Quote: It was a great time for the entire family. Although the weather was very hot, that takes some getting used too. Our first day we went to Magic Kingdom, we did not arrive until 3:00pm, but you take advantage of the extra magic hours and stay until 2:00am, after 11:00pm the park really clears out. I recommend getting a fast pass for Space Moutain & Splash Mountain as soon as you get in.


From journals Disney- Family Grand Gathering

Quote: The Magic Kingdom is the place everybody automatically thinks of when you say "Disney World." It is a wonderful place for the young and the young at heart.

It is divided into 7 lands, each with its own distinct atmosphere and attractions. Our itinerary and recommendations in this review are very much based around what our 4 year old son enjoyed.

We split our visit into 2 days. On day 1, we got there early and left just after the afternoon parade. On day 2 we arrived in the late afternoon, did some rides, had dinner but still had plenty of energy left to enjoy the evening parade and the fireworks.

The Magic Kingdom opens at 9am - we arrived in the car park at 8:15 and took the ferry boat from the ticket centre. The trip takes about 10 minutes and you get beautiful views of the Seven Seas Lagoon.

We arrived at the turnstiles before they opened at 8:40, there were quite a lot of people there, but we got a great view of the opening ceremony - lots of singing, dancing and a finale with glitter and streamers.

Main Street USA was our first experience of the park - a beautiful area, turn of the century themed and decorated with bright colours and lovely window displays. It is really picturesque.

Our first stop was Fantasyland. This area is themed like a fairytale and has lots of rides and attractions suitable for young children. Our highlights/recommendations were:

* Dumbo - I read somewhere that this ride has the fastest growing line in the park. There are only 16 elephants and it takes longer to load and unload these than the 90 second ride. This was our first stop, we did not need to queue.

* Winnie the Pooh - again the queue line grows quickly here so do it early in the morning.

* Peter Pan - we adored this, in my view the best attraction in Fantasyland.

* Cinderella's Carousel - great photo opportunities.

* It's A Small World.

* Mickey's 3D Philharmagic - a must-see. This 3D show is truly wonderful, with great special effects and a cute storyline. It is also a good place to get out of the heat.

We next took the Disney Railroad to Frontierland. This looks like a set from a Western. Apparently Hollywood movies about cowboys and indians were some of Walt Disney's favourites.

We rode Big Thunder Mountain - our son hated it - the noise, dark, speed and bumpiness of this ride terrified him, so be aware!

Our next stop was Adventureland. This was inspired by Disney's own travels to exotic locations and is designed to give guests a taste of the Pacific/Polynesia and the Carribean. Highlights for us here were;

* Pirates of the Carribean - our queue time was significantly longer though than that suggested on the timeboard outside - tip - take small children to the toilet before using this ride!

* The Enchanted Tiki Room - not usually much of a wait and it is a really cute show with exotic "birds" singing and dancing in the ceiling of the Tiki Room.

The Dreams Come True parade takes place at around 3pm. We watched it in Liberty Square. This was a great spot - not too crowded and we got an excellent view. We got there about half an hour beforehand. Our son loved this parade most because of all the Disney characters, the dancing and the music.

We left at this point on our first day and came back another day to carry on exploring the Magic Kingdom.

On our second visit we arrived at 4pm - we were not charged for car-parking. We saw the flag lowering ceremony on Main Street - a marching band, patriotic songs and music and a veteran carried the folded up flag as they marched back down Main Street. We enjoyed this.

Tomorrowland was our first stop. Disney was fascinated with the concept of planning for the future. This area is a combination of Jules Verne versus science-fiction. Our highlights were:

* Monsters Inc Laugh Show - quite funny, very clever with the screen Monsters interacting with the audience. We loved it.

* Buzz Lightyear - shooting and zapping aliens while spinning around is great for adults and children alike.

* Tomorrowland Transit Authority - relaxing, interesting and fun to go through Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear.

We weren't impressed with the Indy Speedway - don't bother queuing for this, it is a bit of a letdown.

The rest of our time was spent at Mickeys Toontown Fair. This area looks like it came from a Disney animated film. It's great for young children - you can visit Mickey and Minnie's house, ride on Goofy's rollercoaster and meet lots of characters.

Our son also loved the playground - but bring a change of clothes as most children end up getting soaked.

The Spectro Magic evening parade at 9:15 is fantastic. Again we watched it at Liberty Square and found it to be relatively uncrowded. We arrived just after 8:30 and got a front row position.

60,000 lights cover every float and character. Lighting throughout the entire parade route is dimmed to enhance the experience. There is a cast of 100 performers, 37 floats and it lasts 25 minutes. This is a must see. Every few minutes the floats change from all-colours to white to coloured again.

The Wishes Nightime Fireworks Spectacular is at 10pm. We watched from near Splash Mountain and had a wonderful view without the heavy crowds. The only downside was you could not hear the music.

The other bad thing about staying for this is leaving - mass exodus, mass crowds equals a nightmare. We hung around for half an hour after the fireworks, but still found we queued for the ferryboat for around half an hour. Be sure to bring a stroller for your child if you watch the fireworks. Our son fell asleep in it on our way out, we saw lots of parents struggling carrying sleeping youngsters.
From journals Two Weeks in Orlando

Quote: Many of the people I know think that Disney has nothing more to offer than some kiddy rides, a giant mouse, and sore feet, that is until they tour Disney with me. I love Walt Disney Word because it brings back good memories of my childhood; the excitement of getting Mickey's autograph, my first rollercoster, and seeing my favorite princess are memories that I don't want to let go. As an adult Disney has become a different place for me. I get to relive those moments by watching children star struck when they get to meet their favorite character for the first time or listening to a tired parent explain to their child that the ghosts in the haunted mansion aren't real. After years of visiting the 'Happiest Place on Earth' I have come to find a whole new park and all I had to do was slow down and smell the roses. After all Disney is in the details.

My suggestion is to get to the park early. This is something that I never did as a kid. Standing outside of the park, but just inside the front gate looking up at the Train Station the days activities began. We were welcomed by people singing and dancing and finally the train pulled up full of all of the Disney characters including Alice, Mickey, and Daisy. There is no better way to start the day. Once the gates open and the families ran into the park I detoured off into Adventureland with my grandparents in tow. At this point most people were running off to get on the rides in Fantsayland, but we walked around collecting fastpasses for our favorite rides that we were going to hit later at night when they turn up the speed. About a 1/2 hour into park opening was when we went to Fantasayland. All of the popular rides had long lines with people who were trying to get there early, but instead we went a different route and saw some of the less popular ones like Mickey's Phlharmagic, which we just walked into with no wait. This was a really cute show that entertained guests with antics by Goofy prior to the show starting when everyone was filling in the seats. The show brings together some of the classic movies and characters in a Fantasia-like show. It was much better then I anticipated. After leaving we hit the popular Fantsayland rides with very little wait time.

In between rides my grandparents and I filled our time taking pictures. Again Disney is in the details and some of the amazing spots in the park are ignored by guests running to get in line. There are stocks, sleds, amazing bushes, and other beautiful spots in the park that we went to and had a blast taking our pictures in/by. We even snuck in a few pictures with some of the characters. It still amazes me how a 74 year-old man can get so excited to get his picture with Goofy.
Splash mountain is a great place to people watch. As the rafts come over the mountain and crash down water splashes everywhere. Here's a hint: every third boat water will splash onto the sidewalk where guests are walking and watching the boats go down. Most people don't know this and end up soaked and never were on the ride.
Main Street was someplace that I never spent any time when I was younger; it was nothing more then a useless space between me and the rollercosters. Today I see it differently. Main Street is a throw back to small town America of days gone by. My favorite souvenir was found here: pressed coins. Although the machines can be found throughout the park on Main Street is the largest population of them and for $.51 it's a great way to remember the park and a really inexpensive collection to start and maintain.

The parade is wonderful. Kids get to see their favorite characters and adults can watch as the parade relives the life of Walt Disney and shows that progression of some of his most popular films. In between each float artists on bikes ride around pretending to paint pictures of famous characters. The best float is Mickey's "It was all started by a mouse" float, where modern Mickey waves to people along the parade route and Mickey's of the past (including steam boat Willie) line the float. The back the Mickey from Fantasia bringing to life dancing brooms that follow the float. It's a very clever parade.
The most rewarding experience of the day is the fireworks. Line up early (I suggest getting a coffee and a snack and sitting down in front of the castle at least an hour in advance. The fireworks are set to music and with the castle in the foreground it left me in awe. It's an unforgettable experience.
From journals Birthdays at the Happiest Place On Earth

Quote: I have visited Walt Disney World theme parks twice in my life, and I liked it so much, I never can wait to go back. To me, it is worth every penny. In my personal opinion, Magic Kingdom Theme Park is the best park of all. There are so many things to do for every age group you will never get bored.

For adults, you have your thrill rides, Splash Mountain and Space Mountain. Splash Mountain is a very thrilling water ride where you WILL get wet. Space Mountain is an awesome roller coaster that takes you on an adventure through space in the complete dark. It is scary and exciting at the same time. My personal favorite is the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. You get to sit on a tram for like 20 minutes which it is covered and you get a breeze. And if you have been to Florida before, you know it is very hot. This tram will take you through Tomorrowland and show you all of the attractions in the area. Very nice to check out to see if you would be interested in any of the rides.

A great family attraction to check out is It’s a Small World. It is really fun for the little children with lots of music, will get annoying by the end of the ride for the parents, but it is a Disney Classic. Another thing for the little ones is to check your map of the park to find where your favorite Disney Characters will be signing autographs. Although I am a grown adult, I still will get an autograph book and visit the characters, it's like a tradition that will never end. Plus, it is a treasure to keep for your own memories.

Also while at Magic Kingdom, don’t forget to visit The Haunted Mansion. It is great for the family, though if you are traveling with real small children they may be a little frightened. If any of the large attractions are very busy, I highly recommend FASTPASS. FASTPASS is a privilege to all Disney guests in which you can stick your park pass in to the machine at the attraction and you will get a card back with a time on it. This is the time that you should return to the attraction and you will not have to wait in line. This is perfect for the impatient one in your family, plus you will ensure to see all the attractions you will have time to maybe go back to your favorite a second time.

We visited Walt Disney World in Mid-September, when it was the end of hurricane season. This was perfect because there was like no one there and we didn’t have to wait in any lines. They did not have FASTPASS running because there was no waiting in 99.9% of all the attractions. But if it is available, USE IT. Enjoy your vacation to Walt Disney World.
From journals Disneyworld with the Whole Family