offers a car locator service if you want to use it. You can also take a photo of the row. After a long day in the parks, it can be easy to forget where you parked.

Seasonal

Throughout the year, guests visiting Walt Disney World are privy to seasonal decorations, overlays, and, in some instances, special events. Here are a few things you might encounter based on the season.

  • For Halloween, expect extensive decorations on Main Street, U.S.A. From the park’s entrance to the Cinderella Castle hub, you’ll find shades of orange and yellow with Mickey-shaped pumpkins galore! On select evenings in August through Halloween, the park will close earlier for an extra-ticketed event, Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party! If you would like to know more about the cost of the event and details, we have a 2024 Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party Guide that details everything you can expect.

Browse All Magic Kingdom Articles

Magic Kingdom By Land

The following articles discuss each land in Magic Kingdom. They include attractions, dining, and shopping specific to each park area.

Individual Attraction Articles

Main Street U.S.A at Magic Kingdom

More Planning

Are you planning a Walt Disney World vacation? You might benefit from some of our other popular planning resources. You can sign up for our 5-lesson quick start course below or browse all of our complimentary courses on the Resorts Gal Roadmap.

We specialize in covering the resort hotels at Walt Disney World and have extensive coverage of almost every aspect of each resort. You’ll find everything from photos of what’s available in the resort gift shop to pictures of the pools and rooms.

Our Disney World Dining Handbook offers a complete overview of everything you need to know about dining upfront. It also links to guides that discuss the Disney Dining Plan, best dining spots, and subjects like character dining in more detail.

Our most popular guides fall under the Disney World Transportation category. We have a transportation guide for every resort hotel at Walt Disney World and extensive guides that discuss using the monorail, boats, buses, and the Disney Skyliner.

Lastly, if you’re hoping to meet characters at Disney World, we have you covered. We have photos of all the characters who meet regularly in the parks and a few rare ones! You might also like to browse our Disney World Park Guide to learn more about what’s available in each of the four parks.

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