Walt Disney World opened October 1, 1971 with its plus-sized version of Disneyland – the Magic Kingdom. Welcoming more than 20 million visitors each year, the Magic Kingdom is the world's most-visited theme park and the anchor of the four-park Walt Disney World Resort, which also includes Epcot, Disney's Hollywood Studios, and Disney's Animal Kingdom.
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Other notable attractions include the Swiss Family Treehouse walkthrough and Magic Carpets of Aladdin spinner in Adventureland; the Barnstormer junior roller coaster, Prince Charming Regal Carrousel, the Dumbo the Flying Elephant and Mad Tea Party spinners, and Winnie the Pooh and The Little Mermaid dark rides in Fantasyland; and the Astro Orbiter spinner, Tomorrowland Speedway mini-cars, and Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin interactive dark ride in Tomorrowland.
A TRON Ligtcycle Run indoor roller coaster is under construction in Tomorrowland.
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New for 2021 is Disney Enchantment, a 50th anniversary fireworks and projection mapping show on Cinderella Castle and Main Street USA. Other notable shows include Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room show in Adventureland and the The Hall of Presidents in Liberty Square.
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Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom is located in Lake Buena Vista, Florida – about 24 miles from Orlando International Airport.
You must reserve the day you want to visit in advance using the Disney Park Pass Reservation system. Once you have your dates reserved, you can start making restaurant reservations up to 60 days in advance of your visit.
If you drive to the Magic Kingdom, the park lies across the Seven Seas Lagoon from its parking lot. You must travel by monorail or ferryboat to reach the park, which can add up to an hour to your travel time, depending upon crowd levels. We recommend arriving in time to be in the park at opening, so that you can go directly to The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. From there, head to Peter Pan's Flight or other low-capacity Fantasyland attractions your family might wish to ride.
Next, head to Tomorrowland for Space Mountain before continuing through Adventureland, Frontierland, and Liberty Square to complete your lap around the park. Wait time tend to be reasonable (under 90 minutes) throughout the day on almost all days at the Magic Kingdom, save for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, which is why we recommend getting that done at park opening.
Want to talk more about Magic Kingdom visiting strategies? Start a discussion in our Walt Disney World Forum.
