Blog #6: Magic Kingdom's First Steps

Photo by Ted and Dina Hathaway



Welcome to another Monday edition of the Disney World Nation. Here is the question for “Team Monday” this week.

So now the Disney World Nation has gone to the four parks, and to the hotels. Let's head back to Magic Kingdom. You have arrived at the park ready and energized for a long day at the park. Once your inside the park, which direction do you head and why? Do you head left into Adventureland, right towards Tomorrowland, straight through the castle for Fantasyland, or do you even go down Main Street USA at all?

Michelle W: Ok… so we’re heading to Magic Kingdom!! First stop after walking through the gates, is taking a few moments to just stand on Main Street and take in it all in! If I just close my eyes, I can picture the sights, the sounds & the smells! Then we’ll move closer to the center of Main Street & catch our first glimpse of Cinderella’s Castle & be in awe!  We also enjoy watching everyone else’s reaction to seeing it for the first time! Then we’ll stop to get a family picture taken using our PhotoPass! It’s always great to see how much everyone changes over the years. OK, now that we did that, it’s time to head towards the “Partners” statue of Walt & Mickey & then we make a left to head towards Adventureland, but before we’re through, we make a quick right & head down a little path that takes you to Liberty Square. And from there it’s off to my ALL TIME favorite attraction… the HAUNTED MANSION!!! 

Beth P: “We’re here, we’re here!” My adventurous group of pirates and I have finally landed at the Magic Kingdom, after a 3 hour tour in the family van. So, the most traveled route for us is left, into Adventureland. My scalawag crew of “weekend pirates” and I always head straight for “The Pirates of the Caribbean”. It’s always a race to see how much faster I can get there. Most of the time, I am the first one to the ride. I try not to be too obnoxious, and run over small children and older people, as I would still like to sit with my family. The “POTC” movies have only made my identity crisis with the ride worse, and I swear, at some point, I may “accidently” fall overboard. The scenery in the story is amazing. The colors, the textures, the feel, it’s as if you’re a part of history. The addition of Jack Sparrow and his comedic antics only enhance the entertainment of the ride. I’m not sure if the ride mimics the movie, or the movie mimics the ride. Everytime we board our watercraft, we challenge each other to find something new. When the announcer says “No flarsh photography, we know he’s probably talking to me”. The countdown has begun for our next trip to the Magic Kingdom. I’m not sure when we will “land”, but I know where our compass will take us.

Lauren R: I love the Magic Kingdom for one major reason; it never fails to make me feel like a kid again. Back before I had kids of my own, my first stop of the day was always The Haunted Mansion. It was and always has been my favorite ride. A quick walk down Main Street, to the left past The Crystal Palace, avoiding the delicious smells of coffee and funnel cakes calling to me from Sleepy Hollow, and on to meet the Ghost Host in my doom buggy. I would find myself speaking along with the soundtrack and eagerly awaiting the opportunity to hear the next version of Grim Grinning Ghosts as we traveled from room to room. When my husband and I went on our anniversary trip last November to Disney World, he didn’t even bother asking what I wanted to do first. He just started making the trek to Liberty Square. The kids also love The Haunted Mansion, but when we go on trips with them, they want Dumbo! They don’t understand that Mommy is desperately trying not to stomp her foot in a childish tantrum demanding her favorite ride be top priority! To avoid the crowds heading towards Fantasyland through the castle, we usually look to see if the crowds are lighter heading into Adventureland or Tomorrowland. We then go with the lighter crowd and use the path on the right or left of Cinderella’s Castle, then to Dumbo and the rest of Fantasyland. The kids are happy and I know that my patience will pay off when my four year old asks when we can go see the ghosts.

Bill W: Our Magic Kingdom touring routine has changed a lot over the years.  We used to head straight for one of the Mountains, either Space Mountain or Splash Mountain depending on how hot it was.  Now that we are parents and visit Walt Disney World with an 8 year old we do things much differently.  Now we head straight towards Cinderella’s Castle right at rope drop, and head to Fantasyland.  We borrow a page from the Unofficial Guide and do a modified version of the Dumbo-or-Die-in-a-Day plan.  We jump on Dumbo and ride it right away, since it has some of the longest lines later in the morning.  The we ride Peter Pan and Pooh, that knocks some of the most popular kids rides off out touring list and lets us explore more of fantasy land at a more leisurely pace. We would also be at Toontown right at 10:00 when they opened so we could see Mickey and the Princesses before the lines get too long.  Now that Toontown is no more we will have to draw up a new gameplan for our next trip.

Ted H: When my fiancée and I head into Magic Kingdom, we stroll down Main St and head left toward Adventureland.  Our first stop is always Pirates of the Caribbean.  I think we do it just to get our first ride under our belt for the day and Pirates usually has no wait.  Once we get that ride out of the way, the park is open to our exploration and wonder.

Bill S: Wait!!! Where are you all going??? Actually I want everyone to head down Main Street USA, so I can head towards my first ride of the day, The Walt Disney World Railroad. Go in the entrance, head up the stairs (or elevator), and hop aboard the train over to Frontierland and it will leave you right in between the two mountains (Big Thunder and Splash). The Railroad is good cause you have already gotten on your first ride, you’ve stayed off your feet for a few minutes (if you are setting up for a long day at the park this is crucial), and the length of time it took is close to the same as walking from the entrance to the Mountains. Add to it the music from each land, and the narrator making nice fun comments along the way and you’ve got yourself a great way to get around the parks.

There really is no wrong way to enter Magic Kingdom. Just pick your favorite ride, and find the best path to get there. Thank you once again for joining us at the Disney World Nation. Join us again on Friday as “Team Friday” is introduced to “Cram-Dining” and discuss which are their favorites at Epcot. Till next time, See You Real Soon. Bill Sauerbier