The Magic Kingdom with Toddlers? Here are my 16 tips surviving at day at the Magic Kingdom with your toddler. I'll give you hacks for tackling rides, food and fireworks and help you save time in lines.
1. Get there about 20 mins BEFORE the park opens. There will already be a crowd.
2. After rope drop head straight to Peter Pan's Flight. This ride is fantastic and the line will be over 90 mins if you don't hit it right away. Most guests will head right to one of the coasters so if you hit this early you won't need to use a Fastpass.
3. Next visit It's a Small World. A classic and the little ones love it!
4. From here you can head to The Haunted Mansion. You will know if your little person can handle it. The first year our dude was too small to really get that it was scary. The second year he handled it pretty well but covered his eyes at some parts.
5. This is when we typically use our first FastPass and head to Pirates of the Caribbean. This is our favorite ride!
6. We take a break here for Dole Whip and watch the show at the Enchanted Tiki Room.
7. Next, we hit up the Jungle Cruise. This line can be a little long at this point in the day. We tend to skip anything with longer than a 30 min wait. The Swiss Family Treehouse is always fun to explore.
8. Now we head over to the Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin and use our second FastPass. This ride is really fun and there's typically a Buzz Character encounter right outside!
9. Lunch! We like to hit up lunch at the Tomorrowland Terence for a quick service meal.
10. Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor! It's really fun, and it has air conditioning!
11. Rest chill time. By this point, the Little Dude is pretty tired so we'll push him in the stroller and wander the shops and grab a coffee etc. He'll usually fall asleep for a bit. If you want to hit up some more of the thrilling rides this is when mom and dad can take turns. You may want to use your third FastPass option and do Ride Switch*. Once you use your third FastPass you can get more (one at a time) at kiosks on each land.
12. Check the MyDisneyExperince App for wait times for rides and character experiences. Visit anything you've skipped now that lines will start to shorten as people get tired/hungry.
13. We always use our last FastPass for a visit with Mickey Mouse at Town Square This is a great experience and Micky talks to you! (Edit: Mickey no longer talks BUT you never know if this will change in future)
14. Dinner at Tony's Town Restaurant. You can typically get a reservation even when all the other places are booked, the food is good and the portions are generous and even picky eaters can get behind pasta!
15. Back to the resort to rest.
16. Back to the park for the parade and fireworks! My favorite splurge on a Magic Kingdom night is to book the Tomorrowland Terrece Fireworks Dessert Party! You can choose to have your desserts before of after the nighttime spectacular Happily Everafter with a bounty of yummy desserts, savory treats fresh juices and alcohol for the adults. You'll either have a seated view from the Tomorrowland Terreace or , my favorite a private viewing area in the Hub right in front of Cinderella's Castle!
*Tip- Pick up a map! The app will be your go-to for wait times but the map will have times for daily entertainment like dance parties and parades. The dance parties are super fun and a great way for kiddos to interact with characters!
*What Is Rider Switch and How Does It Work?
If Guests in your party can’t or don’t want to board an attraction, you don’t have to miss out!
If a child does not meet the height requirement or a Guest does not wish to board a particular attraction, no problem! With Rider Switch, one adult can wait with the non-rider (or riders) while the rest of the party enjoys the attraction. When the other adult returns, they can supervise the non-riding Guests, and the waiting adult can board the attraction without having to wait in the regular line again!
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