Magic Kingdom - How Long Do I Need?

[AnjunaFan]

Firstly, thank you for this wonderful site. It has been invaluable to me these past few weeks.

I'm bringing my family to Orlando next week. The kids are between 4 and 9 and will not go on any of the thrill rides at Magic Kingdom, so our visit there will be about the shows, parades, character meets and fireworks.

I'm wondering if we can comfortably see the park in one day if our needs are so minimal? I gather it's a large park and maybe a whole day there (open to close) would be too much, but I'm not spending $1000 to make it a 2-day event, so I'd be interested in any advice you can give me. My own preference is for the one day there, but how much time would allow us to comfortably see all we need to see?

Thanks!

[Mortimer Mouse]

What sort of tickets do you have? Do you not have the 14 day Ultimates? They are good value as you'll get all 6 parks, mini golf and memory maker included.

MK doesn't really have any thrill rides, other than Space Mountain and Splash Mountain (for the drop). BTM and 7DMT are just fast train rides, imo. We have more than one day there because we find it hard to stay in the park all day, and the fireworks at the end of the day are not to be missed.

[AnjunaFan]

Thanks for replying!

I haven't bought the tickets yet. The 14-day ultimate is too costly for us - would cost $2k+. We only plan on doing MK, Disney Hollywood Studios and LEGOLAND, along with other day trips. I will be buying 2x1-day or 1x2-day to cover both Disney parks.

Is going to MK early morning, leaving for a few hours in the afternoon and then returning in the evening a good plan?

[adreamisawish]

Must have gone 10 times during a 2 month period last summer.

Still didn't do everything.

Missed out on about 5 attractions including Jungle Cruise. Also never saw the Electric Parade 'properly' (saw it in passing).

Think that's the biggest statement about how big a park Magic Kingdom is. Though I never actually ticked off 'everything' at any of the parks over a two month period.

[Hodders]

There aren't that many thrill rides at MK, you may find you want to do most of them.

You could spend days there and still not see everything. I am also not sure how busy it is this time of year, as the queues will be a big factor on how long it all takes.

[Lilyrose]

It really depends on how you want to approach it, you can have a fantastic day in MK, but you won't get everything done. With young children I really wouldn't try and do opening to close in hit, I'd say get there early, stay until early afternoon then head back early evening and stay to see the fireworks that evening. The afternoon is the busiest (although I'm guess it won't be that busy). You could easily spend a second day there, to see more, but if that's out of your budget don't worry.

My advice would be pick 3 must do's and try and fast pass these, have an idea of what else you'd like to do, then just take the day as it comes.

[Guest]

Fastpass your must do rides, if you get there early enough you may be able to join the standby queue at your next best option or if standby queseus are low when you go to redeem your fastpass, join the standby queue, exit ride and then go back through for your fastpass ride on it

[Conno]

Originally Posted by AnjunaFan

but I'm not spending $1000 to make it a 2-day event

See more...

It sounds like you've answered your own question on how much time you need - there's only three thrill rides in the Magic Kingdom. There's over 50 other attractions and slow story-driven rides that fall outside the thrill category.

I don't think a day is enough to do it all. Infact, it isn't enough - but if that's all you've got there; make a list of what is most appealing to you, and get that done :-)

Just keep your expectations realistic.

[Geordieprincess]

Agree with everyone else - our kids were 10 and 6 when we went last August - we don't do thrill rides but still spent 4 "half" days there and by half I mean approx 8 hours each time - 2 early starts until late afternoon and 2 later starts to do evening parade & fireworks. We only repeated a couple of rides. You can still have an amazing day but only expect to do a fraction of the park in that time. get there early and get on rides while it's quiet, fast pass your other must do attractions for late morning onwards. Try to plan a route to minimise crossing the park. But also don't forget to just wander about and soak up the atmosphere - the parks are so much more than just the rides.

[Mexy02]

Originally Posted by AnjunaFan

Thanks for replying!

I haven't bought the tickets yet. The 14-day ultimate is too costly for us - would cost $2k+. We only plan on doing MK, Disney Hollywood Studios and LEGOLAND, along with other day trips. I will be buying 2x1-day or 1x2-day to cover both Disney parks.

Is going to MK early morning, leaving for a few hours in the afternoon and then returning in the evening a good plan?

See more...

How many people is that for?
The uk tickets give better value than the USA ones. I believe a mk value day ticket is $119 ( mk has a premium attached to it and depends on the day you go) but you would only skim the surface really and you would need another day ticket for Hollywood studios or a 2 day mmw ticket at approx $220 with no hopping, at £289 for 14 days with memory maker included uk tickets are good value. You would need tickets before you can book fastpass as well so there may not be any fastpass left on the day so you are then queueing.