The Magic Kingdom - Visiting with Children

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

19 Apr 2007 12:36 PM

Are you heading to the Magic Kingdom sometime soon? Worried about how you're going to be able to do all you want to do while you are there? Let's have a look at a touring plan that will get you to the park and out of the park while still achieving your goals. First and foremost, before you take your children to the parks or on the vacation, have a family sit down and determine what rides are absolutely important to go on before you arrive.

For my family, Splash Mountain is a must do ride. It's my daughter's absolute favorite. The Thunder Mountain Railroad is a close second followed by The Haunted Mansion - so we have to plan our visit to make sure we hit these three attractions, one of which is in a different area of the park.

Planning Your Arrival

If you are staying at a Disney hotel, grab one of the Disney transports to get you to the parks. For one, it will save you time in parking and getting to the front gates. If you want to drive, plan to arrive at least 60 minutes before the park opens. This will give you time to park and to travel to the gates. By the time you get there, you may be standing for a few minutes, but you will be able to get into the park with the first wave. Once you are inside, pick up your guide maps unless you already have one.

Main Street Opens First

Some days the entire park opens at the same time, other times - it's Main Street that opens first. Make your way down Main Street and save your shopping for later in the day. No matter how attractive the stores look, trust me - they are open all day long and you will definitely have an opportunity to get in there and take a look at just about any point in the day.

Tomorrowland

Your first stop should be Tomorrowland and Space Mountain. Space Mountain is one of my all time favorite roller coasters. The ride is in the dark and you have to sit one to a space on the car. If your children are very young, they may have no interest in it. But my four year old screamed her way through it and commented:

That was so scary. Can I do it again?

After Space Mountain, head over to the Tomorrowland Speedway and take a spin around the racetrack and then cut on through to Fantasyland where you can enjoy a ride on The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and Peter Pan's Flight. Don't forget to stop at It's a Small World before taking a right past Liberty Square to pay a call on The Haunted Mansion.

After that, take some time to head into Frontierland and get a Fastpass at Splash Mountain. While you wait on the Fastpass, you can go right next door to the Thunder Mountain Railroad or you can head across the bridge to Adventureland for a visit to the Pirates of the Caribbean. By the time you are done, it should be time for your Fastpass and a visit to the Briar Patch via Splash Mountain.

Middle of the Day

By this point, it's lunchtime. You can grab something at one of the eating establishments. If you've pre-reserved a character meal at one of the specialty restaurants, try to time it so it's a halfway point. It's a good time for all of you to get off your feet and decompress. You might stroll the stores after food - it's best to do this during the afternoon heat because they are air-conditioned.

You will encounter parades and there are plenty of other rides and attractions not covered here. But many of those won't have super long lines for you to stand in so you should be able to see them on the stroll rather than moving at a brisk pace from point to point.

What's your favorite ride at the Magic Kingdom?

Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

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