Summer breaks are for sun, beach, vacation, and visiting Mickey and Minnie at Disney’s Magic Kingdom. In June we decided to make a trip to Florida to visit family and in at a spark of the moment we decided to go to Disney. This would be Isa’s very first time visiting Disney so we couldn’t miss the opportunity.
On this post I want to go over our experience at Disney’s Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Florida, best time of year to go, purchasing your tickets, and how to make the best of your trip.
Disclaimer: There are affiliate links in this post. To learn more about how affiliate links work please read our Disclosure Policy. Thank you for using our links and for your support. Please keep in mind that prices noted on this post were from my own trip in June 2018. Prices may change or vary depending on time of year, location, and at Disney’s desire throughout the years.
TRIP PLANNING
Our trip was for sure memorable to say the least. From the excited faces on my little girls’ face every time they saw a new character to all of the rides. We had an amazing time and can’t wait to go back. We did aim though to make the most of our time there. Our goal was to do as much as we can at the park without spending all day waiting in line and I’m pretty happy to say that I think we did pretty well in making the most of our time there. Here are a few tips and tricks to keep in mind.
DOWNLOAD THE DISNEY PARKS APP
This was by far the best tool we have ever used. The app shows wait times, height requirements for the rides, details about the restaurants and even showtimes and event times. It was perfect. With the app we were able to monitor things a week before the day we actually went to Disney. By monitoring it randomly throughout the day I was able to see which rides were more packed than others. For our trip in June 2019, the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ride was the one that had a 2 hour wait all throughout the day every single day so instead of waiting in line for so long we decided to do other rides instead.
Another good thing about the app is that we were able to view the wait times on other rides and locations and take advantage of rides that just dropped wait times before the crowd came rushing in again. Don’t get me wrong, there is always some wait time, but we rather wait 10 or 15 minutes in line versus 45 minutes to 2 hours.
FOOD, SNACKS, AND DRINKS
Before going to the park I made sure to buy some snacks for the kids. This helped us not spend money on snacks. As we all know, food at amusement parks are outrageous. We made sure to only buy one big drink for us all to share. As for food we bought one big meal. We ate at the Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe in Tomorrowland. They have a good variety of options there for you to choose from at a more descent price.
picture of us on a ride
RIDES
Disney’s Magic Kingdom has all sorts of rides for all ages. Make sure to check on the app prior to getting in line to make sure that your kiddos meet the height requirement for that ride. One thing that I did was measure my kiddos the week before and save their measurements in my phone so I knew at all times.
DISNEY ENTRY TICKETS & PARKING
Well as we all probably already know, Disney is not cheap but you get what you pay for, meaning an amazing experience that is totally worth every penny. There’s various types of tickets though so I’ll be going over that as well as parking fees with you very quickly.
DISNEY’S MAGIC KINGDOM TICKETS
The ticket prices vary depending on what day you plan to go and the time of year. If you are military or Florida resident then you can get discounted tickets and specials. They also have annual passes that you can purchase as well if you plan on returning multiple times throughout the year. The annual passes are more expensive but it is equivalent to about 3 trips to Disney.
Click here to check the current prices for Disney tickets.
PARK HOPPER
Disney has four parks in Orlando, Florida. These include:
- Disney’s Magic Kingdom
- Epcot
- Disney’s Hollywood Studios – You can find Toy Story Land here.
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom
You can purchase a park hopper for the day if you’d like but first let me tell you the pros and cons. Adding the park hopper to your ticket is more expensive, that’s a given. But if you haven’t visited Magic Kingdom and want to get the full experience then I recommend you spend the entire day at Magic Kingdom instead of hopping around from park to park. Just getting to another park can take time especially with kids.
Now if you have been to Magic Kingdom before and just want to do a few rides there and then hop over to another park and do a few other things there then it is totally worth it.
It has been a good 20 years since I was last to the other parks but from what I have heard, and slightly remember, some of the parks you may be able to do in half a day. I think Epcot is one of the parks that is smaller in size and you can go through it fairly quickly and spend the rest of the time at another park like Animal Kingdom.
PARKING
Parking was a little high in my opinion. We paid $25 for parking. Best recommendation I can give is to arrive early. Probably around an hour before the park opens. By the time you actually get to the park entrance you can quickly move through the ticket booth and into the park and get in line already for some of the events or even rides.
DISNEY’S PHOTOPASS
This is a very cool thing that they have. Your ticket comes either on a wrist band that you can purchase or on a card. Every time you get your picture taken with a character or by the castle they scan your card and all of your photos of that day end up on your photo pass. This is amazing cause we were able to have all of the professional photos, videos, and memories of Isa and Bella meeting all of the princesses. The cost to have all of the photos for that day was $78 (this includes photos taken for that entire week if I remember correctly) which in my opinion is not bad when you have taken over 50+ photos and each one is about $12 each. The Undercover Tourist actually goes more into details about the Photopass here and how to properly use them and make the most out of it.
You can learn more about Disney’s Photopass Services here.
WHAT TO WEAR
My biggest tip is to dress comfy. Wear comfortable shoes, a hat, and comfy clothes. You will be doing a lot of walking around the park and the last you want is for you to be uncomfortable a few hours into the day. Dress Disney though. Can’t go to Disney and not rep your favorite characters or favorite Disney shirt. Here are a few cool options below including the ones we wore.
I would also wear some sunblock just to avoid sunburn as you will be outside under the sun. One of my favorite brands to use is Raw Elements.
**Tip: If you are getting shirts made for you and your family please be safe about it. Don’t put names on the shirts as anyone can easily call your child’s name bring a sense of peace to your baby as they approach them. Just a safety precaution that I wanted to share with you!
WHAT TO BRING
I would bring some snacks for sure. Maybe an extra change of clothes if your kiddos are the type to get messy or have accidents. Hand sanitizer! Like I can’t stress enough the hand sanitizer. I think I used an entire travel bottle that day cause I was always cleaning my hands or my daughter’s hands. Water is a must. You can bring a reusable water bottle and refill it at their water fountains. Cash is also another good option to have on you. And then the essentials such as key, wallet, ID, phone, camera, etc.
Well this is my Disney’s Magic Kingdom travel guide for you. Have you been to Magic Kingdom yet? If so in which country or state? Lets chat in the comments section.
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