Magic Kingdom is one of the most famous parks in Disney’s theme parks. Even those
who haven’t visited know the castle and it is the first thing that can be seen
once the park is entered, it's the same castle that is featured at the beginning of every Disney movie. In
fact, the entire entrance to Magic Kingdom is set up to remind you of the
beginning of a movie. From the introduction, the front gate, to the credits, Main Street, to the castle,
it's all a part of the experience of starting the experience you are about to enjoy inside the park. Once
inside there is so much to do it can be a little overwhelming the first time
you go, so it's good to have a game plan. Here are 15 things that are really fun
to do that can help you get your list started.
15) Get a Magical
Hairstyle
You may want to take time to get your kids' hair done in a fun style for their
magical day in the kingdom and there is a small
old fashioned looking barber shop with a large barber pole outside as you pass Main Street. At first
glance, you may think this is a façade put there to help create the illusion of
an old fashioned main street building. What you are looking at Harmony Barber
Shop and it provides professional adult as well as children’s haircuts. A haircut is something you might not have
anticipated when walking through the doors at Disney but it can be a great way
to start the day. Just think about how good you’ll look in the pictures you take
to remember your stay!
They also offer several services for boys and girls to have their hair done
in a special style. Boys can have designs such as Mickey Ears painted in their
hair with washable colored hair gel and girls can have their hair done like a
princess with washable colored highlights added. All children have the
option to have “pixie dust” or glitter added to their hairdo. If you are
interested in any of the services offered at the barber shop, be sure to make an
appointment beforehand as it does not take walk-in appointments.
14) Take Your
Picture in Front of Magic Kingdom
If you are looking to get a great photo, get to the park early for an excellent
opportunity that happens only once a day in front of the Magic Kingdom. Prior to
the park opening, the train is perfectly centered in front of the train station
at the entrance and this is done just for the specific purpose of providing
families with the opportunity to get a photo of Magic Kingdom in its entire
splendor. If you miss this then you will miss the opportunity and there will be
long lines of people with a blurry train in the background.
Look for the marked photo sections to help you capture the perfect picture
from your trip because you are showing up early, you may want to bring a light
jacket if it is late in the season.
You will be able to enjoy these photos even more because you did not
have to pay for a professional photographer or for processing the pictures.
Magical Kingdom Entrance
13) Grab Some
Dessert before the Fireworks
One hour prior to the fireworks that light up the park every night, you can
attend a special Fireworks Dessert Party. The Tommorowland Terrace, where the
desserts are served, has several windows and offers some of the best views of
the fireworks in the whole park. Just make sure that you make a reservation far in
advance because this event books fast. Once at the party, there is a crew member
waiting to take your reservation who can even help you time everything in order to plan dessert around other
dining plans. They can also make sure that you will be either finished with your
desserts or eating them, while the fireworks are going off outside.
You can dine on decadent desserts, while enjoying one of the most spectacular
fireworks displays in the country. The desserts are made by the culinary crew
members who have been trained either by culinary schools or by the professional
chefs that work at Disney, so you know you are going to get a delicious treat.
You can make reservations for this reception through the Walt Disney Dining
phone reservation center. The cost for adults is $27.68 and for children under
10 it is $14.90.
Front Entrance to Tomorrowland
Tomorrowland Terrace
12) Meet Belle in
Her Castle
Enchanted Tales with Belle in Fantasyland is one of the newest Magic Kingdom
attractions and it is already quite popular. This is because it is among the
most interactive of the character meet and greet activities in the park. You get
the chance to interact with Belle in an atmosphere that is so realistic you will
have to check yourself to make sure you are not in a movie. Little girls are
especially impressed when they come her because they are transported into their
favorite movie and are allowed to feel as if they are experiencing it for real.
When you go to the attraction, you will step inside a replica of the castle
featured in Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” animated movie. This is the castle
where the Beast lived and where Belle started out as a prisoner to the Beast.
Live characters come out and tell stories, which involve direct interaction with
the guests. All of this is done in a setting full of high quality animatronics,
which are replicas of the enchanted objects in the movie. You will swear that
some of them actually are enchanted and attempting to interact with you.
11) See Four
Continents in One Ride
The Jungle Cruise in Adventureland takes you on a fun filled tour of four
continents and this is one of the funniest rides in Disney World because of the
guides on the tour. They are known for the many jokes they tell during the
cruise and you can interact with the guys telling the jokes, even inject your
own humor. The result is a ride that will never be the same twice. Not only will
the people giving the tour want to try out new material but people on the tour
will want to interact as well. It all leads to an adventure that is fun for the
whole family.
While on board, you travel through a jungle and notice several animatronic
animals set up in various scenes. Later, you will pass a large refreshing
waterfall and some playful elephants who will try to get you wet. The boat also
takes you through a spooky Cambodian temple filled with treasure, which is
guarded by the watchful eyes of tigers. These are just a few of the spectacular
things you will see while you are riding along.
Jungle Cruise in Adventureland
10) Enjoy the Lights
at the Electrical Water Pageant
One of the most fun and often overlooked things to do in the Magic Kingdom is
attending the Electrical Water Pageant. This delightful light show takes place
every night around the Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake. It is one of the parades
that Disney is known for putting on because the guests are involved with the
process and they are able to relax while watching it pass by.
Get the schedule for the parade while you are out enjoying the park, so you can
show up at the right time.
Two strings of seven 40 foot barges holding 25 foot tall light screens take
sail to take the light show through the waters. The light show offers everything
from sea serpents and water creatures to a patriotic salute. This show can often
be seen after the nightly fireworks have ended. Get a good spot and you will be
able to see everything as it is happening. Make sure if you do want to take
pictures that you do not use a flash or it will ruin the spectacle for everyone
else.
9) Meet the Real
Jack Sparrow
Many people do not realize that the Pirates of the Caribbean movies are based on
a ride at the Walt Disney theme parks and the ride was one of the last developed by
Walt Disney himself. In it, the pirates come to life using animatronics. The
ride actually started at Disneyland and was originally slated to be a wax
museum that guests could walk through. The modern version has become even more
interactive with some new additions.
Recently, the ride has been updated with Captain Jack Sparrow added to the
lineup of pirates guests encounter while on the ride. Some are amazed by how
Jack Sparrow on the ride is
like Johnny Depp from the movies. They do not realize that the character was
actually added in later as a result of the popularity of the movies and to
maintain the congruity of the ride. This fun boat ride offers guests a whimsical
glimpse into the lives of those who were bandits of the seas. You will see them
stuck in lockup, playing chess
and going through daily activities. It is easy to look at the ride and
understand why they made it into a movie.
Pirates of the Caribbean with Captian Jack Sparrow
By
WDWParksGal-Stock,
via
Deviantart.com
8) Go on a Space
Journey with Space Mountain
Space Mountain is one of the tried and true rides of Tommorowland, the reason it
has lasted for so many years is because of how fun it is. This fast moving
roller coaster offers guests a thrill ride down a mountain in a Space Port,
where you are hurled through darkness with only the glowing light of stars and
plants to light the way. The turns and drops in the dark make this ride all
the more exciting. There is a height requirement to make sure that every rider
is able to withstand the pressures of the ride without any problems.
What many are not aware of is that the ride was approved by a NASA astronaut.
Gordon Cooper was aboard Mercury 9 and Gemini 5, he wanted to make
sure that the ride was going to be authentic. He used his history as an
astronaut to become a part of the creative team and helped create a ride that
has become one of the park’s favorites for the past 35 years. If you miss Space
Mountain at Disney World, you will be happy to know that it is available at all
of the other Disney theme parks throughout the world because of its immense
popularity.
7) Ride on the Log
Ride
Splash Mountain is an unusual log ride in the Magic Kingdom, it is located in Frontierland across from the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. This log ride starts
off as a whimsical, peaceful cruise through an area which represents the country
scenes in Disney’s Songs of the South. For those people who may be offended by
the depictions of a historic period farm in the South, keep in mind that you
will be through this part of the ride before you know it.
Before you know it, the pace of the ride changes and riders are
taken down a fast 52 foot drop. During the more sedate parts of the ride, you
can enjoy singing along with classic Disney songs that just about everyone
knows. Such classics as; “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah”, “Everybody’s Got a Laughing Place”,
and “How Do You Do?" are songs that you can sing along to. The ride is perfect
for kids who are old enough to endure the last part of the ride, keep this
in mind as you are making your choice of rides to get on.
6) Interact with the
Characters from Monsters Inc.
Part of the fun of being at Disney World is the way the various attractions make
you feel as if you have stepped into a fantasy world. One of the best ways in
which this is done is through the use of computer technology to bring animated
characters to life so that they interact with guests. This new way of enchanting
guests is offered at the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor. This latest addition to the
park is based on the movie, and brings all of the characters to life along with
some characters you might not have seen in the movie.
Here you enter a comedy show conducted with computer animated characters from
the Monsters Inc. movies. Guests can interact with the characters and have them
respond to what they say to them. This show offers lots of laughs and is never
the same twice because you have a part to play in the outcome. Many people will
make a point of going to the show more than once while they are visiting the
park because it is so much fun and it's never the same show twice.
Try getting that out of a comedian on stage!
5) Pretend You Are
Buzz Lightyear
In Toworrowland, the Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin offers visitors to the
park the opportunity to feel as if they are stepping into a video game. Inside
the space cruiser vehicles are joysticks and laser guns. You can move the
cruiser with the use of the joystick as you use the guns to shoot at various
targets, your score is shown on the dashboard of the cruiser.
Guests will feel as if they are a member of Buzz Lightyear’s crew as you
battle with the evil forces of the universe led by the Evil Emperor Zurg. Zurg
is trying to turn all the toys evil by stealing their batteries but it is your
mission to stop him and protect the toys. Kids have a lot of fun riding and
seeing all of the different toys come to life. Parents will enjoy seeing their
kids have fun and shooting some aliens in the process. It is a great way to have
fun together as a family while kicking some evil space butt!
Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin
4) See the Haunted
Mansion
The Haunted Mansion is something no visitor to the Magic Kingdom should miss,
it's another ride that has inspired a movie and is fun to go on after watching the live
action movie that starred Eddie Murphy. The ride has
not changed much to reflect the movie, since it was always more about the house
than it was about the people who were in the house. After all, the mansion is
interacting with the people on the ride and not with the people inside of the
house.
While this ride is not scary, it’s great because of the amazing audio visual
effects you experience while riding in a ’Doom Buggie” through the spooky
mansion. Kids may want to consider whether they are ready to go on the ride
because of the imagery that is inside. It is not something that is scary but
spooky and some children simply are not ready to experience that. Visitors
who go to this attraction during the Halloween and Christmas seasons get a
special treat as the house is redone to feature Jack Skeleton from “The
Nightmare Before Christmas”.
3) Enjoy Watching
Mickey’s PhilharMagic
Mickey’s PhilharMagic is one of the best new 4D movies out there. The difference
between 4D and 3D is that you will experience parts of the movie that are
normally only encountered by those on the screen. For instance, if there is a
splash then you will not only see the splash as if it's coming at you but you
will get a little wet as a result. It is a fun way to help the movie come to
life, so it can be enjoyed in a way that you cannot experience in most places
you visit.
The animated movie is displayed on a 150- foot wide movie screen and Donald Duck
is featured as the host who guides you through several hilarious mishaps. This
ride has been voted by visitors as one of the best attractions in the park since
it was opened. Experiencing the movie is easy to do as you will not need to have
any tickets or reservations to get into the show. The only thing you will need
to do is to make sure you are in the right place at the right time. The show
times take place throughout the day and isn’t that long but you will most
likely have to stand in line to get into it.
Mickey's Philhar Magic
2) Learn the Secrets
of the Park
More attention to detail and planning has gone into the Magic Kingdom than many
people may realize. This is because the intention was to make every guest feel
as if you have walked into a movie and are experiencing it as another character
when you walk into the park. It is why the people working at Disney are called
crew members rather than staff or employees. Every effort is made to create the
feeling that you are in a magical place that will put you into the movies you
know and love.
If you are interested in how the magic is made and enjoy learning inside
secrets, you need to book a "Keys to the Kingdom Tour". These tours take you
through the Magic Kingdom and reveal some of the most fascinating secrets about
the park. You will learn about how the park is constructed to make you feel less
tired as you walk through the walkway tunnel system underneath it. You can even
take one of these tours, which will take you on two rides as you learn about
their hidden secrets. It is an interesting way to become a Disney insider and
have a totally new love for the way it all works.
1) Meet the
Characters and Get Their Locations
While everyone knows about the various Disney character actors who roam the
park, there are others many people are unaware of. There are several actors who
have been costumed to match the American hometown feel created in the Main
Street area of the Magic Kingdom and beyond. These actors will interact with you
if you approach them, they can be a lot of fun and make your trip all the more
magical. Just do not expect all of the characters to speak with you because some
are not allowed to talk, this is intended to maintain the integrity of the
character.
Some of the characters who roam the Magic Kingdom are Mayor Weaver and a news
reporter named Scoop Anderson. If you are interested in meeting any of them you
can contact Guest Services. They will be able to give you information regarding
the locations and times they can be seen around the area. Be at the appointed
place at the appointed time and you will get the opportunity to take a picture
with these fun characters.
Conclusion
These 15 items are a great start to your planning process for going to Disney’s
Magic Kingdom. Just make sure you plan with this list and you will have a great
first day. While you are inside the park, you are sure to see other things that
you will want to do and this is why every planner suggests a multiple day trip when
going to any of the Disney theme parks. You want to be able to experience as
much as possible in the limited time you are at the park. Make sure you are
ready to take lots of pictures while you are at Magic Kingdom because you will
experience things you may never have thought possible at an amusement
park, this is part of the magic of going to a Disney park.
