Magic Kingdom – Walt Disney World
Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida is four separate parks: Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom & Hollywood Studios. Disney’s Magic Kingdom is the first and the flagship theme park for Walt Disney World Theme Park which opened on October 1, 1971. It is the park everyone recognizes with the towering and majestic Cinderella’s Castle. This theme park is huge! It is also the one theme park that caters to all age groups. Be sure to watch the short video above to give you a preview of what to expect.
Magic Kingdom is broken up into six main sections: Main Street USA, Tomorrow Land, Frontier Land, Liberty Square, Fantasy Land, and Adventure Land.
Our overview of the theme park breaks down every attraction in the different sections of the park. In addition, we provide a summary for each ride, along with the minimum height requirements, and what age groups are appropriate for each ride.
The Magic Kingdom® has the most flexible hours out of all the Walt Disney World® parks. Most days the gates open at 9:00 am. However, its closing hours will vary; it may be as early as 5 pm and late as 12am.
Basic Schedule
Typically opens at 9:00 am. And it often closes between 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.
Schedule for busy days
At the peak of the year, the Park hours change slightly. The theme park opens early and stays open late. On most weekends and holidays, the theme park stays open until it’s midnight (or later).
Be sure to download and check your My Disney Experience® app for the most up-to-date hours.
Make the most out of your Orlando vacation by planning ahead. Walt Disney World® is one of the busiest theme parks in the world with more than 15 million visitors per year. Get a great deal and check out one of our Walt Disney World vacation packages. Fill in the accommodation, including Disney World tickets through us, and save an average of 12%.
Everyone who comes down to visit expects to stay at one of the various Disney® resorts or one of the Orlando hotels. However, what if you rent an Orlando vacation home instead? You would get to go to the parks and come to a spacious home all to yourself to relax and recharge.
The Extra Magic Hour
The Extra Magic Hour adds to the magic. Additional park hours are available for all Disney® hotel guests and may vary from one to 3 hours before and after the park’s normal hours. This means extra hours in a less crowded park to take advantage of shorter ride lines!
Touring Plan Ideas
Not sure on how to make the most of your visit? Here are some examples of Touring Plan ideas for your Orlando vacation:
Main Street, U.S.A.
Main Street Vehicles: Sometimes Disney showcases special vehicles that cruise through Main Street which are nice to look at.
Walt Disney World Railroad (Temporarily Unavailable): Temporarily closed, is 20 minute-1.5 mile ride that takes visitors through a journey that encircles the Magic Kingdom park.
Town Square Theatre: A place for Mickey’s biggest fans to meet the Mouse himself in his rehearsal room. You’ll get to see props and posters from Mickey’s magical career and might even see him perform a trick or two.
Harmony Barber Shop (Temporarily Unavailable): An old-fashioned barber shop where visitors of all ages can get a haircut plus some other Disney surprises.
Live Entertainment
The Dapper Dans: A barbershop quartet wearing colorful pinstripe suits, complete with straw hats, spats, and taps. They perform a variety of a cappella American standards and Disney® classics, such as:
- “Yankee Doodle Dandy”
- “Strolling Through the Park”
- “Zip-a-Dee Doo Dah”
Other Live Entertainment: A variety of other live entertainment showcases itself from parades, musical numbers where you can dance with the characters, and even a fire-breathing dragon making an appearance!
Fantasyland
Mickey’s PhilharMagic: A mix of Disney animation and a 3D movie musical, many character favorites star in this musical delight.
Enchanted Tales with Belle (Temporarily Closed): Pass through a magic mirror to meet and be greeted by Belle and a few of her friends. You might even be chosen as the prince!
Ariel’s Grotto: Meet and be greeted by the princess of the sea herself, Ariel!
Be Our Guest Restaurant: Reserve a table and the majestically recreated ballroom where Belle and the Beast danced. A beautifully painted ceiling mural, dazzling chandelier, just as if it popped out of the Beauty and the Beast movie!
Tomorrowland
Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe: Have lunch or dinner while an alien lounge singer, Sonny plays his Astro-Organ. Hear him play a repertoire of his favorite songs and crack a few jokes.
Tomorrowland Terrace Restaurant: This restaurant serves your typical American food menu items like burgers, chicken tenders, and salads. Now serves several menu items from the closed Columbia Harbour House’s menu! Great place to eat with a great view.
Fantasyland
Cinderella Castle: A trip to the Magic Kingdom isn’t complete without a visit to the castle itself as it tells the story of Cinderella. The castle transitions visitors into Fantasyland where the mosaic artwork throughout the castle is simply breathtaking. Cinderella’s Royal Table sits right at the base of the castle, it is a storybook-setting restaurant with a majestic Grand Hall. The castle itself had recently had a makeover from the classic white brick walls and blue roofs to a Disneyland® color-themed palette with golden highlights. If your little girl wants to be taken care of like the princess she is, visit the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique (Temporarily Closed) for a special makeover.
- No height or age restrictions.
Peter Pan’s Flight: We go from waiting in line to the nursery of the Darling children and find ourselves rising above the streets of London. This ride goes through the story of Peter Pan in a beautifully recreated way. Although this ride occasionally has long lines, it is definitely worth the wait.
- Height: Any height
- Ages: All ages
- Thrill Level & Type: Mild & Slow Ride and small drops
It’s A Small World: This classic ride which resides across from Peter Pan’s Flight is also a must when taking along children. It provides a nice and peaceful boat ride to recover from the amount of walking you may have already taken on, plus you can look for the different Disney® princesses represented as puppets in each of the lands.
- Height: Any height
- Ages: All ages
- Thrill Level & Type: Mild & Slow Ride
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train: This ride is similar to the Big Thunder Mountain it’s set up, but different in that it is a little faster. You are whisked through the exterior of the mine but then slow down to go through the interior of the mine where the dwarfs dig for glittery diamonds.
- Height: 38 inches or taller
- Ages: Kid through adults
- Thrill Level & Type: Medium & Thrill ride with small drops
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: Immerse yourself in one of Winnie the Pooh’s many adventures as you step inside the book through this journey. This ride brings to life the experience of walking through the book. Another kid-safe and family favorite classic ride.
- Height: Any height
- Ages: All ages
- Thrill Level & Type: Mild & Slow Ride
Mad Tea Party: Are you ready for one of the Mad Hatter’s crazy tea parties? Here you will take a spin in one of the many of his giant pastel teacups.
- Height: Any height
- Ages: All ages
- Thrill Level & Type: Mild & Spinning
Under the Sea ~ Journey of The Little Mermaid: Follow Ariel through an underwater journey recounting the story of The Little Mermaid. It includes great visual effects and amazing animatronics. Ariel’s Grotto is just the right kind of ride to bring your young child or to relive this classic movie.
- Height: Any height
- Ages: All ages
- Thrill Level & Type: Mild & Slow Ride
Storybook Circus
Dumbo the Flying Elephant: Here you soar high into the sky over Storybook Circus on none other than Dumbo the Flying Elephant himself!
- Height: Any height
- Ages: All ages
- Thrill Level & Type: Mild & Slow, Spinning Ride
The Barnstormer: Ride on one of Goofy’s homemade stunt airplanes for a thrilling but not too scary stunt ride/roller coaster.
- Height: 35 inches or taller
- Ages: Preschoolers and kids
- Thrill Level & Type: Mild & Small Drops
Tomorrowland
Tomorrowland Speedway: Do you have your driver’s license? No, that’s okay. Here at the Tomorrowland Speedy, get behind the wheel of a propane-powered car and race down the track! You can also stop by and purchase a Speedway license at the photo booth nearby.
- Height: 32 inches or taller
- Ages: All ages
- Thrill Level & Type: Mild & Slow Ride
Astro Orbiter: Hop onto a rocket ship and blast off into orbit passing planets and flying high. Seriously, this ride does go a little high just to give you a little warning.
- Height: Any height
- Ages: All ages
- Thrill Level & Type: Mild & Slow, Spinning Ride
Space Mountain: This classic roller coaster is one of the most popular of all time. Hop aboard and get launched into the darkness of space, flying through stars for a truly classic experience.
- Height: 44 inches or taller
- Ages: Kids to adults
- Thrill Level & Type: Medium & Thrilling ride with Big Drops in the Dark
PeopleMover: Open since 1975, this ride is a relaxing ride that offers great higher perspective views of the park cruising along with some sudden turns. This iconic ride has guests that take a family photo every time to see how their family grows. However, this ride is temporarily closed due to refurbishment but is scheduled to reopen sometime this year.
- Height: Any height
- Ages: All ages
- Thrill Level & Type: Mild & Slow, Sudden turns
Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress: Also opened in 1975, this “darkened theatre” which rotates the entire audience features animatronics singing the classic song, “There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow.” This 25-minute ride takes us along the technological progress we’ve made starting from the early 19th century to the 21st century.
- Height: Any height
- Ages: All ages
- Thrill Level & Type: Mild & Slow Ride
Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin: Are you ready to help Buzz Lightyear stop his arch-nemesis Zurg from stealing batteries from helpless toys? Hop aboard your XP-37 star cruiser with full 360-degree capability and aim at the “Z” targets while flying through the Gamma Quadrant! You will use your infrared laser cannon to blast all targets in sight. As Buzz Lightyear reminds us, “The fate of the universe is in your hands!”
- Height: Any height
- Ages: All ages
- Thrill Level & Type: Mild & Slow and Spinning Dark Ride
Liberty Square
The Haunted Mansion: This classic ride has been a favorite throughout all ages to Disney® fans. This haunted mansion is different from that of Disneyland® because it is a slightly longer ride. The Walt Disney World® exterior has a Gothic revival style to complement the colonial theming from Liberty Square while the Disneyland® version exterior is a southern plantation house in keeping with the New Orleans theme. There are some other interactive features while waiting in line like the interactive organ, however, they are temporarily disabled along with the “stretching room” for now due to Covid restrictions. A Doom Buggy awaits you for a grave journey!
- Height: Any height
- Ages: All ages
- Thrill Level & Type: Mild & Slow Dark Ride
Hall of Presidents: Retrace American history and watch a cameo from all 44 Presidents of the United States. Watch as audio-animatronic replicas of our former Presidents come to life and recount events in our nation’s history such as the formation of our Constitution, the American Revolution, and the Civil War.
- Height: Any height
- Ages: All ages
- Thrill Level & Type: Show
Liberty Square Riverboat: Hop aboard the Colonial-era Liberty Belle riverboat and enjoy a relaxing half-mile tour and see the sights around Tom Sawyer Island. During this 17-minute trip, you’ll see the early days of the American frontier. The Liberty Belle has 4 decks and is an actual steam engine that converts water from the river into steam that powers the paddle and propels the boat.
- Height: Any height
- Ages: All ages
- Thrill Level & Type: Mild & Slow Ride
Country Bear Jamboree: Join the country bears for a knee-slappin’ good time featuring the hilarious bunch of singing animatronic bears.
- Height: Any height
- Ages: All ages
- Thrill Level & Type: Show
Frontierland
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad: Visitors climb an old mining train and take a wild trip through an abandoned mine. The ride holds two people per chair and is a mild ride for most children. It captures the spirit of the Old West and authentically recreates the landscape inspired by the Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah.
- Height: 40 inches or taller
- Ages: Kids to adults
- Thrill Level & Type: Medium & Thrill Ride with Small Drops
Splash Mountain: Find yourself cruising along a boat ride filled with classic characters and songs. Take the journey while you can because New Adventures with Princess Tiana will soon be taking the place of this historic ride.
- Height: 40 inches or taller
- Ages: Kids to adults
- Thrill Level & Type: Medium & Thrill Water Ride with a Big Drop
Tom Sawyer Island: Many visitors might not know about this hidden gem, but visitors get to board a log raft and venture to Tom Sawyer Island to explore for themselves. Once on the Island, walk along the path and explore a mineshaft, Fort Langhorn, and various other sights to see along with a unique view of the Magic Kingdom® park.
- Height: Any height
- Ages: All ages
- Thrill Level & Type: Exploration
Adventureland
The Magic Carpets of Aladdin: Fly high on a magic carpet ride over Adventureland. It is a great mild ride for the kids or Aladdin movie lovers alike.
- Height: Any height
- Ages: All ages
- Thrill Level & Type: Mild & Slow Spinning Ride
Jungle Cruise: Located in Adventureland, the cruise will take you on a 10,000-mile journey where you visit all the major rivers of the world. During this tour, you will see all the wild animals that these exotic places offer. Your talented skipper will provide lively narration, along with a few humorous gags and wise-cracks. Walt Disney’s original vision was to have live animals on this ride.
- Height: Any height
- Ages: All ages
- Thrill Level & Type: Mild & Slow Ride
Pirates of the Caribbean: This classic ride is also one of the most popular and continued to be popular because of the Pirates of the Caribbean movie series. Venture onto a boat to see a realistic pirate ship shooting its cannons. See where the pirates have pillaged and invaded a city and even see the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow himself!
- Height: Any height
- Ages: All ages
- Thrill Level & Type: Mild & Slow Dark Ride with Small Drops
Festival of the Fantasy Parade: The dazzling variety of floats, motion, and original music enchant you for the rest of the day. Watch as this grand gala, with state-of-the-art floats and starring a few of our beloved Disney® Characters, costumed performers, pendulums, swings amazing clockwork fire-breathing dragon. It’s fun for everyone!
- Parade length: 12 minutes
- Ages: All ages
Electrical Water Pageant: A bright green sea monster leads the way in an enchanting, evening musical pageant you can see and hear from locations along the shore. Patriotic songs play while stars and stripes float along the nighttime water.
- Parade length: 15 minutes
- Ages: All ages
Other Seasonal Parades include:
- Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party
- Disney’s Not So Spooky Spectacular
- Mickey’s “Boo-to-You” Halloween Parade
- Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade
Traveling to Walt Disney World® with toddlers? Congratulations! You can share your Disney® experience with the little one but still have fun as well! There are still many rides that you can jump on with your toddler.
Favorite Rides and Shows for Toddlers in Magic Kingdom®:
-
- The Enchanted Tales with Belle – show/character meet and greet (Temporarily Closed)
- The It’s A Small World
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- The Prince Charming Regal Carousel
- The Under the Sea -Journey of the Little Mermaid
- Ariel’s Grotto – character meet and greet (Temporarily Closed)
- Mad Tea Party
- The Buzz Lightyears Space Ranger Spin
- Dumbo The Flying Elephant
- The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
- The Peter Pan’s Flight
Heading to Walt Disney World While Pregnant? Congratulations! Enjoy some of these Disney attractions with your pre-born without having to worry about their safety.
Attractions Recommended During Pregnancy:
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- The Haunted Mansion
- The Carousel of Progress
- The Mickey’s PhilharMagic
- Character Meet and Greets
- Street Parties and Parades
- Peter Pan’s Flight
- Walt Disney World® Railroad (Temporarily Closed)
- Jungle Cruise
- Country Bear Jamboree
- Magic Carpet of Aladdin
- Enchanted Tiki’s Room
- Dumbo the Flying Elephant
- The Enchanted Tale with Belle
- The It’s a Small World
- Journey of the Little Mermaid
- The Prince Charming Regal Carousel
- The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
- The Liberty Square Riverboat
- The Buzz Lightyears Space Ranger Spin
- Astro Orbiter
- Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover (Temporarily Closed)
- The Hall of Presidents (Temporarily Closed)
Walt Disney World Money Saving Tip
If you are visiting Walt Disney World you’ll want to purchase your discount Walt Disney World tickets before arriving in Orlando to get the best prices. When thinking about your Walt Disney World tickets, we often suggest for first time visitors to purchase base tickets. In a recent study, some 60% of the guests who purchased the hopper option especially those with young children never used it. However, if the hopper option is for you, simply take your tickets to the Walt Disney World® Customer Service desk located in each theme park and add this option. The Park Hopper option is a costly expense that is totally worth it only if you know for sure you will use it. Here are some more great tips for traveling with children.
Since most guests who visit the theme park spend 8 to 10 hours or even longer at a theme park, here we include a suggested group of dining options. Magic Kingdom® has some really good restaurants, and if you do a little planning you can save some money.
Bring Your Own Food
One way to also save a good amount of money is to bring your own food. Yes! You are allowed to bring outside food to this park. There are certain restrictions that apply like glass containers are prohibited along with outside alcoholic beverages. This means you can splurge on dinner if your want! If you plan a bringing your own food, check to make sure what is and is not allowed to make the most out of your day.