Why you always need 2 days at magic kingdom
You start with a building crescendo of walking under the Walt Disney World Railroad, coming upon Main Street U.S.A., and then it peaks as you feast your eyes on Cinderella’s Castle for the first time. As she slowly draws you towards her, you have been transported. You are no longer living in the real world. No, you have been transported. Not to Walt Disney World, but rather Walt Disney’s WORLD. It truly is the “Most Magical Place on Earth.
Do you have chills just thinking about that moment? I know I do, and I get them every time I enter the park. If you have never been, you won’t understand. Once you go though, you will get it. It is the reason Magic Kingdom is the #1 theme park in the world.
You may say to yourself that you will make sure to visit it on your next trip to Orlando, but why would we suggest two days at the park? Isn’t Animal Kingdom bigger? Well, technically yes. It is a HUGE park. Doesn’t EPCOT have more walking paths, and has the most area that guest can access? Once again, you are correct. What about Holly Studios. They have Toy Story Land, Galaxy’s Edge, and the only upside down roller coaster in all of Walt Disney World! Shouldn’t we spend an extra day there for the most excitement? You can’t go wrong there either.
But there is just something different about going to Magic Kingdom. It is the place Walt designed. It is what his original vision for Disneyland was going to be, but he didn’t have the space. It is all the nostalgia from your childhood, no matter if you visited the parks, or just watched Disney movies over and over, until they didn’t work anymore. But why can’t you truly experience it all in just one day?
The Rides
I’m not saying that Magic Kingdom has the most thrilling rides out there. I’m not saying they have the best ride out there. I’m saying, their rides are rides you have to experience.
There are the classics like Dumbo, Small World, Tea Cups, Peter Pan, Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, and Carousel of Progress.
There more exciting rides like Seven Dwarf’s Mine Train, Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain, and Splash Mountain (R.I.P.).
That alone is twelve attractions. All of which, outside of Small World and Tea Cups, will never have waits under 30 minutes. Most of which will have waits over 60 minutes most of the day. Time just doesn’t allow you to experience everything Magic Kingdom has to offer in a single day.
The Characters
While EPCOT low key has a ton of princesses you can meet, and a lot of people don’t know about that, everyone know about the characters you can meet at Magic Kingdom.
There are tons of characters you can see and meet at Magic Kingdom.
You can of course meet Mickey Mouse. Minnie and Daisy are usually together. There are specific locations where you can meet Cinderella, Belle, Ariel, Merida, Rapunzel, Tiana, Jasmine and Snow White. Tinkerbell is generally available to meet throughout the day too. There is also usually a mystery princess that hangs out with Cinderella.
If you don’t want to wait in a long line just to see a character once, you can always check out the stage shows and parades throughout the day. Characters will be coming by, dancing, waving, and sometimes even running over for a hug or quick picture.
Not a parade or show fan? Disney is known to have characters just walking around the park for random meet and greets. These characters include Fairy Godmother, the Ugly Step Sisters, Gaston, Aladdin, Captain Jack Sparrow, Stitch, Buzz Lightyear, and still more!
But wait…there’s more. If that still doesn’t do it for you, Magic Kingdom offers multiple character dining experiences within the park where you could meet Winnie the Pooh and the rest of his neighbors from the hundred acre woods (Crustal Palace), Beast (Be Our Guest), and…for a truly amazing experience, you can meet Cinderella, Ariel, Princess Aurora, Snow White, Jasmine and Rapunzel…inside of Cinderella’s Castle (Cinderella’s Royal Table). Can you even imagine!?
The Details
We tell our clients to plan on two days because it is what we do. The first day is the day to go hard. Ride the rides. Meet the characters. Run from place to place, and get everything on your must do list checked off. No matter if you do it or not, day 2 at Magic Kingdom gives you the chance to do something everything else there isn’t doing.
Relax and enjoy being in the Most Magical Place on Earth.
Take it all in. Don’t worry about rushing to get to the next ride. Don’t worry about meeting the characters. Don’t worry about anything. Check out the details in all the lands, and all the rides. Take the time to take more pictures.
Of course that second day is there to finish your list of what you wanted to do. Of course, if you go hard enough, you can do it all in one day, and feel great. Magic Kingdom is different though, and if you can take the time to take that park at a slower pace, it will be an experience you won’t regret.
The Magic Moments
They don’t call it the Most Magical Place on Earth just because it sounds good. There really is such a thing as Disney magic, and there is nothing better than when you can have those magical moments because you are in the middle of Magic Kingdom, but you are not racing around.
I can’t tell you the number of times I have seen people getting upset because they are hot, they are tired, they are hungry, and they are stressed because things haven’t gone as planned. And that is just me.
We stress the importance of attacking the park and “winning” your day at Disney. That is because we want you to have an amazing time, and for you to be able to do all the things you want to be able to do.
Sometimes though, that is just slowing down is enjoying the fact you are at Magic Kingdom. One of my favorite Disney moments came when getting caught in a rain shower. We were all soaking wet. Our clothes, the stroller, our shoes. Our rain coats were sticking to us from the sideways rain that had somehow gotten through those rain jackets. As crazy as it was, that is still one of my favorite Disney memories.
You don’t get those when you are so stressed about knocking our rides, getting to the next dining reservation, or making sure you meet everyt character. You only get them from spur of the moment events.
Not everyone gets to experience those Disney moments. Everyone that has will have a different Disney moment. Some people never get their’s. I can tell you this, if you don’t take the time to slow down on your vacation, and stop and actually enjoy the thing you just spent so much money on, you will always regret it.
Now once you are ready to book your next Disney vacation, just remember these two things. Add the extra day at Magic Kingdom and contact DDWK Travel for all your booking needs.
