Disney’s Magic Kingdom Itinerary Maximized for 1-Day
You’ve got one day to spend at Walt Disney World. Which park should you pick? I get asked this question all the time, and here’s my panicked response, every single time: “Wait, one day isn’t enough!!” But I get it, sometimes that’s all your plan allows. In that case, if your kids are in the range of ages 5- 12… I recommend this Magic Kingdom itinerary, which packs a ton of pixie dust into one day!
My children are ages 7 (1st grade boy) and 12 (7th grade girl). We recently had a whirlwind, long weekend at Walt Disney World to attend an awesome Take Me Fishing event. We had one park day. ONE. PARK. DAY. Being the crazy mom uber-Disney-planner that I am, I found this an exciting challenge!
First, I need to give credit where credit is due. I’m a huge fan of using TouringPlans.com, for everything from their Disney Parks estimated crowd calendar to their optimized park touring plans. They’ve put a lot of research into park traffic flows, and such. So I based our strategy loosely on that. It worked out great, and we packed in a TON of amazing things!
Magic Kingdom ~ What We Skipped
First disclaimer: We didn’t include Space Mountain in our itinerary. A roller coaster in the dark is just a tad too scary for my kids, at this point. So that’s one long-line attraction we didn’t need to work in.
Second disclaimer: My family doesn’t really mind if we have to miss the new Storybook Circus area, in the far reaches of New Fantasyland. So that’s another thing not included in this itinerary. You could easily add/swap it for something else. If it’s your first Disney World trip, I do recommend you add Dumbo the Flying Elephant attraction to this schedule.
One last note: Our ultimate 1-day itinerary included riding Big Thunder Mountain Railroad twice. Once in daylight, once in the dark. Because it’s totally awesome. FAMILY FAVORITE RIDE!!
Our 1-Day Magic Kingdom Itinerary
Without further ado, here’s a perfect itinerary for Magic Kingdom, with kids ages 6-12. This flow maximizes use of 3 FastPasses, on a moderately crowded park day. While you may not wish to go to every one of these attractions, using this general order can assist you in reducing wait times. It goes against the natural/typical flow of the majority of guests.
The park hours on the day of our visit were 9am – 11pm, so we even had time for an afternoon swim break at our Disney Resort.
I’d also mention that after numerous family Disney World trips… the attractions I included on this schedule are our absolute favorites! For crowd level reference, the TouringPlans Crowd Calendar ranked our September park day at Level 6 (out of maximum 10).
9:00 am Wading through security. We miss the Let the Magic Begin welcome show by a gnat’s eyelash. Get there earlier than we did!!
9:10 am Headed directly to Tomorrowland… road Tomorrowland Speedway (7 minute wait)
9:23 am Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin (5 minute wait)
9:40 am Headed to Fantasyland – The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (15 minute wait)
10:00 am Headed to Frontierland – Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (30 minute wait)
10:35 am Country Bear Jamboree (no wait)
10:55 am Frontierland Shootin’ Arcade (no wait)
11:15 am Mickey’s PhilharMagic (10 minute wait)
11:40 am Peter Pan’s Flight (FASTPASS – no wait)
1:00 pm Be Our Guest (lunch reservation)
2:00 pm Headed to our Disney Resort to swim! This is the hottest, busiest time of day, and ideal to work a break into your park schedule.
*o* AFTERNOON BREAK *o*
IF YOU LEAVE THE PARK for the afternoon –> Stop at the Main Street USA shops to grab your souvenirs on your way out. You can take them right to your resort, and the crowds are much lighter in afternoon than at park close.
IF YOU DON’T LEAVE THE PARK –> watch the Festival of Fantasy Parade (typically at 3:00 pm) It’s fantastic!
*o* *o* *o*
5:45 pm Return to Magic Kingdom
6:00 pm Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (FASTPASS – no wait)
6:20 pm Headed to Adventureland – The Magic Carpets of Aladdin (7 minute wait)
6:35 pm Swiss Family Treehouse (no wait)
7:50 pm Grab a Dole Whip, Mickey Ice Cream Bar, or Mickey Pretzel
8:00 pm Find a spot for viewing Happily Ever After fireworks show! Being able to see the front of the castle is imperative to thoroughly enjoy it. Grab a snack and save a spot 1 hour prior to the show.
9:00 pm Happily Ever After fireworks
9:25 pm Frontierland – Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in the dark! (FASTPASS – no wait)
9:40 pm Fantasyland – “it’s a small world”, or “little world” as my 7 year old calls it (no wait)
10:00 pm Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid (5 minute wait)
Fun Packed Day at Magic Kingdom!
That was a wrap for us! We left a little before park close. What an absolutely amazing day! I was so happy with how much we packed in, and we hardly had to wait in any lines.
It’s great to have a plan. Take a look at the Disney World Magic Kingdom website, and feel free to add any attractions I missed.
But my best Disney advice is this: Go with the flow! Once you are there, not everything will work out exactly like you scheduled. Just enjoy whatever fun things come your way, soak it all in, don’t let yourself get frustrated, and be flexible! It makes for the best possible Magic Kingdom experience.
I hope this helps! Feel free to ask any questions on specific recommendations for your family. I love to help with Disney World trip planning advice!
*o* *o* *o*
This was a media sponsored visit, and I received admission to Disney’s Magic Kingdom at no cost. All opinions are my own.
Comments (14)
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zam Faz
May 4, 2018 at 6:11 pm
Hi Come Tv mom, thanks for this.. will follow this my first visit to disney.. 1 day to magic kingdom in august 21-27th….two kids.. 7 yrs old and 5 yrs old.. exciting… the cindrella show at night and any fireworks.. what time.? should we just stay overnight somewhere close to disney as we dont want to drive back 1 hr to sanford florida.. actually we are planning to go next day to clearwater beach more south west….Also, photos.. what you use? photo camera or my Iphone 8 Plus is sufficient? i have stopped carrying cameras and just rely on my iphone to take pics.. and keep it in a pouch attached to my waist like a tourist 🙂
Zam
COMtnMom
May 8, 2018 at 3:53 pm
Hi Zam!
Wow, your kids are such fun ages for Disney World! Disney’s website posts park hours, along with a schedule of what time the ‘Happily Ever After’ fireworks show is (which can vary) – check here; https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/calendars/five-day/2018-08-21/
Looks like for that week, they are at 8:55 pm… BUT, you may want to avoid Friday 8/24 because the park closes early that day at 6:00 pm. There’s a special holiday event that night, which requires a separate, additional ticket.
I’m biased about where to stay, because my family loves staying at Disney hotels! Disney “Value Resorts” are the most affordable rooms, and are super fun for kids as they are strongly Disney themed. If you stay there the night of your Magic Kingdom visit, be prepared to have your kids want to stay and swim at the hotel the next morning! The pools are really cute, and my kids love that almost as much as the parks. 🙂 Here’s a peek at one of the value resorts, from our family visit – Art of Animation Resort: https://coloradomountainmom.com/2017/06/art-of-animation-little-mermaid-room/
And lastly, be sure to get your free Disney planning videos – they are awesome: https://coloradomountainmom.com/2018/01/free-disney-planning-video/
I typically just use my iPhone for pix. Let me know if you have more questions. I love Disney trip planning!!
Tami
zam Faz
May 8, 2018 at 6:26 pm
Hello Colorado Mom, thanks for the tips.. very useful…i will use the iphone too.. and we will go to the magic kingdom on Thursday as Friday it is short hours, and other days from Wednesday to Tuesday 28th in the week when i am flying back, we have wedding functions to attend. Still not clear about the staying overnight.. On thursday i would leave Sanford and drive 1 hr to disneyland then after spending the days there until 10 pm.. my decision to take would be do i drive to clearwater beach or half way or just stay overnight and leave for the clearwater beach in the morning? Plan is to come back to Sanford where we are staying at friends by the Friday evening as wedding to attend is on Saturday afternoon. Have you been to Clearwater beach (I come from a cold country, white send blue water is a must visit and i picked Clearwater over Daytona, Coco and Smyrna beach)? I read it is 1 hr 30 from disney and 2 hr 30 drive from Sanford…..
Lastly, Will I need a double stroller….? most probably..as the girls will sure get tired (5 and 7 yr old)…but i dont want to bring it from here, we dont have much money to spend and are on budget every penny counts 🙂 (cost of buying it, carrying it in plane cargo (50$ fee) taking it everywhere i go in Orlando for one week,..) , i heard one can rent it a double stroller in Disney… 35$ US…) .. what do you recommend I do…. what has been your experience with your kids regarding stroller?
COMtnMom
May 8, 2018 at 10:54 pm
Ahh, now I understand your schedule better. Yes, I’ve been to Clearwater Beach and it’s WONDERFUL! Every time we go to Disney World, we either go to Clearwater or Cocoa Beach.
I like both – Cocoa is closer, Clearwater’s water is warmer and as you said… the white sand is amazing! If you won’t be too tired to drive, I’d recommend driving to Clearwater on Thursday night after the parks. then you can wake up there, and enjoy the ocean a bit. I will warn you though, if you stay for fireworks it’s a BIG crowd that all exits the park afterwards at the same time (park closing). That foot traffic (and parking lot traffic) will add to your travel time. I think it may take you 2 or 2 1/2 hrs to get to Clearwater after park close.
Some parks like Epcot are huge, and tire the kids out more than others. I honestly don’t think you’ll need a stroller for Magic Kingdom, 1-day, with ages 5 & 7. And the nice thing about renting in the park is you always have that option as a backup plan. If you don’t have a stroller, you can cover more ground… otherwise, you have to “park” it in a designated area before every ride. I used to bring a stroller on the plane when my kids were really little. Then when they got in the 3-6 yr range, I’d just rent one if they got really tired. Worked pretty good!
Hope that helps 🙂
zam Faz
May 10, 2018 at 8:02 pm
Driving on Thursday night after park closes? you said due to the traffic after the fireworks, it will take forever to get out of there.. dont you think it would be too much.. as kids would be dead tired.. sleepy at 9-10 pm…bedtime.. me tired.. and driving 2hr 30 to clearwater in dark with all this could be a disaster.. wouldnt it be just crashing in a hotel inside or outside disney and leave in the morning? I think without traffic clearwater is only 1 h30 from disney. Or i could stay in a hotel half way.. but still better just sleep right away if everyone tried.
I understand the inconvenience of the stroller. last year when i went to local attraction (Wonderland) park we spent 4 hrs doing line ups did only 2 rides the kids (4 and 6 yr old) were tired and kept sitting in the double stroller i rented from the park … plus hungry.. so my gut feeling is telling me in a full day at a bigger disney park they will at some point refuse to move further and want to sit down and not do line ups and i guess then would i get much worth out of disney.. What did you mean back up.. I can walk anytime back to the entrance to rent a double stroller? Wouldn’t it be finished as it is probably first come first serve limited quantities?
zam Faz
May 8, 2018 at 6:28 pm
oh.. one more thing… what is the Fast Pass thing..? additonal luxury I ahve to buy in addition to the tickets to skip the lines? 🙂 worth it?
COMtnMom
May 8, 2018 at 10:58 pm
Fast Pass is totally free! You can pick 3 for the day. If you buy your tickets ahead of time, you can select your Fast Passes ahead of time, on the Disney website (up to 30 days in advance). If you buy your tickets that day, you can either head to a kiosk to schedule 3 FastPasses, or use the Disney app to pick some. Definitely do this!
I checked TouringPlans.com for you, and good news – that’s a fairly low crowd day to visit!
Estimated crowds for Thursday, 8/23 is a level 5 (scale of 1 to 10, 10 is most crowded).
Tami
zam Faz
May 10, 2018 at 7:54 pm
Hi, thanks. What advantage Fast pass gives you? they book rides in advance? and it is 3 fast passes per person entering the park? I m thinking of buying 3 disney tickets 1-day magic kingdom from the AAA/CAA website i am member with (360$ for 3 people)….any suggestions for even cheaper tickets? Should i buy them onsite or at the hotels there?
zam Faz
May 25, 2018 at 2:19 pm
Hello Colorado mom, have you ever done the Crayola attraction in Orlando? it is near the airport and it cost like 25$ per person for 2-3 hours of fun in there…
Will you be replying to my previous questions above?
Thanks
zam Faz
June 18, 2018 at 5:47 pm
Hey Tammi, where can i rent a double stroller outside of Disney in Orlando and return after having done the park? any suggestions? it was suggested to me to rent outside instead of renting in Disney for the stroller….
I also tried to access the disney planning video it didnt accept my registration as i am from outside the states
COMtnMom
July 5, 2018 at 2:45 pm
Hi Zam,
I’ve asked around, but the only stroller rental I’m familiar with is for on the Walt Disney World property. If you are staying at a Disney hotel, they can drop off / pick up from there. KingdomStrollers.com is a good one to check out.
Another option would be to order a cheap one (like from Amazon.com) and have it delivered to your first Orlando hotel. I know some people do that to avoid having to take it on the airplane. You can usually get a decent umbrella style stroller for $50 or less.
Hope that helps!
Tami
zam Faz
July 5, 2018 at 4:15 pm
Hello Tammi,
Thanks. this is helpful. This kingdom stroller seems to be outside of Disney park but they deliver to the hotel and it is 55$ for a double stroller .. i will compare it to the one rented within the park itself i heard it was 35$ for a double….. I dont want to buy a umbrella style but if for the same price (35-50$) i can buy one in walmart, or target or Amazon I will do that and just dispose it so in case it gets lost of stolen i dont have to reimburse the company.