First 6 Things You Should Do At Magic Kingdom

Getting to the Magic Kingdom Park can be a very anxious experience. As you approach the gates, you’re probably thinking about how much there is to do and see within the short time frame that you will be spending there. No need to panic! Here are the top six things to do first when arriving at the Magic Kingdom!

6. Create Your FastPass+

Many park guests select their FastPasses on the My Disney Experience App up to 60 days before their trip. If you didn’t get a chance to do this, don’t sweat it! There are several Fast Pass+ kiosks in the park, including one by the park entrance. By selecting your FastPasses early, you will be able to avoid the risk of waiting in long lines at some of your favorite attractions. After you use all three of your FastPasses, you can head over to another FastPass+ kiosk to select more FastPasses for the rest of your day. If you arrive at the parks early, be sure to do this first thing so that you can have a better chance of experiencing rides with little to no wait time.

5. Experience The Magic Kingdom Welcome Show

Every morning, Mickey and his friends welcome you to the Magic Kingdom with a heartwarming ceremony. While this isn’t a huge extravaganza, it is a must do for first timers and for the little ones. I still enjoy arriving to the parks early just to see it time and time again. This is a great way to get pumped up and start smiling for the day. For those early bird guests, this may be an easy task. For those that love to sleep in, I guarantee that waking up earlier than you want to will be worth it.

4. Take Advantage of the Extra Magic Hours

Staying in a Walt Disney World resort definitely has its perks, but the one opportunity that I like to take advantage of are the extra magic hours that each park offers on various days to Disney Resort guests. A different theme park on the Walt Disney World property is chosen everyday to offer extended hours either before or after the original park hours listed. Whenever Magic Kingdom offers an hour extra in the morning, it is an additional opportunity to beat the public crowd to enjoy your favorite rides or shows. When planning your next Disney World trip, be sure to check the park hours prior to arrival so that you can attempt to visit the Magic Kingdom when they are offering extra magic hours.

3. Take Pictures

The most rare pictures of families at Disney are the ones without hundreds of people behind them. Unless you are meeting a character, it is almost impossible to snap a photo with just your family in it at the parks. There are too many people to ask to move over for a moment so that you can have your family photograph. If you get to the Magic Kingdom early enough, one of the first things you should try to do is take pictures with your family in front of the castle or other areas with little to no crowds in your backgrounds. The castle is the main spot for picture taking, so the majority of families will stop there to take pictures first. If you head over to another area first such as Fantasyland or Frontierland, chances are there will be less of a crowd. There are some great backgrounds in other areas such as these that will make for great pictures, so be sure to head over to other ‘lands’ for the chance to take unique pictures. Don’t limit yourself to just the castle!

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2. Head To The Left

Several Disney cast members have said that the majority of guests that enter the Magic Kingdom often head over to Tomorrowland on the right of Main Street U.S.A as their first destination due to the attractive architecture that tends to draw the crowds in. Change your route next time you visit the park and head to the left, where Adventure Land is. The attractions to the left of Main Street U.S.A in Adventureland, Frontierland, and Liberty Square tend to have shorter wait times than the attractions in Tomorrowland due to the large part of the crowd running towards Space Mountain first thing in the morning.

1. Meet The Characters

There are a few characters that always have long wait times or barely have available FastPasses since they are sold out quickly. An example of this situation occurring would be with the beloved Disney princesses. If meeting characters is on the top of your priority list, skip the attractions first and check out the wait times for your favorite characters. They will most probably have little to no wait time, and you will get to spend more time chatting with them. If you go quickly, you can take the majority of your character pictures first thing, that way you can enjoy the attractions and shows the rest of the day.

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