Magic Kingdom Must Do List

Let me start by saying that Magic Kingdom is by far my favorite park (and probably the favorite for most others as well). For me, the Magic Kingdom is the most magical park of all and it encompasses what Disney is all about. There is truly something for everyone of all ages there, and it makes me feel like a kid again from the minute I walk through the front gates. Speaking of walking through the front gates, I am always one of the ones wiping my eyes during the opening show. I don't know what it is, but every year I cry on my first day and last day at Magic Kingdom. When we get there, I cry because I am so excited to be there. On the day we leave, I cry because I am so sad to leave and I hate the thought of waiting another year to experience the magic. Now don't get me wrong, I am not sobbing by any means, but I have the few stray tears running down my face. I can usually cover them up with my sunglasses, but every now and then my husband looks at me and smiles because he can tell I am doing it again. I am getting caught up in the moment and mentally preparing for my trip down Main Street.

Now, once you enter the Magic Kingdom and pick up the map at the train station, where do you go? There are so many attractions to choose from, how do you know where to start? Hopefully you have already done your research and you know what shows and rides your family has on their must do list. Every family has a different list. Some include spending the majority of their time in Fantasyland, while others want to check off experiencing all of the different mountains. Our list is a little bit of a both of these. We usually start off in Fantasyland (we arrive at opening so that we can experience these rides with little wait). After we do everything in Fantasyland we head over to ride Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain. We usually go in October when the crowds are lighter so we don't have to wait too long for these two rides. We will check out the wait times for both and get a fastpass for the longer wait, then head to the other one to wait in line (usually only about 20 minutes at this time of day in October). Once we experience the first ride, we head to the one we had fastpasses for. If we are lucky and our fastpass return time is ready, we ride the ride, if not, we head to Pirates of the Caribbean since it is close and ride it while we wait for our fastpass time to arrive. The rest of the day we just take our time wandering through the park and riding rides that have short waits or we pick up more fastpasses as needed. Again, the time of year we go allows for a lot more of a leisure pace for touring and we usually get to experience everything we want in one day, including watching all of the parades. Here is a list of our family's must do list for Magic Kingdom. These are the rides and shows that we won't leave the park without experiencing at least once. Hope they help you in your planning.

1. Dumbo (my six year old still loves this ride)
2. it's a small world
3. Peter Pan's Flight
4. Winnie the Pooh
5. Mickey's Philharmagic
6. Mad Tea Party
7. Haunted Mansion
8. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
9. Splash Mountain
10. Pirate's of the Caribbean
11. Buzz Lightyear
12. Space Mountain
13. Afternoon parade (is currently Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade)
    
14. Spectromagic light parade (is currently Main Street Electrical Parade)

A note, when we were there last year they were doing the Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street Party and that was a blast. We did that every day we were in the park and the whole family really got into the music and dancing. As long as they do this, this will be a must do on my list!