What to do at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom

Readers' Picks

1. Haunted Mansion ★ ★ ★
   Dark ride with "999 happy haunts," located in Liberty Square
   

2. Tiana's Bayou Adventure ★
   Disney's "The Princess and the Frog"-themed makeover of the former Splash Mountain log flume ride. Height requirement: 40 inches
   

3. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad ★
   Outdoor family roller coaster. Height requirement: 38 inches

Other Attractions

Starting on Main Street, then turning right at the hub into Tomorrowland and continuing counter-clockwise around the park. Click the 🎦 symbol to watch on-ride or show video for select attractions.

Main Street USA

• Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade: Daytime parade. 🎦 Video
• Disney Starlight: Nighttime parade. 🎦 Video
• Happily Ever After: Fireworks and projection show. 🎦 Video
• Town Square Theater: Meet Mickey Mouse
• Walt Disney World Railroad: One-way shuttle to and from Fantasyland during Villains land construction

Tomorrowland

• Astro Orbiter: Jets ride
• Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin: Interactive dark ride. 🎦 Video
• Carousel of Progress: Audio-Animatronic show in a rotating theater. 🎦 Video
• Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor: Interactive screen show
• Space Mountain: Indoor family roller coaster. Height requirement: 40 inches.
• Tomorrowland Speedway: Drive a car on this track ride.
• Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover: Elevated track ride. 🎦 Video
• TRON Lightcycle Run: Vekoma launch roller coaster. Height requirement: 48 inches. 🎦 Video

Fantasyland

• The Barnstormer: Vekoma junior coaster. Height requirement: 35 inches
• Dumbo the Flying Elephant: Jets ride
• It's a Small World: Dark ride
• Mad Tea Party: Teacups ride
• The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: Dark ride
• Mickey's PhilharMagic: 3D movie
• Peter Pan's Flight: Dark ride
• Prince Charming Regal Carrousel
• Princess Fairytale Hall: Character meets
• The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train: "Snow White"-themed family roller coaster. Height requirement: 38 inches. 🎦 Video
• Under the Sea - Voyage of the Little Mermaid: Dark ride

Liberty Square

• Hall of Presidents: Movie and Audio Animatronic show. Warning: sometime disruptive crowds

Frontierland

• Country Bear Musical Jamboree: A new version of the Country Bears' Audio Animatronic show, featuring country-flavored versions of Disney songs. 🎦 Video

Adventureland

• Jungle Cruise: Narrated boat ride
• The Magic Carpets of Aladdin: Zamperla Jets ride
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Indoor boat ride. 🎦 Video
• Swiss Family Treehouse: Walk through with many stairs
• Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room: Audio Animatronic show

Coming Next

• Villains Land: Now under development behind Big Thunder Mountain, this expansion will include two new attractions, including a Maleficent-themed outdoor roller coaster. Opens spring 2030.
• Cars rides: A national park-themed cross-country outdoor track ride and a second, smaller ride will open in Frontierland at an undisclosed date, replacing the now-closed Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island.

Recommended

• Jungle Navigation Co. Skipper Canteen ★
  Table service with world cuisine in Adventureland
  
  
  The Jungle Navigation Co. Skipper Canteen is the Magic Kingdom's home for Disney's Society of Explorers and Adventurers. Photo by Robert Niles

Character Dining

Main Street USA

• The Crystal Palace: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner buffets with Pooh and friends

Fantasyland

• Cinderella's Royal Table: Prix fixe breakfast, lunch and dinner with Disney princesses

Table Service

Main Street USA

• The Plaza Restaurant: Sandwiches, salads, milkshakes and desserts, for lunch and dinner
• Tony's Town Square Restaurant: Italian cuisine, themed to Lady and the Tramp

Fantasyland

• Be Our Guest Restaurant: Prix fixe French-inspired lunch and dinner, with a Beauty and the Beast theme

Liberty Square

• Liberty Tree Tavern: Prix fixe, all-you-care-to-eat, Thanksgiving dinner-inspired lunch and dinner, served family style.

Adventureland

• The Beak and Barrel: Pirates of the Caribbean themed bar

Counter Service

Mobile ordering is available at most counter service restaurants via the official Walt Disney World mobile app.

Main Street USA

• Casey's Corner: Hot dogs at "Coke Corner"
• Main Street Bakery: Starbucks

Tomorrowland

• Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe: Burgers, sandwiches, and salads with indoor seating
• The Lunching Pad: Hot dogs, pretzels
• Tomorrowland Terrace Restaurant: Home to the park's upcharge fireworks dessert parties

Fantasyland

• The Friar's Nook: Loaded tots, hot dogs
• Gaston's Tavern: Ham and cheese sandwiches, bakery snacks
• Pinocchio Village Haus: Flatbreads, sandwiches, and chicken strips with indoor seating
• Prince Eric's Village Market: Turkey legs

Liberty Square

• Columbia Harbour House: Seafood and chicken strips with two levels of indoor seating
• Sleepy Hollow: Waffles, funnel cakes, and corn dogs

Frontierland

• Pecos Bill's Tall Tale Inn and Cafe: Rice bowls, nachos, salads, and burgers with a mix of covered and indoor seating
• Golden Oak Outpost: Hot honey chicken, fries, and beignets
• Westward Ho: Mini corn dogs, bacon skewers

Adventureland:

• Aloha Isle: Dole Whips
• Tortuga Tavern: Sandwiches and hot dogs. Opens seasonally.

Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom is located in Lake Buena Vista, Florida – about 24 miles from Orlando International Airport (MCO).

Disney's theme park ticket prices vary by day, so you can use Disney's pricing calendar [scroll down] to see which days have the highest expected crowds. The lower the price for a ticket, the smaller the expected crowd that day.

According to the travel agents at Academy Travel, these are the dates when you will find the lightest crowd levels at the Walt Disney World theme parks in 2026:

• August 24-September 5
• September 8-26
• November 12-20
• December 1-12

On the flip side, large crowds will fill the parks on runDisney weekends:

• October 22-25
• January 6-10, 2027
• February 25-March 1, 2027
• April 15-18, 2027

In addition, crowd levels are high during:

• any U.S. holiday week
• President's Day week through Spring Break in mid-April
• first week in November (the infamous "Jersey week")
• the week of Thanksgiving
• from mid-December through early January

Before You Go

For assistance in planning a Walt Disney World vacation, please contact our travel agent for a free, no-obligation vacation quote.

Dining reservations can be made via the Disney World website or our travel agent, and each date's reservations open 60 days in advance, at about 5:45am Eastern Time. Disney's on-site hotel guests may make reservations for their entire stay (up to 10 days) starting 60 days before their check-in date. That gives Disney's on-site hotel guests an advantage in making reservations for the most popular restaurants.

Walt Disney World Resort hotel guests may purchase and book line-skipping "Lightning Lane" access for their entire stay (up to 14 days) starting seven days before their arrival. Other theme park guests may book Lightning Lanes up to three days in advance of their visit. Please see How to use Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World for more information on this important option.

Itinerary

Disney's hotel guests get 30 minutes of early access to each of the resort's four theme parks every day. So hotel guests should plan on an early start each morning to take advantage of empty queues. Unfortunately for guests staying off site, this new early admission policy means that they no longer have any opportunity to be the first to enter any Walt Disney World theme park in the morning.

The longest wait here throughout the day tends to be Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, so even with Disney's hotel guests getting a head start, it's still a good candidate to make your first ride when the park opens. The next-worst queue is Peter Pan's Flight, though if you wish to skip that attraction, there's better use of your time elsewhere in this park. If Pan's a must, though, hit it after Seven Dwarfs.

Space Mountain, TRON, and Jungle Cruise are the next longest waits in the park. We recommend doing Space Mountain as soon as you can in the morning, perhaps after Seven Dwarfs. But leave Jungle Cruise until mid-afternoon, when the parade draws crowds away from many attractions. Or go for it later in the evening, when crowds come down across the park. It's a great ride at night, too.

After Space Mountain and TRON, cut back across the hub to Haunted Mansion and Tiana's, then pick up rides as you wish, at your convenience.

On most days, you don't really need to buy your way into Disney's Lightning Lanes to experience the top attractions in the park, though we would consider getting a Lightning Lane Single Pass for TRON and Seven Dwarfs before buying the Lightning Lane Multi Pass in the Magic Kingdom on its busiest days.

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