Magic Kingdom Overview

Arriving

If you drive, the Magic Kingdom/Ticket and Transportation Center (TTC) parking lot opens about two hours before the park's official opening. After paying a fee, you are directed to a parking space, then transported by tram to the TTC, where you catch either a monorail or ferry to the park's entrance.

If you're staying at the Contemporary, Polynesian, or Grand Floridian Resorts, you can commute directly to the Magic Kingdom by monorail (guests at the Contemporary can walk there more quickly). If you stay at Wilderness Lodge and Villas or Fort Wilderness Campground, you will take a boat. Guests at other Disney resorts can reach the park by bus. All Disney lodging guests, whether they arrive by bus, monorail, or boat, are deposited at the park's entrance, bypassing the TTC.

Getting Oriented

At the Magic Kingdom, stroller, wheelchair and locker rentals are in the tunnel under the train station, on the station's ground floor. On your left as you enter Main Street is City Hall, the center for information, lost and found, guided tours, and entertainment schedules.

If you don't already have a handout guidemap of the park, get one at City Hall. The guidemap lists all attractions, shops, and eating places; provides helpful information about first aid, baby care, and assistance for the disabled; and gives tips for good photos. It lists times for the day's special events, live entertainment, Disney character parades, and concerts, and it also tells when and where to find Disney characters. Often the guidemap is supplemented by a daily entertainment schedule known as a Times Guide. In addition to listing performance times, the Times Guide also provides info on Disney character appearances and what Disney calls "Special Hours." Special Hours usually refers to attractions that open late or close early and to the operating hours of park restaurants.

Main Street ends at a central hub from which branch the entrances to five other sections of the Magic Kingdom: Adventureland, Frontierland, Liberty Square, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland. Mickey's Toontown Fair is squeezed like a pimple between the cheeks of Fantasyland and Tomorrowland and doesn't connect to the central hub.

Cinderella Castle is the entrance to Fantasyland and is the Magic Kingdom's architectural icon and visual center. If you start in Adventureland and go clockwise around the Magic Kingdom , the castle spires will always be roughly on your right; if you start in Tomorrowland and go counterclockwise through the park, the spires will always be roughly on your left. Cinderella Castle is an excellent meeting place if your group decides to split up during the day or is separated accidentally.

Fantasyland Expansion

In 2010, Fantasyland began undergoing the largest expansion in the Magic Kingdom’s history. A new Little Mermaid–themed ride-through attraction will be added, along with a Seven Dwarfs Mine Train roller coaster. In addition, a new version of the Dumbo attraction will debut, reportedly a side-by-side clone of the first, under a covered circus tent in what is currently Mickey’s Toontown Fair. Also reportedly in the works: a Beauty and the Beast–themed restaurant, which will serve counter-service food during the day and sit-down meals at night.

Most of Toontown will be demolished to make way for this expansion. We hear The Barnstormer at Goofy’s Wiseacre Farm will survive (albeit with a different theme) and the train station will be remodeled to fit Fantasyland. Mickey’s and Minnie’s country houses, Donald’s Boat, and the Toontown Hall of Fame are history. The entire project is expected to be completed by late 2012 or early 2013. Character greetings will move to temporary locations until permanent locations in the new portion Fantasyland, Main Street’s Exposition Hall and a venue that will replace Snow White's Scary Adventure. Your best bet is to check the daily entertainment schedule for the whereabouts of your favorite characters.

The big question on the expansion is the schedule: no official word has come from Disney on when any existing attractions will be closed or new ones opened. The most consistent rumors we’ve heard are that everything in Toontown except Minnie’s Country House and the Barnstormer will close in February, 2011. When the project is completed, these two attractions will become part of Fantasyland and Mickey’s Toontown Fair will be removed from park maps.

We’ve updated our Magic Kingdom touring plans to reflect our current knowledge of this development. As with any construction project, plans can change. Check The Blog for the latest developments and touring plan updates.

Starting The Tour

Everyone soon finds their favorite and not-so-favorite attractions in the Magic Kingdom . Be open-minded and adventuresome. Our personal experience and research indicate that each visitor differs on which attraction is most enjoyable. Don't dismiss a ride or show until after you have tried it.

Take advantage of what Disney does best: the fantasy adventures of Splash Mountain and The Haunted Mansion and the various audio-animatronic (talking robots) attractions, including The Hall of Presidents and Pirates of the Caribbean. Don't burn daylight browsing the shops unless you plan to spend a minimum of two and a half days at the Magic Kingdom , and even then wait until midday or later. Minimize the time you spend on midway-type rides; you probably have something similar near your hometown. (Don't, however, mistake Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad as amusement park rides. They may be roller coasters, but they're pure Disney genius.) Eat a good breakfast early, and avoid lines at eateries by snacking during the day on food from vendors, of better yet, from your fannypack. Fare at most Magic Kingdom eateries is on a par with Subway or McDonald's.