Many of us would love to spend many days across the parks of Walt Disney World but that isn’t always possible. We have put together this Magic Kingdom Itinerary for those who are visiting the park for one day.
Quick note: This post is a detailed itinerary. We give times, how to’s, menu options and alternative choices for different types of visitors. If you want a summary of this itinerary, scroll down to the bottom of this post to see an abbreviated version.
Tips for visiting Magic Kingdom
- Be mindful of the height requirements in the park. We include below, so you may want to change rides around depending on how tall your riders are.
- There are lots of Meet and Greets available in Magic Kingdom and across all the parks and resorts. You may wish to include meet and greets in your itinerary. We recommend you reserve a Character Dining at Magic Kingdom. This way, you can meet your favourite characters whilst avoiding the queues.
- Use a Magic Kingdom Quick Service restaurant for lunch. This way you can make the most out of your one day at the park.
- Download the MyDisney Experience app to book fast passes and check wait times.
- Book fast passes in advance, we recommend doing so to make the most out of your day. We have a full guide on the best rides to Fastpass at Magic Kingdom, so take a look and choose which rides to aim for.
- When choosing fastpass times, there are a few things to consider. Avoid the early slots; you can jump on rides with fewer queues after rope drop anyway. Aim for a time between 10-11am, then one around midday and your last fastpass being no later than 3pm. Don’t book your last fastpass too late, you will want to use the fourth fastpass to jump on rides, later in the day.
- Visit the parks before other guests using the Extra Magic Hours – for Disney resorts only. But, if you are not a resort guest, check the dates that Extra Magic Hours are running and avoid these dates.
Ride Height Restrictions at Magic Kingdom
- Barnstormer (35”)
- Big Thunder (40”)
- Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (38”)
- Space Mountain (44”)
- Splash Mountain (40”)
- Stitch’s Great Escape (40”)
- Tomorrowland Speedway (32″ to ride, 54″ to drive)
Arrive for rope drop
We always tell you to arrive for rope drop, so that you can make full use of your one day at Magic Kingdom. Many choose to drive to Disney World, using the Transportation and Ticket Center. But you can also get an Uber to Contemporary and walk over.
Magic Kingdom hours vary, with some early and late events impacting your visit. Check your date before arriving. For this itinerary we will presume the park is open from 9am to 10pm; the typical hours of the park.
You will want to be at the park 45 minutes before opening. This way you can make the most out of the rope drop and beat the crowds of people with the same idea.
Rope Drop
Magic Kingdom have a welcome show each day. Guests can enter the park before the scheduled start time to watch the Let The Magic Begin show. The show starts around 5 minutes before the scheduled opening time.
There are different rope drops into the various lands. You will want to choose which ride you first want to ride and head the rope drop for your chosen area.
Magic Kingdom Itinerary
9am – First ride of the day – Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
Choose your first ride – This will depend on which Magic Kingdom Fastpasses+ you were able to get. But you will want to aim for the busiest, most popular rides after rope drop.
Aim for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, or Space Mountain; these are some of the best and scariest rides at Disney World. Pirates of the Caribbean and Big Thunder Mountain are also great rides to rope drop.
For this itinerary, we are going to start at Seven Dwarf’s Mine Train. Choose a different ride to rope drop if you have a fastpass+ for Seven Dwarfs later that day.
Rope drop for the Seven Dwarfs ride is in the Northeast corner of the hub, in front of the castle.
9.20am – If you walk briskly at rope drop, you would be on this ride by 9.20 – 9.30.
After leaving the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, head to the west area of the park, towards Peter Pan and Philhar Magic.
Keep checking the wait times on the app to see which ride is the best option next.
9.45am – 10.15am – Continue your rides
If Peter Pan has a queue time of less than 20 minute wait and you haven’t got a fastpass, jump on this ride next. If you have got a fastpass for Peter Pan, ride Haunted Mansion, or Big Thunder Mountain.
10.15am – After Peter Pan, you will want to head over the Big Thunder Mountain and ride the Railroad. Or jump on Splash Mountain.
10.30 – 10.45am – Head over to Pirates of the Caribbean or Jungle Cruise to ride whichever has the shortest queue.
11am – Snack time
By this time, queues are starting to grow with more and more visitors arriving at the park. This is the perfect time to stop for a late breakfast or a coffee and snack.
Head to Main Street Bakery for decent snacks and coffee. Here you can enjoy the bustling atmosphere on Main Street. The ‘Move it Shake it dance party’ and Dapper Dans perform here around 11am.
Check the app to see the shortest queue times but generally, you will want to visit the less popular rides now. The popular rides will likely have shorter wait times later on so focus on the rides with the least wait times.
11.30am – Tomorrowland
Head to Tomorrowland and ride Buzz Lightyear or watch the Monsters Inc laugh Floor.
12pm – The PeopleMover
Jump on the PeopleMover which very rarely has a wait time
12.15pm – A big ride
Check the wait times for the big rides; generally, during lunchtimes, rides become shorter. Aim for: Space Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, Jungle Cruise or Splash Mountain.
1pm – Lunch
We recommend choosing a quick service option, read our full guide here.
Or, book a reservation for Cinderella’s Royal Table or The Crystal Palace. This gives you the opportunity to meet your favourite characters, whilst you eat.
1.30pm – Fantasyland
Ride the Journey of the Little Mermaid, Dumbo and Winnie the Pooh then head over to the Princess Meet and Greets.
Reminder – Remember to tap and grab fast passes once you have used your fast passes. As you finish your lunch, browse available fastpasses within the next 30-40 minutes. Grab them as a fastpass. Then, when you tap onto the ride, look for the next fastpass available. This is a great way to ride lots of the shorter queue rides without having to queue for too long.
2pm – It’s a small world
Ride It’s a small world as you walk over to Frontierland
2.30pm – Parade spot
As soon as you finish It’s a small world, walk towards Frontierland and secure a spot for the parade. We recommend getting a spot on one of the awning-covered porches to give you a good view but also a bit of shade.
Tip – We like to pick up a Dole Whip from Aloha Isle whilst we wait for the parade. To avoid long queue lines, use the MyDisney Experience app to place a mobile order. Then, as one of us waits, the other heads to the restaurant and collects the order straight away.
3pm – Festival of Fantasy Parade
There are several spots in the park to enjoy the parade and many will head to Main Street. But, Main Street gets busy quickly and you will have to start waiting, around an hour before the parade.
We love Frontierland for a few reasons. Firstly, it is quieter, so you will only have to start waiting around 30 minutes before the parade. Secondly, the parade starts here. So you can see the parade, then dash over to Big Thunder or Splash Mountain (whichever ride you didn’t get done before). Queues are low straight after the parade, as everyone on Main Street is still watching the parade.
3.15pm – Big Thunder Mountain or Splash Mountain
3.45pm – 4.30pm – Explore Adventureland
Spend some time in Adventureland. Use your extra fast pass to ride Pirates of the Caribbean, Jungle Cruise or Magic Carpets. Or watch the Tiki Room show and visit the Swiss Family Treehouse.
4.30 – 5.30pm – Liberty Square
Head over to Liberty Square to watch the Hall of Presidents or Philhar Magic. You can also ride Peter Pan, Haunted Mansion, it’s a small world or the Carrousel.
5.30pm – 6pm – Tomorrowland
As we spent some time in Fantasyland earlier, we are going to walk through to Tomorrowland. You can ride the Carousel of Progress, Tomorrowland Speedway and Astro Orbiter. Or watch Monsters Inc Laugh Floor and ride Buzz Lightyear again.
6pm – Dinner
Yes, this is an early dinner. But it is better to eat early then take advantage of shorter wait times during peak dinner times. After a long day at the park, we recommend reserving a table at a table service restaurant.
Character dining options are great but harder to reserve and more expensive. Or, head to Liberty Tree Tavern, Plaza Restaurant or Jungle Navigation Co. Ltd. Skipper Canteen.
6.45pm – 7pm – Main Street
After dinner, head to Main Street. You won’t be able to explore this area later because of the crowds waiting for the firework show. So spend some time now, visiting the shops and buying any Disney souvenirs or merchandise you want to.
Tip – Remember to only buy items near the end of your day; you don’t want to carry around items for a whole day. There are options to send your purchases to your hotel room if you are staying onsite. Or you can pick up items at the end of the day using the Package pickup service.
7 – 8.30pm – Final rides
There are some rides that are even better at night:
- Big Thunder Mountain
- Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
- Dumbo
- Astro Orbiter
- PeopleMover
Use any available fast passes on the app or try the above rides for a nighttime experience.
Tip – Avoid Splash Mountain now, especially in the colder months. Queue times are a lot shorter during dinner times but, as the sun goes down, you will get chilly with damp clothes.
8.30pm – Firework spot
As with the parade, you will want to get your firework spot around 45 minutes before the show starts. ‘Happily Ever After’ is a firework show and includes projections onto the castle. This means you need to get a good view of the castle.
We use the Disney Tourists Blog guide on the best spots for the show and have enjoyed their suggestions. We aim for ‘the hump’ and near the Partner Statue. Main Street USA Train Station is especially good if you plan on leaving straight after the show.
Note – If you are not watching the fireworks, then this is a great time to ride those popular rides one more time.
9.15pm – Happily Ever After Fireworks
9.35pm – One more ride
The fireworks last for 18 or so minutes. Many visitors will leave the park after the show but this is a great time for you to ride one last ride. As long as you get into the queue before the official closing time (10pm) of the park, you will be able to ride it. If you watch the fireworks from behind the castle, you may even be able to sneak in two more rides.
10pm – Park closes
The park will close at 10pm, meaning you won’t be able to go into a queue by this point. But, you will be able to browse the shops on Main Street, with most stores staying open for up to an hour after closing.
This is our one-day itinerary in Magic Kingdom. Tell us how you spend your day at the parks in the comments below!
Summary
| Times | Itinerary |
| 8.30am | Arrive at Magic Kingdom |
| 9am | Park opening |
| 9.15 – 9.30am | First ride of the day (Seven Dwarfs Mine Train) |
| 9.45 – 10.15am | Peter Pan or Haunted Mansion |
| 10.30am | Big Thunder Mountain Railroad or Splash Mountain |
| 10.45 – 11am | Pirates of the Caribbean or Jungle Cruise |
| 11am | Snack time in Main Street |
| 11.30am | Tomorrowland: Buzz Lightyear or Monsters Inc |
| 12pm | PeopleMover |
| 12.15pm | Space Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean or Splash Mountain |
| 1pm | Lunch |
| 1.30pm | Fantasyland: Journey of the Little Mermaid, Dumbo and Winnie the Pooh. (GRAB AND TAP) |
| 2pm | It’s a Small World |
| 2.30pm | Parade spot |
| 3pm | Festival of Fantasy Parade |
| 3.15pm | Big Thunder Mountain or Splash Mountain |
| 3.45pm – 4.30pm | Adventureland |
| 4.30 – 5.30pm | Liberty Square |
| 5.30pm – 6pm | Tomorrowland |
| 6pm | Dinner |
| 6.45pm -7pm | Main Street |
| 7pm – 8.30pm | Final rides |
| 8.30pm | Firework spot |
| 9.15pm | Happily Ever After Fireworks |
| 9.35pm | One more ride |
| 10pm | Park closes |
Wow that’s a really useful n detailed itinerary ..I love theme parks.hope to visit soon
I’m a huge Disney nerd but I’ve somehow never been go a Disney theme park! So I loved reading this magical post!
Very nice detailed post here. I usually skip theme parks because I hate roller coasters. Been talking myself into trying them again after 10 years of not visiting. Maybe I should try it with your expertise!
I think with a park like this you need to go in with a plan, and it seems you have a good one. That’s a long, busy day but sounds incredible